Finnair said on Wednesday it was preparing to cancel some flights on Thursday, after the Finnish Air Line Pilots' Association (SLL) rejected a settlement proposal for a collective labour agreement. SLL will start a standby ban on Finnair pilots on Dec 12, meaning pilots will not come to work from on-call shifts, Finnair said in a statement, adding that there was already an ongoing ban on overtime work. "When a pilot falls ill, for example, on-call pilots are unavailable and the flight has to be cancelled," the company said.<br/>
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Virgin Australia will restart long-haul operations from June 2025, operating a series of flights to Doha under a partnership with prospective investor Qatar Airways. The agreement will see Virgin Australia wet lease Qatar’s Boeing 777s to operate from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth to Doha. In total, the airline will operate 28 weekly flights to the Qatari capital. The flights will carry Virgin Australia’s code, with Qatar as a codeshare partner. <br/>From Doha, passengers will be able to connect to Qatar’s European, African and Middle East network, says Virgin Australia. Airline chief Jayne Hrdlicka calls the partnership – pending regulatory approvals – “game-changing”, stating: “This is a huge win for Australian travellers which brings more value and choice for passengers wanting to fly internationally. She adds: “Through this partnership Virgin Australia becomes stronger, improving our ability to compete domestically – which is great news for Virgin Australia, our people and consumers.” The airline suspended long-haul and widebody operations in 2020 as it entered administration. After emerging under new owners Bain Capital, Virgin Australia adopted a domestic and short-haul network operating model with a fleet of Boeing 737s. <br/>
Japan Airlines is now offering to drop travelers’ suitcases off at their hotels for them, for a fee. But the new program isn’t just about providing good customer service — it’s aimed at alleviating the burden on Tokyo’s overcrowded mass transit system. Passengers at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport can pay 4,500 yen ($30) per bag to have their luggage taken straight from the arrivals hall to their hotels in the capital, thus eliminating the need to crowd themselves and their bags onto Tokyo’s busy trains, buses and subways. The airline vows to deliver the bags the same day, barring weather or traffic-related delays. “The ‘Baggage-Free’ travel service from Haneda Airport aims to address social issues such as congestion in public transportation and the shortage of storage lockers, providing a more convenient travel experience for tourists,” Japan Airlines (JAL) said in a statement. Travelers do not need to fly with JAL to use the service, and it is open to Japanese residents too – however, the program is limited to hotel dropoffs only, meaning people can’t have their bags delivered to an Airbnb, rented apartment, private home or any other kind of accommodation.<br/>
Hong Kong’s Cathay Group has hit its target of hiring 3,400 pilots this year and expects to recruit 100 more by the end of January, with the company reiterating it is on track to fully return to pre-pandemic flight capacity by then. “We are pleased to inform you that in the area of pilot recruitment, we have achieved the 2024 target of reaching 3,400 pilots in total. It’s a new milestone,” a Cathay spokesman told the Post this week. He added the group had a low resignation rate of 2.9% this year. The company announced on November 26, two days before the launch of the city’s new three-runway system, that it would reach pre-pandemic capacity by the end of January 2025. The company told the Post in early December it remained “very confident” of meeting its projection and had “robust plans” for recruitment despite its pilots’ union expressing doubts. Cathay had previously postponed its timeline for a full return to capacity from the end of 2024 to the first quarter of next year.<br/>