Garuda Indonesia, the nation's flag carrier, may have to cancel some flights on Thursday as many of its 650 local pilots plan to launch a 24-hour strike over wage inequality, a spokesman for the pilots union said on Wednesday.

Millions of dollars in U.S. airport taxes went uncollected Sunday while thousands of federal workers were out of work for a second day, following Congress' failure last week to pass a bill keeping the country's aviation authority running.

Pilots on international routes for Australian airline Qantas on Friday began their first industrial action in 45 years with unauthorised in-flight announcements telling passengers about their dispute.

The chief financial officer of American Airlines and its parent, AMR Corp., is joining the board of clothing retailer Gap Inc.

Air France said on Saturday that flight attendants had agreed to call off a four-day strike planned for the end of July that had threatened to throw French air travel into chaos at a peak vacation time.

Pilots on international Qantas flights began industrial action this morning in their campaign to stop jobs moving offshore.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.

Singapore Airlines appointed GM-Japan Campbell Wilson CEO of its no-frills, low-fare airline set to be launched next year. Wilson has been with SIA Group for more than 15 years, holding various positions.

Qantas has been informed by the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) that long-haul pilots will take industrial action from this Friday including making union announcements to passengers over the in-flight public address system.