Five British Airways crew members aboard a flight from Singapore to London were injured after the plane was hit by severe turbulence on Friday morning. One of the crew members was hurt so seriously that he required surgery on his ankle and femur, while another crew member suffered an ankle dislocation, reported British newspaper the Daily Mail. According to data from flight tracker FlightAware, Flight BA12 left Changi Airport at 11.16pm on Thursday, and was originally scheduled to arrive in London at about 6am (London time) on Friday. It landed in Singapore instead at about 4am on Friday after turning back following the turbulence. A source told British tabloid The Sun that the plane was above the Bay of Bengal when “severe and sustained turbulence struck”, adding that the airline has not experienced anything like this in the last five years. “It’s an area where winds often make flying uncomfortable, but the severity of this turbulence was obscene,” said the source. “From nowhere, the plane was shaking as it suddenly dropped (1.53m) and rose again in uncomfortable jerked motions. There were screams from the passengers and great upset spread through the cabins.”<br/>
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Cathay Pacific Airways adjusted its pay mechanism for pilots, many of whom have criticized the company following salary and job cuts during the pandemic. In a six-month trial starting October, the carrier will pay pilots based on the number of hours they fly or their scheduled flying time — whichever is higher, Director of Flight Operations Chris Kempis said in a statement Friday. Pilots are currently paid based on actual hours flown, meaning they end up earning less when trips are quicker than expected. In April, Cathay management rebuked pilots for trying to extend their flying times by taxiing slowly at Hong Kong’s airport. Cathay and its staff were hit hard by the pandemic as Hong Kong largely shut itself off from international travel, leaving the airline with little option but to drastically scale back flights. Cathay is still rebuilding and doesn’t expect to return to pre-Covid passenger capacity until the end of next year. “This addresses pay volatility, but it’s a rounding error,” said Paul Weatherilt, chairman of the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, which represents Cathay pilots. Pay is still on average 40% lower than pre-Covid levels, he said. “It is not going to improve pilot morale, pilot morale is rock bottom. They cut our pay permanently.”<br/>
Japan Airlines has signed an MOU with Shell Aviation, which will see JAL aircraft refuelled at Los Angeles International Airport with SAF from 2025. The agreement supports JAL’s ESG target of replacing 1% of its whole jet fuel amount with SAF in the 2025 fiscal year, set in its green transformation policy. Under the agreement, Shell Aviation will supply JAL with SAF volumes equivalent to its current estimated jet fuel uplifts at LAX over the supply period. According to JAL, the SAF to be supplied by Shell Aviation emits 75% less CO2 than conventional jet fuel when used neat and the associated lifecycle emission reduction from this agreement will amount to more than 47,000 tonnes of CO2 on an annual basis. “It’s great to see our relationship with Japan Airlines continue to flourish following our ambitious MoU on long-term SAF supply last year,” said Jan Toschka, President of Shell Aviation. “We look forward to building on this collaboration in the future, working together to accelerate SAF usage globally and help decarbonise air travel.”<br/>
Qantas has resumed its popular seasonal Perth-Rome route, and will extend the service into 2024. The Flying Kangaroo will operate three Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights per week between Perth and Rome until October 2023, with a total of more than 22,000 seats over four months. Flights for 2024 will go on sale early next month, extending the route into its third year. Perth-Rome was one of Qantas’ most popular international routes in 2022, with 97.7% seat utilisation on inbound services and 91.9% on outbound services over the month of July. It is currently the only direct route between Australia and continental Europe. “We saw many customers using Rome as a gateway to continental Europe, connecting onwards with our network of partners, with Sicily, Athens and Barcelona being amongst the top destinations last year,” said Qantas International CEO Cameron Wallace. “The route is fantastic for tourism operators across Western Australia, not just because of the influx of visitors we’ve seen from Italy, but also because it promotes Perth as a stopover for Australians travelling to Europe from the east coast."<br/>