American Airlines on Friday raised its forecast of second-quarter revenue, joining a growing list of airlines expecting demand this summer to top previous forecasts as the travel industry recovers from the pandemic. American predicted that revenue will rise 11% to 13% above the second quarter of 2019. That easily beat the airline’s earlier forecast of a 6% to 8% increase over 2019. Still, shares of Fort Worth, Texas-based American fell more than 8% in midday trading amid a drop in broad market indexes. Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and others have raised revenue forecasts recently, as the number of people flying in the United States creeps closer to pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, airlines are offering fewer flights than they did in 2019, which is helping them push average fares much higher. American said revenue per seat will jump by up to 22% compared with 2019, easily beating an earlier forecast of up 14% to 16%. “That revenue is offsetting some real cost pressures out there,” CEO Robert Isom said at an investor conference. Airfares are up nearly 50% from this time last year, according to figures from banking firm Cowen. The airline said costs excluding jet fuel will rise by up to 11% per seat, which is a slower increase than Delta. American expects to pay nearly $4 a gallon for fuel, nearly double the price it paid three years ago.<br/>
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American Airlines and Qatar Airways are expanding their strategic alliance with a new codeshare agreement, enabling American’s customers to book travel on Qatar Airways flights via Doha to and from 16 new countries. Pending any necessary government codeshare approvals, travelers will be able to book travel beyond Qatar to their final destinations in Ethiopia, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This expanded codeshare comes as American launches new service on June 4 from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Doha’s Hamad International Airport (DOH), recently voted World’s Best Airport. The new service establishes American as the only US carrier to serve the Gulf region. “Our global partnerships expand upon American’s comprehensive network, providing access to numerous destinations for our customers who are ready to travel around the world,” said American’s CEO Robert Isom. “We’re excited to deepen our strategic alliance with Qatar Airways alongside the launch of our new service between New York and Doha, giving American’s customers more choices and convenient access to the Middle East and beyond.”<br/>
Iberia is leading the recovery at International Airlines Group (IAG). The carrier continues to outperform its group peers in terms of the financial recovery, but CEO Javier Sánchez-Prieto does not see that as a signal to rest on his laurels as the industry emerges from the Covid-19. “It’s a turning point for us post-pandemic. It’s time to invest, it’s time to take some risk,” he said in Washington, D.C., on June 2. Sánchez-Prieto arrived the day before on Iberia’s inaugural flight to Washington Dulles, a destination that the airline had planned to launch in May 2020 but was forced to postpone due to the pandemic. A big part of that investment is expanding Iberia’s map. In addition to Washington, the airline is adding flights to Dallas-Fort Worth, Heraklion, Greece, and Nador, Morocco, this year, according to Cirium schedules. The new US routes benefit from Iberia’s joint venture with American Airlines. US capacity will be up 14 percent compared to 2019 this year. But the long-term focus for Iberia remains transforming Madrid into a “360-degree” hub — or one with connections in all directions, and not just between Europe and the Americas — Sánchez-Prieto said.<br/>
Malaysia Aviation Group will expand the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for its subsidiary groups between six months to one year, said MAG chief sustainability officer Philip See. He said there are several ongoing discussions at this moment to ensure that all the organisations are ready for what is a part of the company's commitment to achieve socio-economic development as well as reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. "We are still in discussion but the answer is yes. We plan to roll out our passenger and cargo flights (using SAF). "We ran a scenario test today to make sure our subsidiaries are ready for it,” he said in a press conference after launching its first passenger flight using SAF between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in conjunction with World Environment Day at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here. Powered by SAF, Malaysia Airlines flight MH603 successfully took off at noon.<br/>