And Canada relaxes carry-on restriction

• British Airways and Spain’s Iberia have signed a formal merger agreement after many months of negotiations. If the deal is approved by European antitrust officials, it would create a new entity owned 55 percent by BA and based in London. Both airlines are members of the Oneworld alliance, which has a pending application at the U.S. Transportation Department seeking antitrust immunity for the transatlantic operations of American Airlines, BA, Iberia, Finnair and Royal Jordanian.
• Canadian transport officials last week eliminated a rule that passengers on transborder flights into the U.S. could only take one piece of carry-on luggage aboard an aircraft. The rule was enacted after the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound Northwest plane. Passengers flying from Canada to the U.S. can now have two carry-ons as well as one personal item, subject to airline policies.
• Pilots at Lufthansa have called off plans to go on a four-day strike beginning April 13 after management reportedly agreed to enter mediation talks with the union. Meanwhile, British Airways’ Unite union, representing disgruntled cabin attendants, had been making noise about taking yet another short-term walkout like the two it conducted last month, but it has not announced any specific plans or dates.
• According to reports from Tokyo, bankrupt Japan Airlines is working on a reorganization plan that would eliminate some 50 routes from the carrier’s network, both domestic and international. Japanese media said the plan calls for JAL to drop 31 domestic routes and up to 20 international routes. Among the routes said to be targeted for elimination are Tokyo Narita-San Francisco and flights from Osaka to Bangkok, Beijing and Hong Kong.