BA has invited two unnamed companies to do biometric self-boarding gate trials at New York JFK, building on existing pilot projects at Los Angeles LAX and Orlando. BA went live with a biometric boarding trial at LAX in December, as part of a wider project between SITA, technology providers VisionBox and US Customs and Border Protection. Other airlines are also involved in the LAX project. A second trial—this time with just SITA and CBP—went live in Orlando in January, covering all of BA’s departing flights from the US airport. Passengers do not need to show their passports or boarding cards to board, as the biometric gates use facial recognition. They are fully automated; airline staff simply oversee the system.<br/>
oneworld
A fuel surcharge of between US$19 and US$83 will be levied on Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon flights leaving Hong Kong from November 2, with this amount to be adjusted each month. The carrier is the first Hong Kong-based airline to announce its fuel surcharge rates, after the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) last week lifted a two-and-a-half-year ban on carriers adding an extra fee to tickets to recoup the rising cost of jet fuel. Hong Kong Airlines, one of two other airlines headquartered in the city, said it would consider several factors, including “market conditions and fuel price fluctuations” before deciding on levying a fuel surcharge.<br/>
BA’s axed Hong Kong crew are demanding the airline give them three more weeks to consider whether to accept the compensation offered. The traumatised employees are hoping to use the extra time to talk management out of closing the city base, while also bargaining for a better deal. BA dropped a bombshell on Wednesday, announcing that it was axing its entire Hong Kong-based crew ahead of the closure of its base in the city next month. Unionists said 57 of the 85 Hong Kong-based flight attendants were laid off immediately, with another 24 to finish at the end of next month when their contracts expire. The airline asked the cabin crew to sign an agreement by Saturday stating they would accept an ex gratia payment, the amount of which has not been revealed. None of the union’s 54 members have signed the agreement.<br/>