The 747 is one of my favorite planes. Last Monday, 29th April, a National Airlines 747-400 (registration N949CA) crashed shortly after take off from a refueling stop at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. All seven on board perished. The Taliban claimed responsibility but it looks to me more like the plane stalled just after take off. A camera captured the extraordinary crash (NB video is disturbing and contains “bad” language) RIP to the crew of National Airlines flight 102. Related Posts “Damn it, we’re going to crash” AF447
Airline News (Friday)
Category Archives for Airline News (Friday).
Spring Airlines introduces themed uniforms
Would you fly this airline? Spring Airlines, a Chinese low cost carrier is introducing a series of themed flights for passengers: We’re mixing up our flights with some fun onboard themes – like these maid and butler costumes. What’s your favourite theme that you’d like to see onboard a Spring Airlines flight? Let us know .. and we’ll try our best to make your dream come true. Online reaction has been mixed: You’ve gotta be kidding me. Objectifying [sic] flight attendants is the last marketing/promotion strategy you wanna use. I wonder what your passenger demographics look like.…
No drinks on Turkish?
What happens when societal attitudes impact on an airline’s on board offerings? When I flew with Turkish airlines last year, their on board catering blew me away. Catering that included an impressive wine list. Whilst researching the airline, I was interested in the number of conservative Turks who lambasted the airline’s “lax attitude to alcohol” which is viewed as incompatible with religious practice. For an airline that has the slogan “Globally Yours”, this gives room to potential conflict. In February this year, the airline stopped serving alcohol on most domestic routes “due to logistical considerations.“. The airline…
Eastern Europe Airline Update
Following on from last week’s post about Czech air, the ex European bloc airlines have not fared well since the dissolution of the former Soviet states. In Slovakia, Slovak Airlines closed in 2007, SkyEurope 2009 and Air Slovakia in 2010 Last year, Malev, the airline of nearby Hungary collapsed and WizzAir has made continuous losses since launching in 2003 Poland’s LOT is in financial difficulties Bosnia and Herzegovina B&H Airlines was grounded briefly last month Romanian government owned TAROM has had five years of losses Croatia Airlines has lost money almost every year since commencement in 1989 and was unable to…
Korean buys Czech Air
Korean Air finalised its 44 percent investment in CSA (Ceske Aerolinie AS), the Czech government owned flag carrier on April 11, 2013 for a nominal price of 2.64 million euros ($US3.4m). The government said: “We only had two options: either find a strategic partner or consider liquidation of CSA”. Korean was the only bidder for the carrier, although Qatar expressed an interest. If the European Commission loosens regulations on foreign ownership of EU carriers then Korean Air will have first option to buy the remaining 56% stake held by the government owned holding company. If this occurs in the next twelve months, then the price…
Air Fares based on Weight
Following on from my post from two weeks ago about Air Samoa charging by the kilo to fly, Dr. Bharat P. Bhatta from Norway has proposed three models that he asserts would benefit “airlines, passengers and society” by cutting each flight’s fuel usage and carbon dioxide emissions. His three “pay as you weigh” models are: Total weight: A passenger’s luggage and body weight is calculated, with the fare comprising a per kilogram (kg) cost. In this scenario a passenger weighing 80kg (178 pounds) with 20 kg (44 pounds) of luggage would pay a fare of a base amount…
Kingfisher cannot be cut
The decline of Kingfisher has been a saga that has gone on for almost two years. The airline gave India the most luxurious flying experience with a five star rating. Since then the airline has undergone a slow death by a 1000 cuts: ts bank accounts were frozen by the tax authorities in late 2011 International routes were closed in April 2012 they lost One World membership one month before it was meant to assume it in 2012 their operating license was suspended in October 2012 the revocation of it’s international flying rights by the Indian…
Armavia absents itself
Twice I have noted that Armenia’s national airline has been rumoured to be on the edge of bankruptcy. Last year, their owner threatened to bankrupt the airline unless Russia’s Vnukovo (Moscow) reduced fees. On March 29, 2013 the carrier finally collapsed with debts of: $US5 million owed to Zvartnots International Airport $US22 million to VTB bank $US1.5 million to Vnukovo airport. The airline is the third Armenian carrier to go after Armenian Airlines collapsed in 2003 and Armeninan International merged with Armavia in 2005. In the post bankruptcy discussions, the collapse was blamed on poor…
Qantas/Emirates: Positive, Negative, Alternative
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJmj_KgH_x8 With a spectacular flyover Sydney by two Airbus A380s, the Qantas/Emirates “partnership” was officially “birthed” a week ago. Announced in July, 2012, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce claimed this was the most important deal in the 92 year history of the airline. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission gave final approval for the alliance after deciding that the deal will not lead to negative effects for passengers. It however, rejected Qantas’ argument that its international operations face a ”terminal decline” without the Emirates alliance. There are lots of pluses for Qantas passengers but I have yet to…
In Samoa your weight counts
It is hard to know if it is an April Fools Day prank but Samoa Air has announced a new fare calculation based on passengers weight. The airline’s Chief Executive, Chris Langton, told Radio Australia this week that the policy is proving successful.The airline began flying in 2012 and introduced the pricing policy in January, 2013. I tried it out booking a fare from Pago Pago, the main city of American Samoa to Asau which is situated on the north west coast of Savai’i island in Samoa. The total for the fare was 380 Tala for…
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