SriLankan Airlines officially joined the Oneworld airline alliance group on the 1st of May 2014. The airline became a member elect of the alliance group in June 2012. After becoming a member-elect, the airline and Oneworld initiated the integration process, which involved the aligning of SriLankan Airlines’ IT systems, products and services with other alliance members. SriLankan Airlines has subsequently become the first airline based in the Indian sub-continent to become an official member of a key airline alliance group. The airline’s admission will likely facilitate significant commercial and network opportunities for the airline.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has officially cautioned Bangladesh-based airline, United Airways, that their Air Operators Certificate (AOC) could be suspended if the carrier fails to settle its current debts with the regulatory authority. The airline reportedly owes approximately US$0.99 million in outstanding service charges to the CAAB. The CAAB has subsequently limited the extension of the airline’s AOC to a three month period, rather than the standard 12 month period, in an attempt to recoup the outstanding fees. United Airways has reported consecutive years of positive financial performance over the past several financial periods, suggesting that the airline likely has access to sufficient financial resources to settle the outstanding debts.

Japanese-based carrier, Peach, has cancelled approximately 448 flights in its northern summer scheduling period from May to June due a flight crew shortage. The airline cited that its reduction in operations during this period was impacted by its inability to source sufficient flight crew to operate the services. The airline later noted that it would likely have to also cancel a further 894 flights in July and August. The airline stated that an unexpected number of its flight crew have taken leave due to health reasons. As a consequence, the airline cannot sufficiently meet the crew requirements in order to operate the airline’s projected summer schedule. The final financial impact of these cancelations will likely not be realised until the airline can return to its anticipated level of operations.