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Air France has a week to gain support from pilots for its plan for a new lower-cost airline to win back market share from competitors, with a key union demanding guarantees on the number of flights the carrier will operate.SNPL union has put Air France’s latest proposal for pilots, which includes the plan for the new airline, to its members. The union is recommending that they seek a firmer commitment on flight volumes, said Philippe Evain, president of SNPL’s Air France branch. The other choices are to agree to the deal as it is or to reject it, with a decision to be announced July 17. Air France-KLM Group plans to begin operating the unit, provisionally dubbed Boost, in October. A commitment by Air France to offer a certain number flights is tantamount to job guarantees for members of SNPL, which said it’s already seen its membership hurt as the company shifted flights from the French carrier to its Dutch unit, KLM. <br/>

A Garuda Indonesia passenger was removed from a Timika-Denpasar flight on Monday after a flight attendant heard him joke to another passenger that his heavy bag contained a bomb. The man was removed before the aircraft took off at Timika Airport in Papua at around 2:30 p.m., local time. The incident happened when a passenger named Parlindungan Tambunan asked the man what he was carrying in his bag because it looked heavy. He jokingly replied that he was carrying “a bomb”. The response was heard by a flight attendant who later took measures against the passenger over the intolerable joke. The attendant immediately called ground staff, who minutes later escorted the man off the plane and picked up his bag for investigation. The police did not find any explosive material. <br/>