Uzbekistan Airlines Change Routes

Uzbekistan Airlines has made a decision to perform all flights from Uzbekistan to European cities and back, bypassing Ukraine's airspace.

The routes of flights to London, Frankfurt, Paris, Rome and Milan have been changed, according to Uzbekistan Airlines. The specialists of the company have also developed a safe route for the Tashkent-Kiev-Tashkent flight.

As a result of the changes, the duration of flights on this route will increase on average by 10-15 minutes. Airlines of many countries have changed the routes of their flights over Ukraine's territory after the crash of a Malaysian airliner in Ukraine's Donetsk city.

Malaysian Airlines MH17 - 777 Shot Down

BREAKING NEWS

The aviation industry is in shock tonight after the news breaks of a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 crashing in Eastern Ukraine. The flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was carrying 296 passengers and crew and is believed to have been shot down by a ground to air missile – however this has yet to be confirmed.

Official information is extremely limited and most of the information available coming from unconfirmed sources and social media.  Flight MH17 was approximately 50 kilometres from entering Russian airspace when it came down with what appears to be the loss of all souls on-board.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, said the aircraft would have been shot down, "We do not exclude that the plane was shot down and confirm that the Ukraine armed forces did not fire at any targets in the sky," he said in a statement. Later he said this was not an accident but “An act of terrorism.”

Dozens and dozens of bodies were scattered around the smouldering wreckage of the plane, close to  the village of Grabovo, some  25 miles from the Russian border, according to reporters at the scene. Grabovo is in an area controlled by the Russian separatists who have been known to shoot down Ukrainian military aircraft. Unconfirmed reports advise that moments after the incident a tweet from a twitter account previously used to publicize Russian Separatists shooting down Ukrainian military aircraft, claimed it had shot down another military transporter.

It's believed that there were 8 Britons on the downed aircraft, however this has yet to be confirmed as the passenger manifest has not been publically released at this time. Other unconfirmed reports state as many as 20 could you US citizens with the majority of the rest mixed between Malaysian and Dutch.

Emergency workers at the scene of the incident commented that at least 100 bodies had been found so far, with wreckage scattered across a wide area,  "I was working in the field on my tractor when I heard the sound of a plane and then a bang and shots. Then I saw the plane hit the ground and break in two. There was thick black smoke," a witness, named only as Vladimir, told a Reuters reporter close the area.

On a tweet and in a statement, Malaysia Airlines confirmed that Ukraine's air traffic control lost contact with flight MH17 at 2.15pm GMT, approximately 30 miles from the Russia-Ukraine border. Flight MH17 codeshare flight with Dutch carrier KLM was operated on a Malaysian Boeing 777 and departed Amsterdam at 12.15pm [local] and was estimated to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 6.10am the next day. The flight was carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew onboard."

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister commented on social media that the plane had crashed in Ukrainian territory after being hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher.  News agency Associated Press advised one of its journalists had seen a similar launcher near the town of Snizhne earlier on Thursday.

So far the leaders of the self-declared Donetsk people's republic denied any involvement and according to a Russian news agency Russian Separatists may also have retrieved and are holding the black boxes of the aircraft. Emergency workers have been reported as saying that armed separatists are hampering and interfering with any rescue attempts.

"This is the third tragic incident in recent days after Ukrainian military An-26 and Su-25 jets were shot down from Russian territory. We don't rule out that this plane was also shot down, and we stress that the Ukrainian military didn't take any actions to destroy targets in the air," said Ukrainian President.

Speaking in Delaware USA, President Barack Obama said his administration was seeking "to determine whether there were American citizens onboard.  That is our priority. And I've directed my national security team to stay in close contact with the Ukrainian government. The United States will offer any assistance we can to help determine what happened and why. As a country our thoughts and prayers are with all the families of the passengers, wherever they call home."

Earlier, Obama and Russian leader Putin spoke on the phone regarding new US sanctions imposed on Moscow over its alleged failure to halt the flow of weapons and fighters to separatist forces in eastern Ukraine. Diplomatic relations between the two nations are ‘tense’ at the moment and if it process that MH17 was shot down by Russian made and supplied missiles relations will be pushed to breaking point.

Several airlines, including British Airways, Virgin, Aeroflot, Turkish Airlines and Russia's Transaereo airlines have all announced they would avoid Ukrainian airspace with immediate effect. German airline Lufthansa confirmed it would steer clear of airspace over eastern Ukraine.

The Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, said via Twitter: "I am shocked by reports that an MH plane crashed. We are launching an immediate investigation."  The country's defence minister tweeted that he was "monitoring closely" claims that MH17 had crashed, saying: "No comfirmation [sic] it was shot down! Our military have been instructed 2 get on it!"

J Shaw

Twenty Injured on SAA Flight.

South African Airways says 20 people on a Hong Kong-bound flight were injured when the plane ran into severe turbulence.

The airline said in a statement that SA286 departed Johannesburg on Tuesday and landed in Hong Kong on Wednesday, and that medics were waiting to assist the passengers when the aircraft arrived.

Airline spokesman Tlali Tlali says 17 passengers and three crewmembers were injured. The Hong Kong fire department adds that two people were critically injured. The victims were taken to three hospitals.

The airline says 165 passengers were on the plane when the turbulence struck as the plane was flying over Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital.

Airline Of The Year - Cathay Pacific

The airline of the year has been announced at the Skytrax awards, held at the Farnborough airshow this week.  The winner was Cathay Pacific!

The airline from Hong Kong beat off much competition to take the top slot in Skytrax annual awards. Pictured here is Ivan Chu with the 2014 award.  

'Of all the sellers, Cathay were the best performer across all types of travel,' Skytrax's CEO Edward Plaisted said to the media at the show,  'Some airliners were very good in economy, others in luxury, but [Cathay Pacific Airways was] top or near the top in all categories,' he said. 

Farnborough Airshow Update......

Airbus and Boeing came close to  $100 billion worth of orders at the this years Farnborough Airshow so far, clearly demonstrating the demand for new passenger jets is rising despite the companies already full order books. 

Despite the good news,  shares in Airbus closed down 2.5 percent after the company told analysts it may have to cut output of its best-selling twin-aisle A330 passenger jet to get through a three-year transition towards an upgraded model launched at the show.

Govt Aid for SAS Legal

It was all smiles for Scandinavian airline SAS last week when A 400 million euro credit arrangement given to them by the governments of Sweden, Denmark and Norway back in 2012 was not illegal under European Union state aid rules.

The EU Commission opened its investigation into the revolving credit facility in 2013, after it "doubted" it had been carried out under market conditions because the exposures of the governments and the banks involved were different.

Staff Shortages Effect Services

A labour shortage in Japan is reaching crisis point for many key industries and has the potential to cripple the third largest economy in the world.  This is forcing airlines, stores and restaurant chains to reassess expansion plans and even cancel or close existing operations, simply because they cannot get the staff. 

Peach Aviation, the airline backed by Japan's largest airline, ANA confirmed last month it would have to cancel more than 2,000 flights over the rest of this year. Budget carriers Jetstar Japan and Vanilla Air have also cancelled hundreds of flights this summer, all because they cant get enough pilots. 

"There aren't enough captains and training one takes time and money," said Peach Aviation spokesman Hironori Sakagami.  "We wanted to increase the number of flights, but we had to delay that."

Emergency Landing in Tel Aviv for Delta 747

A Delta Air Lines 747 flight from Israel's Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport heading for New York had to turn back and make a emergency early this morning. The sudden return to Ben Gurion was caused when flaps on the 747's wings failed to retract properly on take-off.

Delta have confirmed  that the  Boeing 747 (N668US), Flight 469, which had 370 passengers and 17 crew members aboard landed safely back in Israel around 2.30am local time Sunday Morning. Two hours after it had departed bound for New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The Delta spokesperson, Jennifer Martin, claimed the flight crew made the emergency landing 'out of an abundance of caution.'

There is no evidence the issue with the Delta 747's flaps had anything to do with the continuing unrest between Israel and the Palestinians. However, Delta has issued a travel advisory regarding the 'Israel Unrest' advising the airline would continue to operate its New York-Tel Aviv service, but  would allow passengers to cancel or rebook their plans whilst the conflict goes on, which could be some time.

The 747 restarted its flight to New York at 12.30 local today. 

American Carriers Cut Venezuelan Flights

United Continental Holdings Inc said on Friday it would drop its daily flight to Caracas, Venezuela, from Houston, starting in September, joining other U.S. carriers who have cut service over the country's foreign exchange controls.

United said it will operate four flights a week to the country, starting Sept. 17.

United Flight Diverts to Midway

A United Airlines flight carrying 348 people from Honolulu to Guam was forced to divert to the tiny Pacific island of Midway because of a  “mechanical issue,”  the airline confirmed yesterday.

An electrical odor filled the Boeing 777 aircraft and the airline was reviewing the mechanical problem that caused the diversion that occurred Thursday night local time.

Midway Island — a remote, 2.4-square-mile atoll — is located about 1,300 miles northwest of Hawaii and was the site of an important U.S. military base during World War II. It is now home to a national wildlife refuge and has roughly 60 residents.

The airline told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday that it flew the 335 passengers and 13 crew members aboard Flight 201 back to Honolulu and scheduled a new flight for them to Guam.

The stricken flight arrived in Guam at 6 p.m. local time Saturday.

Passenger Teresita Smith of Maryland told ABC News that the airplane had smelled as if it were burning.

“In the back section of the plane alarms were going off,” Smith said.

After the pilot announced the plane would be landing in Midway, Smith said the power seemed to go out and the plane suddenly dropped.

“It was very scary,” she said. “It shook a lot of people up.”

More Job Cuts Ahead for Iberia

The Willie Walsh hatchet is about the slice through staff numbers again,  this time the IAG boss is hoping to shed over one and half thousand from the Spanish arm Iberia.

Walsh famous for his antagonistic attitude towards staff relations authorised the International Consolidated Airlines Group to release the news last week. The troubled once proud Spanish airline, Iberia has already began a consultation period to cut 1,581 staff. The consultation period is just a legal formality the company has to go through before laying off the staff. Although of course, the company in public still state they are 'in negotiations' with the unions and job cuts were only one option, we understand the decision has already been made - and budgeted for.

American's $2.6 Billion Engine Deal

CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric Aviation and Safran of France, said on Sunday that it had been picked by American Airlines Group to provide engines for 100 Airbus A320neo jets the airline has on order.

CFM said the order is worth $2.6 billion at list prices.

The deal confirms what sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this month and marks a loss for United Technologies Corp's Pratt and Whitney unit, which makes the other engine offered on the Airbus A320neo.

Source Reuters

Virgin Pay £47,600 Compensation For One Delayed Flight

Virgin Atlantic has had to fork out £47,600 compensation to 101 passengers who had been delayed on one of their flights from the US in 2012.  The flight had been delayed by around 26 hours and the airline was forced to make the payout following last month’s Huzar ruling at the Court of Appeal, which stated that airlines cannot reject claims for delays caused by technical defects.

Star Alliance Membership for Air India

Air India is adding 400 daily flights and more than 40 new destinations in India to the Star Alliance network.

The far reaching Indian flag carrier now offers through check-in to the final destination for connecting flights operated by any alliance member airline, this is for both passengers and their baggage.  Air India's membership brings the Star Alliance network up to 27 member airlines, offering over  18,500 daily flights to amazing 1,316 destinations in 192 countries.

Passengers will benefit from a wider choice on routes connecting North America, Europe, Asia and Australia via the Indian sub-continent.  Star Alliance chief executive Mark Schwab said: “This is an important day for us. We have said for many years that we needed a strong home carrier in the Indian market and by welcoming Air India to our Star Alliance family, we have achieved this goal.  We know that the ‘new’ Air India is looking forward to providing the Star Alliance customer benefits to many more travellers.”

The airline’s chairman and managing director Rohit Nandan said: “From today, we open up a completely different world for our passengers, who can now travel to over 1,300 destinations right across the network and enjoy world-class service, better connectivity and seamless travel wherever they go.”

Gulf Air

In February, Kamal Ahmed, the transport minister of the tiny Gulf state of Bahrain, told Arabian Business that “no-one wants” the top job at Gulf Air, the country’s flag-carrier. It was a candid admission for a company that, long before the rise of super-connectors Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, had once been considered the Middle East’s pre-eminent airline. Several foreign candidates had been offered the job, Mr Ahmed explained, but all turned it down over fears of political interference. Given that Gulf Air’s nine-strong board includes four serving ministers plus an advisor to the Crown Prince, they may have had a point. Two decades of near-consistent financial losses will also have dampened their enthusiasm. But someone had to hold the fort, and under the stewardship of acting CEO Maher Al Musallam–who has been in charge for 18 months–Gulf Air appears to be making headway. Reports the Gulliver blog in The Economist.