American Airlines Group and Qantas Airways have been given the US government’s tentative approval to operate a joint venture after a prior effort was rejected in 2016. The US DoT Monday issued an order tentatively approving the joint business agreement and tentatively granting antitrust immunity to the airlines covering international service. An application for a joint venture covering the United States, Australia and New Zealand was rejected by former President Barack Obama’s administration. The deal would allow the airlines to coordinate their planning, pricing, sales and frequent flyer programs, with new options and customer service improvements. The airlines planned up to three new routes within the first two years and increased capacity on existing routes, the department said. American Airlines said a final decision is expected in the coming weeks. “The joint business will also create additional jobs at our respective companies and in the industries we serve,” said American Chairman and CEO Doug Parker. The department will require the airlines perform a self-assessment of the joint venture’s impact on competition seven years after it takes effect and report their findings to the government, which could subsequently take action. <br/>
oneworld
The globetrotting dream of flying nonstop from London to Sydney has taken a step closer, according to Australian airline Qantas, which says it'll soon choose the aircraft it'll use to complete the journey. Alan Joyce, CEO of the Australian airline, confirmed he had issued an August deadline for manufacturers Airbus and Boeing to make their "best and final offer." A modified version of Boeing's upcoming 777-8 and two iterations of Airbus's A350 are in the running for Qantas's "Project Sunrise" program to establish the air link by 2023. "We're hoping by August to have that proposal in and the price of the aircraft in and the guarantees of the aircraft performance, engine maintenance and aircraft performance," Joyce said. Both Airbus and Boeing were tasked with coming up with a suitable aircraft for the ultra-long-haul journey back in 2017 -- a task that requires manufacturers to push fuel efficiencies to new levels. Qantas aims to launch its first nonstop flights from Sydney to London in 2023. The chosen airplane must be capable of meeting the "Project Sunrise" criteria of carrying more than 300 passengers, with a four cabin configuration, from Sydney to London. The 17,000-kilometer, 21-hour journey would steal the crown for the longest scheduled nonstop passenger service from Singapore Airlines, which claimed it in October 2018 with a relaunched Singapore to New York flight.<br/>
Japan Airlines may expand a joint venture with Malaysia Airlines to cover U.S. flights and other Asian routes in the future, the Japanese carrier’s president said. The pair signed a memorandum of understanding for a JV on Malaysia-Japan flights on May 27, but JAL President Yuji Akasaka said that was only part of a deepening partnership between the two, both members of the oneworld alliance. The Malaysian government is considering whether to shut, sell or refinance its loss-making national carrier, PM Mahathir Mohamad said in March. JAL, which undertook a successful turnaround after entering bankruptcy in 2010, could provide advice to Malaysia Airlines based on its own experience, Akasaka said. “We believe what Malaysia Airlines is going through right now is similar to what Japan Airlines went through and we recovered from that situation,” he said. Akasaka said once the Malaysia-Japan JV was approved by authorities there would be opportunities to extend the partnership, to cover US flights and other Asian routes. <br/>
Malaysia Airlines is looking at its order for 25 Boeing Co 737 MAX jets “very carefully” in light of the global grounding and plans for the first delivery in July 2020 could be delayed, the carrier’s CE said Monday. “I think our introduction to service will slide,” Malaysia Airlines CEO Izham Ismail said. “We are having a discussion and conversation with Boeing.” Malaysia Airlines has been trying to transform its operations as it recovers from two tragedies in 2014, when flight MH370 disappeared in what remains a mystery and flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine. The Malaysian government is considering whether to shut, sell or refinance its loss-making national carrier, PM Mahathir Mohamad said in March. Izham said Malaysia Airlines’ board had approved a restructuring plan in February that would be debated at the next board meeting of its owner, sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd, which is chaired by Mahathir. Izham declined to divulge specific details of the plan. However, he said Malaysia Airlines would cut costs but remain a full-service carrier and planned to form more alliances like a joint venture with Japan Airlines agreed last week.<br/>
Pakistan welcomed the first British Airways flight Monday after a decade-long absence due to security fears, with ministers saying it will boost business, trade and tourism between the South Asian nation and Britain. BA’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner landed in Islamabad from Heathrow airport to begin a three flights per week service, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation spokesperson Farah Hussain said. High-ranking Pakistani and British embassy officials welcomed the flight, which returned to Britain the same day. “With this kind of connectivity that we now have, British investors will find it so easy, Pakistani diaspora will find it very easy, our own exporters, our own business people will now have a great connectivity of going from here to London,” said Pakistan’s trade and industry minister Abdul Razaq Dawood. “From London the whole word is open to us.” British High Commissioner Thomas Drew and BA’s CCO Andrew Brem called on PM Imran Khan, who said the resumption of BA flights to Pakistan will boost tourism in the country and encourage increased trade and investment. “The links between Britain and Pakistan are already extra-ordinary from commerce, cricket and culture to people, politics and education,” Drew added. “This launch is a vote of confidence in the future of those links.” At present, only loss-making national carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flies directly from Pakistan to Britain, but its ageing fleet of planes is a frequent source of complaints by passengers.<br/>
An American Airlines flight from El Paso, Texas, to Chicago turned back twice, apparently because of the same faulty mechanical-problem warning. Flight 3880 took off from El Paso International Airport two times Monday for Chicago only to return to the airport. The flight had 76 passengers and four crew members on board. A spokesman for American Airlines, Ross Feinstein, says the first return at 2:25 p.m. Mountain time was blamed on a faulty indicator light warning of an in-flight mechanical problem. He says after an inspection found it to be faulty, the twin-jet Embraer E-175 took off again at 3:58 p.m. but reversed course after about four minutes in the air — apparently because of the same faulty indicator. The aircraft took off again at 6:23 p.m. Mountain time and was scheduled to arrive at Chicago O'Hare International Airport about 10:45 p.m. Central time.<br/>
A Pittsburgh-bound flight has safely returned to New York's LaGuardia Airport after a bird strike. American Airlines Flight 2107 returned at around 8:30 a.m. Monday. No injuries were reported. The airline said it was rebooking 98 passengers and evaluating the plane. It apologised for the delay. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokeswoman Cheryl Albiez says the pilot did not declare an emergency but asked to return to the airport for an inspection. Albiez says the Smithsonian Institution will examine forensic samples to determine what kind of bird was involved. The information helps Port Authority experts who study migration patterns and methods for keeping birds out of the way of planes.<br/>