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A senior United Airlines executive highlighted the widespread loss of experience in the aviation industry since the COVID-19 pandemic and said it may have contributed to recent problems at Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab. "Experience counts and they need to have a good experienced team righting the ship," Executive Vice President Finance Gerry Laderman told the Airline Economics conference in Dublin. "Part of the problem for lots of industrial companies is nobody realised the difficulties that we were all going to get hit with as we came out of COVID," Laderman said. "Principally the supply chain but also a lack of senior people and a lot of retirements: the knowledge base. That impacts everybody, and I think that is part of what happened at Boeing and ... it will take time." Laderman said he would not comment on whether there should be management changes at the planemaker. Boeing said on Monday it was withdrawing a request for a key safety exemption that could have allowed regulators to speed up certification of its coming 737 MAX 7. Lawmakers had been pressuring the planemaker to withdraw the petition following a mid-air cabin blowout on Jan. 5 on a 737 MAX 9 that has exposed numerous safety and quality control concerns at one of the world's two major jetmakers. Investigators are examining whether bolts were missing or incorrectly installed on the Alaska Airlines jet.<br/>

Air Canada has adopted measures to help travellers living with non-visible disabilities, as the carrier looks to improve accessibility after reports of poor treatment last year. The effort, an international initiative known as the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program, allows customers to wear a sunflower lanyard that indicates to staff they may need assistance or have specific needs. The move falls under Air Canada’s three-year accessibility plan, and comes after numerous reports of passenger mistreatment last year, including an incident where a man with spastic cerebral palsy was forced to drag himself off of an airplane due to a lack of help. In November, CEO Michael Rousseau apologized for the carrier’s shortfalls and announced he would speed up its accessibility scheme along with fresh measures to improve the travel experience for hundreds of thousands of passengers living with a disability. The airline also announced Tuesday an accessibility advisory committee made up of customers with disabilities to inform further changes at the 86-year-old company. The sunflower lanyard will be available at check-in counters at multiple airports across Canada and on board all Air Canada flights. The carrier said it is working to train employees and build awareness so they can recognize and respond appropriately to participating customers, whose disabilities could range from autism to Alzheimer’s to hearing loss.<br/>

Earlier this month, while on vacation in Greece, Andrew and Anna Dyczkowski learned that Air Canada was taking them to court. Nearly four years earlier, the B.C. couple had filed a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), the quasi-judicial tribunal and regulator that has jurisdiction over various aspects of the transportation system in Canada. The complaint was centred around a January 2020 flight that the couple says was delayed for 24 hours. Nearly four years later, the CTA ruled that Air Canada owed the Dyczkowskis $1,000 each and gave the airline until the end of December to pay. Instead, Air Canada has opted to challenge the ruling in Federal Court. If the airline is successful, the couple fears they could be out for more than just the $2,000 compensation they received — they could also be on the hook for Air Canada’s legal costs. “It’s intimidating,” Andrew, who works in construction trades in B.C., told National Post on Monday. Andrew says they followed the steps outlined by the Canadian Transportation Act to apply for compensation. He said he wasn’t aware that they could find themselves embroiled in a legal situation as a result. “This is just because we actually followed all the procedures in the CTA and there’s nothing on their website warning about it,” he said. “Well, be careful, because you might get sued by Air Canada and you might be found liable for their costs.” The legal fallout is a result of changes the federal government made to the Canadian Transportation Act last year. The amendments were intended to “clarify, simplify and strengthen consumer protection for air passengers.” They also gave new powers to the CTA to help clear a backlog of more than 45,000 complaints. Dyczkowski’s case is raising concerns that the new rules may disproportionately favour airlines, which can afford to engage in lengthy court proceedings and place financial risks on passengers.<br/>

Newly-established Maltese operator KM Malta Airlines is entering a codeshare agreement with Lufthansa Group. KM Malta Airlines has been set up as a successor to Air Malta. It has secured an air operator’s certificate and aims to commence services from the end of March, using Airbus A320neos. The new carrier states that it has signed a codeshare with Lufthansa Group which will enable passengers to book a single ticket on connecting flights with Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines. KM Malta Airlines says the codeshare with Lufthansa Group “significantly broadens” its European reach, adding that the agreement will extend its network reach to 35 new destinations. It states that the codeshare will take effect from 31 March.<br/>

Star Alliance carrier Austrian Airlines is to open a new transatlantic service, with flights to the US city of Boston. Austrian will start operating on the route from Vienna in July. The Lufthansa Group carrier states that the service will be year-round and consist of up to six weekly flights. Austrian aims to deploy Boeing 767-300ERs on the route. The twinjets will have a total of 211 seats, configured in three classes which include 24 business-class and 30 premium-economy seats. “This expansion enhances our long-haul offering and strengthens the Vienna hub,” says CCO Michael Trestl. Boston will bring to 19 the number of intercontinental destinations served by the airline.<br/>