American Airlines has settled a lawsuit accusing web platform Kiwi of being a “rogue online travel agent” that used deceptive practices to sell tickets without American’s consent. American said in a filing in Fort Worth, Texas, federal court on Tuesday that it had reached a confidential agreement with Kiwi and was dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice, which means that the claims cannot be refiled. American had monetary damages and a court-ordered injunction for alleged unfair competition practices and other law violations. Terms of the settlement were not publicly disclosed in Tuesday's filing. American and Miami-based Kiwi did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Kiwi entity based in the Czech Republic was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit and identified as the owner and operator of the company's ticketing website. Kiwi was authorized as an American Airlines travel agent from 2018 to 2020 to sell tickets to American’s passengers, according to the lawsuit. American said it later terminated its agency agreement with Kiwi over "unauthorized and abusive sales activities." The lawsuit said Kiwi subsequently and without approval continued to use “American’s valuable and proprietary fare, schedule and inventory content.”<br/>
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Finland's national carrier Finnair on Wednesday reported its sixth straight quarter of positive operating earnings, and guided for a more than 10% capacity increase in the current year. The airline posted a comparable operating profit of E184m for 2023, after guiding for a profit of E160-200m in October. That was broadly in line with analysts' forecast of E185.5m, LSEG data showed. The company returned to an annual operating profit after ending 2022 with a loss of E163.9m. Finnair had guided for a profit recovery in 2023, as it tries to shake off the negative effects of the pandemic and the closure of Russian airspace after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which challenged the carrier's previously Asia-focused strategy. Comparable operating profit rose to E22.5m in the final quarter of 2023, from E17.9m a year earlier. "Russian airspace closure to EU carriers had a negative impact on Finnair's Asian traffic also during the period," the company said in a statement. Finnair expects to increase in its total capacity by more than 10% in 2024, mainly in Asia and Europe. However, it warned the risks related to the impact of inflation and higher interest rates on demand and costs would remain high. The Finnish airline also said its revenue would grow at a slower pace than capacity this year.<br/>
British Airways will save nearly one million pieces of paper each year by logging aircraft issues electronically instead of in writing, the airline announced. The new E-Logs system will also reduce flight delays as planes will spend less time out of action, according to the carrier. Aircraft technical logs have historically been paper-based, with flight and cabin crew writing out details of faults. The reports are then transcribed and transferred to maintenance teams, who carry out any required work and then update logs, again in writing. E-Logs involves issues being reported via onboard iPads, with the data transferred immediately to engineers before the plane lands. This enables required parts to be ordered more quickly, reducing the amount of time planes are grounded. The technology will avoid the use of more than 900,000 pieces of paper a year, British Airways said. It will also enable the airline to predict faults and pre-emptively address issues before they prevent an aircraft from flying. Andy Best, CTO at British Airways, said: “We’re using the latest technology to help ensure we continue delivering a consistently high standard of service for our customers – always with a focus on safety. Our investment in innovative tools like this means we can support our teams to identify and put solutions in place ahead of time. By replacing time-consuming manual processes with digital technology we are constantly improving the reliability of our aircraft fleet and, as a result, our customers’ experience.” The roll-out of the system is part of a GBP7b “transformation investment” by the airline over the next two years.<br/>
The Libyan Airports Authority (LAA) reported today that a delegation from Royal Air Maroc visited Tripoli’s Mitiga Airport to assess its readiness for the resumption of regular direct flights between Morocco and Libya. The LAA said the delegation sought to determine the procedures followed in the operational process and to ensure that the safety and security measures in place at the airport are consistent with the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The delegation was received by the Director General of Mitiga Airport, the Head of the Airport Security Department at the Authority’s Standards Compliance Department, the directors of the relevant offices and departments at the airport, and some officials of the airport’s security authorities.<br/>
Air Botswana will receive BWP121.2m pula (US$8.8m) from the government of Botswana as a development expenditure, the country’s 2024-2025 draft budget showed. The figure compares to BWP165.9m (US$12.1m) which the flag carrier received in the 2023-2024 budget. Speaking before parliament, Finance Minister Peggy O. Serame stated that the budget aims to finance a number of air, rail, and bridge infrastructure projects. “The air projects to be catered for include: maintenance of airports, improvement of surveillance of Botswana airspace, upgrading of air navigation services infrastructure, installation and improvement of airports security systems, mandatory engines replacement, procurement of airport safety equipment as well as improvement of existing airport security and safety,” she said. The budget is up for approval in March. Air Botswana and the ministry of finance were not immediately available for comment. According to the draft, Air Botswana’s development funding in the Transitional National Development Plan has been revised to BWP702.7m (US$51.2m) for the 2023-2025 period encompassed in the plan from an initial allocation of BWP133.6m (US$9.7m).<br/>
Qantas is bringing in three 737s, as well as charter aircraft from other airlines, to break a six-day strike by Network Aviation pilots in WA. Australian Federation of Air Pilots members at Network, which operates Qantas FIFO and scheduled QantasLink services in the state, have begun six rolling 24-hour work stoppages from Wednesday to Monday, adding a further three days to already-planned industrial action. The Flying Kangaroo says that, despite around 25 return flights being cancelled on each of Wednesday and Thursday as a result of the strike, contingency plans will allow around 80% of passengers to travel on the same day they were booked to do so. “The strike action over the next few days is clearly aimed directly at the Western Australian economy by targeting flying to and from mine sites across the state,” said Network Aviation COO Trevor Worgan. “The strikes planned over the weekend will mainly impact Western Australians travelling to regional towns across WA including places like Geraldton, Broome and Kalgoorlie. We are pulling out all stops to help get most customers to their destination on the same day, whether that’s to see family and friends or get to-and-from a mine site.” 90% of Network’s more than 250 pilots are members of AFAP, and the union says they are the lowest-paid jet pilots in the Qantas Group.<br/>