Chengdu was where British business would fly to if only Heathrow was big enough, according to prominent backers of airport expansion. But less than 3 years after British Airways found a Heathrow slot to fly to the Chinese megacity, the airline has dropped the route because it is not commercially viable. BA launched direct flights to Chengdu, its fourth Chinese destination, in late 2013, and ran return flights 5 times a week. Even after having trimmed down the frequency and switched to a smaller, Boeing 787 plane, BA has confirmed that the service will end this January. The lack of links to Chengdu had been highlighted by Heathrow and politicians as a major example of how capacity constraints at the airport were stopping Britain connecting to “emerging markets”. However, it now appears few people want to fly there. <br/>
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Finnair will wet lease one Airbus A340 from Portuguese aircraft-crew-maintenance-insurance (ACMI) specialist Hi Fly for 2 months to accommodate pilot trainings to secure the airline’s growing operations in summer 2017 and beyond. “Pilot trainings are a part of our preparations for growth. This wet lease is a part of our efforts to ensure punctual operations during the next months, when a large share of Finnair pilots are tied up in A350 XWB-related trainings,” Finnair COO Jaakko Schildt said. The carrier will continue to receive new Airbus A350 aircraft in 2017, and is currently undertaking a massive pilot training program to train its A330 pilots for A350 operations. Finnair took delivery of its first A350 a year ago and now has 7 of the type in its fleet. <br/>
An unhappy group of American Airlines pilots is getting ready to push for a change in its union following pilots at other airlines getting more lucrative deals. The goal is for the pilots' current union, the Allied Pilots Association, to merge with the Air Lines Pilots Association, which represents Delta, United and FedEx pilots. Resolutions to create an Allied Pilots Association committee will be called in at least 2 bases. “There’s a well-founded belief that APA, as an independent union, underperforms,” said one American first officer. Tensions started with Delta and Southwest pilots agreeing to tentative agreements that would put their compensation greater than that of American pilots. Plus, if the Delta deal is approved, a provision in United Continental's labour agreement would increase its pilots pay to the same rates. <br/>