oneworld

Oneworld is in discussions about bringing China Southern into its ranks, according to people familiar with the matter. China Southern is the nation’s largest airline with dual hubs in the capital Beijing and the southern city of Guangzhou, where it is headquartered. Bringing it into the oneworld Alliance could provide other member airlines with valuable access to what prior to Covid was one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. China Southern has been forging ties with a number of carriers, several of them oneworld members, after it announced its split from rival grouping SkyTeam in 2018. SkyTeam counts Delta as a key member. American Airlines and Qatar Airways both hold stakes of around 5% each in China Southern, which also has an extensive commercial partnership with British Airways and a codeshare agreement with Finnair Oyj. A representative for oneworld said “with respect to other prospective members, at any point in time, we are in dialog with potential candidates but do not comment on any specifics until those discussions have reached a level of maturity where public announcements can be made.” “With international travel recovering from the pandemic, alliances have become even more important by offering global connectivity for airlines and their customers,” it added. British Airways and American Airlines have been the most vocal and active carriers pushing to convince fellow oneworld members of the benefits of China Southern’s membership, although no formal application has been made, some of the people said. Any final decision will rest with the Chinese carrier.<br/>

NFL free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was removed from a Los Angeles-bound American Airlines flight Sunday morning at Miami International Airport after refusing to comply with safety protocol, according to a statement from the Miami-Dade Police Department. Officers were notified of a medical emergency on an American Airlines flight around 9:30 a.m. Sunday. The flight crew grew concerned for a passenger – identified by police as Beckham – as they tried to wake him to fasten his seat belt, according to a statement from Miami police. “He appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness, prior to their departure,” the police statement read. “Fearing that Mr. Beckham was seriously ill, and that his condition would worsen through the expected 5 hour flight, the attendants called for police and fire rescue.” When officers arrived, they asked Beckham to exit the aircraft several times, and he refused, according to the statement. The aircraft was deplaned, at which point officers asked Beckham to exit the plane and he did so without incident, the statement read. “American Airlines flight 1228, with service from Miami (MIA) to Los Angeles (LAX), returned to the gate before takeoff due to a customer failing to follow crew member instructions and refusing to fasten their seatbelt (sic). The customer was removed, and the flight re-departed at 10:54 a.m. local time,” American Airlines said in a statement obtained by CNN.<br/>

British Airways plans to double its operations at Gatwick Airport, rather than expand at Heathrow Airport Ltd, the Sunday Telegraph reported. The flag carrier intends to potentially double the number of aircraft based at the Sussex airport, going to between 24 and 28 planes from 14 currently, the paper said. The move comes after Heathrow was forced to limit passenger numbers this summer due to a shortage of baggage handlers and other support staff. Alongside staffing issues, airline bosses have clashed with Heathrow’s management over landing fees. The airport would like to raise them to GBP42 from GBP30 per passenger. As things stand, the levy -- which falls on travellers, not carriers -- may fall to GBP26 next year under a plan by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority. The paper quoted Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye as saying the airport needed the additional revenue to invest in upgrades and maintenance. Luis Gallego, CEO of BA’s parent company IAG SA, said however, that the airport was using its market dominance to enrich shareholders.<br/>

Cathay Pacific Airways said its available liquidity rose about 7% in the four months through October to HK$28.6b ($3.7b) as international travel started returning to Hong Kong. The airline has secured funding from a range of capital markets and is focusing on preserving cash and optimizing costs, it said in a presentation to analysts Friday, adding that it has been generating cash at an operating level since May. Cathay has said it expects that trend to continue through the second half. “We are seeing a bright light at the end of the tunnel,” Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said. “There will be a lot of headwinds, all the economic indicators will be working against many companies including ours, but we are very confident about the future for the next few years.” Lam is due to become Cathay’s CEO in January, taking over from Augustus Tang. Cathay said it flew 21% of pre-pandemic capacity in October and 63% for cargo, after the lifting of Hong Kong quarantine requirements at the end of September “improved travel sentiment significantly.” The carrier still had 59 aircraft parked away last month, down from 69 in June. It resumed flying to 51 destinations, up from 29 at the start of the year. HK Express was flying to 12 destinations as of Oct. 31, up from just four in early 2022. Lam said the low-cost unit should reach pre-Covid capacity by March, with its remaining aircraft in storage returned this month. HK Express has a fleet of 26 planes, from a total of 230 for the wider Cathay group.<br/>