41.   The government said two smaller domestic airlines, Cebu Pacific Air and Air Philippines, would expand service to fill the vacuum.

42.   The stabilization board recently rejected applications from two smaller airlines.

43.   The smaller airlines pay a premium to lease the few slots available in those cities, which translates into very high fares.

44.   They also supported a U.K. Department of Transport proposal for an independent tribunal that would monitor the market and step in to protect smaller airlines.

45.   This would require a separate seniority list and a decision on which pilots would go to the smaller airline, which might be less financially stable.

46.   When was the last time a smaller airline tried to take over a larger airline?

47.   A much smaller private airline, Bangkok Airways, flies some domestic routes.

48.   A spokeswoman for WestJet, a smaller Canadian airline that only operates domestic flights, said Friday that it knew of no reason to keep Rushdie off its planes.

49.   And because they fly along some of the same routes, competition between the smaller airlines is all the more intense.

50.   Both moves sent the smaller airline scrambling.