American Airlines said it's adding 400 jobs at its Tulsa maintenance facility, marking what an airline official calls the largest workforce addition to that base in over a decade. About 330 of the new positions will be filled by mechanics who have the potential to earn 6 figures as they accrue seniority, airline officials said Thursday. The remaining positions will be offered at a lower salary. The new mechanics will focus their time on aircraft overhaul, landing gear overhaul for some Boeing aircraft, especially the 787 Dreamliner fleet. They will also work on CFM56 engine maintenance and Airbus A321 interior modifications. Recruiting will primarily target mechanics who are licensed through the FSS, the airline said. Hiring will continue over the next 4 months. <br/>
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American Airlines has started using facial recognition technology on passengers at boarding gates, part of a growing industry trend that airlines and airports say will make travelling faster and more secure. American is using the technology at Dallas/Fort Worth International, where passengers can get their face scanned instead of using their boarding pass to board the plane. Passengers, however, still need both their boarding pass and an ID, like their passport, to get through airport security. For now it is only being used in Terminal D of the airport, which is used for international flights, but American said that it plans to expand the technology to 75 different international boarding gates across its terminals. <br/>
As rival airlines push up the price of Mediterranean flights above GBP800 for a 2-hour trip, British Airways is continuing to flout its obligations to find alternative suitable departures for passengers whose flights are cancelled by the pilots’ strike. BA flight crew members of Balpa are set to walk out Sept 9, 10 and 27. Hundreds of flights between Sept 8 and 12 have been grounded as a result of the strike. If BA cannot provide an alternative departure on the same day, disrupted passengers are entitled to be booked on the closest available alternative flight. A BA spokesperson said: “We appreciate the frustration and inconvenience that this strike action has caused our customers and our teams are working tirelessly to help them.” <br/>
Cathay Pacific is “duty-bound” to comply with regulations from the countries it operates from, including having to submit the names of personnel for China-bound flights. Cathay’s director of public affairs James Tong says: “Full compliance with all regulations is a pre-requisite for the airline’s continued operations, and we are obliged to adhere to them.” The CAAC has banned any Cathay staff linked to anti-govt protests from operating flights into the mainland and over its airspace. It has also asked Cathay to submit lists of staff on China-bound flights, or risk being barred from operating to China. On this, Tong reiterates that Cathay has to “adhere to all of our regulatory duties, including those prescribed by the authorities in mainland China. The “airline must do this; there is no ground for compromise,” he adds. <br/>