More than 13 years after an Air France jet plunged into the Atlantic, killing all 228 people on board, the French carrier and planemaker Airbus go on trial in a Paris court next week with relatives seeking "light at the end of a long tunnel". Flight 447 vanished in pitch darkness during an equatorial storm en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, 2009. After a two-year search for the A330's black boxes, French investigators found pilots had mishandled the temporary loss of data from iced-up sensors and pushed the 205-tonne jet into an aerodynamic stall or freefall, without responding to alerts. But the BEA accident agency also disclosed that Air France had expressed concerns about increased icing incidents before the crash and had started receiving improved speed probes. Experts say the relative roles of pilot or sensor error, as well as erratic displays or fatigue, will be key to the historic trial. Monday's opening hearing will mark the first time French companies have been directly placed on trial for "involuntary manslaughter" following an air crash, rather than individuals.<br/>
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Hanjin Group and Korean Air Chairman Cho Won-tae, also known as Walter Cho, attended a meeting between the Korea-France Club and the France-Korea Club at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs building in Paris last Friday, to talk about the global aviation industry's efforts to confront climate change. The Korea-France Club and the France-Korea Club were organized in 2015 and 2016, respectively, to celebrate 130 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Businesspeople and scholars from the two countries have participated in the clubs' annual meeting to discuss countermeasures against various contemporary problems. In the session on energy and nuclear power that day, Cho cited Korean Air's efforts to show how the global air carriers have counteracted the climate crisis. He also mentioned the fact that the global air carriers at the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) annual general meeting last October agreed to achieve net-zero by 2050. They felt the necessity of preemptive measures to reduce carbon emissions at high altitudes, although their combined carbon emissions only account for 2.5% of total global carbon emissions. "The chairman introduced Korean Air's efforts for carbon reduction, such as enhancing fuel efficiency of each flight, recycling wastes from the cabin, purchasing carbon-neutral jet aircraft fuel, developing sustainable fuel and introducing eco-friendly aircrafts," Hanjin Group said in a press release. "He also disclosed our company's plan to make various efforts to fight the climate crisis."<br/>
WestJet will begin adding its code to Korean Air flights from Toronto and Vancouver to Seoul, after the Canadian carrier decided earlier this week to centralise its widebody flying from Calgary. Calgary-based WestJet on 7 October called the deal its “first reciprocal codeshare with an Asian partner”. “It’s incredibly exciting for WestJet to codeshare on flights across the Pacific to Asia for the first time,” says WestJet’s chief commercial officer John Weatherill. “We’ve had a strong codeshare with Korean since 2012 and… we’re looking forward to the new opportunities our now reciprocal codeshare will bring to consumers.” ”We remain committed to bridging Canada, Korea and Asia through our hub at Incheon Airport,” adds Korean’s senior vice-president and head of international affairs and alliance Tae Joon Kim. According to Cirium fleets data, Korean Air operates a daily flight to Seoul’s Incheon International airport from Vancouver, and flies five-times weekly from Toronto. Both routes are operated on Boeing 787-9s. The codeshare comes two days after WestJet said it will pull its seven-strong Boeing 787 fleet out of other Canadian cities to concentrate all intercontinental flying from Calgary International airport. The carrier has been also been operating Dreamliner long-haul flights to Europe from Toronto. The new strategy – introduced by chief executive Alexis von Hoensbroech in June – is part of a three-pronged shift the carrier hopes will return it to pre-pandemic successes. The first pillar of the strategy is to focus on building network strength in the western half of Canada – from Winnipeg to the Pacific Ocean. The second is a renewed focus on leisure travel, supported by the acquisition of low-cost vacation specialist Sunwing Airlines, along with its tour operator business. Third, WestJet intends to return to its low-cost origins. <br/>