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Carney criticizes Air Canada CEO's English-only comments after crash
Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada, criticized Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau on Wednesday for not expressing his condolences in French after a fatal crash. Carney told reporters he thought?Rousseau showed a 'lack of judgment' and that the airline board would make a statement. Air Canada's jet crashed into a firetruck on Sunday evening as it was landing at New York LaGuardia Airport, killing the two pilots. Air Canada is bilingual but?Rousseau, an English native speaker, released a 4-minute video with only two words in French. The language committee of Parliament voted to summon him on Tuesday to Ottawa to talk about the issue. Carney stated, "I am?very dissatisfied - as are others, and rightly so – by this unilingual statement of Air Canada's CEO... it (shows) a loss of judgment, lack of compassion." He continued, "I will follow closely his remarks (to the?committee), and any comments that I expect from the board in due time." Air Canada did not respond to a request for comment immediately. The issue of language is sensitive in Canada, especially in Quebec, which has the largest population and speaks a majority French. In the 1970s, the Parti Quebecois was born out of discontent with the dominance of English. The party now has a strong lead in polls ahead of an upcoming provincial election. If it wins, the party has promised to hold another referendum on independence. The PQ government held two similar votes in 1995 and 1980. Rousseau is not the first to have a problem with language. Canada's government told him to improve his French in 2021 as part of the?his board review. He vowed to do better. Ottawa acquired a 6% stake of the airline as part of the COVID-19 pandemic rescue package in 2021. The holding was sold in December last year. David Ljunggren, Paul Simao and David Ljunggren (Reporting)
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Trans Mountain begins bidding for capacity expansion
Trans Mountain, a Canadian company, launched a?bidding process? on Wednesday to secure firm transportation contracts for its pipeline system. The "Open Season", a process to gauge interest from the commercial community in possible projects to increase system capacity, runs from April 7 through June 2. The company stated that the Open Season will result in 80 to 90 percent of its 890 000?barrels a day (bpd), pipeline system, being contracted. This includes shipments between Edmonton, Alberta, and delivery locations in British Columbia. The Canadian government owns the 'Trans Mountain Pipeline,' which transports oil from Alberta to British Columbia on the west coast. From there, it can be exported to other markets, including China. The company plans to submit an application with the Canada Energy Regulator in order to obtain the necessary approvals. Trans Mountain plans to implement a number of similar projects over the coming year. These 'future' projects are expected to boost throughput by 90,000 bpd in early 2027. The company said that its 'Mainline Optimization Project' is expected to add 210,000 bpd before the end of 2028. Trans Mountain stated that the projects would increase?total capacity of pipelines to?about?1,190,000 BPD from approximately 890,000 BPD currently.
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As the Middle East conflict escalates, airlines cancel more flights
The global air travel industry is still severely affected by the Iran War. Many people are still unable fly to their destinations as planned after major Middle Eastern hubs such as Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi were closed. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES The largest airline in Greece has cancelled flights from Tel Aviv to Beirut, Amman and Erbil until April 22. Flights to Baghdad and Erbil will be suspended until May 24. Dubai flights have been cancelled until April 19, and Riyadh flights are on hold until April 18. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, said that all flights to Tel Aviv have been cancelled until April 29. All flights to Dubai are cancelled until October 24, AIR CANADA All flights from Canada to Tel Aviv and Dubai have been cancelled until May 2. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights from Tel Aviv to April 10. AIR FRANCE KLM Air France has cancelled Tel Aviv, Beirut and Dubai flights until April 4, and Riyadh and Dubai flights until March 31. They have also cancelled an April 1 departure out of Dubai. KLM has suspended flights from Riyadh to Dammam, Dubai and Tel Aviv up until April 11 and until May 17. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has canceled all passenger flights from Hong Kong to Dubai and Riyadh up until May 31. In order to meet the increased demand for flights to Europe, Hong Kong Airlines will be operating three additional return flights from Paris and Zurich and adding seats to 13 existing London flights in April. The U.S. carrier cancelled flights between New York and Tel Aviv, and pushed back the start of Atlanta-Tel Aviv until September 5. Boston-Tel Aviv service is being delayed. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES Customers who planned to leave Israel by April 4 have had their flights, and return flights as well, cancelled. The airline operates a limited number flights to key destinations. EMIRATES The UAE airline announced that it would operate a reduced schedule after a partial opening of the regional airspace. ETIHAD AERWAYS The UAE carrier announced that it would operate a limited schedule of commercial flights between Abu Dhabi, and selected destinations. FINNAIR The Finnish airline has cancelled all flights to Dubai until March 29, and Doha until July 2. It continues to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran and Syria. FLYNAS Flynas, a Saudi low-cost airline, has extended the suspension of its flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi Sharjah Doha, Bahrain Kuwait Iraq and Syria, until March 31, 2019. British Airways, owned by IAG, has extended the cancellations to Amman and Bahrain until May 31, and Doha until April 30. Flights to Bangkok and Singapore have also been added. Flights to Abu Dhabi are suspended until the end of this year. INDIGO The Indian airline has temporarily suspended its operations in Doha, Kuwait and Bahrain, Dammam as well as Fujairah Ras Al Khaimah Sharjah, Fujairah. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled flights between Tokyo and Doha until April 10, and Doha to Tokyo until April 11. All flights from Tel Aviv to Dubai and Dubai to Tel Aviv have been cancelled by the Polish airline until May 31. The airline has also cancelled all flights to Riyadh and Beirut between March 31 and April 30. LUFTHANSA GROUP ITA Airways, Edelweiss, ITA Airways, Swiss Airlines, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines have suspended flights from Dubai and Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi until May 31. Flights to Amman, Beirut and Dammam are also on hold until October 24, as well as to Abu Dhabi, Amman and Beirut. Lufthansa Cargo will be the same except for Tel Aviv, which is suspended until April 30. Eurowings, a low-cost airline, plans to suspend flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut through April 30, and to Dubai and Abu Dhabi through October 24. MALAYSIA AIRLINES Malaysia Airlines has suspended all flights from Doha to April 15th. NORWEGIAN AIR Low-cost carrier has delayed the launch of Tel Aviv services and Beirut flights to June 15th, respectively. They were originally scheduled for April 1st and April 4th. All Dubai flights have been cancelled through April 8. PEGASUS Pegasus Airlines, Turkey, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq Amman, Beirut Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha Dammam Dubai Abu Dhabi Sharjah until April 13th. Pegasus Airlines, a Turkish airline, has cancelled flights to Riyadh until April 1. QATAR AIRWAYS The airline said that it would only operate a limited number of flights up until the 28th March. SINGAPORE Airlines In response to increased demand, the carrier has extended the suspension of its Singapore-Dubai flights through April 30 and added services on the Singapore - London -Gatwick route as well as the Singapore - Melbourne routes from late March up until October 24. TURKISH AIRLINES Turkish Airlines has cancelled the majority of Middle East flights up until March 31. SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and SunExpress has cancelled flights from Dubai to Bahrain to April 30. WIZZ AIR The low-cost carrier has suspended flights from Europe to Israel and other destinations in the Middle East until mid-September. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed; edited by Matt Scuffham and Mill Nissi Prussak.
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Sunexpress will charge a 10 euro surcharge on fuel starting May 1, due to rising costs
SunExpress is a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and 'Lufthansa. It announced on Wednesday it would start imposing an extra fuel surcharge of $10 per passenger as a result of the rising costs for fuel due to the Iran war. Calculations based on data show that crude oil prices rose from $72.5 per barrel to $120 per barrel during the war and now trade at $100. This represents a 38% rise. Jet fuel prices are often even more expensive than crude oil. SunExpress said that it would introduce a temporary fuel charge of 10 euros per passenger, per flight segment between Turkiye (Turkey) and continental Europe. The statement said that the measures "would apply to all bookings made after April 1, 2026 for departures after May 1, 2026." $1 = 0.8628 Euros (Reporting and Writing by Tuvan?Gumrukcu, Editing by Louise Heavens).
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Fastweb cancels INWIT, sparking a telecoms tower dispute in Italy
Swisscom's Italian subsidiary Fastweb terminated a long-term contract on Wednesday with INWIT. This escalated a dispute with the top telecom towers provider in the country. Fastweb, who inherited the INWIT contract through its acquisition last year of Vodafone Italy, was pushing for a renegotiation, something that the tower company had refused to do. Fastweb announced last week that it would form a joint venture to build up 6,000 telecoms masts in Italy with Telecom Italia, INWIT's 'other main customer. Sources said that TIM will follow Fastweb in terminating its deal with INWIT. The decision is expected to be made at a weekend board meeting. Fastweb stated that the decision to end the master service contract was due to INWIT's tower cost being above market levels and its refusal of formal negotiations in order to align with standard market conditions. INWIT's shares dropped as much as 10 percent on Wednesday, and they were down 5.7% at 1245 GMT. The company said Fastweb’s move was illegal, and that it would file an urgent application to a Milan Court to block it. The contracts that INWIT has signed with the two telecom operators to host their antennas on its 25,000 masts in Italy, which are owned by the tower company, account for the majority of its revenue of 1 billion euros ($1.16billion). INWIT, which was born as a'spin-off' of TIM's mobile 'tower' assets, merged with Vodafone's 'Italian mast' business in 2020. Vantage Towers and infrastructure fund Ardian are its two largest investors.
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Nigeria launches trade platform at ports as part of reform drive
Nigeria's Minister of Trade and Investment,?Jumoke. Oduwole, said that the country will launch an important digital platform to streamline imports and exports on Friday. This is a "game changer for trade in West Africa". The first phase of Nigeria's National Single Window, a centralised platform for electronic trade that aims to reduce red tape and save time for both importers and exported, is set to launch on Friday. The first phase will consist of one shipping line and a single port. * "These are game changers?in terms?of trade facilitation?that we need," Oduwole stated, adding that this is a priority project?for an economy the size of Nigeria that is trying to emphasize trading. * The project is part of the President Bola Tinubu reform agenda, which also includes tax architecture and fiscal Reforms. Last week, Britain and Nigeria announced an export finance agreement worth 746 million pounds ($1 billion) to fund the redevelopment two trading ports. * Oduwole stated that streamlining imports/exports at ports could have "multiplier effects" on the balance of trade as well as foreign exchange generation. * Inefficiencies in Nigerian ports add significant costs. SBM Intelligence analysts say that the average cost of transporting goods from Europe into warehouses in the Lagos port city limits is five times higher than comparable costs in South Africa, and three times greater in Ghana. When asked whether Nigeria would pursue a free-trade agreement with China, she replied, "we are still evaluating all options and we will see." Oduwole, when asked about the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on the emerging economies and capital costs, said that it would take some time to see how the markets react. * "Everyone's a little?nervous, but?we really hope that it will be over soon so that the markets can stabilise and investors can once again have that confidence in stability." $1 = 0.7452 pounds (Reporting and editing by Karin Strohecker, Libby George)
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Aer Lingus is concerned about the seriousness of US retaliation in relation to Dublin Airport Cap
Aer Lingus' chief executive warned on Wednesday that there is a "serious" risk the U.S. could take retaliation and limit its number of transatlantic flights, if the Dublin Airport passenger cap was not?quickly?removed. The Irish government pledged that it would pass a new law before the summer, lifting the 32 million passengers-per-year limit currently suspended in anticipation of a European Court decision. Last year, the airport exceeded its limit by four million passengers. Airlines for America, a U.S. trade group for the industry, filed a complaint in January with the U.S. Department of Transportation accusing Ireland of violating the EU-U.S. Open Skies agreement that grants airlines the right of operation in each jurisdiction. It also asked the Department to restrict Irish carriers' access to the U.S. Lynne Embleton (CEO, IAG owned Aer Lingus) told a committee of parliament that was examining the proposed law: "I believe there is a risk of retaliation. Willie Walsh, former CEO of Aer Lingus and head of the International Air Transport Association, told the committee there was "no doubt" that retaliation threats were real. A4A CEO Chris Sununu stated that he had discussed the issue with the White House and Department of Transportation last week, and the U.S. closely monitors the next steps. If you think that this administration will just accept a violation of one of its bilateral agreements, then they are not going to listen. If you haven't seen the headlines yet, this is not what they do," he said. Sununu said at the end that he will?bring'some good news'?back to Washington, that lawmakers are prepared to move rapidly. In 2007, the cap was included in the planning permission granted for?construction a second terminal. This was done to reduce local traffic congestion. It was only in 2024 that the issue became a problem, when passenger numbers reached the limit. After a court advisor endorsed the cap's basis last month, airlines are pressing ministers to accelerate?the legislative procedure. The airport could be forced to drastically reduce capacity if a new law isn't in place by the time a court ruling from the EU comes into effect.
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China Eastern Airlines will buy 101 Airbus aircraft worth $15.8 billion
China Eastern Airlines, a subsidiary of China Airlines, signed a contract with Airbus on Wednesday for the purchase of 101 A320neo planes at list prices. The deal is worth $15.8billion. According to the filing, the aircraft will be delivered in batches to the company between 2028 and 2032. Air China, Spring Airlines, and Juneyao Airlines are among the Chinese carriers that announced plans to buy A320neo aircraft in December. The major European aerospace firm is working hard to increase its market share on the second largest aviation market in the world. China Eastern Airlines filed a filing stating that the new 'jets' will replace its existing fleet and expand future capacity. They will also increase aircraft efficiency and reduce fuel consumption and operating costs. In 2022, the airline signed an agreement for 100 A320neo aircraft to be delivered over a period of time between 2024 and?2027. China Eastern's annual report revealed that in 2024 it will add 35 new aircrafts to its fleet. These include the COMAC?C919, Boeing's B787, and A320neos from Boeing and COMAC. Airbus has been involved in sporadic negotiations over the past few years in an attempt to 'grab' a large order of up to 500 aircraft in China - a package that is often associated with?state visits. However, no deal was announced when French Emmanuel Macron visited China last December.
As the Middle East conflict escalates, airlines cancel more flights
The global air travel industry is still severely affected. Many people are still unable fly to their destinations as planned after the Iran War forced the closures of major Middle Eastern hubs including?Dubai Doha and Abu Dhabi.
The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically:
AEGEAN AIRLINES
Greece's biggest carrier has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut until April 22 and Erbil and Baghdad till May 24. Flights from Dubai to Riyadh have been canceled until April 19.
AIRBALTIC
AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, said that all flights to Tel Aviv have been cancelled up until April 29. All flights to Dubai are cancelled until October 24,
AIR CANADA
All flights from Canada to Tel Aviv and Dubai have been cancelled until the end of March.
AIR EUROPA
Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights from Tel Aviv to April 10.
AIR FRANCE KLM
Air France has cancelled Tel Aviv, Beirut and Dubai flights until April 4, and Riyadh and Dubai flights until March 31. They have also cancelled an April 1 departure out of Dubai.
KLM has suspended flights from Riyadh to Dammam, Dubai and Tel Aviv up until April 11 and until May 17.
CATHAY PACIFIC
Hong Kong Airlines has cancelled all flights to Dubai and Riyadh up until May 31. In order to meet the increased demand for flights to Europe, it will be operating three additional return flights from Paris to Zurich and adding seats to 13 existing London flights in April.
DELTA AIR LINES
U.S. airline has extended the suspension of flights from New York and Atlanta to Tel Aviv until September 5. It had previously canceled its New York-Tel Aviv flight until May 31, as well as Tel Aviv - New York flights until June 1.
The launch of the Boston-Tel Aviv service, which was originally scheduled for October, has been postponed until further notice.
EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES
The Israeli carrier will only operate 15 flights outbound per day. Each flight is limited to 50 passengers. It will also fly to a few key destinations.
EMIRATES
The UAE airline announced that it would be reducing its flight schedule in response to a partial opening of the regional airspace.
ETIHAD AERWAYS
The UAE carrier announced that it would operate a limited schedule of commercial flights between Abu Dhabi, and a few select destinations.
FINNAIR
The Finnish airline has cancelled all Dubai flights until 29 March and Doha flights until 2 July, while continuing to avoid the airspaces of Iraq, Iran and Syria.
FLYNAS
Flynas, a Saudi low-cost airline, has extended the suspension of its flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi Sharjah Doha, Bahrain Kuwait Iraq and Syria, until March 31, 2019.
British Airways, owned by IAG, has extended the cancellations to Amman and Bahrain until May 31, and Doha until April 30. Flights to Bangkok and Singapore have also been added. Flights to Abu Dhabi are suspended until the end of this year.
INDIGO
The Indian airline has temporarily suspended its operations in Doha, Kuwait and Bahrain, Dammam as well as Fujairah Ras Al Khaimah Sharjah and Fujairah.
JAPAN AIRLINES
Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled Tokyo-Doha and Doha to Tokyo flights until April 1;
All flights from Tel Aviv to Dubai were cancelled by the Polish airline until May 31. The airline has also cancelled all flights to Riyadh and Beirut until April 30, as well as to Riyadh from March 31 through April 30.
LUFTHANSA GROUP
Lufthansa has suspended its flights to Dubai, Tel Aviv, Abu?Dhabi and Amman until May 31. The airlines have also suspended their flights to Beirut, Dammam and Riyadh. They will continue to operate to Erbil, Muscat, Muscat, and Tehran through October 24.
Lufthansa Cargo also implemented similar suspensions. However, its Tel Aviv flights are still suspended until?April 30. Eurowings, a low-cost carrier, plans to suspend flights to Tel Aviv through April 30, and to Dubai Abu Dhabi, Amman and Erbil until October 24.
MALAYSIA AIRLINES
Malaysia Airlines has suspended all flights from Doha to April 15th.
NORWEGIAN AIR
Low-cost carrier has delayed the launch of Tel Aviv services from April 1, to April 4 respectively. All Dubai flights have been cancelled through April 8.
PEGASUS
Pegasus Airlines, Turkey, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq, Amman and Beirut. They have also cancelled flights to Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha Dammam, Dubai Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Doha, Dammam. Pegasus Airlines has cancelled flights to Riyadh until April 1.
QATAR AIRWAYS
The airline said that it would only operate a limited number of flights up until the 28th March.
SINGAPORE Airlines
In order to meet the increased demand, the carrier has extended its suspension of Singapore-Dubai flights through April 30. It also added services for Singapore-London Gatwick (late March) and Singapore-Melbourne (late March-October 24).
TURKISH AIRLINES
Turkish Airlines has cancelled the majority of Middle East flights up until March 31. SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and SunExpress has cancelled flights from Dubai to Bahrain to April 30.
WIZZ AIR
The low-cost carrier has suspended flights from Europe to Israel and other destinations in the Middle East until mid-September. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed; edited by Matt Scuffham and Mill Nissi Prussak.
(source: Reuters)