American Airlines and Royal Air Maroc submitted a codeshare application last week with the US govt as the Fort Worth-based airline looks to expand its reach in Africa. American Airlines Group currently has an interline agreement with Royal Air Maroc and is pursuing a codeshare agreement with the carrier ahead of it joining the oneworld alliance in Q1 of 2020, said an American spokesperson. "Our goal is to offer customers additional options to reach more destinations in Africa like Marrakech, Accra and Lagos," said the spokesperson. Deepening its ties with Royal Air Maroc will be key for American as the airline will begin seasonal service between Philadelphia International and Casablanca, Morocco, starting in May 2020. It will be the first time American serves the continent, the company said <br/>
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British Airways has been accused of emitting 18,000 tonnes of excess carbon dioxide each year in a practice used to help airlines save money, according to a BBC Panorama investigation. A BA insider revealed that the airline sometimes fills the tanks of its aircraft with tonnes of extra fuel to avoid filling up at destination airports with higher fuel prices. The practice, known as “fuel tankering”, saves money, but drives up CO2 emissions. The BBC Panorama investigation found that the savings made on a single flight could be as little as just over GBP10, ranging to up to hundreds of pounds. On one recent flight to Italy, a BA flight carried nearly 3 tonnes of extra fuel, a cost saving of GBP40 for an additional 600kg of CO2. <br/>
IAG has yet to clarify the mix of its future Boeing 737 Max fleet, as it continues discussions to firm up the tentative agreement for 200 of the type unveiled in June this year. The company has set out a requirement to replace 225 short-haul aircraft beginning with 10 in 2022, ramping up to peak with 46 in 2024 and then falling away to the end of the decade. IAG CFO Steve Gunning, said this modernisation profile amounted to a "worst-case scenario" because some 60 new aircraft over 2023-29 would be "early accelerated replacements". "We don't need to replace them at that point," he says, but there is a "lot of argument" to replace them early, for unit cost and environmental reasons. IAG has yet to determine the mix of 737 Max or Airbus A320neo-family jets in the replacement schedule. <br/>
IAG expects over half of the roll-out programme for British Airways' business-class reconfiguration to be completed within the next 2 years. But the company admits that it has been facing internal pressure to accelerate the deployment. IAG CFO Steve Gunning said the roll-out was an "enormous logistical exercise". "I don't think people quite get the gravity of it," he says, pointing out that over 7,000 seats are being fitted. Gunning says that even the board has queried whether the installations can be carried out more quickly. But he states that the supply chain from the seat manufacturer is the "critical path" and that the exercise is "quite a challenge". BA started introducing the new Club World seat on its Airbus A350s and Boeing 777-200ERs this year. <br/>