Safety concerns were the reason the pilot of a Thai Airways International flight aborted the first attempt to land at Haneda airport in Tokyo last week, the airline said Wednesday. Ft Lt Pratana Patanasiri, VP in charge of aviation safety, said the pilot of flight TG660 decided to go around again because he could not clearly see the runaway he was cleared to land on as the Boeing 747-400 aircraft approached the airport on April 11. The decision conformed with maximum security guidelines for pilots. Air traffic controllers at Haneda then reassigned a new runway and the plane landed<br/>safely, he said. The flight to Tokyo left Suvarnabhumi airport at 1pm with 384 passengers and crew on board and arrived at Haneda about 9.10pm that day. The Mainichi on Tuesday reported the aborted landing.<br/>
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United is making progress adding its new business class cabins to wide-body jets, and plans to introduce a plane with its new Polaris seats every 10 days until it completes cabin retrofits at the end of 2020, executives said Wednesday. The new seats, introduced by United CEO Oscar Munoz in June 2016 began flying last year, but have not been installed as quickly as customers would like. They’re now on only 19 aircraft, according to the carrier’s website, though United executives have said the program is on schedule, despite some early snags because of manufacturer delays. In addition, executives said Wednesday United soon will begin introducing its long-haul, premium economy product, called Premium Plus, to long-haul jets. While that project won’t finish until the end of 2020, United said it could begin selling premium economy late this year in advance for 2019 flights. The product should begin appearing on aircraft this summer, but at first, United will only let passengers buy up to it at the last minute.<br/>
Air India has ordered a probe into the complaints that one of its senior pilots threatened to hit his co-pilots with 'crash axe' at least on two flights, the sources said. While ordering probe, India's national carrier also directed the senior pilot not to perform his duties as an instructor till further orders. His 'trainership,' however, was restored last week. In the first incident, the pilot, who is a trainer, allegedly threatened the use of crash axe in the presence of a safety pilot doing the route check. According to sources, the trainer pilot who was in the cockpit of Air Indian flight AI 709 from Kolkata to Dimapur on January 18, 2018, allegedly threatened to use the axe against the co-pilot who was doing his route check. On January 26, 2018, the senior commander allegedly misbehaved again with his co-pilot and doled out the same threat to his trainee pilot during a Mumbai-Kolkata flight, forcing the trainee pilot to file a complaint against him, sources said. Sources said the probe is still on and the instructor has already submitted his response on the incident.<br/>
Air Canada will soon be offering lie-flat seats on some of its non-stop flights within Canada and the US for customers willing to pay a premium. The airline says these lie-flat seats are available for those flying in Air Canada Signature Class, the premium cabin of its wide-body aircraft. The new service, which is available today for international customers, will be offered starting June 1 for select flights within North America. Routes with the lie-flat seats will include overnight daily flights from Vancouver, Los Angeles and San Francisco to Toronto, the airline says. The new service, branded as Air Canada Signature Service, will also include other added amenities such as valet service in a BMW across the Toronto-Pearson airport tarmac to connecting flights for full-fare premium cabin customers who qualify, starting later in 2018.<br/>
Air NZ has released details of dozens of cancelled and re-timed international flights due to Dreamliner engine problems. Fifteen flights have been scrubbed during the next week due to unforeseen maintenance required by safety regulators worried about parts of some Rolls-Royce Trent engines used on Boeing 787s around the world. Additional flights have been added to the growing list over the course of the day. The airline says that if passengers had been affected by one of the cancellations and booked directly with Air New Zealand, there was no need to get in touch with the airline's contact centre. "We will send through a new e-ticket with your new flight details once you have been rebooked. If you have booked through a Travel Agent, please reach out to them directly to find out your new travel details,'' the airline said. Dozens of flights throughout the network have been re-timed or are being operated by different aircraft. The airline advises passengers on re-timed flights that if they miss their connecting flight, they will be rebooked onto the next available service. The airline has previously estimated 6500 passengers are affected.<br/>
After more than two years of suspension, the Canadian government has decided to lift a ban on EgyptAir’s direct cargo flights, a Ministry of Trade and Industry statement said Wednesday. "The decision would contribute to increasing the competitiveness of Egyptian exports to the Canadian market, particularly the agricultural crops," said Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil. Canadian officials have reviewed the procedural and security arrangements regarding EgyptAir's cargo direct flights to Toronto in Canada, Kabil said. Egypt is currently working on increasing its exports as one of the main sources of national income and hard currency.<br/>