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American Airlines pilots and its pilots’ union agreed to triple pay for aviators who were able to drop thousands of July flights because of a scheduling program glitch over the weekend, they said Wednesday.<br/>Pilots will also get double pay for peak holiday periods. The scheduling platform error let pilots drop some 12,000 flights from their schedules, according to the union, the Allied Pilots Association, CNBC reported last week. The issue sprung up while American and other airlines have been scrambling to avoid flight disruptions during a surge in summer travel demand. “We’re pleased to have reached an agreement with the APA and appreciate their partnership in coming to a resolution quickly to take care of our pilots, our team and our customers,” American said. A similar issue occurred in 2017, when a technology problem let American’s pilots take vacation during the busy December holiday period. The carrier offered pilots 150% pay for pilots who picked up assignments. American and the pilots union are in contract negotiations. APA’s president, Capt. Ed Sicher told the union’s roughly 15,000 pilots: “I am optimistic it will provide a springboard for us to wrap up our Section 6 negotiations and secure the new collective bargaining agreement that we have been waiting far too long to achieve.” American recently offered pilots raises of nearly 17% through 2024.<br/>

Hundreds of thousands of British Airways passengers are set to see their travel plans upended again after the airline announced it would cancel more than 10,000 flights until the end of October. At the same time there have been more votes by rail unions to strike at operators including LNER, potentially adding to summer transport disruption. BA said its move was designed to “protect holiday flights” after the chaos witnessed over the Easter and half-term breaks due to a lack of staff at airlines and airports. It will scrap an average of about 100 flights a day as it continues to struggle to deliver its schedule amid labour shortages and threatened strikes at its main Heathrow hub. BA said all of the affected flights in the latest round of cancellations would be short-haul, where there are more multiple daily departures on major city routes. It follows a similar number of pre-emptive cancellations made in early May for the entire summer season, and comes on top of a relatively small number – about 650 – axed from the July schedules last week. The airline said the whole aviation industry “continues to face significant challenges, and we’re completely focused on building resilience into our operation to give customers the certainty they deserve.” The latest trimming of the schedules, which has taken out almost one in seven of BA flights originally on sale, has been enabled by the government’s “slot amnesty”, announced last month. That has allowed BA and others to reduce their operations this year without forfeiting the right to valuable landing slots at Heathrow and other busy airports, which normally have a “use it or lose it” rule.<br/>

British Airways is nearing a deal with one of the unions representing check-in employees, according to a person familiar with the matter, potentially avoiding further disruption after having to scrap thousands of flights due to a staff crunch. Talks with the Unite union have progressed and an agreement is close, said the person, who asked not to be identified since the terms are still being finalized. The union previously said check-in staff represented by Unite at the main London Heathrow hub would walk out during the peak vacation period after the airline refused to reverse a 10% pay cut imposed during the pandemic. BA is nearing a deal with one of the unions representing check-in employees, according to a person familiar with the matter, potentially avoiding further disruption after having to scrap thousands of flights due to a staff crunch. Talks with the Unite union have progressed and an agreement is close, said the person, who asked not to be identified since the terms are still being finalized. The union previously said check-in staff represented by Unite at the main London Heathrow hub would walk out during the peak vacation period after the airline refused to reverse a 10% pay cut imposed during the pandemic. <br/>

British Airways is hiring Dutch rival KLM’s chief operating officer as it seeks to stabilize services after canceling hundreds of flights due to staffing shortages. Rene De Groot will leave KLM effective July 15, the unit of Air France-KLM said in a statement Wednesday, adding that it has begun the search for a successor. He’ll join BA in October, replacing current COO Jason Mahoney. British Airways, part of IAG, is scrapping a further 800 scheduled services to help avoid last-minute cancellations, taking the total close to 9,000. That’s after the UK government waived rules requiring the use of most airport operating slots and told carriers to scrap flights where necessary. De Groot’s KLM exit comes as the carrier’s own hub at Amsterdam Schiphol encounters unprecedented disruption, with hours-long queues snaking from terminals amid a shortage of security staff. The airport has capped summer passenger numbers almost 20% below usual levels to combat the chaos. BA said it’s hiring De Groot to help “navigate an extremely challenging period for our industry,” with the focus on improving operational resilience and lifting headcount to ease the shortfall, as well as on the customer experience. An internal memo to staff from CEO Sean Doyle, seen by Bloomberg, said De Groot will join as COO from Oct. 1, with Mahoney moving to the post of chief technical officer. The move comes days after EasyJet revealed that its COO, Peter Bellew, had resigned. That departure followed clashes over how best to handle strikes over pay, with Bellew favoring a tougher approach, according to a person familiar with the situation.<br/>

Airbus is leading a race against Boeing over the potential sale of about 30 wide-body aircraft to Malaysia Airlines as the Southeast Asian carrier, seeking more fuel-efficient jets amid a travel rebound, focuses on cost. Airbus is offering its A330neo range of aircraft while Boeing is pushing its 787 Dreamliners, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. A decision may be announced as soon as later this month at the upcoming Farnborough International Airshow, the people said. A deal for 30 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners would be valued at more than $10b at sticker prices, although discounts are common in such large purchases. The A330neo—built on the same platform of an older model—is typically significantly cheaper, although Airbus no longer publicly announces prices. Talks are still ongoing and no final decision has been made, the people said. Airbus said that it is “always in contact with existing and potential customers and the nature of any discussions whether underway or not remain confidential in any case.” Boeing said that in general it doesn’t “comment on discussions with customers.” Representatives for Malaysia Airlines didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Malaysia Aviation Group, Malaysia Airlines’ parent company, expects to be operating at 70% of pre-pandemic levels for local and international flights by later this year, according to a statement released in April. The stronger-than-expected pick up in travel demand has also been a boon for planemakers, which are back to selling large numbers of jets after a more than two-year hiatus.<br/>

Australians are turning on Qantas Airways Ltd. and its boss as widespread travel disruptions and airport ordeals test their affection for one of the country’s biggest brands. Qantas, which carries the slogan “Spirit of Australia,” has become a punching bag for passengers exasperated with canceled flights, lost belongings and unscheduled sleepovers on airport floors. It’s an ugly reversal of fortune for a company that carefully navigated Covid-19 and emerged in better financial shape than almost any other airline in the world. The backlash comes as the global aviation industry struggles to cope with a rebound in travel demand after laying off staff to get through the pandemic with bare-bones operations. While chaotic scenes at airports in the US and Europe have become commonplace, emotions are running particularly high for Australians who feel let down by Qantas. CEO Alan Joyce has landed in the firing line of social-media vitriol, with customers lashing out and accusing him of being overzealous in shedding more than 8,000 jobs, leaving Qantas so short of manpower that it can’t function properly. Qantas had Australia’s worst flight-cancellation record in May, scrapping 7.6% of its services, or one in 13. It’s even become the subject of an online parody by national broadcaster ABC. The operational lapses are pushing some disaffected passengers to Virgin Australia, which was on the brink of collapse in 2020 before private equity group Bain Capital stepped in. Virgin Australia canceled 5.1% of its services in May. The long-term cancellation rate in Australia is 2%. Qantas leans heavily on advertisements that pull on the heartstrings, with tag-lines such as I Still Call Australia Home. Its recent media campaigns have dramatized emotional family reunions to encourage people to fly again. “It feels like the brand’s breaking a number of promises,” said Paul Nelson, managing director of Sydney-based consultancy BrandMatters. “Loyal customers fall a lot further when they’ve had you on a pedestal and you haven’t met expectations.”<br/>