A proposed strike by British Airways pilots for Sept 27 has been called off by the pilots’ union, giving the airline a new set of problems. The strike was to be the third day of industrial action between the BALPA and the carrier over pay and conditions. BA has offered pilots an 11.5% pay increase over the next 3 years, which has been rejected by the flightdeck workforce. The 2 previous strike days, Sept 9 and 10, saw BA cancelling virtually all its 850 daily flights. BA had already begun the process of telling passengers their booked flights Sept. 27 will not go ahead. There is now likely to be confusion among passengers as to whether their flights will be reinstated. BALPA said it had called off the latest walkout after the two previous strike days “demonstrated the anger and resolve of pilots.” <br/>
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Passengers whose flights have been cancelled by the British Airways pilots’ strike, and who choose to take a refund, may not get all their money back if they booked via a travel agent. BA is involved in a bitter pay dispute with the Balpa, which represents the vast majority of its captains and first officers. Earlier this month 1,700 flights were cancelled and nearly 200,000 were passengers disrupted by a 2-day stoppage at the airline. European air passengers’ rights rules require “reimbursement within 7 days … of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought”. But one of the flaws in the way the regulations were drafted is that they do not provide certainty for passengers who book through travel agents. Travellers who have booked through a travel agent may incur an administration fee. <br/>
August saw the largest airline ticket price increase of 2019 as the industry continues to deal with fallout from the 737 Max grounding. Airline fares rose 1.6% in August compared to a year prior, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index for August. The correlation between the Max's grounding earlier this year with rising ticket prices over the summer is evident. The grounding left airlines with "very tight capacity in the peak months and therefore an ability to push prices slightly higher with other airlines following that pattern," said one airline analyst. In May, both American Airlines and Southwest Airlines participated in a rate fare increase of US$5 for one-way domestic travel, with Delta, United and Alaska soon after following suit. <br/>
American Airlines’ tough summer, disrupted by the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max and labour travails with its mechanics union, was undeniably difficult, but CFO Derek Kerr vows these issues will be resolved next year. “Our team did a tremendous job running an airline with these two impacts,” he said. But he acknowledged “nothing else matters if you don’t run a good operation,” Kerr said. These two issues are management’s focus next year, but it may not be enough. Analysts have grumbled that American has stumbled financially, as rivals United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have performed strongly. American’s share price fell by 18% this year, leading some on Wall Street openly to question how long American’s current management team will remain in place. <br/>
A mechanic accused of sabotaging an American Airlines jetliner had expressed a desire for Allah to hurt non-Muslims, stored violent Islamic State videos on his cell phone and has a brother in Iraq possibly involved with the extremist group, according to new evidence unveiled at his bail hearing Wednesday. A US magistrate judge cited those revelations from prosecutors in ordering pre-trial detention for Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani at the hearing in Miami federal court. Alani is accused of disabling a critical navigation component on a Boeing 737, which had 150 passengers and crew aboard. Alani is a naturalised US citizen from Iraq who has worked as an airline mechanic for 30 years, with no prior criminal record. He's not charged with a terror-related crime. <br/>
Qatar Airways Group has turned in a huge full-year operating loss, exceeding US$500m, exacerbated by a heavy share of losses at its Air Italy division. Group passenger revenues were up by 14% to QR34.1b and cargo revenues rose to just over QR10b for the year to March 31. But fuel costs, in particular, hit the carrier hard, surging by 36% to QR18.1b, the highest individual contribution to operating expenses of QR50b. This resulted in an operating loss of almost QR1.85b (US$508m), the company’s consolidated accounts show. The accounts show that Air Italy generated a QR542m loss for the financial year, of which the Qatar Airways Group share amounts to QR265.5m. Air Italy’s revenues for the period reached QR1.2b. <br/>