Delta Air Lines mapped out a series of fixes to alleviate mass cancellations like those that plagued the carrier after an April thunderstorm and disrupted travel plans of hundreds of thousands of people. In a memo to employees Wednesday, Delta CE Ed Bastian and COO Gil West wrote that an internal task force has been analysing why the recovery “fell short.” “We know some [employees] are still taking care of customers who were impacted by the storm. Thanks for pulling Delta out of the ditch,” they wrote. A big cause of the meltdown was strain on Delta’s crew scheduling and crew tracking system, which left planes without pilots and flight attendants in Atlanta and across the country and exacerbated flight cancellations for days The Delta meltdown came right in the middle of a busy spring break travel period. <br/>
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After its second bankruptcy filing in a decade, Alitalia’s survival hinges once again on luring a buyer prepared to put the attractions of the Italian travel market ahead of the risk of pouring money into one of Europe’s most notoriously unprofitable businesses. Only this time round, there may be no takers. Alitalia’s 2008 rescue saw it emerge from the ashes of its 60 year-old predecessor through a merger with ailing rival Air One that was financed by a roster of Italy’s leading banks and orchestrated by a govt shareholder unwilling to let a well-known national brand go. Since then it has lost almost E3b (US$3.3b). What’s more, the govt no longer owns a stake and has said several times that re-nationalisation is out of the question, while UniCredit revealed last month that it alone lost almost E500m in the bailout. <br/>
Air France has shared draft terms for its new Boost long-haul operation with pilot unions and set a May 31 deadline for their response. “What is at stake is Air France’s future and its ability to embark on a new phase of sustainable growth and recovery,” Air France chairman Jean-Marc Janaillac said, detailing the draft agreement May 3. The proposed terms, which were hammered out over 4 months of negotiations, pave the way for Boost to be created as a wholly owned Air France subsidiary, manned by Air France pilots. Air France said Boost will be capped at 18 medium-haul aircraft and 10 long-haul aircraft, with a guaranteed “production balance.” The fleet is likely to be made up of Airbus A350s and A320s. “The economic contribution of pilots related to the creation of the new airline will be shared by all pilots,” Air France said. <br/>