Thread: Airline News

"Aircraft waterbombing a Christmas Day bushfire in Tasmania had to be called off due to a drone flying in the area."

https://www.xxx.xxx.xx/news/2018-12-...sland/10668374

There are drongos everywhere.

Cathay Pacific Mistakenly Sells First and Business-Class Tickets for Low Prices

"Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific airline mistakenly sold out a batch of first and business class tickets for 1/24 their regular cost, news.com.au reports.
Tickets for August flights from Vietnam to New York, for some time, could be purchased for a bargain rate of $675. Tickets for the same flights in July and September cost 16 thousand dollars.


The carrier has already reported that it was a mistake, but promised: everyone who managed to purchase tickets will be able to use them.

Happy 2019 all, and to those who bought our good — VERY good surprise ‘special’ on New Year’s Day, yes — we made a mistake but we look forward to welcoming you on board with your ticket issued. Hope this will make your 2019 ‘special’ too!
.#promisemadepromisekept #lessonlearnt

— Cathay Pacific (@cathaypacific) January 2, 2019

An unusually low price for air tickets on 31 December was noticed by several travel bloggers. Shortly after they published the information about it on social networks, Cathay Pacific fixed the price mistake."



https://sputniknews.com/world/201901...cific-tickets/

Where were our TD airline news scouts?

Tickets for the same flights in July and September cost 16 thousand dollars.

I would expect a harem of Vietnamese beauties for the entire flight for that FFS.

first class ain't cheap

Congratulations on the success of a long and difficult job.

Lion Air crash: Second black box recovered from Java Sea

Salvage teams have recovered the cockpit voice recorder from Lion Air Flight 610 which crashed into the Java Sea shortly after take-off last October.


The Boeing 737 MAC aircraft disappeared around 13 minutes after taking off from Indonesian capital Jakarta on October 29, killing all 189 people onboard.

Preliminary investigations established the pilots asked to return to Jakarta after take-off following troubles with the aircraft’s anti-stall system.

This reportedly prevented them from pulling up the nose, pitching the aircraft into the sea.

The AFP news agency on Monday (January 14) reported the aircraft’s second black box, the more telling cockpit voice recorder, had since been recovered, citing deputy head of Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) Haryo Satmiko.

It is hoped the find will shed new light on the issues faced by the pilots, and what exactly send the aircraft spiralling into the sea.

Late last year, it emerged the aircraft in question should have been grounded on account of a recurrent technical fault dating back several days.

"In our opinion, the plane was no longer airworthy and it should not have continued," said Nurcahyo Utomo, aviation head of the NTSC, last November.

Boeing’s initial investigation uncovered an “erroneous input” from an angle of attack sensor, which helps the aircraft judge whether its nose is correctly position.

The findings sparked an airworthiness directive from the US Federal Aviation Administration containing guidance to 737 MAX pilots.

https://www.ttgmedia.com/news/lion-a...java-sea-16648

The new Istanbul International Airport has been delayed until March 2019, frustrating government officials and delaying the world’s most complicated equipment transfer.

supposedly the 3rd of March - though I can see this being pushed out again also

European civil aviation regulators have banned Turkmenistan Airlines from operating services to the country (the UK) while they verify that the carrier meets safety requirements.


The European Aviation Safety Agency has “suspended” flights by the carrier pending confirmation that it meets international safety standards, says the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

It has disclosed the ban in a review of public advice regarding travel to India.

While Turkmenistan Airlines operates from the UK to its base at Ashgabat, it offers onward connections to the Indian cities of Delhi and Amritsar.

Turkmenistan Airlines had secured third-country operator authorisation to serve the European Union, and was still listed as having this approval in a 3 January EASA update.

Services from the Indian cities to Birmingham and London Heathrow, which operate through Ashgabat, will be suspended as a result of the decision.

Turkmenistan Airlines operates Boeing 757-200s on the UK routes, its only links to the European Union. The carrier serves Istanbul and several cities in Russia.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...ations-455502/

I think it's the end of it as a passenger aircraft. Can probably sell what's being built as cargo planes.

Shame, as it's a lovely ride.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I think it's the end of it as a passenger aircraft. Can probably sell what's being built as cargo planes.

Shame, as it's a lovely ride.

Sadly, I've never had the pleasure.

business class had lay flat beds which is great , real sleep without sliding down an incline

watched this the other day which explains some reasons

It was known in the mid 90s that customers were not after larger aircraft, bit Airbus went ahead anyway, thinking they knew best.

Fuel efficient long haul and short haul twins with common cockpit equipment to make transition training easy. Simpler maintenance and quick turnaround times is what customers demand.

A380 was based on bad research from French egoists and was a mistake before it left the design table.

Originally Posted by baldrick

business class had lay flat beds which is great , real sleep without sliding down an incline

watched this the other day which explains some reasons

Good clip ... thanks

Emirates First on the 380 is supposed to be top notch. You basically have your own private cabin.

Airbus a380 superjumbo production to end sparking 'bitter disappointment' from unions


Unions have expressed "bitter disappointment" after it emerged that Airbus is to cease production of its superjumbo A380 aircraft.


Unite, which represents workers at Airbus sites in Broughton, North Wales, and Filton, near Bristol, and those in supply chain companies such as GKN, said it would be seeking assurances on jobs and future work.

A few hundred staff in the UK work on the aircraft, mainly at Broughton, but it is hoped they can be redeployed.

The firm said it had made the "painful" decision after struggling to sell the world's largest passenger jet and after Emirates chose to slash its A380 order book by around a quarter.

Due to the reduction and a lack of orders from other airlines, Airbus said it would end deliveries of the record-breaking plane in 2021, 14 years after it first entered commercial service.

Emirates is yet to take delivery of 14 of the double-decker aircraft, which has wings, engines and landing gear made in the UK.


Airbus said it would "start discussions with its social partners in the next few weeks regarding the 3,000 to 3,500 positions potentially impacted over the next three years".

It makes wings for the A380 in the UK, employing 6,000 staff at Broughton and 3,000 at Filton.
The firm said an increase in production of its A320 model would offer "a significant number of internal mobility opportunities".

Airbus chief executive Tom Enders said: "The A380 is not only an outstanding engineering and industrial achievement. Passengers all over the world love to fly on this great aircraft. Hence today's announcement is painful for us and the A380 communities worldwide.

"But, keep in mind that A380s will still roam the skies for many years to come and Airbus will of course continue to fully support the A380 operators."


Nearly 240ft long and with space for more than 500 passengers, the A380 took the title of world's largest passenger jet from the Boeing 747 when it took its maiden commercial flight from Singapore to Sydney on October 27 2007.

The giant aircraft's first commercial flight to Europe - a Singapore Airlines service - arrived at Heathrow on March 3 2008.

According to Airbus, the plane has flown more than 500,000 revenue flights and carried over 190 million passengers, with more than 300 commercial flights a day.

However concerns over the future of the superjumbo began to appear and in 2016 Airbus announced a drastic cut in production, reducing the build rate by half.

Unite national officer for aerospace Rhys McCarthy said: "This is a sad day for Airbus's dedicated UK workforce, who have made the iconic A380's wings since it entered service in 2007. It is a much-loved aircraft manufactured by a highly skilled workforce.

"Unite will be seeking urgent assurances from Airbus that there will be no job losses because of the decision to end production of the A380.

"We are of the firm belief that with a full order book in single-aisle planes, such as the A320, that our members affected can be redeployed on to other work in Airbus.

"Our members in the supply chain making many of the parts for the A380 are also our key concern. Over the coming days we will be engaging closely with companies such as GKN to ensure any impact is minimal as we offer our full support to some of the best aerospace workers in the world."



https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tran...-a4066466.html

^

Airbus to stop making struggling A380 superjumbo in 2021 after Emirates, Qantas cut back orders


Airbus' decision to stop making A380s could impact up to 3,500 jobs and has already cost more than A$700 million


European aviation giant Airbus has said it will stop making its superjumbo A380 in 2021 for lack of customers, abandoning the world's biggest passenger jet and one of the aviation industry's most ambitious and most troubled endeavours.

Key points:

• The double-decker 500-seater planes started flying in 2008
• Airports had to build new runways and modify terminals to accommodate it
• Some carriers put in showers, lounges, duty free shops and bars on both decks

Barely a decade after the 500-plus-seat plane started carrying passengers, Airbus said in a statement that key client Emirates is cutting back its orders for the plane, and as a result "we have no substantial A380 backlog and hence no basis to sustain production".

Last week, (Airline News)Qantas cancelled eight of the 20 A380s it ordered, further contributing to Airbus' loss.

Flybmi plunges into administration leaving flights cancelled

Airline Flybmi has scrapped all of its flights after being plunged into administration.

The news on Saturday was greeted with shock by passengers, staff and industry colleagues.

It blamed Brexit and rising costs for its move.

A Flybmi spokesman said: "It is with a heavy heart that we have made this unavoidable announcement.

"The airline has faced several difficulties, including recent spikes in fuel and carbon costs, the latter arising from the EU's recent decision to exclude UK airlines from full participation in the Emissions Trading Scheme.

"Current trading and future prospects have also been seriously affected by the uncertainty created by the Brexit process, which has led to our inability to secure valuable flying contracts in Europe.

"Additionally, our situation mirrors wider difficulties in the regional airline industry which have been well documented.

"Against this background, it has become impossible for the airline's shareholders to continue their extensive programme of funding into the business, despite investment totalling over £40 million in the last six years.

"Our employees have worked extremely hard over the last few years and we would like to thank them for their dedication to the company, as well as all our loyal customers who have flown with us over the last six years."


The East Midlands-based airline, which has 376 staff, operates 17 planes flying to 25 European cities.

Affected passengers have been told to contact their travel agents or insurance and credit card companies.

British Airline Pilots' Association general secretary Brian Strutton said: "The collapse of Flybmi is devastating news for all employees.

"Regrettably Balpa had no warning or any information from the company at all."

"Our immediate steps will be to support FlyBMI pilots and explore with the directors and administrators whether their jobs can be saved."

The immediate cancellation of all flybmi flights, including three served by Aberdeen International, was announced tonight.


Last year the airline ran 29,000 flights, carrying 522,000 passengers.

Flying from Aberdeen, Derry, Bristol, the East Midlands, Stansted and Newcastle in the UK, its planes travelled to destinations in the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland and Sweden.

https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/...hts-cancelled/

Big ones are nothing to worry about. It's the little bastards you have to be careful around.

But what is of concern is what one could do in the wrong place, like frying electronics mid-air.

It's not an animal despite what Lion Air's PR department thinks. It's an insect, is it not?

Originally Posted by grasshopper

It's not an animal despite what Lion Air's PR department thinks. It's an insect, is it not?

When did insects stop being animals then? I must have missed that.

What a difference eight years makes ... (from summer, 2011)

Originally Posted by thehighlander959

As you say the A380 (which I will be flying on at the end of the month with my family from Bangkok to London) nearly broke the back of Airbus Industries, EADS the parent company of Airbus were looking for all ways to pull the plug on it, it did not make viable commercial sense to cancel it and they needed 400 orders so that it broke even.They persevered even Boeing said it was a white elephant doomed to failure, as air transport was not going in the direction of so-called super jumbos.

I have flown on many 747,s and A380,s there is no comparison as to what is the better aeroplane to fly in. Boeing with their 747-8 are way behind the black ball and there is no sign of them getting out of the snooker that Airbus have put them in especially with the 737/A320 neo fiasco.
Its embarrassing for Boeing to say the least.

Dutch state buys stake in Air France-KLM to ‘increase influence


The Dutch state has bought a large minority shareholding in the holding company of Air France-KLM in order to exercise more influence on the company, finance minister Wopke Hoekstra told a news conference on Tuesday evening.

In total, the Netherlands has bought 12.68% of the company for €680m on the open market, but plans to raise this to 14% – in line with the stake held by the French government.

The aim, Hoekstra says, is to better guarantee Dutch public interests. ‘The position of Schiphol and KLM are of great importance to the Dutch economy and employment,’ he said. ‘It involves thousands of direct and indirect jobs.’

In addition, KLM’s destination network is one reason so many foreign firms decide to relocate to the Netherlands, he said. The Dutch move, which apparently was not shared with the French authorities ahead of time, follows a turbulent period for the company.

‘Over the past few years it has become obvious that important decisions about KLM strategy are being taken at a holding level,’ Hoekstra said on Tuesday evening. ‘At the same time, talks about strengthening existing agreements… and the make-up of the board, have been difficult.’

KLM also reports better financial results compared to Air France, which has been hit by strikes, even though it is much smaller.

French economic affairs minister Bruno Le Maire told Les Echoes that the shares had been bought up without prior knowledge of the Air France-KLM board or the French government.

The French government has a 14.3% stake in the holding, which was created in 2003 when the two airlines merged. The Dutch state retains a 5.9% stake in KLM itself.

‘The big question is, what will you achieve with this,’ aviation economist Eric Pels told broadcaster NOS. ‘It cost a lot of money, you don’t have a majority and you can’t sit in the chief executive’s seat. Operational decisions, the day to day affairs, are not taken together with shareholders.’





https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/0...ase-influence/

Thai Airways International on Wednesday announced the cancellation of all flights to and from Pakistan and Europe after Pakistan closed its airspace amid rising tensions with India.



The flights cancelled on Wednesday night were TG341 and TG342 on the Bangkok-Karachi-Bangkok route, the TG345 and TG 346 Bangkok-Lahore-Bangkok flights and TG349 and TG350 Bangkok-Islamabad-Bangkok flights.
THAI also cancelled fights to Europe that fly over Pakistan airspace, namely Bangkok-London (TG916), Bangkok-Moscow (TG974) and Bangkok-Phuket-Frankfurt (TG926).

THAI temporarily cancels flights to Europe after Pakistan closes airspace