American Airlines and JetBlue Airways on Friday lost a U.S. court bid to dismiss class actions claiming a former alliance between the companies caused passengers to pay higher prices for some flights in the Northeast. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn ruled that the passengers had presented sufficient information for now to pursue allegations that the airlines’ agreement violated U.S. antitrust law. American, JetBlue and attorneys for plaintiffs at law firms Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd and Israel David did not immediately respond to requests for comment. American and JetBlue have denied any wrongdoing. American is the largest U.S. airline by fleet size and JetBlue is the sixth largest. The airlines agreed in 2020 to operate together for most flights in and out of the Boston and New York areas. The alliance included schedule coordination, revenue sharing and reciprocal loyalty and corporate customer benefits. The passengers sued in 2022, following a lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department and a group of states that claimed the alliance harmed consumers. A federal judge in Massachusetts overseeing the government's case ruled last year that American must end its alliance with JetBlue, after finding the deal was a “naked agreement” between the two companies to refrain from competing against each other. The airlines’ appeal of that order is pending, but the companies have taken steps to unwind the alliance.<br/>
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A former American Airlines aircraft mechanic was sentenced on Friday to nine years in prison after being convicted of trying to smuggle cocaine hidden beneath the cockpit of a flight to New York from Jamaica. Paul Belloisi, 56, of Smithtown, New York, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dora Irizarry in Brooklyn, after being convicted in May 2023 of conspiring to possess cocaine, conspiring to import cocaine and importing cocaine. The case arose from a routine search of American flight 1349 following its Feb. 4, 2020 arrival at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, where Belloisi had been an American mechanic for more than two decades, from Montego Bay, Jamaica. Prosecutors said custom officers found 10 cocaine bricks weighing 25.6 pounds (11.6 kg) in an electronics compartment beneath the cockpit, and replaced them with fake bricks sprayed with a substance that glows under a special black light. Belloisi allegedly drove up to the plane before it could take off again, and entered the electronics compartment. Prosecutors said law enforcement confronted him, and showed that he handled the fake bricks because his gloves glowed under the black light. They also said Belloisi was carrying an empty tool bag and wore a jacket large enough to hold the cocaine.<br/>The cocaine had a street value of more than $250,000. American was not accused of wrongdoing.<br/>
Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) – the parent company of national carrier Malaysia Airlines – expects its profitability to “take a beating” following a spate of operational woes, though the full financial impact remains to be seen. MAG managing director Izham Ismail says the group had in June forecast a “comfortable” net profit for the year ending December 2024. That outlook “will be less rosy” following the incidents in recent weeks, which forced the group to cut 20% of its schedules through the year-end in an effort to stabilise its operations. MAG was hit by delays in aircraft deliveries, as well as reliability and technical issues on its fleet of older jets. “Admittedly, it will decline. It will take a beating,” says Izham, who was speaking to FlightGlobal in Kuala Lumpur. He says the group’s 2024 earnings will be “nowhere near” the same levels as that of the previous year. MAG posted posted a net profit of MYR766m ($177m) in 2023 – finishing in the black for the first time since its restucturing. While he declines to share specifics, Izham believes the group will improve its earnings again in 2025. Despite the anticipated financial hit from its operational challenges, Izham insists the airline will prioritise safety over its profitability. While the capacity cuts were ongoing, Izham recalls being warned that the move would impact its bottom-line. <br/>