The European Commission (EC) has given its final approval to Lufthansa, the flag-carrier airline of Germany, to take over Austrian Airlines, the national airline of Austria.

Philippine Airlines (PAL), the flag-carrier of the Philippines, has decided to cut flight capacity as well as reduce its workforce in an effort to cope with the losses arising out of the shrinking demand for air travel.

Eastern Airways, the regional airline headquartered in England, will start 2 new, non-stop flights from Aberdeen and Newcastle in the United Kingdom to Bergen in Norway on October 5, 2009.

JetBlue Airways, the low-cost airline based in New York, the United States, is expanding its services from San Francisco International Airport by adding daily, direct flights.

Jet Airways will launch new daily, direct flights flights from Mumbai to Dhaka from September 15, 2009.

The European Union (EU) has warned nearly 4,000 airlines that they could be banned from airports across Europe if they fail to cut considerably their carbon footprints by the year 2012.  

US Airways and Continental Airlines, both based in the United States, have added a one-way fee of $50 for a second checked bag on their trans-Atlantic routes.

JetBlue Airways has sought the approval of the government of Jamaica to start two new routes connecting Montego Bay in Jamaica with Boston as well as Orlando (Florida) in the United States.

AirTran Airways has applied to the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) seeking to launch flights to Jamaica, Bahamas and Aruba in the Caribbean.

Jetstar Asia, the low-cost carrier based in Singapore, has announced that it will launch its first service to mainland China in December 2009.

Jet Airways, the privately owned airline based in Mumbai, India, is introducing daily, non-stop flights between Delhi in India and Hong Kong on September 30, 2009.

Air service to and from the remote Easter Island, located west of Chile, has resumed after local residents lifted a blockade of the local airport, protesting against the “excessive numbers of tourists and residence-seekers” in the island.  

Ryanair, the low-fare airline based in Dublin, Ireland, has decided to cancel 90% of routes it operates currently from Manchester Airport from October 1, 2009, because of what the airline describes as Manchester Airport’s refusal to reduce airport charges.

A codeshare agreement between Etihad Airways, the flag-carrier airline of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and American Airlines, based in Fort Worth, Texas, the United States, will take effect in end-August 2009.

American Airlines will charge most of the economy-class passengers a fee of $50 to check a second piece of checked luggage on certain international flights for tickets bought on or after September 14, 2009.

American Airlines has announced that it is extending its in-flight wireless internet service to more planes.

Air Canada, the flag-carrier airline of Canada, is launching daily, non-stop flights between Montreal in Canada and Houston in the United States on November 30, 2009.

Air Canada has announced direct, seasonal flights between Hawaii in the United States and Calgary in Canada from December 2009.

Air Asia X, the long-haul, low-cost carrier based in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, is starting flights between Kuala Lumpur and Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), five times a week from November 23, 2009.

V Australia, the long-haul subsidiary airline of Virgin Blue, is planning new flights from cities in Australia to Phuket, the famed beach resort in Thailand, Johannesburg in South Africa, Los Angeles in the United States, and Fiji.

Southwest Airlines, the budget carrier based in Dallas, Texas, the United States, has started 10 daily flights from Logan International Airport in Boston.

The United States-based US Airways is on an expansion spree and has announced a number of new domestic and international flights.

Delta Air Lines is suspending its non-stop, 5-days-a-week flights between Salt Lake City, Utah, the United States, and Tokyo in Japan from October 1, 2009, owing to a decline in the demand for travel due to the A/H1N1 virus pandemic (swine flu.)

Jet airways will launch new flights from Bangkok to Gaya and Varanasi from October 6, 2009.

In perhaps the first promotion of its kind, JetBlue Airways, the low-cost airline based in New York, the United States, is offering a pass costing just $599 in which passengers can book an unlimited amount of flights within a period of one month.

The United States-based Virgin America is starting the first-ever non-stop flights between San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in Florida on November 18, 2009.

The government of the United States has initiated an investigation into whether any laws were violated when passengers were stranded overnight on the airport tarmac in Rochester in Minnesota.

The California based low-fare carrier Virgin America Inc., will start services from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles and San Francisco, from November 18, 2009.

China and Taiwan are planning to start regular air service on August 31, 2009. This ends the 60-year-old ban on flight links imposed by the government of Taiwan at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

The United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will, from August 15, 2009, require airlines to collect additional information for every passenger booking a new flight.