Mesa Airlines’ CEO said Saturday that the regional carrier will wind down its flying for American Airlines and that it is close to an agreement to fly those jets for United Airlines. Mesa’s CEO Jonathan Ornstein told employees in a note: “We are excited to announce we have negotiated a wind down of our operations with American and are finalizing a new agreement with United which would transition all CRJ900s currently flying for American Eagle to United Express.” United declined to comment. Derek Kerr, American’s CFO and president of American’s regional brand American Eagle, told staff on Saturday that Mesa and American will wind down their flying agreement, citing American’s concerns about Mesa’s financial and operational problems which are tied to a rise in costs and the industry’s pilot shortage. “As a result, we have concerns about Mesa’s ability to be a reliable partner for American going forward,” Kerr said in an employee memo. “American and Mesa agree the best way to address these concerns is to wind down our agreement.” The final Mesa flight for American will be on Apr. 3, though American is slashing Mesa flights in March, Kerr said in his note. Large carriers like American, United and Delta routinely contract regional airlines to fly many shorter routes, accounting for roughly half of departures, though that varies by airline.<br/>
oneworld
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have stopped selling new tickets for inbound flights to Heathrow on the days Border Force staff strike over Christmas, the BBC understands. Border Force has asked airports who are expecting passenger numbers on strike days to be above 70-80% of 2019 levels to "supress demand". The move is to better manage the flow of people through border control. Workers will stage the first walkout on Friday 23 December. A source at Heathrow told the BBC the airport had met with BA and Virgin, its two home-based airlines, to request a restriction on new ticket sales, which the airlines had agreed to. Around 1,000 Border Force staff who work in passport control will walk out on 23-26 and 28-31 December at Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester airports as well as at the Port of Newhaven. The Home Office has warned passengers should expect disruption.<br/>
A $2b legal battle between Airbus and Qatar Airways looks set to drag through most of 2023 after a UK court split the case, amid a glimmer of hope that high-level contacts on the sidelines of the World Cup might yield a breakthrough. The dispute over damage to the surface and lightning protection on A350 jetliners grounded by Qatar has led to months of legal manoeuvering between two of aviation's largest players and the unprecedented cancellation of large-scale orders. Judge David Waksman ordered a trial set for next June to be split in two parts because of the sheer weight of disagreements, ensuring the unusually public industry saga rolls on for months. The first part will focus on liability with the combined claims, estimated at around $2b, tackled later. Qatar Airways says widespread paint cracking has exposed deeper damage on some A350 jets, prompting it to stop taking deliveries. Qatar's regulator has grounded at least 29 of the jets, citing unanswered safety questions, over the past year. Airbus has acknowledged quality problems with its premier long-haul model but denies any risk to safety and has cancelled all outstanding new business with Qatar Airways, which has increased purchases from rival Boeing. On Friday, the two sides clashed angrily over access to the affected planes with Airbus lawyer David Wolfson complaining with the aid of photographs that its experts had been forced to photograph jets from a distance "under the light of the moon".<br/>