CommercialAustralia Says MH370 Not Where Pings HeardThe search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 suffered a further setback on Thursday after Australian officials said wreckage from the aircraft was not on the seabed in the area they had identified. The search was narrowed last month after a series of acoustic pings thought to be from the plane's black box recorders were heard near where analysis of satellite data put its last location, about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) off the northwest coast of Australia. "The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has advised that the search in the vicinity of the acoustic detections can now be considered complete and, in its professional judgment, the area can now be discounted as the final resting place of MH370," the agency said in a statement.
LinkUS Charges Five Boston Airline Employees With SmugglingFederal prosecutors in Boston on Thursday charged five US airline employees with agreeing to use their security passes to smuggle USD$417,000 in cash that the employees believed to be the proceeds of illegal drug sales through the city's airport. Employees of JetBlue Airways and Delta Air Lines agreed to work with a foreign national who was cooperating with federal investigators. The witness had a prior drug arrest.
LinkVenezuela Trade Association Sees Progress In Airline DisputeVenezuela is making strides toward paying airlines billions of dollars in unrepatriated revenue as it seeks to solve a currency-related dispute that has led some carriers to cut flights to the country, a local airline industry association said on Thursday. Tame, AeroMexico, Aruba Airlines and Insel Air agreed this week to receive a single payment of around USD$200 million between them, at unknown discount rates, to cancel debts from 2013, the Venezuelan airlines Association said on Thursday. Other international airlines - including Iberia, Air Europa, Air France, TAP and Delta - have either received or will soon get offers from the government for the funds they are owed. The government requires airlines to sell tickets in the local bolivar currency, but has been slow to allow repatriation of funds under strict foreign currency controls.
LinkHeathrow Hub Proposal Part Of Britain's Airport DebateA former Concorde pilot is at the heart of Britain's long-running debate over airport expansion, with an idea he first had in 1988 that he believes offers a way out of a political quagmire. Heathrow Hub is based on William "Jock" Lowe's idea to extend the runways at London's Heathrow airport, the world's third busiest by passenger numbers, thereby adding capacity for more aircraft without building a new runway, an issue which has proved controversial in the past. Lowe is one of an office-less team of four who spent GBP£20,000 to patent the Heathrow runway extension idea, then spent countless hours developing it into a full-blown submission that is now one of three options shortlisted for airport expansion. Britain's Airport Commission is due to make a final recommendation on where and how to expand London's airport capacity by next summer. Along with Heathrow Hub are plans by Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport.
LinkAnalysis: JetBlue Airways poised to continue successJetBlue Airways is poised for success, thanks to a combination of its geography and low-cost structure. "JetBlue's strong presence in high-value geographies such as New York and Boston will make sure that it will benefit from the growth in passenger traffic that is expected in these markets," writes the Great Speculations blogger.
LinkJetBlue expands partnership with Singapore AirlinesJetBlue Airways and Singapore Airlines have announced a bilateral codeshare agreement. The two carriers have been interline partners since 2011, and decided to expand the partnership. "The opportunities offered by our combined network also show how we can achieve more by co-operating with the right partners," said Mak Swee Wah, executive vice president of commercial for Singapore Airlines.
LinkVideo: American livery painted on former US Airways aircraftAmerican Airlines posted a video over the Memorial Day weekend, enabling customers to see the first US Airways aircraft repainted with the American livery since the two carriers merged.
LinkGE engineers: GE9X engine will burn 10% less fuel than GE90General Electric engineers are modifying the GE90, the world's largest jet engine, to increase its diameter to more than 11 feet for the GE9X. The engines will be installed aboard the Boeing 777X, and will begin testing in 2016. "We're committing to a 10% fuel burn improvement on the GE9X," said Chuck Johnson, GE Aviation's program lead for the 9X.
LinkU.S. to install passport kiosks for preclearance at Abu Dhabi airportU.S. Customs and Border Protection will install automated passport kiosks at Abu Dhabi International Airport to pre-clear passengers headed for the U.S. The Abu Dhabi preclearance facility has drawn strong objections from members of Congress, U.S. airlines, unions and other aviation industry groups that called on the administration not to devote resources overseas before fixing lengthy customs wait times at U.S gateways first.
LinkNTSB looks into incident in Alaska An Alaska Airlines passenger jet came within a quarter-mile of a cargo plane over Anchorage's Fire Island south of the city's main airport, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Agency spokesman Clint Johnson said the Alaska Airlines flight inbound from Portland, Ore., was starting to land at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport just after 3 p.m. Tuesday when air traffic controllers gave instructions for a "go-around." The order was given to avoid an Ace Air Cargo Beechcraft 1900 prop-jet taking off from the airport's north-south runway.
LinkAirline apps help passengers fly more smoothly In the old days, passengers had to use phones and computers to handle most of the travel functions when booking and tracking airline service. But now, carriers have spent the money to invest in apps on the major smartphone and tablet platforms. These apps do myriad tasks, including flight and fare searches, show route maps, allow users to check in for flights and download mobile boarding passes. Below are six airline apps for your review.
LinkLas Vegas airport handled more passenger traffic in April Passenger traffic at McCarran International Airport is up almost 2 percent from a year earlier. Data released Wednesday show more than 3.6 million people arrived and departed from the Las Vegas airport in April. That’s up 1.7 percent from April 2013. The number of passengers flying domestically was up 1.3 percent, while international traffic was up 8 percent for the month. Domestic flights account for the vast majority of traffic.
LinkMich. airport sees 10% jump in April traffic from spring break West Michigan travelers looking to get away for spring break in April didn't travel far to catch a flight out of town. Gerald R. Ford International Airport officials reported more than 197,700 flyers arrived and departed from the regional hub in April — an increase of some 18,000 passengers from April 2013. The figure represents about a 10 percent increase over last year. The airport continues to move more passengers over the previous year as well, serving 740,114 flyers through 2014 versus 707,423 flyers during the same period last year.
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