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The ICAO should declare Gulf Arab measures against Qatari air traffic as illegal, the CE of Qatar Airways said Monday, after some Arab states cut ties with Doha in a diplomatic row. Akbar Al Baker criticised Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain for closing their airspace to Qatari flights a week ago. "We have legal channels to object to this," he said. "ICAO... should heavily get involved, put their weight behind this to declare this an illegal act." The UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have signed the convention. Baker said 18 destinations were now out of bounds for the airline. He also criticised Saudi Arabia and the UAE for shutting down the airline's offices. "It is actually a travesty of civilised behaviour to close airline offices. Airlines offices are not political arms," he said . <br/>

Qatar Airways was until last week the envy of the region’s airlines. Competitors in Dubai and Abu Dhabi looked on with resentful longing as the airline’s blend of wide and narrow-bodied aircraft provided the flexibility to navigate weaker demand in a region hit by falls in the oil price and stave off the impact of the stronger US dollar. Rivals, including Emirates, appeared to be left trailing in the Doha airline’s wake. To rub salt into the wounds, Qatar underlined its position as the star performer in the Gulf Monday with stellar results. But now, the tables have been turned following the unprecedented blockade by its neighbours. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have imposed an air, sea and land transport ban on Qatar, accusing the gas-rich state of backing Islamist extremist terrorism, a charge denied by Doha. <br/>

Japan Airlines is accelerating efforts to upgrade its in-flight services, as well as equipment used on medium-haul international flights. The carrier is particularly focusing on routes to Hawaii and Southeast Asia, because of the increasing number of international tourists traveling on these routes. The airline’s refurbished fleet of 11 Boeing 777-200ER aircraft — dubbed “JAL Sky Suite” — began flying in July last year. The refurbished planes now include fully reclining seats with direct access to aisles in business class. In economy class, the seating configuration has been changed from the standard 3-3-3 to 3-4-2, making it possible for the airline to better accommodate certain passengers, such as families. Additionally, fliers in economy class will now benefit from a bit more leg room, with up to 10 centimetres of extra space. <br/>

Air Berlin has been running in the red for years. And now amid massive staff cuts, it's having a hard time ensuring all its flights go through. A report in Welt am Sonntag revealed that Air Berlin is having to cancel or seriously delay flights more and more amid its financial struggles. According to data from EUclaim, Air Berlin has had on average 24 cancelled or seriously delayed flights per day to and from Germany so far this June. Within the first 5 months of the year, there were around 18 cancelled or long-delayed flights per day. EUclaim further found that June 1st alone, there were 47 so-called problem flights - a new record. Of those 47 flights, 44 had been cancelled. Major delays and cancellations over the first weekend in June are estimated to cost the company more than E500,000 in compensation payments. <br/>

The German Economy Ministry Monday said it would take time for the federal govt and two state govts to evaluate Air Berlin's request for state loan guarantees. "The process is underway. Now the formal paperwork must be submitted," a spokeswoman said. "The review will take several weeks and months. It depends on how quickly the documents are submitted, and how comprehensive they are." The German federal govt stepped in Friday, a day after Air Berlin said it had asked the states of Berlin and North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) to consider loan guarantees. It said any support would be contingent on a sustainable business model for the struggling airline. <br/>