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Pilots at Panama's Copa Airlines announced on Friday they would go on strike in February after failing to reach a deal with the company over new contracts, following months of talks. Luis Alcala, the general secretary of the Panamanian Commercial Aviators Union (UNPAC) said the strike would begin at 7:30 a.m. local time on Feb. 2 after failing to reach a "fair and sustainable agreement" since talks began in October. The strike would involve approximately 1,200 pilots. Copa Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The pilots argue their purchasing power has plunged after the pandemic, after the airline scaled back its flight schedule, trimming their wages and hours. In addition to higher wages, the pilots are also asking Copa to contribute more to their health insurance plan and improve the retirement scheme. They are also seeking improvements to break and overnight accommodations, food onboard, and improving working conditions for pregnant pilots. "The list of requests we are making is not exorbitant or utopian - it is very realistic," said Alcala. The union left open the possibility of discussions with Copa to avoid the strike.<br/>

Here’s some “tough news” for premium travelers whose New Year’s resolution was healthier meals: Desserts are back. After a pandemic pause, the signature treats are returning to premium cabins at United Airlines and Delta. The offerings include Delta’s dessert cart and United’s sundae cart. They’re available only on international flights in the highest class of service – among other ritzy amenities such as lie-flat seats and plush premium bedding. United’s sundae cart is the cherry on top of its Polaris business class on long-haul international flights. The airline said the service is currently available on some flights out of San Francisco and expands in February. Delta’s “trolley of treats” includes ice cream, too – and “toppings like whipped cream, cookie crumble, fruit compote and chocolate chips.” A perk of some international flights in the upscale Delta One cabin, other tasty options include cake, cheese and fruit. US airlines dialed back various services during the pandemic – cutting expenses when planes were flying at a financial loss and exposing flight attendants to fewer in-person interactions. United, for example, said the sundae cart was replaced by packaged, single-serve ice cream. But while passengers have returned to domestic flights, airlines are still working to draw passengers back to international routes. International travel in 2020 was 23% below 2019 pre-pandemic levels – a difference of 58m travelers – according to government data compiled by the air carrier industry group Airlines for America. The group’s figures show corporate travel – paid for by companies that can shell out several thousand dollars for a first-class overseas seat – is down but growing. United said selling international seats is particularly challenging in its premium cabin, where the ice cream cart is set to roll. But a return in corporate travelers will help because “that is how we tend to fill the front of the aircraft.” “Polaris is not back to where we’d like it to be just yet,” Andrew Nocella, United’s CCO, told investors on a call this month. “I’m confident when we end 2023, we’ll be able to report that the Polaris paid load factors and paid yield are much closer to their 2019 baseline than they were in 2022.”<br/>

Air India’s order for as many as 500 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing is being held up by an impasse with engine makers powering the 737 Max, dragging out what stands to be one of the biggest single purchases in civil aviation history. CFM International, the General Electric Co. and Safran SA joint venture, is reluctant to offer big discounts on engines and maintenance that typically accompany mega orders, according to people familiar with the negotiations. The deadlock centers on the hourly rates Air India would pay for repairs, said one of the people, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are private. The engine venture and its rival, Raytheon Technologies Corp.’s Pratt & Whitney division, are grappling with earlier-than-expected repairs on the latest generation of turbofans for Boeing and Airbus workhorse jets. That’s made it tougher for the manufacturers to model revenue and costs over the lifespan of the engines, a key consideration for GE CEO Larry Culp as the industrial conglomerate moves forward with a corporate breakup that will leave aviation as its core business. Air India has spent months negotiating an order of about 400 narrowbody and 100 widebody jets that would allow the country’s flag carrier to upgrade service and reliability. After failing to clinch an accord by the end of last year, a deal could now be announced as soon as this month, some of the people said, concluding about a year of talks with the planemakers, engine manufacturers and a handful of leasing companies. Locking in the aircraft commitments is gaining urgency for Air India parent Tata Group because supply of newly built jetliners has become increasingly constrained. <br/>

India’s civil aviation regulator has fined Air India Ltd. $37,000 and suspended a pilot’s license for three months for not following the correct reporting procedures after a male passenger urinated on another female traveler on a flight from New York to New Delhi. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation fined Tata Sons-owned Air India 3mrupees ($36,960), according to a statement Friday, and levied another 300,000-rupee fine on a director for in-flight services. “A male passenger conducted himself in a disorderly manner and allegedly relieved himself on a female passenger,” the DGCA said. Since the incident, which happened last year but only came to light in January, Air India has started a program to strengthen its crews’ handling of unruly passengers and is reviewing its policy around alcohol service on flights. Earlier this month, Wells Fargo & Co. said it had fired an employee after an incident that occured in November aboard an Air India flight from New York to New Delhi, without saying exactly what the incident was. Air India could have handled incidents such as the one in November “better,” ChEO Campbell Wilson said at the time.<br/>

Battling to win customers on the prized trans-Pacific route to New York, Qantas and Air New Zealand plan new features to make air travel more comfortable, including full-sized bunk beds and dedicated stretching zones. The two airlines, longtime competitors on three-hour hops between Australia and New Zealand, are going head-to-head on 16-hour direct flights from Auckland to New York as more efficient planes make such routes viable. The reward is a lucrative corner of a global travel market, where airfares and profits are soaring after pandemic restrictions came to an end. Air New Zealand will next year add so-called Skynest bunks in economy class, allowing passengers to book four-hour blocks of sleep in special pods. Prices haven’t yet been announced. Customers on the carrier’s direct New York flights — launched in September — can already opt for a Skycouch, which transforms a row of three economy seats into an improvised bed. Qantas wants to muscle in on its rival’s patch by introducing non-stop Auckland-New York flights in June. The company is pouring millions of dollars into a new airport lounge in Auckland and three more across Australia to funnel customers onto the route. Both airlines are using Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliners. Then in late 2025, Qantas will start the world’s first direct flights connecting Sydney with New York and London. The carrier has ordered 12 customized Airbus SE A350-1000 planes to fly the routes. They’ll have extra legroom in economy and a “Wellbeing Zone” for passengers to stretch or grab a water.<br/>