THAI has been named the world’s best economy class airline for 2017 by Skytrax, in a side-line event to the Paris Air Show. Besides the recognition to Thailand’s national carrier, another Thai airline - Bangkok Airways - received the award for "world’s best regional airline". Qatar Airways was named the world’s best airline for 2017, replacing rival Emirates, which this year dropped down to fourth position. SIA came in second, and ANA at third. THAI was placed as the world's eleventh best airline, moving up 2 notches from 13th in 2016. The latest survey was conducted between August 2016 and May 2017, attracting 19.87m eligible entries with participants from 105 nations. The survey covered over 325 airlines, from the largest international airlines to smaller domestic carriers. <br/>
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After finance minister Arun Jaitley last month said he favoured disinvestment of the loss-making Air India, private sector conglomerate Tata Group is believed to have shown interest in buying the carrier in alliance with SIA. It is understood that the recently appointed Tata group chairman N Chandrasekaran has held informal talks with the govt for buying a majority stake in Air India. If the acquisition of the carrier goes through, Air India will be back into the fold of Tata Group after the airline was nationalised 64 years back. JRD Tata had started Tata Airlines in 1932, which was later in 1946 renamed as Air India and was subsequently nationalised in 1953. <br/>Although the Tatas have been eyeing Air India for past several years, the conglomerate already has 2 airline joint ventures operating in India over the past 4 years. <br/>
United Airlines is going to great lengths to try and warn customers about the restrictions placed on its new basic economy tickets. But some of the travel booking sites like Expedia and Priceline that sell tickets for the airline are not as clear about the new fare's limitations. Since launching its basic economy tickets, United has been alerting customers before checkout about the fare's stringent limitations, such as no seat changes and no carry-ons. Customers who purchase the tickets on United's site must acknowledge that they understand the restrictions before they are allowed to purchase. The company is even sending follow-up emails to make sure that customers know what they have signed up for. However, when customers purchase basic economy seats on travel sites, the rules about basic economy seats can be easy to miss. <br/>
Copa Airlines will convert 15 previously ordered Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to the new MAX 10 version, the company said Wednesday. Copa will become the first airline to operate the 737 MAX 10 in Latin America. “Due to the long-term success we’ve had operating the Next-Generation 737, we had placed a sizable order of 737 MAX aircraft for our future, and the 737 MAX 10 provides additional flexibility for certain segments of our network,” Copa Airlines VP-technical operations Ahmad Zamany said. Copa said it will use the new MAX 10s to replace existing aircraft and support the company’s plans for strategic growth, intending to be the “first airline in the region to operate the 737 MAX on deep South American and North American routes.” <br/>