Travelers have spent many years proving the honor system doesn't make for an orderly airplane boarding process, so now American Airlines is testing a way to make sure people actually board with their assigned group. A Reddit user posted earlier this week that they were flying out of Albuquerque when they noticed something different. "As usual, group 1 was flooded with people but several people ahead of me when trying to scan their boarding pass got an error beep," the post said. "The gate agent proceeded to tell them 'sir/mamm you are group 5, please step aside'. Was awesome to see this enforced and looked like it was system driven vs gate agent having to make that call." American Airlines confirmed that it is, in fact, testing a new boarding enforcement system. “We are in the early phase of testing new technology used during the boarding process. The new technology is designed to ensure customers receive the benefits of priority boarding with ease and helps improve the boarding experience by providing greater visibility into boarding progress for our team," a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement. The trial has been active in Albuquerque and Tucson for a few weeks. The airline plans to expand to more airports soon, including Washington Reagan National Airport, according to American.<br/>
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British Airways continues to navigate the turbulence of airspace restrictions due to geopolitical tensions and crude oil volatility, yet remains resilient in its global operations. In an interview, CEO Sean Doyle delved into how these challenges are shaping the airline’s future. Discussing the impact of geopolitical tensions, Doyle explained, “Russian airspace is closed. We’ve got limitations in European airspace... but we are used to having to navigate through changing circumstances.” British Airways operates across 80 countries, flying to 200 cities globally, which demands swift adaptation. Doyle said, "Our flying programme has largely been unaffected by the changes and restrictions, and I’m proud of how my team handles these challenges." Crude oil price volatility, influenced by escalating tensions in West Asia, remains another major concern. “We try to hedge risk,” Doyle said, “but ultimately, you could spend a lot of time trying to figure out which direction it will go. All I think you’ve got to do is be flexible in the way you manage your business.” Despite these external pressures, British Airways is leading the push towards sustainability, especially in terms of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). "We have a commitment to get to 10% sustainable aviation fuel by 2030, and as a group, we’ve secured about 30% of that supply," Doyle stated. He emphasised the need for further investment in SAF production, saying, "We need policymakers to help us get more production built, whether that’s plants in the UK and Europe to match the pace we see in the US. I think that’s going to be a challenge as we look beyond 2030."<br/>
A court on Monday ordered Australia's Qantas Airways to pay a combined A$170,000 ($114,000) to three baggage handlers it unlawfully sacked in 2020, implying a big damages bill for a lawsuit involving about 1,700 former workers whose jobs were outsourced. Federal Court Judge Michael Lee said Qantas must pay each of the fired workers A$30,000, A$40,000 and A$100,000 respectively for non-economic loss to reflect the "harm sustained" when the airline laid off them and their colleagues to prevent industrial action. The carrier must use those payouts as "test cases" as it negotiates with a union on a total damages bill for all of the former ground workers. Qantas had claimed the sackings were warranted as a cost-cutting measure during the COVID-19 pandemic and fought the industrial lawsuit all the way to the High Court. Lee said he found if Qantas had not illegally outsourced its ground handling operations in 2020, it would have done so lawfully in 2021 to help save about A$100m a year. Though the ruling did not give a final payout figure, it sets the tone for the last major legal battle for the airline as it tries to recover from a reputational horror stretch in relation to its actions during and immediately after pandemic restrictions from 2020 to 2022.<br/>