Troubles mount for American Airlines after it cancels more flights over loose seats

Troubles continue to mount for American Airlines, which was forced to cancel 44 flights Friday as it scrambles to fix seats in its Boeing 757s that could pop loose during flight.

The nation's third biggest airline announced that 44 flights are canceled on Friday. Fifty flights were canceled Thursday.

Airline officials said late Thursday that they had come up with a fix for the seats, and they began pulling 48 Boeing 757s out of service to make repairs. All the planes should be back in service by Saturday. 

Officials said a combination of wear, poor design and even soda spilled into the tracks can cause seats to become loose during flight.

The loose seats are one of many problems facing the troubled airline. 

iPad & airlines pilots: The case of Air France & American Airlines

Air France: iPads serving the needs of flight safety

Air France is the first major European airline to equip its 4,100 pilots with an iPad digital tablet. Boeing 777- qualified pilots have been using it on a daily basis since June, and all the Company’s pilots will be equipped by summer 2013.

Interview with Sébastien VEIGNEAU, First Officer on B777 & iPad project pilot correspondent. 

What are the advantages of using this tablet?

The Flight Operations Division and the Air France IT Systems Division have been working together with Apple to personalize this tool and adapt it especially for our pilots. It will simplify access to information, notably for consulting regulatory documentation, and facilitate our communication channels within the Company.

Starting in 2013, iPad will offer training and refresher e-learning modules, i.e., aircraft system revision, self-service briefings, flight path and airfield recognition. With this tool, Air France has chosen to promote use of new technologies and is the first European airline to equip its pilots. 

Berkshire’s NetJets Forms China Venture on Luxury Demand

NetJets Inc., the business-jet operator owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), will form a venture in China as rising wealth and trade spurs demand for luxury flights.

The China operations will be part-owned by investors including Hony Capital and Fung Investments, according to a statement yesterday. NetJets, once Buffett’s “No. 1 worry,” is expanding in China as the country’s growing economy stokes flights by local and overseas customers, the company said.

“The aviation industry is really picking up now in China,” Ernie Edwards, president of Embraer SA’s executive-jet division, said in an interview at a trade show in Shanghai. NetJets agreed in 2010 to buy as many as 125 Phenom 300 business jets from the Brazilian planemaker.

American Airlines Wants To Cut 13,000 Jobs, Pensions

American Airlines will cut maintenance staff,
flight attendants, pilots and management

American Airlines laid out for the first time on Wednesday what it will expect its employees to give up in its restructuring process — and the proposal was far worse than they feared. 

The airline, which filed for bankruptcy in November, said it wanted to get rid of 13,000 workers, or 16 percent of its work force. It plans to terminate its pension plans. It wants to cut back health benefits for current employees and retirees. Over all, it said, it seeks to cut employee costs by 20 percent.

The proposals are just the opening move in what are expected to be long and contentious negotiations. A bankruptcy judge must approve any new contract if the unions reject American’s proposals. But judging from previous airline bankruptcies, American might get much of what it is seeking.

Union representatives said they were stunned after meeting throughout the day with airline executives at the carrier’s headquarters in Fort Worth.