Qantas 747 makes emergency landing after 'uncontained engine failure'

An Australia-bound Qantas Boeing 747 returned to San Francisco this morning after suffering a problem with one of its engines. The San Francisco Chronicle writes the "engine failure in midair punched a hole in the external casing, an incident that one expert called 'extremely rare.' "
Such an incident is referred to as an "uncontained engine failure." The Chronicle says it occurred on Qantas Flight 74 as it "reached 30,000 feet about 45 minutes after takeoff ... ."
Following the incident, The Associated Press says the Qantas crew "shut down [the engine] on the Boeing 747 and sought priority clearance to return to San Francisco." The flight had departed for Sydney on Monday night around 11:10 p.m. PT, returning to make the emergency landing around 12:45 a.m. PT this morning, according to AP.
AP adds "there were no injuries during the emergency landing, [Qantas spokesman Simon Rushton] said, and the plane was able to pull up to the jetway at the terminal so passengers could deplane. Rushton said there was no fire, but an engine surge can often cause what appear to be flames."
"Engineers have determined the engine does need replacement, and they are checking to see what caused the problem," Rushton tells AP.
Passenger Nolan Goldstein describes the incident to the Bay Area's KTVU TV, saying: "I heard a thud, a bump and the plane veered off to the left. It was very uncertain for a period of time until the captain announced that we had an engine that blew up…It was a real uncomfortable vibration at first and then the plane began to shake a bit."
Neil Dufty, another passenger on the flight, tells KTVU that the captain came on the public address system "and assured everybody that the plane was still relatively safe. (He said) there was serious damage in one of the engines. We jettisoned some fuel and turned around. The captain made a very good landing. We all cheered."
Qantas' Rushton is quoted by CNN as saying that the airline put the affected passengers into local hotels while it worked to get them on another flight to Australia.

Officials: Terrorism unlikely in Philippine blast

Police investigators examine the site where a powerful explosion occured outside the Zamboanga city airport in Zamboanga, southern Philippines, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010 killing one person and wounding about a dozen others, including Governor Sakur Tan of Sulu province.

MANILA, Philippines -- A bomb that killed two people and wounded two dozen others at a southern Philippine airport was probably an assassination attempt on a governor, not an act of terrorism, officials said Sunday.
The remotely triggered explosion killed a man who was carrying the bomb and his companion and wounded two dozen people, including Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan, at the Zamboanga city airport late Thursday, Zamboanga police Chief Edwin de Ocampo said.
The explosion caused U.S. Ambassador Harry Thomas to postpone a trip to Zamboanga the following day and rekindled fears of terrorism in the city, a bustling metropolis about 540 miles (860 kilometers) south of Manila that has experienced deadly bombings by al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants in the past.
"We can rule out terrorism," de Ocampo told The Associated Press. "By all indications, it was a politically motivated attack."
Tan, governor of Sulu island province - an Abu Sayyaf stronghold south of Zamboanga - blamed political rivals for the attack, which left a small wound near his ribs.
The bomb went off in a backpack carried by a local carpenter, Reynaldo Apilado, as Tan walked out of the airport after disembarking from a flight from Manila, Zamboanga Mayor Celso Lobregat said.
The blast killed Apilado and a companion, Hatimil Yacob, and slightly wounded Tan, who was a few yards (meters) away. The backpack was slung on Apilado's back as he faced Tan, causing him to absorb the impact, de Ocampo said.
The perpetrators of the attack may have deceived Apilado by placing the explosive in his bag without his knowledge and then setting it off, de Ocampo said.
Apilado and Yacob checked in at a budget Zamboanga hotel on July 27 and went to the airport together on the day of the attack. Apilado's girlfriend told investigators that he went to the airport to meet an engineer who supposedly would hire him on a construction project, de Ocampo said.
The bomb - a mix of ammonium nitrate and kerosene - did not contain nails or other shrapnel frequently used by Abu Sayyaf militants to make an attack more lethal. Part of a car power lock system was recovered at the scene of the attack, indicating the mechanism may have been used to remotely detonate the explosive, de Ocampo said.
Investigators were checking the background of Apilado and Yacob to determine who might have set them up for the attack, de Ocampo said.
Tan, an enemy of Abu Sayyaf militants, escaped unharmed in May last year when a bomb-rigged motorcycle exploded near his convoy in Sulu. A town mayor and at least three security escorts were wounded in that attack.
Newly elected President Benigno Aquino III, facing his first security crisis since assuming office in June, condemned the violence and ordered authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice, his spokesman, Edwin Lacierda, said.

PIA plane coming from Kabul escapes accident

The PIA flight PK-252 with 107 passengers aboard, coming from Kabul, was hit by some ‘hard object’, damaging its windscreen.—File photo

LAHORE: Just a day after an Airblue plane crashed into Margalla Hills in Islamabad killing all 152 people on board, a Pakistan International Airline plane coming from Kabul escaped an accident.

The PIA flight PK-252 with 107 passengers aboard took off from Kabul airport on Thursday afternoon for Islamabad.

According to a source in the Civil Aviation Authority, some ‘hard object’ hit the plane, a Boeing 737, damaging its windscreen.

“When it was approaching Islamabad airport the control tower asked the pilot to divert the flight to Lahore as weather was rough,” he said. The plane landed at the Allama Iqbal International Airport at 6.10pm.

According to PIA spokesperson Yasmin Haroon, the sight panel’s outer cover of the windscreen cracked when it took off from Kabul. She said the plane did not make an emergency landing at Lahore airport.

Ms Haroon said that passengers would leave for Islamabad on Friday at 9am.

STAR ALLIANCE MEMBER CARRIERS CO-LOCATE AT DELHI AIRPORT’S NEW TERMINAL 3

NEW DELHI, India – July 28th, 2010 – Making use of the opportunity provided by India’s expanding airport infrastructure, Star Alliance becomes the first and only airline alliance to establish a series of joint passenger amenities and related infrastructure at the newly developed Terminal 3 at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
A ribbon-cutting marked the opening of the new facilities on the first day of operations in the new terminal today. Check-in counters for all member carriers are co-located in rows E,F,G,H,J and K. In addition, Austrian, Continental Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS share a joint ticket desk which is accessible from both inside and outside the terminal, allowing easier access for passengers needing ticketing assistance. Overall, the co-located Star Alliance area will offer unprecedented customer experience in conjunction with New Delhi’s newest air terminal. Future Star Alliance member carrier Air India is also located in the same area, so as to provide seamless service to customers upon their joining.
Recognising Star Alliance’s presence at Terminal 3, developer Delhi International Airport (P) Limited, has also enabled individual member carrier operational back-offices to be positioned in a common area, directly overlooking the check-in area for greater synergies.
Lee Hock Lye, Vice President Products and Services, Star Alliance said: “Our presence at Terminal 3 through Star Alliance’s ‘Move under one Roof’ and Seamless Alliance Travel Experience strategies pave the way for unsurpassed passenger convenience at an important and developing Star Alliance destination. We have ensured that from the onset many facilities are shared with future member carrier Air India, thereby laying the groundwork for offering a seamless alliance product, from the moment they officially join.”
With Air India* developing Terminal 3 into its integrated hub and as a part of the co-location programme currently underway, Star Alliance First and Business Class passengers along with Star Alliance Gold members can look forward to a new and modern Air India Lounge , set to open in the middle of September. In the interim, eligible Star Alliance customers will have access to either the Premium Plaza or the ITC Group Lounge**.
Building on the success of similar installations at airports such as Paris – Charles de Gaulle, London – Heathrow or Tokyo – Narita, the Star Alliance member carriers flying to Delhi will be offering a Star Alliance’s Common Baggage Service Facility for arriving passengers. Here both member carrier and Air India* passengers will have their mishandled baggage queries addressed in an expedient manner.
Locating the member carriers into a single terminal is called “Move under one Roof”, a programme that is in place at more than a dozen airports around the world, like for example Beijing, Paris – Charles de Gaulle, Tokyo – Narita.
From Delhi’s Indira Ghandi International Airport, nine Star Alliance member carriers offer more than 70 flights to 10 Star Alliance hubs in nine countries. From these hubs – Bangkok, Beijing, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Munich, Newark (New York), Seoul – Incheon, Singapore, Vienna and Zurich – passengers can connect to reach the over 1,100 destinations served by the Star Alliance network.
* Air India is a future Star Alliance member carrier
** Capacity restrictions could apply at certain times

Major Pakistani air crashes

A Pakistani Airbus passenger jet operated by Airblue crashed in densely wooded hills outside the capital Islamabad on Wednesday, killing up to 152 people on board.
Following is a chronology of major air crashes in Pakistan or involving Pakistani planes:
May 20, 1965: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Boeing 707 crashes on its inaugural flight while attempting to land at Cairo airport, killing 124 people.
August 6, 1970: A PIA Fokker F27 turboprop aircraft crashes while attempting to take off from Islamabad in a thunderstorm, killing all 30 people on board.
December 8, 1972: A PIA Fokker F27 crashes in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. All 26 people on board are killed.
November 26, 1979: A PIA Boeing 707 bringing home Pakistani Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia crashes shortly after take-off from Jeddah airport, killing 156 people.
October 23, 1986: A PIA Fokker F27 crashes while coming in to land in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 13 of the 54 people on board.
August 17, 1988: A US-made Hercules C-130 military aircraft crashes near Pakistan’s eastern city of Bahawalpur, killing military ruler General Mohammad Zia ul Haq and 30 others including Pakistani generals and the US ambassador.
August 25, 1989: A PIA Fokker carrying 54 people disappears after leaving Gilgit in northern Pakistan. The wreckage is never found.
September 28, 1992: A PIA Airbus A300 crashes into a cloud-covered hillside on approach to the Nepalese capital Kathmandu after the plane descended too early, killing 167 people.
February 19, 2003: An air force Fokker F27 crashes in fog-shrouded mountains near the northwestern city of Kohat, killing air force chief Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali, his wife and 15 others.
February 24, 2003: A chartered Cessna 402-B carrying Afghan Mines and Industries Minister Juma Mohammad Mohammadi, four Afghan officials, a Chinese mining executive and two Pakistani crew crashes into the Arabian Sea near the southern city of Karachi.
July 10, 2006: A PIA Fokker F27 bound for Lahore crashes into a field and bursts into flames shortly after takeoff from the central city of Multan, killing 41 passengers and four crew.
July 28, 2010: An Airblue Airbus 321 flying from Karachi crashes into hills outside Islamabad while preparing to land, killing everyone on board. Civil aviation authorities say 152 people were on board while police put the number at 149.

British passengers stuck on steamy US runway for hours

A Virgin Atlantic Airways plane sits on the tarmac at Bradley International Airport

British passengers on a diverted Virgin Atlantic flight spent more than four hours stuck in a hot, dark plane parked on a runway. At least three people fainted and were taken away in ambulances. 

Bad weather grounded the flight from London to Newark, New Jersey, at Connecticut's Bradley International Airport on Tuesday night.

Passengers told CNN they landed at about 8.20 pm and were kept on the plane until about 1 am on Wednesday without food or water as babies - and adults - yelled and screamed

"It was like four hours on the ground without any air conditioning. It was crazy. Just crazy," Beth Willan, a passenger, told CNN. "There were babies on the plane. And we are in dark and hot. You try to be patient but people were yelling and screaming."
The airline's London office said the 300 passengers on Flight VS001 were being bused to Newark on Wednesday morning.
"Virgin Atlantic would like to thank passengers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience caused," the airline said in a statement.
Janine Doy, a Virgin spokesman in London, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Bradley "isn't used to dealing with international flights" and had to call customs and immigration officials back to the airport on Tuesday night to process the passengers. She said the airline was forced to keep people on the plane.
"It was a situation that was beyond our control," she said. "There were weather conditions. ... Bradley had to get customs and immigration to the airport."
A new federal rule on flights stuck on runways went into effect in April and bans US carriers from making passengers wait on planes for longer than three hours. But because the London-to-Newark flight was by an international carrier, it is not eligible for a fine under the tarmac delay rule.
Ken Cast, an airport operations specialist at Bradley, said Virgin was not one of the airport's carriers and the airline had to call in personnel to handle the passengers.
"Being an international flight, it's not like you can let people wander aimlessly," Mr Cast told the AP. "They need to be processed, and they need to be kept safe. Everyone has to clear customs.
"The rules still need to be followed," Mr Cast said. "Everyone was safe. They may have been uncomfortable, but they were safe. It's better to be on the ground wishing you were somewhere else than to be in the air wishing you were on the ground."
Mr Cast confirmed that a few passengers who were not feeling well were treated by paramedics. Details on the sick passengers were not immediately available.
The Obama administration has proposed extending the rules on tarmac delays to international flights and making sure international carriers have contingency plans to handle passengers who have been kept waiting for long periods.

 

Jets WR Holmes in flight flap over iPod

FILE - In this 2009, file photo, former Pittsburgh Steelers football player Santonio Holmes is shown. The New York Jets say authorities at Pittsburgh International Airport filed an incident report after wide receiver Santonio Holmes failed to follow flight regulations by not turning off his iPod as the plane he was on was landing. Jets spokesman Bruce Speight said Friday, April 30, 2010, that the team was told Holmes was flying from Newark Liberty International Airport to Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Authorities at Pittsburgh International Airport filed an incident report after New York Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes failed to follow flight regulations by not turning off his iPod as the plane he was on was landing.
Jets spokesman Bruce Speight said Friday the team was told Holmes was flying from Newark Liberty International Airport to Pittsburgh on Thursday night. He added that the report was filed with the Allegheny County Police Department after Holmes' flight landed.
Holmes got off the plane and police officers reminded him of complying with flight regulations, but the wide receiver was not charged with anything.
Allegheny County police said in a statement that Holmes was not removed from the flight, contrary to some published reports.
"He was asked to remove his iPod (at one point), in which he complied," the statement said.
Coach Rex Ryan downplayed the incident, saying it "kind of got blown out of proportion, it sounds like, in some of the media outlets." He added that he hadn't heard all the facts.
"I mean, OK, let's face it, he should turn off his iPod," Ryan said. "That's what he should do. I mean, he should do that. I haven't had a chance to talk to Santonio, but he certainly should do that."
Ryan said Holmes was on another flight to Las Vegas on Friday with some of his Jets teammates, who were going to watch the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley fight on Saturday night.
"Thanks for the support but some people just want to make their name blow up!" Holmes said on his Twitter page Friday afternoon. "Well congratulations!"
The troubled but talented Holmes was traded by the Steelers to the Jets on April 11 for a fifth-round draft pick. Last week, he acknowledged taking missteps during his four-season Steelers career, but said in a message on his website he is looking forward to a "clean start" with his new team.
Ryan said he has been happy with Holmes so far, complimenting his work in classroom sessions and the weight room.
Holmes won't make his Jets regular-season debut until Week 5 of the regular season after the NFL suspended him without pay for the first four games for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
The 2009 Super Bowl MVP was held out for one game by the Steelers in 2008 after police said they detected marijuana in his car. He was recently sued by a woman in Florida, who said he threw a glass at her in a nightclub - a witness has since taken responsibility for that.
Holmes was also involved in a domestic violence incident in 2006; the misdemeanor charges were later dismissed. He was recently accused of telling a fan to "kill urself" on his Twitter page, but implied that his account was hacked.
Holmes is coming off his best season, with 79 catches for 1,248 yards and five touchdowns, but his troubles off the field could explain the relatively low price the Jets paid to get him.

British Airways cabin crew starts three-day strike

British Airways cabin crew walked out at midnight

British Airways is planning to re-instate some cancelled short and long-haul flights after half of cabin crew turned up for work at Heathrow, despite the start of a three-day strike.
The airline said it had been able to increase the number of flights, as staff passed through a number of picket lines to report for duty, and would be selling seats on a series of Boeing 747 flights planned for tonight. Customers have been advised to check the BA website to find out what extra services were now available.
Thousands of passengers are expected to suffer severe disruption to travel plans as around 12,000 staff stage a walked out over the airline's cost cutting plans. The Unite union's assistant general secretary Len McCluskey said the industrial action would "restore dignity to British cabin crew", adding they would not be bullied in to accepting a new deal on pay and conditions.
Heathrow is expected to be the worst affected UK airport. BA announced this morning it had been forced to cancel a third of long-haul flights and two thirds of short haul flights. The airline said it had launched its "biggest contingency plan ever" and arranged with more than 60 other airlines to take customers on their flights.

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Despite claims that the airline had "got off to a good start", the union claimed planes were starting to stack up at airports as a result of the strike - with 85 parked planes at Heathrow, 20 at Cardiff and 20 in Shannon.
But this evening a BA spokeswoman said: “Cabin crew are continuing to report as normal at Gatwick and the numbers reporting at Heathrow are above the levels we needed to operate our published schedule.
“At Heathrow, around 50 per cent of cabin crew have reported as normal and we are therefore increasing the number of long-haul and short-haul flights in our schedule in the days ahead.
"We aim to fly as many customers as we can this weekend in the biggest contingency operation we have ever organised."
Earlier the airline said it was confident of handling as many as 49,000 passengers today and a similar number tomorrow, compared with around 75,000 for a normal weekend day in March. Chief executive Willie Walsh said he hoped 64 per cent of passengers would be flying without a problem.
BA planned to operate all long-haul flights to and from Gatwick plus around half of short-haul flights, while all flights to and from London City Airport were expected to fly as scheduled.
A number of empty long-haul flights, without passengers or cabin crew, have also been scheduled so that aircraft and pilots are in the right place when the strike comes to an end.
Union assistant general secretary Mr McCluskey accused Mr Walsh of behaving like a "19th-century mill owner", as he addressed a crowd of about 200 strikers at Bedfont Football Club near Heathrow. Talks between BA and the union broke down last night.

Los Angeles International is rated one of the nation's worst airports for customer satisfaction

Travelers heading home from their holiday face long security lines at Los Angeles International Airport's Terminal 5. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times / December 28, 2009)

In a J.D. Power survey, passengers gave LAX below-average marks on accessibility, including parking, ease of checking in and the amount of time it took to get through security.

 Although the nation's major airlines continue to boast improved on-time arrival rates and less lost luggage, air travelers are still unhappy with America's airports. And Los Angeles International Airport is rated among the worst.

San Francisco International Airport doesn't rate much better.

Slow baggage delivery, long security lines, uncomfortable terminal seats and a lengthy, frustrating check-in process are the main complaints from air travelers about U.S. airports, according to a new survey by consumer research company J.D. Power & Associates Inc. Overall, the passengers gave the nation's airports a rating of 690 on a 1,000-point scale.

The findings came from an online survey of 12,100 passengers who took round-trip flights between January and December 2009. The overall satisfaction rating for 2009 is a small increase over the 675 rating that travelers gave in the 2008 J.D. Power survey. But travelers still give hotels (756 on average) and rental cars (733 on average) higher satisfaction ratings, J.D. Power said.

The bad news for Californians is that the Golden State is home to some of the nation's lowest-rated airports.

Among the largest airports, Los Angeles International ranked 18th out of 19 airports in overall satisfaction, with a rating of 616 on a 1,000-point scale. The passengers who were surveyed gave LAX below-average marks on accessibility to the airport, including parking, ease of checking in and the amount of time it took to get through security.

San Francisco International Airport came in 13th, with a rating of 647 points. Passengers gave SFO average ratings for accessibility and ease of checking in but below-average marks for security.

With a rating of 609 points, Newark International Airport in New Jersey came in last on the list.

Among 20 medium-size airports, San Diego International came in 12th, with a rating of 678 points. The lowest-ranked medium airport was New York's LaGuardia International with a rating of 604.

In a ranking of 24 small airports, Sacramento International (715 points), Bob Hope in Burbank (707) and John Wayne in Santa Ana (706) came in 15th, 16th and 17th, respectively. San Jose International (645 points) was at the bottom of the list of small airports.

Why does airport satisfaction matter?

The J.D. Power survey found that travelers who like their airport tend to spend more money there, up to $20.55 per visit compared with $14.12 for travelers who are unhappy with the airport. And presumably, if travelers are satisfied with their airport, they are more likely to fly from that facility.

United bashed over bicycle fee

United Airlines' image took a beating last summer when Canadian musician Dave Carroll posted a music video on YouTube.com about how United baggage handlers broke his guitar while he was on a stopover at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

United representatives later met with Carroll to make peace, but the damage was done. The video went viral and has been seen nearly 8 million times on YouTube.com.

Now United is getting bashed again on the Internet, this time by Joe Lotus, an attorney and bicyclist who launched a Facebook page that blasts the airline for charging $175 one way to check a bicycle.

Lotus started the site (United Airlines is Ridiculous to Charge $175 Each Way to Travel With a Bike) on Feb. 10. Despite the lengthy name, it already has more than 5,000 members.

In contrast, the Facebook page launched by United Airlines has fewer than 2,000 members.

Lotus, a Chicago resident who competes in triathlons, said he created the Facebook page after he realized that taking his bike along would cost him an extra $350 for a round trip on United. Meanwhile, airlines such as Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska and Virgin America typically charge only $50 each way to check a bicycle.

But Lotus is not some frustrated economy-class whiner. He is a United Red Carpet Club member who has flown so much on United that he earned the premier executive status four years in a row.

International news - BBC

Snowstorm delays flights to Washington D.C.

Runners do jogging during a snowstorm blanketing the East Coast in Washington D.C., Dec. 19, 2009. Forecasts called for up to 50 centimetres of snow across the region, including Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and reaching up to New York. (Xinhua/Zhang Yan)

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- A snowstorm has caused one airline to delay all fights from three Southern California airports to Washington D.C., the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) announced on Saturday. The delay dealt a blow to the busy Christmas-week travel season which has just begun. By midafternoon, all flights headed to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport were delayed. The airport is the transit point for flights to Washington D.C. The planes headed to Chicago were being kept on the ground in California an average of one hour, said the FAA. Earlier in the day, Virgin America scrubbed all flights into and out of Dulles International Airport, in the Virginia suburbs. The airline flies nonstop daily from Los Angeles International to Dulles, and offers connecting service via San Francisco from San Diego and Orange County in Southern California. Los Angeles passengers may also change planes to fly on to Florida on Virgin America. The company did not say how many flights would be affected. Fees for changing reservations have been waived, the airline said on its Web page. A cold storm is expected to drop as much as two feet of snow in northern Virginia.

Cyprus has opened a new airport in Larnaca. It is hoped that the new airport will boost tourism in Cyprus.

The new airport was opened by Cypriot president Demetris Christofias, reports the AFP news agency. Larnaca International Airport replaces a previous terminal, which was only intended to be a temporary facility after the island's airport in Nicosia got caught in no man's land following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.Flights to/from Larnaca International Airport will begin tomorrow. Cyprus Airways and easyJet will be the only carriers using the airport until November 17. After this, the terminal will become fully operational.At four times the size of its predecessor and with 67 check in desks, Larnaca International Airport is able to handle up to 7.5m passengers per year. Eventually, the new airport will be able to welcome 10m passengers annually.An upgraded airport was opened last year in Paphos on the west coast of Cyprus. Along with the new airport in Larnaca, it is hoped that this will help attract more tourists to Cyprus.This story was brought to you by holidaylettings.co.uk, the UK's No.1 for holiday homes worldwide.

Air traffic recovery has begun

The International Air Transport Association said in its latest monthly reading of cross-border traffic, a leading indicator for the health of world trade. --PHOTO: AP

GENEVA - A RECOVERY in air traffic is under way, according to latest data from a global industry body, in another sign the world economy is clawing its way out of recession.

But the recovery will be 'volatile and weak', the International Air Transport Association said on Thursday, indicating the turbulence that has buffeted an industry facing another year of multi-billion dollar losses is not at an end.

Airlines carried 11.3 per cent less cargo and 2.9 per cent fewer people in July than a year earlier, IATA said in its latest monthly reading of cross-border traffic, a leading indicator for the health of world trade. The figures represented an improvement from June, when the year-on-year declines were 16.5 per cent for cargo and 7.2 per cent for passengers.

Air freight is a good leading indicator of world trade movements, since shippers tend to switch to air when speed is more important than cost - at the start of an upturn - and switch to ocean transport in a recession, IATA says. As a result, air freight is first into recession but usually is first out, it said in a recent analysis.

So far this year, freight volumes have fallen 19.3 per cent and air travel is down 6.8 per cent, according to IATA, whose data exclude domestic flights. And compared with June and adjusted for seasonal factors, both freight and passenger travel grew by more than 3 per cent in July, it said.

'The data can be rather volatile but this does confirm earlier signs that a recovery in demand for air transport has begun, though there are good reasons for expecting the path of further recovery to be volatile and weaker than recoveries from previous recessions,' IATA said.

IATA said there was a varied regional pattern, with passenger traffic in the Asia-Pacific remaining weak but improving, with a strong rebound in air freight reflecting recovery in several Asian economies.

Airlines in Europe and North America are seeing less improvement in freight, but a stronger improvement in passenger volumes which could reflect earlier cuts in fares. Passenger capacity was more in line with demand in July, with passenger load factors averaging 80.3 per cent, but excess capacity continued to emerge in the freight sector, it said.

'Downward pressure on freight rates and revenues continues to increase,' said the Geneva-based body, which represents 230 carriers including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates and United Airlines.

IATA has estimated airlines will lose US$9 billion (S$13 billion) in 2009 after an US$8.5 billion loss in 2008, when high oil prices hit profits and then the global credit and financial crisis slashed demand for business and leisure air travel. -- REUTERS

Gloomy airlines see upturn at year end: IATA

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic planes at London's Heathrow airport

GENEVA — Airlines have reverted to pessimism about business prospects and do not expect any improvement in international air travel until the end of 2009, IATA said on Thursday.

The global recession has been cited as the main reason for deteriorating demand, but the impact of the swine flu pandemic is also being highlighted by airlines responding to the International Air Transport Association's survey.

"The glimmer of optimism about financial performance for the coming 12 months seen in April's survey has faded as respondents, on balance, indicate further declines in profitability ahead," said IATA.

"Even the optimistic respondents don't see significant recovery before Q4 this year and others not until early 2011," it added.

The airline industry has been battered by the global recession. As businesses attempt to reduce costs, cut backs have been made in particular yo business travel.

IATA noted that premium traffic -- business class or first class travel where carriers typically make their money -- fell more in May than in prior months this year.

"Passenger travel numbers in May cast doubt on the view that a bottom to the travel decline has been reached," it said.

In May, premium traffic passengers fell 23.6 percent, compared to a fall of 22 percent in April, and a drop of 19.2 percent in the first quarter.

IATA noted that economy travel appears to be growing for Europe-Middle East and Middle East-Asian routes, but this could also reflect a shift of business travellers from premium to economy class.

The impact of swine flu also began to be felt in May.

IATA had earlier said that the H1N1 virus depressed air travel by about one percent globally in May.

The slump was particularly marked in travel within central America which indicated a 62.4-percent fall in May. Traffic between central and south America also plunged 46.7 percent during the month.

European and American airlines were more downbeat than carriers in Asia, which expect "stabilisation of profitability."

Meanwhile, IATA also warned of what it described as "de-globalisation" amid the crisis, as economic stimulus packages unveiled by governments focus spending on boosting domestic economies.

The association feared that these measures are being implemented at the expense of world trade and capital links, and could further hurt international travel.

"The deterioration in international air travel in, to and from Asia during May, despite recovering economies in the region, is a worrying sign of what is being called 'deglobalisation'," said IATA.

Overall international air passenger traffic fell 9.3 percent in May following a year-on-year decline of 3.1 percent in April, a month traditionally buoyed by holiday travel over the Easter period.

IATA added last month that airlines are expected to lose nine billion dollars this year, the worst slump the industry has ever faced.

Combined with the revised estimate that it lost 10.4 billion dollars in 2008, the industry now looks set to lose almost 20 billion dollars over two years.

Light plane possibly caught in jet turbulence, crash probe suggests

Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board and the RCMP confer at the crash site in Richmond, B.C.

Plane was carrying donated blood when it crashed, killing two men on board

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says turbulence may have been a factor in a fiery plane crash that killed two pilots Thursday night in Richmond, B.C.

TSB spokesperson Bill Yearwood said the twin-engine PA-31 Piper Navajo disappeared off the radar about four kilometers from Vancouver International Airport during its final approach.

The plane was carrying donated blood on a routine weekly flight from Victoria when it nosedived into a parking lot behind the IKEA store in the 12000 block of Vickers Way in Richmond at about 10:15 p.m. PT.

The plane slammed into the ground, exploded and burned, leaving little wreckage to examine.

Yearwood said it's too early to speculate about what brought the plane down, but investigators will check whether a large Airbus 321 ahead of the Navajo created turbulence for the smaller aircraft.

Canadian Blood Services confirmed the aircraft was on a routine weekly flight, transporting donated blood from Vancouver Island to Vancouver for processing. The agency said blood from the national bank will offset the blood lost in the crash.

A picture from the company's website of a PA-31 Piper Navajo. (Courtesy Canadian Air Charters website) The plane, built in the U.S. in 1979, was most recently owned by Canadian Air Charters. A man who answered the phone at the company's Richmond headquarters said the company's thoughts are with the families of the two men who died in the crash.

The plane was about eight kilometres away from the airport and had been cleared for landing when the control tower lost contact, officials said.

The model of plane carries two crew and up to six passengers. Officials have not yet commented on how many people were aboard the aircraft at the time of the crash.

'Very fortunate'

Assistant RCMP Supt. Peter German said police believe the two men who died were the only people in the aircraft.

The names of the victims have not yet been released.

Police are not aware of anyone on the ground being injured, German said.

"We're very lucky, very fortunate," German said.

Fast-food restaurants, big box stores and residential townhouses are also near the scene.

Witness reports indicate the plane was flying very low over the area before it nosedived into the ground and burst into flames about 15 metres high.

"There was a bang, and our house shook, lights flickered, and there was a big cloud of smoke," said Christine Malcolm, who lives nearby.

The crash also affected hydro poles near the scene.

RCMP Insp. Janis Gray said police are asking anyone who took video or photographs of the crash to bring them in.

"We're hopeful that we can get more information from them," Gray said.

Police, fire and rescue officials, emergency health services and BC Hydro responded to the scene.

City officials said the crash does not pose a danger to residents living in the area, but they have asked that people avoid using streets in the region, including Bridgeport Way.

The crash has also not affected the status of flights at the airport.

Council to Vote on Airport Upgrade

A plane lands at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Friday, March 13.

ATLANTA - The Atlanta City Council is scheduled to vote Monday on funding for a major upgrade at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

The council will decide whether to release up to $800 million to finish construction of Hartsfield-Jackson's new international terminal.

Last week, finance officials unanimously approved two bonds for the $1.5 billion project -- clearing the way for Monday's vote.

Clear air travel security program shut down

The Clear registered traveler program, which promised to speed fliers through airport security lines, was shuttered last night.Clear, which began about four years ago, had enrolled more than 250,000 travelers who paid nearly $200 a year and operated at 18 airports, including Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco and Washington Dulles. At Logan, the program was offered only through Delta Airlines in Terminal A.Users of the Clear system received high-tech ID cards to verify their fingerprints or iris images at designated security kiosks. Clear faced criticism because TSA decided that registered travelers had to go through the same security screening as everyone else.A statement on the website of Verified Identity Pass, which runs the Clear program, said that the firm "had been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations." The note also said that the firm would keep member information secure until it was able to delete it and that "at the present time, because of its financial condition, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. cannot issue refunds.''Clear was started by Court TV founder Steven Brill, who told USA Today that he had left the company in March to start Journalism Online LLC, a venture to help publications collect revenue for online content. (By Paul S. Makishima, Globe staff)

Peshawar airport reopened on PM’s directives

Islamabad, June 18 (IANS) Peshawar’s international airport that was temporarily shut Wednesday amid a rise in Taliban attacks in the northwestern city, was reopened on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s orders, Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said Thursday.
“Peshawar airport has been opened for flights in pursuance of the directives of the prime minister,” Mukhtar told Online news agency.
“Peshawar airport has been made fully operational with the approval of the prime minister. Directives had been issued to the Civil Aviation Authority to open the airport,” he added.
On Wednesday, an official said the airport had been temporarily shut due to technical reasons.
“Peshawar airport has been closed for the time being due to technical reasons and the flights are being diverted to Islamabad airport,” DPA quoted Pervez George, a spokesman of the Civil Aviation Authority, as saying in the southern city of Karachi.
Geroge refused to explain the nature of the “technical reasons” but a duty officer at Peshawar airport said the intelligence reports had indicated that Taliban militants could target the building.
“The airport is quite close to the area where Taliban have already carried out several attacks and the law enforcement agencies told us that they might be planning to target this place,” said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Peshawar, which is the capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and is located some 180 km northwest of Islamabad, has seen more than a dozen suicide and other militant attacks since the government launched a major offensive in NWFP’s Swat and two neighbouring districts.
A suicide bombing killed at least 18 people, including two foreign UN workers, at a five-star hotel in the city June 9.
Two days later, security forces repulsed a militant raid on the residence of a regional army commander in Peshawar, killing two rebels and arresting five after an hour-long shootout.
Peshawar is also home to one of the 10 major operational bases of the Pakistan Air Force.

Peshawar airport reopened on PM’s directives

Islamabad, June 18 (IANS) Peshawar’s international airport that was temporarily shut Wednesday amid a rise in Taliban attacks in the northwestern city, was reopened on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s orders, Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said Thursday.
“Peshawar airport has been opened for flights in pursuance of the directives of the prime minister,” Mukhtar told Online news agency.
“Peshawar airport has been made fully operational with the approval of the prime minister. Directives had been issued to the Civil Aviation Authority to open the airport,” he added.
On Wednesday, an official said the airport had been temporarily shut due to technical reasons.
“Peshawar airport has been closed for the time being due to technical reasons and the flights are being diverted to Islamabad airport,” DPA quoted Pervez George, a spokesman of the Civil Aviation Authority, as saying in the southern city of Karachi.
Geroge refused to explain the nature of the “technical reasons” but a duty officer at Peshawar airport said the intelligence reports had indicated that Taliban militants could target the building.
“The airport is quite close to the area where Taliban have already carried out several attacks and the law enforcement agencies told us that they might be planning to target this place,” said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Peshawar, which is the capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and is located some 180 km northwest of Islamabad, has seen more than a dozen suicide and other militant attacks since the government launched a major offensive in NWFP’s Swat and two neighbouring districts.
A suicide bombing killed at least 18 people, including two foreign UN workers, at a five-star hotel in the city June 9.
Two days later, security forces repulsed a militant raid on the residence of a regional army commander in Peshawar, killing two rebels and arresting five after an hour-long shootout.
Peshawar is also home to one of the 10 major operational bases of the Pakistan Air Force.

Airbus extends air show order lead over Boeing

Visitors view a target drone made by Abu Dhabi company ATS at Le Bourget, north of Paris, during the …

LE BOURGET, France – Airbus extended its lead over arch-rival Boeing Co. in the hunt for orders at the Paris Air Show on Thursday with the signature of two deals with Chinese and Hungarian airlines.
On the fourth day of the world's largest air show, which has seen far fewer deals than years past, Airbus and Hungarian budget carrier Wizz Air signed a memorandum of understanding for 50 A320 single-aisle passenger jets, worth $3.8 billion at list prices.
The deal should become a firm order shortly, Airbus' Chief Operating Officer John Leahy said at a signing ceremony.
Wizz Air already operates a fleet of 24 Airbus A320s, taking the Hungarian company's total orders for Airbus jets to 132 aircraft, Airbus said.
The Wizz Air deal came on the back of a $1.45 billion order for 20 A320s that China Eastern Airlines announced overnight.
Airbus has now racked up $11.5 billion in orders and agreements this week, well ahead of Boeing, which notched up its first air show order on Wednesday — a $153 million deal for only two jets with Japan's MC Aviation Partners.
Yet even Airbus' numbers were diminutive compared to sales in past years. Airlines and governments strapped for cash and credit appeared to have come to the world's biggest air show as tourists instead of buyers this year, admiring the high-tech hardware but hiding their checkbooks.
Airbus' spokesman Stefan Schaffrath said he is "confident there are more orders to come," but time was running out as many exhibitors arrived to the fourth day of the week-long air show with suitcases in hand.
The air show opens to the public on Friday.