HONG KONG (AP) -- Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Hong Kong's largest carrier, reported a first-half loss Wednesday as soaring fuel costs offset growth in passenger and cargo traffic.

NEW ORLEANS - A Continental Airlines flight carrying former presidential candidate Ron Paul and six other members of Congress to Washington, D.C., made an emergency landing in New Orleans on Tuesday after a loss in cabin pressure.

NEW YORK - The losses keep piling up for airlines, as three of the nation's biggest carriers said Tuesday high fuel costs overwhelmed higher revenue in the quarter that ended June 30.

BEIJING - Air China Ltd. said Wednesday it plans to buy 45 Boeing Co. aircraft in one of China's biggest airliner purchases.

PHOENIX - Admit it. That chunky carry-on bag of yours would never fit into the sample box displayed outside the airport gate.

ATLANTA - Delta and Northwest pilot negotiators say they have a tentative agreement with Delta management on a joint contract to cover both pilot groups when the companies combine later this year.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- US Airways Group Inc. said Monday it has begun a code-sharing alliance with Air China Ltd.

The total employment of all sectors in Hong Kong rose to 3.5 million last year, up 8.5% or 272,600 workers on the 2002 figure, the Census & Statistics Department says.

DALLAS - Airlines executives are continuing to cut jobs and consider new fees on passengers as they battle high fuel prices that could result in record losses for the nation's carriers.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A group of airline passengers sought to scuttle Delta Airlines Inc.'s proposed takeover of Northwest Airlines Corp., alleging in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday that the deal would result in an illegal monopoly.

DALLAS - Southwest Airlines Co. expects to grow modestly through next year but may freeze its expansion plans if oil prices and the economy remain challenging, the carrier's chief executive said Wednesday.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Northwest Airlines said Tuesday it will cut its capacity later this year by 3 percent to 4 percent because of high fuel prices. The reductions were deeper than those announced in April, though they're smaller than cuts announced by many other airlines.

TORONTO - Air Canada will cut up to 2,000 jobs, or 7 percent of its work force, and said Tuesday it is slashing capacity like other major carriers beset by record fuel prices.

DALLAS (AP) - Business travelers are likely to lose out when the fall off-peak season arrives and airlines that have cut flights slap more restrictions on the cheap fares that usually come that time of year.

NEW YORK - Continental Airlines said Thursday it will cut 3,000 jobs, or 6.7 percent of its 45,000 employees; retire 67 mainline aircraft; and reduce mainline flights because of soaring fuel costs, making it the second major airline this week to announce cutbacks.

NEW YORK - After six weeks of voting, Delta Air Lines flight attendants failed to gather enough votes to join the Association of Flight Attendants, or AFA, a national labor union.

CHICAGO - The CEOs of United Airlines and US Airways are scheduled to meet Thursday as talks aimed at combining the carriers progress despite concerns that threaten to scuttle the deal, according to two people briefed on the discussions.

HONG KONG - There are no plans to form a fund specifically for compensating travellers and travel agents in the event of an airline closure, Secretary for Transport & Housing Eva Cheng says.

American Airlines said on Wednesday that it is taking steps to reduce costs, effectively downsizing the company as fuel prices rise to record levels.