Americas news in brief

Northwest resolves dispute
Northwest Airlines and its pilots union signed a pact in early August to reduce the absenteeism that had forced the carrier to cancel thousands of flights at the end of June and again at the end of July. The Air Line Pilots Association says that the airline planned poorly and had furloughed too many of its members. It denied there was any concerted action. Northwest is now hiring new pilots, as are several other US majors including United Airlines.

New York protection
A new passenger bill of rights was signed into law in the state of New York, mandating that airlines provide food, water, fresh air and working restrooms to passengers on flights that have sat for three or more hours on the tarmac. JetBlue left thousands stranded on aircraft at New York's JFK airport in February, spurring the state to act. But it is unclear if federal law would override a state law. Nationwide, airline on-time performance fell to historic lows in August.

Allegiant adds two bases
Allegiant Air will add bases at Fort Lauderdale and Mesa outside Phoenix. The Las Vegas-based carrier specialises in ultra low fare service between vacation hot spots and small underserved airports. The new Arizona base at the Williams Gateway Airport starts in October and the Fort Lauderdale base starts in November. Each will have about a dozen routes. It already has bases in St Petersburg and Orlando in Florida and Las Vegas.

Southern Air sold
US cargo carrier Southern Air has been purchased by private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners. Led by Texas investor Robert Bass, Oak Hill will combine Southern's fleet of 13 Boeing 747 freighters with its Cargo 360 services operation. The price was not disclosed. Southern plans to add three 747 freighters and six 777 freighters, which were previously ordered by Oak Hill. Southern specialises in charter and wet-lease services for other carriers.

Source: Airline Business