United Airlines is resuming the shipment of pets in its airplane cargo holds, the carrier said Tuesday, after having paused the program for improvements following the high-profile death of a puppy on one of its flights earlier this year. United said it is partnering with the American Humane animal rights organisation to improve the well-being of the pets it flies, after a spate of animal-related mishaps. Effective June 18, the airline will only accept cats and dogs in its PetSafe transport program, and no other household pets. Short- or snub-nosed cat and dog breeds, like French bulldogs, and strong-jawed dog breeds, like Mastiffs, will no longer be permitted to fly as cargo. <br/>
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Austrian Airlines has agreed to a new collective wage accord for flight attendants and pilots that spells out salary increases and flexible flight duty regulations through 2021. “This long-term decree opens up new perspectives for our employees,” Austrian HR manager Nathalie Rough and accountable manager Jens Ritter said. They added the agreement is expected to bring peace to the company. In addition, the carrier said flight service regulations should be significantly more flexible to better compensate for seasonal fluctuations in passenger demand. According to the agreement, salaries should increase 5.5% in 2018; 2.5% in 2019; 1.83% in 2020; and by at least 1.4% in 2021. March 5 and March 22, Austrian canceled a total of 290 flights as collective bargaining meetings interrupted flight operations. <br/>
India has extended the deadline to receive initial bids for Air India to May 31 from May 14, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation Tuesday. India will announce the qualified bidders for the beleaguered airline June 15. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s govt, keen to sell the loss-making, debt-ridden airline, finalised plans in late March to divest a 76% stake and offload about US$5.1b of its debt. After the terms were disclosed, no company has come forward to say it is interested or to reaffirm previous interest, while Jet Airways and rival IndiGo have already publicly opted out of the race. In April, sources said that Tata Group, widely seen as a potential suitor for Air India, is also unlikely to consider a bid as the govt’s terms are too onerous. Tata Group has not issued an official statement yet. <br/>