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Thread: Airline News

  1. #4401
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    Pakistan Airlines advert shows plane flying into Eiffel Tower


    Setback for state-owned carrier on same day flying ban to Europe lifted


    Pakistan’s national airline has come under fire for a “tone deaf” advert that appears to show a plane flying into the Eiffel Tower.


    Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which was banned from flying to the UK, US and EU in 2020 amid safety concerns, on Friday announced it had resumed flights to Europe after the ban was lifted.


    In a post on social media, the airline published an image showing a plane and the Eiffel Tower against the French tricolour flag, accompanied by the caption: “Paris, we’re coming today.”


    But critics pointed out that the advert appeared to show the plane heading straight for the Paris landmark.


    Omar R Quraishi, a Pakistani PR expert and former adviser to politician Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, branded the campaign “completely tone deaf”.


    He wrote on X: “Did the idiot who designed this graphic not see a PIA plane heading for the Eiffel Tower? One of Europe’s iconic landmarks. Do they not know about the 9/11 tragedy – which used planes to attack buildings? Did they not think that this would be perceived in similar fashion?”

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    You just can't make this shxt up. I love it.

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    Legal fight over €2.5bn worth of aircraft stuck in Russia plays out in Dublin | Airline industry | The Guardian

    Sitting in a nondescript building near the high court in Dublin, about 40 cloaked barristers have gathered almost daily since June last year. At stake is €2.5bn (£2.1bn) worth of aircraft stranded in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.Behind multiple screens and a mountain of warehouse boxes they are fighting to determine who should pay for the losses – the aircraft lessors or the several insurance companies, including Lloyd’s, AIG and Chubb.

    The case is due to go on for months, with legal fees for the 180 lawyers in the court and behind the scenes potentially running into hundreds of millions of euros.
    Along with a parallel case being heard in London’s high court, it is one of the biggest and most complex commercial cases ever heard.
    The megatrials centre on claims made by the world’s largest aircraft lessors against insurers relating to losses caused by the stranding of about 400 planes in Russia.
    Western sanctions forced aircraft leasing companies to cancel their contracts with Russian carriers by 28 March 2022, initially leaving an estimated $10bn (£8.2bn) worth of assets out of reach.
    Initially, Russia faced demands to return the “stolen” planes, but Moscow refused, prompting the lessors’ legal claims.
    Many of the planes have been re-registered by Russia without the owners’ consent and sold to Russian airlines, with lessors invoking war risk insurance clauses for their claims.
    The world’s second- and third-largest lessors, SMBC and Avolon, as well as BOC Aviation, CDB Aviation, Nordic Aviation Capital and Hermes Aircraft, are among those pursuing their claims in Ireland, where more than 60% of the world’s leased aircraft are owned or managed.
    The witnesses before the Dublin commercial court last month included the seasoned technical manager from BOC Aviation, which leased aircraft to Pobeda Airlines, a subsidiary of Aeroflot. In 2022, it filed insurance claims to recover the losses after writing down the value of the planes, saying it was unlikely to recover the jets “in the foreseeable future, if ever”.
    During cross-examination, barristers representing insurance firms pored over a slew of emails from March 2022 showing BOC Aviation scrambling to get its aircraft out of Russia. Email exchanges in the first week of that month showed it seeking parking space for 14 aircraft, including eight 737s, at a Lufthansa facility in the Philippines.
    Another exchange suggested their contacts in Russia should emphasise BOC Aviation’s Chinese investors to see if the Kremlin would allow it to repatriate aircraft to a “Russia-friendly” country, such as Turkey.
    BOC Aviation said it would not comment on the dispute but confirmed it had had 17 aircraft stranded in Russia; two had been retrieved and there were settlements from Russian insurers for a further seven.
    The world’s largest aircraft lessor Aercap, based in Dublin, can trace its roots back to Ryanair founder Tony Ryan’s Guinness Peat Aviation, one of the leasing pioneers who made Ireland the centre of the global industry.
    It is central in the London case over the loss of 116 aircraft and 23 engines. The legal action was launched against 16 insurance companies, including Lloyd’s of London, Chubb European Group, AIG Europe and Swiss Re, in November 2022.
    Aercap, which initially estimated its losses at $3.5bn (£2.9bn), has since reached settlements out of court of more than $1.3bn with insurers, but is continuing to pursue the remaining claims.
    Settlements continue to be made between lessors and insurance companies in the Dublin case. Just before Christmas barristers for SMBC told the judge they had reached an undisclosed settlement with Swiss Re.\



    skip past newsletter promotionHowever, there are signs the trials will go all the way.
    Last month, the Irish commercial court heard that the case would take at least another 12 weeks, making it unlikely to finish before April.
    Where does this leave the Russian aviation industry?

    In June 2022, the Kremlin announced a programme to manufacture 1,036 planes by 2030. The Russian aviation historian Steven Harris, speaking to the Wilson Centre thinktank, called it an ambitious project that recalled the Soviet Union’s determination not to be dependent on the west.
    By November last year, passenger numbers were up as Russians defied western sanctions and took holidays in “Russia-friendly” countries.
    The number of passengers flying to Europe have dropped from almost 10 million in 2019 to a few hundred thousand, data from Russia’s civil aviation watchdog, Rosaviatsia, shows.
    With most of Europe’s airspace closed to Russian carriers, international travel has pivoted to countries that have not imposed sanctions on Moscow, such as Turkey, ex-Soviet countries and the United Arab Emirates, according to data from the FSB security service, which tracks border crossings, Reuters reported in November. Egypt, Thailand and China have also grown in popularity.
    But the sanctions mean fewer new planes are being added to Russia’s fleet to meet rising demand, forcing Moscow to ask neighbouring countries to help run some domestic routes.
    Sanctions have also starved the Kremlin of critical western-made parts for engine production, limiting Russia’s ability to produce more than 1,000 new aircraft in the next six years.
    In August, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that the target was likely to be lowered amid claims from government-commissioned consultants that such demand did not actually exist.
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  4. #4404
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    China-Europe travel: Chinese airlines soaring higher as rival carriers drop out. But is it paying off?

    Chinese airlines have been swooping in to grab a larger slice of the China-Europe air travel market as their continental counterparts bow out - a calculated strategy that’s not just about capitalising on opportunity, but also gaining an enduring foothold in the sector, say analysts.


    Observers note the move is a boon for air travellers as it preserves, if not adds, direct flight options between Chinese and European cities, and at more competitive prices to boot.

    At the same time, the bolstering of air connectivity feeds into China’s wider ambitions of establishing a group of world-class aviation hubs, enhancing its international competitiveness.


    What’s up in the air is whether the Chinese carriers can sustain this strategy in the near term, with demand being a big question mark as a sluggish economy and geopolitical tensions further cloud the forecast.


    "With (Donald) Trump returning as US president, it remains to be seen whether he will rally Europe to adopt even tougher trade stances and policies against China,” independent aviation analyst Alvin Lie told CNA.


    EUROPEAN AIRLINES FACE TURBULENCE


    Over the past year, numerous European airlines have reduced or discontinued their routes to Chinese cities, attributing the decision to rising costs and challenging market conditions including poor demand.


    Dutch flag carrier KLM is one of the latest airlines to do so. Starting this year, it has reduced flights between Amsterdam and Beijing, as well as Shanghai, from daily services to just five per week.

    In November, Scandinavian Airlines marked the end of its 36-year presence in China with its final flight between Shanghai and Copenhagen. This leaves Air China as the sole airline providing direct flights between Denmark and the Chinese mainland.

    Since the beginning of last year, airlines such as Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Lufthansa, and LOT Polish Airlines have also either reduced their services to China or suspended their routes altogether.


    Only seven European carriers remain on China-Europe routes, down from 14 in 2019, according to Caixin Global, a leading Chinese business news platform in a Dec 2024 report.


    Meanwhile, Chinese airlines are significantly boosting their capacity on China-Europe routes.


    In the first half of 2024, China’s three largest carriers - Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines - together offered around 4.67 million seats on these routes, according to Caixin.


    This marked a 21.25 per cent increase compared to 2019 and more than double the number of seats offered in the same period last year.


    Chinese airlines have also been building up capacity for other markets, such as with the United States. But progress on the American front has been limited as post-pandemic recovery remains sluggish, while COVID-era flight caps on Chinese carriers have not been fully eased.


    In the summer of 2019 there were some 10,400 flights from China to the US, of which 61 per cent were operated by Chinese carriers, according to an August 2024 report by British aviation data firm OAG. In the summer of 2024, there were 2,500 flights, with Chinese airlines’ share falling back slightly as they maxed out on permitted frequencies.


    FLYING FURTHER INTO THE EUROPEAN MARKET


    Analysts say the trend isn’t entirely unexpected, especially in the highly competitive air travel arena.


    "If a lot of the European airlines have scaled back in their capacity to China, then the Chinese airlines are going to try to make up some of the difference in that," Jamie Bloomfield, director of Propelo Aviation, a research and consultancy firm supporting the aviation industry, including air traffic managers, told CNA.


    Bloomfield further pointed out there could be a strategic benefit if Chinese carriers successfully secure additional slots at some European airports - although that depends on availability and traffic rights. It would also create pressure as the slots will be lost in the next year if they are not utilised.


    “(This is true) at least at the capacity-constrained airports, which tend to be the main hubs,” he explained.


    "So I think they (may be) trying to fill up some of the opportunities that arise as a result of the European carriers reducing a bit, and in the longer run, they probably hope to retain that capacity if (China’s) economic situation returns."


    Chinese carriers were already starting to expand internationally before the pandemic grounded much of global aviation in 2020, and that is now taking off once again amid a "strategic desire", said Brendan Sobie, an analyst and consultant at Sobie Aviation, a Singapore-based firm specialising in independent analysis and consulting for airlines, airports, and the aerospace sector.

    Chinese airlines traditionally have “a lot” of domestic capacity, but they had to operate even more domestic flights in the initial post-pandemic period as the international market was recovering "very slowly", Sobie explained.


    “As a result, their domestic market becomes oversupplied, and they're losing money. So, obviously they (have a) desire to try to shift a bit more back into the international market. That's their position,” Sobie told CNA.

    In the third quarter of last year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) approved several new routes to European cities for China’s major airlines. These include services to Bucharest, Dublin, Edinburgh, and Geneva.


    This expansion builds on other route additions in the same period, such as Air China's Chengdu-Milan service, China Eastern Airlines' direct flight from Shanghai to Marseille, and China Southern Airlines' Guangzhou-Budapest route.


    Chinese airlines now dominate the China-Europe route market, according to industry data.

    Between Nov 27 and Dec 3, a total of 855 flights were operated between China and Europe, reflecting a 21.6 per cent increase year-on-year, as reported by aviation data platform DAST.


    Notably, over 84 per cent of these flights were operated by Chinese carriers, a significant rise from approximately 60 per cent in 2019.


    DIFFERING ACCESS TO RUSSIAN AIRSPACE


    Uneven access to Russian airspace has been the primary driving factor of European airlines retreating while Chinese carriers fly high, observers note.


    Russia barred European airlines and a host of other carriers from its airspace in Feb 2022 in a retaliatory response to sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Nearly three years on, the world’s largest country by land mass effectively remains a no-fly zone for European airlines.


    This has forced them to take lengthy and costly detours, significantly increasing flight times and operational expenses. In contrast, Chinese carriers are still permitted to fly over Russia, attaining a competitive advantage.


    Before the invasion, Scandinavian Airlines flights from Shanghai to Copenhagen typically took around 11 hours. Following the rerouting, its final flight in November stretched to over 15 hours.


    As European airlines take the long way around, it also risks overcrowding airspace in other sectors, which could lead to flight delays and added operational costs, highlighted Bloomfield from Propelo Aviation.


    "If you want to go from Europe to Southeast Asia, for example, you go into India or the Middle East, generally flying across Turkey, through the Caucasus, and then around," he explained.


    "When all the airlines are flying the same way, it's (manageable) today, but you could eventually face capacity issues. If you were to add flights, from Beijing for example, heading south to join that stream, it would further contribute to the congestion."


    There is usually an optimal flight path and level for fuel efficiency, Bloomfield pointed out. If airspace capacity nears its limits, planes might be asked to adjust their speed or route, potentially impacting flight times and fuel burn.


    However, as the Chinese airlines currently route over Russia and concurrently there is a reduction by European carriers to and from China, the current situation may arguably have reduced those effects. In any case, there is a limit to how frequently airlines from either region can operate, Bloomfield noted.


    Against this backdrop, European airlines face an uphill task in maintaining their routes to China, especially as their Chinese rivals increasingly step out from the wings.


    European carriers will lose money because the Chinese airlines have “so much” capacity and are “very aggressive” with their prices, noted Sobie from Sobie Aviation.

    “This is further exacerbated by the fact that the (European) carriers have longer flights. European carriers just cannot sustain flights into China in that environment, it's pretty obvious."


    At the same time, analysts have questioned whether Chinese airlines can sustain their presence in the European market, especially as passenger demand remains uncertain.


    According to the earnings reports of Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines - China’s “big three” carriers - the trio's average revenue from international routes fell by approximately 30 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2024.

    CHINA’S AVIATION HUB AMBITIONS


    The moves by Chinese airlines to carve out a greater share of the European market tie in with China’s aviation hub ambitions, experts note.


    In August last year, CAAC outlined a three-phase strategy to develop international aviation hubs within China, with key milestones set for this year, 2035, and 2050.


    According to Zhang Qing, director of the CAAC's development planning department, the system for international aviation hubs is expected to be largely established by the year’s end.


    This phase focuses on fully restoring air transport capacity and service coverage while improving connectivity, transfer efficiency, and international competitiveness.


    In the next decade, the goal is to elevate these hubs to world-class standards, characterised by exceptional transport scale, international reach, connectivity, and transfer efficiency.


    The expansion of European routes by Chinese airlines may indeed be a strategy to improve connectivity and work towards establishing China as an aviation hub in the long term, said Bloomfield from Propelo Aviation.


    "Airlines are avoiding certain airspace for political, safety, and security reasons, but when some people buy tickets, they don't actually factor that into their decision-making process," he explained.


    "And airfares through China have been quite low and competitive, and that probably helps by giving them extra leverage to grow their hubs.”

    Fares for the “big three” Chinese airlines are roughly 5 to 35 per cent cheaper compared to European carriers for direct round-trip flights between China and western Europe, according to a UBS analyst cited in a Jan 8 report by the Australian Financial Review.


    While Chinese authorities have set ambitious goals for the country's aviation sector and are advancing them through a significant expansion of European flight routes, Lie the independent aviation analyst cautions that "substantial headwinds" remain, citing intense competition and uncertain trade and economic prospects both domestically and globally.


    Donald Trump’s return to the White House also spells added uncertainty, particularly as to whether he will rally Europe to toughen its stance against China, he added.


    “During his first term, we saw the trade war lead to shipping congestion, container shortages, and rising costs,” Lie pointed out.


    “If such disruptions could happen to the shipping industry, they could also impact in the same way with air transport.”

    China-Europe travel: Chinese airlines soaring higher as rival carriers drop out. But is it paying off? - CNA

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    South Korean airplane catches fire, passengers evacuated: Yonhap

    The tail of a passenger aircraft caught fire at an international airport in South Korea's second-largest city on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of 176 people on board, Yonhap news agency reported.


    The Air Busan plane bound for Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan caught fire at around 10:30 pm local time (1330 GMT), the news agency reported.


    A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants were evacuated down inflatable slides, Yonhap said, without providing any information about the cause of the fire.


    It said one person was injured but gave no other details.


    Busan's fire authorities were not immediately available for comment when contacted by AFP.


    South Korea suffered its worst aviation disaster on its soil last month when a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800, flying from Thailand to Muan on December 29, crash-landed and exploded into a fireball after slamming into a concrete barrier.


    That crash killed 179 of the 181 passengers and crew members on board.


    Flightradar24 lists Air Busan's fleet as consisting entirely of Airbus aircraft.

    South Korean airplane catches fire, passengers evacuated: Yo

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    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Big sigh of relief from Boeing: It was an A321.

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    Who is Trump gping to blame for this one. RIP

    Philadelphia streets ablaze after plane carrying six falls from sky




    A medical jet crashed into the streets of northern Philadelphia on Friday evening while transporting a sick child who was recovering from life-saving treatment.


    The Learjet 55 plummeted into a highly-populated area near the Roosevelt Mall within minutes of taking off at around 6.07pm, sending a fireball into the sky and setting multiple homes and cars on fire.


    The young girl had been treated by US doctors and was on her way home to Mexico, along with her mother and four crew, when the crash occurred, Shai Gold, a spokesman for Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, told The Telegraph.


    “At this time we cannot confirm any survivors,” the company said in a statement.


    All of the passengers were Mexican nationals.


    Ring Doorbell footage of the incident shows the plane falling out of the sky, followed by a large explosion.


    The crash took place in the area of Cottman Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard.


    It is not clear what caused the plane to fall to the ground. Six people have been taken to hospital with injuries, officials said.


    The street was engulfed by an enormous fireball
    The street was engulfed by an enormous fireball
    Firefighters put out an “all hands” call, according to CNN, and dozens of first responders were scrambled to the scene.


    A witness recalled seeing dismembered limbs strewn across the street.


    Mr Gold described the crash as a “terrible shock” and said he knew some of the crew members “personally”. “We are in the process of notifying their families,” he added.

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  8. #4408
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    ^^^ Air Busan to ban power banks in overhead bins after plane fire

    South Korea's Air Busan will not allow passengers to keep power banks in luggage stored in overhead cabin bins, in what it called a preemptive measure on Tuesday (Feb 4), after one of its planes was engulfed in flames last week.


    An investigation led by South Korean authorities into the fire has begun, but no cause has yet been determined. Air accidents are nearly always caused by a combination of factors, according to experts.

    Passenger carry-on bags inspected at boarding gates and found not to contain power banks will be tagged and then allowed in overhead luggage bins, in measures set to begin on Friday on trial routes, before expanding to all flights.


    Any power banks should be kept with passengers so any overheating, smoke or fire can quickly be spotted and dealt with.


    Air Busan said the changes, which will also include additional crew fire training and fire containment equipment on board, were in response to an increase in the number of power banks overheating.

    The fire, which began on Jan 28 while preparing for departure to Hong Kong, was first detected by a flight attendant in an overhead luggage bin in the rear left-hand side of the plane, Air Busan has said. All on board were evacuated safely.

    Lithium batteries are a type of rechargeable battery found in devices such as laptops, mobile phones, tablets, spare power banks and electronic cigarettes.


    Global aviation standards say they must not be placed in checked-in luggage because they can start intense fires if they short circuit due to damage or manufacturing faults.


    Cabin crew have fire extinguishers and thermal containment boxes or bags to isolate problematic devices on board.

    Air Busan to ban power banks in overhead bins after plane fire - CNA

  9. #4409
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    May be a good time to buy shares in power bank manufacturers, since it's likely people who need one are going to have to go by boat or buy a new one each time they fly.


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    Delta and Japan Airlines Planes Collide at Airport: ‘Very Scary’

    A Japan Airlines jet collided with a parked Delta Air Lines plane as it was taxiing across the tarmac at a Seattle airport Wednesday, officials said. The Japan Airlines flight was set to take off to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico when it struck the tail of the Delta aircraft around 10:17 a.m. at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), KOMO News reported. “There are no injuries reported at this time. SEA is working with both airlines to safely deplane passengers and bring them to the terminal,” the airport wrote on X. Photos posted on social media showed the Japan Airlines wing cut halfway through the Delta plane’s tail. “So, we were sitting on the tarmac at SeaTac and another plane ran into us, just casually sliced into our tail. Very scary. #Seattle,” an X user posted along with video of the incident. A Delta spokesperson confirmed the incident in a statement to the Daily Mail, saying the “aircraft reportedly made contact with a wing tip of another airline’s aircraft.”

    Delta and Japan Airlines Planes Collide at Airport: ‘Very Scary’

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