The European Commission has opted to speed up the introduction of an EU-wide blacklist of unsafe airlines. The move could see companies on the bloc´s list banned from its entire airspace, starting from next year. A common European blacklist will be based on the criteria put forward by the commission, while it will remain possible to add in new companies after its publication. The new rules are part of the pending EU law on passenger information, proposed last February, and currently in the parliamentary pipelines.

Continental Airlines has announced that flight operations at airports in the southeastern United States are being affected by Hurricane Katrina. Continental Airlines and Continental Express have cancelled a total of 111 flights yesterday, including all flights at New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana; Mobile, Alabama; Gulfport/Biloxi, Mississippi and Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Flights are subject to delay or cancellation at other airports in the region.

Commencing on December 8, 2005, travelers can easily escape winter and head to Barbados on Delta Air Lines´ new non-stop service between Atlanta´s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Barbados´ Grantley Adams International Airport. Delta, one of the world´s leading carriers, will operate its year ´round, three time weekly non-stop flights on a Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The flights, scheduled for Monday, Thursday and Saturday, will now allow travelers to depart from Atlanta and in four short hours be on the island enjoying the warmth of the Bajan sun and the renowned hospitality of the Barbadian people.

CSA Czech Airlines said it will likely grow its North American presence following a profitable 2004 and first-half of 2005. Although details were not available at press time, the Prague-based carrier already has added an extra flight to Newark, N.J., along with service within Eastern Europe to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Skopje, Macedonia; and Minsk, Belarus.

RASSA Holdings Limited ("RASSA"), a Chile-based provider of new sales, services and marketing solutions to airlines, recently signed TAM Mercosur to use R@N.One, its comprehensive and modularized Internet-based passenger service system. Functional modules of the R@N.One system include flight information, fares management, seat inventory control, reservations, sales, ticketing, check-in, as well as unique sales distribution and management reports. With this agreement, RASSA secures a strategic new Latin American client and its ninth worldwide.

Continental Airlines will launch daily nonstop service beginning November 17 between Newark and Ponce, Puerto Rico, which will be Continental´s 26th Caribbean destination and third Puerto Rican gateway. The carrier already offers daily nonstop service to San Juan from Newark and Houston as well as daily nonstop service to Aguadilla from Newark.