Air France-KLM Group got a boost from Q2 earnings despite uncertainty created by a simmering labour conflict and an ongoing search for a new CE. The stock rose as much as 8.4% Wednesday after the airline posted operating profit of E345m (US$404m). That beat expectations even after a 41% drop due to a dozen days of strike action that wiped out passenger growth. Dutch unit KLM contributed 90% of the total as walkouts by pilots, flight attendants and ground crew disrupted operations in France. The results were “mainly coming from the commercial environment, which is relatively good,” CTO Frederic Gagey said. “In spite of the strikes, we are beating the consensus.” <br/>
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An investigation has begun into what caused the crash of an Aeromexico Embraer E190 in Durango Tuesday evening, while the airline confirmed all 107 people on-board survived. Flight AM2431 was departing from Durango bound for Mexico City when the crash occurred July 31. The aircraft was manufactured in 2008 and been in Aeromexico’s fleet since 2014, the airline said. Aeromexico also said there were 88 adult passengers, 9 minors, 2 infants and 4 crew members, as well as 2 pilots and 2 flight attendants on-board. “At present time, no human losses have been reported, thanks to the prompt action of the crew and passengers,” the airline said. There was no information on injuries. <br/>
Cheap travel has arrived in Argentina. Airlines are offering major discounts on domestic flights after Argentina’s pro-business govt, in an effort to boost tourism, scrapped a regulation that set a minimum price that carriers were required to charge their clients. Aerolineas Argentinas website crashed Wednesday morning as customers rushed to grab flights for ARS499 (US$18.20). LCC FlyBondi slashed prices on round-trip flights between Buenos Aires and Bariloche to as low as ARS199 ($7.26). And Latam offered flights between Buenos Aires and Cordoba for ARS449 pesos. The govt’s decision to open up Argentina to low-cost carriers is already a controversial issue in Argentina because powerful labour unions warn it will lead to job losses at Aerolineas, whose employees staged a one-day strike July 13. <br/>