Two major airlines, American and Southwest, have postponed plans to resume serving alcohol on flights in an effort to stop a surge of unruly and sometimes violent behavior by passengers who have shoved, struck and yelled at flight attendants. Both airlines announced the policies this week after the latest assault was captured on a widely watched video that showed a woman punching a flight attendant in the face on a Southwest flight from Sacramento to San Diego on Sunday. The flight attendant lost two teeth in the assault, according to her union, and the passenger, who was identified by the police as Vyvianna Quinonez, 28, has been charged with battery causing serious bodily injury. She has also been barred for life from flying Southwest, the airline said. Since Jan. 1, the FAA has received about 2,500 reports of unruly behavior by passengers, including about 1,900 reports of passengers refusing to comply with a federal mandate that they wear masks on planes. “We have just never seen anything like this,” Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said during an online meeting with federal aviation officials on Wednesday. “We’ve never seen it so bad.”<br/>
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Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker lashed out at Airbus for the second time this month, warning his airline might stop taking deliveries from the French planemaker this year over an unspecified “serious” issue. “We have an issue with Airbus we need to settle, and if we are not able to settle that serious issue we have with them, we will refuse to take any aircraft from them,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. Problems with Qatar Airways, Al Baker warned, will cause Airbus “a stress in the relationship with IAG, with LatAm, with other airlines in which we have a shareholding.” The subject of the spat? “I unfortunately cannot tell you what that issue is,” Al Baker said. Airbus won’t say either. A spokesperson for the Blagnac, France-based company said it’s in constant discussions with customers about their requirements, and that details on those discussions “remain confidential.” The warning comes days after the airline chief criticized Airbus’s giant A380 jets over their inefficiency and operational cost. However, he said his dissatisfaction with that aircraft was “water under the bridge” and not the subject of the latest dispute. The Qatari carrier has leaned on its diverse fleet to keep flying during the pandemic and expects to service more than 140 destinations by mid-summer. Smaller planes have allowed the carriers to fly with fewer passengers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s even added a handful of new routes to its roster, including Seattle and San Francisco. Staying in the air hasn’t come cheap. Al Baker said the airline’s accepted $3b in support from the Qatari government since the start of the pandemic. <br/>
Qantas is offering unlimited flights for a year among a pool of prizes for people who’ve had Covid-19 shots, the biggest incentive yet from an Australian business in a bid to accelerate the country’s sluggish vaccination rollout. Giving details about the program on Monday, CEO Alan Joyce said 10 “mega prizes” would give families of four free travel with Qantas and its low-cost unit Jetstar for 12 months. Previously announced rewards for fully vaccinated passengers include air miles, flight vouchers and loyalty program status credits. “We have a vested interest in this,” Joyce said Monday. Companies worldwide with the most to gain from a return to normal economic activity are dangling the biggest rewards for vaccinations. United is also offering frequent fliers the chance to win free flights.<br/>