SIA and Air NZ's joint venture alliance has received renewed approval from the New Zealand Ministry of Transport, the final step in enabling the two to extend their alliance for a further 5 years until March 2024. Under the alliance, which was first launched in January 2015, the two carriers have boosted frequencies between the two countries, adding capacity of over 25%. This includes increased services during peak season to Christchurch, and the introduction of a Singapore-Wellington service via Australia. Meanwhile, a third daily service will be launched Oct 28 between Singapore and Auckland, which will add 40% more capacity on the route as well as improve connectivity to Europe, India and South-east. During peak months, the two airlines will operate 35 return services in total a week between Singapore and New Zealand. <br/>
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EgyptAir is standing by the author of a bizarre Drew Barrymore profile that appeared in the airline's in-flight magazine. The interview in the in-flight magazine Horus was widely-assumed to be fake by online readers, after traveller Adam Baron, tweeted an image of it and described it as “surreal.” The piece, which focuses on “Barrymore the mother,” opens with a one-page introduction that labels the popular actress as being famous for “unstable relationships" and “unsuccessful marriages” -- which the author writes is only natural due to the early divorce of Barrymore’s parents. The author said that the divorce had prompted Barrymore to "subconsciously [seek] attention and care from a male figure." EgyptAir is standing by the profile. "The interview is real, and she conducted it," an EgyptAir spokesman said Thursday. <br/>
In a nod to California’s new official state sport, United Airlines is wiping out oversized baggage fees for all customers traveling with a surfboard to or from any destination in California. That fee typically would range as high as US$150 or $200 per surfboard. But effective Oct 5, passengers with a surfboard will only pay United’s regular checked bag fees, which start at $30 for the first checked bag. The fee adjustment also will apply to wakeboards and paddleboards, United said. The change goes into effect on both United mainline and regional flights. The move on the surfboarding front is another aspect of United’s efforts in recent times to win over California residents and raise the carrier’s profile in a state where the carrier has a significant presence and revenue base. <br/>