Is it the end for SAA?

Could we be about to witness the end of one of the worlds most colourful airlines, South African Airways?  

The national airline of South Africa has been in financial trouble for at least the last five years and now it looks closer to collapse than it ever has before.

According to documents provided to parliament, the Johannesburg based airline is very nearly out of cash and is hovering on the brink of bankruptcy. The airline is struggling hard to even find enough money to page its beleaguered workforce. 

Delta's first A350 arrives.

Photo Jujug Spotting

Delta welcomed their first Airbus A350 to Atlanta this weekend on its delivery flight from Toulouse.

The aircraft, registered as N501DN, took off from Toulouse, France behind schedule at 10:43 p.m. local time arriving at around 2 a.m. the same day.  To marks its arrival and in celebration of the new aircraft fleet type, Delta’s A350-900XWB will bear the fleet number ‘3501.’

Delta is the first North American airline to operate the advance Airbus A350.

Safety Concerns Cause Iberia change Route

With the continued political and social unrest continue to develop in Venezuela, Spanish airline, Iberia has had to look at alternatives on its lucrative Madrid-Caracas flight. 

Iberia has now advised its staff that flights to Caracas will now make a stop in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where it will do a crew change over, the new crew will then fly the aircraft down to Caracas before returning to Madrid.  This avoids a potentially dangerous night stop-over for the crew in Venezuela. 

59 feet from disaster - Air Canada

Just 59 feet, that's how close an Air Canada aircraft came to disaster whilst trying to land at San Francisco International Airport last month.  

The newly released data and photos show how terrifyingly close the Air Canada jet was to other aircraft when it suddenly had to pull up and abort its landing to avoid crashing into planes waiting on a taxiway at the airport.  

The arriving Air Canada pilots 'mistook' the taxiway for the runway parallel to it and flew their aircraft so close that it was just  59 feet, thats 18 metres above the ground before pulling up to do a go-around and  attempt another landing, 

59 feet is only marginally higher than the four aircraft that were queuing on the taxiway waiting to depart when  the when the incident occurred late at night on 7th July, this year.

Teenager couldn't wait to get to the gate!

A male teenage passenger on a Copa Airlines flight that had just landed at San Francisco International Airport Tuesday just couldn't wait to get to the gate. He opened the emergency exit, and climbed out onto the wing and jumped down to sprint across the tarmac apron.

A spokesperson  for the airport, Doug Yakel confirmed that at around 2.30 p.m on Tuesday 1st August,  a 17-year-old male on Copa Airlines flight 208 inbound from Panama City that had landed at the airport left the aircraft through the overwing emergency exit door, jumping down to the tarmac.

Turbulence Causes Injuries

An American Airlines flight from Greece to Philadelphia went through a patch of turbulence so severe it resulted in at least ten passengers being injured.

According to the airline,  Flight AA759 had departed the Greek capital, Athens and was enroute to Philadelphia with 287 passengers and a dozen crew members onboard on Saturday 5th August.

It was shortly before landing that the aircraft encountered the  severe turbulence, at the time the "Fasten seat belt sign" was illuminated on at the time. After the plane landed at 3.10 p.m., 7 crew and 3 passengers were taken to a hospital for evaluation due to injuries sustained during the turbulence.

American Airlines issued a statement that said it wants to "thank our team members for keeping our passengers safe." and the FAA have confirmed they will investigate.

Porter Passengers Agony

A number of Porter Airlines passengers say they are finding it difficult to trust the Canadian airline with their arrangements after the carrier made dozens of last-minute flight cancellations during the month of July.

Quincy Korte-King said her flights from Ottawa to Toronto and Toronto to Chicago were cancelled and she was bumped back five hours on the 28th July. Then again during her return journey on 31st July her flight from Toronto to Chicago was cancelled as well.

"The first time around I thought it happens, it's part of travelling," she told the media, "Then the second time around it was a little bit ridiculous — not only that my third flight was cancelled … but they weren't actually telling me 'oh you're a loyal customer, let us give you a free voucher or let us help you get on an earlier flight.'"

Second Hand 747's For US President

It has been revealed that the US Air Force is about to buy two second-hand Boeing 747s and convert these into the next Air Force One!

These two aircraft were originally ordered for Russian airline Transaero  back in 2013, however the troubled carrier went bankrupt in 2015.  The aircraft were effectively mothballed until now,  a source close to the deal say it looks set for completion by the end of August. Speaking anonymously to news agency AFP, the source - allegedly from inside the White House, said Boeing was set to sell the pair of 747-8 jetliners to the Air Force. "They’re still working toward a deal to provide two 747-8s to the Air Force.  This deal is focused on providing a great value for the Air Force and the best price for the taxpayer.”

Airport Delays Around Europe

In the UK, British Airways, Ryanair and Easyjet are among airlines warning British holidaymakers of delays at EU border controls at many European airports.

British Airways sent texts asking travellers to make sure they arrive early, as the company expects longer queues due to "enhanced immigration checks" across Europe.  BA has already sent texts to customers flying back from Lyon, Madrid, Barcelona and Milan. They will follow this advice to all UK bound passengers from most European airports in the next few hours. 

Pilot in trouble as 10 year-old flies the plane

You could be forgiven if you thought pilots were getting younger and younger if you've seen a recent video doing the rounds on social media.  It features a smartly dressed young man in a white shirt, black waistcoat, tie and trousers and topping it off with a captain’s hat.  The young chap is eager when he's invited to sit in the captain’s seat mid-flight on the Air Algeria plane, and what 10 year-old wouldn't be?

In a video of the incident, the young chap can be seen manipulating the controls and pushing buttons on the flight between Algiers Houari Boumediene International Airport and Setif Regional Airport. Speaking after the flight, the (real) pilot commended the boy: "He was very disciplined, calm and attentive. I am sure he will be a good pilot.”

Loganair's New Look

The Scottish airline Loganair has unveiled its new tartan livery and announced an increase in passenger numbers on some key routes. 

There was a 17 per cent rise in passenger travel between Sumburgh in the Shetland Islands and the Scottish mainland in July compared to June, with nearly 20,000 people using the route.

An even bigger increase was seen on the Sumburgh and Glasgow route, up 25 per cent, while there was a 14 per cent growth in flights connecting Aberdeen to Shetland.

Loganair has terminated its Flybe Franchise and that deal comes to an end next month and to make the move, LoganAir has shown off its new paint job! 

A Saab 340B, named Spirit of Caithness has become the first of its fleet to undergo a makeover ahead of the airline flying under its own name. 

Older Planes Less Reliable?

A Boeing 737 belonging to Jet2 has made two emergency landings in as many weeks, leading some commentators to question whether the advanced age of the aircraft is affecting its reliability. 

The plane was forced to land at Barcelona on July 16, as it flew from Ibiza to Leeds/Bradford. Twelve days later, on July 28, it made another forced landing at Frankfurt en route from Newcastle to Prague. 

Ryanair Boss Earns £8k A Day

As passengers have to pay a small fortune to sit together on one of his aircraft, Michael O'Leary, the Ryanair Chief Executive gets paid almost £8000 a day to sit in his seat!

Yes, the boss of the budget irish airline took home earnings of €3.26million last year, that's £2.92million,  which calculates at approximately €8,931 / £7,987 per day.  The figures released  atis week revealed he got an increase of £89,000 from last year.  But it's not just his wages that are soaring, so to are complains to the airline. 

End of the line for the A380?

Hot news from Airbus.....The aircraft manufacturer is slowing down the production rate of its super jumbo the double decked A380 even more.   The future of vast aircraft looks even more bleak after the European aircraft company confirmed it was cutting production to just 8 air frames in 2019. 

Virgin Atlantic Bargain Basement Sell Off

Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group is flogging off a major stake in the airline Virgin Atlantic at bargain basement prices to Air France-KLM and existing investor Delta Air Lines.

Air France-KLM is to buy 31 percent of Virgin Atlantic for £220m.  The Virgin Group will hang on to just 20 percent of the troubled trans-Atlantic airline, they will also continue to chairman the company.