Workers at THAI are demanding a pay raise for staff, who the carrier's union claims are being overworked and unfairly taxed. Union president Damrong Waikanee said Thursday that discrepancies have arisen among employees in terms of how much income tax they pay. He said the company may be at fault. Pilots, mechanics and other staff have expressed their displeasure at the imbalance, Damrong said. This could cause some to quit if steps are not taken, he warned. The employees are split into 2 groups: The first comprises 20,000 people who joined the company in or before 2005; the second batch of 4,000 landed jobs there from 2006. Damrong said the first group pays less tax than their colleagues who joined later even when their salaries are identical. <br/>
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United Airlines is aggressively expanding the number of automated security checkpoint lanes it offers at O'Hare International. The carrier late last week more than doubled the number of automated lanes in service from 3 to 7 — spread between two of several security checkpoints United operates in conjunction with the TSA. With 7 lanes now in operation, UA has a distinct edge over arch-rival American Airlines' security checkpoint arrangements at O'Hare. According to an AA spokeswoman, AA has only 2 automated lanes, but both are available to passengers who are not eligible to use TSA Pre-Check dedicated lanes. Chicago was singled out for having some of the worst security checkpoint logjams at the time. The negative publicity, however, helped speed up the introduction of automated lanes at O'Hare. <br/>
Air India Ltd. has been “consistently improving” its overall performance and more than doubled its operating profit to INR2.98b in the last financial year, according to the govt. The net loss of the airline, however, widened to INR57.65b in 2016-17. The divestment-bound carrier had an operating profit of INR1.05b in 2015-16. “Air India has been consistently improving its overall financial and operational performance since the implementation of the turnaround plan by the govt,” minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said Thursday. The previous UPA govt, in 2012, had approved a turnaround plan under which Air India is to receive a total equity infusion worth INR302.31b up to 2021 subject to meeting certain performance thresholds. <br/>
SIA plans to deploy its first Boeing 787-10 on the Singapore-Osaka, Japan, route in May, with subsequent deliveries to be used elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region. The carrier’s first -10 delivery is expected March 28, just before the current fiscal year ends March 31. While the Osaka route will be the aircraft’s first regularly scheduled service, the initial -10s will be flown in advance on selected flights to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur for crew training. The airline will be the first to operate the -10. SIA has 49 -10s on order. The airline is not revealing how many are scheduled for delivery in the next fiscal year. The carrier’s -10s will be mainly used on routes within the Asia-Pacific region. They will likely be deployed on Australasian routes at some point. <br/>