State-owned Oman Air announced on Sunday its intention to apply to join the oneworld global airline alliance and said it had asked fellow Gulf carrier and member Qatar Airways to help it. Oman Air said it had approached Qatar Airways, whose cCE Akbar Al Baker is the chairman of the airline group, for guidance in making its application. “As the industry recovers from COVID, airline alliances are going to be more important than ever,” the airline said. “This will provide us with excellent global connectivity, a seamless travel experience and more valuable loyalty offerings for our guests.” A oneworld spokesman said the alliance was at any time in talks with prospective members but that it did not comment on specific airlines. “As airlines recover from COVID-19, alliances will become more important by providing global connectivity, as airlines reshape their networks, many with reduced fleets when compared to their pre-COVID size,” the onewolrd spokesman said.<br/>
oneworld
American Airlines pilots’ union says that company managers should be replaced because of the hundreds of flight disruptions that affected tens of thousands of customers this year. The board of directors of the Allied Pilots Association this week approved a resolution that calls on the company to change out the managers responsible for the airline’s operations, saying that staff failed to provide a reliable service and in turn, hurt the carrier’s brand. The board of directors “believes it is in the best interest of the American Airlines shareholders, employees, the communities it serves, and the traveling public for the management team members who control the American Airlines operation be replaced,” said the resolution. The union isn’t seeking top management be removed. The resolution said 60,000 customers were affected by cancellations over Father’s Day weekend in June. American declined to comment on the union’s resolution but provided a company memo sent to pilots before Labor Day that said that pilot staffing had improved during the summer.<br/>
A woman whose daughter was among 298 people who died when a Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down over Ukraine said on Friday she wanted to look the suspects in the eye and "make them feel our loss and pain". Relatives of the victims of flight MH17, brought down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine in 2014, denounced the "senseless and brutal" deaths of their loved ones during the trial of four suspects accused in the disaster. Their testimony concluded three weeks of statements from 90 relatives from eight countries. They told the judges about the impact of the loss on their lives and their hopes for justice. Prosecutor Alwin Dam said many relatives have issues with the "amount of misinformation and conspiracy theories that are spread about MH17" and the fact that no one has claimed responsibility. The plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was hit by what international investigators and prosecutors say was a Russian surface-to-air missile. Story has details.<br/>
Immigration officials in Hong Kong have denied work visas to dozens of overseas Cathay Pacific pilots seeking to relocate to the city, prompting the airline to terminate their employment. Several dozen Cathay pilots had attempted to move from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Germany after the carrier shut down its foreign bases, putting about 280 skilled jobs at risk. The employees were able to keep their job only on condition they secured a valid work visa for Hong Kong. However, since the carrier axed its regional airline Cathay Dragon in October last year, creating a large pool of unemployed cockpit crew, not a single new work visa for a foreign pilot has been approved. Cathay Pacific on Saturday confirmed the Immigration Department had rejected all visa applications from its overseas pilots, though it did not specify the number. "We have been informed by the Immigration Department that the work permit applications from overseas-based pilots who have applied to relocate to Hong Kong have been rejected," an airline spokeswoman said. "We are reaching out to support these officers, many of whom will have the opportunity to elect an enhanced termination benefit."<br/>
Australia’s Qantas Group has made adjustments to its schedule as it eyes the opening up of state borders, and remains optimistic about an 18 December restart for international travel. The group, comprised of mainline operator Qantas and low-cost unit Jetstar Airways, is basing its assumptions on continued vaccination drives in Australia, as well as the coronavirus pandemic internationally. Based on the reopening plan of the Australian state of Victoria, the group will bring forward flights between there and New South Wales to 5 November, compared with 1 December previously. The carrier will also be “significantly increasing” regional flying within New South Wales from 25 October, aiming for 40% of pre-pandemic levels. On the other hand, the reopening of domestic flights to Western Australia from Victoria and New South Wales will be pushed back two months to 1 February 2022. The carrier now operates five return flights weekly between Perth and both Sydney and Melbourne for those with travel permits. As for the 18 December international opening, this is predicated on the country reaching the 80% threshold with Covid-19 vaccinations. In addition, Qantas is looking at operating its direct Boeing 787-9 service to London from Darwin, not Perth. Qantas CE Alan Joyce says that Western Australia is not considering an international opening until “sometime next year”, precluding the re-launch of the London-Perth service.<br/>