American airlines reported a US$1.1b operating profit for Q2, a period marked by operational disruption, ongoing litigation with mechanics and a capacity shortfall caused by the Boeing 737 Max grounding. CE Doug Parker attributed the strong performance to “revenue driven improvement”. Revenue was up 2.7% year-over-year to $12b – a Q2 record for the carrier – despite the grounding of its 737 Max fleet, weather-related issues and legal action taken against its mechanics union. The carrier has revised its capacity growth to 1.5% for the full-year primarily due to the 737 Max being out of service. That growth rate is about half the rate at which American had hoped to grow prior to the grounding, resulting in upward pressure against unit cost, the airline says. <br/>
oneworld
American's 5-year reign as the world's largest airline may be coming to an end. By 2 major measures, American Airlines fell behind either Delta Air Lines or United Airlines in the rankings of the world's biggest air carriers during Q2. Delta brought in about US$530m more in revenue than American did between April and June. And measuring available seat miles, American is second behind United. It's the first time American hasn't ranked first in at least one of those categories since its merger with US Airways. American is still the largest carrier by several measures, including employees, fleet size, daily flights and destinations served, but the gap has been closing. American will likely regain some ground once the 737 Max groundings end. But either way, both Delta and United are a lot closer than they once were. <br/>
New York City's worker protection department said Thursday that American Airlines is violating the city's sick leave law by retaliating against workers who use sick days or not letting them use the sick leave they've accrued. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection announced it had sued the airline with the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. Commissioner Lorelei Salas said that "American Airlines is not above the law. Workers in major transportation hubs...should not have to choose between going into work sick or getting in trouble for exercising their right to take a sick day." The violations include filing disciplinary points against ground crew workers for each sick day used, not allowing employees to use the sick leave they had earned, and requiring medical documentation before it was necessary. <br/>
British Airways said Thursday it would resume flights to Cairo following a week’s suspension, having reviewed its security measures. BA flights to and from the Egyptian capital will start again Friday, it said. The carrier suspended flights last Saturday as a precautionary measure. “Following a thorough assessment of the security arrangements, we are pleased that our service to and from Cairo will resume from Friday,” BA said. Lufthansa also said it was suspending flights to Cairo from Munich and Frankfurt just for last Saturday. The airlines gave little explanation as to what triggered the moves. An estimated 415,000 British nationals visited Egypt in 2018. In its travel advice for British nationals heading to Egypt, the Foreign Office warns: “There’s a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation. <br/>