Emergency at Edinburgh Airport over Air France plane alert

 

A FULL scale emergency was declared at Edinburgh Airport tonight after an Air France flight reported engine trouble.

The plane with 28 passengers and six-crew aboard had been delayed from departing from Edinburgh bound for London City Airport for almost an hour.

But shortly after taking to the air the pilot reported hearing a “clunking” noise from the engine and abandoned the flight.

The stricken aircraft was forced to circle overhead having lifted off at 6.34pm – 49 minutes late – before landing safety at 7.30pm.

No reason was given for the delay.

Witnesses say a convoy of fire-trucks and ambulances were in attendance just hours after the airline confirmed the tragic loss of a larger aircraft to the Atlantic ocean with 228 souls north-east of Brazil.

Last night a spokeswoman for airport operators BAA said: “The crew reported a rough running engine and a full emergency was declared.”

“They reported a clunking type noise coming from the engine.

“The aircraft has now landed and a full investigation is underway. The passengers have disembarked and were taken to the terminal building.”

The aircraft involved in the incident was a Dornier 7328.

In the confusion BAA had initially stated the flight was inbound from City.

Emergency

But the spokeswoman confirmed: “It was an Air France flight that had been outbound but was forced to turn back.

“It had to circle overhead for a time before landing.”

She added: “The passengers have now all been allocated seats on flights operated by Air France and BMI to Heathrow and transport will be laid on to take anyone to London City who needs it.”

None refused to board the replacement flights and no-one was injured, she said.

She said three were staying in Edinburgh overnight “because it suited their travel arrangements”, 20 were flying to London with BMI and 11 on another Air France flight tonight.

Lothian & Borders Fire & Rescue Service declared the incident “a full emergency “ and confirmed its crews had been on stand-by.

Lothian & Borders Police had also shut off parts of Glasgow Road to aid the arrival of the emergency vehicles.

The flight was due to depart at 5.45pm but was delayed until 6.34pm.

Only last week BA announced it was cutting 25 jobs on the City to Edinburgh route.

It said it had “surplus” staff after one of its planes was written off on landing at the London airport.

A full scale emergency was declared at Edinburgh Airport tonight after an Air France flight reported engine trouble.

The plane with 28 passengers and six-crew aboard had been delayed from departing from Edinburgh bound for London City Airport for almost an hour. But shortly after taking to the air the pilot reported hearing a “clunking” noise from the engine and abandoned the flight. The stricken aircraft was forced to circle overhead having lifted off at 6.34pm – 49 minutes late – before landing safety at 7.30pm. No reason was given for the delay.

Witnesses say a convoy of fire-trucks and ambulances were in attendance just hours after the airline confirmed the tragic loss of a larger aircraft to the Atlantic ocean with 228 souls north-east of Brazil. Last night a spokeswoman for airport operators BAA said: “The crew reported a rough running engine and a full emergency was declared.” “They reported a clunking type noise coming from the engine. “The aircraft has now landed and a full investigation is underway. The passengers have disembarked and were taken to the terminal building.”

The aircraft involved in the incident was a Dornier 7328. In the confusion BAA had initially stated the flight was inbound from City. But the spokeswoman confirmed: “It was an Air France flight that had been outbound but was forced to turn back. “It had to circle overhead for a time before landing.” She added: “The passengers have now all been allocated seats on flights operated by Air France and BMI to Heathrow and transport will be laid on to take anyone to London City who needs it.” None refused to board the replacement flights and no-one was injured, she said.

She said three were staying in Edinburgh overnight “because it suited their travel arrangements”, 20 were flying to London with BMI and 11 on another Air France flight tonight. Lothian & Borders Fire & Rescue Service declared the incident “a full emergency “ and confirmed its crews had been on stand-by. Lothian & Borders Police had also shut off parts of Glasgow Road to aid the arrival of the emergency vehicles. The flight was due to depart at 5.45pm but was delayed until 6.34pm. Only last week BA announced it was cutting 25 jobs on the City to Edinburgh route. It said it had “surplus” staff after one of its planes was written off on landing at the London airport.

American latest to try 757s on international routes

American Airlines has become the latest U.S. airline to begin flying Boeing 757 jets on international routes. AA yesterday unveiled a reconfigured version of its 757 that it says it will deploy on certain trans-Atlantic and Latin American routes. AA says it is reconfiguring 18 of its 124 757s for international service. AA’s 757’s “revamped interiors — which include new seats and updated in-flight entertainment systems — are expected to be completed by the end of the year. The 757 Business Class cabin, with a 2-2 seating configuration, features 16 lie-flat seats with drop-down armrests. The coach cabin has 166 seats in a 3-3 configuration.”

The first flight on one of those 757s took place yesterday, flying between New York JFK and Brussels.  AA will also fly the 757s between Miami and Salvador, Brazil, with continuing service to Recife.

AA “also has revamped 47 Boeing 777 airplanes to improve passenger comfort on flights performing on U.S. routes to the United Kingdom, Japan, China, India and Latin America.”Continuing upgrades of AA’s 767-200s are expected to be finished by mid-year.

BA removes first class service on long haul flights

International jet-setters are likely to be distressed by the news that British Airways will be doing away with its first-class service, as the recession has taken a major bite out of demand for premium air travel. 

For decades, flying first class on BA, was the only way that many business moguls and glitterati would think of travelling. 

The carrier has already removed first class accommodation from long-haul aircraft, and is currently reviewing the seating configuration for new planes. 

In the post-millennium boom, well-to-do passengers spent lavishly for access to the airline’s designer cabins, Michelin-class dining, the world’s finest wines and free pyjamas and slippers. When the credit crunch hit last year, however, the demand among air travellers for in-flight opulence took a nosedive. 

Willie Walsh, the BA chief executive, confirmed that luxuries were being stripped. He said: “The long-haul aircraft that we take delivery of this year will not have any first class cabins in them,” adding: “Longer term we will review the configuration of all new aircraft.” 

British Airways needs to find ways to cut costs. Demand for both first and business class has fallen sharply, and it has just reported a 401 million pound ($638 million) loss even though it is still adding routes. British Airways also revealed that its new service from London Heathrow to Las Vegas, to be launched later this year, and which will cater to “high rollers”, will not offer a first-class cabin.

Existing flights will keep their first-class seating at the moment because company officials state that the cost of tearing out the section and replacing it with business class or coach seating would be too expensive. This could have a good effect on the more proletarian passengers–because with more empty seats in the posh section, there would be a greater chance of getting upgraded. The potential bonanza may not last long, however, because BA might follow the lead of other carriers like KLM and Delta and scrap first class on transatlantic routes altogether.

Air Asia Launches Low Cost Long haul Ops to London

Air Asia launched it s Low cost long haul operations from Kuala Lumpur To London Stanstead last week. The Aircraft is a Ex- Air Canada A 340. Initial publicity suggested fares in Asia of RM499 and in the UK of £99 one way on the airline. However, checking the website now, prices have risen considerably, with a return fare from London Stansted in June costing £645 return. Additional charges are levied for all checked baggage (£4 [up to 15kg]; £12 up to 20kg and £22 [up to 25kg] each way), as well as amenity bags and in-flight entertainment. The A340-300 aircraft will be configured with 256 economy seats (with a seat pitch of 32 inches) and 30 “XL” seats (60-inch pitch)

Virgin Atlantin Suspends Mumbai-London

Virgin Atlantic is to temporarily suspend its London Heathrow to Mumbai service with effect from early May. Passenger numbers to and from Mumbai have been falling for many months, a trend which started even before the global economic slowdown hit. Despite the drop in numbers, more airlines than ever are operating irrationally and servicing the route at a loss. Virgin Atlantic intends to begin flying again to Mumbai when it is economically viable to do so.

The last flight will be VS350 on Saturday 2nd May from London Heathrow and flight VS351 on Sunday 3rd May from Mumbai. Virgin Atlantic continues to operate its successful, daily service between London Heathrow and Delhi and will explore flying to other Indian cities in future, where there is much less capacity. 

Kingfisher launches Mumbai-London daily flight

Expanding its overseas operations, Vijay Mallya-run private air-carrier Kingfisher Airlines launched its daily non-stop Mumbai-London flight today at Mumbai Airport. Mumbai-London is the airline’s second overseas route after its Bangalore-London flight was launched in September last year. 

The airline has deployed a brand new Airbus 330-200 aircraft, configured in two classes, Kingfisher First and Kingfisher Class. 

The Mumbai-London flight will take off from Mumbai at 1.50 pm (IST) and arrive at Heathrow’s Terminal 4 at 5.55 pm (GMT), the spokesperson said. 

The return flight from London will leave at 8.30 pm (GMT) and arrive at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Terminal the next day at 11 am (IST), he said. 

Kingfisher has also plans to launch Mumbai-Hong Kong operations from January 12 and the Mumbai-Singapore flight from January 16. 

Kingfisher flights from Bangalore and Chennai for Sri Lanka capital Colombo will start from January 19.

EasyJet axes ski charges

EasyJet will carry passengers skis for free with a special code – but the airline has said it may pull the offer early.The offer, which was supposed to be available until next Tuesday, can be accessed using the code detailed in the story below – originally sent out via its newsletter.

But it has proved so popular that the airline is considering closing it early.

For skiers considering taking advantage of the offer, or just looking for to save money on their ski trip, with the pound at a low against the euro visiting the traditional Alpine resorts of France and Italy may leave them feeling the pinch.

EasyJet CEO sees tough environment in 2009

British low-cost airline easyJet Plc expects the industry to face a “very tough” consumer environment next year, Chief Executive Andy Harrison said on Thursday.

Carriers will face higher fuel costs as the U.S. dollar strengthens against the euro and airlines which do not hold enough cash to foot the bill “will not survive,” he said.Nonetheless, easyJet had no plans to cancel orders for new planes it has placed with Airbus he said. The company still aimed to grow and increase its number of planes to 200 by 2011.

In the upcoming winter season, Harrison said he expected airlines to cut the number of seats they sell by 8 to 10 percent, though that figure could rise as more airlines go out of business.

 

EasyJet would keep its capacity stable from the year-earlier period, Harrison said. The load factor, or the average percentage of seats filled on each flight, in coming months would be “very similar” to last year, he said.

BA Cityflyer adds 5th Daily Glasgow flight

BA Cityflyer is adding 5th Daily flight on the London City – Glasgow route from 27OCT08, offering early morning flight from London and late evening service from Glasgow

The new flight is:

BA8720 LCY0650 – 0815GLA AR1 x67
BA8729 GLA2010 – 2140LCY AR1 x567

Jet codeshares with Brussels Airlines to fly Paris, Manchester

Jet Airways today announced expansion of its codeshare agreement with Brussels Airlines to connect Paris and Manchester from October 26, with the flights operating via the Belgian airline’s European hub in Brussels.

Manchester is Jet Airways’ second codeshare destination in the UK, after Birmingham, in addition to the airline’s direct daily services to London from Mumbai, Delhi and Amritsar.

With the expansion of its existing codeshare arrangement, the premier private carrier now offers connectivity between Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai, on one hand, and Birmingham, Madrid, Barcelona, Lyon, Berlin Tempelhof, Paris and Manchester, via Brussels, on the other, through its codeshare agreement with Brussels Airlines.

“With the expansion of its codeshare agreement with Brussels Airlines, Jet Airways now offers its passengers enhanced connectivity on the India-Europe sector, via its world-class, passenger-friendly hub in Brussels,” Jet CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said in a statement and claimed that his airline was “fast becoming the carrier of choice for passengers on the sector”.

Jet flies daily to Brussels from three gateway points of Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

The private carrier, with a fleet of 85 aircraft, currently has codeshare agreements with Brussels Airlines, American Airlines, Air Canada, Qantas, ANA and Etihad, offering its passengers unmatched connectivity across Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan from India.

Air India to end LHR-JFK flights

Air India is to discontinue its daily service between London Heathrow and New York JFK from 10 September. The service is one of the longest continually operated transatlantic services between the two airports. The carrier has operated flights on the route since 14 May 1960, when it started a one-a-week flight from Bombay to New York via London, using a Boeing 707.

The airline had special dispensation to operate its so-called fifth freedom services, as were Kuwait Airways, El Al and IRan Air (the latter two no longer operate), under the Bermuda II aviation agreement between the UK and the US. The bilateral Bermuda II agreement was swept away by the Open Skies agreement earlier this year.

British Airways and Iberia to merge

British Airways has announced a €5 billion merger with long-term partner Iberia.

The BA and Iberia brands will be retained as part of a combined group listed on the FTSE 100 Index and the Madrid Stock Exchange.

A final agreement will be finalised in the coming months after the EU gave the move the green light.

British Airways’ chief executive, Willie Walsh, said: “The aviation landscape is changing and airline consolidation is long overdue. The combined balance sheet, anticipated synergies and network fit between the airlines make a merger an attractive proposition, particularly in the current economic environment.”

Anlaysis : This merger could mean potential issues for group pricing issues as flights will be cut and this will lead to an increase of prices on BA and Iberia flights….This is slightly negative for the passengers in terms of ticket prices, but a big positive in terms of new routes and networks.