oneworld

A British-led online investigative team says it has identified Russian soldiers linked to a surface-to-air missile suspected of downing Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine in 2014. The Bellingcat report paints a picture of up to 100 Russian soldiers and officers who it says could have known about or been involved in the plane’s downing. Drawing on open source data such as soldiers’ social network photos, an online forum for soldiers’ relatives and Google Earth satellite imagery, the report expands on previous Bellingcat findings to argue that a Buk missile belonging to the 2nd battalion of Russia’s 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade likely shot down the Boeing 777. The new report raises the likelihood that “justice could be served”, Bellingcat head Eliot Higgins said. <br/>

Qantas will struggle to deliver streaming entertainment and video calls over its new inflight Wi-Fi system as promised, a prominent telecommunications expert says. The airline announced Tuesday it would trial free Wi-Fi connecting passengers to the National Broadband Network, giving them internet as fast as what they are used to on the ground. But Rod Tucker, professor at the University of Melbourne's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, said Qantas was being "very optimistic" with its high-speed claims. Tucker said a satellite dish in remote Australia could deliver speeds of up to 20 megabits per second. On a plane, however, that bandwidth would be shared among passengers, with speeds deteriorating for each additional device connected to the service. <br/>

The competition watchdog has given Qantas the all-clear to continue its trans-Pacific alliance with American Airlines for another 5 years. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says the airlines can continue to co-operate on things like sales, freight, pricing and frequent flyer programs. ACCC Commissioner Roger Featherston said the deal will give passengers new flight frequencies and destinations, more online connections, better scheduling, greater loyalty program benefits, and improved lounge access. “The alliance is also likely to promote competition between other airlines that provide services on trans-Pacific routes,” he said. <br/>

Qantas workers have urged their boss Alan Joyce to back off plans to freeze their pay after the airline posted a record half-year profit of almost A$1b. After Qantas announced its $921m profit before tax Tuesday, the Australian Services Union said it was "going to make it a bit hard" to ask its low-paid members to accept a pay freeze in their next enterprise agreement. The union said workers had increased their productivity since Qantas started shedding 2000 to 5000 jobs in 2014 and did not deserve to have their pay frozen. A Qantas spokeswoman said the wage freeze depended on the agreement of employees. Qantas says it has paid $50m in bonuses for employees who have signed up to the wage freeze, with another $40m set aside for remaining groups including the ASU, whose enterprise agreements will soon be negotiated. <br/>