The organizer of a controversial Sunwing party flight to Mexico says his group was unfairly abandoned by the airline. James William Awad told reporters at a new conference today that Sunwing, along with Air Canada and Air Transat, should be “ashamed” of themselves for refusing to fly his group back to Canada based on videos of the flight that circulated on social media. He says the airlines stranded 154 Canadians in Mexico without knowing whether members of the group could afford to keep paying for hotels and food. Awad, 28, held the news conference with the flags of Canada, Quebec and the United States behind him and interspersed his answers with promotional commentaries about his business. Journalists were told they could each ask one question and would be removed if they attempted to ask a followup.<br/>
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Tata Sons, the holding company of top Indian conglomerate Tata Group, on Thursday gained control of national carrier Air India, ending the government's two-decade hunt for a buyer for an airline that has been kept afloat with taxpayer money. "We are excited to have Air India back in the Tata Group and are committed to making this a world-class airline," Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran said. "I warmly welcome all employees of Air India to our group and look forward to working together." The airline was established by J.R.D. Tata in 1932, only for it to be nationalized in 1953. The conglomerate's offer of 180b rupees ($2.4bi), made through wholly owned subsidiary Talace, in October had emerged as the highest bid for the cash-strapped carrier. Tata's offer surpassed that of the next-highest bidder, SpiceJet founder Ajay Singh, by 29b rupees. The acquisition entailed a cash payment of 27b rupees to the government, while 153b rupees go toward repaying part of the airline's debt. However, 460b rupees of Air India's debt will remain parked with a government-owned entity, backed by real estate assets that may not cover the debt. The deal gave Tata Group full control of Air India, a full-service airline, and Air India Express, a low-cost carrier focused on short-haul international operations, particularly in the Middle East. Tata also got 50% ownership of the airlines' airport services and cargo handling unit, Air India SATS. "The Air India strategic disinvestment transaction has been completed today," the government said Thursday, adding that it received the 27b rupees from Talace.<br/>
Air New Zealand has reinstated its flexible credit policy for some domestic passengers as it prepares for Omicron to disrupt flights over the coming weeks. Introduced during the early days of the pandemic, the airline’s flexible Covid-19 policy enabled travellers to change their domestic bookings for free or get credits if something went wrong. Since October 31, 2021, however, domestic flyers had not been entitled to a refund or credit unless they had booked one of the most flexible – and more expensive – fare types. Customers with bookings as of 11:59pm, January 23 for flights set to depart before 11:59pm on February 28 will now be able to change their flights for free or get a credit if they are unable to travel no matter what type of fare they hold. Air New Zealand chief customer and sales office Leanne Geraghty said the airline expects to see flights disrupted as the highly transmissible Omicron variant spreads in New Zealand. “Based on what we’ve seen happen to other airlines around the world, and the modelling we’ve seen here for New Zealand, we’re anticipating Omicron will have a considerable impact on our customers and employees over the next few weeks. Providing the option for credits allows customers who are feeling unwell or are isolating, to change their booking to travel on an alternative date.” Geraghty said the airline wants the “thousands” of customers who may have to deal with Omicron in coming weeks not to have to worry about their flights. The airline could decide to extend the credit option beyond February 28, and is planning to reassess the situation as that date approaches.<br/>