Southwest said Thursday that a dog injured a child as passengers boarded a flight in Phoenix, an event likely to fuel the debate over the growing number of emotional-support animals on planes. A passenger on Wednesday's Phoenix-to-Portland, Oregon, flight tweeted that a dog bit a girl as she approached it, and that she screamed and cried. Southwest said the dog's teeth "scraped a child's forehead" and paramedics checked the girl, who appeared to be 6 or 7 years old. A Southwest spokeswoman said the dog was in the plane's first row of seats with its owner, who said he warned the girl not to approach his dog. Police interviewed the girl's family and the dog's owner. The family decided to remain on the plane, while the dog and its owner left and took a later flight, Ford said. The incident happened as airlines consider new restrictions on passengers flying with emotional-support animals. Unlike service animals such as guide dogs, support animals need no training. However, passengers can be asked to show a medical professional's note explaining why they need the animal to travel.<br/>
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Southwest has quietly increased the fee to nab a prime boarding position at the last minute on some flights. The airline, which famously does not assign seats, will now charge up to $50 one way to board in the first group of travellers. Upgraded boarding was introduced in 2013. Southwest started out charging $40 per person each way and added a cheaper $30 option on some flights in 2015. This month it added a more-expensive $50 fee to the mix. Spokeswoman Thais Hanson said that fee applies only to a few "high demand'' markets but declined to name them. The updated charges are listed in the airline's fee chart. Story has further details.<br/>
British infrastructure and support services firm Stobart Group is considering bidding as part of a consortium to acquire struggling regional carrier Flybe. “A number of potential structures have been considered including taking a non-controlling interest in a vehicle to acquire 100% of Flybe likely to be in cash,” Stobart said. Reuters had reported earlier hursday that Stobart was in talks about a possible deal. Flybe said it had not received an approach from Stobart about a possible offer and added: “Flybe shareholders are strongly advised to take no action at this stage.” A spokesman for Stobart declined to identify possible partners in any bid for the airline. Stobart is eyeing Flybe after the carrier was left vulnerable by a slump in its share price.<br/>
SpiceJet has ruled out making a move for Air India, as the state-owned flag carrier undergoes privatisation this year. SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said the carrier has its own "massive" expansion plan and wants to stay focus on its own growth. "Air India is a great brand and great potential but is out of our league," he says, adding that SpiceJet is a "very small" company. The carrier has 60 aircraft in service, comprising 38 Boeing 737 NGs and 22 Bombardier Q400s, Flight Fleets Analyzer shows. It is also set to grow exponentially with 167 aircraft (122 737 Max 8s, 20 737 Max 10s narrowbodies and 25 Q400s) on order. Singh also shares that there may no longer be a place for state-run airlines in today's aviation industry. "In this competitive business to operate within the constraints of government rules and procedures is very, very difficult. An airline like Air India, no matter how good the management may be, because of the processes they have to follow for everything that they might want to procure, they have to set up a committee, put up a tender process, takes a long period of time. By which time, technology could have changed or circumstances might have changed and you have to start the process again," he said. "Decisions that we can make across the table, take several months at Air India. This makes them inherently un-competitive." SpiceJet is "looking seriously" at flying to destinations beyond the seven hour mark. Singh said it is studying further international expansion and keen to reach more destinations within Southeast Asia, as well as to make its first foray into Europe.<br/>