Qatar Airways CE Akbar Al Baker ruled out aircraft cancellations after 4 Middle Eastern countries blocked the airline from using their airspace, but the airline will start redeploying capacity to new destinations. “We still need some time, but we will redeploy very soon,” Al Baker said Monday. The airline plans to bring forward the launch of new destinations such as Skopje, Macedonia; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as open more destinations in Iran to use excess narrowbody capacity freed up as a result of the blockade. The airline will launch new long-haul destinations in South America in January—Rio de Janeiro and Santiago de Chile—despite the much increased flight time. Flights to Brazil now have to take a 2-hour detour because of the airspace closures. <br/>
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Qatar Airways reclaimed the No. 1 spot in this year’s Skytrax awards. Qatar unseated Emirates, which slipped to second. The rankings are based on an annual passenger survey. CE Akbar al Baker used the occasion to make an impromptu speech in which he condemned the blockade of Qatar, which he had previously likened to the Soviet siege of West Berlin after World War II. “This award is not for me or my airline but for my country,” Al Baker said. He added that Qatar is beset by “big bullies.” Lufthansa managed to improve its ranking by 3 slots to the seventh position, making it the only European carrier in the Top 10 and the only airline not from Asia or the Persian Gulf. At the same time it failed to secure a 5-star ranking, something it has been targeting since 2015, though CE Carsten Spohr pledged to get there soon. <br/>
American Airlines has not heard the last of demands for a total recall of uniforms supplied by Twin Hill that began rolling out in September. Monday, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), renewed its demand for a total recall of uniforms worn by flight attendants on AA's mainline and regional flights. Noted Sara Nelson, AFA president: "Reports show that the current uniforms are still causing serious health issues for flight attendants and American management must fix it now. An entire recall of the uniform is in order. American needs to source and manufacture a different uniform entirely for flight attendants and thoroughly test the pieces to avoid a repeat of the same issues." AFA said Monday that to date more than 16% of its members have reported health issues believed to be tied to the problematic uniforms. <br/>
American Airlines has canceled more than 40 flights out of Sky Harbor International in Phoenix Tuesday because of the extreme heat. The canceled itinerary is impacting flights scheduled to arrive at or depart from PHX June 19-21, between 3 pm and 6 pm. Seven flights were canceled Monday, with 7 flights more flights delayed Tuesday, as temperatures reached 120 degrees in Phoenix. Weather forecasters predict that temperatures will reach 120 degrees Tuesday. The NWS predicts that temperatures will reach 116 degrees Wednesday. American Airlines does not anticipate further disruption, but will revaluate in the morning. While airplanes are equipped to operate in different environmental scenarios, not all aircraft are created equal. <br/>