Emirates airline has changed pilot and flight attendant rosters on flights to the US following the sudden US travel ban on 7 Muslim-majority countries, highlighting the challenges facing airlines to deal with the new rules. The carrier, which flies daily to 11 US cities, has made "the necessary adjustments to our crewing, to comply with the latest requirements," an Emirates spokeswoman said Sunday. She added US flights continue to operate to schedule. "I cannot think of anything comparable. This brings a mix of administrative confusion, impact and uncertainty for many travellers as well as practical operational headaches and complexities for airlines in planning their flight programmes," one independent aviation consultant said. <br/>
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British Virgin Island carrier BVI Airways plans seek US approval to serve Florida's Miami International, after receiving its AOC from UK-based regulator Air Safety Support International. “This is a significant step forward toward commencing the first-ever, nonstop flights between the US and the BVI,” BVI Airways president and CE Jerry Willoughby said. “With the AOC in hand, we can immediately file with the US DoT to obtain the necessary approvals to fly into the US.” The carrier is applying for foreign air carrier economic authority. Once that application is accepted, the next step will be to file with FAA’s International Field Office for operating authority under FAR Part 129. The airline expects the process to take 60 days, after which it can schedule first services and begin ticket sales. <br/>
Pilots for Horizon Air—the regional subsidiary of Alaska Airlines—filed a lawsuit Jan 27 claiming Horizon executives “broke faith with the negotiation process and began making unilateral changes to compensation,” violating the terms of the Railway Labour Act (RLA). The suit also claims violation of the terms of the labour agreement between Horizon’s 675 pilots and Horizon management. The RLA is a 1926 federal law that governs labour relations in the airline industry. According to the IBT, the pay rate for Horizon pilots is “second to last … among 16 regional airlines similar in size,” and the airline is “unable to hire and retain enough pilots to fly the company’s fleet of airplanes.” IBT said the airline canceled 720 flights in Dec 2016 as a result of pilot shortages. <br/>
Nigeria’s Arik Air has scrapped a longstanding order for 2 Boeing 747-8Is, replacing it with a pair of Boeing 787-9s. The change means a further shrinking of the already slim order book for the 747-8. Most of the new variant 747s ordered to date have been the -8 freighter version, as airlines increasingly turn to “big twins” for long-haul passenger services. Boeing has reduced the 747-8 production rate to 0.5 aircraft a month as it fulfils remaining orders. Arik Air’s order for the 747-8I dates back to 2011. The two 787-9s are worth US$529m at book value. Boeing said the delivery dates were a matter for the customer; an Arik Air representative said she did not have that information, but understood deliveries were “not imminent.” <br/>