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Air Canada has added more non-stop routes to the United States ahead of the holiday travel season. In a press release on Monday, the company said it has added routes from Vancouver to Houston, and Halifax to Newark, N.J. "With these new routes from Halifax and Vancouver, Air Canada is meeting demand in these important markets and building on our strengthened trans-border partnership with United Airlines to solidify our leadership in the Canada-U.S. market," said Mark Galardo, senior vice president of network planning and revenue management at Air Canada. In July, Air Canada announced it signed a deal to expand its relationship with United Airlines, Inc. in order to offer more flights to the United States. The deal allows the two air carriers to coordinate their networks and schedules, while also being able to sell seats on each other’s trans-border flights.<br/>

Nine airlines and a union have asked the Colombian civil aviation authority (Unidad Administrativa Especial de Aeronáutica Civil - Aerocivil) to be included as "interested third parties" in the process that could bring Avianca Airlines, Viva (Colombia), Viva Air Perú, GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, and SKY Airline (Chile) under the umbrella entity Abra Group. Their requests indicate their opposition to the integration, the news agency Bloomberg Línea reported. EasyFly (Colombia), Satena, Ultra Air, Wingo (Colombia), Aerolíneas Argentinas, LATAM Airlines, JetSMART, Air Europa, and Lufthansa have asked to participate in the ongoing examination of the proposed group, a probe that will ultimately determine whether it is accepted or rejected. Avianca's union, which represents nearly half of Avianca's pilots, has also lodged a request to take part. As interested parties, they want to know in detail what this merger will imply for the local and regional aviation market. Ultra Air had already voiced its objections to the move, arguing that Avianca and Viva would occupy 65% of the domestic market, which would damage competition and harm consumers. Several of the airlines confirmed to Bloomberg Línea that the request to Aerocivil is not only to learn about the details of the processes for the integration but also to be able to present their arguments and oppose the operation.<br/>

Croatia Airlines has chosen the Airbus A220 for its fleet renewal, following years of negotiations with airframers over an order for narrowbody jets. The commitment will see the Star Alliance carrier become a single-type operator “by 2026”, it says on 4 October. The Pratt & Whitney PW1500G-powered jets will replace Croatia Airlines’ current fleet of 12 aircraft, comprising six De Havilland Canada Dash 8s, five Airbus A319s and one A320. Croatia Airlines and Airbus are yet to disclose details of an aircraft order – including the choice of variant – although a deal would involve either the conversion or cancellation of the carrier’s existing commitment for four A320neo aircraft, which was itself a 2015 conversion of a 2008 order for A319s. The fleet renewal was highlighted as a key part of Croatia Airlines’ post-Covid transformation plan, which was announced at the end of 2021 and also features cost-reduction efforts and a network overhaul. The state-owned operator had spoken to Airbus, Boeing about the 737 Max and Embraer about E2 jets over the past few years as it considered which airframe would best meet its needs.<br/>

A new four-person flying taxi that could cost Kiwis as little as $3 per kilometre to use has been revealed. Wisk Aero has released a prototype of its aircraft that will “rise like a helicopter and fly like a plane”. Air New Zealand’s CEO Greg Foran was recently in California checking out the new four-seater aircraft – which has only just been revealed to the public. Wisk, which tested earlier versions of the aircraft in New Zealand, has confirmed its new look sixth-generation model will be the one that goes into production. It’s the world’s first self-flying all-electric vertical and take-off aircraft that can fit four people. Wisk has previously revealed to Stuff Travel that at least one New Zealand city is amongst the first 20 on its radar, and it expects to be flying here within "five to 10 years” – but it won’t reveal finer details.The sixth-generation model cruises at around 120 knots (222kph) and has a range of 144 kilometres, with reserves. It’ll fly at an altitude of 2500 to 4000 feet (762 to 1219 metres). Wisk said it had a “price target” of USD$3 per passenger, per mile. That’s the equivalent to roughly NZD$3 per kilometre.<br/>