United Airlines expects to have all scheduled Houston flights back up and running by Friday, a little less than 2 weeks after Hurricane Harvey halted flights to the city. United, which began gradually resuming flights when Houston's George Bush Intercontinental reopened Wednesday, initially said its recovery could take weeks. Friday, the airline said that process was moving faster than expected. The airline expected to have about 330 flights take off from Houston's Bush Airport Tuesday, about 73% of what it would operate on a typical day this time of year. Now, the airline is trying to reassure customers wary of cancellations when traveling through Houston. "Now that our systems are current and the schedule is in place, if the website says a flight is operating, we intend to operate it," the airline said. <br/>
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United Airlines passengers can now utilise Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices to access flight information, with the Sept 5 unveiling of a new United Airlines’ Alexa skill on Amazon’s website. United is the first US airline to offer a skill on Alexa-enabled devices (i.e., Amazon Echo and Echo Dot voice-activated internet search and response mechanisms). Alexa-enabled device users will be able to ask their devices questions about flight status or amenities. The skill can also enable US customers to check in for flights, but United passengers will first have to link their MileagePlus account to the device. Korean Air has also developed its own Alexa skill, as have flight status providers Kayak, Flight Tracker, Flight Check and Flight Guru. <br/>
Ethiopian Airlines Group has merged with Ethiopian Airports Enterprise (EAE) to form the African country's new Aviation Holding Group. The consolidation, which follows regulation approved by Ethiopia's Council of Ministers July 14 this year, sees the formation of a new holding group comprising EAE, Passenger Airline, Cargo Airline & Logistics Company, Ethiopian Aviation Academy, Ethiopian Inflight Catering Services, Ethiopian MRO Services and Ethiopian Hotel & Tourism Services. Ethiopian Airlines said: "The holding company came on the scene with Ethiopian Airlines' 15-year strategic plan dubbed 'Vision 2025'. The companies under Ethiopian Airlines have been preparing themselves to stand autonomously for the last 7 years since the launch of the plan." <br/>