Qatar Airways has converted into a firm order what had been a letter of intent to purchase five Boeing 777 Freighters. The US White House announced the news in a statement saying the airline purchased the Boeing aircraft and committed to buy "large cabin" aircraft manufactured by business jet maker Gulfstream. The news came the day the White House hosted Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Though the White House provides few details about the Boeing deal, a source familiar with the events confirms Qatar today converted an existing letter of intent into a firm order for five 777Fs. Qatar announced last month during the Paris air show that it had signed the letter of intent.<br/>
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AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes has ruled out any involvement with Malaysia’s ailing national airline, which is at risk of being sold or shut down, saying the profitable budget airline he co-founded is focused on growing organically and speeding up its push to become a digital enterprise. Fernandes – group CEO of Southeast Asia’s largest budget carrier, which flew some 80 million passengers last year – was asked about Malaysia Airlines (MAS) as PM Mahathir Mohamad on Tuesday said he was considering four proposals to resuscitate the carrier. These were mostly from local companies, who offered to either buy a stake in the flag carrier or to manage it, Mahathir said. Said Fernandes: “I am not sure how many languages I have to say it in. I am on this big journey of transforming AirAsia. AirAsia is focused on AirAsia.” But the 55-year-old welcomed MAS’ recent move to expand its cooperation with Singapore Airlines (SIA), saying the expanded partnership would in turn improve AirAsia. “As long as the competition is fair competition then I have got to be better,” Fernandes explained. “Competition is what makes us better. I don’t want anyone or anything to be blocked from doing a decent business, saving jobs or creating jobs.” AirAsia has frequently been suggested as a credible option to revive MAS in a takeover deal, after a less-than-stellar reaction to the carrier’s plans to deepen ties with the national airline of its neighbour and arch-rival, Singapore.<br/>
American Airlines has apologised to a passenger and offered her a refund after she called out the airline for forcing her to cover up an outfit they deemed inappropriate. Tisha Rowe, a doctor from Houston, first tweeted about the incident on June 30, claiming she was "disgusted" and "humiliated" after being given the option to "cover up" or get off the flight. "My shorts covered EVERYTHING but apparently was too distracting to enter the plane," she tweeted. A photo of her outfit shows her wearing a strapless shirt and matching shorts. "When defending my outfit I was threatened with not getting back on the flight unless I walked down the aisle wrapped in a blanket." She added that her son was left in tears, hiding under the blanket she was asked to wear. "As a physician i know the negative impact of #racism on health and i am speaking up because i hope no one else has endure what i did because they don’t fit the mold," she said. "We are policed for being black. Our bodies are over sexualized as women and we must ADJUST to make everyone around us comfortable. I’ve seen white women with much shorter shorts board a plane without a blink of an eye." Since first tweeting about the incident, Rowe has retweeted dozens of supportive responses, agreeing with her that she did nothing wrong and sending well-wishes to her son. In a statement Tuesday, American Airlines said it was "concerned about Dr. Rowe’s comments" and had "reached out to her and our team at the Kingston airport to gather more information about what occurred... We apologise to Dr. Rowe and her son for their experience, and have fully refunded their travel. We are proud to serve customers of all backgrounds and are committed to providing a positive, safe travel experience for everyone who flies with us."<br/>
A Korean Air pilot allegedly attempted to drink cups of alcoholic drink during a flight in December. But the airline shrugged it off and disciplined a cabin crew chief who reprimanded the pilot and reported the case to the company, broadcaster CBS reported on Tuesday. The incident happened on Dec. 30 on an Amsterdam-bound Korean Air flight from Incheon, South Korea. According to CBS, the captain, while walking past a tray of welcoming drinks, tried to pick up a glass of champagne. As a cabin crew member blocked him, saying "you can't drink alcohol," the captain said, "Then you can give it (to me) in a paper cup" and then picked up a non-alcoholic drink. Hours later, in the middle of the flight, the captain asked the cabin crew to bring "a cup of wine." The crew member refused and reported the case to the cabin crew chief. The chief told crew members, including the co-pilot, on condition they would remain silent until landing. The decision was made out of concern that if the captain knew it might destabilize his mental state. But the co-pilot told the captain before landing, resulting in an on-board altercation between the cabin crew chief and the co-pilot. After landing in Amsterdam, the cabin crew chief formally complained and wrote about the incident on the company's anonymous online message board. Korean Air summoned the captain and the cabin crew chief. Then came a surprise ― the company closed the case with a verbal warning to the captain and demoting the cabin crew chief for being responsible for the in-flight conflict. Korean Air called the decision "fair." <br/>