Staff at Cathay Pacific Airways are on edge. Their city has been gripped by months of anti-government protests, and their company is feeling the wrath of China’s aviation regulator after some staff members took part or expressed support. Since an Aug.9 directive by the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) that called for the suspension of staff who supported or participated in the demonstrations, the regulator has rejected some entire crew lists without explanation, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. The rejections have forced Cathay to scramble, pulling pilots and flight attendants off standby while it investigates social media accounts in an effort to determine which crew member has been deemed a security threat, one of the sources said. Other disruptions have come in the form of a huge jump in the number of plane inspections upon landing, four pilots said. The flexing of regulatory muscle has contributed to a climate of fear within the airline, with employees telling Reuters they felt Cathay’s longer-term future as an independent company was highly uncertain and subject to Beijing’s whims. The CAAC’s labelling of employees who support the protest as a security risk and its demand that they be suspended from flying over mainland airspace has been a de facto career killer. Around three quarters of Cathay flights use mainland airspace and due to the directive, 30 rank-and-file staff, including eight pilots and 18 flight attendants, have been fired or resigned under pressure, according to the Hong Kong Cabin Crew Federation. “Things changed very quickly,” said Jeremy Tam, a pro-democracy lawmaker and pilot who resigned from the airline after the CAAC directive, likening the atmosphere to a political trial. “The threat is huge and it’s almost like zero to 100 in two seconds.” Story explores in depth.<br/>
oneworld
The Trump administration rejected a bid by Hawaiian Airlines and Japan Airlines for antitrust immunity to let them expand a partnership. The Transportation Department said Thursday it plans to let the airlines sell each other’s flights and coordinate marketing and frequent-flyer programs for service between Hawaii and Japan, but without antitrust immunity they won’t be able to coordinate prices and schedules. Hawaiian Airlines said it was disappointed by the decision. “The tentative decision recognises the consumer benefits of our joint venture, but it overlooks the importance of antitrust immunity that major global airline alliances already enjoy, harming a small US carrier like Hawaiian by preventing it from being able to compete on equal footing” with rivals, the airline said. American, Delta and United have antitrust immunity for partnerships with foreign carriers. Hawaiian indicated that it would dispute the decision during a 14-day comment period. The Transportation Department said the airlines could get the same benefits from working together without antitrust immunity. If the department’s ruling is made final, the airlines could cross-sell flights and cooperate in marketing programs for routes between Japan and Hawaii and from Hawaii to 10 other Asian countries, including China and South Korea, if passengers stop in Japan on the way. The deal does not cover flights to or from the US mainland.<br/>
Qantas has revealed new details of research plans for its Project Sunrise ultra-long-haul commercial services initiative from Australia that includes a series of supporting test flights, the first of which is scheduled for later this month. Although the airline has not formally committed to launching the project’s new routes, which would link Sydney with nonstop flights to London and New York, the Australian carrier has outlined plans to conduct tests during deliveries of three new Boeing 787-9s over consecutive months starting in October. Meanwhile, Qantas is analyzing bids from Airbus and Boeing for specially modified variants of the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X, respectively, and will make a decision by year-end. The first flight, scheduled around mid-month, will be from New York to Sydney, with the November test taking place on the London-Sydney route. The December test will also link New York and Sydney. Each of the non-revenue flights will take place after Qantas officially accepts the new aircraft from Boeing. The first priority for the research flights is better understanding of pilot and cabin crew fatigue, Qantas chief technical pilot Alex Passerini said. “The pilots signing up for doing those flights are going to have sleep diaries and will wear sensors to monitor vital signs such brain wave activity. We are going to have Airbus and Boeing fatigue experts on board who will be running through scenarios deep into the flight to look at crew response to certain tasks. The crew will also have to do urine samples for melatonin,” he added.<br/>
Alaska Airlines and American Airlines, once strong partners in codeshare and loyalty, are further distancing their relationship. Starting on March 1, 2020, it will no longer be possible to redeem AAdvantage miles to book flights on Alaska nor will it be possible to spend Mileage Plan miles to book on American. The changes comes amid ongoing, eroding relations between the two carriers. Alaska and American in 2017 took away the ability for frequent flyers to earn miles on each other’s flights (though it was and still remains possible to earn miles on codeshares). With limitations now around the way that Alaska and American mileage partners can spend miles, the programs are even further out of sync. Much has changed at Alaska in the last few years to help precipitate these changes. After the Seattle-based company successfully completed the acquisition of its West Coast rival Virgin America in 2016, the combined carrier had greater reach and a stronger route network for travelers to leverage — easing the need for partner flights. Alaska has also scaled up its loyalty program in other sectors, easing its reliance on legacy American carriers. The airline, for example, launched a new partnership with El Al, the flag carrier of Israel, in May. American, for its part, paints the looming erosion as good for its frequent flyers, suggesting that more seats will now be available for AAdvantage frequent flyers. The carrier said that “AAdvantage members rely on American for their award travel, and we’re committed to providing a network that gets them where they want to go. We routinely review our airline partners and programs with that focus in mind, and we are making changes to our partnership with Alaska Airlines as a result.”<br/>