Airline officials say they called for help after a passenger was found stowing a monkey in his shirt during a Las Vegas-bound flight. Frontier Airlines spokesman Richard Oliver says the incident happened Tuesday night on a flight from Columbus, Ohio, to Las Vegas. Oliver says the passenger broke policy by not informing the airline that he was bringing a service animal onboard, and then refused to turn over documents verifying the monkey's status. McCarran International Airport spokeswoman Christine Crews says law enforcement officials met up with the plane and determined that the monkey was a certified service animal. Oliver says the animal was brought surreptitiously onto the plane in a duffel bag and never became loose or uncontained during the flight.<br/>
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Spring Airlines plans to expand its fleet to 100 aircraft by 2018 to meet growing market demand, according to chairman Wang Zhenghua. The LCC operates 61 Airbus A320 family aircraft and is scheduled to take delivery of more than 10 aircraft in 2017 and 2018. The company plans to boost flight frequencies on routes to Thailand and open a new route to Kuala Lumpur. Spring is also applying for an international route to Indonesia from Shenzhen. On the domestic side, Spring is expected to allocate more aircraft to its Shenyang and Shijiazhuang bases this year. The company also plans to establish Chengdu, Kunming and Chongqing as domestic bases. In addition, Spring will reconfigure cabins on more than 20 Airbus A320 aircraft by adding six more economy seats, which would increase the number of economy seats to 186 from 180. The cabin reconfiguration project is scheduled to be completed in 2019. Beyond 2018, Spring is scheduled to take delivery of 60 A320neo family aircraft, comprising 45 A320neos and 15 A321neos between 2019 and 2023. However, Wang ruled out the possibility of opening future long-haul intercontinental routes.<br/>
A Brazilian airline executive said economic troubles have hurt the carrier more than fears of Zika, the mosquito-borne virus that causes birth defects after infecting pregnant women. But David Neeleman, the CEO of Azul Airlines who previously helped found JetBlue, told Bloomberg television Tuesday that the economy is rebounding and visitors are enjoying the Olympics hosted in Rio de Janeiro. “You know, Azul fares were very low from Brazil to United States, and now, there's no visa requirement through September, and so, you know, our business is planes are full, fares are up,” Neeleman said. “So we're — we're very happy.” While hosting the Olympics, Brazil waived its visa program for tourists from June 1 to Sept. 18, according to the US State Department. But travellers should check with the Brazilian consulate to confirm their travel status, the department said. “We're seeing a lot of traffic into Rio right now,” Neeleman said. “People are saying, ‘I want to be a part of this Olympics, it'll be probably the only time in our lifetime we see the Olympics in Brazil.’” Zika was a concern more for US or European travellers visiting Brazil, Neeleman said. But about two-thirds of Azul’s business caters to corporate customers, and to Brazilians flying to Europe rather than the other way around. A bigger concern had been a 30% devaluation in the real, Brazil's currency. While US airlines enjoyed a windfall in lower fuel prices, Neeleman said the real fell along with oil prices so the airline didn’t benefit. <br/>