American Airlines Group Inc. joined a growing number of carriers around the globe that have discovered improperly certified replacement parts sold by a London-based company on their aircraft. American disclosed the finding to Bloomberg News late Thursday, hours after US federal aviation regulators issued a warning to airlines and other aviation-industry companies. The carrier didn’t immediately identify the type of parts it found on the planes. “Through the work of internal audits as well as collaboration with our suppliers, we’ve identified the uncertified components on a small number of aircraft — each were immediately taken out of service for replacement,” a spokeswoman for the airline said. “We’ll continue working with our suppliers and coordinating closely with the FAA to ensure these parts are no longer in our supply or otherwise in use on our aircraft.” In its notice, the FAA said the suspect parts were sold with allegedly forged airworthiness documents by AOG Technics Ltd. and used on a number of jets. Discovery of the parts, first in Europe, has triggered a worldwide search. As many as 96 engines made by CFM International Inc., a joint venture of General Electric Co. and Safran SA, were fitted with the components. CFM makes engines for many older generation Airbus SE A320 and Boeing Co. 737 aircraft.<br/>
oneworld
Oneworld carrier British Airways is entering a codeshare agreement with Indian budget operator IndiGo to broaden its network on the subcontinent. The co-operation, covering eight destinations, will take effect from 12 October, subject to government approval. British Airways says the routes will be available as codeshares from London Heathrow, mainly through Mumbai. They will comprise Kochi, Ahmedabad, Goa, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, Rajkot, and Vadodara. The carriers will also codeshare on the route to Amritsar via Delhi. While Air India is part of Star Alliance, Oneworld does not have an Indian carrier. Kingfisher Airlines had been a prospective Oneworld member, due to enter the alliance in 2012, before it ran into financial difficulties and subsequently collapsed. “Our partnership with IndiGo means that customers will be able to book their entire journey on one ticket, allowing seamless travel all the way from London to their final destination,” says BA director of network and alliances Neil Chernoff. IndiGo is expanding its operations and the carrier has an order backlog of nearly 1,000 Airbus A320neo-family aircraft. Its senior vice-president for network planning, Abhijit Dasgupta, says the codeshare “expands the choices” available to BA customers. “This step to provide seamless connectivity will not only support trade and commerce between the two countries but also offer convenient travel options to students and tourists,” he adds. BA is operating 56 weekly flights to five Indian cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.<br/>
Australia's Qantas Airways' chairman has refused to step down even as investors continued to demand his resignation amid a slew of scandals that have affected the carrier, ABC News reported on Thursday, citing an interview to a radio program. The company is facing a regulatory lawsuit accusing it of breaching consumer law by selling fares for 8,000 flights that were cancelled in mid-2022, leading to the abrupt resignation of CEO Alan Joyce. In his first interview since these allegations by the country's competition regulator in late August, Chairman Richard Goyder said he has confidence in the Qantas board and that major investors wanted him to continue in his position, the news website said. "I can't say a lot about this at the moment because it's a legal case. But any suggestion that we took fees for no service is just wrong," Goyder said. He did not comment further on the allegations. The ABC report did not mention the names of investors and consumers who have called for Goyder's resignation. Goyder was appointed to the board in November 2017 and named chairman in October 2018.<br/>