Air Canada’s CE Friday said a joint venture with Air China, expected to be wrapped up this spring, would help it compete more “aggressively” in the Pacific market, after the Canadian carrier reported a better-than-expected Q4 profit. The two carriers already have agreements for passengers to use each other’s lounges and codesharing services but a full joint-venture would expand such collaboration, in a boost to Air Canada which is facing yield pressures on flights to China and Hong Kong. “We have meetings scheduled ... in the May time frame to see whether we can put the finishing touches on it,” CEO Calin Rovinescu said. “It should certainly be an assistance to us in competing more aggressively.” Canada’s biggest airline also faces competition from rival WestJet which is expanding international flights, as well as pressures to raise fares as fuel costs rise. “We fully expected fuel to be bouncing around this year,” Rovinescu said. “Our sensitivity to fuel is well embedded in our pricing strategy.” Air Canada cited growth and cost-control as drivers of a rise in operating margins to 3.5% in Q4 from 0.5% a year earlier. The carrier launched a new program to save C$250m by the end of 2019. It’s not yet clear whether the program will seek to reduce staff through early retirements, but some savings will already be achieved in 2018, Rovinescu said. “We will be looking at programs across all branches and across all initiatives,” he said. The Montreal-based company is also expanding its lower-cost leisure carrier Rouge, as passengers seek cheaper ways to fly and WestJet gets ready to launch its own ultra-low-cost carrier in June. Air Canada said it flew 9.9% more passengers in the quarter ended Dec. 31, and spent 1.3% less to fly each passenger. <br/>
star
Kumho Asiana Chairman Park Sam-koo has apologised over allegations that he sexually harassed the company's flight attendants. In a statement released February 12, Park, 72, said he was sorry for those who "felt uncomfortable" with what he did. But he gave no details of what he did, nor did he admit that he physically touched them against their will. Park had been accused of forcing some flight attendants to hug him or hold his hand when he visited Asiana's headquarters. "I am the only one to blame for this," Park said. "It is my fault that some employees felt uncomfortable with what I did during my visit … I apologize to them and I will ensure that it won't happen again." His apology came after dozens of employees brought sexual allegations against him on Blind, an application that allows insiders to talk about their companies anonymously. <br/>