Proposed Canadian rules to ensure commercial pilots get enough rest would go into effect in 2018 for WestJet Airlines and Air Canada but apply to smaller carriers only in 2021, the ALPA said. The new regulations would reduce a pilot's working day from up to a 14 hour shift to a period of 9 to 13 hours, depending on the time they start and number of flights they make while on duty, Dan Adamus, president of ALPA's Canadian board said. Pilots who start late at night and make several flights would work a shorter period of time, he said, adding that specific details about exact shifts were not yet known. Small Canadian carriers would have 4 years to apply the regulations after 2017, while large operators would have a year to comply. <br/>
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Bombardier said the Canadian province of Quebec has agreed to invest US$1b in its CSeries aircraft. Bombardier said it would transfer the assets, liabilities and obligations of the programme to a newly created limited partnership, in which the company will hold a 50.5% equity stake and Quebec the rest. The investment, which has been in the offing for months, will be made in 2 instalments of $500m, with the first June 30 and the second Sept 1. Quebec and Bombardier want the federal govt to match the province's $1b investment in the narrow-body jet, but talks have dragged on amid governance concerns by the govt over the plane-maker's dual class share structure. Brazil and Canada have locked horns repeatedly at the WTO over the past 2 decades over state support for Embraer and Bombardier. <br/>
French air traffic controllers have called another strike for Thursday, June 23, which is expected to last for 35 hours and will see the cancellation and delay of more than 200 flights, A4E said. Over the next 4 weeks, another 8 strikes have been announced in Italy and Portugal, and more than 1,000 flights are at risk of being canceled, A4E said. “European travellers face a summer of chaos, disruption and ruined holidays due to ATC strikes. Just this week, 9 strike days have been confirmed for June and July and they surely won’t be the last ... There is nothing stopping further ATC strikes—we need urgent action to stop these controllers from infringing on people’s rights and destroying their holiday plans,” A4E MD Thomas Reynaert said. <br/>
A flight delay management project trialled at Xian International is showing results and may be extended to other airports in China where delays have become commonplace. Some details of the project, launched by the US-China Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP), and outlines of other delay-reducing efforts being implemented by the CAAC were revealed at the US-China Aviation Summit this week. US Trade and Development Agency director Leocadia Zak said reducing flight delays was a top priority for CAAC. That was why ACP launched a flight delay management program last year, with a pilot project aimed at determining how best to expand capacity at Xian. “The project has already helped United Airlines create a more direct flight path between our countries,” Zak said. <br/>