unaligned

At a time when flying seems ever more stressful, the controlled demeanour and calm authority of an airline pilot can instil confidence. So passengers on a flight to Toronto from Glasgow could be forgiven for being upset Monday morning after police officers hauled 2 pilots from the cockpit of their plane, an Airbus A330, on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol. The flight was operated by Air Transat, a carrier based in Montreal. The pilots were arrested shortly before take-off and were scheduled to be charged Tuesday. The flight was delayed more than 20 hours. In Scotland, a pilot cannot exceed 9 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath on a breathalyser test. Breaking the law can result in up to 2 years in prison. <br/>

Faced with intense competition and maturation of the local market, Nok Air has decided to pursue international expansion, first into China, as it seeks to diversify its portfolio and return to profitability. While Nok has managed to carve out a meaningful presence on its existing domestic and regional routes, the airline has plunged into losses amid market overcapacity and low utilisation of its aircraft due to a pilot shortage. Last year the carrier reported a net loss of US$20.37m. CE Patee Sarasin said that Nok Air will launch 3 weekly flights from Bangkok to Kunming in November, followed by service to Quanzhou by the end of this year. “It’s perfect timing to go to China,” Sarasin said. “The country is opening up but it has restricted certain Thai airlines from going in. For now, the market isn’t saturated.” <br/>