South African Airways is facing growing compensation claims for past anti-competitive practices, adding further financial pressure on the airline, which is already dependent on the government for its survival. SAA was ordered to pay Nationwide Airlines 104.6m rand ($7.8m) plus interest in compensation for anti-competitive behavior that drove the company out of business, the South Gauteng High Court ruled Aug. 8. The court will hear the final arguments of Comair’s 870m-rand claim later this month. South Africa’s Competition Tribunal found that SAA had abused its market-leading position in the early to mid-2000s, leading to lower profits at rival airlines such as Comair and Nationwide, which was liquidated in 2008. Judge Caroline Nicholls “found that she was bound by the Competition Tribunal’s findings,” said Lucinda Verster, a lawyer at Bowman Gilfillan working for Nationwide’s liquidators. “As guilt had been established, it was just about quantum.” Nicholls ruled that SAA’s abuse restricted Nationwide’s access to about 75% of the market. SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.<br/>
star
United is ending flights between New York and Newcastle over fears for the strength of the pound in the wake of the Brexit vote. United said its last service from Newcastle will fly on 6 September. The company said the route was "not profitable" and anticipated an "impact of the weaker pound in UK outbound travel". The pound has lost more than 13% of its value against the US dollar since the UK voted to leave the EU. The airline has run the service between Newcastle and Newark for six days a week for the last two summers. A spokeswoman for United said: "We have regretfully taken this decision because this seasonal route has not proved to be profitable and because of the anticipated impact of the weaker pound on UK outbound travel." Newcastle Airport said the news was "disappointing" but said it does not reflect growing passenger numbers, with new routes recently agreed to places like Berlin and Warsaw. <br/>
Singapore Airlines' next-generation Airbus A350 has touched down in Australia for the first time. Flight SQ207 touched down at Melbourne Airport on Wednesday evening after flying in from the Asian city-state. The new A350-900 is Airbus' rival to the Boeing Dreamliner. Like its rival, the A350 is also a lightweight aircraft, but with some key differences. Unlike the Dreamliner, which has a body is composed primarily of carbon fibre, the A350 uses a combination of materials, including plastic reinforced by carbon fibre, along with titanium and aluminium alloys. More than 70% of the aircraft is made of lightweight materials, helping airlines save on fuel. Singapore Airlines' A350 features three classes - 42 business class seats, 24 premium economy and 187 economy. The seat layout is 1-2-1 in business class, 2-4-2 in premium and 3-3-3 in economy. The airline currently has five A350s in its fleet and 62 on order. Singapore is the second carrier to bring the A350 to Australia, after Qatar Airways began daily flights from Qatar to Adelaide in May.<br/>