LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) – British Airways pilots are to go on strike for three days in September, their union said on Friday, in a dispute over pay that could disrupt the peak summer holiday season.
Last month, the pilots overwhelmingly voted for industrial action and the airline, which is part of IAG, failed in a court bid to stop them.
“The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has today given notice to British Airways that it will call on its members to strike on 9th, 10th and 27th September 2019,” the union said in a statement.
“It is clear, following discussions with members over the last few days, that BA’s most recent offer will not gain the support of anywhere near a majority of its pilots.”
British Airways said the strike action was unjustifiable as their pay offer was fair and that the strikes would destroy the travel plans of tens of thousands of customers.
“We are now making changes to our schedule. We will do everything we can to get as many people away on their journeys as possible,” the airline said in a statement.
“However, it is likely that many of our customers will not be able to travel and we will be offering refunds and re-bookings for passengers booked on cancelled flights.”
The airline said it was exploring options to supplement its fleet with aircraft and crew from other airlines, known as wet-leasing, and working with partner airlines to schedule larger aircraft to take more customers.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison)
JetBlue Airways emblazoned its logo on to the iconic Pepsi-Cola sign that sits along the East River in Queens.
And it doesn’t fly with many New Yorkers.
The move is part-advertisement and part-celebratory.
JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU), which is based in Queens, switched from Coca-Cola Co. to PepsiCo Inc. for its drink service.
With PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP), JetBlue applied for a permit for the temporary installation back in July. It was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Aug. 14, according to the New York Post.
LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Investigators probing an engine explosion on an Air France A380 in 2017 are studying a possible manufacturing flaw in a recently salvaged cracked part in a move likely to trigger urgent checks on dozens of Airbus superjumbos, people familiar with the matter said.
The focus of a two-year-old investigation into the mid-air explosion over Greenland, which left the plane carrying more than 500 passengers with the front of one engine missing, has switched to the recently recovered “fan hub,” the people said.
The titanium alloy part is the centrepiece of a 3-metre-wide fan on engines built for the world’s largest airliner by U.S.-based Engine Alliance, co-owned by General Electric and United Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney.
It had sat buried in Greenland’s ice sheet since September 2017 when one of four engines on Air France flight 66 abruptly disintegrated en route from Paris to Los Angeles. It was prised from the ice in June after a high-tech aerial radar search.
Confirming the focus of the probe after Reuters reported the plans for inspections, France’s BEA air accident agency said it had discovered a “sub-surface fatigue crack” on the recovered part and the engine maker was preparing checks.
The people familiar with the matter linked the crack to a suspected manufacturing flaw and said the checks – to be carried out urgently on engines that have conducted a certain number of flights – would affect dozens of the double-decker jets.
The people said the suspect part was fabricated on behalf of consortium member Pratt & Whitney, which declined to comment.
Engine Alliance is one of two engine suppliers for the Airbus A380 in competition with Britain’s Rolls-Royce.
Its engines power a total of 152 aircraft or just over 60 percent of the 237 A380s in service.
Besides Air France, other airlines operating the A380 with Engine Alliance powerplants include Dubai’s Emirates, Qatar Airways, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad and Korean Air.
The checks will involve taking some planes out of service outside their usual maintenance schedules, one source said.
Investigations are not complete and are likely to tackle other features such as the loads or physical forces at play. Experts say air accidents are rarely caused by isolated factors.
Europe’s Airbus declined to comment.
SIOUX CITY REMEMBERED
Nobody was hurt in the September 2017 incident, in which the Air France superjumbo diverted safely to Goose Bay in Canada.
Although rare, uncontained engine failures, in which shrapnel capable of puncturing the fuselage exits an engine at extremely high speeds, automatically raise alarm.
The checks come weeks after relatives marked 30 years since an engine failure left a United Airlines DC-10 with almost no control, culminating in the death of 111 out of the 296 people on board during an attempted landing at Sioux City, Iowa.
U.S. investigators cited a defective titanium alloy part and weak inspection procedures, although they also praised the “highly commendable” performance of the crew of flight 232.
The July 1989 crash sped up improvements in manufacturing methods for titanium alloy. Experts say hidden internal defects in such parts are unusual but remain difficult to detect.
Titanium alloy is used widely in aerospace, which is the metal’s biggest customer due to its strength compared to the weight of each part and its ability to handle high temperatures.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Elaine Hardcastle)
LONDON, UK:
Cabin Crew using an iPhone XR on board a flight on 05 August 2019
(Picture by Nick Morrish/British Airways)
Every member of British Airways’ 15,000 cabin crew will receive an iPhone XR in latest phase of multi-million pounds investment in technology and training
New phones are part of initiative to empower cabin crew to deliver personalised customer service to customers
Investment comes after British Airways awarded prestigious Skytrax gong for Best Airline Staff in Europe
As part of British Airways’ £6.5bn investment for customers, the airline has announced that all of its 15,000 cabin crew will be issued with iPhone XRs to help them offer a more personalised service to the more than 45 million customers that travel with the airline every year. The investment for all cabin crew members follows a successful trial of iPads for senior cabin crew on board every flight.
The new phones will be loaded with a selection of apps to help crew offer customers instant additional assistance during their journey.
They will also have access to a range of customer information at their fingertips, including previous flights and meal preferences, enabling them to personalise every interaction.
The investment is part of British Airways’ continued commitment to ensure customers receive the best customer service at every stage of their journey.
Bradley Smith, 27, one of the first cabin crew to receive a brand-new iPhone XRs says the phones are enabling a step-change in customer service: “Recently, when a customer realised that he had forgotten to order a special meal, he was really impressed when I quickly took out the phone, logged onto ba.com and ordered a meal for his return journey – all within a matter of minutes in the middle of the flight.
“It felt so rewarding to be able to immediately resolve the situation for the customer. All my crew reference guides are also loaded onto the phone, so everything I need is in my pocket throughout each flight; it really has made a huge difference already.”
Karen Slinger, British Airways’ Head of Inflight Customer Experience, said: “Our customers spend up to 14 hours with our cabin crew on a single flight and we know from the recent success at the Skytrax Awards that the care provided by our people has a huge impact on the overall customer experience and is what sets us apart from other airlines. This investment is about further empowering our crew and providing them with everything they need to deliver the very best service to our customers while in the air.”
The rollout of these devices is the latest initiative to enhance customer service at British Airways. Earlier this year, the airline launched Help Me; a brand-new section of ba.com to help customers make changes to their bookings and find out more about their consumer rights if their journey doesn’t go to plan. The airline also announced a multi-million-pound investment in training for its staff based at Heathrow, with every agent now trained to help customers with a range of different queries and personally reach out to them at the airport using iPads loaded with a host of specialist apps.
British Airways is investing £6.5 billion to improve its customer experience over the next five years, including the installation of high-speed, industry-leading WiFi across the fleet, which will help cabin crew access the latest information for customers on their devices whilst in flight. The airline will also take delivery of 73 new aircraft, including 18 A350s, with four of the new aircraft joining the fleet before the end of the year.
Today British Airways has launched a sale offering a pair of Club World (business class) seats from just £2019 return.
There are a range of destinations available for £2019 return for two, including top US destinations such as New York, Miami, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas. Further afield the £2019 fare for two will take travellers to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Other destinations are available for marginally more including Beijing, Hong Kong and Bangkok for £2998, Mumbai, Chennai, Lagos and Abuja for £2999, Antigua for £2305, Barbados for £2332 return and Toronto for £2399.
BA Holidays deals are also available, including:
Dubai: Club World flights plus three nights at a 4* hotel from £1069 per person
New York: Club World flights plus three nights at a 4* hotel from £1199 per person
Las Vegas: Club World flights plus three nights at a 4* hotel from £1149 per person
Dominican Republic: Club World flights plus seven nights all-inclusive at a 4* hotel from just £1359 per person
And there are deals to be had in other cabins too with two First class seats to New York and Miami respectively available from £3019.
Members of the airline’s Executive Club will benefit by saving with Avios part payment, securing the same £2019 deal for two people travelling together in Club World by paying just £619 return and 261,000 Avios.
Travel is for selected dates between August 13 and September 30, 2019 and customers need to book by August 19.
To book please visit ba.com/luxury-offers.
Ends August 12, 2019
Notes to editors:
Full terms and conditions can be found at ba.com/luxury-offers.
The sale runs between 12pm today, August 12, 2019 and 11.59pm on August 19, 2019.
Embraer delivers 26 Commercial and 25 Executive Jets in 2Q19
São José dos Campos, Brazil, July 30, 2019 – Embraer (NYSE: ERJ) delivered a total of 51 jets in the second quarter of 2019 (2Q19), of which 26 were commercial aircraft and 25 were executive jets (19 light and 6 large). As of June 30th, the firm order backlog totaled USD 16.9 billion compared to USD 16.0 billion at the end of 1Q19. Embraer’s 2Q19 backlog increase is largely due to continued market demand, mainly for the new family of Praetor jets in Executive Aviation. See details below:
In the second quarter, Embraer received the Type Certificate for the E195-E2 from three regulatory authorities: ANAC, the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil); the FAA (U.S. Federal Aviation Administration) and EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency). The E195-E2 is the largest of the three members of the E-Jets E2 family of Embraer commercial airplanes.
In the beginning of the 2Q19, Embraer signed a firm order for 10 E195-E2 jets with Air Peace, Nigeria’s largest airline. The contract includes purchase rights for a further 20 E195-E2s. With all purchase rights being exercised, the contract has a value of USD 2.12 billion.
During the 53rd International Paris Air Show, Embraer announced several sales contracts as follows. All values are based on Embraer’s current list prices.
United Airlines signed a contract for up to 39 E175s, comprising 20 firm aircraft and 19 options. The order has a value of USD 1.9 billion with all options being exercised. Binter, of Spain, confirmed the purchase rights for two additional E195-E2s from the original contract signed in 2018. The two new E195-E2s have a value of USD 141.8 million.
Embraer also announced KLM Cityhopper’s intention to purchase up to 35 E195-E2 jets, consisting of 15 firm orders with purchase rights for a further 20 aircraft of the same model. This intention to purchase, which still requires a Purchase Agreement, has a value of USD 2.48 billion.
Embraer announced during the Paris Air Show that it signed a contract with Japan’s Fuji Dream Airlines (FDA) for a firm order of two E175 jets. The order has a value of USD 97.2 million and was already included in Embraer’s 1Q19 backlog as “undisclosed.”
In the executive aviation segment, Embraer received the Type Certificate for the new Praetor 600 super-midsize business jet by the three main world regulatory agencies: ANAC, the FAA, and EASA. The first Praetor 600 was delivered in June to an undisclosed European customer.
Embraer Defense & Security and ELTA Systems Ltd (ELTA), a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), signed at the 53rd International Paris Air Show a Strategic Cooperation Agreement to introduce the P600 AEW (Airborne Early Warning). In this cooperation, Embraer is to provide the air platform, ground support, communications systems and aircraft integration while ELTA is to provide the AEW radar, SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) and other electronic systems and system integration.
Embraer Services & Support announced at the Paris Air Show a contract with Azul Linhas Áereas Brasileiras, S.A. for a long-term Flight Hour Pool Program agreement for the carrier’s brand new fleet of Embraer E195-E2 jets. The Company also announced pool maintenance and parts agreements with Helvetic Airways, from Switzerland, and Aurigny Air Services, from the Guernsey Island. During the MRO Americas event, in early April, Embraer also announced support contracts with Air Botswana, Binter, from Spain, and Mauritania Airlines.
British Airways (BA) has taken delivery of its first A350-1000 at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France, making it the first operator of the larger A350-1000 in International Airlines Group (IAG). In total, BA has ordered 18 A350-1000’s. Iberia, which is also part of IAG, already operates five of the smaller A350-900’s.
BA’s A350 XWB with its modern and comfortable Airspace cabin will usher in new levels of comfort with the launch of the Club Suite, the first new business class seat for British Airways in 13 years. The airline’s sophisticated and newly-branded “Club Suite” offers direct-aisle access, a suite door for greater privacy and luxurious flat-bed seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.
The three-class layout includes 56 Club Suites, 56 World Traveller Plus and 219 World Traveller economy seats.
BA, celebrating its 100th anniversary, will initially use the aircraft to fly between London and Madrid prior to flying long-haul routes from September.
BA operates a fleet of over 150 Airbus aircraft from the smallest A318 to the largest A380.
The A350 XWB offers by design unrivalled operational flexibility and efficiency for all market segments up to ultra-long haul (15,000 km). It features the latest aerodynamic design, a carbon fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines. Together, these latest technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency, with a 25% reduction in fuel burn and emissions. The A350 XWB’s Airspace by Airbus cabin is the quietest of any twin-aisle and offers passengers and crews the most modern in-flight products for the most comfortable flying experience.
At the end of June 2019, the A350 XWB Family had received 893 firm orders from 51 customers worldwide, making it one of the most successful wide-body aircraft ever.
CAIRO, July 20 (Reuters) – British Airways and Lufthansa abruptly suspended flights to Cairo from Saturday over security concerns, but giving no details about what may have prompted the move.
“We constantly review our security arrangements at all our airports around the world, and have suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precaution to allow for further assessment,” British Airways said in a statement.
Lufthansa later said it had cancelled its flights to Cairo on Saturday from Munich and Frankfurt and will resume its flights on Sunday
British Airways, a unit of IAG, also said that it would never operate an aircraft unless it was safe to do so. When asked for more details about why flights had been suspended and what security arrangements the airline was reviewing, a spokeswoman responded: “We never discuss matters of security.”
Three Egyptian airport security sources told Reuters that British staff had been checking security at Cairo airport on Wednesday and Thursday. They gave no further details.
The British Foreign Office updated its travel advisory on Saturday to add a reference to the British Airways’ suspension, advising travellers affected to contact the airline.
Egypt’s Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement late on Saturday that it had contacted the British Embassy in Cairo which had confirmed that the decision to suspend the flights was not issued by Britain’s transport or foreign ministries.
The Egyptian ministry added that it will add more flights from Cairo to London starting on Sunday “to facilitate transporting passengers during this period.”
The British government has long advised against all but essential travel by air to and from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where a Russian passenger jet was bombed in 2015, but has not issued similar warnings against air travel to and from Cairo.
“There’s a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation. Additional security measures are in place for flights departing from Egypt to the UK,” the British advisory says.
Tourism, a key source of foreign revenue for Egypt, has been recovering after tourist numbers dropped in the wake of a 2011 uprising and the 2015 bombing of the Russian jet, which killed all 224 people on board shortly after takeoff.
That attack, which was claimed by Islamic State, prompted Russia to halt all flights to Egypt for several years and a number of countries including Britain to cease flights to Sharm el Sheikh, which have yet to resume.
(Reporting by Lena Masri and Amina Ismail; editing by Peter Graff, Diane Craft and G Crosse)
LONDON (Reuters) – Airbus is close to a deal worth billions of dollars to sell dozens of A320neo-family and smaller A220 aircraft to Air France as the French network carries out a keenly awaited renewal of its medium-haul fleet, industry sources said.
The deal could include as many as 50-70 Canadian-designed A220 jets, formerly known as CSeries, to replace Air France’s ageing fleet of roughly 50 A318 and A319 aircraft, they said.
Air France is also expected to pick the A320neo family to replace approximately 40 earlier versions of the Airbus A320 that are up to 18 years old.
A spokeswoman for Franco-Dutch parent Air France-KLM said: “Air France is pursuing work on its medium-haul fleet renewal. No decision has been taken at this stage.”
Airbus declined to comment on the deal, which is expected to be formally discussed at an end-month Air France-KLM board meeting.
The expected deal marks a rebound for Airbus after rival Boeing poached part of the fleet of British Airways owner IAG at last month’s Paris Airshow.
That deal caught Airbus off guard, though in the longer term sources say it may also have eased the European planemaker’s anxieties over the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX following the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March.
Airbus privately hopes the MAX will survive the crisis to avoid a costly race to develop all-new aircraft and to ease the prospect of a radical change in certification rules.
The anticipated Air France deal also illustrates Airbus’s recent deliberate effort to boost A220 sales by packaging deals together with its benchmark A320, industry sources said.
Airbus bought the loss-making A220 programme from Canada’s Bombardier last year and immediately began offering it to customers that already have other Airbus aircraft, allowing it to juggle prices and ancillary services across the fleet.
Air France-KLM, formed from a merger of French and Dutch flag carriers in 2004, continues to operate a mixed fleet between its two main national networks.
KLM last month provisionally became the first major European customer for the newly certified E195-E2 offered by A220 rival Embraer of Brazil, whose commercial aerospace arm is being acquired by Boeing.
KLM signed a letter of intent for 15 of the upgraded aircraft and options for another 20.
The Dutch carrier and Franco-Dutch low-cost subsidiary Transavia both operate the Boeing 737 family.
(Additional reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Geert de Clercq and Luke Baker)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump met on Thursday with the chief executives of major American airlines to discuss their accusations that subsidies by Qatar and United Arab Emirates are costing jobs in the United States.
The meeting between Trump and the CEOs of American Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue Airways Corp, FedEx Corp, and Atlas Air included Vice President Mike Pence, the White House said.
The meeting also included the CEO of state-owned Qatar Airways, Akbar al-Baker, who was also at the White House last week to tout its decision in June to buy five new Boeing 777 freighters.
The White House did not immediately provide details of the meeting.
Since 2015 the largest U.S. carriers – Delta Air Lines, American and United Airlines – have argued their Gulf rivals are being unfairly subsidized by their governments, distorting competition and costing U.S. jobs – something the Gulf carriers deny.
The Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, a group representing Delta, American, United and aviation unions, said it had a “productive meeting” with Trump.
“The president shares our concerns and instructed us to keep working with the U.S. Department of Transportation, which we plan to do,” Scott Reed, the group’s managing partner, said in a statement.
The CEOs of JetBlue, FedEx and Atlas Air have warned that restricting the rights of Qatar Airways could lead to retaliation against U.S. carriers and added, in an April letter, it could lead to “a rapid unravelling of hard-fought aviation rights around the world when other governments take similar action to shield their state-owned airlines from competition.”
Last week, the CEOs of Delta, United and American wrote a joint USA Today op-ed urging the White House to act “decisively to hold Qatar and the UAE accountable.” They suggested that failing to respond would “signal to other countries that they too are free to exploit American workers.”
In April, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration was scrutinizing Qatar Airways’ acquisition of a 49% stake in Air Italy, which has been flying to U.S. destinations since 2018 in a move seen by U.S. lawmakers as flouting a deal not to add new flights to the domestic market.
Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have said they were concerned that the deal with the Italian carrier contravened an understanding Qatar Airways reached with the United States in early 2018.
Qatar Airways acquired the 49% of Italian airline Meridiana in 2017, rebranded it Air Italy and transformed it into a carrier with five announced nonstop U.S. destinations from Milan.
The Qatari government said in 2018 it was unaware of any plans to launch flights from Qatar to U.S. destinations via stops in Europe known as “Fifth Freedom” flights.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason; editing by Marguerita Choy, Tom Brown and Richard Chang)
