Airline and airport interest in a massive new passenger rail project is being viewed as a welcome development by Martin Imbleau, CEO of the federal government’s high-frequency rail project, after Air Canada joined one of the three groups proposing to build new dedicated tracks between Toronto and Quebec City. Three preselected consortiums submitted private bids late last month outlining their plans to build and operate the proposed new passenger rail line. Each of the three bids was required to present two options: one using traditional passenger trains and a second option that includes at least some high-speed rail segments. One of the consortiums, a group called Cadence that includes the infrastructure division of Quebec’s pension fund and AtkinsRéalis, the new name for SNC-Lavalin, revealed at the last minute that its team added two new high-profile members: Air Canada AC-T and SNCF Voyageurs, a major French provider of high-speed rail services in Europe. Federal officials are now reviewing the three bids and cabinet is expected to select a winner before the end of the year. While Ottawa has approved hundreds of millions in funding to study the project, cabinet has not yet provided a final green light. No price tag for the project has yet been announced, but it is expected to be one of the largest infrastructure projects in Canadian history.<br/>
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SAS, readying to exit Star Alliance on Saturday next week to join SkyTeam on September 1, 2024, sent a reminder to program members today that included a rather exciting exception. SAS partnership with Singapore Airlines with some Eurobonus status benefits will continue past the alliance switchover date, but it is not clear if you can also continue issue awards for SQ flights. On the SAS page for Singapore Airlines when you click “Read More,” you are merely redirected to Singapore Airlines’ current Eurobonus page, which has absolutely zero information about this partnership’s continuation. It seems that miles earning will continue uninterrupted, but will you also earn status miles for SQ flights? It is not clear. The text also doesn’t include any words about continuing to be able to redeem miles for Singapore Airlines flights, although these awards are somewhat challenging to come by. Also, the Eurobonus status benefits will end on August 31, but some will be reintroduced later this year at an undisclosed time.<br/>
Turkish Airlines has updated its route development priorities, outlining 25 cities globally that it intends to add to its network. The Star Alliance member has released its latest list of future destinations, which includes eight international points in Europe, four in the Americas, nine in the Middle East and Africa, and two in the Asia-Pacific region. Two domestic points in Turkey are also included. Among the destinations listed is Atyrau, a city in western Kazakhstan on the Caspian Sea. Turkish Airlines currently serves four destinations in Kazakhstan, flying up to double-daily to Almaty, daily to Astana and 2X-weekly to both Aktau and Turkistan. Should the carrier launch a route to Atyrau Airport (GUW), it would become GUW's second connection to Istanbul Airport alongside Air Astana’s 3X-weekly service. Other European routes offered from GUW include Air Astana’s flights to Amsterdam; Antalya, Turkey; and Kutaisi, Georgia. Russia’s Aeroflot also operates to the city from Moscow Sheremetyevo.<br/>
Somalia’s civil aviation authority threatened to block Ethiopia Airlines, Africa’s biggest carrier, from flying into the country amid a dispute over the sovereignty of a breakaway region. The two Horn of Africa nations have been at loggerheads since Somaliland agreed in January to allow landlocked Ethiopia to set up a naval base on its shores in exchange for a stake in the national carrier. The deal will also allow Ethiopia to build a port and a transport corridor in the region, which Somalia considers an integral part of its territory. The Somali Civil Aviation Authority complained that Ethiopian Airlines had resorted to removing references to destinations in Somalia and was instead using only airport codes to circumvent the sovereignty issue. “If these issues are not resolved by Aug. 23, the SCAA will have no choice but to suspend all Ethiopian Airlines flights to Somalia,” the agency said in a letter to the carrier. Ethiopian Airlines flies into Hargeisa, the main city in Somaliland, Garowe in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, and Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital. Other carriers that fly to Somalia include Flydubai, Kenya Airways and Turkish Airlines.<br/>
A volcanic eruption belched a plume of ash that grounded flights in New Zealand on Thursday, with government scientists warning it could continue venting for "weeks to months" to come. It is the same White Island volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people. The island, once popular with tourists, lies about 50 km off New Zealand's North Island, and 200 kilometres from Auckland, the country's largest city. Air New Zealand said 10 flights had been cancelled early Thursday as volcanic ash drifted across flight paths. An airline spokesperson told AFP that flights had resumed after the ash in the surrounding air space dissipated. Satellite images showed "minor eruptive activity" started earlier this month, research institute GNS Science said in a monitoring bulletin. They believed it was part of the "typical eruptive cycles" documented on White Island, also known as Whakaari to the country's Indigenous Maori language. "This activity could continue for some time, weeks to months," they warned. Scientists said residents on New Zealand's main islands might smell volcanic gas or suffer mild irritation to their eyes or throats, although impacts would be minor.<br/>