The US will hold informal talks with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over claims they wrongly subsidized three Persian Gulf airlines, stopping short of a request by US carriers for formal discussions on whether aviation treaties were violated, people familiar with the matter said. State Department officials met with the US airlines and their backers June 24 to discuss the decision and will meet with representatives of the Persian Gulf carriers Wednesday, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the meetings were private. Official sessions with the governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are set for July, the people said. The decision caps more than a year of squabbling among the airlines that began when American Airlines, Delta and United Continental complained that Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways have received more than $40b in government support, providing an unfair competitive advantage. The three Persian Gulf carriers repeatedly denied receiving government support. “What you’re seeing with this middle ground approach is they’re saying, ‘We’ll have informal talks and see how it goes,’ ” said Paul Mifsud, a former VP of government and legal affairs for the KLM unit of Air France-KLM Group. “This is a way to split the baby.”<br/>
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Thousands of fliers enrolled in trusted traveller programmes such as PreCheck aren't getting the expedited screening they paid for because of clerical errors with their reservations. The most common problem is that their date of birth or government "known traveller number" has been entered incorrectly into a reservation. Other times, the name on the itinerary doesn't match the name used to enroll in PreCheck, Global Entry or one of the other government programs. This is particularly a problem when bookings are made through travel agents who might transpose information, airlines say. There have always been issues matching passenger data but with recent long lines at TSA checkpoints leading to a spike in PreCheck enrollments, there are now more data problems too. The TSA and some airlines are responding, trying to catch these problems long before passenger arrive at the airport. The TSA has started to help travellers through a new Twitter channel launched last fall called @AskTSA. The earlier you know about the issue, the more time our team has to resolve the problem," says Jennifer Plozai, director of external communications with the TSA, who manages the @AskTSA social media programme. Passengers who don't check in until they arrive at the airport have little time to fix any problems. Fliers only know that they have PreCheck once a boarding pass is generated.<br/>
As Western planemakers seek to finalise lucrative deals to sell some 200 jets to Iran, doubts are growing over the sale of a dozen Airbus A380 superjumbo jets to the country's national flag carrier, several people familiar with deal said. Iran's return to the international market for new aircraft after decades making do with an antiquated fleet is one of the biggest business opportunities opened by the lifting of sanctions after a deal to rein in its nuclear programme. The order for the double-decker superjumbo jetliners grabbed attention in January as part of a provisional deal for 118 Airbus jets worth US$27b signed in Paris in the presence of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The inclusion of the world's largest jetliner was hailed as a symbol of thawing relations and a sign of Iran's determination to compete economically with political rivals on the Arab side of the Gulf that fly the jet. The order also threw a lifeline to the A380 itself, following a slump in orders that has left the future of one of Europe's highest profile industrial projects in doubt. But people familiar with the deal say there are increasing signs that Tehran is having second thoughts about whether to take delivery. "We always made clear this is an option," an Iranian official told Reuters, asking not to be identified. "It is possible to switch to other models," he added.<br/>
Russia and China signed an agreement during Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit to China June 25 to establish a joint venture to design and develop new widebody aircraft. The agreement stipulates the joint design, manufacture, marketing and after-sale support of new aircraft. The Russian-Chinese JV is expected to develop a widebody family, although the number of aircraft it will include was not disclosed. Russia’s United Aircraft Corp. president Yury Slusar and Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) chairman Jin Zhuanglong signed the agreement. The JV will be registered in China, UAC said. Slusar added the company will be launched before the end of 2016.<br/>