American Airlines said Monday it is starting to schedule Boeing 737 MAX training for its pilots in November, a sign that it believes a return to service of the grounded jet could be near. A spokesman said, however, that the training plans were not definitive. "We have initiated the pilot training scheduling process, which can be canceled if the MAX is not recertified," he said, adding that the company remains in contact with the FAA and Boeing. Boeing is awaiting FAA approval on proposed changes to the 737 MAX aircraft and pilot training following two crashes that together killed 346 people and caused a worldwide grounding that has lasted for 18 months. The training proposals are being reviewed by civil aviation authorities and airline flight crews from the US, Canada, Brazil and the EU. Though no final training program has been approved, American told its pilots to plan for sessions that will begin in November. "With the planned return to service for our B737 MAX aircraft in the near future, we will begin conducting B737 MAX Special Training for our B737 pilots," Ameya Kingaonkar, director of flight training planning and scheduling, said in a memo on Monday. The training will consist of a distance learning training module that will last around 1 hour 40 minutes, as well as a simulator session entailing a 1-hour brief and a 2-hour simulator event, the memo said.<br/>
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A New Hampshire woman was not allowed to stay on an American Airlines flight with her 2-year-old son because he would not wear a mask, stoking a discussion about how to balance compassion with rules designed to keep others safe. In an Instagram post, Rachel Starr Davis of Portsmouth said while she was boarding a plane in Charlotte, North Carolina, a flight attendant told her the airline's policy is that all passengers over the age of 2 must wear a covering over their nose and mouth, the Portsmouth Herald reported. Davis was flying with her mother and son to Manchester, New Hampshire, on Thursday, when her son refused to put on a mask, she wrote. In her post, she said she “did everything I could while he was screaming and crying as I tried to hold him and put the mask on,” but eventually, the flight's crew asked all of the passengers to get off the plane. She also got off the plane and was then left behind as the other passengers got back on and departed. Davis's post garnered over 180,000 likes and thousands of comments as some users on Instagram argued that the flight attendants were doing their jobs while others decried a lack of compassion for a mother traveling with a young child. “Policies are enforced and approved face coverings are made available at key points throughout the customer journey,” American Airlines spokeswoman Gianna Urgo told the newspaper. “We’ve reached out to the family to learn more about their recent travel experience and to address their concerns.”<br/>
Restrictions on transatlantic travel will cost the UK economy GBP21,000 per minute, aviation industry leaders have warned. A study by York Aviation conducted for Heathrow Airport, British Airways’ parent company IAG and the industry body Airlines UK concluded the annual cost of government-imposed flight bans and quarantine will be GBP11b. A presidential proclamation has prevented most foreigners from entering the US if they have been in the UK during the previous 14 days. Anyone arriving in Britain from the US must self-isolate for 14 day. Around one in seven of the usual flights are operating between the UK and US – and 80 weekly transatlantic flights from six regional airports are currently grounded. John Holland-Kaye, CE of Heathrow, said: “This is a stark warning that action is needed immediately to safely open up connections with our key trading partners in the US. We can start with flights to New York, a city where infection rates are now lower than here, and which is the UK’s most valuable route. PCR testing in private labs, both pre-flight and on arrival, would ensure that there is no risk of importing Covid.” Heathrow has a dedicated Covid-19 testing centre ready for use, but it’s awaiting government approval to start work. Alex Cruz, CE of BA, said: “Government inaction on aviation and its impact on Britain’s economy couldn’t be clearer. Time is running out. Ministers must reach agreement with their US counterparts on a testing regime that minimises quarantine and permits regional travel corridors to re-open the UK-US market.”<br/>