Tuesday 27 March 2007

British Airways to be first to use new Terminal 5


For those who travel past Heathrow Airport every day you will have noticed that a lot of building work has been carried out. Well the new Terminal 5 has been predicted to be ready one year from today.

A lot of tests are due to be carried out involving 16,000 volunteers. These will range from testing car-parking facilities to flight journeys.

Work began over four years ago and will see the influx of an extra 30 million passengers each year. The first flight to use this terminal will be a British Airways flight from Hong Kong.

Terminal 5 will on its first day see at least 40,000 people use it from the Far East.

For those who are wondering about what retail opportunities will exist well you may be pleased to know that Harrods will be one store, and Gordon Ramsey will be opening his first airport based restaurant there.

The Chief Executive Tony Douglas said "When T5 opens and 30 million passengers move out of existing terminals, for the first time we will have space to breathe in the central terminal area and have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redevelop the rest of the airport and bring it up to a comparable standard to T5”.

Sunday 25 March 2007

All aircraft unsafe!

Indonesian Planes have been undergoing assessments which have found that none of the aircraft meet the required safety standards.

Australians have been warned not to fly on Indonesian planes by the Federal Government.

The assessment found that none of the carriers met "requirements of the civil aviation safety regulations". Garuda, Indonesia AirAsia and Mandala Airlines all fall into category two meaning that the minimal requirements regarding safety have been met yet not all have been implemented.

For those airlines falling into category three which meet only minimal safety standards (these include Batavia Air, Adam Air and Kartika Airlines), they have been given only three months to improve standards or face being taken out of flying.

This has come as a result of a Garuda plane catching fire which killed 21 people earlier on in March.

Tuesday 20 March 2007

Airbus A380 lands in the USA

The Airbus A380 touches down for the first time in the USA. Report by the BBC - Click here!

JAL announce reduced airfares for flights commencing May 1st

Welcoming news for passengers planning to jet away with JAL. The airline has announced they are slashing ticket prices for international fares from May 1st.

Flights to North America, Europe and Hawaii will be reduced by 1,000 Yen. Routes to Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines are being cut by 600 Yen, China by 500 Yen and for those going to South Korea fares will be reduced by 300 Yen.

So get booking before they change their minds!!

Monday 19 March 2007

Airbus A380 still being added to Malaysia Airlines fleet

The Airbus A380, which is currently running almost two years behind schedule, is still being sought after by Malaysia Airlines despite reports that the new Jumbo was no longer needed.

MAS said they were "still in discussions with Airbus on the various options available". And then later said "These planes are really expensive. So there is no point wasting taxpayers' money if it no longer fits into MAS's overall plans".

The new jets were supposed to be delivered this year but now the earliest delivery won’t be until 2009.

Saturday 17 March 2007

Indonesian Plane crash investigation still in progress


The cause of the Indonesian plane crash is still underway with investigators concluding that the aircraft came in too fast onto the runway hence over-running it and bursting into flames.

New evidence from the flight recorders has brought to light that the wing flaps weren’t extended for the landing thus causing the increase of speed. This backs up the claims by the pilots that the flaps were not working as they should and prevented them from extending them properly for the landing.

Mardjomo Siswosumarno who is heading the investigation team says the flaps "were not yet in the landing configuration". Yet later he stated that it’s still too early to draw conclusions.

"We need the history of the flight, what happened in the last three minutes before landing so we will have to take some time."

United States experts are still extracting the pilots’ voices off the cockpit voice recording which will be able to provide clarification of the actions of the pilots.

At the time of the crash the weather was calm which contradicts the pilots’ claim that a huge gust of wind made the jet crash into the runway.

Pilot error still hasn’t been ruled out.

Airbus landing at Los Angeles International Airport


Preparations have been made at Los Angeles International Airport, which will see the Airbus A380 touch down on Monday March 19th.

A viewing site adjacent to the airport has been arranged in order for the public to view the landing.

Eager crowds have been told not to camp out at the site overnight in anticipation at the aircraft’s arrival.

Unfortunately viewers on the airport’s south side will only be able to witness the approach to the runway and not the actual touch down.

The Airbus will then depart from the airport on Tuesday 20th March around 7.15pm and this will only be able to be viewed from the south side of the airport.

Thursday 15 March 2007

Cause of All Nippon aircraft landing on 2 wheels established.


It’s thought that the Nippon aircraft, which landed on only two wheels, had a detached bolt resulting in the landing gear getting stuck inside the fuselage.

The bolt, which is positioned in the joint of the arm that opens and shuts the door, had become unhinged thus resulting in the door becoming un-operational.

Investigators have not yet found the missing bolt and the reason why the bolt broke off is still being looked into.

This type of case isn’t unheard of in Japan, there have been three other incidents where the same model aircraft has had problems with the landing gear.

Luckily nobody was injured on the flight.

Tuesday 13 March 2007

Aircraft lands safetly after landing gear failed to work.


An airliner carrying 60 people was forced to circle around a Japan airport when its landing gear was found to be not working properly.

The All Nippon jet had to make an emergency landing in the South West of Japan. It was thought the aircraft was circling the airport to try and lose fuel in order to prevent fire before attempting the landing and to try to extend the front wheels.

The Bombardier DHC-8 eventually landed on its rear wheels with the nose touching the runway.

Luckily there were no injuries although rescue vehicles were in place on the ground incase of any unforeseen mishaps.

The flight was expected to touch down at Kochi airport before 9am (8pm EDT Monday).

An ANA spokesman Daisuke Kato said that the cause of the landing gear not working hasn’t yet been established.

Jobs onboard Quantas Airline jets for prisoners!


Prisoners from Changi Prison in Singapore appear to have new jobs, cleaning Quantas’s aircraft.

A union member stated that the prisoners have been hired to clean the aircraft’s flight deck.

A member of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association Steve Purvinas said, "The prisoners are released under supervision and taken to the Qantas aircraft,"

"The prisoners are used to wash down the wheel well bays before inspections, they're used to go upstairs into the flight deck of the aircraft and to clean the area out so it's ready for inspection by the local engineers."

The prison in Singapore is renowned for housing some of the most serious offenders including those who have been given the death penalty.

Unsurprisingly Quantas have yet to comment.

Monday 12 March 2007

Airport closed due to Airline's wheel failure!


A Biman Bangladesh Airlines aircraft ended up falling on its nose during take-off in Dubai. Wheel failure is being blamed for the jet’s nose and engines hitting the ground.

The incident has resulted in BA and Virgin Atlantic flights being diverted to other airports and the closure of the whole terminal. Furthermore, other flights such as Emirates have been disrupted or cancelled.

Luckily only fourteen passengers were injured on the Dhaka bound plane.

The airline has said that the airport should be fully operational again at around 11am GMT time.

Wednesday 7 March 2007

Airline Crash Update


Further to the news I posted last night concerning the Boeing 737-400 that crash landed at Yogyakarta Airport, it is now reported that 21 people sadly lost their lives.

This is a miraculously low number with 115 people escaping the stricken, flame engulfed aircraft through emergency exits.

For extraordinary video pictures of survivors walking from the smouldering wreckage - click here

Airline bursts into flames in Indonesia



The misery befalling on Indonesia failed to halt today when an airliner carrying over 100 passengers erupted into flames when landing in Yogyakarta, Java.

The Boeing 737-400 was carrying Australian journalists and diplomatic staff who had been in the region with the country’s foreign minister.

A survivor reported that the plane overshot the runway and shook violently before an explosion was heard.

Capt. Yos Biantoro said: "I saw at least eight corpses piled up at the front of the plane," The captain was at the fire scene in central Java.

"We overshot the runway, then I heard the sound of an explosion and ran through an emergency exit, I believe many passengers remained trapped on board" passenger Muhammad Dimyati told local TV.

Other eyewitnesses said the aircraft was completely gutted. Eight people are believed to have died.

Sunday 4 March 2007

Should Birmingham Airport be expanded?


It seems that everybody is migrating from the South towards the Midlands and as a previous story told, people are choosing to fly from Birmingham rather than London Airports.

But whilst there have been many unfavourable arguments towards the expansion of Birmingham Airport there are also many upsides to it. If there were to be another runway constructed then there would surely be the option of flying to many additional destinations and exotic places.

This could only bring more tourism to Birmingham and open up people’s eyes to what is actually on offer in the West Midlands, but then on the downside there would certainly be more pollution and excessive noise.

The introduction of new cars every year surely also brings about more pollution, doesn’t it?

And on a more selfish point of view I have never as yet seen a Jumbo 747 flying over Birmingham NEC!

Saturday 3 March 2007

Birmingham Airport favoured over London Airports


Good news for Birmingham International Airport and Emirates Airlines. The airline boasted a 71% rise in passenger numbers from people favouring the Midlands airport over London.

This means Birmingham could be looking to accommodate larger aircraft as Emirates’s passenger numbers continue to increase.

Seven most popular destinations with Emirates’s passengers are in Australia as Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne are now leaving places such as Delhi and Dhaka behind in the popularity stakes.

Friday 2 March 2007

Go Mas Airlines!



Off to Malaysia at the end of the month with Malaysia Airlines.
Just getting into the mood!


Quantas Airlines to participate in test flights of A380


The Airbus A380 is to become a major investment into Quantas’s fleet of aircraft as they have named next year to begin commercial flights.

Complete with a Quantas flight crew the A380 will be embarking on two test flights later this month. The first will be on March 19th landing at Los Angeles International Airport in front of at least 100,000 spectators. The second also on March 19th will land at John F Kennedy Airport.

"Being the first to bring the revolutionary A380 aircraft to LAX continues Qantas's tradition of being an industry leader and innovator," said Wally Mariani, Qantas's senior executive vice president of the Americas and Pacific.

"As the second oldest airline in the world, Qantas has made aviation history on many occasions, including pioneering long haul travel and being the first airline to launch a business class service.

"We are committed to providing our customers with the most up to date and technologically advanced fleet possible and this multi-billion dollar investment in the A380 which will bring new levels of comfort to our passengers, further demonstrates this."

In order to give more comfort for passengers on long haul flights the capacity to hold at least 800 passengers will be confined to only 500.

This spectacular event will enable Quantas to witness the plane’s ability to manoeuvre, its docking at the gate and any ground handling services.