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Asiana Airlines will reduce its number of flights to China starting late next month, and operate smaller planes bound for the country, the carrier said Monday. The decision came after the deployment of 4 additional launchers for a US anti-missile Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) battery here last week. Asiana will use an A321 for flight from Incheon to Guangzhou, instead of the relatively bigger B767. It will also operate an A321 for flights from Gimpo to Beijing and Incheon to Changchun, instead of an A330, which can carry 100 more passengers than the former. The airliner will reduce its number of flights from Incheon to Guilin, from 7 flights a week to 4. Given that more than 20% of Asiana's flights are bound for China, the latest reduction is expected to weigh on the company's performance in Q3. <br/>

A grim 2017 for South African Airways is set to limp to a fitting conclusion. The airline revealed they are cutting almost a quarter of their flight itinerary. Having already removed 1 aircraft from flying, the stricken airline will look to remove another 5 planes from their fleet by October as they desperately try to plug their financial sinkhole. There was at least a flicker of light at the end of SAA’s tunnel, however: They made a shock profit of ZAR19m in July. Despite this effort, the small turnaround is merely a drop in a very bleak ocean. They had budgeted to make a ZAR207m loss. This after it posted a AZR1.354b loss in the first 3 months of 2017. The loss <br/>had now declined to ZAR1.335b. The airline presented the case that they needed a further ZAR13b injection from the Treasury over the next 3 years. <br/>

Air Canada has reached a deal with its pilots that will allow the airline to increase the number of aircraft operating in its low-cost Rouge unit. Air Canada said that the Air Canada Pilots Association agreed to amendments to the current 10-year labour deal that will allow the company to improve flexibility and lower costs. The agreement permits Air Canada to expand the number of narrow-bodied planes in the Rouge fleet as it expands its mainline fleet. Under the initial agreement, Rouge was limited to a maximum of 50 planes. Air Canada is bumping up against that limit with the current Rouge fleet at 49. The Air Canada Pilots Association said the amendments to the deal include a new pension plan for pilots hired after 2012 that is a multi-employer plan that improves on the existing defined contribution plan. <br/>

There’s a new snag at the airport catching fliers by surprise: the gate-service fee. United and American have created the fee to discourage travellers who buy their cheapest fare, Basic Economy, from bringing a carry-on bag that doesn’t fit under the seat. United calls it a gate-handling charge. American labels it a gate-service fee. It’s really a penalty on top of a fee. Most passengers don’t get charged a baggage fee when planes run out of overhead bin space and bags must be checked. They are entitled to 2 carry-on items. Not so with Basic Economy on United and American. United says it communicates with customers about the Basic Economy rules throughout the booking process. “We do everything we can to make sure customers do not reach the gate with a bag that needs to be gate-checked,” a spokeswoman said. <br/>