For the past three years, one US airline has been consistently more likely to mishandle passengers’ luggage than any other. Between 2021 and 2024, American Airlines had the most reported instances of mishandled luggage of any US airline, according to analysis of Department of Transportation Air Travel Consumer Report data by MyBaggage.com. American Airlines handled more than 200m pieces of luggage in the past three years. Of those, more than 1.7m were mishandled, averaging 8.71 per 1,000 cases. The data also showed that American Airlines ranked highest for mishandled luggage every year for the past decade. The airline acknowledged the issue and said it has been working on improvements. American Airlines said the company saw a 25% year-over-year improvement in mishandled baggage in February, and had its lowest mishandled baggage report since 2017, in an email to SFGATE. “If we get [travelers] there and the bag doesn’t make it, [there’s a] huge drop in their perception of the service or the value they got from buying a ticket on American,” American Airlines COO David Seymour told the Wall Street Journal.<br/>
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IAG’s planned acquisition of Spanish carrier Air Europa will undergo additional assessment after further commitments were submitted to clear the deal. The European Commission has advised that it is extending the deadline for examining the proposed tie-up by 10 working days. IAG had been informed in April that its acquisition of Air Europa could restrict competition, particularly on routes into and out of Spain. The Commission had required submission of further remedies by 10 June. It extended its assessment deadline on 7 June, stating that additional commitments had been submitted. Previous commitment offered by IAG in February had been considered insufficient to offset the Commission’s concerns over the acquisition. It had remarked that certain Spanish domestic routes – notably those without a high-speed rail alternative – as well as routes to Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas could face reduced competition.<br/>
Australia's Qantas Airways said on Thursday it will acquire the remaining 49% stake in online travel business TripADeal for A$211m ($140.6m) as the airline seeks to capitalize on strong demand for holiday bookings. Easing travel restrictions following the pandemic and higher demand for holidays has boosted online travel bookings.<br/>The deal will enable the group to deepen synergies by combining Qantas and partner airline Jetstar's network with the growing curated tour market, Qantas said. Qantas acquired a majority stake in TripADeal in 2022. Following the deal to buy the remaining stake in TripADeal, expected to be completed by the end of June 2024, Qantas expects combined cost and revenue synergies of at least A$50m annually across the group. TripADeal will continue to operate as an independent business following the acquisition, working with a range of travel partners and airlines, Qantas said.<br/>