30 August, 2012

Air Malta Restructuring Go Ahead



The deal struck between pilots and Air Malta has overcome the last hurdle after a difficult restructuring exercise, according to the airline’s CEO.
Peter Davies yesterday said the four-year agreement clinched in the early hours of Saturday meant Air Malta “could now move forward”.
“It is critical that we got a deal on more efficiency and productivity that is within budget,” he said.

29 August, 2012

Dreamliner for Air India


Air India Ltd. is set to take delivery this week of its first 787 Dreamliner jet after a wait of some four years and following a long, public battle between the airlines and Boeing Co. over compensation for the delay.
The first of the aircraft could land in New Delhi Wednesday or Thursday, and two more will follow "in quick succession," an Air India executive told Dow Jones Newswires Monday.

Passenger Cash For Fuel


The crew of an Air France plane that was re-routed via Damascus on Wednesday asked passengers how much cash they could stump up after Syrian authorities refused credit card payment to refuel the aircraft, the French airline said on Thursday.

28 August, 2012

China Southern Profits Dive

China Southern Airlines, Asia’s biggest carrier by passenger numbers, said first-half profit tumbled 84 percent because of an economic slowdown, higher fuel prices and currency fluctuations. Net income fell to 449 million yuan ($70.6 million) from 2.76 billion yuan a year earlier, the Guangzhou, China-based company said in a filing to Shanghai stock exchange today. That compares with the 570 million yuan median of three analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg News.

Air Canada low cost option to launch next year.


Air Canada aircraft are seen at Toronto Pearson International Airport, in this September 20, 2011 file photo. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/Files
Air Canada, after overcoming union resistance to the launch of a low-cost carrier, the troubled Canadian airline is about to start offering cheap flights to a range of holiday destinations with the low cost launch next year

27 August, 2012

New Congo Airline Faces Risks


KINSHASA | Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:24am EDT
Its tarmac littered with dozens of dilapidated planes, the airport in Congo's capital Kinshasa makes clear the dire state of aviation even by Africa's generally low standards.

Qantas Loss


Australian airline Qantas  has reported a $245 million annual loss,  that is £162 million, loss in profits, as the airline has been hurt by increasingly rapid rising fuel prices, a series of damaging strikes that temporarily grounded its fleet and its struggling international division.
The Australian flagship carrier's reputation has been greatly dented by recent action and accidents, including those afflicting its new airbus A380 aircraft.  

Clothing stop travel....

You can't wear that???

Reasons for not being allowed to travel.


A woman flying from Las Vegas on Southwest this spring says she was confronted by an airline employee for showing too much cleavage. In another recent case, anAmerican Airlines pilot lectured a passenger because her T-shirt bore a four-letter expletive. She was allowed to keep flying after draping a shawl over the shirt.

21 August, 2012

Dreamliner arrives for Ethiopian Airlines


Ethiopian Airlines' first Dreamliner is hosed down on arrival in Addis Ababa.
Ethiopian Airlines' first Dreamliner is hosed down on arrival in Addis Ababa. Photo: AFP
Ethiopian Airlines received Africa's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner on Friday, making Ethiopia the only country aside from Japan to operate the innovative aircraft.

"As a continent this shows how much we are making progress as Africans... competing on the global stage and changing our image," Ethiopian Airline CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told reporters at Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport.

The plane arrived from Dulles airport in Washington, DC, home to the largest Ethiopian diaspora population globally.

State-owned Ethiopian Airlines -- Africa's fastest growing carrier -- has purchased ten 787 Dreamliners from Boeing. Each has an official list price of some $US207 million ($198 million), although airlines rarely pay such figures, especially for bulk orders.

More woes at Kingfisher


Cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines Ltd is seeing an exodus of people with at least 3,500 employees having resigned in the last one year, also reflected in falling employee costs in the April-June quarter.

The headcount is down to 4,200 from 7,700 a year ago, according to two executives of the Vijay Mallya-promoted airline. Both spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Out of the 4,200, 40% are not working as the airline closed at least 20 airport stations as part of downsizing its operations,” said one of the officials.

A Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson declined to comment.

Three United Aircraft Emergency Landings


gty united airlines dm 120217 wblog 3 Emergency Landings Put Focus Uniteds Fleet
 (Image Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
ABC News’ John Schriffen reports:   United Airlines says it is conducting a thorough review this morning of three weekend incidents that left hundreds of passengers stranded and some wondering whether the airline’s rocky merger with Continental has undermined its operations.
Since their merger two years ago, the two airlines have combined operations this year. Since 2010, the new United has suffered a rash of bad publicity and now has the worst records in the industry for delays.
In June, the last month for which the government released data, United passengers filed nearly 600 complaints. That’s five times higher than its nearest competitor and five times higher than before the merger.
“We’ve seen this huge spike in customer complaints,” said ABC News aviation consultant Steve Ganyard. “Now that we’re seeing a rash of in-flight emergencies, the FAA is going to want to ask are they having the same problem integrating their maintenance.”
United Flight 96 heading from New Jersey’s Newark Airport to Berlin was reportedly forced to make an emergency landing Saturday, and witnesses on the ground said they saw fire coming from the Boeing 757′s engine as they watched in suspense.
“I ran to the window, looked outside, saw the airplane and saw fire coming out,” D’Jenaba Johnson Jones said.
Alex Jackson said, “As it was elevating, I noticed that there was a flame spitting out of the left engine; it was kind of going like pop-pop- pop-pop.”
Cellphone video showed the plane circling for two hours and 15 minutes to burn off fuel before all 173 passengers and crew members landed safely back at Newark Airport.
“The crew followed standard procedures in returning to Newark, where the airplane landed safely,” United Airlines officials said in a statement Saturday.
United Flight 409 had to return to Newark Sunday morning after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit. The Boeing 757 was bound for Seattle. And United Flight 1124 bound for Boston had to return to Houston a few hours later because of engine problems.
“The question is, how well is maintenance being done on those airplanes?” Ganyard said. “Is it a coincidence or is there a greater underlying problem that needs to be investigated.”

20 August, 2012

American Airlines Crews Approve New Contract


 Flight attendants at American Airlines voted to approve a new contract offer from the airline, which is seeking to cut costs in bankruptcy protection.   The results released Sunday showed attendants voted to accept the contract by 59.5 percent to 40.5 percent, according to the Association of Professional Flight Attendants.

Stansted Airport For Sale


Airports operator BAA has decided to sell Stansted Airport, ending its long-running legal battle.
It has been fighting a 2009 Competition Commission ruling that it must sell Stansted because of the lack of competition between London airports.
BAA was told to sell off Stansted and Gatwick, but by then it had already started the process of finding a buyer for Gatwick.

Short of fuel - a common problem?


Emergency: Two Virgin planes needed priority landing because of running low on fuel after flying from America Two Virgin Atlantic passenger jets issued emergency alerts on the same day this year because they were running out of fuel.  Air traffic controllers dealt with a total of four low-fuel emergencies at Stansted Airport, Essex, that day  – including a ‘mayday’ call.

Two were Virgin 747s, which can carry 451 passengers each. They needed priority landing after flying from America, according to an investigation by the Exaro website.


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