A California man who tried to intimidate flight attendants on an American Airlines flight using plastic silverware from a service cart and a glass champagne bottle, and then tried unsuccessfully to open an exit door and the cockpit, was sentenced on Wednesday to 19 months in prison. The man, Juan Remberto Rivas, 52, was arrested and charged with interfering with flight crew members on Feb. 13, 2022, after a flight from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri. During the flight, Rivas, who, according to court records, admitted to using methamphetamines before the flight, began to panic and told flight attendants that the plane was not moving and that his family was in danger, court records said. His behavior led to a physical struggle that forced the plane to make an emergency landing in Kansas City, Mo. Rivas, who pleaded guilty in January, had faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison but prosecutors sought a sentence of 41 to 51 months despite him threatening to “bring down the plane,” court records and the attorney’s office said. “The government believes that the defendant’s actions were reckless because of his use of methamphetamine, rather than an intentional effort to bring down the aircraft,” the prosecution, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker, argued in a sentencing memorandum. Angela L. Williams, an assistant public defender representing Rivas, asked for a sentence of time served and three years of supervision. She did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday night. Other passengers on the flight recounted the harrowing experience to the F.B.I. Story has full details.<br/>
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IAG, the owner of five airlines including British Airways, plans to pay a dividend for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic as it reassured investors that demand for travel was still strong. The bullish outlook, as the company reported early summer profits that came close to matching last year’s record, is a boost for an industry facing growing questions over the durability of a two-year travel boom that has powered airlines across the world to record earnings. “We see continuing strong demand for travel in the attractive core markets in which we operate,” said CE Luis Gallego. His comments come as the airline group, which owns a clutch of airlines including Iberia and Aer Lingus, also said it had given up on its efforts to buy Spain’s Air Europa, after failing to persuade EU regulators that the deal would not harm competition and raise prices. The Anglo-Spanish company reported an operating profit before exceptional items of €1.2bn for the second quarter, the start of the peak summer season. That topped analysts’ forecasts but was slightly lower than a record €1.3bn in 2023. Many carriers have been forced to drop ticket prices to fill their aircraft in recent months, after a period of high fare rises following the end of pandemic lockdowns. This week Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines both warned that rising competition was denting their pricing power, while last month, Ryanair took investors by surprise when it announced that air fares would be “materially lower” in the summer months, following a 15% year-on-year fall in the spring. IAG on Thursday said its key markets of the North Atlantic, Latin America and Europe were “performing well”, although it noted “some softness in long-haul pricing in Dublin, as well as in the Asian markets”. <br/>
Air France said on Saturday it and its affiliate Transavia were further extending their suspensions of flights between Paris and Beirut until at least Aug 6, amid rising regional tensions. Airlines are avoiding Iranian and Lebanese airspace and cancelling flights to Israel and Lebanon, as concerns grow over a possible regional conflict after the killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah this week. Air France suspended flights between Paris and Beirut last Monday, two days after a strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights killed 12 children and teenagers, which Israel and the United States blamed on Hezbollah.<br/>That suspension was extended on Wednesday until at least Saturday, Aug 3.<br/>"Given the security situation (...) the airline extends its suspension of its flights between Paris and Beirut until Aug 6 included," Air France said in a statement, adding it was monitoring the situation in Lebanon in real time.<br/>