Bank holiday travellers facing a 20-hour wait on an airport floor in Bermuda say they have been “abandoned in the middle of the Atlantic” after their flight from Miami to London had to divert due to a possible mechanical issue. American Airlines has apologised after flight AA38 had to change course about three hours after taking off from Miami International Airport on Monday due to “a possible mechanical issue”, landing instead on the British island territory in the North Atlantic. The Boeing 777-300’s 303 passengers have since waited over 15 hours in LF Wade International Airport in St George’s, where they are scheduled to board a replacement flight to London Heathrow at 8pm local time – almost 20 hours after landing there. The PA news agency understands the flight was unable to continue due to the US FAA’s mandated crew rest requirements after maintenance teams had inspected the aircraft – and passengers are not allowed to leave the airport due to Bermuda’s Covid-19 requirements. According to passengers, it took almost 10 hours for them to be provided with food at the airport and are were just eight toilets available and no showers.<br/>
oneworld
Finnair will establish a strategic partnership with Qatar Airways to open up new routes from Nordic capitals to the Qatari capital Doha, the Finnish national carrier said on Monday. Finnair has been seeking new commercially-feasible routes since the closure of Russian airspace due to the war in Ukraine cut off its previously lucrative Asian connections via a northern route. The company has said it plans to unveil a new strategy in the coming months to address the uncertain outlook that includes high fuel prices, the pandemic and the Ukraine war, with the company headed for a third straight year in the red in 2022. Finnair said it would establish "a long-term strategic cooperation" on flights between Doha and Helsinki in Finland, Stockholm in Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark starting between November and December, while exploring the possibility of expanding the agreement to another unnamed European destination. "These services will be supported by a comprehensive codeshare agreement with shared passenger and cargo capacity between both airlines," Finnair said. Finnair and Qatar Airways are part of the oneworld global airline alliance. In a separate release, Finnair said it would downscale its traffic plan for the winter season, cancelling all flights to Krabi and Chicago and discontinuing flights from Stockholm to several other destinations in the United States and Thailand.<br/>
Earlier this year, IAG took over parts of the Qatar Airways loyalty program, replacing a currency scheme little known outside the Gulf with one that resonates with points-mad customers in Europe and North America. Now, IAG is searching for other programs that might use (and pay for) its Avios currency, a top executive said. “They have taken the currency, and we have worked with them so they still own the program,” Adam Daniels, chairman and CEO of IAG Loyalty, said of the Qatar agreement. “It is slightly different than what others have done before. We think it has potential.” IAG and Qatar Airways have a closer relationship than most airlines, with Qatar owning about 25 percent of IAG. But Daniels said a relationship could work with any partner, including a non airline. As loyalty becomes a bigger business, Daniels said, companies with less attractive programs may want to outsource them to name brands with bigger reaches. A spokeswoman for IAG Loyalty said Qatar’s Privilege Club enrolled “tens of thousands” of new customers in the first month after switching to IAG’s Avios currency. Broadening the program’s scope could lead to increased profits for IAG. Loyalty is one of the company’s six operating segments — the other five are airlines — and according to executives, one of its fastest growing.IAG does not break out results from its loyalty arm, but CEO Luis Gallego said on a July earnings call that loyalty increased its contribution to the company’s results in the past year. In a filing, IAG reported its “other revenue” increased 14 percent in the quarter ending in June, compared to the same period in 2019. It said the increase was mostly driven by its vacations and loyalty businesses. “We are growing double digits, and we continue to believe we can keep doing that,” Daniels said. “We can deliver value back to customers and the airlines. Increasingly, this revenue stream is going to be very important to them.”<br/>