10 August, 2014

JetBlue Engine Blows Up

Passengers on a JetBlue Airways flight had to evacuate the aircraft via the emergency slides at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when one of its engines caught fire, according to a Federal Aviation Administration statement.

According to a JetBlue spokesperson,  there were no known injuries among the 186 passengers and six crew members on board that had to use the slides to escape. The aircraft was taxing to the runway when the engine problems started. The flight was headed to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. 

Iran Plane Crashes

A civilian aircraft has crashed just moments after it had taken off from Iran's capital Tehran, according to state media 38 people on board have been killed. 

The aircraft was heading to the eastern city of Tabas from Mehrabad airport, when it crashed into a road at about 9:18am local time on Sunday.   According to witnesses at the scene, the aircraft was very low, with one wing closer to the ground than the other and it then crashed into a road in the Azadi neighbourhood area, a little west of central Tehran. 
ry families.

Initial reports claimed all 48 passengers and crew on board had been killed, however the state media later reported that some passengers had been injured and had been transferred to hospital. The local news report 38 people died instantly and 10 were injured and were transferred to hospital in critical condition.

Malaysian Government to Nationalise Troubled Malaysia Airlines

The Malaysian government announced this week that it was going to take over or nationalise the troubled Malaysia Airlines. The airline was ailing long before the loss of two aircraft this year. It had been struggling with increasing losses, vast debts, a flawed business and increasing competition on its key routes. 

On Friday, came an announcement that many in the airline industry had been expecting for quite some time, that the Malaysian government, would take full control of the company through a stock buyback and restructure its operations in an attempt to restore confidence in the troubled business. 

Delta Wins Award

Delta Airlines is the best all around pick for consumer fliers, that us according to Airfarewatchdog’s annual rankings.  Other major US legacy carriers didn't rank quite so highly, United and American, flounder at the bottom of the list, Delta rose to the top spot from number six last year.

05 August, 2014

EU Sanction Halt Russian Airline.

The economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the west have forced the hand of the state funded and owned airline Aeroflot to cancel all flights of its budget subsidiary.

The low-cost airline suspended all its flights Monday, because Western sanctions had forced leasing deals for its aircraft to be canceled.  The airline, Dobrolet, was founded late last year as purely as a budget option for domestic travel within Russia, however its maiden flight took place in June from Moscow to Simferopol, the main city on the Crimean peninsula, annexed from Ukraine in March.

"Due to sanctions imposed by the EU ... we are forced to temporarily suspend flights on all routes from August 4, 2014," Dobrolet said in a statement on its website.

Fly Olympic AB Goes Bust


Fly Olympic AB, the new Swedish carrier that operated flights from the UK's London Gatwick to Africa, has cancelled all flights reporting bankruptcy.


The airline, which is an affiliate of Aero Pacific launched flights from Stockholm in February and offered flights from Gatwick to Eritrea and Somalia via Stockholm and Athens. The airline blames poor sales for forcing it out of business, saying it 'performed dramatically below all reasonable expectations'. 



"The losses sustained were too great for a company of our size to survive," the company said in a statement, "We had discussed with several investment groups over the last 10 days in a bid to save the company but unfortunately time ran out. - All flights are cancelled and all reservations are therefore also cancelled."


Passengers who booked directly with the airline via a credit or debit card should contact their card provider and may be able to get their money back. Passengers who booked via a travel agent should return to their agent for further advice and information. 


ANA Confirms Boeing Order.

A massive order for Boeing has come from All Nippon Airways this week when the asia airline selected 20 777-9Xs, 14 787-9 Dreamliners and six 777-300ERs from the American manufacturer as part of the airlines ongoing strategic long-haul fleet renewal plan.

The massive order is valued around  US$13billion based on list prices and  was originally announced back in March as an option.  ANA President and CEO, Shinichiro Ito, said, “The aircraft we have selected will enable us to modernise and expand our fleet further.  These new aircraft will give us maximum flexibility and improved fuel efficiency, and will allow us to meet the growth in demand, both internationally and in our domestic Japanese market.”

ANA, has shown faith in the 787, not only was it the launch airline of the type, but it ha so far ordered 80 examples of the Dreamliner, 29 are already in the fleet, with  51 more awaiting delivery. 

Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO, Ray Conner, added: “This order from ANA demonstrates the strength of our 50-year partnership.”


WestJet Confirms Aircraft Options

Canadian airline WestJet has signed a firm purchase order for five Q400 NG turboprops following a similar conversion from option to firm in March of this year. 

The new aircraft will be utilised by the airlines regional subsidiary, WestJet Encore and will increase the carrier’s fleet to 30 Q400 aircraft.

Launched in June 2013, WestJet Encore operated 10 departures daily to two destinations with two Q400 aircraft. Its rise has been rapid, now it flies 90 flights from Alberta, Calgary and Toronto with 13 Q400s.

No meals for American First and Business Class

American Airlines is all set to drop all meals for its premium passengers on most short flights from next month. The largest American carrier will offer just snacks instead of a meal to first and business class passengers on most flights under two hours and 45 minutes. 

The change means a continuity of service between American with US Airways, which this spring reduced its meal cutoff to 2:45 from three hours and 30 minutes. The two airlines merged in December, the new rules will cover flights in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. They were detailed on American's website, however there is no reduction in the fares charged by the airline.  

Lufthansa is Europes Leading Airline.

The German airline Lufthansa has been named Europe’s leading airline for an impressive seventh time, at the Oscars of the travel world - the World Travel Awards.
Lufthansa won the award at the World Travel Awards Europe, taking place in Athens, Greece this year, for the fourth successive year, further cementing its reputation as a European standard bearer for service. 
One of the features that set the German carrier apart from its main rivals has been the introduction of internet wifi on over 90% of its long-haul aircraft, the largest internet-enabled, long-haul fleet in the world. 

Emirates Halts Flights In Wake of Ebola

Emirates Airlines has responded to the deadly Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa by halting its flights to the infected region. The Dubai based airline is the first major international airline from outside Africa to impose a flight ban in response to the outbreak, suspended services to Guinea. So far this latest outbreak of Ebola has killed 730 people in four countries and shows little sign of easing. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described this as by far the worst outbreak ever recorded in the disease’s four-decade history. It originated in Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone.  A further case had been reported after a man flew to Lagos, Nigeria, sparking fears the disease would be spread further by international air travel.

Emirates said its flights to Conakry, the capital of Guinea, were suspended from Saturday until further notice.  “We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers, however the safety of our passengers and crew is of the highest priority and will not be compromised,” a statement read.

The airline, which does not operate services to Sierra Leone or Liberia, said it would continue to provide flights to Dakar in Senegal. It said further decisions on West Africa would be “guided by the advice and updates from the government and international health authorities”.

02 August, 2014

Hawaiian Airlines Launches New Premium Economy

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Hawaiian Airlines has launched a new premium economy class on its Airbus A330 aircraft. These new super Extra Comfort seats have five more inches of legroom - giving a total of 36 inches. Other benefits of the new service include priority boarding, free on-demand, in-seat entertainment and personal power outlets.
 On international flights, travelers will also receive a souvenir pillow and blanket and premium meals.
Hawaiian Airlines is undergoing a programme of enhancements and changes at the moment, earlier this year they launched an inter-island operation called ‘Ohana by Hawaiian. They offer flights between Honolulu International Airport and Moloka’i and Lana’i. 

Passenger Attacks with a prosthetic leg.

A rather drink woman on-board a Thomson Airlines flight from Tunisia caused a bit of a stir when she began swearing, slapped a child, and threw food at cabin crew before tossing her prosthetic leg at them.
The female passenger, 48, had her meltdown on Thomson Airlines flight 297 from Enfindha in Tunisia bound for Edinburgh in Scotland.   “She was shouting ‘I want cigarettes’ and that she wanted a parachute to jump off the plane,” fellow passenger John Smith, 48, told Edinburgh Evening News
“She slapped a young girl and then assaulted the cabin crew with her prosthetic leg. They took it off her, but she started kicking them with her good leg.  It sounds funny, but it was not a laughing matter at the time. It was serious. She was totally drunk. It was pretty shocking.”

Flying Over Iraq?

Since the MH17 disaster many more passengers are taking more notice of what the actual routing of their flights will take. Many are asking questions regarding the safety of flying over various troubled areas, including Iraq. 
Many airlines are divided on whether it is currently safe to overfly war-torn Iraq, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, Qantas and Emirates have all announced they are not or will not be flying over Iraq.  Bullish British Airways said it had no plans to alter its routes.
The FAA, the US regulators have ordered all American carriers to take a higher altitude over the country “due to the potentially hazardous situation”. 
Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group, the parent company of BA, arrogantly proclaimed  “We fly over Iraq because we consider it safe – if we thought Iraq was unsafe we would not fly over Iraq.”
Emirates decision to re-route flights came after it emerged the US was investigating whether Isis troops had acquired weapons capable to shooting down planes flying at 30,000ft or more. The Dubai-based airline had the largest number of flights overflying Isis-held territory in Iraq, over 50 a day.  Sir Tim Clark, chief executive of the airline, said he was "not comfortable" with Emirates planes crossing the troubled state, since the horrific MH17 downing,  "The horrors that this created was a kick in the solar plexus for all of us. Nevertheless having got through it we must take stock and deal with it.”
Iraq sits below the main flight path between Europe and Asia and hundreds of civilian aircraft pass over it each day. However alternative routes are already well used and fly over Saudi Arabia, the Red Sea and Egypt, alternatively there is an Iranian route which some airlines use. 

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