British Airways said it recovered from a technical fault much quicker than after previous incidents due to a GBP750m investment in IT. Thousands of the airline’s passengers were delayed from around 5pm on Monday when a failure meant many flights were unable to depart on time. Customers reported being unable to check-in online, while pilots told passengers on aircraft they were being held on the tarmac as vital documents could not be processed. The airline said key systems were back in use after about an hour, with the fault fully resolved in around 90 minutes. No flights were cancelled or diverted as a result of the problem. British Airways has suffered a number of systems failures in recent years, with major disruption in May 2023, August 2019 and May 2017. A spokesperson for the carrier said: “A technical issue affecting some of our operational systems meant that for a short period on Monday, we were unable to depart flights as quickly as usual. Our back-up network immediately kicked in so our operation could continue and we were able to get our main systems back online within an hour. There were no cancellations on our mainline network as a result of this issue. We’ve made significant investment in our IT infrastructure, putting in GBP750m to replace legacy systems to help prevent outages and recover more quickly when they do occur, which is exactly what happened here. We never want to inconvenience customers. We’ve apologised to those who did face delays and we’re grateful to them for their patience, as well as our colleagues who worked so hard to resolve this issue and support customers.”<br/>
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A European airline is hoping to inspire more men to become flight attendants after posting a photo of an all-male crew for International Men's Day. Finnair said that only 10% of its cabin crew are men, but “we hope to see that number grow in the future”. November 19 is International Men's Day, which according to its website “celebrates worldwide the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities. We highlight positive role models and raise awareness of men’s well-being”. Flight AY1331 took off from Helsinki to London Heathrow with 10 male cabin crew and pilots. In the US, stats show about 75% of cabin crew are female, while India’s IndiGo airline only hires women as flight attendants, according to its website. The gender disparity shifts the other way in the cockpit.<br/>
Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has announced an average salary increase of 3.8% for its employees next year, matching the levels of 2023. Cathay’s decision to raise salaries followed reports that the company’s top bosses were paid about 20% more last year than in 2019, with some enjoying substantial gains even as the carrier struggled to return to full capacity. Cathay CEO Ronald Lam Siu-por was the highest paid, with a package worth HK$10.45m (US$1.34m) last year, including a bonus for the preceding year. His pay soared by 32% from HK$7.91m in 2022. The aircrew, in comparison, only received a monthly pay rise of slightly over HK$300. “Cathay is committed to being an attractive and engaging employer of choice that rewards our people for their contribution,” the company said on Tuesday. In addition to a discretionary bonus announced earlier, the Cathay Group would introduce an average salary increase of 3.8% for 2025, it said.<br/>