American Airlines has delayed plans to begin scheduling Boeing 737 MAX training for its pilots in November, the Allied Pilots Association said Tuesday, as the grounded jet awaits regulatory approval to return to the skies. Boeing is seeking approval from the US FAA on a series of changes to the 737 MAX following two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that triggered the aircraft's global grounding. The FAA has also yet to determine new pilot training requirements for the jet. Last month, American said its training plans could be cancelled if the 737 MAX was not recertified. "We have not made any definitive plans regarding the 737 MAX as the return to service timeline remains fluid," an American Airlines spokeswoman said. "That’s why we recently adjusted the pilot training scheduling process and will continue to do so depending on when the MAX is recertified." She said American Airlines remains in contact with the FAA and Boeing on the recertification process, and continues to work in close collaboration with the pilots union. Attempting to start MAX training for pilots in November seemed "a bit premature," as we said recently, said Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines' pilots.<br/>
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Finnair has scaled back its flight schedule for the winter season, in response to weakened demand amid ongoing Covid-19-related travel restrictions. The carrier states that between 25 October 2020 and 31 March 2021 it will operate 75 flights a day, down from 350 in the same period of 2019. Finnair had announced in May that it intended to operate 70% of its normal capacity by the end of this year. “The pandemic situation and related travel restrictions continue to have a heavy impact on demand for air travel, and thus it is not feasible to operate all the flights we in May planned for this winter,” states Finnair CCO Ole Orver. The airline will serve 45 domestic/European destinations between October and March, with “reduced weekly frequencies on almost all routes”. Its long-haul network will focus on Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nanjing and Bangkok, which it notes are all “important cargo destinations”. On the Bangkok route, Finnair will only carry passengers on the inbound flight to Helsinki. It will continue to operate cargo-only flights to Singapore and New York.<br/>