American Airlines and its flight attendants union on Friday jointly applied for federal mediation in contract negotiations. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), which represents over 23,000 American flight attendants, said the decision to seek mediation is intended to move contract negotiations forward. The current round of negotiations started in January 2020 but was paused at the height of the pandemic. Talks resumed in June 2021. While the two sides have met regularly over the past few months, APFA said they still have "substantive" disagreements over many "important" issues, without elaborating. American Airlines said it welcomed the assistance from the National Mediation Board (NMB) to "maintain the positive momentum" in the negotiations. The NMB is a government agency that is entrusted with maintaining an uninterrupted flow of commerce in the airline and railway industries through representation, mediation and arbitration services. It is expected to assign a mediator who will set the timing and location of the negotiations. The mediator, however, cannot compel either party to agree to contract terms.<br/>
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A drunk student who allegedly relieved himself on a male passenger on an American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi was arrested on Sunday. The student, identified as 21-year-old Arya Vohra, has been banned from future flights on the airline. The airline said flight 292, which landed safely at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 9.50pm local time, was met by law enforcement officers “due to a disruptive customer”. Several Indian media outlets identified Vohra as a student in an American university. In a statement to Indian media, American Airlines said the passenger was heavily intoxicated and was not adhering to crew instructions on board. “He was repeatedly arguing with the operating crew, was not willing to be seated and continuously endangering the safety of the crew and aircraft. After disturbing the safety of fellow passengers, he finally urinated on (the passenger) seated on 15G.” Indian news outlet NDTV said that Delhi police is taking legal action against Vohra. This is the second such incident involving a passenger urinating on a fellow passenger on flights between New York and New Delhi.<br/>
Japan Airlines will be added back to the Nikkei 225 Stock Average for the first time since it was relisted in 2012. Tokyo Disney operator Oriental Land Co. will also join the blue-chip gauge, along with semiconductor maker Renesas Electronics Corp., Nikkei announced in its periodic review. “The inclusion of Renesas is a bit of a surprise, but overall, it is mostly as expected,” said Ryuta Otsuka, a strategist at Toyo Securities Co. “Regarding the stocks that will be included, individual investors may buy them Monday morning in an attempt to catch up with the market, but it is likely to be temporary.” Japan Airlines relisted in Tokyo in 2012 following a restructuring under bankruptcy protection. Its shares are down 4.7% so far this year compared with a gain of 6.8% in the Topix.<br/>
Families of those on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared mysteriously nine years ago, called on the Malaysian government on Sunday to allow US seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity to mount a new search for the missing plane. The fate of flight MH370 became one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries when it disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. In 2018, Malaysia engaged Ocean Infinity to search for the aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean, offering to pay up to $70m if it found the plane. But its operation came up short. The firm’s search came after Malaysia, China and Australia ended a fruitless two-year, A$200m ($135.36m) underwater hunt in January 2017 after finding no trace of the plane. On Sunday, Voice370 - a grouping of relatives of those aboard the plane - said Ocean Infinity hoped to embark on a new search as early as this summer and urged the Malaysian government to accept any proposals from the firm on a conditional fee basis, such that the firm would only be paid if successful. “Ocean Infinity, over the last 12 months have made real progress working with many people to further understand... the events in 2014,” Voice370 said in a statement, following a memorial event to mark the ninth year since MH370’s disappearance. “Ultimately, this has greatly improved their chances of conducting a successful search.” Ocean Infinity and Malaysia’s transport ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in a message to families read out at the memorial event, Transport Minister Anthony Loke vowed not to “close the book” on MH370, adding that due consideration would be given to future searches if there was “new and credible information” on the aircraft’s potential location.<br/>
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB), the flag carrier of Malaysia, has signed an agreement with IBS Software for the use of its machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Under the five-year agreement, MAB will migrate its crew management systems to IBS Software’s Cloud-based platform, iFlight Crew. The move is intended to further automate and upgrade the airline’s operations. Malaysia Aviation Group Airlines CEO Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi said: “Malaysia Airlines and IBS Software have a long history of working together since 2009. “Having experienced their commitment to digital transformation to optimise operations for over ten years, we’re looking forward to continuing this journey to enhance crew wellbeing, boost cost-savings and upgrade our crew management systems.” The latest agreement builds on a long-standing partnership of more than ten years between MAB and IBS Software.<br/>