Emirates is probing a maintenance accident involving one of the carrier's Airbus A380s which received substantial damage during a routine check. The accident occurred on 20 August, the Dubai-based airline tells FlightGlobal. Emirates says the aircraft was undergoing an A-check on the jet at the time. It has given few details on the circumstances but says there was "an incident" when its engineering team was carrying out the work. "All our employees are safe and unhurt," the airline stresses. Images circulating on social media purporting to have been taken at the scene show an A380 resting on its open nose-gear doors, having apparently dropped to the ground. The aircraft has sustained damage to its radome, the upper half of which appears to have separated, while the gear doors and surrounding fuselage underside are badly deformed. The status of the nose-gear itself is unclear. Although the forward left-hand main-deck door is absent, there is no indication as to whether it was removed before or after the accident. The extent of any other possible damage to the aircraft has not been confirmed. "We are investigating the cause internally," says Emirates. "Safety is our number one priority, and we follow stringent safety and technical standards."

Source: FlightGlobal

Air China would like to establish a joint venture with United Airlines, but current tense US-China trade tensions make such an arrangement all but impossible, according to an Air China executive. The carrier's vice-president and general manager of North America Zhihang Chi says trade frictions comes amid a broader slowdown in demand for air travel from China to many international destinations. "In the United States, we would like to have a joint venture relationship… with United Airlines," Chi says at the Boyd Group International Aviation Forecast Summit in Las Vegas on 26 August. "But given all that has been going on, this is virtually impossible." Air China and United already have a codeshare arrangement and are both members of Star Alliance. But in recent years Air China has sought to establish tighter relationships with partners by establishing joint ventures, which typically involve sharing revenue and joint marketing and sales activities. Air China has signed such deals with Air Canada and Lufthansa. But joint ventures require regulatory approvals, and the USA and China are currently battling in a tariff war. Just days ago, US President Donald Trump announced he would raise taxes on imported Chinese goods in response to new tariffs imposed by Beijing.

Source: FlightGlobal

BALPA's British Airways members are to strike on 9, 10 and 27 September. The UK pilot union says its attempts to resolve an industrial dispute with IAG-owned BA have been rebuffed. The airline's latest offer is unacceptable to BALPA members, it adds. "In these circumstances, with a 93% vote in favour of taking industrial action, and with no prospect of any further meaningful talks, we have no choice but to call this action," says the union. BA responds that it is "completely unacceptable" for BALPA to disrupt the travel plans of tens of thousands of passengers. "We are extremely sorry that after many months of negotiations, based on a very fair offer, BALPA has decided on this reckless course of action," says the airline. As a result of the strike, BA is looking to amend its schedules to maintain as many flights as possible, although it is "likely that many of our customers will not be able to travel". It is also examining the possibility of wet-leasing capacity and crew from other airlines, as well as scheduling larger aircraft from its partner airlines. Flights on BA CityFlyer, Sun-Air and Comair are not affected, BA stresses.

Source: FlightGlobal