A second airline, Continental, has signed a five-year deal with Worldspan that will give agents the “opportunity” to access the airline´s comprehensive published fares, inventory, and availability. The deal is expected to take effect this summer. Worldspan again refused to explain what it means by “opportunity,” which has left the door open to speculation that agents will be charged.

A new 1,793-square-yard terminal will be built at the south end of the Queen Beatriz Airport on the Caribbean island of Aruba. The construction is a key step in the developing a growing market that the Aruba Tourism Authority has been interested in for quite some time. This new boutique terminal, consisting of its own customs and immigration facilities, ground handling and other amenities such as catering, line maintenance, flight planning and weather briefing will offer service to the 7,000 planes that land and take off from the island annually.

Mexican aviation officials have decided to suspend operations at Aerocalifornia after determining that the low-cost carrier failed to meet safety standards. The airline has 90 days to meet standards or risk losing its operating license. The government grounded the low-cost airline following a two-week review of the company´s operations, which discovered that the Aerocalifornia was cannibalizing parts from decommissioned planes, among other safety concerns, according to AP.

There´s been a break in the truce in the U.S.-Venezuela dispute over airline service restrictions: American said it belatedly discovered Venezuela would not let it restore a fourth daily flight between Miami and Caracas that had been scheduled to begin in April. American said it had canceled the fourth daily flight for Miami-Caracas service in January because of road conditions between the airport in Maiquetia and Caracas. But American had planned to resume the service April 3 on A300 aircraft with capacity for 267 passengers.

Airlines using Chilean airspace will have the support of the very latest technology for aircraft surveillance and communications between crew and air traffic control from September 2006. Chile´s General Civil Aviation Division (DGAC is the acronym in Spanish) announced that following an international public bid process, it has selected SITA as its data link service provider in the delivery of Future Air Navigation Services (FANS 1/A) such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS) and Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC).

Air France will take delivery in early 2007 of the first Airbus aircraft line fitted with the OnAir GSM equipment enabling the use of mobile phones on board, it was announced at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg. Air France will receive the first aircraft, a single-aisle Airbus A318 that will have the OnAir system pre-installed, and will conduct a six month commercial trial using the new service. The passenger trials will take place on short-haul flights within Europe and to and from North African destinations, and will help Air France to consider every impact this new service may have on the cabin environment and the travel experience.