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Scott Laurence, JetBlue Airways’ former head of revenue and planning who left the carrier earlier this year to work at Delta Air Lines, only to resign after a month, will join American Airlines “in the coming days”. A spokesperson for Fort Worth-based American says on 2 March that Laurence will be responsible for partnerships, domestic alliances, distribution and co-branding relationships. He will report to chief commercial officer Vasu Raja. Laurence will also be responsible for American’s so-called “Northeast Alliance” (NEA) with JetBlue, which he helped mastermind while working at the New York-based carrier. On 10 January, Delta had said it had poached Laurence from JetBlue, where he had spent the last 14 of his 20-year aviation career. There, he had been head of revenue and planning and played a key role in launching the NEA with American.<br/>

British Airways owner IAG is examining all options to cope with a volatile business environment, but does not need a rights issue for now because it can see bookings recover, its boss said. CE Luis Gallego said the airline group was recovering from the turmoil of the pandemic but that in an uncertain environment it would be negligent not to look at different scenarios and how best to address them. "We don't have a plan right now to do a rights issue because in the current circumstances that we have, we see the recovery of the business, we see the high level of bookings," he said. Gallego replaced Willie Walsh in September 2020 to run one of the biggest airline groups in the world, seeking to steer a company that also owns Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling through the biggest crisis in modern aviation. Since the pandemic hit, IAG has had to scrap thousands of jobs, raise billions of euros and navigate frequently changing COVID restrictions, before the outbreak of war in Ukraine shut vast swathes of airspace and pushed the price of oil higher. He said in an unpredictable environment IAG was analysing scenarios for the business - "and always we have in mind that what we want is to maximise shareholders' value." Asked if the group, with E11.7b of net debt, would consider asset sales or partnerships with other airlines, Gallego said: "We would be negligent if we don't analyse all of these scenarios because the world is very uncertain now and we need to analyse all of them." Bernstein analysts said on Monday IAG did not need an equity fundraising because it had enough liquidity, but that it could pursue one to gain flexibility, though not at a steep discount.<br/>

British Airways owner IAG has experienced surface degradation on Airbus A350 jets but not to the same extent as Qatar Airways and it will not affect planned deliveries, its CEO said. Qatar and Airbus have been at loggerheads for months, with both sides turning to the courts to settle a very public dispute after Qatar grounded 22 A350 jets over erosion to their painted surface and lightning protection. Airbus says the issues are no reason to ground the planes. IAG CE Luis Gallego told Reuters that operators were having some surface degradation issues but that Europe's safety aviation regulator (EASA) had said they did not impact the airworthiness of IAG's aircraft. "We can see the problem in daily checks but mainly when you stop the aircraft for the first C-check," he said in an interview, adding that "we have very young aircraft, so the level of defects that we see maybe is not comparable to others". A C-check is a lengthy inspection carried out after a certain amount of time or usage, generally around three years. "We have informed in our case EASA, and EASA told us that the level of degradation that we are experiencing doesn't impact the airworthiness of the aircraft," he said, outlining for the first time the defects seen by the group. "We have a young fleet of 350s and usually you can see the defect when you have the opportunity to stop the aircraft for a check," he added. EASA has said it has not identified any airworthiness problems with the A350 in general. Qatar Airways says it needs more analysis. Gallego said that IAG was still accepting A350s and if the situation continues as it is, the company will continue to accept the aircraft.<br/>

Finnair will resume four weekly flights to Japanese capital Tokyo despite having to avoid Russian airspace, the company said on Wednesday. Finnair cancelled most of its Asian flights for a week on Sunday in anticipation of Russia’s decision to close its airspace to European airlines in response to a similar European Union measure against Russia. “Japan is one of our most important markets and we want to continue offering safe and reliable connections between Helsinki and Tokyo,” Finnair’s Chief Commercial Officer Ole Orver said, adding that Japan is also an important cargo market. Flights from Europe to Asia over Russia have long been a key route for Finnair. “We continue to evaluate possible alternative routes for our flights to China and South Korea and will communicate on these as soon as the plans are finalised,” Orver said.<br/>

Qantas CE Alan Joyce is being urged to amend the company's uniform policies, with a push to ditch rules that require female staff to wear makeup, high heels and hosiery. The Australian Services Union posted a letter on Facebook addressed to Mr Joyce, asking the CEO to take the lead on the issue by making "sensible and low-cost changes for a more inclusive workplace". "Qantas promotes itself as a leader on matters important to women dn LGBTQI+ Australians," wrote ASU assistant national secretary Emeline Gaske. "Qantas is a major partner of Sydney Mardi Gras, and you personally have a role as a 'champion of change'. We think it's time the uniform requirements Qantas has of its employees reflect these commitments," she wrote, noting the timeliness of the issue in the lead-up to the Sydney Mardi Gras and International Women's Day. Among the proposed changes is a request to remove gender-based uniform requirements, overturn a beard ban, and to allow Qantas badges to display preferred pronouns. "Remove the requirement for women to wear makeup," Gaske wrote, adding that employees should only have to wear makeup "if they wish". "Allow women to wear low heel shoes, including loafers, with all uniform items, not just trousers," she wrote. Further to this, Joyce has been asked to "consider whether heels and hosiery are still necessary at all".<br/>