Pakistan's national carrier says it has grounded all small ATR aircraft in its fleet after last week's planes crash that killed all 47 on board. Pakistan International Airlines said Monday that all of its 10 small, twin-propeller aircraft will be cleared to fly only after a thorough examination. Officials have said the small, twin-propeller aircraft was travelling from the scenic mountain resort of Chitral to Islamabad on Wednesday when one of its engines failed, causing it to crash into a hillside village. Airport official Ayub Khan Niazi says another ATR flight with 42 passengers on board was cancelled after developing a fault shortly before takeoff Sunday in the central city of Multan. PIA says the suspension will effect flights operations at smaller airports across the country.<br/>
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A former JetBlue flight attendant accused of trying to sneak a suitcase with 60 pounds of cocaine through Los Angeles International Airport and then making a dramatic dash to escape is set to plead guilty in federal court Monday. Marsha Gay Reynolds, 32, is expected to plead guilty to conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine, according to court documents. A conviction on the charge carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison. Reynolds, a US citizen, is a former Jamaican beauty queen and New York University track athlete. Bundles of cocaine were found in the bag she abandoned March 18 when she flung off her high heels and bolted after being flagged for a random security screening, authorities said. She ran down an upward-moving escalator and out the terminal. She took a JetBlue flight the next day to New York, where she surrendered days later. An attorney for Reynolds said she might not have been sure what was in her bag. Reynolds was getting paid thousands of dollars to help smuggle drugs and money through airport security at LAX and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, according to a plea agreement filed Friday.<br/>
Qatar Airways is in talks with Airbus to convert its order for up to 80 A320neos to the larger A321neo, its chief executive said on Monday. The airline has refused to accept four A320neos so far this year over performance issues with the aircraft’s engines, a spokeswoman said. “We are in negotiations with Airbus about how we can continue our relationship and keep our order on track minus the ones that we cancelled,” CEO Akbar Al Baker said. He said the airline wanted to take delivery of the larger A321neo jets from 2018 and was considering swapping the engine order to CFM, a joint venture between General Electric Co and Safran SA of France. An Airbus spokesman declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.<br/>
Southwest is now flying to 100 destinations, the carrier's route map hitting the century mark on Monday as it launched its first flights to Havana, Cuba. The carrier is flying to the Cuban capital non-stop from the Florida cities of Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. The flights – two daily round-trip flights from Fort Lauderdale and one from Tampa – are part of the 20 total daily flights US airlines are now allowed to fly to Havana. Six other carriers – American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit and United – have already launched their allotted flights to Havana. Additional flights have been approved to smaller Cuban cities. That Havana would be the city to push Southwest to 100 destinations would have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago. It was just in July 2014 that Southwest made its first international flight with its own planes, flying outside the United States for the first time since it started operations in 1971. Now, Southwest is flying to nine countries, including the USA. The airline's first Cuba flights began in November with service to the beach resort city of Varadero.<br/>