Mexico and Central America carrier Mexicana has formally accepted an invitiation from oneworld, to join its global airline alliance.

The invitation has also been accepted by its subsidiary, Click Mexicana, as an affliate member, and will jointly add and extra 24 destinations in Mexico.

Mexicana and Click Mexicana offer will be able to begin offering oneworld’s full range of services and benefits to their own customers and those from other member partners in 2009.

Iberia and American Airlines will support and assist the carrier over the next 12 to 18 months as it goes about the joining process.

Last year oneworld signed 11 airlines including Japan Airlines and Royal Jordanian.

Cunard Line is offering reduced fares aboard Queen Mary II sailing from Los Angeles to Sydney, with prices starting at $4,199.00 per person twin-share in an oceanview cabin.

The 15 night voyage will depart Los Angeles on 10 February 2009 and Cunard has upgrades to balcony cabins for only an extra $300 per person twin-share.

Meanwhile, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth will make a special farewell visit to the Queen Elizabeth II before it sails to Dubai where it retires from service to become a floating hotel.

Details of the 02 June farewell in Southampton, UK are expected to be announced soon.

American Airlines elected to cancel 1500 flights on Tuesday and Wednesday aboard its MD-80 aircraft as it conducted additional safety checks on the planes.

The decision by American Airlines to ground the MD-80s followed a recent FAA review of airline compliance with agency safety directives that expressed concerns over wiring inspections on the aircraft.

The carrier operates nearly 300 MD-80s, which represents about half of its entire fleet.  American Airlines uses the aircraft primarily on routes from its hub US city’s of Dalllas/Fort Worth and Chicago.

American Airlines drastic reaction follows the massive US$10.2m fine handed down by the FAA to Southwest Airlines after it revealed the airline had not carried out safety checks on 46 planes over a nine month period.