House bill to stop European tax on airlines flirts with trade war

Posted on October 26, 2011 by davidguide

Tom Ramstack – AHN News Legal Correspondent
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – A House of Representatives vote Monday that seeks to prevent U.S. airlines from paying a European Union tax on their emissions is running headlong into a conflicting trade policy. The House voted overwhelmingly against U.S. airline participation in the European Union’s emissions trading scheme (ETS). The ETS would impose taxes on any airline from the United States and other nations flying into or out of the European Union, beginning Jan. 1. “Reducing aviation emissions is a goal that is worth pursuing, but the EU’s go-it-alone approach will fly in the face of the international community and is not the way to find an international [...] Continue Reading…

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CIRB takes over Air Canada labor dispute, averts cabin crew strike

Posted on October 14, 2011 by davidguide

Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – Air Canada ticket holders were provided a temporary reprieve on Wednesday, just a day before the air carrier’s cabin crew could legally strike. The relief was provided by the Labor Ministry’s turning over the labor dispute to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). CIRB is a quasi-judicial body tasked with determining if a labor problem could disrupt services and cause a health safety risk to Canadians. By referring the case to CIRB, Air Canada flight attendants are compelled not to push through with their industrial action. CIRB deliberations last an average of 62 days, plus two more days for decision making. If Air Canada cabin crew walk [...] Continue Reading…

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PAL cancels more flights as labor dispute worsens

Posted on October 2, 2011 by davidguide

Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines (AHN) – Flag carrier Philippine Airlines continued to be severely affected by the ongoing labor dispute with the PAL Employees Association, which caused the cancelation of more domestic and international flights on Thursday. The airline canceled 12 regional flights from Manila to Busan, Guam, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Macau and Singapore and 20 domestic trips from Manila to Bacolod, Butuan, Cotabato, Dipolog, Dumaguete, General Santos City, Kalibo, Legazpi, Ozamis and Zamboanga. To ease the tension caused by canceled flights, PAL moved some of its domestic operations to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 from Terminal 2 where the strikers are picketing the gateway exclusively for PAL. [...] Continue Reading…

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TSA fires 28 bag screeners at Hawaii airport

Posted on September 20, 2011 by davidguide

Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Honolulu, HI, United States (AHN) – The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has fired 28 employees assigned at Hawaii’s Honolulu International Airport because of their failure to properly screen bags before allowing the luggage onto planes. The agency also suspended 15 other workers, who will be allowed to appeal the decision. The firing or suspension of the workers, considered one of the biggest in TSA’s history, was the result of a media report in March that TSA officers on the morning shift allowed the bags to be loaded onto flights on nine planes without screening for explosives. The failure appears to have been ongoing for up to four months and involved thousands of checked [...] Continue Reading…

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Philippine metro rail systems to hike fares

Posted on September 8, 2011 by davidguide

Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Bais City, Negros Oriental, Philippines (AHN) – Fares will soon have to increase for the Metro Railway Transit and Light Railway that services the national capital region, President Benigno Aquino III said Wednesday. Aquino hinted the rates for the two metro rail systems would be close or about the same as buses, but he did not provide a timetable for the tariff hikes. Air conditioned buses in Metro Manila charge a minimum 28 cents (PHP 12) for every five kilometers (3.1 miles) traveled, while the MRT has a minimum charge of 24 cents (PHP 10) and the LRT 28 cents, but both have a 35-cent (PHP 15) maximum charge. Transportation Secretary Mar [...] Continue Reading…

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Philippine Airlines to lay off 2,600 workers by Sept. 30

Posted on August 27, 2011 by davidguide

Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines (AHN) – Philippine Airlines announced on Thursday that it will send lay off notices to 2,600 employees in its catering, airport service and call center units. Sept. 30 would be their last day of employment. Their jobs will be outsourced to outside providers as part of PAL’s strategy to shore up its finances and ensure the airline’s long-term survival, PAL President and Chief Operating Office Jaime Bautista said. He assured the affected employees that they would get separation pay and other benefits at par with industry standards. Based on the decision of Philippine Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on Oct. 29, 2010, the soon-to-be separated PAL employees should receive a [...] Continue Reading…

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London’s Heathrow airport sees record 6.9 million passengers

Posted on August 15, 2011 by davidguide

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
London, United Kingdom (AHN) – London’s Heathrow airport handled a record 6.9 million passengers in July with passenger counts up 2.5 percent compared to a year earlier, according to airport operator BAA. July also set the record for the busiest day at the airport on Sunday July 31, BAA officials said. The airport in London’s West End also set records in July for seven of its top 10 busiest days. Moreover, during July, 84.7 percent of the available aircraft seats were filled, setting an efficiency record for Heathrow. Heathrow also bolstered its claim to be the world’s busiest international airport by handling 68.5 million passengers during the 12 months ending [...] Continue Reading…

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Air Canada announces tentative deal with cabin crew

Posted on August 3, 2011 by davidguide

Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Montreal, Quebec, Canada (AHN) – Air Canada announced Monday that it has struck a tentative deal with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents about 6,800 cabin crew. The agreement, however, must be ratified by members of the union and approved by Air Canada’s board of directors. Air Canada did not disclose details of the deal, but said it would maintain the air carrier’s industry-leading compensation and benefits for its flight attendants, while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the company. A conciliator appointed by Ottawa helped craft the deal. Air Canada was hit recently by a three-day strike of its 3,800 sales and service agents. The industrial action was resolved [...] Continue Reading…

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Airport scanners get privacy upgrade

Posted on July 22, 2011 by davidguide

Ayinde O. Chase – AHN News Staff
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – After nearly six months of testing, the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) has finally unveiled software that doesn’t give screeners a clear digital image of those being scanned. Essentially, travelers won’t be so naked. The software, which works on the millimeter wave machines, has been installed at 41 airports. Airport scanners will no longer show an image of a passenger’s naked body to a TSA officer in a nearby room. Instead, the scanners “will auto-detect items that could pose a potential threat” and will depict the locations of these items “on a generic, computer-generated outline of a person.” “This software upgrade enables us to continue [...] Continue Reading…

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Snapping photo of airline worker’s name tag gets passenger booted off plane

Posted on July 10, 2011 by davidguide

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Philadelphia, PA, United States (AHN) – A rude airline employee ended up costing a passenger her ride home. Miami photographer Sandy DeWitt was declared a “security risk” and taken off a Miami-bound plane after taking a photo of the nametag of a gate attendant who was allegedly being rude to passengers in the boarding area at Philadelphia International Airport. DeWitt says she observed an employee whose nametag identified her as Tonialla G being rude to several passengers. DeWitt used her camera phone to snap a photo of the employee’s nametag so she could report her later. DeWitt says that after she was seated on the plane, the gate attendant came up [...] Continue Reading…

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