British Airways Considers Qantas Partnership

Today British Airways announced they are in partnership talks with Qantas, Australia's largest airline. Although British Airways officials cautioned no guarantee a deal can be reached, both airlines are reportedly working toward a "complete and permanent merger." Read more from the New York Times.

Qantas 747 Emergency Landing, No Injuries

A Qantas 747 enroute from Hong Kong to Melbourne made an emergency landing last night in Manila, after a massive hole appeared in the plane.

The incident occured while flying at nearly 30,000 feet, at which time the plane then reportedly plunged, portions of the floor and ceiling collapsed, and oxygen masks deployed when the plane lost cabin pressure.

Still, despite the chaos and terror reported in the sky, the pilot managed to land the plane safely, and without injury to passengers. Read more, and view other pictures of the damage from the Sun.

Bay Area Departutes & Arrivals: Qantas, Jet Airways, Jet Blue, United

Qantas Airline's San Francisco - Vancouver service ends seasonal service on January 6th.

The airline was operating a limited 2 x weekly schedule with full onboard service and amenities, before it (and many of its passengers) continued on to Sydney.

Jet Airways has confirmed its San Francisco - Mumbai, India service will begin "soon". The airline has posted several employment opportunities at SFO.

United airlines has pushed back the inauguration of San Francisco to Guangzhou, China service to June 2007. Previously the airline announced plans to start flights on March 25th.

JetBlue will be chopping the Oakland-Ft Launderdale non-stop service come this January, just two years after they began service on this route.

Competition heating up for flights to Australia

V Australia Airlines, Virgin Blue's new trans-pacific airline received Australian regulatory approval to start flying from Australia to the West coast of the United States. Airline officials declined comment on which cities would be served, but San Francisco and Los Angeles are considered the most uncompetitive long-haul air routes in the world, with Qantas having a strong-hold over all other carriers. Additionally, based on demand, the San Francisco Bay Area has demonstrated a need for additional service to to Australia. The initial rollout calls for 10 weekly flights to the U.S West coast.

V Australia still needs U.S government approval, but says its plans are to fly by the 4th quarter 2008 when brand new 777-ER planes are delivered.

JetStar, another Australian based low cost carrier had previously reported targeting the Bay Area with service direct to Australia by the end of 2007.

Contributing source: The Australian