Alaska Air Group Inc. forecast a third-quarter profit below Wall Street’s expectations, joining other US carriers whose bottom lines are being hit by deep fare discounts. Adjusted earnings will be $1.40 to $1.60 a share, the airline said in a statement Wednesday that also included second-quarter financial results. Analysts had expected $2.06 on average for the period, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Alaska follows larger rivals including United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. that have said extensive price cuts have eroded revenue and expected profits during a summer in which a record 270m people are forecast to travel by air. Larger carriers are forced to match discounts by lower-cost rivals in order to successfully compete for travelers. Alaska on Wednesday also narrowed its full-year profit outlook to between $3.50 and $4.50 per share from the $3.25 to $5.25 it previously anticipated. The $4 mid-point of the new range compares with $4.52 expected by analysts. “That’s entirely driven by this modest revenue reduction versus our original expectation,” CFO Shane Tackett said in an interview. It also reflects a “slightly more expensive” labor agreement to be voted on by flight attendants, he said. Domestic-focused discount airlines added too much flying capacity earlier this year, forcing them to slash ticket prices to fill seats. Most discounting occurred in Alaska’s least-expensive basic economy fares and in the main cabin, Tackett said, while demand for premium tickets continues to be resilient.<br/>
oneworld
Cathay Pacific has been forced to apologise after a video showed an employee throwing luggage down a stairwell. A short clip posted to TikTok by user @muav1 shows the worker picking up bags and casually tossing them down the steps. The caption in the video reads: “When you get caught slacking your job.” The airport this occurred at and the date it happened have not been revealed. The worker can be seen with a Cathay Pacific vest and the Hong Kong-based airline confirmed that she is a member of its ground handling service. The South China Morning Post reported that the airline has reassigned her and an investigation has been launched.<br/>
The Netherlands commemorated on Wednesday the 298 victims of flight MH17 that was shot down over Ukraine 10 years ago with a ceremony attended by the bereaved and representatives from Malaysia, Australia, Britain, Belgium and Ukraine. Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces, the precursor of Russia's invasion of Ukrainein 2022. All 283 passengers and 15 crew on board, including 196 Dutch citizens, were killed, leaving the plane's wreckage and the remains of the victims scattered across fields of corn and sunflowers. Based on an international investigation, a Dutch court in 2022 said there was no doubt the plane was shot down by a Russian missile system and that Moscow had "overall control" of the forces of the separatist "Donetsk People's Republic" in eastern Ukraine from May 2014. Russia denies any involvement.During Wednesday's ceremony, which took place at the MH17 monument in the village of Vijfhuizen near Amsterdam, loved ones read out loud the names of all the victims. Mark Rutte, who was prime minister when the disaster happened and a strong critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin ever since, drew applause for his efforts during his time in office to keep the international spotlight on the incident.<br/>