Aviation Daily, September 1, 2015

Southwest Airlines and its pilots union could have a tentative agreement (TA) “within a couple of weeks,” Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) President Paul Jackson told Aviation Daily. The two sides were in talks led by the National Mediation Board and made “very good progress toward a TA,” Jackson said. If they reach a deal, SWAPA’s board must review and approve it before presenting it to union members for a vote. Southwest’s pilot contract became amendable in 2012.

The first Mitsubishi Aircraft MRJ will fly in the second half of October, the company says, refining but not shifting a target set in April. As expected, the MRJ90 92-seat flight-test aircraft will fly from Nagoya Airport. That is where the company is setting up a final assembly factory, and the current Komaki South plant is already working on the program.

United Airlines is likely to use Boeing 787s to serve secondary cities in China, according to a senior executive. Speaking Aug. 31 at the Boyd Group International Aviation Forecast Summit in Las Vegas, United Vice Chairman and Chief Revenue Officer Jim Compton said United’s San Francisco-Chengdu 787-8 flights, which were launched last year, are a precursor to how it will develop the U.S.-China market. United already served Beijing and Shanghai when it launched Chengdu service, becoming the first U.S. carrier to fly directly to the capital of Sichuan province.

Air Canada is adding density to its mainline international fleet and plans to expand the international reach of its Rouge LCC subsidiary. The carrier’s seat density project is moving ahead, Benjamin Smith, Air Canada president-passenger airlines, told Aviation Daily at the Boyd Group’s International Aviation Forecast Summit here. The process will add more economy seats to the airline’s long-haul Boeing 777 fleet, but will not change the premium cabins. The carrier has 23 777s now and is expecting to take delivery of two more next year, Smith said.

The next milestone for the American Airlines-US Airways integration will be reached in October, when the US Airways brand will be retired and its reservations system will cut over to American’s Sabre system.

JAL is boosting its North American network with the addition of a flight between Tokyo’s Narita Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the main hub of its transpacific partner, American Airlines.

The Jetstar LCC group will make its first foray into turboprop operations with a two-stage launch on New Zealand regional routes in December and…

Australian carrier Regional Express Holdings (Rex) has seen its profits shrink in the fiscal year ending June 30, even though it has significantly…

Schiphol Group said it expects to “substantially” lower airport charges again for 2016 after recording strong financial and traffic results in the…

Concerns about the improper use of UAVs has prompted the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority to create a so-called “Drone code,” advising users to operate their devices within line of sight.