Ryanair cabin crew held a third 1-day strike in Portugal over worker rights Wednesday, prompting 11 flight cancellations and a govt promise to investigate alleged violations. Inspectors from the Authority for Labour Conditions were monitoring the strike in the state’s main airports in Lisbon, Porto and Faro, labour minister Jose Vieira da Silva said. The SNPVAC cabin crew union said 11 Ryanair flights to and from Portugal were cancelled in the morning after some 90% of the 330 crew personnel in Portugal joined the strike. But the carrier said the majority of Portuguese crews were working normally and only a small number of early flights had been cancelled or delayed. It planned to operate its full schedule through the rest of the day. <br/>
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Domestic LCCs are expanding or reopening their routes to China, as the chilled relations between Korea and China are showing signs of recovery. According to carriers Tuesday, they have high expectations on the comeback of Chinese group tourists, whose visits to Korea have been a significant revenue source for them. In the wake of Korea's decision to deploy a US THAAD battery on its soil last year, diplomatic friction between Korea and China stirred the latter's economic pressure and large group tours, such as 1,000-member groups, to Korea have been stopped since then. "Though it is yet to have a tangible outcome, we have a rosy expectation that Chinese group tourists could soon resume their travels to Korea as there are signs of improvements in Korea-China relations," an airline official said. <br/>
Flight attendants at Alaska Airlines have voted to ratify a joint collective bargaining agreement covering Alaska Air and former Virgin America staff. The agreement was approved by 75% of flight attendants who voted in the ballot. It covers over 5,700 staff at the combined carriers. Alaska Air took over Virgin America in 2016 and plans to retire the VA brand this year. “In just 12 negotiating sessions and 1 year after the close of the merger transaction, flight attendants at the new Alaska Airlines have a joint contract that provides the roadmap to full integration,” Association of Flight Attendants president Sara Nelson said. “This contract is significant because it's a first for the former Virgin America flight attendants and provides pay and work-life improvements for all Alaska Airlines cabin crew,” she added. <br/>
Omani LCC SalamAir has embarked on a steady expansion of its route network and plans to double the size of its small fleet this year. The carrier will add 3X-weekly flights to Tbilisi, Georgia and 2X-weekly services to Baku, Azerbaijan, from June 14, during the Eid al-Fitr celebration that follows the conclusion of Ramadan. “[During] the Eid holiday...there is generally a surge in travel to the Caucasia region,” SalamAir CE captain Mohamed Ahmed said. “We want to bring Oman and the Middle East closer to Eastern Europe [and] there is great potential for these two new destinations.” The new routes will be the first direct connections from Oman to Georgia and Azerbaijan. The new destinations follow the launch at the end of February of a 2X-weekly service to Shiraz, Iran and the earlier February start of flights to Multan, Pakistan. <br/>