A man arrested on suspicion of raping a woman on a United Airlines flight to London Heathrow Airport has been released under investigation. Police at Heathrow were alerted to "an incident on inbound flight," at 6.39 a.m. local time (1.39 a.m. ET) on January 31, London's Metropolitan Police told CNN on Wednesday. "Officers met the aircraft on arrival and arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of rape. He has been released under investigation," police said. "The complainant, a 40-year-old woman, is being supported by specialist officers and enquiries are ongoing," they added. A spokesperson for United Airlines said: "Our crew called ahead and notified the local authorities as soon as they became aware of these allegations. We will cooperate with law enforcement on any investigation."<br/>
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SAS is to open transatlantic services to Toronto from both Copenhagen and Stockholm this year. The carrier will operate long-range Airbus A321LRs on the services which commence in June. SAS states that it will operate to the Canadian city three-times weekly from Copenhagen and four-times weekly from Stockholm. Opening of the routes is still conditional on securing regulatory approval. But the airline says it will strengthen its North American network with the service, and the timing of the flights will enable “good connections” at either end. SAS will use A321LRis configured with 157 seats across a three-class layout, with 22 seats in the business-class cabin and 12 in premium economy.<br/>
Egypt to North America revolves around EgyptAir, which has almost half a million seats this year – its most ever, but will loads and yields keep up? It has 91% of the non-stop market. It comes as Air Canada inaugurated Montréal to Cairo in June 2021, some 12 years after EgyptAir ended the route. EgyptAir serves New York JFK, Toronto, and Washington Dulles. Partly reflecting the significant Egyptian diaspora and heritage in wider New York City, JFK has half of the carrier's 495,000 North America seats this year, according to data experts OAG. For most long-haul operators, JFK is, of course, often the largest market. In mid-August, the height of summer, EgyptAir has 17 weekly services to North America across the three routes, as shown below. That's the joint highest ever, and it'll be at that level for six weeks, more than any other year. Story has more.<br/>
The US DoT said Wednesday Air China agreed to pay a $143,000 fine over excessive tarmac delays in 2018 at US airports. The department said Air China had failed to ensure it would not permit an international flight to remain on the tarmac for more than four hours without providing passengers an opportunity to deplane. The department said under its $300,000 civil penalty order Air China must pay $143,000 within 30 days and must pay $143,000 if it violates the order within a year. The airline was credited with paying $14,000 for compensation to passengers. The DoT said Air China disagreed with how it calculated the civil penalties but said it has agreed to this settlement in the interest of avoiding litigation. "DOT will hold airlines and ticket agents accountable when they treat consumers unfairly," said US Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg. USDOT said Air China allowed two international flights to remain on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for over five hours without providing passengers an opportunity to deplane. Last month, the department suspended 44 China-bound flights from the United States by four Chinese carriers -- including Air China -- following the Chinese government's suspension of the same number of US carrier flights after some passengers later tested positive for COVID-19. Chinese authorities have suspended 20 flights from United Airlines, 10 from American Airlines and 14 by Delta Air Lines since Dec. 31 after some passengers tested positive for COVID-19.<br/>
Japan’s All Nippon Airways has promoted company veteran Shinichi Inoue to president and CE, as part of a broader senior management reshuffle which will also see new leaders at parent company ANA Holdings. Inoue, currently a senior executive VP overseeing sales and marketing, will helm the carrier from 1 April. The 63-year-old, who joined ANA in 1990, helped set up low-cost unit Peach Aviation in 2011, and served as the carrier’s chief until 2020, when returned to the mainline carrier. Outgoing president and CEO Yuji Hirako, meanwhile, will move to ANA Holdings, where he will be vice chairman. Meanwhile, ANA Holdings will appoint Koji Shibata as its new president and CEO, effective 1 April. The 64-year-old is currently overseeing group-wide transformation strategies as senior executive VP, says ANA Holdings. Shibata joined the company in 1982, and helped grow mainline carrier ANA’s international business. He succeeds Shinya Katanozaka, who will be promoted to ANA Holdings chairman. <br/>
Asiana Airlines said Wednesday that it has been certified by Skytrax, a leading review site for airlines, as a 5-Star Airline for the quality of its airport and onboard product and staff service. The airline has been winning the highest rating for 16 consecutive years since 2007. This year, Asiana Airlines has also been certified with the highest Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating that reviews airline health, hygiene, and cleanliness standards. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the airline has enhanced its hygiene and customer travel safety standards through its Asiana Airlines Care+ program. The program includes handing out masks, hand sanitizers, and wet wipes to passengers. It also includes increasing non-contact services such as self-check-ins, and seat distancing. “Asiana will continue our journey to provide as safe and pleasant a travel environment as possible for our valued customers,“ said Jung Sung-kwon, Asiana Airlines CEO.<br/>