US safety regulators initially declined to grant medical clearance for a German pilot who 5 years later deliberately flew a Germanwings airliner full of people into a mountainside in the French Alps. A lawyer for victims' families says they missed a chance to head off the disaster. As Andreas Lubitz prepared in June 2010 to come to the US for training at Lufthansa's flight school in Arizona, he applied to the FAA for a student pilot medical certificate. Lubitz initially told the FAA he hadn't been treated for any mental disorders, and he failed to list doctors who had treated him on the application form as required. But Lufthansa knew that he was being treated for depression brought on by stress and had taken a leave of absence from his training before returning to work with a doctor's statement that he was had been successfully treated. <br/>
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PAL, in a bid to become a 5-star airline by 2020, is planning to re-configure 8 of its Airbus 330s for US$10m per plane, buy more fleets, exercise its fifth freedom rights further, launch new service routes, and start other service innovations. For this year, the company is also targeting to book 14m passengers, compared to 12m recorded last year. PAL president and CE Jaime Bautista said: “Our goal is to make PAL the airline of choice in all the markets we serve, one that exceeds passenger expectation.” PAL now is rated with 3 stars by Skytrax. As part of its route expansion in Europe, the carrier is assessing 4 new destinations. “We are studying Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Rome. When the new, long-range A350-900s arrive, we will be capable to mount more non-stop flights to Europe,” Bautista said. <br/>
As Cebu Pacific Air launches its first service to a US territory, Japan-based LCC Vanilla Air said it also intends to expand across the Pacific region. In addition, Philippine Airlines has also announced a new Saipan-Manila service. All the carriers are increasing services on the strength of expanding tourism numbers across the Pacific region—and the attraction of a low-key entry to US jurisdiction through Guam and Saipan. A Guam tourism spokesperson said the new Cebu Airbus A320-based service offers a “new opportunity to further connect our island ... and serve as the gateway to Micronesia and other regions of the world.” Describing its new Manila-Guam route as “another expansion path across the Pacific,” Cebu confirmed it is committed to expanding operations across the region. <br/>
Myanmar’s already cluttered airline industry could be about to welcome another carrier into its ranks. ANA Holdings and Shwe Than Lwin-owned Golden Sky World have formed a joint venture and applied to set up an international airline, according to a Transport Ministry official. The joint venture submitted a “late application” to the outgoing govt, which is awaiting approval from the Myanmar Investment Commission, a director at the ministry’s Department of Civil Aviation said. The airline is “tentatively” named Asian Blue, and will only serve international routes, added the director. ANA Holding’s equity participation in its new joint venture will be limited to 49%, the director said. Airline industry sources said that the joint venture had already received approval from the ministry. <br/>