CommercialMilitants Attack Karachi Airport, 26 DeadA group of heavily armed gunmen stormed Pakistan's biggest airport in Karachi on Sunday, with at least 26 people killed in a night-long battle at one of the country's most high-profile targets. The assault on Karachi's Jinnah Airport in Pakistan's commercial hub of 18 million people, took place as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government tries to engage Taliban militants in talks to end years of fighting. The attack began just before midnight when 10 gunmen wearing military uniforms shot their way into the airport. Gun battles went on for five hours and television pictures showed fire raging as ambulances ferried casualties away. By dawn on Monday, the army said the airport had been secured.
LinkPakistani forces sweep Karachi airport after overnight battlePakistani forces have declared Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport secure after a late night gun battle with infiltrators, which resulted in 21 fatalities but during which no aircraft appear to have been damaged. A spokesman for Pakistan International Airlines(PIA) tells Flightglobal 21 died in the incident, including “all ten terrorists". The 11 others killed comprised security officers, airport officials, and airline employees. Reports suggest up to 14 people were wounded as well. The reports suggest that the infiltrators, who were armed with assault rifles, grenades, and suicide vests, were spotted attempting to cut through a fence, sparking the battle at about 11:30 local time. Other reports indicate that they gained access to the airport using fake ID cards.
LinkAlitalia CEO Expects 2,200 Job CutsAlitalia's chief executive Gabriele Del Torchio expects around 2,200 jobs to go under a planned tie-up with Gulf carrier Etihad Airways, he was quoted as saying by La Repubblica newspaper on Sunday. "Etihad is inflexible on this (job cuts)," Del Torchio was quoted as saying. Alitalia and Etihad have been in talks since December, but a deal has so far proved elusive due to Italy's reluctance to bow to Etihad's demands for job cuts and a restructuring of the Italian airline's debt. Italy's Labour Minister Giuliano Poletti said last week job cuts could be as high as 2,500 and Alitalia management is due to meet unions on Thursday.
LinkIran Air Eyes Fleet Growth Post-SanctionsIran Air will need at least 100 passenger jets once sanctions against the country are lifted and will find it easier to do business with companies that co-operated during the current window for sanctions relief, the head of the airline said. However, in the absence of a long-term deal easing the country's economic isolation, Iran's flag carrier will turn instead to Russia and China as alternative suppliers, Farhad Parvaresh, chairman and managing director of Iran Air, said. The comments, in a rare interview with foreign media, come as Iran and six nations prepare to resume negotiations on a final deal aimed at ending a decade-old dispute over Tehran's nuclear aims. A preliminary deal was signed in Geneva in November, under which Iran accepted the halting of some sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for partial easing of sanctions. The accord, which took effect on January 20, was designed to buy time for a final deal within six months and allows for the sale of aircraft parts.
LinkBoeing tweaks 777X wingspan, preserves folded lengthBoeing has slightly increased the in-flight wingspan and the length of the wing-fold on the 777X. The span of the aircraft’s new composite wings increases by 0.61m (2ft) to 71.8m, a Boeing spokesman says. Boeing, however, preserved the folded wingspan of the 777X on the ground at 64.8m, he says. The hinge line of the fold mechanism is moved inboard by about 0.3m on each wing, he says. Preserving the folded wingspan means the 777X can still gain access to the same number of airport gates despite the increase in the in-flight wingspan.
LinkPacific Sun becomes Fiji LinkFiji Airways has commenced the rebranding of its regional unit Pacific Sun to Fiji Link with the delivery of its first ATR 72-600. “As we announced last November, the new brand for Pacific Sun will be an extension of the Fiji Airways brand,” says Fiji Airways managing director Stefan Pichler. “The Fiji Link aircraft has a distinct, yet part-of-the-family look with the Fiji Airways fleet, and therefore retains prominent brand elements in its livery and design.”
LinkLeahy pitches A330neo against 787A concept still has to be formally presented to airlines, but a re-engined version of the A330 appears to be taking shape, with Airbus working on an aircraft it believes will match the cash operating costs of the Boeing 787-9 with the same number of seats. Chief operating officer for customers John Leahy acknowledges that “if we were to do it”, the aircraft – dubbed the A330neo – would have around 1,000nm (1,850km) less range than its rival, but feature similar fuel burn, wider seats and – crucially, – a “substantially lower” capital cost. “We believe that would put a big dent in 787 sales,” he said, speaking during the IATA annual meeting in Doha last week. He says the specifications would be guaranteed to carriers, and that the type would be “an unbeatable aeroplane in that category”. The airframer has not given much detail about its internal re-engining study, but Leahy suggests an A330neo “could be very similar” to the original A350, which was dropped in favour of the A350 XWB family.
LinkAmerican takes delivery of first owned CRJ900American Airlines Group subsidiary PSA Airlines took delivery of its first Bombardier CRJ900 at Montreal Mirabel International airport on 5 June. The aircraft, registered N547NN (MSN 15317), departed Montreal at 16:32 local time and arrived at PSA’s Dayton International airport headquarters at 18:09 local time.
LinkSouthwest uses data to customize offeringsKendall Ramirez, marketing director of Southwest Airlines, shared tips for customizing the travel experience at an airline digital conference sponsored by Amadeus. "We have all this great information and it is from all different sources and need to figure out how to pull it all into one database, that is the journey we are on," said Ramirez.
LinkAmerican offers seasonal service from N.C. to Belgium American Airlines kicked off its seasonal service from Charlotte to Brussels on Thursday, albeit on a reduced schedule from what was originally announced. The from Charlotte flight will operate Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, on a Boeing 767, from Thursday through August 17. The airline had originally announced the flight as daily service lasting through Sept. 1.
LinkUnited debuts daily flights from D.C. to Spain for summer Travelers headed to Madrid this summer will have a new, direct option. United Airlines on Thursday launched daily nonstop service between Washington Dulles International and Madrid. The daily service will run through Sept. 4. “We are excited to add new seasonal nonstop service from Dulles to Spain’s capital,” said Evan Koppel, United’s regional director of sales in a news release.
LinkBoeing patents aircraft seats with adjustable armrests It’s so simple and yet, it seems to make so much sense. By George, it’s an adjustable armrest concept from Boeing that delivers flexible seat-width, allowing airlines to tailor the seating experience for passengers. Explaining its design in a recently approved patent application, Boeing says the aircraft seat assembly “can be manually or automatically adjusted based on factors, such as purchase of additional seat width by an individual passenger or passengers, overall ticket sales associated with the aircraft, or other factors.” Okay, airlines’ distribution systems might not want to immediately play nicely with such a concept. But consider the fact that many European airlines already block off use of the middle seat at the pointy end of economy class for business class passengers. Under Boeing’s design, pictured above, they could simply slide the middle armrests together and create two wide business class seats.
LinkFAA takes step toward NextGen at Houston MetroplexLast week, the Federal Aviation Administration launched 50 new air traffic control procedures at the Houston Metroplex, bringing the area one step closer to the planned NextGen satellite control system. The FAA estimates the new procedures will save $9.2 million annually for planes flying in the airspace.
LinkSenator comments on subtitles for in-flight movies Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) wants U.S. airlines to add closed captioning to movies that are shown during long flights in an effort to aid hearing impaired airline passengers. Harkin said he was considering adding an amendment requiring the airline industry to at least study the proposal to a $54 billion funding bill for the departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development during a markup of the measure on Thursday. "I have been trying for some time to get the airlines to provide closed captions on the movies on their airplanes. I can't understand why they don't do it. It doesn't cost anything," Harkin said after the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to send the measure to the full of the floor Senate.
LinkAmerican to equip new regional jets with Gogo Wi-FiAmerican Airlines plans to offer inflight Wi-Fi from Gogo on its fleet of Bombardier CRJ900 regional jets. The carrier will begin receiving delivery of the 30 CRJ900s this month. More than 850 American aircraft are already equipped with Gogo Internet service.
LinkDelta offers upgraded coach amenitiesPassengers in Delta Air Lines' Economy Comfort seats will get enhanced services on certain transcontinental flights beginning this week, part of an effort to woo coast-to-coast fliers. Delta will provide blankets, pillows and snacks -- but retain the same fares -- on flights from New York's Kennedy Airport to Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
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