Pilots at American Airlines approved a contract on Monday that will increase pilot compensation by more than 46% and includes other benefits and changes. Under the contract, the pay of pilots at the company immediately increased an average of 21% upon ratification. By August 2027, total compensation will have increased more than 46%, including pay raises and increased retirement contributions by the airline. The deal is broadly similar to contracts reached this year by pilots at Delta and United Airlines. Across the industry, pilots have negotiated big raises and other gains, including greater protection against last-minute schedule changes. The contract victories reflect the strength of the recovery in air travel and the leverage enjoyed by pilots, who are in high demand. At major airlines, pilots can easily earn six-figure salaries. At the top end of the profession, pilots who fly long international flights typically earn several hundred thousand dollars a year. “This contract is a big first step toward restoring the wages, benefits and work rules that were lost during the past two decades while our profession was under continuous assault,” said Capt. Ed Sicher, the president of the Allied Pilots Association, the union that represents American’s 15,000 pilots. Nearly all of the pilots weighed in on the new contract, with more than 72% approving it over two weeks of voting, which closed on Monday. The deal includes about $1.1b in immediate and retroactive payments and ratification bonuses. In addition to the raises, American’s pilots will receive more pay when they go on vacation, are reassigned or are in training. The company had also agreed to improved life insurance, long-term disability and retirement benefits.<br/>
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An Alaska Airlines jet was heavily damaged upon landing in Santa Ana, California during a tropical storm. The Seattle-based carrier confirmed on 21 August that the jet – a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 operating to John Wayne airport as flight 1288 from Seattle – “experienced an issue soon after landing… and was unable to taxi to the gate due to an issue with its landing gear”. Alaska says the flight had 106 passengers and six crew members on board, and none were injured. According to Cirium fleets data the aircraft holds the registration N516AS and was delivered to the airline in December 2008. The aircraft landed in Santa Ana at approximately 23:15 local time, just as the remnants of Hurricane Hilary were moving through the region. A passenger video posted to YouTube shows sparks on the runway as the aircraft rolls out from a hard landing. Images on other social media sites show a heavily damaged left landing gear, which appears to have punctured through the wing. The aircraft’s left engine is resting on the taxiway. “The aircraft parked on a taxiway, where it remains, and everyone exited the aircraft safely,” the airline adds. “Our maintenance and safety teams are inspecting the aircraft.” Over the weekend the remnants of Hurricane Hilary moved north from Mexico’s Baja California through southern California and into Nevada. The storm brought much-needed precipitation to the region, but also triggered landslides and flooding in many areas.<br/>
Finnair Oyj is starting the search for a new leader after Chief Executive Officer Topi Manner announced his departure late last week, adding to challenges for the Nordic carrier that’s seen its business model upended by the Russia-Ukraine war. Manner is leaving to take up the same role at telecommunications service provider Elisa Oyj, whose current CEO is retiring. With no successor in place, Finnair will begin a search for new top executive, it said in a statement late on Friday. Manner, who joined Finnair at the start of 2019, steered the airline through the twin challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and then Russia’s war in Ukraine that closed off Siberian airspace, a route underpinning Finnair strategy to connect Europe with Asia. As a result, the airline is switching to a more diversified long-haul network linking Europe to Asia, India, the Middle East and North America. “Topi Manner has done a stellar job with his team in leading Finnair through the double crises of the Covid-19 pandemic and the closure of Russian airspace,” Chairwoman Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae said. Departing Elisa CEO Veli-Matti Mattila, 62, has led the company since 2003, growing revenue and negotiating more than two dozen acquisitions.<br/>
Qatar Airways is planning to enhance its daily flight operations to New York by introducing an additional flight along with convenient flight schedules. The flag carrier of Qatar will increase frequency to New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) from two to three daily flights, effective October 30, 2023. Offering new connections between New York and more than 80 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, the new flights will conveniently arrive early morning and depart late evening from JFK. Customers from across the US will also benefit from the enhanced connectivity between JetBlue and Qatar Airways via New York. “We continue to offer seamless connectivity to our passengers from the US market and beyond with the support of our strategic partners,” said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker. With three flights per day scheduled in the morning, afternoon and evening, seamless connections from Detroit, Raleigh-Durham, Orlando or Tampa, to Doha, Kathmandu, Bangkok or Johannesburg have never been easier. Members of both Loyalty Programs – Qatar Airways Privilege Club and JetBlue TrueBlue – can earn miles from each other’s expansive codeshare flights.<br/>
Boeing is close to securing an order for more of its 787 Dreamliner aircraft from Australia’s Qantas Airways, industry sources said. The order for an unspecified number of 787-10s deepens the presence of the high-tech Dreamliner family at Australia’s flag carrier and could be announced as early as this month, the sources said. The sources cautioned that such negotiations typically go down to the wire and no decision is final until it has won airline board approval. The deal would be Qantas's first order of the 787-10 model, a stretched version of the 787-9 with shorter range that is designed to compete against the Airbus A330. Incoming Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said in June the carrier would kickstart a competition to replace existing A330 jets by end-year. Qantas, Boeing and Airbus declined to comment. Qantas, whose original decision to opt for a smaller type of Boeing 787 in 2005 led to a review of Airbus's wide-body strategy, is considered to be among the most influential aircraft buyers. In 2022, the Australian carrier announced a landmark order for a dozen A350-1000s – the largest European widebody jet capable of nonstop flights from Sydney to London and New York — as part of its “Project Sunrise” ultra-long haul initiative. Sources said the upcoming Dreamliner deal swings orders back in Boeing’s favor with the largest variant of 787. Qantas last placed a Dreamliner order in 2018, when it signed a deal for six jetliners meant to replace its remaining Boeing 747s. It currently operates 14 787-9s.<br/>