United Airlines is seeking to bolster its transpacific dominance with a newly proposed route to China from the West Coast of the USA. The Chicago-based carrier filed on 2 December with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) an application to operate thrice-weekly, year-round flights from Los Angeles International airport to Beijing. The proposed flights would be operated with Boeing 787-9 aircraft and launch 1 May, per DOT approval. United’s website shows that the flights are not yet available for booking. United requests “seasonal flexibility to adjust capacity to potential fluctuations in demand” in its application. Airlines cut most flights to Asia in March 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe. China took an especially hard-line stance on cross-border travel but finally eased off its “zero Covid” policy in January 2023. However, commercial air traffic between China and the USA remains suppressed amid frosty diplomatic relations between the global powers. Frequencies were on the upswing prior to Russia’s war in Ukraine but have been further limited by restrictions on flying through Russian airspace. Prior to the pandemic, United served Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu with numerous weekly connections from its hubs at San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago and Newark.<br/>
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The flight had to divert, the pilot announced over the intercom Thursday afternoon. Luckily, no one on board appeared to freak out at this news. "Santa has invited us to Christmas Island and all his elves are waiting there on the ground for us," the pilot said. Everyone cheered. Passengers and crew members, including some dressed in holiday costumes, were aboard United Airlines flight 3894 with service from Honolulu International Airport to the North Pole. This flight kicked off United Airlines' Fantasy Flights, a series of 13 special flights created to spread holiday joy to deserving families, such as those with children grieving a loved one lost on active duty or caring for a child with cancer. The trips were planned jointly with local hospitals and nonprofits who helped identify the families. These short flights whisk the families away – taking off toward the southeast, past Maui and back again to where they started, where kids are escorted to a specially decked out hangar at Honolulu airport – to spend an evening at the North Pole, a festive winter wonderland transformed by on-the-ground United staff, including retirees, and volunteers. "There are so many little kids that have never even been on a plane," said Lena Wong, a United customer service agent who planned this year's effort and has been involved in Hawaii's Fantasy Flights since 2017. "They're so amazed with the ride, and then especially coming here, I think some of them think that they're actually gone to like Christmas. So many of the kids we impact, it's amazing, they're so strong."<br/>
South African Airways has returned to its normal flight schedule after more than 100 striking pilots secured a pay increase from the airline and returned to work, spokesperson Vimla Maistry said by phone on Sunday. Unionized pilots for the airline went on strike on Thursday, causing the state-owned carrier to cancel about 60% of its flights. The industrial action ended on Saturday after the South African Airways Pilots Association and the company’s management reached an agreement, SAA said in a statement on Saturday. Under the terms of the agreement, SAA offered pilots a 1% salary bump, bringing the total increase to 9.47%. The union had been seeking an increase of 15.7% for its members. “Engagements on a continuous enterprise improvement program will continue over the next eight weeks,” Interim CEO John Lamola said in the statement. “We are committed to implementing work-life concessions that should enhance the productivity,” of the pilots. Founded in 1934, the flag carrier that received billions of rands of bailouts from the state entered a local form of bankruptcy protection in late 2019 and resumed flying in September 2021. In November, it reported a profit for the first time since 2012. <br/>