Mainland China Retaliates Against Cathay Pacific Over Hong Kong Protests

cathay pacific plane
Aug 09 2019

A requirement to avoid Chinese airspace for Cathay Pacific would add time and fuel expense to flights. The airline might choose to exert pressure on employees not to protest and even express support for protests in social media or be penalized by being unable to work.

Meanwhile Chinese media is reporting on state-owned enterprises instructing employees not to fly Cathay Pacific when other airline flights are available.

This is an attack on Cathay Pacific. It’s also an effort to leverage Cathay Pacific’s influence over its employees. And it’s a demonstration of the ability of mainland China to punish Hong Kong companies and workers for defiance.

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Why are British Airways Pilots on the Verge of a Strike?

plane tails
Aug 08 2019

British Airways pilots have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, their right to strike has been upheld by the courts, but no strike has yet been scheduled. The airline and its pilots have been in government-facilitated negotiations, much like American Airlines and its mechanics.

Ultimately pilots can bring down an airline in a way no other work group can. Here’s what BA’s pilots reportedly want.

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I Just Cried: Southwest Pilot Brings His Father’s Body Home From War, 52 Years Later

coffin with american flag being carried off tarmac
Aug 08 2019

On May 19, 1967, Roy Knight, Jr. was shot down in Vietnam. The Air Force major was “attacking a target on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. He was missing in action, promoted to Colonel, and seven years later declared killed in action.

The Southwest Captain, who brought his father back to Dallas where he’d said his goodbyes 52 years earlier, can now close a chapter on a life that was “posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart and six Air Medals for his actions.”

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Google Travel Offering Price Drop Guarantee for Flight Bookings: Get Paid Back When Fares Fall

cheap flight back to paris
Aug 08 2019

We’ve been waiting for Google to become more aggressive in the travel space for years finally doing something to disrupt online travel booking. For a long time they would help you plan, find deals, and send you to Expedia or Priceline to book.

Now Expedia and others complain that Google doesn’t just send business along to them, but consumers are now the ones who benefit.

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Midwest Express Has a Deal to Launch Air Service From Its Hub in Milwaukee

midwest express plane
Aug 08 2019

Often investors think that the country needs a new airline, and believe that the best business opportunity happens to be wherever they live. And they think that defunct airlines have great brands that will attract customers because they themselves remember those brands fondly.

There’s no an agreement in place with charter operator Elite Airways to provide aircraft, crew and maintenance under the Midwest Express brand.

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American Airlines Adds Flights to Tel Aviv, Africa, and Eastern Europe

american plane
Aug 08 2019

We’ll see a return to Tel Aviv, as well as new service to Casablanca, Krakow, Prague, and Budapest.

There’s still announcements that we’ll see related to the Qantas joint venture, perhaps service changes to Tokyo Narita (since two new slots at Tokyo Haneda may not mean to net new flights and no other shifts), and routes the airline could give up on like Bologna, Italy.

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