The chief of the Oneworld airline alliance, which counts Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways as a member, has said that relations among carriers in the group are strong despite exit rumours and infighting. CEO Rob Gurney was speaking amid speculation member Qatar Airways would leave the group, as it feuds with Qantas and American Airlines over flight routes. Qatar’s investment in 13 potential partners of the alliance has also sparked concern about the company tightening its grip on the group. The Middle Eastern carrier holds stakes in Cathay Pacific and the International Airlines Group, which controls BA and Iberia. Gurney, however, said he was relaxed about the often fraught relations among members, and dismissed the idea that the Doha-based carrier was able to exert more influence through its stakes in fellow airlines. “There are going to be misalignments of views and conflict and disagreements from time to time. The majority of our member airlines are competing against each other in one form or another,” he said. “Of course there are debates but you don’t get good outcomes without robust debate. It is highly collegiate. There’s a fantastic working culture among the airlines.” Disagreeing that airlines were jostling to exert influence over each other in the group, he said: “I don’t see any evidence of that whatsoever.”<br/>
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Qantas' vision for the first direct flights from Sydney to London is inching closer to reality as Boeing and Airbus finalise proposals for longer-range jets needed to span the 10,600-mile trip. Qantas is also stepping up work on making the estimated 20-hour journey to the UK capital and cities including New York and Paris more comfortable, CEO Alan Joyce said. That includes picking the right number of seats and a cabin layout that may include beds in the hold. In linking spots on the opposite sides of the globe, the new flights will be the last word in distance. Only a direct London-Auckland service would be longer among routes that airlines have actively studied. A trip from Sydney or Melbourne to London would beat the longest-flight record held by SIA’s service from its home city to New York by 1,000 miles. Planemakers will submit best and final offers on models capable of making the journey from southeast Australia to northern Europe and the northeastern US in coming months, according to Joyce, who said the choice will be between derivatives of Boeing’s 777-8X and the ultra long range A350-900ULR and -1000ULR from its European rival. “Boeing and Airbus are still working on the request for proposals,” he said. “It’s not just about adding a few extra fuel tanks. The plan is to finalise everything by the year end and reach a decision on start up in 2022.” Qantas is seeking a new deal with its pilots to cover the changes in working practices required to undertake such long-endurance flights, as well as engaging with authorities on relevant regulatory changes, the CEO said.<br/>
Russia is ready to engage in talks with the Netherlands about the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko was quoted as saying on Friday. “Our dialogue did not stop, including on a political level,” he said, according to Interfax news agency. “We touch upon those issues, we are ready for talks.” Grushko made the comments the day after the Dutch foreign ministry said it was “increasingly confident” that Russian officials would be willing to meet soon for private talks on who was responsible for the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight in 2014. In May 2018 the Dutch and Australian governments said they would hold Russia responsible for the plane’s downing. <br/>