Air NZ has announced plans to bring autonomous, electric air taxis to the country. The airline will partner with Zephyr Airworks, a flying car startup backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, “to make autonomous, electric air travel a reality for all New Zealanders,” it said Tuesday. “Both companies see the potential for our airspace to free people from the constraints of traffic and its associated social, economic and environmental impacts” Air New Zealand CEO Christopher Luxon said.“The possibility of getting from A to B quickly and safely, and also relieving the impact of polluting emissions, is very real indeed.” The companies didn’t announce any specific details of the plan or indicate a time-frame for when electric taxis might take to New Zealand skies.<br/>
star
United is prepping for another year of aggressive domestic capacity growth in 2019, hot on the heels of its successful expansion this year. The carrier loaded the latest network additions from its Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco and Washington Dulles hubs over the weekend, part of a strategy to recapture its "natural share" of the US market by growing 4-6% annually through 2020. “With more than 40 new domestic routes added this year, we remain committed to expanding our network to offer customers even more choices in their travel destinations,” says Ankit Gupta, VP of domestic network planning at United. “The expansion to Hilton Head Island from three of our hub cities and the introduction of New York’s only nonstop service to… Pensacola, are just some of the ways we are responding to customer interest and demand.” The growth plan, which was first questioned by Wall Street, began producing results in Q2. Domestic passenger unit revenues grew 1.7% on a 7.4% increase in capacity, with analysts praising the results despite missing its pre-tax margin target by a point due to fuel costs. "United’s results appear to add credibility to its midcontinent hub strategy," said JP Morgan analysts in July report. "We supported (and continue to support) the plan as rational and necessary for United’s longer-term margin and market share strategies." Story has expansion details.<br/>
ANA is expanding its network to Europe with daily Tokyo Haneda-Vienna (Austria) services, starting Feb. 19, 2019. The new route, which will be operated using a Boeing 787-9, is part of the joint venture with Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines. ANA said the new service will be the cornerstone of its strategy to meet growing business demand for flights connecting Asia and Europe. Vienna will become the Star Alliance carrier’s 44th international destinations; it will serve seven cities in Europe. For Vienna International Airport, the new ANA service is another important step to adding new long-haul routes to its portfolio. On Oct. 3, Air Canada announced it will take over existing Austrian Airlines' Toronto-Vienna services, Austrian will launch new daily Vienna-Montreal flights. Both routes will begin April 29, 2019.<br/>