Some pilots at American Airlines want to leave their union, the Allied Pilots Association, and link up with the largest pilots union, the Air Line Pilots Association. They will present their case to the APA board in June, setting up a potential merger or vote on union representation at the largest U.S. airline. Since November, a five-pilot committee of the APA, which represents the 15,000 American pilots at American, has explored whether to merge with ALPA, which represents 67,000 pilots at 39 U.S. and Canadian airlines. ALPA’s membership includes crew members at American’s biggest competitors, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. That committee recently said that, so far, it has not found any roadblocks to a merger between the two airline pilot unions. But the fate of any potential union merger remains unclear. “Preliminarily, we have not found any major concerns that would lead us to recommend against the board doing full due diligence by proceeding to Phase 2,” the committee reported to the APA board earlier in April. The board will decide what to do next at a June 1 meeting. A group of APA members called AA Pilots for ALPA is advocating for a merger. A posting on the group’s website declares: “The pilots of American Airlines need union representation with the resources worthy of the largest airline in the U.S. A merger between APA and ALPA will provide our elected union representatives with the training, tools, and support they need to successfully advocate for our pilots.”<br/>
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Qantas has expanded its Indonesia services with the launch of a route from Melbourne to Jakarta. The new service took off for the first time at 4:47pm yesterday as flight QF39, arriving in Jakarta at 8:18pm local time. It will operate three times per week using Airbus A330 aircraft, adding to the national carrier’s existing Sydney to Jakarta flights. This route is the fourth international service Qantas has added from Melbourne since border restrictions were lifted, following Delhi, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Tokyo (Haneda). It is positioned against Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, which flies between Melbourne and Jakarta twice a week. “We continue to see really strong demand for travel to and from Melbourne, so we’re pleased to be expanding our international network with another new route of out Victoria,” said Qantas domestic and international CEO Andrew David. “Jakarta is becoming an increasingly important destination for our corporate travellers. These direct flights offer more choice and make it even easier for them to do business with one of Australia’s closest neighbours.”<br/>
Malaysia Airlines is seeking an injunction to stop the airasia Super App from offering the national carrier's flight tickets for sale, says Anthony Loke. The Transport Minister revealed this after discrepancies in airline ticket classification and prices for flights from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau became an issue recently. "I was informed that Malaysia Airlines has never authorised (the airasia Super App) to sell their tickets on their behalf. That is why we asked to check multiple sources or the Malaysia Airlines (official) app. This is a dispute between the two companies," he said at a press conference on Monday (April 17). He said that the request for an injunction had been filed with the courts and the case will be heard in the coming months. He added that the airasia Super App was managed by a separate entity, AirAsia Digital. On Sunday, former transport minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said he had received complaints about the high price of a one-way flight ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau on the airasia Super App. The fare displayed on the app for an economy-class flight ticket on April 20 was RM3,138. However, the Malaysia Airlines app listed it as a business-class ticket. Loke said that the average ticket price for an economy class direct flight to Sabah ranged from RM200 and RM800, depending on when tickets are purchased.<br/>