American Airlines
Boeing 737 Max has returned to passenger service in the U.S. Tuesday morning with an American Airlines Flight 718 departed Miami International Airport at 10:40 (ET) for New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
This was the first U.S. commercial flight of Boeing’s 737 Max since two deadly crashes prompted a worldwide grounding of the planes in March 2019.
A spokesperson for American Airlines has announced that a man was banned from flying with the airline after the person refused to wear a facemask and was kicked off the plane. This has been the first enforcement of the new rule after American Airlines had announced it. The airline stated that the person had ignored requests by the crew, offered a later flight and then later banned after the incident had been reviewed. The ban will be lifted when American Airlines decides to lift the mask requirement alltogether at some point in the future.
Wednesday night, American Airlines announced that it plans to let go 30% of its management and support staff by September 30. Affected departments are, among others, marketing, finance and administration. CEO Doug Parker said the company was not planning to have to file for bankruptcy or furlough its employees.
Elise Eberwein, vice president of people and global engagement, justified the move by saying: “Fleet retirement accelerations are underway, and we will fly roughly 100 fewer aircraft next summer — mostly widebodies — than we had originally planned. Additionally, running a smaller airline means we will need a management and support staff team that is roughly 30% leaner."
Frontier Airlines, an American low-cost airline, announced that customers can buy a 'social distancing upgrade' for $39 starting Friday. The upgrade guarantees a seat next to an empty middle seat to maintain social distancing during flights. While other airlines are taking similar approaches to keep passengers at a safe distance, Frontier is the first airline to charge fees.
More and more airlines now mandate passengers to wear face masks during flights. After JetBlue Airways first announced mandatory masks for both crew and all passengers, other airlines followed including Delta, United and American.