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Air China has no plans to take over Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways, an independent director of the state-owned Chinese carrier told the South China Morning Post newspaper. “Based on what I know, I wouldn’t think that is anywhere on the agenda, no way,” Air China non-executive director Stanley Hui said when asked if the carrier, a 30% shareholder, might seek to buy Cathay outright. The Hong Kong airline has become the biggest corporate casualty of anti-government protests after China demanded it suspend staff involved in, or who support, demonstrations that have plunged the former British colony into a political crisis. Cathay Chairman John Slosar last week announced plans to step down in November, less than three weeks after CEO Rupert Hogg left amid mounting regulatory scrutiny. Air China is Cathay’s second-largest shareholder, behind manager Swire Pacific Ltd with a 45% stake. Long-time Swire executive Patrick Healy was last week appointed as Slosar’s replacement. Some analysts have said it would be logical for Air China to take over the remainder of Cathay in the future. However, Hui told the South China Morning Post that any Beijing-led moves that changed Cathay Pacific’s ownership would send a wrong signal to foreign investors.<br/>

Four months after his younger sister Samya died in an Ethiopian Airlines crash with 156 others, Adnaan Stumo sifted soil through his fingers at the site where the plane came down. His hand closed around a human jawbone. "I just looked at these teeth and I tried to remember my sister's teeth," said the 26-year-old American, who handed over the remains to police for identification. Stumo is not alone in finding bones and other remains at the site, about 60 km east of Addis Ababa, where the Boeing 737-MAX slammed into the ground with such force that only fragments of those who died can be recovered. Many of the relatives are now pressing for the farmland where the plane crashed to be turned into a permanent memorial. "Out of respect to the dead, the crash site should be treated as a graveyard," said Adrian Toole, a Briton whose daughter Joanna died in the crash. Dozens of families are suing Boeing after preliminary reports into the crash in Ethiopia and the Lion Air incident in Indonesia, which killed 189 people, showed an automated system erroneously pointed the planes' noses down repeatedly after take-off. Relatives also want the process used to certify the new Boeing model examined by the US FAA. Some families will demonstrate outside the US DoT Tuesday, the six-month anniversary of the Ethiopian crash, to demand greater accountability by the US authorities, said Nadia Milleron, Samya's mother. Boeing has offered $100m to support victims' families, paid independently of any court cases. Legal heirs of the victims should receive about $145,000 each. "We continue to assess a variety of ways to assist the families and affected communities. This includes working to honor those lives lost. We'll provide updates as this work progresses," said Boeing spokesman Peter Pedraza, adding that the Ethiopian authorities were responsible for the site. Story has more background.<br/>

Turkish Airlines lowered its revenue guidance for 2019 in the face of decreasing demand and other factors that have hampered operations. The Istanbul-based carrier said Sept. 4 it now anticipates $13.4b in consolidated sales revenue for the year, down from January guidance of $14.1b. The airline expects to carry 76m passengers—31m domestic and 45m international—in 2019. Previous guidance forecast 80m passengers—33m and 47m international. In August, Turkish Airlines reported Q2 net income of $26m, down 79.5% from $127m in the year-ago period. The flag carrier attributed the profit decline to decreasing domestic demand, the move to the new Istanbul Airport, the Boeing 737 MAX grounding and delays in Airbus A320neo deliveries. The move to the new airport in the first weeks of Q2 caused numerous flight cancellations.<br/>

Fuel supplies have been restored to debt-ridden Air India at six airports following government-mediated talks, after a two-and-half-week suspension by oil companies over the late payment of dues, local media reported. Fuel supplies were suspended on Aug 22 amid reports that the national flag carrier owed three state-run oil firms more than 45b rupees (US$630m). Following the talks, Air India agreed to pay them 1b rupees a month to clear the debt, an airline spokesman said Saturday. A spokesman for the oil firms said "supplies to Air India resumed from Saturday evening." The airline had continued to fly from the six locations - Pune, Ranchi, Patna, Mohali, Kochi and Vishakhapatnam - by looking at alternative routes and filling up on fuel elsewhere. The Indian government in 2018 shelved plans to sell a 76 per cent stake in Air India after failing to attract any bidders. The airline, founded in 1932, was once the country's monopoly airline, known affectionately as the "Maharaja of the skies". But it has been haemorrhaging money for years and it has lost market share to low-cost rivals in one of the world's fastest-growing airline markets. <br/>

SAS and Brussels Airlines are altering several North American routes in 2020. SAS will transfer its Los Angeles-bound service from Stockholm to Copenhagen, with 6X-weekly Copenhagen Kastrup services beginning Jan. 13, 2020, and daily flights from March 31. The move from the Swedish capital to the Danish capital allows for better fleet utilization, the airline said. “By opening a year-round route to Los Angeles from Copenhagen we are increasing availability and enabling growth,” SAS EVP-commercial Karl Sandlund said. “And thanks to the economies of scale we can achieve in fully utilizing our fleet, we are in a position to provide a daily service from Copenhagen Airport.” Brussels Airlines will discontinue its seasonal Brussels-Toronto service and launch seasonal Brussels-Montreal flights. The 5X-weekly services to Montreal-Trudeau will operate from March 29 through October.<br/>

Airbus and Thai Airways plan to begin construction of a new, expanded MRO facility at Thailand’s U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport next year, as part of the airport’s development program. The two companies have agreed to build the replacement MRO center as a joint venture (JV). They intend to formally sign the JV agreement in Q1 2020, the carrier said. The construction phase is also scheduled to begin in the first quarter and is expected to take about two years. THAI plans to begin aircraft heavy maintenance and painting by July 2022 after gaining approval from Thai authorities. The first phase of the new MRO base will include one large hangar, a paint hangar, and other buildings to support line and base maintenance. An area has also been set aside so more hangars and workshops can be added in the future, the airline said. In the new hangar, Thai will be able to simultaneously handle three widebody aircraft for heavy maintenance, along with two widebodies for light maintenance or two narrowbodies for heavy maintenance, as well as two narrowbodies for light maintenance.<br/>