American Airlines' CFO Devon May said on Thursday the court ruling on the Northeast Alliance with JetBlue Airways will not have any impact on the carrier's earnings. American Airlines and JetBlue announced the creation of the Northeast Alliance (NEA) in July 2020 to coordinate flights and pool revenue while competing against Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, that dominate the New York-area and Boston markets. Last week, a federal judge ruled for both carriers to end the alliance saying the partnership "substantially diminishes competition in the domestic market for air travel". "It's a big deal for our New York strategy. It is not something that's meaningful to our earnings," May said on Thursday at the Wolfe transportation and industrials conference, adding that he doesn't expect the NEA ruling to have any impact on the carrier's macro capacity.<br/>
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ICAG-owned British Airways said that it had to cancel some flights at London's Heathrow Airport due to a technical issue on Thursday, without disclosing the number of affected flights. The airport had earlier said that the airline was working to resolve a technical issue with a number of its systems, which had affected several departing and arriving flights. A report by The Independent newspaper said that at least 50 flights were affected due to an IT problem. British Airways said that a majority of its flights continued to operate on Thursday, adding that affected customers had been contacted and offered options, including a refund or rebooking to an alternative flight with the airline or another carrier. The British airline has been affected by other IT problems in recent years including a major computer system failure in 2017 that stranded 75,000 passengers over a holiday weekend, sparking a public relations disaster and pledges from the carrier that it would do better in future.<br/>
Qatar Airways has announced resumption of its services to Bahrain starting Thursday with a daily flight. A second and third daily service will commence on June 15. The resumption of services will enable passengers flying to and from Bahrain to benefit from the airline's extensive international network across Asia, Africa and Europe, the airline said. Qatar Airways flight QR1108 will depart from Hamad International Airport at 20:00, with a scheduled time of arrival at 20:50 at Bahrain International Airport. Qatar Airways flight QR1109 will depart from Bahrain International Airport at 22:20, and arrive at Hamad International Airport at 23:15. Meanwhile, Gulf Air, Bahrain's official carrier, was also scheduled to resume its flights to Doha, Qatar from today. The airline plans to operate three daily flights to Doha. Qatar Airways currently flies to more than 160 destinations worldwide, connecting through its Doha hub, Hamad International Airport, voted by Skytrax as the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’.<br/>
An incident involving three Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. cabin crew making “inappropriate comments” about customers on a recent flight has set back the airline’s recovery and caused significant damage to its image, as well as Hong Kong’s, the carrier’s CEO told employees. Ronald Lam, who became CEO at the start of the year, was referring to a Sunday service from Chengdu to Hong Kong where a passenger recorded flight attendants joking about a Mandarin-speaking customer’s English language ability. The audio clip was posted online and went viral on social media in China. Cathay fired the three crew, who haven’t been identified publicly. “The incident has been widely circulated in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong media, causing significant damage to the image of Hong Kong and Cathay,” Lam wrote in a Thursday memo to staff that was seen by Bloomberg News. “We had to respond and act swiftly, which was necessary to protect the interest of the company and in turn our people overall... This incident has reinforced a perception held by some customers that we have not been able to provide high-quality services to customers from different backgrounds consistently... Many commentators refer to this long-held perception about us. In other words, they believe this is about more than this single incident, but is something much deeper which we need to address.”<br/>
The Queensland Government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Qantas to develop a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry in the state. Under the deal, Qantas will work with the Palaszczuk Government on a Queensland-based SAF supply chain, as well as look at how to make best use of sugarcane and agricultural byproducts to produce fuel and how to develop new feedstocks and processes. The Queensland Government estimates that an Australian SAF industry could be worth at least $3 billion by 2050. Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the agreement is a step towards the state becoming a “clean energy superpower”, particularly with Queensland’s large production of feedstock such as tallow, sugarcane waste pulp, cereal cropping residues and pongamia. “With our rich supply of feedstock and skilled workforce, Qantas, and the world, has recognised Queensland as an ideal location to establish an Australasian SAF supply chain,” he said. “Partnerships like this one with Qantas position Queensland as a SAF hub, along with the right mix of investment, government support and policy, and industry collaboration. “Importantly, growing industries that will be in demand in a decarbonising world will create more good jobs for Queenslanders and new export opportunities.” According to Qantas Group Chief Sustainability Officer Andrew Parker, having a “clear plan to decarbonise air travel” is key to making sure large states like Queensland stay connected into the future. “Sustainable fuels are the most significant tool airlines currently have to reduce their emissions, particularly given they can be used in today’s engines and fuel delivery infrastructure with no modifications,” he said.<br/>