LATAM Airlines Group is confident that the airline's planned joint ventures with oneworld partners American Airlines and IAG will prevail, following last-minute appeals in Chile against the deals. LATAM CE Enrique Cueto said that he believes Chile's supreme court will uphold the decision of Chile's anti-trust tribunal which had cleared the deals earlier this month. At least 3 Chilean organisations, including a tourism group and consumer rights body, have opposed the planned joint ventures on anti-competitive grounds. LATAM has said it will accept the tribunal's conditions, in exchange for implementing the joint ventures. These conditions include a requirement for LATAM to maintain capacity on its nonstop routes from Santiago to both Miami and Madrid, and to add capacity on routes to North America and Europe. <br/>
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Qantas has been named airline of the year at the CAPA Centre for Aviation awards. CAPA said the award was for the airline that had been the biggest standout strategically during the year, had the greatest impact on the development of the airline industry and provided a benchmark for others to follow. "Qantas has had yet another remarkable year, posting a record profit for financial year 2018 and for the first time connecting the antipodes non-stop by launching non-stop flights from Perth to London," CAPA executive chairman Peter Harbison said. Meanwhile, Qantas CE Alan Joyce has pushed Airbus and Boeing this year to develop a new ultra-long range widebody aircraft capable of operating non-stop flights from Sydney to London with a full payload of 300 passengers across 4 classes. <br/>
Qantas is cracking down on sneaky passengers overloading their carry-on baggage with a new push to police weight limits at the gate. The airline has ramped up checks of carry-on baggage just before boarding, as the popularity of online check-in has meant many flyers dodge having their bag weighed at the counter and slip through with excess baggage. The airline is vying to stop infuriating flight delays caused by passengers trying to stow oversized carry-on luggage. It is understood the auditing has been rolled out over the past few weeks on the busiest routes in Australia. A Qantas spokesman said the "renewed focus" on carry-on luggage weights was to ensure the system is "fair" for all customers with regular flyers annoyed by others skirting the rules. <br/>