Emirates To Introduce A-380 To Rome

 Emirates will go to upgrade its Dubai-Rome daily route from 773 to 388 eff from Dec 1st, 2009. Rome would be the 2nd 380’s destination in Europe after London (with EK metal) and probably their shortest scheduled flight (just 5h30m) with the ‘giant’.

Airbus delivers 11th A380 to Qantas, aims for 12 this year

Airbus today handed over its 11th A380 superjumbo to Qantas. Airframe serial number MSN022 was registered VH-OQC and christenedPaul McGinness. The plane was the third A380 for Qantas this year.With just four days left in 2008, Airbus, the world’s largest maker of commercial aircraft, is scrambling to make one more delivery, in order to reach its goal of 12 deliveries this year.
That aircraft is expected to be delivered to Emirates, its largest customer for the A380, by Dec. 31

Very Dense Fog grounds flight operations at Delhi Airport

Flight operations at the Indira Gandhi international airport here came to standstill this morning as heavy fog enveloped the national capital with about 35 flights being delayed, three canceled and two diverted to Mumbai.

Train services in and out of railway stations here as also road traffic within Delhi were also affected due to the heavy blanket of fog surrounding the capital.

The general visibility at the IGI airport fell below 100 metres and runway visibility range (RVR) dipped to less than 50 metres, below the required minimum of 100 metres for flight operations.

This led to disruption in arrival and departure of flights, airport sources said, adding that the delayed flights included four on international routes.

Heavy fog enveloped the IGI airport at around 04.00 am forcing the authorities to divert two international flights — Royal Jordanian Airlines from Amman and Jet Airways Dubai-Delhi — to Mumbai, they said.

Two Jet Airways and one GoAir domestic flights were cancelled.

 

Keep checking back here for more updates

Denver Airport delays

Denver airport is reporting delays of upto 1 hour on account of closure of 1 runway. This was caused by a Continental jet performing a rejected takeoff attempt on account of an engine fire. All passengers and crew escaped through the emergency slides but dozens are reported to be injured. 

More details awaited on the incident.

Continental Passenger jet goes off Denver runway; 38 hurt

 

A Continental Airlines jet taking off from Denver veered off the runway into a ravine and caught fire Saturday night, forcing passengers to evacuate on emergency slides and injuring nearly 40 people, officials said.

No deaths were reported, but 38 people were taken to hospitals, said Kim Day, Denver International Airport manager of aviation. No one was reported in critical condition.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. The weather in Denver was cold but not snowy when Continental Flight 1404 took off from Denver International Airport for Houston around 6:20 p.m.

The plane veered off course about 2,000 feet from the end of the runway and did not appear to be airborne, Day said.

It was not known when the plane caught fire, but ground crews put out the flames quickly, said airport spokesman Jeff Green. The 112 people on board made it out on through slides on the Boeing 737.

The plane was carrying 107 passengers and five crew members, said Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark.

Denver Health spokeswoman Kalena Wilkinson said seven people were taken to her hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. Seven people were at the University of Colorado hospital, but no one had life-threatening injuries, a spokeswoman said.

The accident closed the airport’s west airfield and caused delays of 40 minutes, Day said.

Delays build across the Northeast USA on account of snow storm

Delays are beginning to build across the Northeastern USA on account of the huge snow storm affecting the region. Region wide snow accumulations of upto a foot is possible at most places. Airports such as Philadelphia, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, New York are reporting delays of an average of 2 hours already. The delays are expected to get worse and eventutally lead to closure of many airports across the region later in the day

Stay tuned right here for more news.

Delays at Chicago, Dteroit and Charlotte die to inclement weather

• Due to WEATHER / SNOW-ICE, departure traffic destined to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Detroit, MI (DTW) is currently experiencing delays averaging 51 minutes. 
• Due to WEATHER / SNOW-ICE, departure traffic destined to Chicago OHare International Airport, Chicago, IL (ORD) is currently experiencing delays averaging 2 hours and 46 minutes. 

Milwaukee Airport closed due to snow storm

Due to SNOW REMOVAL, the General Mitchell International Airport (MKE) was closed as of Dec 19 at 05:00 AM CST.  The date/time when the airport is expected to reopen is not known.

Stay tuned here for more information.

SpiceJet flight makes emergency landing

A Jammu-bound SpiceJet flight with 159 passengers and crew on board had to land under emergency conditions at the Delhi airport on Thursday after tyre debris, suspected to be of the same plane, were found on the runway. The Delhi-Jammu-Srinagar SpiceJet flight (SG-851) took off from Indira Gandhi International Airport at 9.39 a.

m. Shortly after it took off, the pilot of another aircraft, taking off after the SpiceJet flight, reported some foreign object on the runway.

It was suspected to be tyre pieces from the SpiceJet flight, airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL) said in an official statement.

The air traffic control informed the SpiceJet captain, who decided to return to Delhi as a precautionary measure. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, came back and first made a low fly past over the airport’s runway where SpiceJet engineers carried out a visual inspection of the plane’s undercarriage.

Though no problem was found during the inspection, the aircraft was still asked to land for precaution. The plane, however, first flew around for close to two hours to burn extra fuel.

“This was done to make the aircraft lighter. The weight of fuel makes a plane heavy and in case there were any technical fault in the undercarriage, it would have collapsed during landing,” said a senior air traffic control official on condition of anonymity, as he is not authorized to talk to the media.

The plane landed at 11.31 a.m.

“All passengers and crew of the plane are safe,” a DIAL spokesman said.

Flight delays in Charlotte

Due to Dense Fog sonditions, arrival traffic is experiencing airborne delay between 1 hour and 1 minute and 1 hour and 15 minutes and increasing.

Air France-KLM cleared to take over Martinair

Air France-KLM will wholly-own Dutch carrier Martinair by the end of this year after securing long-awaited clearance for the takeover from the European Commission.  KLM has held a 50% share of Martinair for several years but attempts to acquire the outstanding balance have failed to receive regulatory approval.  But the European Commission, which opened an inquiry into the renewed takeover bid in September, has finally permitted KLM to complete the acquisition. 

Martinair’s passenger operations cover long-haul holiday routes. The Commission had expressed concern about competition between Amsterdam and the Dutch Antilles, but it says its inquiry found that the takeover would have “only a limited market impact”, because of competition posed by TUI carrier Arkefly.  Not only is Martinair already part-controlled by KLM, says the Commission, but it has weakened as a competitor. It needs KLM’s assistance to renew its long-haul fleet and become a stronger airline.  Competition commissioner Neelie Kroes says: “I was very conscious of the need to safeguard the interests of consumers flying to long-haul holiday destinations. 

“After a thorough investigation, I am now satisfied that consumers will continue to have a competitive choice of airline services after the acquisition of Martinair by KLM.”  KLM is acquiring the Martinair shareholding from AP Moller-Maersk Group. The transaction will be effective from 31 December.  ”With the European Commission approval, economies of scale and synergies become available,” says KLM chief Peter Hartman. “Plans for the future of Martinair within the group will be developed in the coming period.” 

Martinair says that it can play a “complementary role” for Air France-KLM and that the European clearance is “encouraging” following a “long period of uncertainty”.

BA-Malaysian in talks for merger???

Speculation is rife that Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is in talks for a possible merger or a strategic alliance with British Airways (BA) and Qantas to form a global airline.  It is learnt that what is being looked at is the creation of a super alliance or a global airline, and could involve other airlines. 

Under pressure from the global economic conditions, the airline industry is now going through a consolidation period with talks of mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies dominating the business pages.  MAS did not deny the talks, but would only say today that the Malaysian national carrier was pursuing strategic partnerships with a number of airlines. 

“We are in talks with a number of airlines on collaborating and creating synergies for growth. This ranges from joint ventures and code shares to interlining partnerships,” said MAS CEO Datuk Seri Idris Jala today.  ”In our Business Transformation Plan, we have said we will pursue strategic partnerships to create additional value for Malaysia Airlines. This is in line with our vision to transform into The World’s Five Star Value Carrier.” 

The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia reported in this morning’s edition that Qantas had held merger discussions with MAS earlier this year, and is believed to be keeping its options open in case its own proposed merger with BA fails.  This morning’s Sin Chew Daily, Malaysia’s best selling Chinese-language newspaper, splashed a front page report claiming that all three airlines are looking into a merger or alliance. 

Quoting sources, the newspaper said the merger would cut off the possibility of Qantas or BA merging with Singapore Airlines, a scenario which the newspaper described as disastrous for Malaysia and MAS.  Neither Qantas nor BA currently flies to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).  While details of the talks remain sketchy, it is understood that what is on the cards is a business arrangement which is “deeper than a code share, but maybe just short of a merger.” 

This would mean the respective airlines remain in local control with their own identities intact, with the possibility of that a new super-holding company could be formed.  But any deal will still be subject to government approval.

BA-Qantas Talks collapse

BA and Qantas have called off merger talks over several contentious issues and disagreements over Qantas’ several terms and conditions. BA is now in tlaks to merge with other asian carriers

Las Vegas Airport McCarran closed due to snowstorm

The ongoing snowstorm has stopped flights from landing or leaving at McCarran International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

“No planes are departing for Las Vegas from anywhere in the U.S. right now,” said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.Gregor said the airport doesn’t have snow removal or deicing equipment, which means there’s no way for snow-covered planes to leave safely.

“The forecast is not looking particularly promising for anybody who wants to fly into Las Vegas,” he said.

Officials at McCarran International Airport say there have still been some arrivals since snow started falling in Las Vegas, although departures from other airports to Las Vegas have been stopped for the time being.

“McCarran International Airport is not closed. In the last hour, the airport has handled 14 arrivals and zero take-offs,” airport officials said in a written statement. “Normal flight operations will resume once the inclement weather has improved.”

The National Weather Service in Las Vegas has issued a winter storm warning for heavy snow for the valleys and deserts of Clark, southern Nye and Lincoln counties until 6 a.m. Thursday.

John Adair, a meterologist with the National Weather Service’s Las Vegas office, said as of 2:30 p.m. the entire Las Vegas Valley was receiving either snow or sleet.

“This is a very rare snow event,” Adair said.

Snow is expected to accumulate on the valley floors across Clark and southern Lincoln counties. Snow will continue to fall through the afternoon and tonight before tapering off Thursday morning.

This storm is expected to bring 3 to 6 inches of snow to the valley floors and up to 10 inches to the foothills above 2500 feet.

Icy conditions are resulting in major road closures in Southern Nevada.

Interstate 15 was closed at 1:30 p.m. in each direction at Primm due to snow and icy conditions, the Nevada Department of Transportation announced.

U.S. Highway 95 was closed from Railroad Pass to state Route 163, the Laughlin turnoff.

Chains, snow tires, or four wheel drive vehicle restrictions are in place for Mountain Springs and Mount Charleston.

The transportation department announced at 2:30 p.m. that state routes 163, 164 and 165 have been closed in both directions due to the weather.

State Route 160 between Las Vegas and Pahrump was closed as well. Motorists who must go to Pahrump are being advised to head north on U.S. Highway 95 to Indian Springs and then south on state Route 160.

Transportation Department Spokesman Bob McKenzie said motorists are being advised to stay in Las Vegas if possible.

The Nevada Department of Transportation plans on using a liquid deicer called magnesium-chloride on the part of the valley’s freeway system tonight, McKenzie said. The liquid will be spread over bridges and viaducts and areas most likely to freeze on Interstate 15 and U.S. Highway 95, McKenzie said.

State Route 159 is being plowed and remained open as of 3 p.m.

Because of travel conditions, Henderson employees were sent home from work at 3 p.m., city officials announced. Emergency operations will continue and public safety and public works employees are on call.

British Airways to reduce Fuel Surcharges

British Airways has announced today that it will further reduce its fuel surcharge on all flights. They reduced the fuel surcharge back in October 2008 but this is a much bigger reduction this time and also affects all cabins.

British Airways will drop its fuel surcharge by as much as a third on longhaul services from Thursday, December 18. 

The move reflects the reduction in the price of oil and the airline’s fuel hedging policy for 2009/10. 

The reduction in fuel surcharge will mean: 
· For World Traveller flights over nine hours a reduction of £30 per sector to £66. On flights of less than nine hours a reduction of £15 per sector to £53. 
· For World Traveller Plus flights over nine hours a reduction of £30 per sector to £85. On flights of less than nine hours a reduction of £20 per sector to £63. 
· For First and Club World flights over nine hours a reduction of £35 per sector to £98 and on shorter flights a reduction of £20 to £78. 

Plane goes missing over Caribbean

A plane with at least 11 people on board has gone missing after leaving the Dominican Republic. Officials say the plane sent an emergency signal before disappearing from radar 35 minutes after take-off. The plane was believed to be flying to the Turks and Caicos Islands, although some reports said the destination was the Bahamas or New York. Jose Tomas Perez, of the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute, says the US Coast Guard is helping in the search.

The area being searched is about 26km (16 miles) west of the Turks and Caicos Islands. However, the operation has been hampered by bad weather, the Caribbean Net News reported on Tuesday. The plane – believed to be a Britten-Norman Islander – belongs to Atlantis Aviation, reports said. It took off on Monday afternoon from Cibao International Airport, Santiago.

Airbus flight-tests blended winglets on A320

Airbus’s A320 flying testbed (F-WWBA) began another round of winglet flight-trials from Toulouse today, this time equipped with a blended winglet designed by Aviation Partners (API). 
Airbus says that the objective of the tests and subsequent evaluation is to identify both the performance and economic benefits that these devices could offer. “In conjunction with follow-up analyses, they will provide data on the overall viability of the devices and help to determine whether API’s technology could be considered for an integrated Airbus programme,” says Airbus.

Kingfisher to commence International Ops from Mumbai

The government has allowed Kingfisher Airlines to operate daily services on various international sectors, including Mumbai-London, 
Chennai-Colombo and Mumbai-Singapore. The Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher currently flies between Bangalore-London, the only foreign route after it became eligible to fly internationally in August this year. 

“The government has granted permission to Kingfisher to operate daily services to Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Colombo and Dhaka with immediate effect. In our earlier interaction, the airline had showed its preparedness to operate to all these sectors,” a government official, who did not wish to be named, said. 

The airline confirmed the development. “The time frame for launch of these services will be announced progressively,” a spokesperson of Kingfisher Airlines said. The airline plans to operate services to Hong Kong and Singapore in the next few months. It may, however, wait to operate in the Mumbai-London sector as the route already has excess capacity. 

“Despite the downturn in the world economy, Singapore and Hong Kong offer robust premium air traffic growth. There is very good onward connectivity from the two points for north Asia and north America. Both the two destinations are gateway to north Asia and hold huge premium traffic to North America,” Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation India head Kapil Kaul said. London is overserved at present, he added.

Mihin Lanka resumes operations on December 21

Sri Lanka’s erstwhile 2nd defunct carrier, Mihin Lanka is resuming service on 21DEC08.

It will begin 6 weekly Colombo – Dubai and 5 weekly to Thiruvananthapuram and 3 weekly to Thiruchirapally

It will then start service to Bodhgaya from 15FEB09

The original Mihin Lanka suspended operation in May 2009 due to financial issues. The airline now has a new management team and appears to be leasing Boeing 737-800 aircraft for the operation.

Virgin Atlantic places order for Boeing 787 Dreamliners

Virgin Atlantic, one of the world’s leading long-haul airlines, and aircraft maker Boeing today announced an extensive partnership which includes the largest order yet by a European airline for Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner.

Virgin Atlantic is ordering 15 of the 787-9 Dreamliners – with options on ordering another eight 787-9s and purchase rights on a further 20 aircraft. The 787-9 Dreamliner burns around 27% less fuel per passenger than the A340-300, the aircraft it will replace in the Virgin Atlantic fleet. The order will see Virgin Atlantic take delivery of its new planes from 2011 and could be worth up to US$8 billion.

The Boeing 787-9, which can carry up to 290 passengers depending on the bed or seat layout, brings a step change in aviation and will substantially reduce the industry’s impact on the environment. Its innovative design, with over half of the aircraft built from composite materials, helps to reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions significantly. The noise footprint of the 787-9 is also 60% lower than the A340-300, benefiting local communities living close to airports.

Virgin Atlantic will choose an engine manufacturer, either Rolls Royce or General Electric, for the aircraft in due course.