Panic as passenger tried to open door mid-flight

Drama on an American Airlines bound for Minneapolis on Saturday when a passenger tried to open an exit mid-flight.

There was panic and pandemonium for a when a passenger tried to open one of the emergency exits while the aircraft was on a flight from Los Angeles to Minneapolis.    "There was a lot of yelling and screaming," passenger Richard Munassi told media after the flight landed safely in Minneapolis and the wayward passenger removed in handcuffs by the local police.  

"I thought perhaps two of the passengers had gotten into maybe a fist fight." Richard said, adding that the man tried to open the door "immediately after the pilot let passengers know that the plane was in descent. It was a couple of minutes afterward, so he had a plan to open that door as we were getting close to the ground," 

Another passenger, Salman Elmi, described the incident as a "crazy experience" 

AA to end Manchester - New York JFK route

It's been released that American Airlines will be ending its service between Manchester Airport and New York from next summer.

American Airlines have been at the airport for 31 years and also flies to Chicago and Philadelphia from the airport and say these routes will continue as planned.  The airline say they are cutting the New York service  to ‘maximise their fleet and profitability while matching customer demand’.

Delta Expanding African Service

From March next year, Delta Air Lines will be starting a new flight to Lagos, Nigeria, from New York's JFK airport.   The service is designed to complement the service already flying from Atlanta to one of the busiest airports in Africa.

The service will start 24th March and will operate three times weekly on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The flight will depart New York JFK at 10.50pm arriving in Lagos as 2.05pm local the next day.  The return is scheduled to leave Lagos at 10.30pm and land back in the Big Apple in the morning at 5.30am

“JFK is one of Delta’s gateways to the world, and we’re proud to make that world a little smaller with the launch of service to Lagos,” said Henry Kuykendall, Delta’s Vice President-New York. “This new route to the African continent joins existing service from JFK to Dakar and Accra, and follows new trans-Atlantic routes to Lisbon, Berlin and Glasgow that began this spring. We’re proud to continue to grow and refine our network to serve the more than 27 million Delta customers that pass through New York every year.”

Qatar - Prague New Service Started Today

Qatar Airways’ first non-stop flight from Doha landed today at Václav Havel Airport Prague, inaugurating the award-winning airline’s first-ever passenger service to the Czech Republic. 

Qatar Airways flew an Airbus A320 to the picturesque Czech city today and in an auspicious beginning the inaugural flight arrived ahead of schedule at 12.50 pm.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker was one of a number of dignitaries who travelled on board the flight, including the Czech Republic’s Ambassador to Qatar, Mr. Martin Vítek, and were greeted by Mr. Vaclav Rehor, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Prague Airport, Mr. Pavel Klucky, Director of Department of Near East Area, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ms. Monika Palatkova, General Manager of Czech Tourism.

Read on to find out what Qatar CEO thinks....

Probe Launched Into Tarom

Romania’s national airline Tarom is facing a stringent government probe after the airline reported significant losses in the first half of 2017. The embattled airline has not made a single profit since 2007.

It is reported that the airlines general manager Eugen Davidoiu had rowed with the Prime Minister Mihai Tudose over the poor results of the company and has since resigned.  The Prime Minister said on television on Saturday that he believed the company was now in a worse shape than last year.

The head of the government has ordered an investigation into the airline's management during the last 8 years, after the airline reported losses of 330 million euros over this period - 22.7 million in the first half of this year.

Cathay To Buy 32 A321neo's

It has been announced that Cathay Pacific has agreed to buy 21 Airbus A321 aircraft in a deal worth more than HKD$31.7billion, that's approximately USD$4.06billion.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU), was signed today between the Cathay Pacific Group and Airbus in Toulouse, France, and is for 32 of the super efficient aircraft that will go to sister airline Cathay Dragon, designed to dramatically increase the airlines single-aisle fleet replaced and expanded from 2020.

The new aircraft, are scheduled to be delivered between 2020 and 2023 and will replace Cathay Dragon’s existing 15 Airbus A320s and 8 Airbus A321s. Cathay Dragon also operates 24 wide-body Airbus A330s, serves 56 destinations in Asia, including 28 cities in mainland China.

Read on for what CEO Rupert Hogg says of “The substantial investment"

Special Offers

We've teamed up with our friends at TravelZoo to help you add a little romance to your life.....

Champagne lunch at Grade I-listed Kent mansion, Only £18!

You can now get five small plates from a daily-changing set menu and a glass of champagne for £18 at The Salutation, a Grade I-listed mansion on the banks of 

the River Stour in the medieval town on Sandwich.

Yorkshire spa day for 2 with rasul & afternoon tea, Only £129!

You and a friend can enjoy a spa day including a rasul-mud treatment and afternoon tea at The Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa near Skipton for £129.

Vineyard talk, tastings & afternoon tea for 2 near York, Only £29!

For less than £15 a head, you and a friend can take in a vineyard talk with wine tasting and afternoon tea at Yorkshire Heart Vineyard and Brewery in Nun Monkton.

2-night Somerset stay with breakfast & gin, 45% off!

The Queens Arms is an AA 5-star Country Inn on the Dorset-Somerset border, close to the medieval market town of Sherborne. A 2-night break at this award-winning hotel 

is now £179, saving 45% on the regular rates.

Sussex: top-rated 3-course meal with bubbly for 2, Only £39.99!

AA-Rosette-awarded The Earl of March in the village of Mid Lavant, near Chichester, offers the "perfect blend of contemporary styling and relaxed country character", says The Michelin Guide 2018. You can now enjoy a 3-course meal and a glass of prosecco for less than £20 a head.

Kensington: 5-star dinner & champagne for 2, 42% off

The 2-AA-Rosette Park Terrace Restaurant, located in the 5-star Inspectors' Choice Royal Garden Hotel, offers "leafy views over Kensington Gardens" (The AA). You can now get a 3-course dinner for two accompanied by a glass of champagne and refreshments for £32.50 a head.

On a sweet note 

Discounts

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Out of date EasyJet Food

Airline food has a reputation for sometimes being below par, sub standard and rather bland, but never past its best before date - until now!

We've never come across a story like this before, but it is has been giving a chuckle to the team in the office this week.  

A cheese toastie that's 10 years out of date

A CS300 Shimmers in Korean Air Colours After Paint Job

On Thursday, Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier, proudly unveiled the first CS300 aircraft freshly painted in Korean Air’s colors as it rolled out of the paint shop in Mirabel, Canada. 

The first CS300 is scheduled to be delivered this autumn, enabling Korean Air to be the very first airline to operate the C Series in Asia.

SAA Harare Flights Cancelled

Tensions are mounting rapidly between the African nations of Zimbabwe and South Africa diplomatically after Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s wife, Grace claimed diplomatic immunity last week.  Mrs Mugabe was charged with assault  following a disturbance at a hotel where she is said to have attacked and assaulted a girl that she found in her son's hotel room in a suburb of Johannesburg.

On Friday, the state-owned Airports Co. of South Africa canceled an evening Air Zimbabwe flight to Harare after authorities asked for the airline’s foreign operators permit.  Now the government of Zimbabwe is responding in a similar way with all eight of the  scheduled South African Airways flights between Harare and Johannesburg being cancelled on Saturday. ere canceled on Saturday

Jet2 Passengers Terrified By French Fighter Jet Shadowing Them

Photo by Emily Hatfield from the Jet2 aircraft

A UK bound commercial passenger aircraft was intercepted and shadowed by a French Air Force fighter jet in an unnecessary act of aggression yesterday. 

The airline, Jet2 has asked for official clarification from the French why its aircraft was targeted in such a manner that it caused anxiety, dismay and alarm among some of the passengers onboard.   

Passengers were travelling to Birmingham from Malaga on the Jet2 Flight LS1204 on Friday when they became aware of the French fighter jet getting so close to the passenger aircraft, some could see the small print on the fighter's tail. 

Terrified passengers 

Happy 90th Birthday MKC

We send birthday wishes to Kansas City Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport on turning 90 years old this week. Kansas City Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport - MKC, is the city's first airport and still one of its busiest.

Originally home to commercial aviation, the airport now attracts a large number of corporate, charter and recreational flyers, with up to 700 aircraft taking off or landing each day.

Celebrating the major milestone was former Mayor Charles B. Wheeler, whom had only recently celebrated his own 91st birthday.  Happy Birthday to you both! 

http://www.flymkc.com

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CRJ's Enable Shree Airlines To Operate Fixed Wing Services. Nepal

The largest helicopter operator in Nepal, Shree Airlines, has now launched a new regional fixed-wing jet service, with three Bombardier CRJ aircraft.

The airline already owns and operates a large mixed fleet of helicopters in Nepal and in Africa, mainly on charter work and also on occasion for UN Peace-Keeping Operations as well as World Food Programme. The new expansion into fixed-wing operations will allow the tiny airline to serve a larger part of the Nepalese population whilst complementing its rotor-wing services. 

“We are pleased to welcome Shree Airlines to the worldwide family of CRJ Series aircraft operators,” said David Speirs, Vice President, Asset Management at Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. 

"The CRJ Series aircraft have been instrumental in revolutionizing regional route networks, and we are confident that Shree Airlines will achieve much success as it launches fixed-wing operations in the regions of Nepal with two CRJ200 aircraft and one CRJ700 aircraft.”

What does Shree mean?

LATAM Cautious on outlook

LATAM Airlines Group SA, Latin America's largest airline, is still "very cautious" on the outlook for its key domestic Brazilian market, with demand volatile, a top executive of the company said on Friday.

"We have seen some very positive weeks in terms of demand in Brazil," Chief Financial Officer Ramiro Alfonsin told investors on a conference call following the release of second-quarter earnings.

"But we're still very cautious because we've also seen that certain weeks are not very good," he added.

"Internationally, we're doing very well but domestic in Brazil I would say we're cautious still on the second half of the year," he said.

Jamie Oliver Visits Gatwick Airport to Unveil The Diner

Jamie Oliver has visited Gatwick Airport again, this time to unveil his new flagship restaurant, which is called The Diner and aims to be a wonderfully vibrant  a homage to great American comfort food!

The Diner is home to three distinct areas, a diner restaurant section serving food in a rustic way, on big trays or in baskets, making it perfect for sharing, an art-deco inspired bar that really looks great and is bound to be popular plus also a ‘grab and go’ deli.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Some of the grub on offer at this new restaurants, one of the largest at Gatwick at 627 m2, with room for 278 diners, include a Super Food Breakfast - Poached free-range eggs, baby spinach, super grains and pulses, smashed avocado, toasted super nuts and seeds.  Another item on the menu that we rather like the sound of is the delightful Naughty Chocolate Pancakes which are Chocolate chunk pancakes, caramelised banana and honey-toasted pecans.

For passengers wanting to take food away with them they will be able to pick up a super food wrap, super food salad or Jamie Oliver inspired burrito - selecting from a choice of pulled, smoked meats, slow-cooked beans, wholegrain rice or quinoa, avocado, low fat yoghurt or Jamie Oliver’s secret chilli sauce.                                                                                                                                                   

What did Jamie say?