The largest pilots' union at Colombia's flagship airline Avianca said Wednesday it was beginning an indefinite strike over wages and benefits, after failed negotiations with the company. The Colombian Association of Civil Aviators (ACDAC), which represents more than 700 of the 1,300 Avianca pilots working in the country, began the strike at 4:00 local time after failing to reach a deal with the airline during talks mediated by the Labor Ministry. Negotiations will restart on Wednesday afternoon. The union had proposed salaries increase gradually over three to four years, ACDAC president Captain Jaime Hernandez said. "Unfortunately there wasn't agreement, much less a respectful counter-proposal from the company," Hernandez said. The strike can legally last up to 60 days, the pilots' statement added. Avianca said early Wednesday the pilots' economic demands are impossible to meet and that close to 22,000 passengers will be affected by the strike.<br/>
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Air Canada is open to launching an ultra-low-cost airfare plan, to keep up with the changing market. But they won’t make concrete plans until other ultra-low-cost airlines get started and are successful. “At this point, we are readying ourselves to compete,” Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said, “but we have not provided additional information on routes or fares as we first need to see what these new entrants will bring to market.” Air Canada officials made the announcement at its annual Investor Day presentation Wednesday. The move comes as more and more airline companies have already delved into the cheapening airfare market. Earlier this month, Flair Airlines (who bought NewLeaf travel) announced it was expanding its cheap fares to Pearson International, Vancouver International and Kelowna International airports. And Canada Jetlines has announced that it’s working to operate an ultra-low-cost model out of Hamilton’s John C. Munro International Airport and Waterloo International Airport, starting next summer. Along with the option of launching the new fare, Air Canada is also expanding their low-budget Rouge line to more destinations.<br/>
Air New Zealand operated most of its domestic flights on schedule on 20 September, while it continues to take measures to mitigate the impact of fuel shortages at Auckland airport on its long-haul network. The Star Alliance carrier says that since 17 September it has cancelled 41 flights from Auckland due to the fuel rationing measures in place after a key supply pipeline was ruptured. That includes a service on 21 September on the Auckland-Houston route. It adds that it is “continuing to implement a range of measures to reduce fuel uplift in Auckland”, such as ferrying an empty Boeing 787-9 to Wellington for refuelling before operating an Auckland-Buenos Aries service. Previously, the carrier had rerouted a number of its long-haul services to make stops in Wellington, Nadi or Australia to pick up additional fuel, as it has been limited to receiving only around 30% of its regular fuel load. Airways New Zealand has also doubled the number of flights permitted to use its SMART approach to runway 23L at Auckland to 20 to assist airlines in cutting their fuel use. The additional GPS-guided approaches will be permitted for as long as it takes for fuel supplies to return to normal.<br/>
New security initiatives and Toronto's Air Canada Centre will end in-and-out privileges and crack down on fans bringing bags into the arena. The arena, which is home to the NHL's Maple Leafs, NBA's Raptors and NLL's Rock and is a prime venue for live shows, announced on its Twitter feed Tuesday that fans will no longer be re-admitted after exiting the ACC's gates, a measure that will impact those who would sneak outside for a smoke at intermissions. The re-entry policy change is in addition to a measure in effect since Sept. 1 that limits the size of bags allowed into the arena to 14 x 14 x 6 inches, a smaller size than an average backpack. Larger bags will not be permitted into the area. The restriction on bags was in place for a Depeche Mode concert earlier in September, but was an issue for Toronto's sports fans for the first time on Tuesday when the Maple Leafs played their first home pre-season game of the 2017-18 season.<br/>
Singapore Airlines is assessing new aircraft for its 'Capital Express' service out of Wellington, including using Boeing's latest model stretched Dreamliner on the route. The four-times-a-week service through Canberra to Singapore is a year old today and the airline is marking the anniversary by offering transtasman fares as low as NZ$154. The airline's New Zealand manager, Simon Turcotte, said as more new aircraft entered its fleet it was looking to replace its older 777s used on the route. Singapore is the launch customer for the latest Dreamliner, the 787-10, and these will start flying next year. The airline has also taken delivery of 16 of the 67 Airbus A350s it has ordered and it was possible that aircraft could be used on the route. "We'd be looking at replacing the 777-200s either type of the aircraft so that's something that passengers can look forward to," he said. SIA was talking to Wellington Airport about suitability of either aircraft. The runway in the capital has limitations because of its length.<br/>