American Airlines has expanded its pre-flight coronavirus testing programme, hoping to inspire customers’ confidence to return to air travel. The carrier says Monday that it is giving guests to vacation destinations such as Belize, Grenada, St. Lucia and Hawaii the opportunity to test ahead of time. It will partner with the at-home testing provider LetsGetChecked to offer travellers the tests from 16 November. “Our initial preflight testing has performed remarkably well, including terrific customer feedback about the ease and availability of testing options,” Robert Isom, the carrier’s president says. The next phase will be targeted at “reopening international travel and driving industry recovery while delivering a safe and positive travel experience.” American introduced the testing on selected flights from its Dallas/Fort Worth hub to Hawaii, which relaxed isolation restrictions earlier this month. Now the programme will be extended to other departure airports for flights headed to the islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. <br/>
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Malaysia Airlines' previous attempt turn itself around collided with low-cost local rival AirAsia Group's rise. Now, both companies have run into the same turbulence. Malaysia Airlines, which has yet to recover from two 2014 tragedies that made global headlines, faces a growing risk of being forced to halt flights unless it secures aid. But the state has frowned on the idea of another bailout. A group of creditors recently rejected a proposal by MAS to restructure its 16b ringgit ($3.85b) in liabilities. This comes after the company made deep pay cuts for management and pilots, as well putting staff on unpaid furloughs to reduce costs as the coronavirus pandemic paralyzed global air travel. This disruption has also clouded the prospects for leaner AirAsia Group, which together with the flag carrier holds a majority market share in the country. "Our partners and creditors will have to sacrifice for the better of the future," Izham Ismail, group CEO of Malaysia Airlines, told The Edge Malaysia newspaper in mid-October. "If they don't want to help themselves to survive, I have no choice but shut it down." Malaysia Airlines revealed that it entered into debt restructuring negotiations with creditors in early October. The airline called on leasing companies and suppliers to cooperate with the turnaround effort. If the creditors had agreed, the restructuring would have been completed within the next few months, according to Malaysia Airlines' plan. The government has expressed its unwillingness to embark on another public-sector bailout of the national carrier, which is fully owned by the sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional. A proposal has been floated to liquidate the airline and transfer a portion of the assets and staff to Firefly, the group's low-cost carrier. Story has more details.<br/>
Cathay Pacific cabin crew will cast a key vote on Tuesday at an emergency general meeting on whether to give the Flight Attendants Union the power to take legal action against the airline. The carrier’s largest unionised workforce is continuing with its push to revise and reverse the impact of new contracts, which include permanent pay cuts and termination of cabin crew who do not sign up. The union did not elaborate on the details of any potential legal action. In a small step forward for the union, the airline said on Monday it had offered fresh incentives to encourage remaining holdouts to sign up for the new, cheaper contracts. “It is our sincere desire that all of our cabin crew members will sign across to the new contract and join us in being part of Cathay Pacific’s future,” a company spokeswoman said. Almost two weeks ago, the company announced the biggest mass lay-off to hit Hong Kong in three decades, axing 5,900 jobs, mostly affecting local staff, and closing its Cathay Dragon brand in a drastic effort to survive the coronavirus pandemic. Locally, 4,000 cabin crew, 600 pilots and 700 ground staff and office workers were made redundant. The airline has sought to cut the cost of its more than 2,000 Hong Kong-based pilots and 8,000 remaining cabin crew with cheaper contracts that could mean pay cuts of 20 to 40 per cent for flight attendants and 40 to 60 per cent for aircrew. Cathay set a November 4 deadline for both employee groups, but sought to encourage earlier sign-ups among flight attendants by dangling a one-off payment for those who took the deal by last Wednesday. <br/>
The Sydney Swans are seeking answers from their corporate partner, Qatar Airways, after female passengers were subjected to intimate medical examinations at Doha airport. The AFL club, who have held a sponsorship deal with the airline since 2016, said they were “deeply concerned” by reports last week that women, including a number of Australians, were strip-searched in early October after a newborn baby was found in the terminal. The incidents – which involved women on 10 flights, including 18 on planes bound for Sydney – caused international outrage and prompted the Qatari government to refer those responsible to the public prosecution office. “We were deeply concerned by the media reports last week involving the treatment of female passengers at Hamad International Airport in Doha,” a Swans spokesperson said. “The club has sought more information on the situation and that dialogue is continuing between our two organisations.” The Swans and the state-owned airline renewed the partnership when an original three-year deal expired last year. At the time, the Swans came under pressure from the club’s strong LGBTQ+ community to walk away from signing a new agreement. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and the deal was labelled as “hypocrisy” by the ABC commentator Corbin Middlemas, who came out as gay in 2018. As part of the ongoing deal with Sydney, Qatar Airways receives prominent branding at Swans home games and their training ground, while players are involved in marketing and promotional activities. The Swans’ official supporters group said it was taking the airport incidents “very seriously” and also confirmed it was seeking answers from the airline.<br/>
Two women were kicked off an American Airlines flight after one of them attempted to hide in the footwell of her friend’s business class seat. The plan was for the friend to remain there for the entire journey, as the pair allegedly thought the stunt would “drive viewers to their YouTube channel”. A fellow passenger on flight 772 from Dallas Fort Worth to Miami on 30 October wrote about the incident on the Flyertalk forum. “I saw the friend crawl under the J seat (more exactly the television console) but began to watch a movie,” said user MiamiAirport Formerly NY George. “Well apparently the plan was for this woman's friend to remain there the entire flight as it's something they thought would drive viewers to their YouTube Channel.” The woman was reportedly discovered before take-off after a flight attendant noticed one seat was empty, despite the fact the plane manifest was full. An announcement was made requesting that the missing passenger identify herself, with travellers informed that the aircraft couldn’t take off until she was located. According to user MiamiAirport Formerly NY George, the woman tried to “sneak back” to her seat, but was “busted” by the flight attendants. The plane returned to the gate due to “security issues”, and the business class passenger allegedly began “screaming that she's being disrespected, did nothing wrong, she paid good money for her ticket and that she has a child at home waiting for her. By then she's also taken off her mask.” Story has more details.<br/>