Aviation News Africa for African Airlines ,Airline News,Aviation sports , Scheduled & Charter Flights

Aviation has become very vital in the bussiness world bussiness  especially connecting  the entire world  within  hours and making bussiness deals  sealed within a short time without worying  the distance.

The aviation industry for the past years has been trying to find ways to make air transport more cheaper and affortable by trying to manufacturer low cost  aircrafts  like the Deamliner  787 which will cut down costs to 20% which will be passed on to consumers and  by also reducing the cost per seat by creating almost double  seating capacity of the aircraft.

AFRICAN AIRLINES

KENYA

Good news the opening of ORLY AIRPARK  in  Nairobi ,Kenya for recreation,sports and pilot training  by the Chairman Aero Club  and the Executive Officer Kenya AIR operator  Col  (Rd) Waithaka this week ending. It will also decongest the Wilson Airport which is one of the busiest Airport in Africa for both Commercial  flights into National Parks & Reserves in East Africa and private charters to Major Cities in Africa.Infact most of the flying schools like Kenya School of Flying have already moved its pilot training school and maintenance to Orly Airpark and they shareholders and are putting up a boarding flying school.Orly Airpark is owned with almost 25 shareholders who either own private charter companies in Kenya or hotels.It is situated in Kajiado district,Isinya,Olooitikosk,Kiserian  coordinates S01degrees34.52  E  036degrees 48.66  Elevation  5500 ft Runnway lenghth  1200 murram,Runnway heading  10/28,15/1200 caution keep listening on 118.2 & Nairobi Radar 122.3 becoz there may be skydiving ,glidding and ballooning in progress.

TAAG  FLIES INTO LISBON

TAAG Angola Airline has relauched its flights between Luanda and Lisbo exactly two years after all flights were suspended by the Safety Commission of the European Commission.The bans are imposed on those carriers that the Commission feels ddo not have satisfactory safety standards. Ameeting of Portugals National Civil Aviation Institute (INAC) held in July recommended that Angolas national airline be removed from the blacklist in order ro relaunch flights between the two countries.

The College of Commissioners accepted  this recommendations and August 1,A BOEING 777-200ER took off from Angolan capital enroute to Lisbon.According  to astatement issued by INAC it will also have to present reports to the Safety Commission “with a view to removing all Angolan airlines from the so called blacklist”

The Safety Committee is a consulting  group of the Commission that evaluates the safety of air transport in different countries throughout the world.At the time it was banned TAAG carried out six flights per week between Lisbon and Luanda.In April the Commission noted “significant progresss” had been made by the airline but opting, however , to keep  the ban on the Angolan airline.INAC also said that its involvement was “important ” for gaining authorization for TAAG to fly to Lisbon,specifically via its cooperation protocol with its counterpart in Angola,Invac.TAAG  Angola Airlines (Linhas Aereas de Angola) is the national flag carrier of Angola.Based in Luanda,the airline has alarge domestic network and flights to other parts of Africa and South  America.Like Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways ,TAAG has been one of ythe  few profitable sub-saharan African carriers and one of the few to recently purchase newly built aircraft as opposed to second-hand aircraft. It is 100% state owned by the Angolan government and itself owns 100% subsidiary Angola Air Charter.

 

ZAMBIAN  CARRIERS  STILL BANNED

Zambian carriers have also been identified  as problematic but according to local airline, Proflight Zambia ,the main reason for this is that within Zambia ,the licensing process ( and so the system of overseeing) is done by the Ministry of Transport whereas the world norm is for licensing to be done by Civil Aviation Authority.

According  to a spokesman for Proflight the way the blacklisting has been reported ,including by the British Foreign Office Advisory for Travel, implies that Zambian aviation as an  industry is unsafe.Proflight is working with the UK Government to address the problem of the FOAs wording.

DELTA STOPS  ANGOLA  FLIGHTS

Delta Air Lines has indefinitely postponed  its flights between Atlanta and Luanda ,Angola,just nine months after first announcing its plans to operate to Luanda Via Sal Island,Cape Verde. This follows the suspension of its Cape Town service and the postponement of its Kenya service in July.

 

KENYA AIRWINGS EXPANDS FLIGHTS

Kenya Airways launched  direct flights to Ndola-Second largest city in Copper-rich Zambia – on 19 September,just two weeks after launching flights to Gaborone.

The twice weekly  flights will depart from Nairobi every Thursday and Saturday.Ndola becomes the 36th African Destination in the KQ  network with recent additions being to  CONGO-Brazaville and Lebreville: launched in March  and June this year respectively.This makes Kenya Airways ‘schedule to the Southern Africa region,a very robust one as it currently operates three daily frequencies into Johannesburg, and double dailies to Lusaka,10 flights a week to Lilongwe ,Malawi and Harare , andd three weekly flights to Maputo.

With a population of over 774000,Ndola is the inddustrial,commercial,administrative and distribution hub of the copperbelt,Zambias copper-mining region and has one of the three internationals airports, others being Livingstone and Lusaka.Kenya Airways has increased its frequency to Sychelles three times a week on Tuesdays,Wednesdays and Thursdays.Unfortunately the airline suspended its daily  flights to Kisumu as from September 7 ,2009.Thism is due to the renovation and repairs at Kisumu Airport By Kenya Airports Authority and the repairs are expected to be completed by end of November this year.Kenya Airways first received IOSA certification in 2005 and subsequently had the certification newedd in 2007.

BUSSINESS  AVIATION

China is to get its first private jet airport as Shanghais Hongqiao Airport,and it should be ready in time for the World Expo next year ,according to reports in a Chinese newspaper.

The plans make provision for a 3000sq meter terminal with its own inspections,quarantine and customs areas as well as agarage with space for three bussiness aircraft. Up to 4000 business flights are expected to arrive in Shanghai during the  World  Expo and up to 6000 private flights a year by 2015 .Presently some 2000 private  flights operate in China unnually.

CESSNA DELIVERS FIRST  CITATION X RETROFITTED WITH WINGLETS

On August 31 2009 Cessna Aircraft Company announced the delivery of the first Cessna Citation X to be fitted with Elliptical Winglets. The Winglets were installed at the Wichita Cessna Service Centre under Winglets Technologys US Federal Aviation  Administration-  approved Supplemental Type Certificate.Cessna Winglets Technology,LLC,collobarated to develop the latters patented Elliptical Winglet for retrofit on Cessnas Citation X  bussiness jet.The patented Elliptical Winglet shape ensures the lift distribution closely matches optimum lift distribution  a long the span of the wing , which reduces the induced drag of the aircraft .The resulting drag reduction enhances operational perfomamce for the Citation X  including decreased fuel consumption,increased speed andd increased range,Winglet Technology received FAA approval of the Elliptical  Winglet installation on the Citation X in June and delivered the first  FAA approved retrofit kit to the Wichita Cessna Service Centre .The retrofit kit includes flight and operations manual supplements along with an updated version  of CESSNAV for customers who have purchased that subscription service from Cessna.In addition to the installation of the Elliptical Winglets, the retrfit kit includes the replacement of the existing ant-collission and position light system with LED versions.Plans are underway to offer installation of the Elliptical Winglets STC on the Citation X  at  all nine Cessna Service Centres located throughout the US and  in Europe.Cessna parts Distribution will be providing spares support for Catation Xs with the Elliptical Winglet STC  installed.Thye Citation X  is then worlds  fastest non-military aircraft with a top speed 0f .92 mach,just under the speedd of sound.The Citation X  is the top of Cessnas line of light andd midsize bussiness jet.

AIRSHOW  IN NORTH WEST PROVINCE (SOUTH AFRICA) POTCHEFSTROOM

The  City  of Potchefstroom plays host to this years annual North West Province Air Show in October  2009.The Nations flag  Carrier ,South African Airways and South African Air Force are tremendous supporters of  North West Province aviation.

The city is well known as being ann academic centre and is one of  two university cities in the province, the other being Mafikeng. It is located 145 miles to the Soth West of Johannesburg on the main artiel N12  route andd occupies an important place on the main railway line between Gautang and the Northen and Western Cape.

A medium sized city with a population of around 250,000 the city is managed by the Tlokwe city council. Potcefstroom is however,niot just a university lovcation.Enjoying maximum temperatures of just over 29 degreess centigrade,the climate is hot and dry during summer and mild in winter.Average annual rainfall is 767mm.

Thwe airfield ,once a busy South African Air Force air base, is becoming an increasingly popular link to the rest of the country.Although  still used on occasion by military flights-often to support nearby army firing ranges, the base is home to an extensive motor vechicle servicing unit.The SAAF withdrew in 1994  and its resident squadron moved to Pretoria.Today,the airfield is managed by the city council and has been identified by the North West Province Department of Transport,Roads,andn Safety as offering a unique facility for a number of key purposes.To encourage community participation as well as expanding the provinces energetic and leading approach to aviation,MEC,Mahlakeng  Mahlakeng,decided to focus their annual air show resources at Potchefstroom this year.

As well as anumber of corporate aviation users,recreational aspects  are taken care by tthe airfields Gliding Club.Around 30 members are active and they come from all walks of life,including bussiness and university students. The club has five aircrafts and they are seen regularly at weekends,when members are active.The air show will feature the famous North West Eagles aerobatic team and their two high perfomance EXTRA 300 aircraft flown by Nigel  Hopkins and Larry Beamish. Both Larry and Nigel are highly experience professional pilots who devote their spare time to performing in theri aerobatic aircraft. Nigel is a South African Airways Pilot andd Larry flies a jet for Pick ‘n Pay retail group.

With its hugely successful strategy of bringing aviation to the people,the North West Provincial governments Premier ,Maureen Modiselle  and Transport ,Roads and Safety MEC are at the forefront of providing their citizens  with another spectacle that secure an ongoing lead in effective community management.

From all these news you can be able to evaluate and monitor your investments and put your strategic plans in place  especiallym if your business do involve aviation direct or indirectly as this news are very crucial in your contgency planning.

Flight News On The Progress Made By Africas Airlines On Safaety Management Systems Implementation

Africas New Age In Aviation Safety

Africa remains a continent shrouded in great mystery and delight. The continent is diverse in every sense of the word right from the geography, culture, economic parity and indeed aviation development.

The continent still remains hugely inaccessible due to the high cost of infrastructure  that is required to connect such a massive land mass .Aviation however, brings with it the opportunity for the continent to connect its people much easier as opposed to other forms of transport.

However, with this increased growth in Aviation, safety lapses are bound to emanate if measures to have oversight by regulators and safety management by operators are not taken into account. According to the IATA 2009 Global Accident Report, Africa’s accident rate at the time stood at 12.21 compared to North Americas 1.11, North Asia’s 1.12 and Europe’s 2.04.This is quite a worrying trend and sheds a lot of light on the safety standards within the region.

This high accident rate can be attributed to many factors ranging from poor or inadequate oversight by regulators, lack of  safety management by operators, poor infrastructure to support aviation, low level training of aviation sensitive personnel, use of old aircraft and aviation support equipment among others.

So the question that begs is how can Africa make amends for such deficiencies and expedite safe flight operations in the continent. In order to correct the years of neglect of aviation in Africa, there is need for a structured actioning of all these issues. A clear structure will move towards addressing the primary areas and sequentially move towards clearing other issues. Safety should be in parallel with the three key stakeholders namely Civil Aviation Authorities, Airport Management and the airline operators. I will concentrate on the Airline operator in this edition of Safety Focus.

Flight Data Analysis In Africa

Africa is currently experiencing a major growth in aviation with new airlines coming up on every corner of the continent. The major underlying reason for this is the cheap lease costs that are now available in the market especially on B737-200, MD 82, and DC9 among others.

With such tremendous growth operators have to affect stringent safety management in order to not only is safe but also profitable. Despite the fact that ICAO recommends Safety Management Systems a compulsory requirement for all airline operators in their jurisdiction. This has gone a long way in creating an enabling environment on which airlines can measure and monitor their safety performance and thus maintain standards.

Though  SMS  is not fully implement across the continent, certain  countries and indeed  some operators such as Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines,TAAG  Angola Airlines,LAM-Linhas Aereas de Mozambique, Precision Air and Air Zimbabwe have  made great strides and are the leaders in this. A strong SMS background by these operators has also enabled them implement Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA)/ Flight Data Analysis though relatively new in sub Saharan Africa, has taken root among the major continental operators and has now become the norm rather than the exception. However, one of the main impediments to a successful roll out of these programmes in most operators has been the cost involved as well as the lack of the necessary human resources to run such a program me.

IATA has spearheaded capacity development in this area for quite a few years now. Recently in 2009 in a bid to even grow this programme further in the continent,IATA decided to offer sponsorship to African airlines that had shown great commitment to safety standards over the years with free analysis for up to three years  in a project dubbed Implementation Programme for Safe Operations in Africa (IPSOA).The primary beneficiaries of the program me were six airlines  in the continent namely, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines,TAAG Angola Airlines, LAM-Linhas Aereas de Mozambique, Precision Air and Air Zimbabwe. These airlines have continually demonstrated a high degree of safety and this is evident by the fact that they are all certified under the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and all but one were also in the IATA FDA program me prior to the commencement of IPSOA.

For African operators in the region to reap out maximum benefits and have successful FDA programmes, there is a need for them to first and foremost have sound and dynamic safety management systems. The FDA program me remains but a component of the SMS and cannot exist as a stand alone.

State Civil Aviation Authorities as well need to implement state safety programmes as recommended by ICAO .Such programmes will have effective oversight on all players in the aviation industry ranging from Airlines, airport operators, ATOs, AMOs etc.Such operators will thus have to come up with Safety Management Systems that will be checked by the state aviation regulators and in turn the regulator will be able to play their actual role of safety oversight.

At the moment the future for African aviation is bright and can only get better, however a commitment to safety is paramount for this.

Regional Safety Oversight in Southern Africa

Regional cooperation on safety oversight is crucial. According to ICAO, only very few of the 53 African states have sufficient civil aviation activities to able to support an effective and sustainable national safety oversight system on their own.

The project to come to regional cooperation on safety oversight in the 15 countries of the SADC region is still facing budgetary constrains. Member states have contributed 39% of the project budget for 2010.As a result of this, there is presently one Flight Operations Expert in the so-called COSCAP project, with the Airworthiness Expert having had to leave at the end of September. With the inflow of a grant from the ICAO IFFAS fund, the appointment of two Regional Inspectors can start.

The COSCAP project can serve as a very valuable resource to assist some of the countries in the region with implementing their Corrective Action Plans.

SADC Directors General of Civil Aviation have requested the ICAO Africa (ACIP) program to assist with transforming the temporary COSCAP program into a Regional Safety Oversight Organization. When setting up regional organizations, States in the region may want to look at putting the retirement age of staff of the regional organization slightly higher than that of the civil services of the countries in the region. In that manner, valuable expertise from retirees may benefit regional safety oversight for a few more years following their retirement from civil aviation authorities in the region.

US Government Reviews Safe Skies For Africa Policy

The Safe Skies for Africa (SSFA) Initiative was formally announced by the President Clinton in 1998.The U.S Department of Transportation is designated as the implementing agency. The goals of the SSFA program are to improve safety, security and air navigation in sub-Saharan Africa. Eight countries were initially invited to participate in the SSFA program, later expanded to 10 states.

Through time, more attention was paid to a regional focus to safety & security in relation to compliance with ICAO standards. In June 2009, the U.S Government Accountability Office issued a study of US Government efforts to improve aviation safety in Africa. A mong other things, the report recommended that the U.S Department of Transportation asses the long term goals of the  Safe Skies of Africa program by leading an inter-agency strategy for U.S. involvement in aviation  in Africa. At present, the U.S. DOT and the Federal Aviation Administration are working on a new direction for the Safe Skies for Africa program.

The U.S Government should be applauded for being the first government worldwide that is seeking coordination from other safety support providers to Africa.

EASA Technical Assistance Missions To Africa

In the framework of regulation 2111/2005 of the European Union establishing an EU list of banned carriers (also known as the “blacklist” the European Commission has signed a contract with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to conduct Technical Assistance missions. These missions will be conducted by the International Technical Co-operation section and are directed to those Civil Aviation Authorities that need to build up their technical and administrative capacities in order to fulfill their international obligations as per the ICAO Chicago Convention and the related Annexes.

The deficiencies of these authorities, revealed by the ICAO audits may lead to an operating ban of all the operators under their supervision .The missions are part of the global EU policy in Civil Aviation that is based on cooperation with the international partners, and on assistance to those partners that are challenged in meeting their ICAO obligations.

The missions focus on structuring the ICAO Corrective Action Plans that are generic in essence with a project management approach and are conducted in a cooperative manner with the experts from the beneficiary CAA.The main outcome of the missions is a roadmap under a “Gantt chart” format. The missions are an opportunity to review in details the necessary actions. EASA and the CAA jointly agree on a set of observations and practical recommendations on how to implement the Corrective Action plan that can be used by the international community to better support the CAA.

In East and Southern Africa, missions took place to Zambia and Malawi.

World Air News Round Up On Scheduled Flights By Airlines,Business Jets & Military Aircrafts Globally

There many news on flights on different developments going on globally .Below find the round up on flight news,

SAUDI ARABIA CONTRACTS FOR S-76Ds

The Kingdom of Saudia Arabia’s Ministry of Interior has signed a contract to produce twelve Sikorsky S-76D helicopters and has taken options to acquire eight additional S-76Ds, this has been announced by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

The S-76D is the latest model in the highly successful S-76 helicopter line.Sikorsky has produced and delivered nearly 800 S-76 helicopters.

A400M WING PASSES CRITICAL TEST

The critical static test requires for certification for the highly advanced all-composite wing of the Airbus Military A400M has passed the ultimate-load up-bend test.

During the test the wing was subjected to a load equal to 150% of the maximum bending load (limit load) predicted to be encountered in service.

The wingtips of the full-size A400M static test specimen moved upwards 1, 41 metres (4, 6 feet) during the test which was completed at Airbus Military’s Getafe, Madrid facility recently.

INTERJET WINS CONTRACTS

Interjet which is based at Lanseria International Airport has received approval from the South Africa Air Force (SAAF) and Armscor to provide steady state product support on the SAAF Raytheon King Air as well as the Cessna Caravan aircraft.

This was announced in August this year by Interjet CEO, Paul Ludick who further said “The contract will include all levels of serviceable which allows the SAAF to provide the necessary readiness as required”.

Interjet recently received its B-BBEE accreditation for both maintenance and avionics departments which is a requirement to be met for medium and large companies in South Africa.

G450 SETS SPEED RECORD

A long-range Gulfstream G450 business jet recently established a city-pair speed record between Tokyo and Hong Kong.

The G450 took off from Tokyo’s Narita International Airport and flew the 1,694 nautical mile distance at an average cruise speed of Mach 0, 85, landing three hours and 58 minutes later at Hong Kong International Airport.

MALTESE HOT POTATO

In Malta during the past weeks a partenavia P68C Victor has been seen with huge ICCAT titles on the port side.ICCAT stands for international commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna.

Lately, the issue of tuna fishing and penning has been a hot potato on the Mediterranean island of Malta, with fishermen being confronted by vessels from non-government organizations, namely Green Peace and Sea Shepherd.

Maltese rural affairs Minister, George Pullicino, recently described the NGOs tactics as similar to those of “private armies”. The issue of tuna fishing, which the Maltese Government insists is entirely legal, has also been raised at high level meetings in Luxembourg.

CATHY ORDERS 30 A350 XWBs

Following the signature of a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Airbus for the order of 30 aircraft, Cathy Pacific Airways has selected the all-new A350 XWB to form the backbone of its future mid-size wide-body fleet.

With the capability of flying over 8000 nautical miles non-stop, the airline has selected the A350-900 variant of the aircraft.

FIRST T-6C FOR RMAF

The first of 24 Beech craft T-6C Military trainers ordered by the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) has been rolled out by Hawker Beech craft Corp.

The RMAF is replacing its existing fleet of T-34 and T-37 jet trainers with the T-6Cs.The T-6Cs upgraded avionics include a head-up display, up front control panel, three multifunction displays and hands-on throttle and stick and in addition to the hard-point wings.

The RMAF order represents a government-to government agreement between Morocco and the U.S. In addition to the 24 aircraft, the contract includes aircraft ferry services, site survey, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, facility infrastructure support, personnel training and training equipment, and other related elements of technical and logistics support.

COMAIR EXPANDS AFRICAN NETWORK

From November Comair, Operator of British Airways in South Africa and kulula.com,is again expanding its African route network and will offer five return flights per week between Johannesburg and Daresaalm,in Tanzania.

The new route and the flights will be operated by British Airways and will also be integrated and sold through kulula.com distribution network.

TRANSATLANTIC JOINT BUSINESS

British Airways ,American Airlines and Iberia have received final regulatory approval from the European Commission to enter into a joint business agreement on transatlantic flights. The airlines anticipate that they will receive the final decision on transatlantic anti-trust immunity from the US Department of Transportation shortly.

The transatlantic joint business will strengthen competition across the Atlantic by enabling the oneworld alliance to compete on a level playing field with the other global alliances that already have anti-trust immunity. The airlines plan to launch the transatlantic joint business this autumn.

LUFHANSAS SECOND A380

Lufthansa has received its second Airbus A380 which was recently ferried from Hamburg to Frankfurt prior to being named “Munchen” at a festive ceremony at Munich Airport.

Its inclusion in the Lufthansa fleet in August has already raised frequencies ex Frankfurt to Tokyo from thrice-weekly to daily services and has opened the way for the type to be introduced to the South African service from next month.

LANDMARK DESTINATION

Kenya Airways recently broadened its network by launching regular flights between Nairobi and Angola’s capital city, Luanda.

POSEIDON ENTERS FLIGHT TEST

Boeings new P-8A Poseidon aircraft T3 successfully completed its first flight test in Seattle recently and during the two-hour and 48 minute flight Boeing and US Navy test pilots performed airborne systems checks including engine accelerations and decelerations, autopilot flight modes, and auxiliary power unit and engine shutdowns and starts.

The T3 is the P-8A programmes mission-system and weapon-certification aircraft. In the coming weeks, T3 will join the two P-8A test aircraft currently at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md, and complete additional ground and flight tests.

The Navy plans to purchase 117 P-8A anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to replace its P-3 fleet. Initial operational capability is planned for 2013.

ALAFCO OPTS FOR A350-900

ALAFCO, the Kuwait –based international aviation lease and finance company, has converted its existing firm order for 12 Airbus A350-800s placed in 2007, into the higher capacity A350-900 model.

The A350-900 is the first of the three members of the A350 XWB family to be introduced and will enter service in mid-2013.The A350-900 typically has a capacity of around 40 more seats than the smaller 800 model.

RED BULL AIR RACES CANCELLED

The Red Bull Air Races have been cancelled for next year, according to a statement issued by the organizers in August.

The one-year hiatus is needed to develop strong host city partnerships and secure a “long-term race calendar”, according to Red Bull. Some late-in-the –game venue changes and cancellations disrupted the race schedule for this year, and a couple of near-accidents raised safety concerns.

CRITICAL DESIGN REVIEW

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., has announced the successful completion of the CH-53K heavy lift helicopter  programme critical design review (CDR) event, signaling  the program me is ready to proceed to assembly ,test and evaluation.

Over the past four years, the CH-53K helicopter team has successfully completed numerous major reviews, including the system requirements review (SRR),system functional review (SFR) ,systems preliminary design review(PDR) ,77 supplier-level critical design reviews (CDRs) ,64 supplier and internal software reviews, and 16 sub-system CDRs.

SVT FOR BARONS, BONANZAS

Hawker Beech craft Corp. has announced that Garmin’s Synthetic Vision Technology (STV) and other associated avionics improvements will be included as standard equipment on its piston-engine Beech craft Baron and Bonanza Aircraft.

Following the receipt of Supplement Type Certificates covering both models, the upgraded offerings were introduced on production aircraft as from August.

AWARD FOR ‘FATHER OF BOEING 747′

Legendary Boeing aeronautical engineer, Joe Sutter, credited with leading the development of the iconic 747 jetliner ,won the inaugural Flightglobal Lifetime Achievement Award,Flight International magazine announced at the 2010 Farnborough International Air show recently ” Joe Sutter helped shrink our planet for tens of millions of ordinary travelers,” said Murdo Morrison, editor of Flight International.

Sutter joined Boeing in 1946 as an aerodynamics specialist and worked on the Boeing 377,Dash -80,707,727,and 737.In 1965, he took on the role of chief project engineer of the new 747 programme,which pioneered the twin-aisle wide-body concept.

‘FIRST’ FOR ARIK AIR

Nigeria’s largest commercial airline, Arik Air, has scored another first by becoming, the first Nigerian airline to be re-certified by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The regulatory body announced recently that the airline had met the Federal Governments requirement of the new Civil Aviation Regulations.

NCAA director-general, Dr. Harold Demuren, said Arik Air had fulfilled the 6th of the eight critical elements as stipulated by the United States of Americas Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

According to Dr. Demuren, the sixth element involved licensing and certification and one of the country’s airlines needed to meet the new regulation. He expressed optimism that soon Nigeria would bag Category 1 status as the country was close to the end of the certification exercise by the American regulatory body.

ONE TIME TO MAPUTO

Voted by World Travel Awards for two in a row as Africa’s leading low cost carrier,1 time Airline, in August launched a five-times –a-week service between Johannesburg and Maputo,Mozambique.It thus makes use of the full capacity granted to operate this route, in relation to existing bilateral agreements.

1times prices started at about 50% less than its competitors and current lowest airfare on the route is R2663 return inclusive, with 1times lowest fare  coming in at R672 one-way all inclusive. Government –imposed airport taxes of R475 per way is included in the all-inclusive fare.

NEW A350 XWB HANGAR

From mid-2011 the worlds largest fuselage made of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) will be assembled in Hamburg, Germany ,less than a year after Airbus celebrated the “topping-out” of the new A350 XWB fuselage assembly hangar.

Completion of the hanger is expected within the next few weeks. Then the jigs, tools and machinery will be set up with start of production scheduled for spring 2011.

Airbus is investing over Euros 150-million in A350 XWB hangar (including jigs, tools and machinery) in Hamburg.

 

Air News On Conviction of Airlines For Manslaughetr,Increase of Prices By Boeing

Continental convicted in Concorde crash trial

Us-based Continental Airlines has been convicted of manslaughter over the deaths of 113 people in the Concorde crash outside Paris 10 years ago and ordered to pay 1, 2 million euro’s (US$ 1, 6-million) in damages and fines.

There was an “incontestable link” between the “negligence” of Continental and the fireball that brought down the supersonic jet on july,25,2000.The fireball ignited when one of the aircrafts tyres ran over a piece of metal from one of the US carriers aircraft during takeoff, Judge Dominique Andreassier said in Pontoise,France.

The verdict, delivered seven years after Concorde’s last commercial takeoff, “will send a shock wave across the industry” and could lead to pilots and mechanics “clamming up for fear of criminal prosecution,” said Kenneth Quinn, a US expert in aviation law.

The crash hastened the demise of Concorde with flights grounded for 16 months after the disaster and the aircraft returning to service as demand for air travel fell following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Booking never fully recovered on the 1350 mph SST.

Continental must pay a 200000 euro fine and one million euro’s to Air France –KLM Group, operator of the doomed flight.

Continental, which has its main hub in Houston, said the verdict was “absurd” and that “to find that any crime was committed in this tragic accident is not supported either by the evidence at trial or by aviation authorities and experts.”

Olivier Metzer, a lawyer for carrier, which merged with United Airlines in October last year to form United Continental Holdings Inc., said it would appeal.”It is a political decision, a decision that suits all the French parties,” he said.

“Once again, it is the French interests that are of concern.”

Continental mechanic John Taylor also received a 15-month suspended sentence and a 2000-euro fine after the court ruled he ignored the risk of using the wrong materials in maintenance.

The Concorde crashed shortly after takeoff from Paris while on a German charter headed to New York. Air France Flight AF4590 was carrying 100 passengers and nine crew. Four people were killed in a hotel hit by the ‘plane.

French crash investigator, BEA, issued its final report in 2002, saying the aircraft ran over a metal strip from a Continental aircraft that had taken off earlier. The strip tore into Concorde’s wheel, sending debris into fuel tanks, sparking a fire. The danger posed by exploding tyres, noted after five incidents in 1979 and two in 1993, was also faulted in the report.

Metzner disputed the findings during the four-month trial, saying the investigation ignored witnesses who said the aircraft was already on fire when it hit the debris. The court rejected his arguments.

European Aeronautic, Defense and Space Co. (EADS) the successor company to concords French manufacturer Aerospatiale was also found civilly liable for the accident.

The court said former Aerospatiale employees, Henri Perrier and Jacques Herubel, should have “undertaken a full examination of the possible consequences of a fuel leakage resulting from the perforation of the lower surface of a fuel tank after a tyre-burst.”The two men were cleared of criminal wrongdoing, as were Claude Frantzen, a former official at Frances Civil aviation authority, and Stanley Ford, a manager at Continental.

Boeing Boosts Prices, Drops B787-3

Boeing has increased the prices of its new aircraft by about 5, 2%, the first increase in two years, and has also decided to drop the short-haul version of the 787 Dream liner.

“Higher costs of wages, goods and services are driving the boost,” said Jim Proulx, a spokesman at Boeings commercial headquarters in Seattle. He confirmed the changes made to the price list on Chicago-based Boeings website recently as well as the withdrawal of the 787-3 variant.

Boeings last price increase, a 2, 6% boost, was in 2008, Proulx said. Most airlines and leasing companies get discounts based on how many aircraft they buy.

The average price for the smallest Boeing jet, the single-aisle 737, is now about ,-4-million, up from about , 3-million. The 777s list price rose to about 8, 2-million from $ 246 million. The two 787 models still being offered now average 1, 7-million, up from 3, 3-million.

The 787-3 was designed to carry as many as 330 passengers as far as 3500 miles compared with the 787-8′s top capacity of 250 people and 9400-mile range. Boeing has been reviewing the models future after All Nippon Airways swapped its 787-3 order for another variant last year.

All Nippon was the last carrier that still has an order for the 787-3, which was designed specially for the Japanese market.

Boeing diverted resources from the short-haul model in 2008 as it struggled to move the long-distance 787-8 toward production amid problems with parts shortages, redesigns and incomplete work by suppliers. The Dream liners entry into service is now running about three years behind schedule.

Embraer Names National Airways Corporation As It’s New Authorized Service Centre

Embrear has expanded its customer support network in South Africa following the recent signing of a five-year agreement with Lanseria International Airport-based National Airways Corporation making it the Authorized Service Centre (ASC) for the Embrear EMB 110 Bandeirante and the EMB 120 Brasilia.

This contract formalizes the renewal of a five-year agreement with Nature link, which was recently purchased by NAC. The new ASC will provide routine checks, as well as scheduled and unscheduled maintenance for the commercial aircraft.

Leandro Laia,Embraers director for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, said after the signing of the contract:”With nearly 50 EMB 110s and EMB 120s flying in Africa, today, we looked for expertise, reputation and competitive prices, in order to offer the best to our customers.”

NAC will have access to Embraers structure-specific repair solutions and extended databases, and will be entitled to handle airframe and warranty issues on behalf of Embraer customers.

Dassault Scores A “First”

Dassault Falcon has received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration for the use of 3D data for type design in the completions process of Falcon Aircraft.

The approval applies to completions for production aircraft, including the Falcon 900 and 2000 series, as well as the 7X.Dassault previously received approval for 3D data on the basic design of the Falcon 7X when it was jointly certified by the FAA and the EASA in 2007, making it the first aircraft to be fully approved for the use of 3d data throughout the entire manufacturing process.

The 7X was the first Falcon to be designed fully within the framework of Dassaults Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) philosophy .The programme set the groundwork for the incorporation of 3D data from the manufacturing process through to completions and operations. Key benefits include greater accuracy during the specification and design process, including the opportunity for the customer to visualize the final configuration of the aircraft.

Definition of the aircraft specification in 3D also ensures compatibility of component placement with maintenance activities and a higher overall quality of completions process.

The approval required Dassault Falcon to develop detailed processes for the use, storage and long-term retention of 3D data, including disaster recovery plans. Additionally, Dassault Falcon developed an extensive training programme for those involved in the process.

Air News On Airlines,Helicopter,Aircrafts And Scheduled Flights Africa|East Africa|Kenya & Worldwide

Through air news travelers and business community are kept appraised of the new aircrafts being manufactured, new airlines opening routes, airlines pulling out, new regulations on travel and many other events that may have or to happen.

The annual African Airline Directory has revealed that a large number of start-up airlines which have emerged since last years directory, their numbers completely eclipsing those which have fallen by the wayside as a result of the economic situation. In this new development the DR Congo is leading followed by Nigeria, Mozambique, in fact, there have been so many of these start-up airlines for which information is scant to say the least.

Bombardier, Fokker Services Team

Recently after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Fokker Services and Bombardier Aerospace to jointly develop logistics support solutions for the Dash8/Q100/200 and 300 aircraft models through Fokker Services comprehensive ABACUS program me. Fokker Services being the expert in developing and producing advanced components and systems for the aerospace industry and supplier of integrated maintenance services and products to aircraft owners and operators is part of Fokker Aerospace Group. With the guaranteed availability of serviceable components, and flight hour-based components repair and overhaul services by ABACUS program me, it allows Dash 8/Q100/200/300 aircraft operators to better manage their lifecycle costs, improve parts availability and enhance aircraft dispatch availability. The ABACUS cost-by-the hour program me has been assisting legacy Fokker operators of post-production models to manage their inventory, repair and overhaul costs for 17 years. Operators of Dash 8/Q100/200/300 aircraft can now enroll in the ABACUS program me with immediate effect to join the six Dash 8/Q100/200/300 operators already enrolled. Fokker Services will repair serviceable components and ensure parts availability through its large component exchange pool on a cost-by-the –hour basis under the proposed alliance, which is expected to be concluded later this year. The agreement with Fokker Services is one of a number of steps Bombardier is taking to enhance the operational value of Q100/200/300 aircraft since production was discontinued in August 2009.In late 2009, Bombardier launched an extended  service program me with the objective of extending the economic life of  Q100 and 300 flight cycles from the original 80,000 flight cycles and  with a view possibly applying the program me to the newer Q200 and Q300 aircraft as they approach the 80,000-cycle mark.

There are approximately 600 Dash 8/Q100/200/300 aircraft in operation.

A320 Family Milestone

After its entry into commercial  market in 1988,A320 has achieved  over 50-million takeoffs and landings and  what is arguably the worlds most popular single-aisle aircraft and having carried over five billion people. Airbus claims that the A320 Family has firmly established itself as market leader with all kinds of airlines, such as low cost, network or charter operators and in all regions of the world. Painted in some 250 different airline colours, A320 Family aircraft can be found 365 days a year at the world’s busiest and largest airport hubs.

There are ten operators today with more than 100 A320 Family aircraft in each of their fleets. In contrast, A320 Family aircraft also operate at smaller airports and even in some of the most remote areas of the globe such as the kingdom of Bhutan, in the Eastern Himalays, thanks to their unique versatility.

The aviation success story can be partly attributed to Airbus 100-million euro annual investment that keeps the A320 Family technology state of the art, maintaining it as the most fuel-efficient and modern aircraft family in its category.

One illustration of the  A320 continuous improvements in the new fuel-saving”sharklet” wing tip device launched by Airbus at the end of 2009.This device will enhance the eco-efficiency and payload-range performance of the A320 Family even further and is expected to reduce the fuel consumption by at least 3.5% over longer sectors. This corresponds to an annual co2 reduction of around 700- tones per aircraft. Starting with the A320, the Shark lets will be available as an option on A320 Family models from the end of 2012.

Airbus says it is fully committed to maintaining the A320 Family at the top of the single-aisle aircraft market and to ensuring that the best keeps getting better.

The A320 Family (A318, A319, A320 and A321) is recognized as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. With over 6,500 aircraft sold, and more than 4300 aircraft delivered to some 310 customers and operators worldwide, the A320 Family is claimed to be the world’s best-selling single-0aisle aircraft family.

B-787 Flight Tests

After  recently passing the 1000- hour flight test mark meaning that the program me is now about 40% through the test conditions required to certify the first version of the all –new jetliner.

Meanwhile, the first Boeing 787 Dream liner with General Electric (GE) engines, the aircraft reffered to as ZA005, completed its first flight at about the same time, following a three-hour-and-48-minute flight.

ZA005 will be used to test the General Electric engine package and demonstrate that the changes made with the new engine do not change the aircrafts handling characteristics.

The sixth, and final, 787 to join the flight test program me was expected to fly at about the time this edition was being published.

In spite of having done test flight program me, the Dream liner 787 is still 2 years behind its originally announced delivery schedule, the company made a surprise announcement recently saying that it had been discovered that “tail parts” on some of the 23 aircraft either complete or in production, had been improperly installed.

 

Boeing now has to inspect all 23 aircraft including the test aircraft which had to be examined before they would be allowed to fly again.

Despite all this problems the Boeing is still certain to deliver the first 787 as planned to Japans All Nippon Airways by end of this year. The aircrafts 860 orders valued at $ 148-billion have made the Dream liner Boeings best-selling new model.

Joint Helicopter Project.

Russian Helicopters and AgustaWestland have announced a joint AW139 civilian helicopter final assembly plant project which started with a ground-breaking ceremony at the industrial area in Tomilino, near Moscow, recently.

The final assembly line is being built on a total area of 40000 square metres.The projected capacity is in excess of 20 helicopters per year, with production expected to progressively increase from five units in 2011 to steady state regime in 2015.

The plant, aimed at satisfying the requirements of the civil markets in Russia and CIS countries primarily and through the AgustaWestland network for the rest of the world, will be run by HeliVert, a Russian Helicopters and AgustaWestland “equal” joint venture.

The ground-breaking milestone is the latest achievements in the framework of the staged strategic cooperation between UIC Oboronprom and AgustaWestland started in 2007 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding “for cooperation development in the field of helicopter production”.

Other agreements signed culminated with one in June this year paving the way to start building the plant in Tomilino.

New Daily Service from Houston To Lagos.

Houston-Based continental Airlines plans to launch the first daily scheduled service between Texas and Africa on November 10, 2011, with non-stop flights to Lagos, Nigeria, using the new Boeing 787 Dream liner.

Reducing the current travel time between the two cities by four hours, this will be the first international route to be operated by Continental with its new B787 Dream liner aircraft.

Lagos will also be Continentals first destination in Africa and the 30th city in its transatlantic route network. It is the second new international destination announce in the last month that will be served nonstop from Houston, Continentals largest hub.

Continental currently serves 63 international destinations nonstop from Houston and recently announced plans to begin nonstop service between Houston and Auckland beginning November 16.

 

You have all the options to choose from for aircraft type, services, as this article gives you more information on aviation.

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World Airline Fleets News

Reports on new and used airline transactions, accidents, orders, new airlines, and etc. Includes over 600 color photos yearly.

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Jet Airways Signs an Agreement With United Airlines

Jet Airways and United Airlines signed an agreement for a code-share on the route London-Mumbai-San Francisco, operated with aircraft of the first domestic carrier of India. This partnership follows the cooperation with American Airlines, that through New York- JFK hub which offers many connections to passengers coming from the route India-Europe-Usa.

Meanwhile, the consolidation of Jet Airways is going on also on the domestic market, after the purchase of Air Sahara, now it’s the turn of JetLite, with which the carrier signed a code-share agreement. Passengers have now a better network in India, with easier connections.

During the months October-December 2008, the carrier had a turnover of 628 million dollars,  more than 21 per cent on the same period of 2007, the year in which Jet Airways started its operations in August.

The Indian airline chose Brussels as European hub – an agreement with Belgian carrier, Brussels Airlines, allows to feed the aircraft leaving for Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, New York and Toronto.

Get the latest news on airlines industry only on complete airlines news portal hawaiiyatra.blogspot.com.Get discounts on booking online domestic and international flights. Book cheapest Jetlite flights in India only on hawaiiyatra. Hawaii Yatra is one stop solution for all your travel needs. Book now and get maximum discounts. Hawaii Yatra also facilitates car rentals, bus bookings and hotel bookings.

Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline and ICICI Lombard General Insurance have collaborated to launch a unique overseas and domestic travel insurance product called JetProtect which offers security against possible risks during travel. JetProtect can be purchased solely by visiting Jet Airways’ website – www.jetairways.com. With this recent online offering, Jet Airways has yet again succeeded in launching an innovative product and service by leveraging technology.

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The Aroma and flavors of Lahore and Cheap Pakistan Flights

While Lahore is not the capital city of Pakistan but it has been putting on the cultural, intellectual and festival crown on its head. If you are zealous about history notes and architecture buildings then the city would be a good place for you having an aromatic mix, from dreadful Mughal testimonials to fainted inheritances of the British Raj. Airlines and travel agencies issue special cheap flights to Lahore added with cheaper travel packages on peak days. In fact, exploring the places of old City will take you to a mini-adventure trip to a mysterious world. Many people around the world vend the cheap flights to Lahore just to discover the mysteries of these sites.  

Lahore public is just fanatic of favors and tastes even every minor to major festivity is celebrated in the form of “dinner party”. No doubt the cuisine is so rich in taste and blend of spices Lahore specialties are well liked every where. Tourists getting the flights to Lahore just fall in love with the flavors.

Bundu Khan – this is the restaurant popular amongst the elite class, normally dishes up hot & spicy menu like mutton tikka, brain masala, chicken karahi etc, also some international flavors such as burgers, corn soups, steaks and pizzas etc. It has many branches in the country. In the evening time is arranged outside in the open air. Getting there by cheap flights to Lahore having a meal there is a must.

Café Zouk – If having mood of some Continental or Thai then it is a wonderful option. It dishes up various Thai recipes like sweet and sour fish; Ethiopian chicken served with red pepper pulp and fantastic New York cheese cake and in beverages piña colada is prominent. Some travel agencies presenting flights to Lahore also include the dinner in these cafes in the package.

Chaman – is a famous ice cream parlor, serving huge variety of flavors of ice-cream also fresh fruits juices. Visitors worldwide reserving cheap flights to Lahore never forget to have a cup of ice-cream from there.

Salt n Pepper – is a great stop for delicious Pakistani and Continental cookery. Boneless chicken handi, club sandwich, apple pie are the specialty. The restaurant also delivers home services plus bookings are made on weekends.  

http://www.pakistanflights.org.uk/cheap-flights-to-lahore.html
Dhaba – is quite popular restaurant for sub continental specialties like nawabi salan, mutton cheese, and grilled prawns served with lemon butter sauce etc are awesome. You may also enjoy your meals in the open air chair arrangements. If you are also looking for Lahore travel package and cheap flights to Lahore then your trip without enjoying these hot foodstuffs is just unfinished.
http://www.pakistanflights.org.uk

The Benefits Of Traveling Business Class In United Airlines

People would want to avoid the hullabaloos of traveling in economic class and they would go for business class for obvious reasons. The executive class airlines ensure comfort and luxury for the travelers in a reasonable price. If the passengers put in a little time to do proper research, it would be easy to book seats in cheap business class flights. But it is essentially important that the passengers should get the services that they pay for. International carriers like United Airlines offer services for making business travel more comfortable.

United Airlines has been constantly expanding services to convert many of the long haul aircrafts with new business class seats and services. The seats are the most significant factor that determines the comfort level of a journey. The business class seats in United Airline are lay-flat and they mean it to the word. The seats would recline completely to a full 180 degree for giving the passengers a good sleep. The airline provides the customers with cozy blankets and pillows for encouraging a sound sleep. Moreover there would be a six-way adjustable head rest for the travelers and this would create the whole ambience of a luxury suite room. For avoiding problems of backache, the seats have a four-way lumbar support function available. The meal tray is comparatively large and you can even a keep a laptop computer inside.

The next important service is the in-flight entertainment options. There are endless options available for the air passengers. The entertainment system consists of a 15 inch screen placed at just the right distance. The screen gives perfect picture quality for the viewers in all possible lighting conditions. Passengers are given noise reducing headsets and have excellent qualities giving super music and voice reproduction. If the travelers need to recharge their iPods, then there are iPod ports with 110 volt power points available on board. In addition, there is USD connection too.

The airline food has been constantly under criticism for many years. But United Airlines have designed a novel and healthy menu. For long haul flights, the meals are extremely important. If the food is not satisfying, then the whole journey would be spoiled. United Airline offers local and international cuisine for business class passengers. Adding to this, the wine list is also interesting which greatly satisfies the customers.

If you are taking a long flight, you would surely want to get good sleep and good food. Moreover you don’t want to experience stress during the journey. Lighting plays an important role in giving a stress free journey. In long haul flights, the cabin lights would be generally dimmed. But the flight would have two major lighting sources which would be sufficient enough to give lighting. The overhead light is fixed but the light behind the seat is flexible. This would help in getting enough light whenever needed.

The airline would also give extra privilege to the business class passengers while boarding and deplaning. They are given priority at check in positions too. Some other perks include luxurious lounge facility at airports with shower rooms, nap rooms etc.

UBG Song#3 is released! www.davecarrollmusic.com/song3 There is now a video response: www.youtube.com Full Story: www.davecarrollmusic.com – In the spring of 2008, Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour and my Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. I discovered later that the 00 guitar was severely damaged. They didnt deny the experience occurred but for nine months the various people I communicated with put the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate me for my loss. So I promised the last person to finally say no to compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that I would write and produce three songs about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world. United: Song 1 is the first of those songs. United: Song 2 has been written and video production is underway. United: Song 3 is coming. I promise. Follow me at twitter.com . Video Produced by Curve Productions of Halifax, www.curveproductionsinc.com.

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Enjoy Your Business Class Flight Journey In Delta Airlines

If you’re a passenger of Delta Business class, you can make use of Delta Sky club before your trip. Delta sky club provides various services to its business class passengers like bar, telephone service, newspaper, magazine and television. You can take advantage of snacks served to you throughout the day and make use of free Wi-Fi facility and make the most of your time at the airport. From check in to boarding, Business passengers can take advantage of all the Delta sky club services.

Intercontinental Executive class services:
If you are flying internationally you can take advantage of the comfort of your home. You can enjoy onboard amenities so that you can make your time in the air more enjoyable. Enjoy flat bed seats and gourmet meals in Delta Airlines. Some In-Flight services amenities offered in Intercontinental Business Elite are as follows:

Restful sleep: You can have a wonderful sleep as it has comfortable seats, full-size pillow and specialized seat configuration that provides additional privacy.

Personal Entertainment: You can choose a movie from up to 250 movies, 150 TV programs, video games and kid friendly options are also available. You can recharge with an electrical outlet and USB port at every seat. You can also enjoy five course dining experience. Executive class seats offer plenty of space for your personal items, so that you can comfortably take rest in the flight.

Transcontinental Executive class service:
You can enjoy cross-country flight with their new transcontinental business Elite amenities. Enjoy in-flight internet access so that you can stay connected with your friends, family and colleagues. Plug your laptop into the electrical outlet at your seat and get work done. You can choose from various range of library of movies, TV shows, music and games.

Business class seating facility:
You can enjoy flat bed seat facility that feature 180 degree recline, privacy and direct aisle access. These seats are available in 767, 777 and 747 fleet. Two styles of flat bed seat styles like 767-400ER and 777-200LR are available. All seats lie 180 degrees fully flat and feature over sized entertainment screens and direct aisle access. In Flat bed seating you can enjoy new bedding, personal entertainment, power up and superior storage facility.

In-flight entertainment provided to executive class passengers are as follows-

Wi-Fi Access:
Executive class passengers can check email, Surf the web and login your company’s VPN-all from your seat. Wi-Fi access is available on many flights.

In-Flight power:
You can recharge your laptop from your seat with the help of power adapters and also other mobile devices.

Sky Magazine:
You can read newspapers and magazines. There is a special magazine set up by Delta Airlines in the name of Sky magazine which people can enjoy reading it.

Entertainment:
Movies, TV and other in-flight entertainment can while your time.

With so many facilities in Delta Airlines what are you thinking? Book Delta business class flights and enjoy your trip.

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Users can now book Continental Airline on IPHONE, IPAD and IPOD one touch away on Apple IPHONE

Good news for Apple products and iPhone users. Top American airline Continental Airways has launched its App that will enable users to book flights on mobile, anywhere any time in just one touch.

Continental Airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Continental Holdings, Inc. and popular for its flights to New York City, Orlando, Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Newark and nearly all other important American destinations in the continent. Continental also offers flights to Mexico as well as long haul and transatlantic flights. The introduced application can be downloaded at App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It is a user friendly application that gives travelers easy access to their travel information. Most importantly, the app can be downloaded quickly and free of any cost.

This full-featured application will enable Continental Airline customers to book flights in all classes. Users of Continental Airline App can also get benefits from the reward travel program, online Check-in for flights, have one-touch access to mobile boarding passes and flight status details, and manage their One Pass frequent flyer accounts. The new app also includes a feed of Continental’s latest postings on Twitter.

Continental’s managing director of self-service and emerging technology, Mr. Jared Miller said at this occasion:

The Continental Airlines App is another example of Continental’s commitment to technology and innovation that makes travel more convenient for our customers. This app provides time-saving, full-featured access to the information that our customers need on the go, as well as other useful tools for travelers such as interactive airport smart maps and flight updates sent directly to their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

The airline has joined the league of top and innovative airlines and is fulfilling the gratification of users now opting for a more modernized form of communication that can be accessed frees of hassle.

Continental will soon expand the accessibility of the application to the Android platform, and is exploring other Smartphone options.

Air France – China 3D/4D Driving Flight Simulator – 3D Cinema System Manufacturer

History

Formation and early years

Air France was formed on 7 October 1933, from a merger of Air Orient, Air Union, Compagnie Gnrale Aropostale, Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Arienne (CIDNA), and Socit Gnrale de Transport Arien (SGTA). Of these airlines, SGTA was the first commercial airline company in France, having been founded as Lignes Ariennes Farman in 1919. The constituent members of Air France had already built extensive networks across Europe, to French colonies in North Africa and farther afield. During World War II, Air France moved its operations to Casablanca (Morocco). On 26 June 1945, all of France’s air transport companies were nationalised. On 29 December 1945, a decree[citation needed] of the French government granted Air France the management of the entire French air transport network. Air France appointed its first flight attendants in 1946. The same year the airline opened its first air terminal at Les Invalides in central Paris. It was linked to Paris Le Bourget Airport, Air France’s first operations and engineering base, by coach. At that time the network covered 160,000 km, claimed to be the longest in the world. Socit Nationale Air France was set up on 1 January 1946.

Air France SE-161 Carreidas in Tunisia in 1952.

On 1 July 1946, Air France inaugurated direct scheduled service between Paris and New York via refuelling stops at Shannon and Gander. Douglas DC-4 piston-engined airliners covered the route in just under 20 hours. By 1948 Air France operated one of the largest fleets in the world, numbering 130 aircraft. In 1946 and 1948, respectively, the French government further authorised the creation of two private airlines: Transports Ariens Internationaux – later Transports Ariens Intercontinentaux – (TAI) and SATI. In 1949 the latter became part of Union Aromaritime de Transport (UAT), a private French international airline.

Compagnie Nationale Air France was created by act of parliament on 16 June 1948. Initially, the government held 70%. In subsequent years the French state’s direct and indirect shareholdings reached almost 100%. In mid-2002 the state held 54%. On 4 August 1948 Max Hymans was appointed president. During his 13-year tenure he would implement modernisation practices centred on the introduction of jet aircraft. In 1949, the company became a co-founder of Socit Internationale de Tlcommunications Aronautiques (SITA), an airline telecommunications services company.

Jet age reorganisation

Passengers disembarking from a Sud-Est SE-161 Carreidas.

In 1952, Air France moved its operations and engineering base to the new Paris Orly Airport South terminal. By that time, the network had further expanded, covering 250,000 km. Air France entered the jet age in 1953 with the original, short-lived de Havilland Comet series 1, the world’s first jetliner. At the time, it was also a major operator of the Vickers Viscount turboprop. On 26 September 1953, the government instructed Air France to share long-distance routes with new private airlines. This was followed by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport’s imposition of an accord on Air France, Aigle Azur, TAI and UAT, under which some routes to Africa, Asia and the Pacific region were transferred to private carriers.

On 23 February 1960, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport transferred Air France’s domestic monopoly to Air Inter. To compensate for the loss of its domestic network, Air France was given a stake in Air Inter. The following day, Air France was further instructed to share African routes with Air Afrique and UAT. The airline started uninterrupted pure jet operations in 1960 with the Sud Aviation Caravelle and the Boeing 707. The incorporation of jet airliners into Air France’s route network cut travel times in half and improved passenger comfort. Air France later became an early Boeing 747 operator, and eventually operated one of the world’s largest 747 fleets.

Air France Caravelle jetliner in Algiers in 1963.

On 1 February 1963, the government formalised division of routes between Air France and its private sector rivals. Air France was to withdraw services to West Africa (with the exception of Senegal), Central Africa (except Burundi and Rwanda), Southern Africa (including South Africa), Libya in North Africa, Bahrain and Oman in the Middle East, Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) in South Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand as well as New Caledonia and Tahiti. These routes were allocated to the new Union des Transports Ariens (UTA), a new private airline that was the result of a merger between TAI and UAT. UTA also obtained exclusive rights between Japan, New Caledonia and New Zealand, South Africa and Runion island in the Indian Ocean, as well as Los Angeles and Tahiti.

From 1974, Air France began shifting the bulk of operations to the new Charles de Gaulle Airport north of Paris. By the early 1980s, only Corsica, Martinique, Guadeloupe, most services to French Guyana, Runion, the Maghreb region, Eastern Europe (except the USSR), Southern Europe (except Greece and Italy), and one daily service to New York (JFK) remained at Orly. In 1974, Air France also became the world’s first operator of the Airbus A300 twin-engined widebodied plane, Airbus Industrie’s first commercial airliner for which it was a launch customer.

In 1975, Air France was headquartered in central Paris.

Concorde service and rivalry

Air France Concorde on a U.S. stopover in 1977.

On 21 January 1976, Air France operated its inaugural supersonic transport (SST) service on the Paris (Charles de Gaulle) to Rio (via Dakar) route with the Anglo-French BAC-Arospatiale Concorde. Supersonic services from Paris (CDG) to New York (JFK) – the only remaining Concorde service until its end – as well as from Paris CDG to Washington D.C. commenced the following year. Paris to New York was covered in three hours and 23 minutes, about twice the speed of sound. Approval for flights to the United States was initially withheld due to noise protests. Eventually, services to Mexico City via Washington, D.C. were started. Air France became one of only two airlines – British Airways being the other – to regularly operate supersonic services, and continued daily transatlantic Concorde service for nearly two decades.

By 1983, Air France’s golden jubilee, the workforce numbered more than 34,000, its fleet about 100 jet aircraft (including 33 Boeing 747s) and its 634,400 km network served 150 destinations in 73 countries. This made Air France the fourth-largest scheduled passenger airline in the world, as well as the second-largest scheduled freight carrier. Air France also codeshared with regional French airlines, TAT being the most prominent. TAT applied Air France livery to several of its aircraft on Air France’s regional international routes.

In 1985 Air France was still headquartered in central Paris.

Air France operated 33 Boeing 747s by 1983.

In 1986 the government relaxed its policy of dividing traffic rights for scheduled services between Air France, Air Inter and UTA, without route overlaps between them. The decision opened some of Air France’s most lucrative routes on which it had enjoyed a government-sanctioned monopoly since 1963 and which were within its exclusive sphere of influence, to rival airlines, notably UTA. The changes enabled UTA to launch scheduled services to new destinations within Air France’s sphere, in competition with that airline.

Paris-San Francisco became the first route UTA served in competition with Air France non-stop from Paris. Air France responded by extending some non-stop Paris-Los Angeles services to Papeete, Tahiti, which competed with UTA on Los Angeles-Papeete. UTA’s ability to secure traffic rights outside its traditional sphere in competition with Air France was the result of a campaign to lobby the government to enable it to grow faster, becoming more dynamic and more profitable. This infuriated Air France.

In 1988, Air France was a launch customer for the fly-by-wire (FBW) A320 narrowbody twin, along with Air Inter and British Caledonian. It became the first airline to take delivery of the A320 in March 1988, and along with Air Inter became the first airlines to introduce Airbus A320 service on short-haul routes.

Acquisitions and privatisation

Dassault Mercure of Air Inter which became part of Air France in 1990.

On 12 January 1990, the operations of government-owned Air France, semi-public Air Inter and wholly private UTA were merged into an enlarged Air France. Air France’s acquisition of UTA and Air Inter was part of an early 1990s government plan to create a unified, national air carrier with the economies of scale and global reach to counter potential threats from the liberalisation of the EU’s internal air transport market.

On 25 July 1994, a new holding company, Groupe Air France, was set up by decree. Groupe Air France became operational on 1 September 1994. It acquired the Air France group’s majority shareholdings in Air France and Air Inter (subsequently renamed Air France Europe). On 31 August 1994, Stephen Wolf, a former United Airlines CEO, was appointed adviser to the Air France group’s chairman Christian Blanc. Wolf was credited with the introduction of Air France’s hub and spoke operation at Paris Charles de Gaulle. (Wolf resigned in 1996 to take over as CEO at US Airways.)

In 1997, Air France Europe was absorbed into Air France.

On 19 February 1999, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin’s Plural Left government approved the Air France’s partial privatisation. Its shares were listed on the Paris stock exchange on 22 February 1999. In June 1999, Air France and Delta Air Lines formed a bilateral transatlantic partnership. On 22 June 2000, this expanded into the SkyTeam global airline alliance.

Air France-KLM merger

The merger of Air France and KLM occurred in 2004.

On 30 September 2003, Air France and Netherlands-based KLM Royal Dutch Airlines announced the merger of the two airlines, the new company to be known as Air France-KLM. The merger became reality on 5 May 2004. At that point former Air France shareholders owned 81% of the new firm (44% owned by the French state, 37% by private shareholders), former KLM shareholders the rest. The decision of the Jean-Pierre Raffarin government to reduce the French state’s shareholding in the former Air France group from 54.4% to 44% of the newly created Air France-KLM Group effectively privatised the new airline. In December 2004 the state sold 18.4% of its equity in Air France-KLM. The state’s shareholding in Air France-KLM subsequently fell to just under 20%.

Air France operations at Charles de Gaulle airport in 2006.

Air France-KLM became the largest airline in the world in terms of operating revenues, and third-largest (largest in Europe) in passenger kilometres. Although owned by a single company, Air France and KLM continued to fly under their own brand names. Air France-KLM remained part of the SkyTeam alliance, which then included Aeroflot, Delta Air Lines, Aeromxico, Korean Air, Czech Airlines, Alitalia, Northwest Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Air Europa and Continental Airlines. As of March 2004, Air France employed 71,654 people. As of March 2007, the airline employed 102,422 personnel.

According to Air France-KLM, the company’s principal activities became:

Passenger transport: first European airline with 25.5% of market share (November 2004) and largest airline in the world in terms of operating revenue.

Freight transport: largest company for international freight transportation without integration. With integration, Air France-KLM is third worldwide behind FedEx Express and UPS Airlines.

Airplane maintenance and repair: largest multi-services operator.

Open skies venture

Air France added the first Boeing 777-300ER to its fleet in 2004.

On 17 October 2007, the creation of a profit and revenue-sharing transatlantic joint venture between Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines was announced during a press conference at Air France-KLM’s Roissy-CDG headquarters. The venture became effective on 29 March 2008. It aimed to exploit transatlantic opportunities to capture a major share of long-haul business traffic from London Heathrow Airport, which opened to unrestricted competition on that day as a result of the “Open Skies” pact between the EU and USA. It was envisaged that Air France and Delta, as well as fellow SkyTeam members Continental and Northwest, would begin nine daily round trips between London-Heathrow and destinations in the USA, including a daily London (Heathrow) to Los Angeles service by Air France. Once the new Air France-Delta venture received antitrust immunity, it was to be extended to the other two transatlantic SkyTeam partners, enabling all four partners to codeshare flights as well as to share revenue and profit.

The new transatlantic joint venture marks the Air France-KLM Group’s second major expansion in the London market, following the launch of CityJet-operated short-haul services from London City Airport that have been aimed at business travellers in the City’s financial services industry. However, the daily London (Heathrow) to Los Angeles service was not as successful as hoped, and was discontinued in November 2008.

Recent developments

On 13 January, Air France agreed to enter into recently privatised Alitalia’s capital share with a 25% stake. This capital investment is coupled with a co-operation agreement on an industrial basis. It is expected that Air France’s participation will increase in the years and that may likely lead to a merger with Alitalia, although nothing has been agreed so far on this.

Corporate identity

Liveries and logo

Air France title logo from 1970s-2008

The hippocampe ail logo.

Boeing 777-200ER with Air France’s Eurowhite 1970s-2008 livery.

Air France Boeing 777-300ER in the new livery landing at Montreal-Trudeau.

Air France’s present livery is a Eurowhite scheme, comprising a white fuselage with the blue Air France title and design. The tail is white with a series of parallel red and blue lines across the it at an angle, and a small European flag at the top. This livery has been in use since the late 1970s. In 2008, to coincide with Air France’s new logo, a change in livery is expected soon with the new logo replacing the old one at the forward fuselage. The tail will have little change; there will now be 3 blue bars running down instead of 4 previously. The bars will also now curve at the bottom reflecting the design of the logo. Previously, Air France aircraft had a bare-metal underside, extending up to a blue cheat-line that ran across the cabin windows. Above the cheat-line the fuselage was again white, with Air France titles and a French flag. The tail was white with two thick blue lines, which tapered from the rear of the tail and met at point towards the front bottom. This basic livery, with minor variations, would appear on all post-war Air France aircraft until the late 1970s.

Upon its formation, Air France adopted the seahorse logo of its predecessor Air Orient, known as the hippocampe ail, as its insignia. Prior to the Air France-KLM merger, the hippocampe ail was used on the nose section of aircraft next to the Groupe Air France title; after the merger, the Air France-KLM logo was substituted at the nose area, and the hippocampe ail was relocated to engine nacelles. The acroynm “AF” has also featured prominently on the airline’s flag and its signage. On 7 January 2008, Air France officially changed its logo to a red stripe.

Marketing

The song played before and after Air France flights (during boarding and after landing) is ‘Setting Fire to Sleepy Towns.’ by The Sleeping Years. The song featured in the Air France commercials is ‘Between Us’ by the band Aswefall.

Uniforms

Air France uniforms denote the ranks for the flight attendants. Two silver sleeve stripes denote a Chief Purser. One silver sleeve stripe denote a Purser. Flight attendants do not have any sleeve stripes. Air France’s current uniforms were created by French fashion designer Christian Lacroix.

Destinations

Main article: Air France destinations

Air France is a full service global airline and flies to 20 domestic destinations and 150 international destinations in 83 countries (including Overseas departments and territories of France) across all 6 major continents. This includes Air France Cargo services and those destinations served by franchisees Airlinair, Brit Air, CityJet, CCM Airlines and Rgional.

Most of Air France’s international flights operate from Paris-Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport. Air France also has a strong presence at Paris-Orly and Lyon-Saint-Exupry airports. As Air France becomes more a strategic partner with Delta Air Lines through the SkyTeam alliance and through a substantial joint venture, new routes and code-share agreements are developing rapidly.

Fleet

Active Fleet

The Air France fleet consists of the following passenger aircraft (as of 10 February 2010):

Air France Passenger Fleet

Aircraft

Total

Orders

Passengers

(First/Business/Premium Economy/Economy)

Airbus A318-100

18

0

123 (0/0/0/123)

Airbus A319-100

39

0

142 (0/0/0/142)

Airbus A319-100LR

5

0

79 (0/28/51/0)

Airbus A320-100

4

0

172 (0/0/0/172)

Airbus A320-200

56

10

165 (0/0/0/165)

Airbus A321-100

5

0

206 (0/0/0/206)

Airbus A321-200

18

4

200 (0/0/0/200)

Airbus A330-200

15

0

208 (0/40/21/147)

219 (0/40/0/179)

Airbus A340-300

18

0

261 (0/36/21/204)

272 (0/36/0/236)

275 (0/30/21/224)

291 (0/30/0/261)

Airbus A380-800

2

10

538 (9/80/0/449)

Boeing 747-400

15

0

436 (0/40/0/396)

Boeing 777-200ER

25

0

247 (4/49/24/170)

264 (4/49/0/211)

Boeing 777-300ER

30

12

303 (8/67/28/200)

325 (8/67/0/250)

472 (0/14/36/422)

The average fleet age of Air France is 7.9 years (as of 1 November 2009).

Orders

Airbus A380.

Airbus A318.

Airbus A319.

Airbus A320-200.

Airbus A321-200.

Air France Boeing 747-400 at Paris-CDG leaving for Montral-Trudeau.

On 24 May 2007, Air France announced it was planning to phase out its 747-400 aircraft by 2010, and placed an order for an additional 13 Boeing 777-300ERs and five Boeing 777F units. The airline also converted options for two more A380-800s into firm orders. This will bring the total of these aircraft for Air France to 33 Boeing 777-300ERs, 10 Boeing 777Fs, and 12 A380-800.

On 22 February 2005 Air France ordered a further four Boeing 777-300ERs, adding to 10 previously ordered (four delivered). The airline had previously ordered 18 Boeing 777-200ERs.

Air France signed as a launch customer for the Airbus A380-800 “superjumbo” in 2001. Air France had ordered 12 Airbus A380-800 aircraft, with options on a further two. The A380-800 will be used from Paris to New York and Johannesburg and as additional aircraft arrive, to Beijing and Tokyo. The first A380 was delivered on 30 October 2009, and is used on the Paris to New York route. Following delivery of the second A380, Air France started using it on the Paris to Johannesburg route from the 17 February 2010.

On 20 May 2005 Air France signed an agreement with Boeing to have three of its former Boeing 747-400 Combi aircraft – currently operated in all-passenger configuration – converted to the Boeing 747-400SF Special Freighter model. The modified aircraft will accelerate the phasing-out of the remaining, aging Boeing 747-200F freighters..

Air France has begun the process of removing the Boeing 747-400s from its fleet, in favour of the Boeing 777-300ER. A letter of intent has been signed for 6 747s to be purchased and converted to freighters and it hopes to have completely phased out all 747s by 2013.

On 23 May 2005 Air France agreed to buy five 777 Freighters (with three further options), making it the launch customer of the 777 Freighter. Air France took delivery of its first two 777 Freighters during February 2009. Two of the five were later sold to FedEx Express before being delivered.

Anniversary jet

On 14 November 2008, Air France released the first picture of an Airbus A320 with registration F-GFKJ that has been repainted in the full 1946 paint scheme to celebrate the airline’s 75 years anniversary. This heritage aircraft is planned to fly under the special colours until Spring 2010.

Fleet history

Over the years, Air France operated the following aircraft types:

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Air France Past Fleet

Aircraft

Introduced

Retired

Notes

Airbus A300

1974

1998

Airbus A310

1984

2002

Airbus A318

2003

Airbus A319

1997

Airbus A320

1988

Airbus A321

1997

Airbus A330-200

2001

Airbus A340-200

1993

1999

Airbus A340-300

1993

Airbus A380

2009

Boeing 737-200

1982

2002

Boeing 737-300

1991

2004

Boeing 737-500

1990

2007

Boeing 747-100

1970

1995

Boeing 747-200

1974

2008

Boeing 747-300

1991

2007

Boeing 747-400

1991

Boeing 767-300

1991

2003

Boeing 777-200

1998

Boeing 777-300

2004

Concorde

1976

2003

Fokker 100

1997

1999

sold to Brit Air

Lockheed TriStar

1989

1991

McDonnell Douglas DC-10

1992

2004

Concorde

The five Air France Concordes were grounded on 31 May 2003, as a result of insufficient demand following the 2000 accident, as well as higher fuel and maintenance costs. However, it is widely believed that Air France chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta’s fear of personal criminal liability in the event of another Concorde accident was the real reason. Airbus’s subsequent decision to stop supporting the in-service Concorde fleet forced British Airways to retire its own fleet. The Airbus decision to end Concorde support came at an inopportune time for British Airways as it had just completed a refurbishment of the aircraft’s interiors and invested in post-2000 crash modifications. British Airways flew its last Concorde service on 24 October 2003. Concorde F-BVFA was transferred to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, an annexe of the National Air & Space Museum in Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, near Washington Dulles Airport. F-BVFB was given to Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum in Germany, F-BTSD to the Muse de l’Air et de l’Espace in Paris, while F-BVFC returned to its place of manufacture in Toulouse at the Airbus factory. F-BVFF is the only example to remain at Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Cabin classes

Air France has three primary classes of international service: La Premire (First), Affaires (Business), Premium Voyageur (Premium Economy) and Voyageur. European short-haul flights feature Voyageur and Premium Voyageyr class service. For flights to the Caribbean and Indian Ocean, a premium economy class, Aliz, is also offered, and a Premium Tempo class has been announced for select international routes. Inflight entertainment via AVOD (Audio Video on Demand) is available in select cabins.

La Premire (First) suites on a Boeing 777.

Affaires (Business) lie-flat seats.

Voyageur (Economy) cabin.

La Premire

La Premire (former L’Espace Premire), Air France’s long-haul first class product, is available on Airbus A380, Boeing 777-300ER, and Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. The La Premire cabin features four to nine (A380) wood and leather seats which recline 180, forming two-metre long beds. Each seat features a 10.4″ touchscreen TV monitor with interactive gaming and AVOD, a privacy divider, automassage feature, reading light, storage drawer, noise-cancelling headphones, personal telephone, and laptop power ports. la carte on-demand meal services feature entres created by Chef Guy Martin. Turndown service includes a mattress, duvet and pillow. Private lounge access is offered worldwide.

Affaires

Affaires (former L’Espace Affaires), Air France’s long-haul business class product, is available on Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A380, Boeing 747-400, Boeing 777-200ER, and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Affaires features lie-flat seats which recline to two metres in length. Each seat includes a 10.4″ touchscreen TV monitor with interactive gaming and AVOD, reading light, personal telephone, and laptop power ports. Meal service features three-course meals and a cheese service, or an express menu served shortly after takeoff.

Aliz

Aliz is Air France’s regional premium economy product for flights to the Caribbean and Indian Ocean (such as the Antilles, French Guiana, and Mauritius). On the Boeing 777-300ER, the Aliz cabin is located in front of the Voyageur cabin and features 36 seats. Aliz seats recline up to 123 and feature massaging foot rests. A pre-departure drink, enhanced meal service, and feather pillows and blankets are offered.

Premium Voyageur

This new class will be available on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft starting Autumn/Winter 2009/2010. Based on the concept of a premium economy cabin, it is said that it will incorporate all the amenities of standard Voyageur class but with a more spacious cabin, in a 2-4-2 configuration and a 38″ pitch. It is expected for there to be about 32 of these new seats on the Boeing 777-300ER. The Boeing 777-300ER flies to New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Beirut, Beijing, Hong Kong and Osaka. Premium Voyageur will be gradually rolled out onto all of Air France’s long-haul fleet.

Voyageur

Voyageur (former Tempo), Air France’s economy class product, features seats that recline up to 118. The latest long-haul Voyageur seat, which debuted on the Boeing 777-300ER, includes winged headrests, a personal telephone, and a touchscreen TV monitor with AVOD Interactive Entertainment System which are gradually being installed on all of Air France’s longhaul aircraft except Boeing 747-400s. Short-haul Tempo services are operated by Airbus A320 family aircraft with different seating arrangements. Air France is one of the few airlines who features winged headrests on short-haul aircraft in both classes. On short haul flights a snack is served. On medium haul flights a three course cold meal is served. On long haul flights there is a choice between two main courses when available. Limited free alcoholic beverages are available on all flights. Tempo has been renamed as Voyageur with Air France’s new image rebranding.

Services

In-flight catering

In-flight AVOD and dessert course in Affaires (Business)

For its Premire cabin, Air France’s first class menu is designed by Guy Martin, chef of Le Grand Vefour, a Michelin three-star restaurant in Paris. Menu items include hors deuvres, entres, bread basket, and cheeses, along with a dessert cart including pastries, petit fours, and tartlets. Air France also serves complimentary champagne to passengers in all classes.

In-flight entertainment

Air France offers Audio Video on Demand (AVOD) in all classes on service on its A330, A340, A380 and 777 aircraft. The AVOD system features multiple channels of video, audio, music, and games. Premire and Affaires passengers can start and stop programs, plus rewind and fast-forward as desired; in Voyageur class, the system may cycle between programs at a regular interval on all aircraft except Boeing 777-300ER. Some aircraft in Air France’s 747 fleet do not have individual video screens in Voyageur class. Air France Magazine, the airline’s in-flight publication, is included at each seat, and Air France Madame, a fashion luxury magazine with a feminine perspective, is included in Premire and Affaires cabins and lounges.

Lounges

Air France Business Lounge at CDG Terminal 2E.

Air France lounges are open to Premire and Affaires passengers, as well as Flying Blue Gold, Flying Blue Platinum, SkyTeam Elite Plus, or Club 2000 frequent flier program cardholders. Many airports feature SkyTeam lounges that are used by Air France and member airline partners.

Flying Blue

Main article: Flying Blue

Flying Blue, the frequent flyer program of Air France-KLM, awards members points based on miles travelled and class of service. Membership into the program is free. The program is divided into standard (Ivory) and Elite (Silver, Gold and Platinum) statuses. Ivory is the basic level which is attained upon entry into the program. Elite status is attained by accruing a certain number of miles within one calendar year. Elite Silver, Elite Gold, and Elite Platinum cards have added benefits. Flying Blue succeeded Air France’s previous frequent flyer program, Frquence Plus, which operated until the Air France-KLM merger in 2003.

Ivory – Permanent status; accrues mileage on AF, KLM, and qualifying flights.

Silver (Elite) – 25,000 or more miles on 15 or more segments.

Gold (Elite) – 40,000 or more miles travelled on 30 or more level segments.

Platinum (Elite) – 70,000 or more miles travelled on 60 or more level segments.

For French and Monegasque residents, Elite thresholds are higher, at 30,000, 60,000, and 90,000 miles respectively.

Codeshare agreements

In addition to its Brit Air, CityJet and Rgional subsidiaries, and its SkyTeam alliance partnership, Air France offers frequent flyer partnerships with approximately two-dozen airlines (as of February 2010):

Air France e-check kiosks

Air Mauritius

Air Seychelles

Aircalin

Alaska Airlines

Armavia

Austrian Airlines (Star Alliance)

Avianca

Baboo

CCM Airlines

Chalair

China Eastern Airlines

Finnair (Oneworld)

Gol Transportes Areos

Japan Airlines (Oneworld)

Jat Airways

Luxair

Malv Hungarian Airlines (Oneworld)

Middle East Airlines

Qantas (Oneworld)

Swiss International Air Lines (Star Alliance)

TAAG Angola Airlines

TAROM (SkyTeam from 2010)

Ukraine International Airlines

WestJet (from early 2010)

Subsidiaries and franchises

Air France regional jet operated by Brit Air

In partnership with Dutch affiliate Transavia, Air France has launched Transavia.com France, a new low-cost subsidiary based at Orly airport. Operations began in May 2007 with flights to leisure destinations in the Mediterranean region and North Africa. It is operating four “Next Generation” Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Transavia has a 40% stake, with Air France holding the rest.

Airlinair, Brit Air, CityJet, CCM Airlines and Rgional all operate flights on behalf of Air France, either as subsidiaries or as franchisees.

Rail ventures

Air France and Veolia are looking into jointly operating high-speed rail services in Europe. Routes will become available to operators in accordance with European rail liberalisation on 1 January 2010.

Head office

Head office of Air France in Roissyple, Tremblay-en-France

The former Air France head office in Montparnasse, Paris

Air France’s head office is located in the Roissyple complex on the grounds of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and in the commune of Tremblay-en-France, Seine-Saint-Denis, near the city of Paris. The 130,000 square metres (1,400,000 sq ft) complex was completed in December 1995. The French firm Groupement d’Etudes et de Mthodes d’Ordonnancement (GEMO) managed the project. The architect was Valode et Pistre and the design consultants were and Sechaud-Boyssut and Trouvin. The project costed 137,000,000 euros(less than 700 million francs).

For about 30 years prior to December 1995, Air France’s headquarters were located in a tower adjacent to the Gare Montparnasse rail station in the Montparnasse area and the 15th arrondissement of Paris. By 1991 two bids for the purchase of the Square Max Hymans building had been made. By 1992 the complex was sold to MGEN for 1.6 million francs. By that year Air France had planned to move its head office to Roissyple, taking 50,000 square metres (540,000 sq ft) of space inside the hotel, office, and shopping complex on the grounds of Charles de Gaulle Airport. After Air France moved to Tremblay-en-France, the ownership of the former head office complex was transferred.

In popular culture

Air France is the official airline of the Cannes Film Festival.

Air France has featured in Hollywood films. In the 1942 classic Casablanca, an Air France airliner, identifiable via its seahorse logo, featured prominently in the film’s climactic last scene. The Air France aircraft was used to take Ingrid Bergman’s character to freedom, as her former lover, played by Humphrey Bogart, watches. Additionally, the first in-flight movie was screened on board an Air France Lockheed Constellation in 1951 flying the New York to Paris route.

Incidents and accidents

Air France accidents and incidents

References

Notes

^ a b c d e “Directory: World Airlines”. Flight International: pp. 5657. 2007-03-27. 

^ Salpukas, Agis (1992-12-27). “Air France’s Big Challenge”. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/27/business/air-france-s-big-challenge.html. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 

^ “Air France – Company Overview”. Hoover’s. 2009. http://www.hoovers.com/air-france/–ID__43290–/free-co-factsheet.xhtml. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 

^ Rgional (Compagnie Arienne Europenne), Company Profile

^ Ordonnance n45-1403 du 26 juin 1945 portant nationalisation des transports ariens

^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Air France (Airline, France)

^ a b c M.R. Golder, The Changing Nature of French Dirigisme – A Case Study of Air France. Thesis submitted at Trinity College, Oxford, 1997, p.28

^ World Airline Directory. Flight International. March 20, 1975. “466.

^ Airliners.net

^ “World Airline Directory.” Flight International. 30 March 1985. 42.” Retrieved on 17 June 2009.

^ Answers.com (Business and Finance) – Chargeurs International

^ FT.com/Business Life, The Monday Interview, 30 September 2007 – Pilot who found the right trajectory

^ The New York Times, 31 August 1994, Air France’s New Adviser

^ Business Wire, 16 January 1996 – Statement from Air France Group Chairman regarding Stephen M. Wolf

^ AIR FRANCE – KLM Company Profile Yahoo! Finance

^ a b Financial Times, 17 October 2007 – Air France and Delta target London

^ Airwise, 17 October 2007 – Air France And Delta Set Transatlantic Venture

^ Engle, Jane. “Air France will refund or reroute LAX-Heathrow fliers”. The Los Angeles Times. http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/air-france-will-refu-2984/. Retrieved 2009-05-09. 

^ “Air France’s new livery retains much of current scheme”. Flight International. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/02/11/322387/picture-air-frances-new-livery-retains-much-of-current-scheme.html. Retrieved 2009-02-11. 

^ Pegasus a la Francaise

^ Air France’s Hippocampe and BOAC’s Speedbird: the semiotic status of logos

^ http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Air France.htm

^ Air France Fleet Age

^ Air France To Retire Boeing 747 Fleet (Flight Global: 24 May 2007)

^ ASIATravelTips.com, 18 June 2001 – Air France confirms major A380 order

^ Air International (July 2005)

^ DVB to acquire six Air France Boeing 747-400s Flight Global, 5 February 2008

^ Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 20 February 2009

^ http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100129-708885.html

^ Airliners.net F-GFKJ retrojet

^ Air France historic fleet at airfleets.ner. Retrieved 2009-11-20.

^ The Betrayal Of Concorde By Donald L. Pevsner

^ Air France – On Board

^ Air France reoit son 50e Boeing 777 et lance une Tempo premium

^ “Baggage fees for major airlines”. budgettravel.about.com. http://budgettravel.about.com/od/airfarescruises/tp/majors_bagfees.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-22. 

^ Forbes – First-Class Chefs Take Flight

^ There is such thing as a good airline meal

^ Air France Airline Information

^ Echo Media – Air France Madame

^ Air France Flying Blue

^ a b Air France Flying Blue membership thresholds

^ “About Air France Code-share agreements”. Air France. http://www.airfrance.us/US/en/local/toutsurairfrance/partenaires/partenaires_partage_code.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 

^ Airliner World (January 2007)

^ Air France, Veolia plan high-speed rail venture (Reuters, 2008-09-08)

^ “Head Office,Air France. Retrieved on 9 February 2010.

^ “Plan interactif.” Tremblay-en-France. Retrieved on 20 September 2009.

^ a b “AIR FRANCE HEAD QUARTERS – ROISSYPOLE.” Groupement d’Etudes et de Mthodes d’Ordonnancement (GEMO). Retrieved on 20 September 2009.

^ “Air France.” Tremblay-en-France. Retrieved on 20 September 2009.

^ “Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle.” Tremblay-en-France. Retrieved on 20 September 2009. “Roissyple runit dans un cadre architectural moderne des infrastructures indispensables aux entreprises pour lesquelles le contact avec l’international est une necessit quotidienne. La cit d’affaires desservie par le RER accueille le sige social d’Air-France, le Hilton aisni que les bureaux du Continental square et du dme.”

^ “Le futur sige d’Air France devrait coter prs de 700 millions.” Les Echos. 27 March 1992. Page 12. Retrieved on 23 February 2010.

^ Mlekuz, Nathalie. “Air France vole vers ses avions, destination Roissy.” Le Monde. 2 April 1997. Retrieved on 22 September 2009. “Situ pendant plus de trente ans dans une des tours au-dessus de la gare Montparnasse, le sige d’Air France se trouve dsormais prs de l’aroport de Roissy.”

^ “Deux offres pour l’achat du sige d’Air France.” Les chos (France). 25 September 1991. Page 12. Retrieved on 26 November 2009.

^ “Air France toujours la recherche de capitaux frais.” Les Echos. 20 January 1992. Page 12. Retrieved on 23 December 2009. “Air France a pu boucler son exercice 1991 en incorporant la dotation en capital de 2 milliards de francs consentie par l’Etat-actionnaire, 1,25 milliard apports par la BNP contre des obligations remboursables en actions (ORA), ainsi que le produit de la vente de son sige la MGEN (1,6 milliard).”

^ Chenay, Christophe de. “Une ville pousse entre les pistes de Roissy Il ne manquera que des logements pour faire de Roissyple une vritable cit Mais le projet inquite les communes environnantes.” Le Monde. 13 September 1992. Retrieved on 20 January 2010. “Le transfert du sige d’Air France qui quittera le quartier Montparnasse en 1995 pour Roissyple devrait donner une lgitimit aux ambitions immobilires.”

^ “Roissyple ouvre ses portes.” Les Echos. 1 October 1992. Page 23. Retrieved on 20 January 2010. “Et le goupe Air France va y installer son nouveau sige social sur 50.000 mtres carrs en 1995.”

^ “Air France Roissy: le dcollage du sige social.” Les Echos. 1 June 1995. Page 32. Retrieved on 22 September 2009. “au terme d’un transfert rigoureusement planifi par la vente de l’ancien sige de Montparnasse.”

^ a b c Air France Reaching for the Stars

Bibliography

Air France corporate history

Air France fatal accident list – in English and French

Financial Times, 17 October 2007 – Air France and Delta target London

Airwise, 17 October 2007 – Air France And Delta Set Transatlantic Venture

FT.com/Business Life, The Monday Interview, 30 September 2007 – Pilot who found the right trajectory

The Seattle Times, Business & Technology, 25 May 2007 – Air France-KLM splits order for jets

Air France corporate history

ASIATravelTips.com, 18 June 2001 – Air France confirms major A380 order

M.R. Golder, The Changing Nature of French Dirigisme – A Case Study of Air France, St. Edmunds Hall, Oxford. Thesis submitted at Trinity College, 1997

Business Wire, 16 January 1996 – Statement from Air France Group Chairman regarding Stephen M. Wolf

The New York Times, 31 August 1994, Air France’s New Adviser

Record of Air France accidents/incidents at the ASN Aviation Safety Database

External links

Paris portal

France portal

Companies portal

Aviation portal

Find more about Air France on Wikipedia’s sister projects:

Definitions from Wiktionary

Source texts from Wikisource

Images and media from Commons

News stories from Wikinews

Current links in English

Air France

Air France Consulting

Air France Experience

Air France: La Saga Publicitare

Air France: 75th Anniversary

Air France and Cinema

Air France Paris-New York 60 Year Celebration

Air France Paris-New Delhi 50 Year Celebration

Archived links in English

Air France history

Current links not in English

Air France Aeropostale Episodes (French)

AirFranceCorporate at YouTube

Archived links not in English

Air France, la vie bord

 

Links to related articles

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Airlines of France

Current

Aigle Azur  Air Austral  Air Caldonie  Air Caldonie International  Air Carabes  Air Carabes Atlantique  Air France  Air Guyane  Air Loyaut  Air Mditerrane  Air Moorea  Air Saint-Pierre  Air Tahiti  Air Tahiti Nui  Air Tourisme Instruction Service  Airbus Transport International  Airlinair  Atlantique Air Assistance  Atlantique Air Lines  Blue Line  Brit Air  CCM Airlines  Chalair  Corsairfly  Europe Airpost  Hex’Air  JDP France  L’Avion (OpenSkies)  New Axis Airways  Pan Europenne  PEAS  Rectimo Air Transports  Rgional  St Barth Commuter  Transavia France  Tropic Airlines  Twinair  Twin Jet  XL Airways France  Aero Charter DARTA  Aero Services Executive  Air Antilles Express  Eagle Aviation France  Finist’air  Flandre Air  Octavia Airlines  Sud Airlines  Take Air  Wan Air

Defunct

AOM French Airlines  Aeris (airline)  Aerolinair  Aropostale (aviation)  Air Alpes  Air Alsace  Air Atlantique (France)  Air Charter International  Air Horizons  Air Inter  Air Libert  Air Littoral  Air Martinique  Air Orient  Air Turquoise  Air Union  AlsaceExcel  Aria (French airline)  CIDNA  Champagne Airlines  Compagnie des Messageries Ariennes  EAS Europe Airlines  Euralair  Euroberlin  Euroberlin France  Eurojet Airlines  Flywest  Grands Express Ariens  L’Avion  Minerve (airline)  New Axis Airways  Point Air  Socit Gnrale de Transport Ariens  TAT European Airlines  Transports Ariens Intercontinentaux  Union des Transports Ariens  Virgin Express France  Air Bourbon  Air Guadeloupe

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Members of the International Air Transport Association

 

Africa regional office

Air Austral  Air Madagascar  Air Mauritius  Air Namibia  Air Seychelles  Air Zimbabwe  Airlink  Bellview Airlines  Comair  Ethiopian Airlines  Interair South Africa  Kenya Airways  LAM Mozambique Airlines  Nigerian Eagle Airlines  Precision Air  Safair  South African Airways  Sudan Airways  TAAG Angola Airlines 

 

Asia-Pacific regional office

Air India  Air New Zealand  Air Niugini  Air Pacific  Air Tahiti  Air Tahiti Nui  Air Vanuatu  Aircalin  All Nippon Airways  Asiana Airlines  Bangkok Airways  Biman Bangladesh Airlines  Continental Micronesia  Garuda Indonesia  JALways  Japan Airlines  Jet Airways  Jet Lite  Kingfisher Airlines  Korean Air  MIAT Mongolian Airlines  Malaysia Airlines  Nippon Cargo Airlines  Philippine Airlines  Qantas  Royal Brunei Airlines  SilkAir  Singapore Airlines  Singapore Airlines Cargo  SriLankan Airlines  Thai Airways International  Vietnam Airlines

 

China and North Asia regional office

Air China  Air Koryo  Air Macau  Cathay Pacific  China Airlines  China Cargo Airlines  China Eastern Airlines  China Southern Airlines  Dragonair  EVA Air  Hainan Airlines  Hong Kong Express Airways  Shandong Airlines  Shanghai Airlines  Shenzhen Airlines  Sichuan Airlines  TransAsia Airways  Xiamen Airlines

 

Europe regional office

Adria Airways  Aegean Airlines  Aer Lingus  Aigle Azur  Air Berlin  Air Contractors  Air Europa  Air France  Air Malta  Air Nostrum  Air One  AirBaltic  Alitalia  Atlasjet  Austrian Airlines  B&H Airlines  Binter Canarias  Blue Panorama Airlines  Blue Wings  Blue1  bmi  British Airways  Brussels Airlines  Bulgaria Air  Cargolux  Carpatair  CCM Airlines  Cimber Air  Cirrus Airlines  CityJet  Corsairfly  Croatia Airlines  Cyprus Airways  Czech Airlines  Denim Air  DHL Air  Estonian Air  European Air Transport  Eurowings  Finnair  FlyLal  Flybe  Hahn Air  Hapag-Lloyd Flug  Hellas Jet  Hemus Air  Iberia Airlines  Icelandair  Jat Airways  KLM  LOT Polish Airlines  LTU International  Lauda Air  Lufthansa  Lufthansa Cargo  Lufthansa CityLine  Luxair  MAT Macedonian Airlines  Malm Aviation  Malv Hungarian Airlines  Meridiana  Montenegro Airlines  Olympic Airlines  Onur Air  Pegasus Airlines  Portuglia  SAS  SAS Norge  SATA Air Aores  Skyways Express  Spanair  Swiss International Air Lines  TAP Portugal  TAROM  TNT Airways  Turkish Airlines  UTair Aviation  Virgin Atlantic Airways  Widere

 

Latin America and the Caribbean regional office

AeroRepblica  Aerolneas Argentinas  Aeromxico  Air Jamaica  Austral Lneas Areas  Avianca  Caribbean Airlines  Copa Airlines  Cubana de Aviacin  Grupo TACA  Lacsa  LAN Airlines  LAN Argentina  LAN Cargo  LAN Ecuador  LAN Per  Mexicana de Aviacin  PLUNA  Surinam Airways  TACA Per  TAM Airlines  TAM Airlines (Paraguay)  TAME  Volaris

 

Middle East and North Africa regional office

Afriqiyah Airways  Air Algrie  Air Sngal International  Arkia Israel Airlines  CAL Cargo Air Lines  Caspian Airlines  DHL International Aviation ME  EgyptAir  El Al  Emirates Airline  Etihad Airways  Gulf Air  Iran Air  Iran Aseman Airlines  Israir Airlines  Jordan Aviation  Kish Air  Kuwait Airways  Libyan Airlines  Mahan Air  Middle East Airlines  Oman Air  Pakistan International Airlines  Qatar Airways  Royal Air Maroc  Royal Jordanian  Saudi Arabian Airlines  Sudan Airways  Syrian Arab Airlines  Tassili Airlines  Tunisair  Yemenia

 

North America regional office

Air Canada  Air Transat  Alaska Airlines  American Airlines  Atlas Air  Cargojet Airways  Continental Airlines  Delta Air Lines  FedEx Express  United Airlines  UPS Airlines  US Airways

 

Russia and the CIS regional office

Aeroflot  Aerosvit Airlines  Air Astana  Air Moldova  Armavia  Azerbaijan Airlines  Belavia  Donavia  Rossiya  S7 Airlines  Transaero  Ukraine International Airlines  UTair Aviation  Vladivostok Air  Volga-Dnepr

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Members of the Association of European Airlines

Adria Airways  Aegean Airlines  Aer Lingus  Aerosvit  airBaltic  Air France  Air Malta  Alitalia  Austrian Airlines  BMI  British Airways  Brussels Airlines  Cargolux  Croatia Airlines  Cyprus Airways  Czech Airlines  European Air Transport  Finnair  Iberia Airlines  Icelandair  Jat Airways  KLM  LOT Polish Airlines  Lufthansa  Luxair  Malv Hungarian Airlines  Montenegro Airlines  Olympic Air  Scandinavian Airlines System  Swiss  TAP Portugal  TAROM  TNT Airways  Turkish Airlines  Ukraine International Airlines  Virgin Atlantic Airways

Categories: Companies of France | Airlines of France | IATA members | Airlines established in 1933 | Association of European Airlines members | Air France-KLM | SkyTeam | Companies based in Paris | Wikipedia requested photographs in FranceHidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from July 2009 | Incomplete transport lists

A passenger guide for Ghana International Airline failure effecties

Ghana International Airline failure guide regarding REFUNDS, INSURANCES AND FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS

Since the evaporation of Ghana International Airline in thin air, there has been a lack of any information portal or guidance neither there has been any notification released by the airline. Under these circumstances, where the travel agents also do not have any reliable set of instructions released to them, a vast majority has headed straight to IATA, ATOLL and AUC. In this article, we have included all the details of the scenario as well as answered the questions:

Who to approach and what to do if you are stranded in a foreign airport?
How to handle an airline failure and flight cancellations?
How to prevent or protect yourself from any potential financial losses?
How to settle claims and get refunds for flight cancellations with Ghana International Airline?
What to do if you still have a booking with Ghana International airline for coming seasons?
Which other airlines are offering cheap flights to Accra Ghana in 2010?

Since, Thursday April 29, 2010, when passengers at Gatwick International airport had to go back home and first formal flight cancellation of Ghana International took place, the rumors were highly circulated that the airline may not operate permanently or get bankrupt Although further till May 14th, fingers were crossed, but since one after another flight cancellation it was obvious that the airline is collapsed.

The question is not only about refunds for cancelled flights but also what should a person do if his flights for December or any other coming dates are reserved with Ghana International.

Under such circumstances, firstly one must send a formal letter (keep a copy for record) or an email to the travel agent or person you have booked your flights with followed by telephone call. In such instances, you may call the air travel regulators as well to get more reliable information.

In case of cancellations, keep records of all documents, ticket numbers etc. If you are using a credit card the company may be able to arrange the refund for you sooner Or else if your insurance covers “Airline Failure” you are safe from any potential money losses.

If, your tickets were issued with IATA insurance, you are safe again. Here let me tell you that some responsible agencies pay your travel insurance to IATA along with the tickets. You must ask your travel agent for more details about IATA insurance. Also to prevent such situations or for maximum safety, always spent a little on your travel insurance that covers airline failure.

To settle claims and refunds, you must first approach your travel agent as he will be following up your case with the airline and if you have bought your flights through an agent, the refunds will be channeled through them as well.

If you still have tickets booked with Ghana international or want to apply refund through your agent please follow the instructions below:-

Since there has been no announcement or bankruptcy filed against the airline to date and the airline has not grounded its flights or have announced cancellation of flights in coming dates therefore, The travelers with issued tickets on Ghana International have “active flights status” therefore if they intend to cancel their flights with Ghana International, the airline’s standard cancellation policy will be applicable meaning it will cost you and you may not get fully refunded. As Travel House UK buys “airline failure insurance” for all customers, if the airline announces cancellation of flights or is grounded in coming dates, the customers (due to fly afterwards), will be eligible for a full refund.

For customers who have paid their deposits and are at the moment holding seats with Ghana International (tickets not issued), the cancellation charges will be applicable as per company policy. However a wise move will be to rather ask for flight transfer and fly with any other airline instead. Ask you agent to give you alternate flight, if your tickets are not issued. Only the fare difference will be payable in such cases.

In 2010, the best alternates that have replaced Ghana International are KLM, Air France, Virgin, Air Brussels, British Airways and Afriqiyah Airline. Also, Ghana International Airlines is implementing a rerouting plan to repatriate passengers affected by flight disruptions and cancellations.

A dedicated line FOR REROUTING ONLY has been set up on +233 30 2787176 and is operational from 20MAY during business hours. The airline’s staff on this line has access to negotiated seat blocks on other carriers to reroute passengers as required. This line is dedicated for passenger rerouting only.
Any other enquiries and refunds should continue to be processed via your agencies or by directly calling the airline call center on +233 30 2213555.

For more details or assistance please feel free to contact your travel consultant.

Flights News On Airlines Fleet & Route Expansion ,Europe,Kenya ,South Africa & Africa

In November article we have air news on airlines fleet & route expansion as follows,

Airlines Announce Major Orders

Two of the world’s major airlines, Germanys Lufthansa and Hong Kong-based Cathy Pacific, are among the several airlines which have announced significant aircraft orders in recent weeks for their respective fleet modernization programmes.

The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG approved the order of 48 new aircraft for the Group at its recent meeting. Of these new aircraft, eight Airbus A330-300s, equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, will be deployed on long-haul routes and the remaining 40 aircraft will be deployed on continental traffic.

The planned order includes three Airbus A330-300s and 20 of the A320-family for Lufthansa Passenger Airlines, as well as eight new Embraer 195 aircraft for Lufthansa Regional. In addition, the order includes five Airbus A330-300s, two Airbus A321s and two Airbus A320s for SWISS, as well as eight new Airbus A319s for German wings.

The new aircraft will be delivered to the Group successively from 2012.The order has a list value of approximately 3, 5-bilion euro’s.

Cathy Pacific has firmed up a previously-announced commitment for 30 Airbus A350XWBV long-range aircraft. The purchase agreement was signed in Hong Kong recently. The aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. They will be operated across Cathy Pacific’s route network, mainly on its long-range services to Europe.

Cathy Pacific Airways has also exercised existing purchase rights for six additional B777-300ERs (extended range).The six new airplanes ,with an estimated value of us,6-billion ,will increase Cathy Pacific’s B777-300ER future fleet from 30 to 36 .The carrier, one of the worlds largest operators of the jetliner, also operates 12 Boeing 777-300s and five 777-200s.

Cathy Pacific first announced its selection of the 777-300ER in 2005.This announcement is Cathy Pacifics fourth increase in its acquisition plans for the long-range jetliner.

Malaysia Airline has placed a firm order with airbus for two more A330-200F freighters, following the conversion of two existing options. The latest contract increases the airlines firm orders for the type to four, all of which will be operated by the carrier’s subsidiary MASkargo.The aircraft will be powered by PW4000 engines.

The A330-200F is the latest addition to the A330 Family. Offering the lowest operating costs in its size category, it is the only modern mid-size, long haul, all-cargo aircraft capable of carrying 65 tonnes over 4000 nautical miles or 70 tones over 3200 nautical miles.

Libyan Airlines has taken delivery of the first of seven Airbus A320 airliners it has ordered for its domestic and regional services based on the carrier’s hub in Tripoli .The aircraft is powered by CVFM engines.

With Lufthansa’s third Airbus A380 recently entering the airlines route network just one week after delivery, the airline announced the arrival of the flagship to Johannesburg six weeks ahead of the original launch schedule.

The giant aircraft now operates to Johannesburg twice weekly, and the remaining services will continue to be operated with its Boeing 747-400s.

“The demand for capacity to and from South Africa is growing and by adding almost 400 additional seats per week we are able to meet this need,” explained Axel Simon, Director Southern Africa for Lufthansa German Airlines and Swiss International Airlines.

Airlink Adjusts Its Fleet

South African regional carrier, Airlink, is to acquire four AVRO RJ85 four-engine jet airliners from BAE Systems and has also extended the leases on two Jet stream 41turboprop aircraft.

Airlink currently operates a fleet of four RJ85s alongside four BAe 146-200s and these latest RJ85s are being planned as replacements for the BAe 146s. The resulting fleet commonality is expected to generate operational and cost benefits for Airlink.

The RJ85s are scheduled to have all been delivered by January 2011. Each BAe 146-200 will be returned to BAe Systems upon delivery of each RJ85.

The Airlink fleet of eight BAe 146/AVRO RJ aircraft has been successfully supported by the BAE Systems Regional Aircraft Jet Spares support program me since entering into service in 2007. The newly delivered RJ85s will also be fully enrolled on to Jets pares, which provides extensive on-site and pool stock rotable spares coverage.

Air links lease extension of the two Jet stream 41s, which had been scheduled to return to BAE Systems later this year, means that these aircraft will now continue to remain in service alongside the airlines additional fleet of 12 Jet stream 41s.

Johannesburg-based Airlink is along standing customer of BAE Systems Regional Aircraft, currently operating 14 Jet stream 41s alongside its BAe 146/AVRO RJ fleet and eight Embraer ERJ135s.

Airlink is a South African Airways alliance partner and currently operates more than 3500 flights, carrying about 65000 passengers per month of which 70 percent are business travelers.

It provides vital feeder services connecting smaller South African centres with the major hubs at Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Airlink also serves more than 20 South African destinations, together with a number of regional international cities in neighbouring countries.

 

Kenya Airways Weighs Its Options

Kenya Airways is under pressure on the back of its ambitious plans with the notice from Boeing  that the first delivery of the Boeing 787 Dream liners has been delayed yet again.

“The delivery date revisions follow an assessment of the availability of the engine needed for the final phases of flight test this fall,” said Boeing in a statement which revealed that first deliveries of the Dream liners would be delayed until the first quarter of 2011.

This means that Kenya Airways which originally expected delivery of its first two 787s in September 2010 has now had the delivery date rescheduled to “sometime in 2013.” This has greatly delayed its plans as the carrier had initially placed an order for six 787s with the option for a further six, but later converted three of the options to firm orders bringing the total confirmed orders to nine 787s.

Kenya Airways ‘ managing director and CEO, Titus Naikuni,said that, due to this delay, the airline was already in discussions  with Airbus regarding an order for the Airbus 330 as a replacement for the delayed 787s.

“Yes I would dare to cancel the order if (Boeing) can’t deliver,” said Naikuni, when he addressed the press at the company’s annual meeting held recently.

Naikuni noted that Boeing had not offered any compensation for the delays and had not offered to participate in the 767 retrofits which involved interiors and IFE upgrades which would be done at a major cost to maintain the 767 fleet for an extended period.

Kenya Airways’ has an ambitious plan to launch a new route every month for the next three years. Currently the carrier has a route network of 50 destinations with nine new destinations planned in the current financial year, most of them in Africa.Naikuni added that the plan was to fly to every capital in Africa, more destinations in Europe, begin operations in Latin America with Sao Paulo earmarked as the first destination in hat region and Kuala Lumpur as a possible destination in Asia.

Bram Stella, the carrier’s chief operating officer added that Kenya Airways would need additional aircraft if the 787s were not delivered in a reasonable timeframe.

Naikuni said that a decision on whether to cancel the 787 order and switch to Airbus as an alternative would be made before the end of the year.

 

Phuket flights

The biggest island of Thailand is Phuket. Phuket city is in the South East of the Thailand. Phuket is Asia’s most popular tourist spot because of its blue sea, golden beaches and white soft and silky palms. It is full of amazing landscapes, attractive sunsets and very famous for best quality dining in the world. The main city of Thailand is connected through a bridge with Phuket which is used for the transportation of good to the local markets. The money earned by this transport service is used for the purpose of the development of the Phuket Island.

Phuket Island is near to the equator which makes it’s whether very hot and dry from November to April and from May to October it’s raining.  Due to its beautiful beaches it has become the best site for tourist attractions. The famous and traditional “Tuk-Tuks “auto rickshaw’s also amuse the tourists.

Phuket Island is very famous for its ten hot spot tourist places. Those are Phuket Fantasea show at Kamala beach, Simon cabaret show at Patong beach, Phuket viewpoints at Kata – Nai Harn, Old Phuket town, Bangla road at Patong beach, Wat Chalong and Phuket Temples at Chalong, Phuket waterfalls at Thalang, Thai boxing at Patong beach, Big Buddha at Chalong and Phuket vegetarian festival and other events at Phuket town.

Phuket flights can be taken to and from the Phuket international airport which is located at the north area of the Island. This airport is the second busiest airport in Thailand. It has the facility of international, overseas and domestic Phuket flights. Along with Phuket international airport it has 3 other airports called Krabi airport, Surat Thani airport and Trang airport.

There are 26 airlines which provide Phuket flights. Some of them are Thai AirAsia, Bangkok Airways, airberlin, Thai Airways International, V Australia, SkyStar Airways, Dragonair, Korean Airlines and Malaysia Airlines. Phuket flights are available for 10 countries those are China, Thailand, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia, Germany and Vietnam.

The airports that are connected through Phuket flights are Suvarnabhumi international, Changi airport, Kuala Lumpur international airport, Hong Kong international airport, Koh Samui airport, Kingsford Smith airport, Incheon international airport and Domodedovo airport etc.

The Phuket international airport is fully equipped and maintained with the services like car hire booths, currency exchange counters, ATMs, baggage lost and found information, post office, Muslim prayer room, elevators, toilets and telephones etc. It also consist shopping outlets, coffee and snacks outlets. Airport transfers are available to Phuket town. The airport also provides the facility for the disabled people like wheel chairs, special toilets, lifts etc.

The booking of Phuket flights for visiting Phuket can be done through online website www.flightsphuket.com . The flight provides the facilities of international standard like cabin like seats for business class passengers, backseat TV screens, clean washrooms, newspapers and magazines, air sickness bags, quality food etc. The ladies travelling with small kids are being specially attended by the staff. With all such comforts travelling to Phuket becomes enjoyable experience.

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