Roundup

By | April 14, 2007
  • A white mouse onboard a Japan-bound Vietnam Airlines flight delayed the flight for four hours. The rodent had to be seized as a matter of safety. It was theorized it might have been brought on in carry-on luggage.
  • On Thursday, Pinnacle Airlines, which operates as Northwest Airlink, was involved in an incident as Flight 4712 from Minneapolis to Traverse City, Michigan. The Canadair Regional Jet had no brakes but stopped by the end of the runway. There were no injuries.
  • The United States is hoping to reach an agreement with China for liberialising air travel between the two countries. Their plans are for an open skies deal by May to take effect by the end of the year, assuming things work out.
  • Today in the Sky reports that Alaska Airlines is phasing out 737-200s that they flew to remote parts of Alaska. The planes, designed to land on short runways, gravel, and ice, lack the newer digital cockpits, and passengers disembark from the rear foldout stairs. Alaska seems to emphasize its Seattle service, as well as its California and warmer climate routes, over the state it is named for.
  • Frontier has applied for blanket open-skies authority to fly to any country that has an agreement with the United States.