News and notes from around the interweb:

• The FAA’s e-mail scandal (as far as I know, no private servers were involved)

  FAA Cheating Scandal Emails Are Missing. In response to a lawsuit filed by would-be air traffic controllers protesting alleged assistance to help some applicants cheat on the Biographical Assessment, the FAA on February 29th filed a motion in Federal District Court in Arizona to dismiss a congressional Freedom of Information Act request to release emails between FAA employees accused in the lawsuit. FAA had turned over some of the emails but withheld 181 documents, which it now says are unrecoverable.

• British Airways is offering free upgrades in one direction for UK and Ireland residents who buy a business class roundtrip. The offer applies to British Airways flights and also British Airways codeshares on American Airlines when flying between the US and Europe.

  You have to book by June 14 and travel outbound by August 28 and return by September 8. The offer is available on semi-flexible R, D or C class fares and fully flexible J class business class fares (no deep discount I fares, for instance). Upgrades have to be available and the offer must be taken by phone. A handful of routes in India plus Seoul, Bangkok, Bermuda and Chengdu aren’t eligible.

  

• Saudi Arabia has banned Iran’s Mahan Air over safety violations though that’s partially considered to be pretext for international tensions between the two countries.

• Singapore Airlines will debut a new regional business class in 2018, outfitting it into their Boeing 787-10s. The seat will be manufactured by a company owned by Airbus.

• An airline’s failure to pay $680 in compensation to a customer nearly caused a plane to be impounded

• Flyover Country app helps you learn about the places you’re flying over (HT: Paul H.)

• Skyteam member Kenya Airways will shed 15% of its workforce

• A seder safety announcement (HT: Travel Zork)