American Airlines warned on Tuesday it was expecting higher costs in Q3 following a new labor deal with its pilots that included more than $9.6b in total pay and benefits increases over four years. The company's pilots approved a new contract on Monday that also had provisions for retroactive pay for the first four months of 2023, leading to $230m in added expense that will be reflected in the third-quarter results. Continued strength in travel demand has provided pilots an upper hand in contract talks and bolstered their bargaining power as airlines rush to staff up and expand capacity. Rival United too had last month announced a preliminary deal for a new four-year contract that would give its pilots a cumulative increase of 34.5%-40.2% in pay. American Airlines now expects its cost per available seat mile excluding fuel and net special items to rise about 4% to 6%, compared with a prior forecast of about 2% to 4% growth. Its contract includes about $1.1b in immediate, one-time payments and ratification bonuses. The company reaffirmed its annual cost outlook, mainly due to changes in the anticipated timing of other expenses.<br/>
oneworld
An American Airlines flight to New York was forced to make an emergency stop after a pepper spray can “inadvertently” went off in the cabin. Flight 1680 had taken off from Miami just before 5pm on Sunday bound for New York’s LaGuardia Airport when it was diverted to Jacksonville International Airport about 30 minutes into the flight. The aircraft was cleaned and allowed to continue to LaGuardia, the FAA said. “American Airlines Flight 1680, a Boeing 737, diverted to Jacksonville International Airport in Florida around 6.30pm local time Sunday, Aug. 20, after a bottle of pepper spray was inadvertently sprayed in the cabin,” the FAA said. “The aircraft was cleaned after diverting and continued to LaGuardia Airport in New York without further incident.” <br/>
Passengers on an Alaska Airlines flight to Southern California were shaken but unhurt when the plane’s landing gear collapsed shortly after touching down during Tropical Storm Hilary. The Boeing 737 experienced “an issue with its landing gear” after landing at John Wayne Airport in Orange County at 11:15 p.m. Sunday, the airline said. A passenger returning home on the flight from Seattle recorded a video of bright white sparks flying over a rainy runway as the engine appeared to scrape across the ground. Alaska said the jet was unable to taxi to the gate and parked on a taxiway, where everyone exited and took busses to the terminal. Photos showed the left engine resting on the ground. A brief description of the incident on a Federal Aviation Administration website stated that the aircraft’s left main gear collapsed. The entry listed no injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board was collecting information about the event but did not immediately launch an investigation, spokesperson Sarah Taylor Sulick said Tuesday.<br/>
Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka has weighed in on the ongoing dispute about Qatar Airways’ air rights, saying allowing the carrier to put on more flights would drive airfares down. According to Hrdlicka, international airfares are currently 50% higher than they were pre-pandemic, and increasing aviation capacity between Australia and other key regions will help bring down cost of living pressures. “Additional Qatar flights would have an immediate and tangible effect in reducing airfares between Australia and Europe, the Middle East and Africa,” said Hrdlicka in a statement. “Qatar is in the unique position in the context of a constrained global supply of widebody aircraft, to be able to quickly make available 4 additional services per day to Australia. This would deliver much needed and immediate benefit to the Australian tourism industry and cost-of-living relief to the Australian travelling public, including our own customers.”<br/>