American Airlines Group will lay off 656 employees who help passengers with lost luggage and other travel problems as their jobs are consolidated into other teams. The change will affect 335 employees in Phoenix and 321 in Dallas-Fort Worth who work on American’s customer relations, central baggage resolution and AAdvantage loyalty program service groups, the carrier said Monday. That’s 8.2% of about 8,000 employees charged with resolving customer problems. Some of the workers’ responsibilities will be moved to a new, smaller “Customer Success” team that will be split between Phoenix and Dallas-Fort Worth. This team will aid travelers with multiple problems in one trip, such as a canceled flight and lost bag. Passengers currently have to seek help from separate teams for each issue, American said. The number of passengers with several problems varies depending on weather and other factors. Remaining functions, including single, easily addressed issues like a damaged suitcase, will be shifted to existing international contact centers run by American and its partner airlines. Those centers, mostly belonging to American, operate daily around the clock, the airline said.<br/>
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The pilots of an American Airlines plane taxied across the wrong runway last year in New York — into the path of another jetliner that was taking off — after the captain became distracted and confused about takeoff instructions and the co-pilot lost track of their plane's location, according to documents released Monday. Disaster was averted because an air traffic controller — using an expletive — shouted at pilots of the other plane, a Delta Air Lines flight, to abort their takeoff. The NTSB on Monday released documents related to its investigation of the Jan. 13, 2023, incident at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The investigation is continuing, and the board said it has not yet determined a probable cause for the close call. The nighttime incident was among several close calls at US airports that alarmed the public and lawmakers and led the FAA to hold a “safety summit" last year. The pilots of the London-bound American Airlines Boeing 777 took a wrong turn on a taxiway alongside two perpendicular runways. The crew had first planned for a takeoff from runway 31L. However, they later got instructions from a controller and a message on their cockpit computer telling them to taxi across 31L and take off from runway 4L. In later interviews, “all three pilots (on the American Airlines plane) said they understood at that time that (the flight) would be departing runway 4L,” according to the NTSB.<br/>
American Airlines was sued on Monday in a proposed class action by two customers who said the carrier stripped them of 1.1m frequent flier miles after they doubled up on credit cards offering mileage bonuses. Ari and Shanna Nachison said American wrongly accused them of fraud for opening multiple AAdvantage accounts, with cards issued under co-branding arrangements with Citibank and Barclays. The Los Gatos, California residents said that while some card applications prevented multiple mileage bonuses within a 48-month period, theirs did not, and it remained unclear why American closed their accounts in early 2020. Both said the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier cited violations "related to the accrual of ineligible miles and benefits; through fraud, misrepresentation and/or abuse of the AAdvantage Program" in emails announcing the terminations. Ari Nachison said he lost 564,463 miles, while Shanna Nachison said she lost 550,664 miles. The Nachisons said they were excused from applicable statutes of limitations because American's "boilerplate" emails did not mention specific violations or credit cards at issue, delaying them from pursuing legal remedies.<br/>
Finnair Oyj canceled the “vast majority” of flights set to depart from its Helsinki hub during a two-day strike this week. A protest organized by a number of trade unions against the Finnish government’s planned labor-market reforms will cause widespread impacts across the Nordic country, including at airport operator Finavia Oyj. As a result, about 550 Finnair flights will be grounded starting Feb. 1, Finland’s national carrier said in a statement on Monday. Several unions have joined strikes against the planned reforms by the government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and a mass demonstration is planned on Thursday in Helsinki. Orpo’s pro-business cabinet is seeking to increase flexibility in agreements on terms of employment as well as cuts to unemployment benefits, aiming to create 100,000 jobs and fix deteriorating public finances. A series of shorter strikes had already taken place throughout the autumn against such plans. The strikes will affect industries from transport to construction, closing or hampering services at banks, supermarkets, hotels, child care and transport. Among other large Finnish companies hit are Neste Oyj, which will ramp down its oil and renewable fuels refinery, and about 3,000 workers at factories of Stora Enso Oyj, UPM-Kymmene Oyj and Huhtamaki Oyj are estimated to be also taking part. <br/>
Cathay Pacific has joined 12 other partners – including a Hong Kong-based business group and fuel suppliers – to forming a coalition looking into the development and adoption of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). The Hong Kong Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition (HKSAFC), formed 29 January, “aims to facilitate the adoption of SAF” in Hong Kong and is hoping to do so through research and engagement, as well as raising public awareness on the benefits and challenges of using SAF. “The coalition also seeks to grow Hong Kong as a regional SAF hub that can contribute to global climate mitigation efforts and China’s carbon-neutrality target,” a joint statement reads. Apart from Cathay, other founding members include operator Airport Authority of Hong Kong, Shell Aviation, China Aviation Oil (Hong Kong), Standard Chartered Bank, as well as the Hong Kong Business Environment Council.<br/>The coalition’s formation comes as the Hong Kong government in 2023 signalled its intentions to “drive the use of SAF” in the city. Cathay - like a growing number of carriers worldwide - has set targets SAF usage in the near-term: the Oneworld carrier intends to use SAF for 10% of its total fuel usage by 2030. Airline chief Ronald Lam says: “Hong Kong has to be able to cultivate the development and use of SAF in order to retain and enhance its leading international aviation hub status. However, we cannot do this alone – it requires collaboration among all parties, and the HKSAFC is an important step in this direction.”<br/>