SAS is assessing the potential impact of US sanctions on plans to fly Denmark's World Cup soccer team to a Russian airport owned by a blacklisted firm, joining two other airlines looking into the issue. Eight of the Russian airports that are likely to be used by World Cup teams in June are owned by entities targeted last week by new sanctions for what US officials described as the Kremlin's "malign activities" around the world. Given that the US government can take punitive action against foreign companies that do business with sanctioned entities, the eight teams that will be based near one of the affected airports and the airlines flying them could face headaches. SAS is set to fly the Danish team from Copenhagen to the southern Russian city of Anapa, where their base for the tournament is located, the Danish Football Association said. The airport there is operated by Basel Aero, a company owned by sanctioned Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska. SAS said it had not been aware that the US sanctions could be an issue and that the company would look into the situation.<br/>
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United will offer its new premium economy product on the Boeing 787-10 when the aircraft is introduced later this year, a seat map for the stretched Dreamliner shows. The carrier will configure the 787-10 with 318 seats, split between 48 Polaris business, 21 premium economy, 45 extra-legroom economy and 208 economy, a seat map published in the 1 May update to United's flight attendant manuals shows. United plans to take delivery of its first three 787-10s this year, its latest fleet plan shows. It has firm orders for 14 of the aircraft. The airline also released updated seat maps for its Boeing 767-300ER, 777-200 and 777-300ER aircraft with premium economy, or "Premium Plus" as it calls the product, in the update. The 767 will have 22 premium economy seats in a two-two-two configuration, and the 777-200 and 777-300ER 24 seats laid out two-four-two. The density of the 767-300ERs in United's fleet will decrease dramatically, to 167 seats from 214, with the addition of premium economy. A seat map shows its Polaris business class will also increase to 44 seats from 30 seats.<br/>
A domestic Air China flight to Beijing was diverted for an emergency landing on Sunday morning after a male passenger held a flight attendant hostage with a fountain pen, Chinese aviation authorities said. Flight CA1350 from Changsha, Hunan province, landed at Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport in Henan province, the Civil Aviation Administration said. “By 13.17 the incident had been settled successfully. The passengers and crew are all safe,” the statement said. “An investigation showed the man used a fountain pen [to take the hostage].” Henan police said a 41-year-old man from Anhua, Hunan province, who experienced a “mental illness” during the flight, had been taken into custody over the incident, Shanghai-based online news outlet The Paper reported. All passengers on board the flight were safely evacuated through the rear exit by 10.50am, and the man was subdued after 1pm.<br/>