Aircraft engineers have accused airlines of putting lives at risk by being motivated by cost and not safety. The Aircraft Engineers International group (AEI), which represents 40,000 mechanical staff in 30 countries, also said the aviation industry is failing to learn lessons from plane crashes, which in turn leads to more accidents. It recommended a global change in attitude towards safety...
Some 300 China Airlines passengers were left stranded at Changi Airport on Monday into Tuesday (Dec. 8) after a mechanical glitch grounded their plane for more than 18 hours. Flight CI754, bound for Taipei was scheduled for which was scheduled to depart at 2:05 p.m. on Monday but left Singapore only at 10:53 a.m. on Tuesday. This had a knock-on effect on other China Airlines flights to...
The United States on Tuesday launched a challenge to Chinese tax exemptions for locally produced aircraft, saying they discriminated against imported planes. The request for consultations with China at the World Trade Organization over a value-added tax of 17 percent on small to medium-sized planes is the first step in a process that could lead to trade sanctions. The U.S. Trade Representati...
A professor at Pennsylvania State University was detained after the police escorted him off an international flight when he tried to sneak into a better class of seat, state media has reported. Lu Yong was aboard United Airlines Flight 87 waiting to depart to New York on Sunday afternoon when he tried to "self-upgrade", according to CCTV. When flight attendants discovered he was in...
Hainan Airlines (HU) today launches the first nonstop service from Xi'an to Rome, linking the starting and end point of the ancient Silk Road by air, news reported from the airline's inauguration ceremony held at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) on Tuesday afternoon. This new route connects Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, with Ro...
Pakistan will privatise its national carrier by next July, a minister said Tuesday, following years of crushing losses and mismanagement that have battered the airline's reputation. The widely anticipated announcement prompted protests by Pakistan International Airlines employees and the main opposition party. "We are planning to privatise PIA in view of its heavy and recurring fina...
Air Atlanta Icelandic says it has "nothing to do" with the three unclaimed aircraft at KL International Airport (KLIA), adding that the planes were de-registered and returned to their owner. Air Atlanta Icelandic senior vice president of sales and marketing Baldvin M. Hermannsson told The Star in an email that the three aircraft did belong to Air Atlantia, but was returned to the...
As many as 17 incidents of tyre burst have been reported by different domestic airlines between 2012 and October 30 this year, with seven of them reported by Air India and its subsidiary Alliance Air, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The number of tyre burst incidents in 2012 stood at three, while four such incidents were reported in 2013,...
An aborted takeoff last year on a US Airways plane in Philadelphia, which smashed down so hard it broke the landing gear, was triggered by the crew's failure to enter the proper runway into a flight computer, among other errors, according to a preliminary investigation. "What did you do?" the captain told the copilot as the Airbus Group SE A320 carrying 154 people raced down...
A false bomb alert on Tuesday prompted immediate security measures at the Mexico City's airport, after a passenger suffering from depression tried to get off a plane that was set to take off for Cancun. The Mexican airline, Volaris, confirmed in a press release that a passenger on board its flight 714 from Mexico City to Cancun made a bomb threat. All 179 passengers had been evacuated fr...
This week Ernst and Young forensics tabled with the SAA Board, its draft report in respect of the procurement investigation at SAA. This report is the first of a number of investigations that will examine specific areas of the business that will identify reasons for the company’s unprofitable trading. The report that is currently being studied by the Board will be follow...
Passenger network: strict capacity discipline, increase in both trafficand load factor, notably impacted by the 13th November Paris terrorist attacks Cargo activity impacted by additional security measures at CDG Traffic highlights November traffic to and from Paris was significantly impacted by the 13th November Paris terrorist attacks. Passenger network load factor was down 0.9 point...
