American Airlines and JetBlue Airways plan to expand domestic and short-haul international flying next year under a partnership that US antitrust officials are seeking to dissolve. The expansion to 10 new cities, if it goes through as planned, will bring the carriers’ Northeast Alliance to 500 daily departures across New York’s three major airports, and to 200 daily flights out of Boston, the airlines said Friday. The carriers argued in a federal trial last month that their alliance gives consumers more options for flights and boosts competition, challenging assertions by US attorneys that the arrangement is a virtual merger that could cost consumers more than $700m annually by way of higher fares. The parties are awaiting a ruling by US District Judge Leo T. Sorokin. “We’re committed to continue to deliver significant consumer benefits and increase competition, as we have since our partnership was announced,” an American spokeswoman said. The alliance allows the carriers to share routes, bookings and passengers on flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports, Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, and Boston’s Logan International Airport. <br/>
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Morocco's Royal Air Maroc will operate 30 special flights to carry soccer fans from Casablanca to Doha for the country's Wednesday World Cup semifinal game against France, the airline said on Monday. The flights would depart on Tuesday and Wednesday, it said. To the delight of Moroccans, and not just soccer fans, the country has become the first in Africa ever to qualify for World Cup semifinals. Passengers on the promotionally priced round trips will add to thousands of Moroccans who are already attending the soccer tournament in Doha.<br/>
Qantas CE Alan Joyce has said his airline is “certainly not pushing” to have just one pilot in the cockpit of its aircraft. In a significant intervention, Joyce used the example of when one of the Flying Kangaroo’s A380 engines exploded mid-air to justify the importance of multiple pilots. “We had five amazing pilots in the cockpit, and without that, I don’t think that aircraft would have landed safely,” he said in a new interview. “We know that, and we’re very conscious of it.” It comes after more than 40 countries, including Germany, Britain and New Zealand, asked the International Civil Aviation Organisation to help make single-pilot flights a reality. The plan would save airlines millions in costs and help alleviate a global shortage of talent but has been criticised by planemakers, industry bodies and high-profile figures as endangering safety. IATA DG Willie Walsh said he doesn’t “ever” expect to see the move become a reality, while Boeing’s Southeast Asia president Alexander Feldman highlighted the “psychological barriers” in persuading consumers to go along with it. In November 2010, Qantas A380 VH-OQA was involved in arguably Australian aviation’s most serious-ever safety incident, when its Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine exploded shortly after it took off, causing a major fire. Despite significant structural and systems damage, Captain de Crespigny and his colleagues in the flight deck — Qantas’ first A380 and named after Australian aviation legend Nancy-Bird Walton — managed to return to Singapore Changi Airport for a safe landing.<br/>