Qatar Airways will not take any new planes ordered from Boeing or Airbus in 2020 or 2021, CE Akbar al-Baker said Wednesday, adding there would be a knock-on effect to future deliveries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Qatar Airways has ordered tens of billions of dollars of aircraft from the world's two biggest planemakers. But after a plunge in demand for air travel, it says it has no room for new aircraft and will instead shrink its fleet of around 200 jets. "Quite a lot of (deliveries) will be deferred. We have already notified both Boeing and Airbus that we will not be taking any aeroplanes this year or next year," al-Baker said. "All the other aircraft that we have on order that were supposed to be delivered to us within the next two or three years, will now be pushed back to as long as nearly eight to 10 years." Al-Baker repeated a warning to the planemakers that a refusal to comply with the airline's request could jeopardise future business between them. "If they don't oblige to our requirements, (then) we will have to review our long term business relationships with them," he said, adding the airline no longer needed the 30 firm orders for Boeing's 737 MAX it had placed. We have already informed Boeing that we will have to replace them with some other type of aeroplanes ... we will not require anymore of the 737 MAXs."<br/>
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Australia's tourism minister says the country's borders might not open until 2021 - but New Zealand may still get a look in earlier. On Wednesday, Senator Simon Birmingham said "in terms of open tourist-related travel in or out of Australia, that remains quite some distance off". Asked whether that was more likely to resume next year, he said " I think that is more likely the case". Birmingham said opening up a less restrictive arrangement with other countries would happen "very slowly and very carefully". On Thursday, Qantas said it had cancelled most of its international flights until late October, except for services to New Zealand. Qantas signalled flights could resume if travel between Australia and other countries opened up. "With Australia's borders set to remain closed for some time, we have cancelled most international flights until late October," a Qantas spokesperson said Thursday."<br/>
Tension over wearing face masks led to a passenger's removal from an American Airlines flight Wednesday as airlines enforce stricter safety measures. Passenger Brandon Straka was asked to get off a flight from New York to Dallas after he refused to wear a face covering as required by American Airlines policy, the airline confirmed. This is the first known incident of this type since the airlines announced plans to more strictly enforce mask wearing. Wearing face coverings on planes is not mandated by law, but airlines have instituted their own mask requirements for crew and passengers. This week, several major US carriers, including American Airlines, pledged that they will take a harder line on enforcing their policies. American Airlines confirmed the incident aboard Flight 1263 from New York's LaGuardia to Dallas/Fort Worth, saying that Straka declined to wear a face covering. "After he refused to comply with the instructions provided by the flight crew, our team members asked him to deplane. He deplaned and the flight departed the gate four minutes late at 12:34 p.m. ET," the airline said. Straka was rebooked on a later flight after he agreed to comply with company policies, the airline said, and American is reaching out to him for more information on the incident. <br/>
BA has revealed a much reduced inflight catering service, which includes pre-packed meals – but no alcohol in short-haul economy. The airline is preparing to step up operations after grounding almost all services as the coronavirus pandemic took hold. BA says: “We’ve introduced an enhanced temporary catering proposition. Our new food service requires less interaction with our cabin crew, greatly reducing physical contact. You’ll be offered a new food service which will reduce physical contact with our crew, you’ll be able to choose between a vegetarian or non-vegetarian option. If you have special dietary requirements or allergies, please bring your own food and snacks.” On domestic and short-haul economy flights, passengers will get a bottle of water and “refreshment”. Passengers in the airline’s short-haul business class, Club Europe, get “a light snack (breakfast or all-day option)” and alcohol served either as miniatures or quarter-bottles of wine. Long-haul passengers in economy, World Traveller Plus and Club World, will also be offered alcohol, as well as “a meal service (breakfast or all-day option)”.<br/>