Trump Slump Real

The first confirmed effect on flight bookings to the United States since President Trump first issued a travel ban has been revealed by the boss of the giant Dubai-based airline Emirates.

Within a week of his inauguration, the new President issued a controversial executive order banning nationals from seven mainly Muslim countries from the US.

New 100 Strong Fleet for Qatar's Indian Airline

Akbar Al Baker, chief executive of Qatar Airways, has outlined plans to launch an airline in the fast-growing Indian market as part of an international expansion programme.

First Airbus for Iran Air

Iran Air has taken delivery of its first Airbus A330-200, as its re-equipment program gathers pace.

The aircraft was handed over to the Iranian flag carrier at Airbus’s final assembly line site at Toulouse, France on March 10.

BIG losses for Turkish Airline

The Turkish low-cost carrier, Pegasus Airlines has posted big losses for 2016,   the troubled airline reported its net loss of 136.2 million Turkish lira ($36.1 million).  A massive change from last years 11.9 million profit.

Jail for Drunk Pilot

A pilot has been jailed for 10 months for attempting to board a flight from Scotland to America while drunk.

Carlos Roberto Licona, 45, was due to serve as First Officer on the United Airlines flight to Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday 27 August last year.   But he was taken off the plane after security staff smelled alcohol on his breath when he entered the airport.

Stretching Your Legs........

Passenger legroom in economy class has been shrinking in recent years, as airlines come up with new ways of squeezing extra seats onto planes.

British Airways is adding extra seats to the Airbus aircraft it uses on its short-haul flights, reducing the legroom available to 29 inches - the same amount offered by easyJet.

Other types of plane in BA's fleet afford economy passengers more room. Ryanair, meanwhile, uses Boeing 737 planes that still offer a minimum 30 inches of legroom.

Brexit, airlines' worst fear, has become their preoccupation.......

There is no shortage of metaphors for what airlines expect from Brexit: analysts talk of crosswinds, executives fear turbulence. For some, it is simply flying into thick fog with no idea where they are going to land.

No airline wanted Britain to vote leave in last year’s referendum; easyJet and Ryanair campaigned against it. A single European market in aviation brought cheap flights spanning the continent, ever more passengers, trade and jobs. Why would they jeopardise that?

Hawaiian Airlines plane diverted over blanket row

A Hawaiian Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Honolulu has been diverted because of a row over a blanket.

A passenger had asked for the wrap because he was cold, and was outraged when he was asked to pay $12 (£9.80).

Police said the man, 66, said he "would like to take someone behind the woodshed for this", which the pilot deemed threatening and then ordered the plane be diverted to Los Angeles.
No crime had been committed, police added.

The man had asked to speak to company representatives, arguing that he should not have to pay for the blanket because it was cold, the LA times reported.

He voluntarily left the flight when it landed in Los Angeles and caught another, Rob Pedregon, a spokesman for the Los Angeles airport police told AFP news agency.
"You know, if I was a passenger on board that plane I would have paid the $12 dollars for him," he added.

ANA's Special A380 Livery

All Nippon Airways has unveiled the livery that will adorn its first Airbus A380.

The ‘Flying Honu’ livery, by Tokyo resident Chihiro Masuoka, was picked from an open design competition. It features the Hawaiian green sea turtle, which the airline says is a sign of prosperity and good luck.The Star Alliance carrier says that it is moving ahead with the interior design of its A380s, which will “offer new passenger services” when it starts operation on the Tokyo-Honolulu route from the northern spring of 2019.

ANA has three A380s on order, scheduled for delivery in May, June and September 2019.

No Loo Roll Could Cost BA Thousands

Last week a mouse running amok aboard a Boeing 777 cost British Airways a fortune in compensation when a Heathrow-San Francisco flight departed four hours late. This week, a shortage of toilet paper and “the wrong kind of headphones” delayed a Gatwick-Barbados flight even longer. 

The messy situation has left BA with a prospective bill of up to £291,200 in compensation under European passengers’ rights rules, as well as thousands more in extra expenses such as meals for delayed travellers.

The BA 777, with a capacity of 280, was due to leave at 1.40pm on Sunday afternoon. The passengers were scheduled to touch down on the Caribbean island at sunset, in good time to polish off drinks and dinner before a good night’s sleep.

But due to what appears to be inadequate preparation of the aircraft, departure was initially delayed by 1 hour 40 minutes. 

MH370 Search Ends

In March 2014, the then Malaysian transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, fronted the world's press and told them MH370 had "vanished".

"There is no real precedent for a situation like this," he said.

Almost three years since the Boeing 777 disappeared from aviation radars the biggest mystery in the history of aviation remains unexplained, but the search for answers has been suspended.

Malaysia, China and Australia have jointly decided to end the search for the Boeing 777 and its 239 passengers and crew, six weeks out from the three-year anniversary of its disappearance on route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8th 2014.

Qantas Aircraft Grounded

Qantas has briefly grounded 10 Bombardier Q400 planes after missing a routine inspection, which led to flight cancellations.

The airline's regional unit, QantasLink, cancelled a number of flights on Tuesday to resolve a "maintenance administration issue" with 10 of its 31 Q400s, a Qantas spokesman said on Wednesday.

"This is an administrative issue that relates to technical compliance and not a safety issue with the aircraft," he said.

New Jets for Wideroe

Embraer has signed a contract with Widerøe, the largest regional airline in Scandinavia, for up to 15 E190-E2 family jets. The contract consists of three firm orders for the E190-E2 and purchase rights for 12 further E2 family aircraft. The airline says this flexible mix of purchase rights for E175-E2, E190-E2, and E195-E2 will give it the ability to grow its fleet with a family of aircraft from 80 to 130+ seats, to meet market requirements.

The order has a potential list price value of up to US$873million, if all orders are converted. The three firm orders for E190-E2s were included in Embraer’s fourth quarter 2016 backlog.

EasyJet Sack Crew for Eating Bacon Sandwhich Given to her by Manager.

Shannon Gleeson was given the boot from the budget airline for gross misconduct and theft for failing to check with her superior if the food was paid for. 

The 22-year-old ate the baguette as she has a nut allergy and was unable to find safe food while abroad, an employment tribunal at Cambridge Magistrates Court heard. 

But a member of staff reported Ms Gleeson and her manager to the company, after they spied the pair eating the £4.50 bacon baguette and a croque monster meant for passengers. 

An investigation into the incident was launched by easyJet, and despite Ms Gleeson apologising and offering to pay the fee she was sacked alongside her manager. 

ACT 747 Crashes in Kyrgyzstan Killing 37

A Turkish cargo plane flying from Hong Kong has crashed in Kyrgyzstan, killing at least 37 people, most of them on the ground, officials say.

The Boeing 747 TC-MCL aircraft operated by ACT Airlines crashed as it landed in fog at Manas airport, 25km (15 miles) north of the capital, Bishkek.

At least 15 buildings were destroyed in a village outside the airport, with a number of children among the dead.