A number of leading Japanese forwarders are being investigated for alleged price fi xing in the air freight market after the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is said to have conducted a series of raids last month involving over a dozen companies including Nippon Express, Kintetsu World Express, Yusen Air & Sea, Vantec Groupand Nishi-Nippon Railroad.

Th ese fi ve companies dominate the Japanese air forwarding market and the investigations are understood to be focusing on whether the companies colluded over fuel surcharges and security levies back as far as 2004. It is unclear as to whether this latest round of investigations is linked to the on-going probe by US and European anti-trust investigators into air freight cartels.

Japan Airlines was the latest to announce that it had agreed to pay a fi ne of US$110 million to US authorities relating to cartel activity in the transpacifi c freight sector.

British Airways, Lufthansa, Korean Airlines and Qantas have also been implicated in those allegations and agreed to pay substantial fi nes running into several hundreds of millions of dollars.

Boeing and ANA (All Nippon Airways) announced that the airline exercisedoptions for two more 767-300 Boeing Converted Freighters. Previously, ANAlaunched the 767-300BCF program witha 2005 order for three conversions andfour options.

In 2006, ANA exercised two of the options and this agreement to exercise the last of the 2005 options brings the airline's firm order total to seven of the passenger to- freighter conversions. ANA plans to use the freighters as part of a joint-venture cargo operation. The first of ANA's newly converted freighters was completed at Singapore Technologies Aerospace (SASCO) and made its first flight in April. The 50- tonne-capacity freighter then flew nonstop to Seattle, where Boeing Flight Operations pilots stationed in Seattle will conduct the flight test programme.

The airplane is painted in the livery of Japan-based ANA, the launch customer for the 767-300BCF, and the livery of ALLEX, a joint venture between ANA, Nippon Express and Kintestsu World Express. After flight testing and certification, the redelivery of the first ANA 767-300BCF is planned for June at the SASCO facility in Singapore.

"ANA is a forward-looking cargo operator in a strong market and we look forward to the 767-300BCF meeting the airline's needs for cargo lift," said Dan da Silva, vice president of Sales and Marketing for Boeing Commercial Aviation Services.

Korean Air refused to divulge details of its alleged cartel-like freight deals with other airlines in return for a 20 per cent discount on penalities as the industry collusion investigation continues across the globe.

Details of the settlement off er, which Korean Air rejected because it believed it was "unreasonable", were revealed as part of the carrier's attempts to stop the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) from gaining documents via its investigation powers because the regulator had already decided to prosecute, according to Australian media reports.

The legal tussle in the Australian Federal Court comes as an estimated 30 or so airlines are subjected to one of the world's biggest anti-cartel investigations by US and European authorities.

Korean was to be given a discount of about A$2 million on the total penalty of A$10 million if it decided to accept the ACCC's proposal for settlement and provide the regulator with assistance in its investigation.

China Southern Airlines, the country's largest carrier by fleet size, is aiming to set up a cargo joint venture with Air France- KLM by the end of 2008, media and the Chinese carrier said recently. "The company is actively pushing forward the joint venture project with Air France-KLM to develop the scale of our cargo transportation capacity," the carrier said in a fi lingwith the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, meanwhile cited Liu Shaoyong, China Southern's chairman, as saying that the joint venture would be registered "by the end of this year". He added that the new company would be based in either Guangzhou or Shenzhen, both in the southern province of Guangdong, depending on which city's airport would put forward more attractive terms,the Hong Kong-based newspaper added.

Beijing today implemented air route B208 that will reduce air traffic congestion during the Olympics in a move welcomed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). "We call this route the Olympic Bypass," said Giovanni Bisignani,IATA's director general and CEO.

"It will alleviate air traffic delays and congestion, as flights from Europe to Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong will no longer have to be channelled through Beijing. This is especially critical with the Olympics in August. The experience of previous Olympics host cities tells us that there will be significantly more air traffic in China's skies during the Olympics."

Bisignani said the new route was the result of numerous discussions IATA held with Chinese authorities since 2006. "By shortening the route by 60 nautical miles, we will save about 83 thousand tonnes of CO₂ annually. This is a win-win for all – the Chinese Government, travellers, airlines and most importantly, the environment," he said.

"The Olympic Bypass demonstrates the Chinese Government's continued commitment to improve efficiency in air traffic management in China's airspace." Although the route was introduced to deal with Olympic-related congestion, it is the latest in a series of permanent improvements to China's air traffic management infrastructure. In 2006, China approved the IATA-1 route, cutting flight times between Europe and China and last year it introduced Reduced Vertical Separation Minima (RVSM).

"We need more governments around the world to commit to shorten routes and build more efficient infrastructure," added Bisignani.

Airbus said it expects to buy aircraft parts worth around US$200 million annually in China by 2010, which could further rise to US$450 million by 2015. Th e European aircraft maker said in a statement thatsix Chinese manufacturers are currently involved in manufacturing parts for Airbusaircraft, including Shanghai AircraftManufacturing Factory (SAMF), a unit ofChina Aviation Industry Corp I (AVIC I),which recently delivered the fi rst shipmentof cargo door frames for A320 aircraft.

February 2008 preliminary traffic results released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) indicate that the average cargo load factor rose 1 percentage point to 66.1 per cent as cargo capacity grew by just 0.8 per cent. International freight traffic, expressed in freight tonne kilometres (FTKs), grew by 2.4 per cent in February. The AAPA reported an increase of 4.8 per cent in the number of internationalpassengers carried to 11.6 million.

Passenger traffic in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) terms grew by 5.9 per cent on capacity growth of 5.7 per cent, leading to a marginal 0.1 percentage point improvement in passenger load factor to 76.3 per cent.

Commenting on the results, Andrew Herdman, AAPA’s director general said: "The traffic figures for January and February indicate a solid start to the year, with AAPA international passenger traffic for the first two months growing by 5.1 per cent in RPK terms. In line with recent trends, international air cargo traffic recorded more modest growth, up 3.5 per cent in FTK terms."

Vietnam's Pacific Airlines, in which Qantas Group holds an 18 per cent stake with an agreement to raise it to 30 per cent in 2010, will change its name to Jetstar Pacific as part of a partnership with Qantas and Jetstar that will see it become "Vietnam's first low-cost, valuebasedairline."

The name change will take effect May 23 and is part of a new agreement which will see Pacific operating domestic and international flights under the Jetstar brand. Qantas first invested in Pacific a year ago with the Viet carrier currently serves seven domestic destinations with four 737-400s but plans eventually to increase its 130 weekly flights eightfold.

The new Jetstar Pacific will start by adding service from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat and Buon Me Th out and from Hanoi to Da Nang, Hue and Cam Rahn. It also will expand its Ho Chi Minh-Hanoi service. Jetstar Airways currently off ers flights to Ho Chi Minh from Sydney and Singapore. It will take delivery of up to 30 A320s by 2014, with the first to enter service this August.

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines liquidator KPMG said in mid-April that the deadline to fi nd a new buyer or investor had passed despite "substantive negotiations with several interested parties" and that there now was "no alternative but to reduce costs substantially." Jobs of all pilots, cabin crew and office staff were terminated, with a "small number" kept on to assist the liquidators, KPMG announced. Reuters reported that about 700 lost their jobs. Oasis ceased operationson April 9.

"It is with great regret Oasis Hong Kong has today voluntarily applied to the Hong Kong court to appoint a liquidator," chief executive Stephen Miller, said at a press conference. According to a Reuters report China's Hainan Airlines, backed by investor George Soros, may have been interested in purchasing Oasis as a way into the lucrative Hong Kong market.

It has been reported that the airline was struggling with debts of up to US$128 million exacerbated by soaring fuel costs and the rising cost of credit.

Cathay Pacific Airways will start cargo flights from Houston to Hong Kong in early September with the three-times- weekly flights, departing from George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the fourth all-cargo service from Asia for the airport. Total air cargo trade between Houston and Hong Kong is estimated to have totaled more than US$24 million last year. Outbound, the Boeing 747-400F freighters will stop in Anchorage, while inbound flights will stop in Miami before returning toHouston.

"Hong Kong is an important international gateway, as is our city, and this new route will forge even stronger economic ties between the two," said Richard Vacar, HAS director. Ultimately, he said the service will, "stimulate greater international trade between the Houston region and the rapidly growing Chinese and Asian markets.

Singapore Airlines is making adjustments to its schedules to reallocate capacity among the routes resulting in a net increase across its network. There will be more flights to and from Australia, with Brisbane served with an additional three weekly frequencies from April, increasing to three times daily in July. Flights to Sydney increase from April to 24 times weekly, and will further increase to fourtimes daily in June.

Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam will increase to three times daily from end- March, and frequency to Hanoi will increase from daily to ten times weekly from July. Shanghai services will increase from four to fi ve times daily. Flights to Chennai are planned to increase from 10 to 11 per week while frequency between Singapore and Delhi are also planned to increase from a daily service to nine times weekly from end-March, and to twice daily services later in the year.

Frequency will be increased between Singapore and Dubai to twice daily, from the existing 10 flights per week, with effect from end-May. A second daily service between Singapore and Zurich, was added earlier this year, and the carrier increased frequency on the Milan and Barcelona route to a daily service. The current 5 times weekly service between Bangkok and Osaka will be suspended from end-May and will be replaced with an additional daily Singapore-Bangkok service, bringing the number of weekly flights between Singapore and Bangkok to 41.

The current 4 times weekly service between Taipei and Los Angeles will be suspended from October 2008 with the new weekly flights between Singapore and Taipei maintaining capacity on the Singapore-Taipei route.

Deccan air founder G.R. Gopinath has stepped down as the promoter of Deccan Aviation as the merger with Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher airline proceeds. On his proposedall-cargo airline plan, Gopinath

"It was frustrating and I thought there should be better cargo connectivity in the country." Gopinath has already appointed Jude Fonseca from logistics major FedEx as the CEO of the new venture, some aircraft have already been orderedand some more are on the way.

Gopinath is also said to be in talks with Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), India's first privately operated airport, to set up a joint venture for dedicated cargo facilities across the country.

Based on a hub-and-spoke model the network would use Nagpur or Hyderabad as cargo hubs and other small facilities across the country will be set up as the spokes with warehousing facilities. Several unused airstrips in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are being considered for the smaller facilities.

According to the government's greenfield airport policy, cargo facilities can also be set up like merchant airports allowing a private company to select the land and develop the airport without government funding. The government's air cargo policy is expected in the next two or three months. Among other things, the policy will include the concept of cargo villages, which will act as hubs for checking and sorting out cargoconsignments.

Cargo competition is heating up fast in India with new freighter entrant QuikJet planning to start operations to places like Nagpur, Ahmadabad and Indore by the second half of this year. Established express player, Blue Dart, meanwhile, is expanding its facilities across the country starting with a temporary facility at the Hyderabad airport and expanding its facility at the Delhi airport.

The carrier is also planning to expand its fleet of four Boeing 737 and three Boeing 757 aircraft by acquiring new ones. Carriers like Spice Jet are also starting their own cargo companies, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are looking at starting dedicated freighter airlines soon as well.

Jet Airways announced three new international services to Abu Dhabi, San Francisco and Hong Kong. In mid-April, Jet Airways introduced its new daily direct service between Mumbai and Hong Kong, using Boeing B737-800 aircraft.

The new service will bring the airline's Asia-Pacifi c route total to four, including Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. The airline currently flies to 59 destinations in India and beyond, including New York, Toronto, Singapore and Bangkok.

Jet Airways also added its third Gulf route when commenced its daily direct flights from Kochi to Doha, effective April 18, using a Boeing 737-800.

The carrier is already operating daily direct flights on the Kochi-Kuwait-Kochi and Kochi-Bahrain-Kochi sectors. With the induction of Kochi-Doha-Kochi flights, this will be the third destinationlinking Kochi to the Gulf.

These flights will complement the airline's present daily services from Kozhikode and Mumbai to Doha. Jet Airways launched its operations to the Gulf in January 2008 and currently flies to four destinations in the region- Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat and Doha.

"The India-Gulf sector has traditionally witnessed large volumes of traffic for business, employment and visiting family and friends," said Jet Airways' CEO, Wolfgang Prock-Schauer. "Due to the encouraging passenger demand on these sectors, the airline has decided to connect Kochi-Doha with daily direct flights."

Boeing and Pakistan International Airline (PIA) have celebrated the delivery of the carrier's ninth 777. PIA's newest airplane, a Boeing 777-300ER, departed Paine Field Friday on a delivery flight to its home base in Karachi. PIA's new 777- 300ER sports a tail design representingPakistan's Northwest Frontier. Two previous 777-300ERs have been delivered to theairline with similar themed tail designs inhonor of the country's Punjab and Sindprovinces.

The Bangladesh government is mulling over the option of putting the management of the cargo village of Zia International Airport (ZIA) under private management in efforts to improve services. The plan for private management comes following complaints of delay in delivery of goods and losses of cargoes from the village, said an official of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).

Biman Bangladesh Airlines, which operates ZIA and its cargo village, however is not in favour of appointing private companies. Biman also operates ground handing in all airports. Although Biman Bangladesh is a separate company now, it does not pay any fee to CAAB for operating ground-handling at ZIA and its cargo village.

The Government of Sri Lanka has nominated and appointed a new Chairman and Directors to Sri Lankan Airlines. Dr P B Jayasundera has been appointed Chairman with Nishantha Wickremasinghe, Lalith De Silva and Sunil Wijesinha as Nominee Directors to represent the government, which holds 51.05 per centshareholding.

Emirates Airline holding 43.63 per cent shareholding will be represented by Tim Clark, Gary Chapman and Nigel Hopkins. Emirates recently withdrew from its management role of the carrier saying it wished to dilute is shareholding in the Lankan carrier.

Jet Airways and Tokyo based ANA plan to commence a code sharing and network-wide reciprocal frequent flier partnership effective May 21, subject to regulatory approval. With this agreement, the first of its kind between an Indian and Japanese carrier, Jet Airways will place its flight code, 9W, on ANA's daily business jet flights between Mumbai and Tokyo Narita.

"We are delighted to work with Jet Airways in this way to bring together the peoples of India and Japan," said ANA president and CEO, Mineo Yamamoto. "Our two countries – located at opposite ends of Asia – represent the diversity and dynamism of our region, and Jet Airways, with its famed high quality of service and remarkable growth, itself typifies those qualities," he continued.

Middle East-based Agility logistics recently played a crucial supporting role in transporting 22 tonnes of musical instruments to Pyongyang, on behalf of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra when it made its recent debut concert in the North Korean capital. Th is was the first time that an international logistics company hadprovided such support.

The orchestra arrived from Beijing by charter flight at Pyongyang and the musical instruments had to be transferred within a few hours into the concert hall and back to the airport. A fleet of four Agility trucks were given the green light to travel the 192km across the border from Seoul to the North Korean capital. The vehicles, with air-suspension and temperature-control equipment, were carrying broadcast equipment for television companies to Pyongyang in order for the concert to air to a global audience.

All of the instruments and orchestra equipment were transported from Pyongyang's Sunan International Airport to the East Pyongyang National Theatre. "The operation was demanding, keeping in mind the freezing weather conditions (-12ºC) and the need for very careful handling of this sophisticated and high value cargo in a span of a few hours. We had to ensure that our trucks kept a constant temperature of +22ºC at all times" commented Olaf Tauschke, senior vice president of Agility Asia Pacific Region.

Etihad Crystal Cargo has signed an interline agreement and code-share deal with Cargoitalia. The deal, which came into effect in early April, provides additional freighter capacity between Abu Dhabi and Milan where the service will link with Cargoitalia's network of destinations in the US and central America including New York, Chicago, Houston as well as Mexico City.

Etihad currently operates a twice-weekly freighter service between Abu Dhabi and Milan, in addition to three passenger flights a week. Now the sector will get increased freight capacity with Cargoitalia's 70-tonne capacity DC10F on the route.

Des Vertannes, Etihad Crystal Cargo's executive vice president, said: "The new interline and code-share agreement with Cargoitalia will be of great benefit to our customers not only in terms of the wider number of freighter destinations we can now access, but also the greater capacity volumes offered by the new aircraft deployed on this popular route."

Royal Jordanian received a new Airbus A321, named after the city of Ramtha, in line with the company¡¯s strategic plan of modernising and enlarging its fleet of aircraft serving the international and regional network, and improving services offered passengers.

Another new Airbus A321, Al-Tafileh, will join the fleet on May 20 this year. These two aircraft are to replace two that will be phased out after their operating lease terminates in mid-May.

The Royal Jordanian fleet currently has four Airbus A340s, fi ve Airbus A310s, four Airbus A320s, three Airbus A321s, one Airbus A319 and fi ve Embraer 195s. During this and the coming year, seven newly manufactured Airbus A321s, A319s and Embraer 175s will join the fleet. The airline will start receiving 12 Boeing 787 Dreamliners at the end of 2010, as replacement aircraft for the long-haul Airbus A340s and A310s currently operative in the fleet.

Italian prime minister-elect, Silvio Berlusconi, has promised to recruit a new bidder for Alitalia in just a few weeks but warned that ¡°painful layoff s¡± for the flagship carrier were ahead.

Mr Berlusconi's comments came a day after the Government - which owns 49.9 per cent of the moribund carrier - agreed to extend to the carrier a €300 million (US$502 million) bridge loan, which will keep Alitalia flying for the time being. Mr Berlusconi won national elections last week but has yet to form a government; the departing government, led by Romano Prodi, agreed to grant the loan at Mr Berlusconi's urging. But the emergency loan could be problematic. The European Union has warned Italy repeatedly that it would block any new attempts to prop up Alitalia with state funds.

An EU spokesman said Italy would have to formally seek Brussels' approval before making the loan, something it had not yet done. If Italy goes ahead with the loan, competitors could sue to freeze it on the grounds that it constitutes unauthorised state aid. The bigger problem with the bridge loan, however, is that it is still not clear where it would lead. Alitalia's one and only suitor, Air France-KLM, revoked its bid earlier this month amid increased union demands.

In the recent election campaign, Mr Berlusconi repeatedly ridiculed the Air France-KLM off er, calling it ¡°inadmissible¡±, and said he had spoken to dozens of Italian investors who were ready to make a counter-off er. So far, only one person, Salvatore Ligresti, the honorary chairman of holding company Premafin, which is a major shareholder in Italian insurer Fondiaria-SAI, has said he would be interested in joining other Italian investors in a bid to rescue Alitalia.

Meanwhile, Alitalia is eating through about €3 million of its cash reserves a day. The bridge loan, if completed, could buy Alitalia about 100 days more to devise a plan.

Volga-Dnepr Group has reported total sales of US$1.1 billion for 2007, 51 per cent higher than in 2006. The company said it had achieved substantial growth in the specialist air charter market for the carriage of outsize and heavy cargoes, up 62 per cent. The group's scheduled cargo airline, AirBridgeCargo saw turnover rise by 32 per cent in 2007 to over US$300 million.

The group attributed its rising fortunes to a competitive pricing policy and strong development across the group's businesses. While global market growth rates in 2007 averaged 6 per cent, the volume of cargo carried by Volga-Dnepr Group over the reporting period grew by 41 per cent to 193,000 tonnes.

With healthy profits banked, the group said it will continue with its fleet expansion and upgrade programmes, the development of its transportation infrastructure and the growth of its route network.

In 2007, Volga-Dnepr Airlines grew its sales from air cargo charter operations by 62 per cent to US$767 million. In the outsize and heavy cargo segment, the company still accounts for more than half of this market globally.

Aeroflot Cargo has launched a new weekly DC10 freighter service from Frankfurt Hahn to Almaty, Kazakhstan via Moscow. The first departure, on 15 April, operated with a full 55 tonne payload, of which 40 tonnes was destined for Almaty with the airline looking at introducing a second frequency by early May.

Aeroflot Cargo¡¯s German GSSA Transnautic Aero has established a domestic trucking programme in Kazakhstan that provides airport-door services to any destination within 24-48 hours. Says Transnautic Director Hendrik Boeyng: ¡°Our ability to off er service to the door means we are already luring cargo away from other airlines who cannot provide this important facility.¡±

He continues: ¡°We expect huge volumes of cargo on this new service - particularly electrical and electronic equipment, automotive spares and textiles. There is also signifi cant available traffic for Astana, following the relocation of Lufthansa¡¯s hub from Astana to Krasnoyarsk.

Moscow-based scheduled cargo airline, AirBridgeCargo, has appointed new general sales agents in Vietnam and Korea. In Vietnam, Indo-Trans Logistics Aviation Services (ITL Aviation) has been selected as the airline's GSA. With accession of Vietnam to the WTO in 2006, the country's exports have been growing at an accelerated pace, offering new business opportunities to cargo airlines and the freight forwarding community, AirBridgeCargo said.

AirBridgeCargo Airlines, the scheduled cargo subsidiary of Volga-Dnepr Group and Russia's largest international cargo carrier, has taken delivery of its third B747-400ER Freighter. In addition to its three new Boeing 747-400ERF, the AirBridgeCargo fleet consists of two Boeing 747-200Fs and one Boeing 747-300SF.

AirBridgeCargo will use the new aircraft, under lease from AirCastle Advisor, on its existing routes from Asia to Russia and Europe. From Asia, the airline operates over 20 flights a week from Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Nagoya and Tokyo. It serves Moscow, St. Petersburg and Krasnoyarsk in Russia as well as the major European hubs of Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Luxembourg.

OpenSkies Airline's newly retro-fitted Boeing 757 aircraft took 24 people working in three shifts around the clock over seven days to completely repaint the aircraft using nearly 282 litres of paint. OpenSkies - the new transatlantic airline from British Airways - plans to off er premium travel experiences from Europe to New York, utilising retrofitted Boeing 757s.

"OpenSkies combines the proven expertise of one of the world's biggest airlines with the passion and commitment of a start up," said Dale Moss, Managing Director of OpenSkies. "As the Open Skies agreement goes into effect, we're building a new kind of airline for a new world of transatlantic travel."

Pending regulatory approval, OpenSkies aims to provide service from a number of European cities to New York, beginning with Paris. OpenSkies anticipates operating a second Boeing 757 later in 2008 and has plans to increase its fleet to six Boeing 757 aircraft by the end of 2009.

Boeing recently confirmed an order for three Next-Generation 737s by National carrier Turkmenistan Airlines. Th e airline has ordered two 737-900ERs and one 737-700 to join its existing fleet of Classic and Next-Generation 737s.

Hamburg airport, which has so far kept a low profile on the air freight scene, is hoping to replicate the success of its seaport, which has grown over the past few years into a major gateway for trade with Asia. The airport, 51 per cent owned by the City of Hamburg and the remaining by Hochtief, Germany's major construction group, is now taking steps to build up its cargo network with Asia.

As Northern Europe's leading seaport, Hamburg port has played a key role in Europe's trade with Asia and the airport is eyeing the potential to expand air freight traffic. The airport said it was interested in building up connections with Asia, particularly with China, India, Japan and Southeast Asia. "We need to expand our connections to further regions of Asia."

The airport is currently in discussions with China's Shanghai Airlines and Air China. Hamburg airport has often tried to play up its China connection through the presence of more than 400 Chinabased companies in the North German city. But it is not just the China connection that interests the airport planners, who are also at pains to point out the city's traditional links with India, Japan,Malaysia and Thailand.

Imports from Asia through Hamburg comprise mainly of consumer products while exports to Asia comprise of hi-tech products, machinery and other hardware. Hamburg airport still lags behind other German airports in terms of cargo traffic - it is the fifth largest cargo airport in Germany after Frankfurt, Cologne/Bonn, Munich and Hahn - handling only 80,000 tonnes in 2007, an eight per cent rise over 2006.

One setback for the airport recently was the suspension by Emirates Airline of its flights from Dubai to New York via Hamburg. The airline will end the flights at Hamburg and then return to its base in Dubai instead of flying on to New York.

Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines have reached an agreement on a merger that would create the world's largest airline.

The $17.7 billion deal announced last month could usher in a new era of consolidation in the industry which after enjoying a brief financial recovery after years of loses following 911, now faces soaring jet fuel prices.

The new airline, which will be called Delta, will be based in Atlanta and will be headed by Delta CEO Richard Anderson. "We said that we would only enter into a consolidation transaction if it was right for all of our constituencies," said Anderson.

"Delta and Northwest are a perfect fi t. Together, we are creating America's leading airline - an airline that is financially secure, able to invest in our employees and our customers, and built to thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace."

Delta is currently the nation's third biggest airline, and Northwest ranks fifth. A combination of the two would surpass American Airlines as the world's largest carrier.

Manila is Hawaiian's first gateway city into Asia. Th e new service also makes Hawaiian the only US carrier providing nonstop service between Manila and Honolulu, and will more than double capacity on the route.

Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian's president and CEO, commented: "Hawaiian Airlines has a long and distinguished record of landmark achievements in its eight decades of service and our new flight to Manila is the latest in many more to come."

Hawaiian will operate the nonstop route using its wide-body, Boeing 767- 300ER aircraft.

Aloha Airline pilots have fi led for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in US Bankruptcy Court as they prepare for a strike authorisation vote.

The pilots' union said it asked the court to make any sale of Aloha's cargo operations contingent on the carrier abiding by the terms of the pilots' contract.

The airline that fi led for bankruptcy and then closed down its passenger operations in end-March is in the process of finding a buyer for its profitable air cargo division. Pacifi c Air Cargo has expressed high interest in Aloha's contract services division.

The Air Line Pilots Association wants the airline to use seniority to determine which pilots will be used for cargo flights, contending the company wants to use existing cargo pilots, who have less seniority.

Aloha disputed the union's contention that it is failing to respect pilot seniority. Aloha still flies 85 per cent of the state's air cargo, including all mail to and from Maui and the Big Island.

United Airlines has postponed the launch of a nonstop service between San Francisco and Guangzhou by one year, citing surging fuel prices. The US' second largest carrier after American Airlines said it applied to the US Department of Transportation to defer the launch, which was originally planned for June 18.

"At the time United originally applied for the right to serve the route, United paid on average US$72 a barrel of oil," the carrier said in a statement. "With prices in excess US$110 a barrel today, we face a cost increase of more than US$2 billion." "United remains committed to serving China, the airline's fastest growing market in the Asia-Pacifi c region," it added.

The Guangzhou route was one of only two new US-China services granted by the DOT for launch this year, amid intense competition among US carriers to secure rights to serve the booming mainland China market.

Boeing has announced a revised schedule for the first flight and initial deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner that includes additional scheduling margin to reduce risk of further delays on the programme.

Boeing said earlier this month that the first flight of the 787 would occur no earlier than the fourth quarter, about a year behind the original schedule. First flight of the all-new airplane will move into the fourth quarter of this year rather than the end of the second quarter.

Delivery of the first commercial aircraft to Japan¡¯s All Nippon Airways (ANA), originally projected for this month, now isn¡¯t set to occur until the third quarter of 2009 instead of the first quarter.

Company officials expressed confidence in the new plan and the steps being taken to accelerate program performance.

Final assembly work on the first Boeing 777 freighter at the company's Everett, Washington facility began in mid-April. The new cargo aircraft will roll out of the factory this month, and work will begin to prepare the airplane for flight test this summer.

The 777 freighter will fl y farther and provide more capacity than any other twin-engine cargo airplane. Boeing will deliver the first 777 freighter to its launch customer Air France in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The 777 freighter is based on the 777- 200LR Worldliner passenger aircraft and is built using the same production line as all other models of the 777. Eleven customers around the world have ordered 78 of the 777 freighters.

TAM Linhas Aereas, through its cargo division TAM Cargo, is in partnership with the Brazilian government and a group of more than 10 companies from different transport sectors to develop an electronic waybill (known as a CT-e) project in Brazil.

Th e project is aiming to implement, later this year, a single transport waybill format that will replace the current paper forms with an electronic document that can be used for all transport categories.