Hong Kong - The head of Hong Kong's flagship airline Cathay Pacific Tuesday warned of the need for cost-cutting as the effects of high fuel prices and global recession take their toll on profits.

Tony Tyler, the airline's chief executive, indicated in a letter to staff that further cost-cutting measures may be necessary as the US and Britain may be "heading towards recession."

"These are extremely difficult times for the aviation industry and I'm sorry to say there doesn't appear to be any light at the end of the tunnel just yet.

Washington - Machinists at airplane giant Boeing went on strike Saturday after rejecting the company's proposed wage increases amid fears that their jobs could be shipped overseas.

The machinists, members of the International Machinists and Aerospace Workers, approved the strike action in a vote taken last Wednesday. But they delayed implementing the strike after the company reopened negotiations with union leaders, who gave Boeing until Friday evening to provide an "exceptional contract offer" under the guidance of a federal mediator.

Seattle - Some 27,000 machinists at airplane giant Boeing are to go on strike at 12:01 am Pacific time Saturday (0700 GMT) after extended talks failed and its largest union again rejected the company's proposed wage increases amid fears that their jobs could be shipped overseas.

"Despite meeting late into the night and throughout the day, continued contract talks with the Boeing company did not address our issues,'' the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said in an online statement.

Sydney - Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd is standing by a claim that it's the "world's most experienced airline."

"Not only has Qantas been in full operation longer than any other airline in the world but the depth and breadth of our experience as a long-haul carrier backs this up," Qantas general manager John Borghetti said Friday. "We're defending our assertion that Qantas is the world's most experienced airline."

Borghetti said Qantas had been flying for 87 years.

Seattle  - Some 27,000 machinists at airplane giant Boeing could go on strike Friday after rejecting the company's proposed wage increases amid fears that their jobs could be shipped overseas.

The machinists, members of the International Machinists and Aerospace Workers, approved the strike action in a vote taken late Wednesday. But they delayed implementing the strike after the company reopened negotiations with union leaders, who gave Boeing until Friday evening to provide an "exceptional contract offer" under the guidance of a federal mediator.

London - The crash landing of a British Airways Boeing 777 in London in January was probably caused by ice blocking its fuel system, a report by Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said Thursday.

Investigators believe that a restriction in the fuel flow caused the plane's engines to lose power less than a minute before touchdown at London's Heathrow airport on January 17.

But they said they are still "uncertain" as to how the ice could have formed.

The AAIB called on airlines to introduce measures to cut the risk of ice causing fuel blockages.