American Airlines reported $13.4b in revenue in the three months that ended in June, the best quarter in the company’s history. But as with other carriers, soaring costs offset that good news. While revenue was up about 12% from the same period in 2019, American said Thursday that its second-quarter profit was $476m, down about 28% from the same quarter in 2019. Airlines have struggled to capitalize on the strong travel rebound because of staffing shortfalls, high costs and other challenges. American canceled about 5% of its scheduled flights last month, more than any other major carrier, according to FlightAware, an aviation data provider. “Achieving these results wasn’t easy,” American’s chief executive, Robert Isom, said in a message to employees. “The operating environment this quarter was tough, especially on the weather front. We encountered significant weather on 27 of the 30 days in June.” Still, Isom said the airline was optimistic about the months ahead, as international and corporate travel, two lucrative parts of the business, continue to recover. The airline said it flew more passengers traveling for leisure within the United States in Q2 this year than in the same period in 2019. American said it expected to be profitable again in Q3, which ends in September. The airline predicted that revenue in that quarter would be up at least 10% from 2019, despite capacity being down at least 8%.<br/>
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There was a whole lot of turbulence on an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this week — but not in the way one may think. Two pilots who got into an argument on board Alaska Airlines Flight 1080 from Washington Dulles to San Francisco on Monday forced the plane to return to the terminal and face further delay, the airline confirmed to HuffPost via email. Reports of the incident were posted by Twitter users who said they were passengers on the flight. Although it is unclear why the captain and first officer on Flight 1080 got into what the airline described to HuffPost as a “professional disagreement,” their spat delayed the flight by 2½ hours, according to flight-tracking websites Cirium and Flight Aware. The flight was scheduled to land in San Francisco at 7:05 p.m. but ended up landing at 9:34 p.m., according to their data. Social media posts by passengers say the delay was initially due to bad weather — and passengers were told they were waiting out a storm. But the delay got lengthier — and seemingly much more confusing — when the sparring pilots “pulled back to the gate and got off the plane because of a ‘failure to get along,’” one Twitter user said in describing the incident. <br/>
Eight people were injured when an American Airlines flight from Tampa, Florida, to Nashville, Tennessee, hit "unexpected turbulence" on Wednesday, according to the airline. The plane, an Embraer 170 operated by American regional carrier Envoy Air, was diverted to Birmingham, Alabama, where it landed safely, American Airlines spokesperson Curtis Blessing told CNN.<br/>Six passengers and two crew members suffered minor injuries during the plane turbulence, according to the airline. There were 56 passengers onboard, including 10 who were evaluated for injuries, Birmingham Fire and Rescue Capt. Orlando Reynolds said. At least seven people were taken to a local hospital with complaints of neck and back pain, according to Reynolds. The FAA said it is investigating the incident.<br/>
Boeing secured a revived order for 25 of its 737 MAX 10 airliners from Qatar Airways on Thursday, as the return of Britain's Farnborough Airshow this week offered hope for the largest version of the planemaker’s troubled best-seller. Two fatal 737 MAX crashes, an almost two-year worldwide grounding of the plane, and then the global pandemic have left the aviation industry reeling, with rebounding demand now stretching airlines, airports and parts supply. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker signed the MAX deal in front of reporters at a ceremony delayed by nail-biting last-minute negotiations. The order, worth $3.4b at list prices, capped a largely one-sided show dominated by Boeing's efforts to shore up the MAX 10, whose future lies partly in the hands of regulators and Congress. Even so, analysts said the world's joint-largest aerospace event, which alternates with the biennnial Paris Airshow, was muted this year, with only patchy orders compared with previous events and only the freak hot weather approaching past records.<br/>