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Cathay Pacific replaced its CE Friday after Beijing moved to pull Hong Kong businesses into line over anti-government protests that have plunged the territory into its worst political crisis in decades. The decision to replace chief executive Rupert Hogg followed an accusation from Beijing’s aviation regulator that Cathay was putting flight safety at risk after several of the airline’s employees allegedly participated in the protest movement. In an unprecedented development for a Hong Kong private sector company, the management change was first revealed by mainland Chinese state-run media rather than Cathay. “Recent events have called into question Cathay Pacific’s commitment to flight safety and security and put our reputation and brand under pressure,” John Slosar, the company’s chairman, said in a statement. “We therefore think it is time to put a new management team in place who can reset confidence and lead the airline to new heights.” Hong Kong’s flag carrier has become the most high-profile business in the international financial hub to be caught between Beijing and customers in mainland China, and its Hong Kong staff and protesters in the territory. The anti-government protests started as opposition to a proposed extradition law but have since expanded to include democratic reforms. This has drawn the ire of Beijing, which has massed paramilitary police on the border, sparking fears of military intervention. According to a stock exchange filing from Cathay, Hogg “confirmed that he has resigned to take responsibility as a leader of the company in view of recent events and that he is not aware of any disagreement with the board”. “This is my first time seeing something like this happen . . . over my career here in Hong Kong covering stocks,” said Ivan Su, an analyst at Morningstar. “We are talking about a Hong Kong company, not a Chinese company. This happens with Chinese companies.” The replacement of Mr Hogg represents a U-turn for Cathay, whose chairman, John Slosar, last week defended his employees' freedoms even as calls for a boycott of the airline circulated on Chinese social media.<br/>

Julio Gomez has flown the MD-80 for his entire 20-year career at American Airlines. But he can’t bring himself to make that final trip into the New Mexico desert. “I just cannot take that airplane to its grave,” Gomez, 52, said of the iconic jets’ retirement flights on Wednesday. “It’s just too heartbreaking.” Instead, the veteran pilot made his closing flight late Tuesday. The retirements mark the end of an era at American for the workhorse known as the Super 80, whose old-school design and noisy rear engines spawned love-hate relationships over the four decades it flew. The plane once provided the backbone of American, powering the carrier’s expansion through the end of last century on bread-and-butter routes such as Chicago to New York or Dallas to St. Louis. The jet “basically was American Airlines,” Gomez said. At its 2002 peak, 362 of the MD-80 aircraft made up 44% of the carrier’s fleet. “If American kept the Super 80 until I’m 65, I’d be flying it,” Gomez said. The single-aisle jet could be challenging to fly, but it sharpened pilots’ skills and earned the loyalty of aviators like Gomez, who relished having more control over every aspect of the plane. Airlines now have moved on to models with better fuel efficiency, additional seats and the latest technology, including a more computerized cockpit. The routes dominated by the MD-80s have been taken over by newer versions of jet families. So on Wednesday, after 36 years, American operated the last commercial trip of the MD-80, flying from Dallas to Chicago. <br/>

A black man reportedly is suing American Airlines for discrimination after he was removed from first class over his allergy to a fellow passenger’s support dog. American Airlines confirmed Tuesday that passenger Dana Holcomb was removed from a connecting flight from Phoenix to Austin, Texas, on April 14 after the crew made "all attempts to accommodate Mr. Holcomb." Holcomb's attorney disagreed. "Dana was taken off an airplane so a dog could fly first-class cabin," Reginald McKamie Sr. said Tuesday. "What American Airlines is doing is discrimination," McKamie added. "They have repeatedly humiliated African American citizens by throwing them off the plane, leaving them with no way home, leaving them with no hotels, just throwing them off the plane." American Airlines spokesperson LaKesha Brown said: "In the case of an allergy, we work to re-seat a passenger further away from the service or support animal. The crew offered to move the customer with the support animal to another seat in the first class cabin so Mr. Holcomb could remain in his seat. Mr. Holcomb wasn’t satisfied with that solution, so he was given the option of a seat further away from the service animal in the main cabin with a refund in the difference in fare, which he also declined," the airline said. <br/>