Travelport extended its agreement to provide electronic ticketing capabilities to Chinese global distribution system TravelSky.

EC confirmed it is "assessing" commitments by AA, BA and Iberia meant to allay competitive concerns related to their proposed joint venture. The European Commission in September sent oneworld partners American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia a statement of objections as part of its antitrust investigation. EC also continues "parallel investigations" into cooperation among Star Alliance members and among SkyTeam alliance members.

Air Canada this spring plans to launch seven new transborder U.S. routes from Toronto. They include services to Cincinnati; Memphis; Orange County, Calif.; Portland, Maine; Portland, Ore.; San Diego; and Syracuse, N.Y. As previously announced, Air Canada this summer also will add service from Toronto to Athens, Barcelona, Brussels and Copenhagen.

NBTA Europe added to its advisory board buyers Torbjorn Erling and Yann Le Goff, and supplier Floyd Widener. Erling is Ikea Group's global meetings and travel manager, Le Goff is sourcing director for Tetra Laval Group subsidiary Sidel and Widener is Carlson Wagonlit Travel's vice president of sales and global program management in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. They join on the committee Caroline Strachan, chairman of the newly formed NBTA Europe.

High-speed rail operator Eurostar produced record annual revenues in 2009 of £675.5 million (US$1.08 billion), an increase of 1.7 percent from 2008. Eurostar also reported a 1.2 percent increase in total passengers to 9.2 million.

The GlobalStar Travel Management group added Globe Business Travel of the Netherlands. After U.K.-based ATP left GlobalStar, "we had to move quickly in the Netherlands due to several client requests," according to a statement from GlobalStar director of partner recruitment Mark van Iersel.

The Millennium Foundation for Innovative Finance for Health in June plans to launch the Massivegood program for corporate travel, according to its Web site. Massivegood will enable travelers when they purchase travel services to contribute to the fight against diseases in developing countries. It is being facilitated by Amadeus and other global distribution system providers. "We are actively working on finalizing the solution to meet corporation requirements to enable companies to match" employee contributions, according to the Millennium Foundation site. "We hope to integrate many large companies to boost the number of donations." The group wrote that "the first countries where we will launch are definitely in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany," and explained "the solution can be embedded in the regular booking system for airline tickets and other travel reservations, enabling it to be a seamless part of the travel buying process."

Effective 20 January, travelers from 35 countries must obtain electronic authorization before departing for the United States. On that date, use of the Web-based Electronic System for Travel Authorization program run by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency will become mandatory for those travelers holding passports from Visa Waiver Program countries.

Oneworld partners American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas upped their commitment to struggling Japan Airlines. The carriers Wednesday detailed a $2 billion package to accompany JAL's government-supervised restructuring, "$300 million in incremental revenue guarantees from American Airlines, and approximately $200 million in enhancements from British Airways," according to a prepared statement. Both AA and BA also have pledged to create joint ventures with JAL. Meanwhile, AA said it and investment group TPG would "invest up to $1.4 billion" in a reorganized JAL, $300 million more than their previous proposal.