American Airlines' basic economy tickets now come with one less restriction. Travellers are allowed to bring a standard carry-on bag in addition to a personal item that fits under the seat in front of them. Until Wednesday, travellers were only allowed to bring on a personal item. Bags that did not fit under the seat were checked at the gate for a charge of US$50. American Airlines CE Doug Parker said in July that the tweak is designed to allow the airline to "become more competitive.'' Delta Air Lines already allows passengers buying basic economy tickets to bring a free carry-on. "We put this product out with a slightly different model than others had done in the past,'' Parker said. "We think the right thing to do is to get in line with the competition.'' <br/>
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New uniforms American Airlines employees receive in 2020 will go through testing to help ensure no harmful materials exist in the clothing. This comes after the airline's previous uniforms, made by Twin Hill, reportedly caused employees to break out in hives and experience headaches and respiratory issues. American said Wednesday that each uniform will have a stamp that says "STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX." OEKO-TEX is a group of 18 independent textile research and test institutions that develop procedures for testing clothes to make sure they're safe. 'STANDARD 100' refers to the certification granted by OEKO-TEX that garments have been tested for banned dyes, pesticides and other hazardous chemicals. This encompasses all parts of the clothing, including sewing threads and zippers, American said. <br/>
A judge’s decision in the American Airlines uniform lawsuit came down hard on Twin Hill, a supplier of uniforms to some 70,000 AA employees. In a lengthy opinion a federal district judge in Chicago, ruled late Tuesday that the plaintiffs in the case, including a group of American Airlines flight attendants, at least 1 pilot and 1 former flight attendant, could proceed with litigation against Twin Hill, a co-defendant in the lawsuit. Plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit sought to compel American and Twin Hill to immediately remove all the uniforms from the workplace and to obtain personal injury damages for the plaintiffs in the case. The judge found that the complaint against co-defendant Twin Hill “presents a plausible, factual-based story that Twin Hill uniforms are unreasonably dangerous in their design and so meets the pleading standards.” <br/>
American Airlines plans to grow with larger aircraft at Ronald Reagan Washington National once a new concourse opens in 3 years. The carrier will operate more flights from National on larger regional aircraft popular with travellers when the under construction 14-gate regional pier opens in 2021, said American president Robert Isom. "Today we have 14 gates that are restricted to 50-seat regional jets, when we get to the new regional terminal opening out into 2021, that will allow those 14 gates to handle up to 76 seaters," he said. Isom refers to the 14 remote aircraft parking positions served by buses from gate 35X, which itself is despised by travellers. While those positions are not actually "restricted" to the small planes and do handle larger regional aircraft, such operations are uncommon. <br/>