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British Airways cabin crew are to step up strike action by holding a 6-day walkout in early February, in an escalating dispute about pay. Approximately 2,900 members of Unite in the mixed fleet division, a branch of predominantly younger and lower-paid BA recruits, will strike for 3 days from Sunday Feb 5, and again from Thursday Feb 9. The action follows 2 strikes totalling 5 days in January, which forced BA to cancel scores of flights. The airline said disruption to passengers was minimal, with all flying to their destinations on alternative or merged departures. BA also leased planes and crew from Titan Airways to operate dozens more flights on its behalf. Union reps from the mixed fleet urged the airline to engage in further talks to avert more action. <br/>

American Airlines reported Q4 and 2016 full year results Friday showing a US$2.7b net profit for the year. Q4 net income was $289m, down from the same period in 2015’s $3.28b. The prior quarter’s headline profit was due to a one-off tax benefit. For comparison, income before tax for Q4 was $500m in 2016, against $244m in 2015. Operating revenue for the quarter to end Dec 2016 was $9.79b, up 1.7% from the prior year’s $9.63b, but expenses hit $9.02b from $8.56b in 2015, a rise of 5.4%. For the full year 2016, American made a $2.68b net profit on income of $40.18b. Expenses for the year were $34.9b, a 0.3% increase. Mainline CASM in 2016 was down 0.8% on a 1.0% capacity increase in ASM terms. Mainline passenger load factor dropped one percentage point to 82.3%. <br/>

American Airlines has high hopes for its new strategy to compete with LCCs by offering cheap, zero-frill fares. By offering bargain basement tickets, American can raise fares for business travellers unwilling to do without “extras” such as seat selection and the ability to stash items in overhead bins, the airline’s executives said Friday. “Clearly the product features (on basic economy) — not changeable, not upgrade-able, as well as no seat selection — are effective variants for business travellers,” said Derek Kerr, American’s CFO. “This is really all about tapping into the willingness to pay for existing product.” Introducing tickets that are cheaper but come with a bevy of restrictions will make American’s full-service products look better, he said. <br/>