Tag: stop

Emirates increasing flights to Brazil and Argentina starting in December

January 23, 2024 / WIL BALDWIN

Dubai, UAE, January 23, 2024 – Emirates has announced a fifth frequency on its Dubai – Rio de Janeiro route, starting on December 7, 2024. The additional weekly flight on Saturdays will provide increased capacity on its service to the Brazilian city and will support the growing demand for travel on the route. Additionally, the linked service allows travellers to conveniently travel onwards to the Argentinian capital city of Buenos Aires.

Emirates’ increase in capacity on its Dubai – Rio de Janeiro – Buenos Aires route will help the airline to meet market demand and offer customers greater flexibility, choice, and connectivity. With the fifth scheduled service, customers will now have more choice when selecting flights to suit their travel plans.

The additional weekly frequency between Dubai, Brazil and Argentina will operate as EK247 and EK248 in a 2-class configuration. Tickets can be booked immediately on emirates.com, the Emirates App, and travel agencies.

EK247 and EK248 is scheduled to operate with timings as follows (all times are local):

The airline’s boosted services to Brazil and Argentina are expected to facilitate additional connectivity for passengers travelling between these countries and other popular destinations in Emirates’ network including the UAE, Japan, Thailand, Maldives, Egypt, mainland China and Hong Kong, Turkey, South Korea, India, Australia and Indonesia. With Brazil and Argentina being home to the two largest Lebanese communities in Latin America, Emirates regularly serves customers travelling to and from Beirut. Furthermore, nationals of Brazil and Argentina can also enjoy the convenience of visa-free travel to Dubai, making it a popular destination for holidays and short stopovers.

Cabo Verde Airlines Debuts Its First Boeing 737 MAX

July 20, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Praia, Cape Verde, July 20, 2023 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Cabo Verde Airlines today celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first fuel-efficient 737 MAX jet with a special event at its home base with officials and employees. As part of its new “take-off” rebranding, the airline’s 737-8 will reconnect the Cape Verdean diaspora and boost tourism for the island nation from Africa, Europe, North America and South America.

Cabo Verde Airlines connects four continents with non-stop flights from its hubs in Praia and Sal. The 737-8 is part of the airline’s new “take-off” relaunch strategy. It aims to renew its fleet and expand its network to previously operated routes following the pandemic.

The 737 MAX airplane family delivers enhanced efficiency, improved environmental performance and increased passenger comfort to the single-aisle market. Powered by CFM International LEAP-1B engines and advanced technology winglets, the 737 MAX reduces fuel use and emissions by 20% compared to airplanes it replaces.

Canadian National Starts Calling Back Employees Laid Off During Rail Blockade

March 1, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

MONTREAL, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Canadian National Railway Co has started calling back many of the 450 workers it laid off earlier this month in eastern Canada, when blockades crippled operations on strategic rail lines, according to a company email sent to customers on Friday.

Earlier this week, police made 10 arrests and cleared a blockade in eastern Canada that had been stopping freight and passenger traffic for almost three weeks on one of Canada’s busiest lines.

The blockades were held in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people in the Pacific province of British Columbia, who are seeking to stop TC Energy Corp from building a gas pipeline over their land.

“In the absence of illegal blockades on our network over the last 24 hours, and while we are keeping a close watch for any further disruptions, we have started calling back many of the temporarily laid off employees based in Eastern Canada,” CN chief executive Jean-Jacques Ruest said in the email seen by Reuters.

The email did not specify how many of the 450 workers were being called back.

After 21 days of disruptions, “there is a significant backlog of trains parked on our tracks and in our yards that will be processed,” the email said.

“The complete network recovery process will take several weeks.”

Montreal-based CN said the company was on its way to recovering in Western Canada, and said products like export grain, imported containerized goods, coal, potash and other commodities are moving to market.

Canada relies on CN and rival Canadian Pacific Railway to move crops, oil, potash, coal and manufactured goods to ports and the United States. About half of Canada’s exports move by rail, according to industry data.

(Reporting By Allison Lampert; editing by Grant McCool)

Tesla Ordered by German Court to Stop Cutting Down Trees for Gigafactory

February 16, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

BERLIN (Reuters) – A German court on Sunday ordered Tesla Inc to stop clearing forest land near the capital Berlin to build its first European car and battery factory, a victory for local environmental activists.

The U.S. electric carmaker announced plans last November to build a Gigafactory in Gruenheide in the eastern state of Brandenburg.

The court ruling, by the higher administrative court of the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, comes after the state environmental office gave a green light to clear 92 hectares of forest for the plant.

Planning permission has not yet been granted to build the Gigafactory, however, meaning U.S. entrepreneur Elon Musk’s company is preparing the ground at its own risk.

In a statement, the court said it had issued the order to stop the tree-felling because it would have only taken three more days to complete the work.

Otherwise the clearance would have been completed before judges made a final decision on the complaint brought by a local environmentalist group called the Gruene Liga Brandenburg (Green League of Brandenburg).

“It should not be assumed that the motion seeking legal protection brought by the Green League lacks any chance of succeeding,” the court statement added.

Lawmakers from the pro-business Christian Democrat and Free Democrat parties have warned that the legal battle waged against the Gigafactory would inflict serious and long-lasting damage on Germany’s image as a place to do business.

Local and national lawmakers have been caught out by the strength of opposition to the Gigafactory, with hundreds of demonstrators protesting over what they say is the threat it poses to local wildlife and water supplies.

Tesla currently has two Gigafactories in the United States and one in Shanghai, China.

Tesla shares have surged 340% since early June as more investors bet on Musk’s vision.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

American Airlines Pilots Union Sues to Stop China Flights

January 30, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

WASHINGTON/PARIS/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A pilots union filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to immediately halt American Airlines U.S.-China service, as cabin crews worldwide voiced unease about exposure to the rapidly-spreading coronavirus which has killed more than 170 people in China.

Sri Lankan Airlines staff wear masks at Bandaranaike International Airport after Sri Lanka confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the country, in Katunayake

The Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines pilots, cited “serious, and in many ways still unknown, health threats posed by the coronavirus.”

American, the largest U.S. carrier, did not immediately comment on the suit, filed in a Texas court. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline announced on Wednesday it would next month suspend flights from Los Angeles to Beijing and Shanghai, but continue flights from Dallas.

The World Health Organization on Thursday declared the coronavirus outbreak in China a global emergency as cases spread to 18 countries.

The lawsuit came as an increasing number of airlines stopped their flights to China. Air France-KLM, for example, suspended its Beijing and Shanghai flights after cabin crews demanded an immediate halt.

Others that have dropped mainland Chinese destinations besides Wuhan, the outbreak’s center, include British Airways and Germany’s Lufthansa. Wuhan is closed to commercial air traffic.

Virgin Atlantic also said on Thursday it would suspend its daily operations to Shanghai from Sunday for two weeks because of the safety of customers and staff and a declining demand for tickets, but would continue flights to Hong Kong.

Other major carriers have kept flying to China, but protective masks and shorter layovers designed to reduce exposure have done little to reassure crews.

Thai Airways is hosing its cabins with disinfectant spray between China flights and allowing crew to wear masks and gloves.

“I don’t think it’s safe at all even with gloves and masks, because you catch it so many ways, like your eyes,” said one flight attendant, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“My friends also feel unsafe and don’t want to fly,” she said. “When we fly, we don’t sleep a lot.”

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are operating fewer China flights, with Delta offering food deliveries so crew can stay in their hotels.

Korean Air Lines Co Ltd and Singapore Airlines are sending additional crew to fly each plane straight back, avoiding overnight stays.

The South Korean carrier also said it was loading hazmat suits for flight attendants who might need to take care of suspected coronavirus cases in the air.

The outbreak poses the biggest epidemic threat to the airline industry since the 2003 SARS crisis, which led to a 45% plunge in passenger demand in Asia at its peak in April of that year, analysts said.

(Reporting by Laurence Frost, Aradhana Aravindan, Chayut Setboonsarng, David Shepardson and Tracy Rucinski Additional reporting by Caroline Pailliez in Paris, Josephine Mason in London, John Geddie in Singapore, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Jamie Freed in Sydney and Joyce Lee in Seoul; Writing by Jamie Freed and Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Airbus A321 plane takes off from Los Angeles International airport

Iranian General Soleimani Killed in Airstrike on Baghdad Airport

January 3, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

President Trump accused Iranian general Qassem Soleimani of planning “imminent and sinister attacks” Friday in his first televised remarks since the deadly airstrike that killed the general at Baghdad’s international airport.

“We took action last night to stop a war,” Trump said during brief remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “We did not take action to start a war.”

Without divulging details about what led to the early morning airstrike that killed Soleimani and nine others, the president said the United States “caught” the general “in the act and terminated him.”

“Soleimani made the death of innocent people his sick passion,” Trump added, saying that “what the U.S. did yesterday should have been done long ago.”

The killing of Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, marks a major escalation in the standoff between Washington and Tehran, which has careened from one crisis to another since Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions.

Senior State Department officials described the killing as a defensive strike supported by solid intelligence and claimed Soleimani was planning imminent attacks against United States interests and personnel in the region.

Atlas Air and Southern Air Prevail in Appeals Court Ruling Against Teamsters Pilot Union

November 22, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

PURCHASE, N.Y., Nov. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (AAWW) today confirmed that its subsidiaries Atlas Air, Inc. and Southern Air, Inc. have prevailed in another legal dispute with the union that represents its pilots in ongoing negotiations, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirms a March 13, 2018, decision by the Southern District Court of New York compelling the Teamsters to arbitrate whether the merger provisions in Atlas Air and Southern Air’s collective bargaining agreements apply to the bargaining process. Today’s decision, as well as two binding decisions by arbitrators rendered in favor of both Atlas Air and Southern Air this summer, have made clear that IBT must engage in the current Atlas Air and Southern Air collective bargaining agreements’ expedited and defined process for achieving a joint collective bargaining agreement.

In a separate labor-related decision rendered in July 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously affirmed a federal district court ruling in November 2017 that ordered the union to stop an intentional and illegal work slowdown by Atlas Air pilots in violation of the Railway Labor Act. The unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel upheld the lower-court order that blocked the union from continuing to engage in improper activities such as excessive sick calls on short notice or refusing to volunteer for open time.

“With these decisions behind us, it’s time for the union to honor its obligations under the collective bargaining agreements and these binding decisions. Specifically, the union has an obligation to produce an integrated seniority list and engage in direct bargaining for a defined and limited period of time. In ongoing negotiations, the union has yet to provide us with a comprehensive economic proposal covering pay and benefits for evaluation. We remain committed to working collaboratively with union leaders to efficiently negotiate and complete the contract,” said William J. Flynn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide.

For more information about the contract negotiations process and updates, please visit AtlasAir5YPilots.com and follow @AtlasAir5Y on Twitter.

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Amtrak Trains Travel to the New York State Fair

August 5, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Provides an easy, relaxing and affordable experience as kids ride for free

NEW YORK – Amtrak has continued its partnership with the New York State Fair to provide direct train service for customers traveling as a more convenient, cost-effective, family friendly and comfortable way to travel to and from the Empire State’s largest annual event between Wednesday, Aug. 21 and Monday, Sept. 2.

Skip tolls, traffic and parking fees, and arrive steps from the fairgrounds via select Empire Service (Trains 281, 283, 284 and 288) and Maple Leaf (Trains 63 and 64) trains, which will make daily stops at the State Fair (in between stops at Rochester and Syracuse stations), adjacent to the Fairgrounds. The Amtrak station code for the New York State Fair is NYF.

Westbound trains originating in New York City stop at the Fair at 1:21 p.m. during the week and 12:56 p.m. on weekends (Train 63), 3:58 p.m. daily (Train 281) and 6:57 p.m. daily (Train 283). Eastbound trains originating from Toronto or Niagara Falls stop at the Fair at 9:33 a.m. (Train 284) and 3:00 p.m. (Train 64), and 5:45 p.m. only on Monday, Sept. 2 (Train 288) en route to Albany and New York City.

In addition to the Fair stop, Amtrak is also offering a “kids ride free” promotion (one free child for each paying adult on the same itinerary) for travel to and from the Fair, which must be booked online at Amtrak.com and at least three days in advance of travel with the promo code V153. This sale is valid only during the duration of the Fair and includes one blackout date on Friday, Aug. 30. Other terms and conditions apply.

Tickets are available now at Amtrak.com, via the Amtrak mobile app, at station ticket counters or by calling 1-800-USA-RAIL. As always, customers will enjoy plenty of legroom, a generous luggage policy, and scenic routes. Amtrak also offers free Wi-Fi, the freedom to use phones and electronic devices at all times (no “airplane mode”).

Amtrak has been offering train service to the New York State Fair since 2002. The New York State Fair, operated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, attracts more than one million people during the 13-day celebration of delicious food, eye-opening exhibits, captivating entertainment and great fun. The home of the Great New York State Fair is a 375-acre exhibit and entertainment complex that operates all year.

American Airlines Files to Stop Alleged Maintenance Slowdown

May 20, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Boeing 767-300ER aircraft takes off from Zurich Airport January 9, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

CHICAGO (Reuters) – American Airlines Group Inc said on Monday it has filed a lawsuit against two unions representing its mechanics, accusing the workers of an illegal slowdown aimed at disrupting operations to improve their position in prolonged labor talks.

In a statement, American said there had been 650 flight cancellations and more than 1,500 maintenance delays as a result of the alleged slowdown.

American has been in contract talks with the Transport Workers Union of America and the International Association of Machinists since 2015.

The unions did not immediately return a request for comment.

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Jet Airways to Suspend Operations After Banks Reject Funding

April 17, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, April 17 (Reuters) – India’s embattled Jet Airways Ltd is set to temporarily halt operations from Wednesday onward after its lenders rejected the airline’s plea for emergency funds, three sources from inside the company said on Wednesday.

The airline, saddled with roughly $1.2 billion of bank debt, has been teetering for weeks after failing to receive a stop-gap loan of about $217 million from its lenders, as part of a rescue deal agreed in late March.

Separately, two sources at state-run banks told Reuters on Wednesday that the lenders had rejected the 4 billion rupees ($58 million) that Jet had sought to keep itself temporarily afloat, while its lenders attempted to identify an investor willing to acquire a majority stake in the airline and attempt to turn it around.

“Bankers did not want to go for a piecemeal approach which would keep the carrier flying for a few days and then again risk having Jet come back for more interim funding,” said one of the bank sources directly involved in Jet’s debt resolution process.

All five sources declined to be named as they have not been authorized to discuss the matter with media.

Jet and its lead lender State Bank of India (SBI) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

($1 = 69.4120 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta and Promit Mukherjee in Mumbai and Aftab Ahmed and Aditi Shah in New Delhi; Writing by Euan Rocha; Editing by Susan Fenton)

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