Air Transport

Air Berlin is entering a week of decisions crucial for its survival as the airline finalizes its latest restructuring plan and awaits the renewal of important codesharing rights with partner Etihad Airways.

Air France will announce at an extraordinary works council on Monday, Oct. 5 whether it will move toward a “Plan B” that could result in a 10% reduction of long-haul capacity, massive layoffs and the deferral of the airline’s Boeing 787 deliveries.

A top FAA official has said as many as one million small UAVs could be sold during the upcoming U.S. holiday season.

Multinational management has emerged as a major risk to the Sino-Russian program tasked to build a Boeing 787-10 and Airbus A330-900 competitor.

Republic Airways said on Sept. 28 it had reached a tentative agreement with its pilots union on a new three-year contract after the National Mediation Board (NMB) stepped in and brokered a deal.

Fastjet is revising its 2015 guidance downward, after economic downturns in key markets and significant delays in establishing new bases in the southern African cities of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

After recently splitting its frequent-flier program from United Airlines’ MileagePlus, Copa Airlines this week said it is operating its new platform using Amadeus software.

Alcoa said Sept. 28 that by the second half 2016 it plans to split into two publicly traded Fortune 500 companies.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) is preparing to reshuffle operations in the key North American market and is also considering adding another U.S. destination.

Air Canada’s new distribution deal with Amadeus will support the airline’s expansion into new international markets, according to Duncan Bureau, the airline’s vice president-global sales.

Norwegian Air Shuttle’s transatlantic network just got more ambitious, with two new routes planned to Boston and New York from Cork, Ireland.

Polynesian Airlines is asking the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) to extend the only cabotage route in the country by one more month.

Compass Airlines and ATP Flight School have finalized a tuition-reimbursement agreement.

Air New Zealand has completed a new airport lounge for its Auckland hub, the largest step in a four-year NZ$100 million ($63 million) program to upgrade its lounge facilities in New Zealand and overseas.

Without a new spending bill by Sept. 30, the U.S. government could be forced to shut down.

While Airbus focuses on A320neo to address middle-of-the-market for commercial aircraft, options for Boeing are less clear and will take time to sort out.

Mexican low-cost carrier bolsters its routes with Sukhoi SSJ100s.

Mexican legacy carrier enhances its global reach, updates infrastructure and eyes partnerships.

Ryanair will not use the proceeds from the sale of its Aer Lingus stake to finance new aircraft and instead will distribute almost €400 million ($358.9 million) to shareholders.

The Chinese agreement signed on Sept. 23 for 300 Boeing aircraft includes aircraft not subject to orders.

Pilots at Trans States Airlines this week ratified a new contract that the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) says will provide for the highest first-year first-officer pay in the regional airline industry.

Sun Country Airlines has reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with its pilots following five years of negotiating.

Preliminary data from IATA’s Maintenance Cost Task Force’s (MCTF) annual report on airline costs show that outsourcing continues to steadily increase.

Cathay Pacific plans to take action to improve its pilot-rostering practices, as some pilots express concerns about increasing workloads and fatigue.

Air passenger traffic in Venezuela fell 8.5% year-over-year in 2014, according to an IATA report.