unaligned

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales promised tough action over the airline crash that killed most of the Brazilian football team Chapecoense on Monday night. The deaths of the 71 people, who also included team officials and journalists, in the crash follow indications the British Aerospace regional jet had run out of fuel and amid speculation that it was on a flight path that was longer than its specified range. "Drastic measures will be taken" to determine what went wrong,Morales, an avid football player and fan, said Friday. The use of the relatively unknown airline, LaMia Bolivia, that has no direct flight connections to Brazil has sparked questions over why Chapecoense, a club from Brazil’s southern city of Curitiba, chose it over a regular airline operating out of the country. Morales, who was speaking after Bolivian authorities on Thursday moved to suspend the carrier's operating licence, said that he used to spot aircraft belonging to LaMia that were grounded for months. "It surprised me [the airline] had authorisation” to fly, he added. Reuters reported that LaMia Bolivia was owned by pilot Miguel Quiroga, who died while piloting the crashed aircraft, and Marco Rocha, a former military officer. It said the airline rented its three aircraft, only one of which was operational, from LaMia, a separate corporate entity owned by Venezuelan businessman Ricardo Albacete.<br/>

The US DoT said Friday it granted flying rights to Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA's Irish unit, setting the stage for a new battle among airlines for leisure travelers across the Atlantic. The order finalised a tentative ruling the department made in April and came days after the EC formally filed for arbitration over Norwegian's request, which had languished for three years. US airlines and unions have said the subsidiary, Norwegian Air International, would undermine US wages and working standards, claims Norwegian has dismissed. The accusations have come as a fare war has escalated over the Atlantic, forcing large and established airlines to consider selling cheaper fares with more restrictions and redesigning cabins to win budget-conscious travelers back from Norwegian. "Regardless of our appreciation of the public policy arguments raised by opponents, we have been advised that the law and our bilateral obligations leave us no avenue to reject this application," the US order said. While Norwegian is already flying to New York and other US cities, its ability to expand globally has been limited to the air rights that Norway has negotiated. Not so for its Irish unit. Ireland is a member of the EU unlike Norway, which means an Irish airline can tap into aviation rights that the European Union has secured. Friday's news gave Norwegian the chance "to open up a lot more routes from the US to Europe" and onward to other destinations, Norwegian spokesman Anders Lindstrom said. The company now can start U.S.-Ireland service as previously planned, he said. There was an outcry Friday by critics. "It is a betrayal to hundreds of thousands of aviation workers," said Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. <br/>

Eurowings and the cabin crew union Verdi have agreed terms of a pay increase for 460 flight attendants at the German airline. The agreement will see cabin crew get an increase of 2.5 percent backdated to October 1, 2016, a further 2.5% in 2017, and a 1.25% lift in October 2018. “This is a very good result for all flight attendants at Eurowings,” Verdi’s Federal Commissioner Christine Behle said. The agreement is subject to a member vote.<br/>

A Qatar Airways jet made an an emergency landing at a Portuguese military base in the Azores islands Sunday after heavy turbulence injured passengers. The Boeing 777, bound from Washington to Doha, was re-routed during a storm to the Azores, a Portuguese territory in the North Atlantic, and landed at the Lajes Air Base. Officials and witnesses said the plane had dropped steeply in altitude, hurling several passengers out of their seats and causing one traveller to suffer heart trouble. "All the passengers were taken to a hotel in the evening and are due to depart on Monday morning," said an airbase spokesman, adding that several people onboard had "suffered light injuries during the turbulence". "There was a medical emergency as one of the passengers had a cardiac complaint during the turbulence," a civil protection official in the Azores said. "He was hospitalised along with two other passengers." Azad Essa, an Al Jazeera journalist who was on board, tweeted: "Some passengers bleeding after flung in the air, hitting the ceiling + landing in the aisles after plane suddenly lost altitude."<br/>

Authorities say everyone was safely evacuated from a United Express plane after its nose gear collapsed when it landed at San Antonio International Airport. San Antonio Fire Department spokesman Woody Woodward says that when the plane landed Sunday afternoon its nose gear collapsed. He says 55 people were safely evacuated from the plane via emergency slides. He says there was no fire. Woodward says there was only one minor ankle injury reported but the person refused treatment because she was concerned about making her connecting flight. Skywest Airlines said Skywest Flight 5588 operating as United Express from Houston to Monterrey, Mexico, diverted to San Antonio after the crew got a gear indication. Skywest says there were 51 passengers and four crew members aboard the Embraer-manufactured E175.<br/>

The US, following a move earlier this week by the UN, escalated its own sanctions on North Korea. The US Treasury Department said the measures targeting 16 entities and seven individuals were in response to a North Korean nuclear test in September, as well as Pyongyang’s ongoing development of weapons of mass destruction and continued violations of UN Security Council resolutions. Earlier this week, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a sanctions resolution, though The Wall Street Journal reported the new measures likely won’t deter North Korea from its nuclear-weapon ambitions. “These sanctions aim to cut the flow of financial resources to North Korea and further counter the regime’s destabilizing and provocative behavior,” said Adam J. Szubin, acting undersecretary of Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence. Among the companies targeted by the US Friday was Air Koryo, the national flag airline for North Korea that Treasury said owns and operates all civilian aircraft registered in the country. For years, it was rated as the world’s worst airline. <br/>

Philippine tycoon Lucio Tan will consolidate his airline ventures as he focuses on expanding his flagship PAL Holdings and increase its appeal to potential buyers. PAL will acquire another company owned by Tan called Zuma Holdings & Management Corp. through a share-swap agreement, valuing the whole deal at 8.24b pesos ($166m), the company said Friday. The purchase will consolidate Philippine Airlines Inc. and budget carrier Air Philippines Corp. “The integration of both businesses into a single organization structure would make PAL a more viable investment for interested investors,” PAL said. Consolidating the two airlines will also reduce costs and increase revenue, it said. Philippine Airlines is in talks with potential investors and is seeking one with experience in running carriers so it can help manage its fleet, the carrier’s President Jaime Bautista said in June. The company is also open to private equity funds and other strategic investors. The reorganization comes as competition intensifies among carriers in Asia Pacific, where a dozen new airlines started operations in the past decade.<br/>

XL Airways and La Compagnie airlines are merging in a bid to create a sizeable French presence in the long-haul, low-cost market. La Compagnie is an all-business-class airline operating two 74-seat Boeing 757-200s between Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) and Newark Liberty International Airport. XL Airways, also based at Paris CDG, is in the low-cost economy bracket and operates a small fleet of Airbus A330-200s and -300s. The -200s have a two-class configuration of 18 premium and 343 economy seats, while the larger -300s have a single-class, 408-seat layout. XL flies to destinations in North America, the Caribbean and Indian Ocean. The two companies will band together under the umbrella of La Compagnie’s holding company, DreamJet Participations. Frantz Yvelin, La Compagnie’s founder, CEO and driving force behind the merger, has resigned “to pursue other projects.” The position of CEO of the two airlines will be taken by XL Group’s current CEO Laurent Magnin. The two carriers will retain their separate identities, a spokeswoman for the group said Dec. 2.<br/>