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American Airlines Group and Qantas Airways aren’t taking no for an answer in their bid to deepen ties on flights across the Pacific. The carriers are asking US regulators a second time for permission to coordinate fares and schedules, revamping an earlier request in response to concerns that the combination would hurt competition. American and Qantas bolstered their case with details of a study finding that such joint ventures benefit consumers and produce lower average fares on connecting service. The airlines, which are long-time marketing partners, are looking to improve profit by sharing costs and revenue on joint-venture flights as though they were a single entity. They withdrew an earlier request for antitrust immunity in Nov 2016, after the US DoT said the carriers should provide more evidence of potential benefits. <br/>

Association of Flight Attendants president Sara Nelson says she would like to be asked to visit Charlotte this week to speak with leaders of the union that represents American Airlines flight attendants. AFA is the largest flight attendants’ union with about 50,000 members. The board of directors of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents about 25,000 American flight attendants, will meet in Charlotte starting Tuesday. Contract talks between American and APFA are set to open at the end of this year. Nelson said those talks are critically important for flight attendants at every airline because they are the first in an impending round of flight attendant contract talks. “We are ready to support them [in talks],” Nelson said. <br/>