Dubai’s Emirates has announced an “extensive partnership” agreement with its sister low-cost airline flydubai, opening up a combined network of 216 destinations, as Gulf carriers adapt to a slowdown in the region. With Gulf airlines facing economic headwinds, the two state-owned carriers said the tie-up would give flydubai customers “seamless connectivity” to Emirates’ worldwide destinations. Emirates said the partnership would be rolled out over the coming months, with the first enhanced code-sharing arrangements launching in the last quarter of this year. The two airlines, which will continue to operate independently, will align systems and operations at their Dubai hub. Emirates operates 259 wide-body aircraft to 157 destinations; flydubai operates 58 Boeing 737s to 95 destinations. By 2022, the combined network of Emirates and flydubai is expected to reach 240 destinations with a combined fleet of 380 aircraft. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, CE of Emirates Group and chairman of flydubai, said: "Both airlines have grown independently and successfully over the years, and this new partnership will unlock the immense value that the complementary models of both companies can bring to consumers, each airline, and to Dubai."<br/>
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A flight from Beijing to Shanghai was delayed for five hours on Sunday morning after cabin crew discovered a child had boarded the plane without a ticket, Chinese media reported. All passengers on Flight 1252 operated by Juneyao Airlines, a Chinese carrier, were forced to disembark and go through security checks a second time, according to Beijing Youth Daily. The child was reportedly accompanied by three adults, who helped the minor board the flight undetected, the newspaper reported. An investigation has been launched. The Juneyao Airlines flight was due to depart Beijing Capital International Airport at 6.55am for Shanghai. After flight attendants discovered the ticketless child, they informed the passengers they would have to deplane and repeat the security screening procedures. The flight left around noon. The number of passengers was not given but the plane was an Airbus A321, which can seat more than 180 people. Chinese internet users expressed exasperation over the incident and said the adults should be held responsible.<br/>
A flight from London to Toronto carrying 282 passengers has been forced to turn back after one of its tires burst as it took off. The Boeing 767 Air Canada Rouge flight landed safely back at London’s Gatwick Airport an hour after it left Monday lunchtime. Emergency services were standing by. The airport said it was forced to close the main runway after the takeoff, and for a second time after the plane had returned, to check for debris on the ground. Flights used Gatwick’s back-up runway but delays and cancellations were reported. The airline said it was working to get the passengers on their way as quickly as possible.<br/>
New York-based JetBlue Airways will expand its Mint service with three new US domestic routes and five additional flights on existing US and Caribbean routes beginning January 2018. JetBlue’s Mint service, available on the airline’s new fleet of specially configured Airbus A321s, includes lie-flat seats and customized meals. With the new routes, JetBlue will operate its Mint service on over 80 flights daily. The new routes include Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport (LAS) from Jan. 1, 2018 (2X-daily); BOS to Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) from Feb. 15, 2018 (2X-daily); and New York JFK to SEA from April 15, 2018 (1X-daily, with a second unspecified daily roundtrip scheduled for later in 2018). JetBlue will add a Mint flight on its LAX-JFK route from Jan. 10, bringing its total number of daily flights on the route to 11, and from Jan. 23, the airline will add a new Mint flight on its SFO-BOS route, bringing the daily total to five.<br/>