American Airlines Group Inc said Wednesday it has agreed to buy an additional 23 737 MAX 8 aircraft from Boeing by exercising existing purchase options and deferring the delivery of some 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The airline's move to boost its 737 MAX fleet comes at a time when domestic travel in the United States is staging a recovery, despite the disruption caused by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. American Airlines said in a filing that it intends to convert seven more of its purchase options for the MAX this year, bringing its order of the 737 MAX 8 aircraft to 30. The company has deferred the delivery of Boeing's long-haul 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft that was scheduled to be handed over in January next year. Deliveries of aircraft will now begin in Q4 2023 and will continue into 2027, with four 787-9 aircraft now scheduled for delivery in 2023, American said. Delays in deliveries of the 787 jet has already forced the Texas-based carrier to scrap, reduce or defer the introduction of flights to several international routes. Boeing, which is already paying penalties to American Airlines for pushing back deliveries, said last week it had incurred $4.5b charges in Q4 on its 787 program that is suffering from production defects. The company said it will continue to work with American Airlines to support its fleet requirements.<br/>
oneworld
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte urged dialogue to defuse a crisis with Russia on Wednesday during a trip to Kyiv in which he also reaffirmed his resolve to secure justice for families of the victims of an airliner downed over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Rutte is the latest leader - following in the tracks of the British and Polish premiers - to visit Kyiv in a show of solidarity after Russia massed tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine's borders in a standoff that has alarmed the West. The Ukraine crisis is closely watched in the Netherlands, where Dutch prosecutors have sought the convictions of four men charged with murder over the shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The prosecutors say the defendants, who are all at large, helped supply a missile system that Russian-backed separatists battling Kyiv's forces used to fire a rocket at the plane. All 298 people on board - mostly Dutch nationals - were killed. "The Netherlands' priorities are establishing the truth (of what happened), achieving justice, and holding those responsible to account," Rutte told reporters, speaking alongside Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.<br/>
UK-based airline companies British Airways and Loganair have expanded their codeshare agreement to offer more choices for passengers travelling across the country. The agreement will add a further 18 routes and give British Airways customers access to 38 of Loganair’s UK routes. Loganair CEO Jonathan Hinkles said: “Today’s addition of no fewer than 18 routes is great news for connectivity to and from the UK regions, and we’re confident that the ability to enjoy Executive Club benefits and a new range of seamless flight connections when flying on selected Loganair routes will bring welcome new choice for British Airways’ customers when flying in the UK regions... The development cements what we believe to be the longest-running relationship between two UK airlines, and it’s a partnership which will continue to deliver for customers throughout the UK.” The deal will allow customers to book onward connections from destinations across Loganair’s route network or point-to-point travel across the country via British Airways’ website.<br/>
Japan Airlines on Wednesday maintained its previous forecast for a net loss of 146b yen ($1.27b) for the fiscal year ending in March despite a surge in omicron infections. The company is now expected to post a net loss for the second consecutive fiscal year, but the loss is narrower than 2020's 286b yen net loss. It also expects 766b yen in consolidated sales for the current fiscal year, up 59% from the previous year. JAL on Wednesday also declined to pay a shareholder dividend for the second fiscal year in a row due to uncertainty over the future of air travel. For the April to December period, revenue rose 39.8% from the previous year to 498b yen. The company's net loss narrowed to 128b yen for the nine months through December, from a loss of 212b yen for the same period the previous year. "The freight business and domestic passenger service contributed well [to earnings for the October to December period]," JAL Executive Officer Hideki Kikuyama told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday. With marine shipping containers in very short supply, JAL said its cargo business benefited, with demand rising especially from the auto and semiconductor sectors. For October to December, revenue from the cargo segment grew three and a half times compared with 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The domestic passenger business also lifted the company's bottom line after October, when Japan lifted the state of emergency. International passenger traffic, meanwhile, recovered steadily during Q3 on higher transit demand between Asia and North America. JAL also noted that Japanese nationals living abroad have started returning home and that domestic companies are beginning to send workers overseas again. To further bolster the bottom line, Japan's second-largest airline cut its fixed costs in Q3 to 346.7b yen, down 22.8b yen from same period the previous year. <br/>