Emirates and Air Canada's cargo divisions signed an initial agreement to work on initiatives that will expand their capacity on a larger combined network, building on a codeshare deal between the airlines sealed last year. Under the terms of the preliminary agreement, Emirates SkyCargo and Air Canada Cargo will expand freight interline options, offering their customers access to more capacity, the Dubai airline said in a statement on Friday. They will also expand block space agreements, which are bought by freight forwarders for space on a flight, pending regulatory approvals. "Co-operating with Air Canada Cargo will offer our clients added value through more rapid reach to new destinations in Canada via our Toronto and US gateways," said Nabil Sultan, Emirates' divisional senior vice president of cargo. The cargo agreement comes after the two airlines announced a codeshare deal that started in November 2022, covering 46 destinations in North America, the Middle East, Africa, South-East Asia and India.<br/>
star
Air India has sealed a jumbo deal for about 500 new planes worth more than $100b at list prices, in what could become the single largest order by any airline as it seeks to reinvent itself under its new owners, industry sources told Reuters. The deal, split equally between France's Airbus and rival Boeing, was first reported by Reuters in December and could finally be announced as early as next week, the sources said. Air India has agreed to purchase 250 Airbus planes, split between 210 single-aisle A320neos and 40 widebody A350s, and 220 Boeing aircraft including 190 of its 737 MAX narrowbody jets, 20 787 widebodies and 10 777Xs. While Airbus and Air India signed the agreement on Friday, Boeing agreed its deal with the airline on Jan. 27, a date that marks a year since Tata regained ownership of the former state-run carrier, sources told Reuters. Airbus declined to comment. Air India did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment outside of regular business hours. In a note to employees on Jan. 27, the airline said it was "finalising a historic order for new aircraft". The order reflects Air India's strategy to modernise its ageing fleet and re-capture a solid share of trips between India's large overseas diaspora and cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, dominated mainly by Gulf rivals such as Emirates with its young planes.<br/>
Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia's national flag carrier, announced that it has added the southern Chinese cities of Xiamen and Shenzhen to its cargo destinations. In a press statement issued late Friday, the airline said it has already started two weekly freighter flights connecting Xiamen with the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo and the Chilean capital of Santiago via the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. The statement also said Ethiopian Airlines plans to commence two weekly flights between Shenzhen and the Belgian city of Liege as of next Friday. The airline plans to deploy Boeing 777 freight aircraft on the new cargo routes. "The new cargo flights will be instrumental in facilitating cargo shipments across the world by improving air connectivity among China, Africa, Europe and South America," the airline said.<br/>
Auckland residents hunkered down Monday as they braced for a deluge from Cyclone Gabrielle, two weeks after a record-breaking storm swamped New Zealand’s largest city and killed four people. Much of Auckland ground to a halt as train services were canceled, libraries and most schools were closed, and authorities asked people to make only essential trips. Air New Zealand canceled all domestic flights to and from Auckland through Tuesday morning, as well as many international flights. Some international routes would continue operating, the airline said, although they might need to be diverted from Auckland. The carrier also canceled domestic flights to and from the cities of Hamilton, Tauranga and Taupo. In all, Air New Zealand canceled more than 500 flights. More than 10,000 international customers had been affected, the airline said, with thousands still to be rebooked.<br/>