IAG’s passenger count jumped 14% to 100.7m last year, propelling it past Air France-KLM Group by that measure for the first time. Customer numbers were boosted by a full year of figures from Aer Lingus, which IAG purchased in 2015, together with gains at Iberia and the Vueling discount unit. Air France-KLM’s tally rose 4% to 93.4m, putting the group more than 7m passengers behind IAG after it had ended 2015 more than 1.5m ahead. Even on a pro-forma basis IAG added 6.3% more patrons. Air France itself actually lost customers in 2016, with the total down by 691,000, or 1.4%. Group figures were rescued by the addition of 1.8m travellers at KLM and 2.5m at low-cost arm Transavia. IAG didn’t give a breakdown of passenger figures at its individual airlines. <br/>
oneworld
Malaysia Airlines Berhad has returned to expansion mode and plans to order 25 widebody aircraft by the end of the year, according to CE Peter Bellew. Fifteen of the new batch of airplanes would replace the existing fleet of 15 leased Airbus A330-300s, while the other 10 aircraft would allow for expansion. Bellew said that the order competition pits either the Airbus A330neo or A330-300 against the Boeing 787. Delivery would start in Q3 of 2018 and run through 2023, during about the same time as the existing A330-300s' leases expire. The carrier wants to configure the aircraft in a 2-class, business and economy layout as opposed to a 3-class arrangement including premium economy, a seating class that has proved unpopular in the Malaysian market. <br/>
The company that makes American Airlines’ new uniforms is speaking out for the first time regarding complaints by flight attendants that the outfits are making them sick. The issue with the flight attendants' uniforms came after American rolled out new uniforms to more than 70,000 of its frontline workers in September. The look of the uniforms has been well-received by many of American’s workers. But, in December, the carrier's flight attendant union called for a total recall of the uniforms, claiming the outfits have sickened as many as 2,000 attendants with symptoms that include rashes, itching, headaches and eye irritation. Clothing manufacturer Twin Hill pushed back against those complaints in a Monday letter to APFA, the union that represents American’s cabin crew, saying testing shows its uniforms to be safe, though the company added it is nonetheless eager to find a solution. <br/>