star

Air NZ is axing London flights, marking the end of its flagship international route after 36 years - with the loss of up to 130 jobs. The airline announced Wednesday it was canning its Los Angeles-London flights from next October but it will also add a non-stop flight to New York from New Zealand. Air NZ acting CE Jeff McDowall said the "iconic" London route had been "an important link" connecting New Zealand and Europe since its launch in 1982 - however market dynamics have affected performance in recent years. "Today Kiwis have more than twice the number of ways to fly to London than a decade ago and preferences have changed." McDowell said the company was also "accelerating its ambitions" for North America and will launch a non-stop service between Auckland and New York using its 787-9 Dreamliner in Oct 2020. <br/>

South African Airways and other carriers grounded aircraft and canceled domestic flights Tuesday after South Africa's aviation regulator instructed the airline to address problems at its maintenance unit. The instruction is the latest blow for SAA, which has not made an annual profit since 2011 and is dependent on govt bailouts for its survival. It has floundered with an unprofitable route network and a fleet of aging and inefficient airplanes. The South African Civil Aviation Authority said it had inspected a number of aircraft at SAA Technical and had issued a prohibition order until the faults it had found had been fixed. It did not disclose what the faults were or which aircraft type was affected, citing confidentiality agreements. <br/>