New jet service between Santa Barbara and Oakland to come in October

A new jet air service is between Santa Barbara and Oakland is coming, as air provider Contour Airlines confirms it is starting the route with effect of 16th October.

The service will be a daily operation on 30-seat Embraer ERJ-135 aircraft that featuring all leather seating, expanded legroom - up to 36-inch seat pitch, complimentary snacks and beverages as well as a free checked bag included with every fare. 

The airline will then be starting a new service between Santa Barbara and Las Vegas which is scheduled to start on 18th October, again on an ERJ-135. 

The routes introduce two new markets, Santa Barbara and Las Vegas, into Contour’s growing West Coast network. Within the last six months, Contour has also initiated service in Oakland, CA, Phoenix, AZ, Page, AZ, and Crescent City, CA. “We see an incredible opportunity in Santa Barbara to provide point-to-point service to these high-demand, short-haul markets,” according to Matt Chaifetz, Chief Executive Officer of Contour. “Santa Barbara residents can now avoid a long and unpredictable drive to the Los Angeles-area gateways and fly from their convenient hometown airport.” 

Chengdu - Tel Aviv service starts next month for Sichuan Airlines

Sichuan Airlines will be starting a direct service to Tel Aviv from Chengdu next month the airline has confirmed.  The service is due to start on 26th September as will operate twice a week - on Sundays and Thursdays. 

The carrier says the flights will initially be operated by Airbus A330 aircraft featuring 277 economy class seats and 24 in business class. The airline plans to later introduce an Airbus A350 to the route. 

The schedule will see the flight depart Chengdu at 0215 arriving in Tel Aviv 0735 local time with an approximate flying time of 8 hours and 20 minutes. The return flight leaves at 1525 and will get back to Chengdu at 6:00 AM on the following morning. 

United 737 burst tyres on landing

Passengers on a United Airlines flight from Boston to Denver had to be bussed to the terminal after it was found the aircraft had burst two tyres. 

Flight UA448 had landed safely at Denver on Monday evening and according to United, the tyres flattened after landing on the Boeing 737 aircraft. 

An airport spokesperson said that the aircraft had stopped on the taxiway, once the problem was discovered and then 165 people on board were loaded onto buses, which transported them to the airport terminal, no injuries were reported.

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Flydubai pilot sacked for turning up for flight over the legal alcohol limit

A Pilot who failed a test for alcohol before a flight to Dubai from Nepal last month has been sacked by his airline, FlyDubai.

Flydubai confirmed today that it had dismissed the captain whose blood alcohol level was over the legal limit and was therefore deemed unfit to fly the aircraft back to the home base of the carrier in the United Arab Emirates

Colleagues had raised concerns after the pilot had turned up for the flight on 29th July, the man was tested before boarding the aircraft. At the time Flydubai said it had a zero tolerance on flight deck crew breaching company regulations on alcohol consumption. 

A spokesperson for the airline today said, “Flydubai confirms that the pilot’s employment has been terminated. The safety of our passengers and crew is our priority,”.

Italian pilots agree deal with Ryanair

It appears that Ryanair may have pulled off another agreement with a Pilots union, this time it is with the Italian pilots union ANPAC.

The union confirmed today, that the majority of its pilots had approved a collective labour agreement (CLA) with the low-fare-high-fee airline  “We welcome this first CLA with our Italian pilots and hope that it will be shortly followed by a similar agreement covering our Irish pilots,”  said Ryanair Chief People Officer, Eddie Wilson.  “We have invited our UK, German and Spanish unions to meet with us in the coming days so that we can negotiate and hopefully agree similar pilot CLAs in these other larger markets,”.

Nose wheels missing in Beijing Capital Airlines A320 emergency landing

A Beijing Capital Airlines Airbus A320 with 166 people on board had to make an emergency landing with two wheels missing at Shenzhen airport on Tuesday after the flight deck crew aborted landing at nearby Macau and declared “Mayday”. 

The flight had taken off from Beijing and according to Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) the crew also reported a problem in one of the aircraft's engine. 

Capital Airlines used local social media site Weibo to say that it suspected the flight encountered wind shear whilst attempting to land in Macau with the pilots “concluded that landing gear may have been damaged.”

It said there were 157 passengers and nine crew on board the A320, registration B-6952, was operating flight JD5759 from Beijing to Macau, when the incident occurred around 11:15 local time. and the CACC said five passengers reported physical discomfort during the incident.   

The airport at Shenzhen, shut one of its runways for three hours to accommodate the emergency landing, the airport confirmed on Weibo. Images show plan at a halt with emergency escape chute deployed and no fount wheels, there also appears to be some damage to the left engine. 

Crying pilot caused Nepal air crash.

A crying pilot caused the deadly air crash at Nepal’s international airport in March according to a leaked copy of the official report.

 The pilot had been extremely upset, chain-smoked and cried in the cockpit of the Bombardier Q400 during the flight from Dhaka to Nepal. Parts of a draft report by a Nepali government-appointed panel indicate captain, Abid Sultan, was “extremely upset and hurt” by a female colleague who raised questions about his reputation as an instructor at US-Bangla Airlines. 

The flight crashed on landing in Kathmandu in March, killing 51 of the 71 people on board, including the captain. Abid Sultan was a former Bangladeshi air force pilot and according to the leaked parts of the report, failed to follow instructions from air traffic controllers regarding taking the southern approach to the airfield. Instead, Sultan took a more difficult northern approach to the single runway and was unable to align the plane before landing and the plane skidded off the runway onto the grass around it. 

According to the report, “He was very much under stress due to this particular issue.   This mistrust and stress led him to continuously smoke in the cockpit and also suffer an emotional breakdown several times during the flight,”.  Also stated in the leaked report seen by news agency Reuters, “The captain was ‘crying and sneezing’ on several occasions during the flight,” as detailed in the recordings. 

The ceo of US-Bangla Airlines, Imran Asif told Reuters “The official report has not been published or released. I don’t know what evidence they are talking about.”

Qatar Airways to schedule A350's to Singapore and Tokyo

Qatar Airways has confirmed that from the 1st November it will schedule an A350-1000, complete with the luxurious, award-winning Qsuite on flights to and from Singapore’s Changi Airport.

In addition, the airline announced that from the 1st January 2019 it will put the super advanced A350-1000 on the daily route to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. 1 January 2019.

The two cities will be the first of Qatar Airways’ growing Far East network to welcome the ultramodern A350-1000 equipped with Qsuite.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are tremendously excited to bring the world’s most technologically advanced passenger aircraft fitted with revolutionary Qsuite Business Class experience to our loyal customers in Singapore and Tokyo. The launch of the A350-1000 on these routes is a fulfilment of the promise we make to our passengers to provide them the finest experience available in the skies. We are confident that our A350-1000 flights and Qsuite cabins will be highly sought after, and look forward to bringing them to even more gateways throughout the Far East.”

Two of Singapore’s triple-daily A350-900 services will gradually transition to the A350-1000 starting from 1 November 2018. The route is expected to be served entirely with the A350-1000 by April 2019.

Icelandair President & CEO resigns as group lowers EBITDA prediction for 2018

Icelandair group continue to struggle in an increasingly competitive marketplace, the group has updated its forecast for the year 2018, the company’s results will be worse than projected. Based on current assumptions, the Company is projecting its EBITDA for the year 2018 to be in the range of USD 80-100 million.

One of Björgólfur Jóhannsson last tasks as President & CEO was to issue the following statement,  “The updated forecast is mainly based on the fact that the Company’s revenue will be lower than anticipated. There are primarily two reasons for the lowered revenue forecast; Firstly, we still expected rising average fares during the final months of the years, in the updated EBITDA forecast published on July 8th, due to cost increases of airlines. Now, we expect the rising of average fares to occur later, that is not until in 2019.

California Pacific Airlines to launch in November

From the 1st of November this year, the California skies will find a new airline cutting through it as California Pacific Airlines (CPA) announces details of its inaugural west coast service.

Flying from its base at the McClellan – Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, California, California Pacific Airlines will initially offer service to the communities of San Jose, CA; and Reno-Lake Tahoe, NV. Then on 15th November a service to Las Vegas, NV will start, the airline will initially operate 50-seat, Embraer ERJ145 aircraft on these four nonstop routes. 

"Today's announcement marks the culmination of a multi-year effort that will bring significant convenience in air travel between San Diego's North County and the top Western-Region destinations our community wants to fly to nonstop," remarked California Pacific Airlines Chairman Ted Vallas. He continued, "California Pacific Airlines will bring the north county a new-found convenience in air travel options.  Our initial set of cities will address the needs of both business and leisure travellers from nearby McClellan – Palomar Airport.  Passengers can spend less time fretting the drive to and from the airport, and spend more time enjoying their destination."

Emirates to add a fourth daily flight to Riyadh

Emirates confirmed it will boost its services to Riyadh with the addition of a fourth daily flight to the Saudi capital from 1st September 2018 this year. The addition of the fourth daily service will take the total number of weekly Emirates flights serving Riyadh to 28. 

Adil Al Ghaith, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations, Gulf, Middle East & Iran said:  “Emirates’ expanded schedule to Riyadh will offer more travel options and choice for business travellers and families alike who are looking to visit Dubai. There are strong passenger flows between Riyadh and Dubai so enhancing our services makes business sense, and further underscores Riyadh’s importance within our global network.

Hello A220-300 number 11 for airBaltic

Latvian airline and launch customer for the Bombardier CS300, airBaltic welcomed its eleventh example of the jet, now under the new model number of A220-300 from Airbus.  On the 25th August YL-CSK arrived at Riga to start its operation life on the rapidly expanding route network or airBaltic.

So far, the European airline has carried over 1 450 000 passengers on the Airbus A220-300 aircraft with every third airBaltic passenger flying on the aircraft. The Airbus A220-300’s have completed more than 14 000 flights for the airline and flown over 37 800 block hours.

Since the launch operations on 14th December 2016, airBaltic Airbus A220-300’s have been in 35 countries and landed in 70 airports. Most often, airBaltic fly Airbus A220-300’s to Moscow, Amsterdam, Paris, London and Barcelona.

More than four million people will travel with British Airways during August

It has been one of the busiest summers ever for the UK's British Airways this year. The carrier is scheduled to carry over four million customers across its network in August alone, the airline has revealed some of the most popular holiday destinations for travellers.

In the list are long-haul destinations such as the expected New York, which is the airlines most profitable route. California's Los Angeles is also in the top most popular destinations in the long-haul route network.  Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong are also top choices. Short-haul destinations like Malaga, Spain, Nice in France and Amsterdam all proved top choices.  In the UK, Edinburgh and Glasgow were also amazingly popular, thanks no doubt to soaring domestic temperatures.

Customers have been getting in the summer holiday spirit, this year more than ever, with 212,000 bottles of wine consumed across all British Airways flights in July, up three per cent on last year. Meanwhile, those in Club Europe or Club World and First looking for something extra-special to kick-start their trip consumed 105,000 bottles of Champagne, again up five per cent.

No more Mexico City services from Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines are pulling out of Mexico City completely as from 6th November, it has been confirmed. The airline has slowly whittled away its operations to Mexico City for some time, and now, the end of the line from its last remaining service from Los Angeles to the city is just a couple of months away.

The airline faced heavy competition on the route, Mexican carriers included Volaris, Interjet and Aeromexico, whilst US airlines also on the route include, at least for the time being are, United, American, Delta and Alaska Airlines. Although it is understood that United will also be pulling off the route in the not too distant future. 

WestJet becomes first Canadian airline to launch an AI Chatbot......

WestJet today is offering its guests more convenience with the launch of the first-ever artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbot from a Canadian airline.

The airline has called the chatbot, Juliet, and she/it is available in English and French through Facebook Messenger, we're told should enable travellers to easily manage many aspects of their trip including destination inspiration and discovery, flight booking and day-of travel information. 

Juliet, Juliet,  wherefore art thou?

"Juliet is the first of many ways WestJet will be raising the bar using digital to improve the guest experience, and make the travel journey easier and more enjoyable," said Alfredo C. Tan, WestJet Chief Digital and Innovation Officer. "A majority of internet users are already using a messenger platform, including Facebook Messenger. Launching Juliet gives even more access to quick, simple support on a platform that a majority of our guests already have at hand."

 

WestJet decided to call this new artificial intelligence chatbot Juliet after one of WestJet's original aircraft, and is designed to use reinforcement learning allowing the chatbot to learn the way humans do, with a combination of instruction, examples, and experience, leading to better responses over time. WestJet will continue to add more functionality, features and capabilities to Juliet including availability on different platforms and voice interaction.

Read on for our experiences. 

Shenzhen - Zurich service starts for Hainan Airlines

Hainan Airlines has confirmed the launch of a new service between Shenzhen and Zurich, Switzerland today.

The airline will operate the service with a Dreamliner 787 aircraft from US manufacturer Boeing and will fly twice a week.  This is the first non-stop flight connecting China's Guangzhou-Shenzhen area with Switzerland, and is also the Hainan Airline's 7th intercontinental flight originating from Shenzhen. 

Hainan Airlines flight HU741, the inaugural flight took off from Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport at 1:20 am on August 27 Beijing time, and successfully landed at Zurich Airport the same day, at 7:55 am local time.  Hainan Airlines spokesman said, "The non-stop Shenzhen-Zurich service will bring more convenience to passengers travelling on business and for leisure, further promoting the development of the economies, cultures and tourism of the two countries, while offering more opportunities for collaboration between companies in European countries and in China."

99 Years young.........

From one 99 year old to another........

Mary Parsons from Malvern in Worcestershire turns 100 years old on January 1, 2019, the same year that the British Airways also celebrates its centenary. One of the airline's ambassadors, Derek Tennant, surprised Mary at her ‘Friends of the Elderly’ care home in Davenham and revealed that he was taking her to Belfast to see her family.

Born just 51 days after World War I ended, Mary grew up in Monaghan, 70 miles south of Belfast, yet left when she was 18-years-old to move to England and become a nurse.

Read on for a day of surprises.

Paducah and Cape Girardeau benefit from extra SkyWest flight

SkyWest Airlines will begin offering an additional flight from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to Paducah, Kentucky with a stop in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in January it was confirmed this week.

The announcement, made simultaneously at both the Paducah and Cape Girardeau airports, "its the culmination of three months of hard work and communication between the airport teams, SkyWest and United Airlines," said Jay Page, from Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah. While, Sandra Wilson, of Paducah's chamber of commerce, said it was "great news for our region.".

SkyWest Airlines has been providing two daily round trips under the United Express banner between Paducah and Chicago's O'Hare Airport since 2010. The airline has also been providing a daily service from Cape Girardeau to Chicago since 1 December 2017. However, there hasn't been a direct commercial air service between Cape Girardeau and Paducah for more than 30 years.

The airline also stated that from January the service it operates between Chicago and  Quincy, Illinois would no longer operate to Cape Girardeau as well, "The United Express flight schedule for Quincy, Ill., will no longer include a stop in Cape Girardeau," said a spokesperson for SkyWest. "Flight schedules remain the same and provide maximum connection opportunities to destinations around the globe" at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Officials in Quincy view the change in the flights as a positive development for the airport and the region. 

A milestone for ATR

Last month, European turboprop aircraft manufacturer ATR marked a major milestone in the company's history. It delivered the 1,000th ATR 72 aircraft. which was handed over to IndiGo, India’s number one national carrier. 

 The ATR 72 was officially launched in January 1986, with the first delivery taking place in October 1989 for the Finnish carrier, Finnair. The program was launched with the ATR 72-200 (187 deliveries) before the ATR 72-500 (365 deliveries) was introduced in 1997, with American Eagle. Our latest model, the ATR 72-600 (448 deliveries), was launched in 2009, and entered service with Royal Air Maroc in 2011.

For more than 30 years, the ongoing popularity of the ATR 72 with our clients and operators testifies to the quality of our aircraft, and the many innovations it has undergone over the decades. Its operational versatility, its eco-efficiency and its unparalleled profitability to date have made it possible, with the ATR 42, to open on average 100 new routes annually, with a record figure of more than 150 in 2017. The ATRs have made a powerful contribution to developing and consolidating regional connectivity around the world.

Ethiopian Airlines to own almost half of new Chad national airline

The largest Aviation Group in Africa is set to get a little bigger with a 49 percent investment stake in a new national carrier for Chad.

Ethiopian Airlines has agreed with the Government of Chad for the launch of Chad national carrier, in which the Government of Chad retains 51 percent, Ethiopian takes the other 49 percent. The new carrier is expected to take to the skies on 1st October this year.  

At the launch announcement,  Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines said, “The strategic equity partnership in the launching of the new Chad national carrier is part of our Vision 2025 multiple hub strategy in Africa. The new Chad national carrier will serve as a strong hub in Central Africa availing domestic, regional and eventually international air connectivity to the major destinations in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. I wish to thank His Excellency President Idriss Deby Itno, the Government of Chad and the stakeholders in the aviation sector in Chad for their strong support to the project.”

Israir cabin crew member arrested for stealing charity donations.

A senior Israir Airlines flight attendant has been arrested by Israeli police for stealing money passengers had donated to charity, local media is reporting.

The 52-year-old male crew member was arrested at Ben Gurion International Airport, on Friday 24 August after the alleged theft took place on a flight to Eilat from Tel Aviv, however, it is understood the man regularly stole charity money.

Israir Airlines had been running various charity campaigns, they asked passengers who wanted to donate to the various aid groups to put some money in little charity envelopes.  These are then passed to the crew, who in turn pass them on to a member of the ground crew at the end of each flight.  The arrested flight attended is reported to have kept the envelopes for himself and a search of his home found many of the charity envelops as well as some located in his suitcase. 

A new Boutique commercial airline is coming to Telluride.

A new commercial airline is coming to Telluride, as Boutique Air will offer year-round service beginning this month from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Telluride Regional Airport (TEX).

The flights are scheduled to start on 29th August this year and prices start a $149 one way. There are two daily rotations scheduled, the first leaves Telluride at 08:30 arriving in Denver at 09:45 with the return departing Denver at 11:15 to land at Telluride at 12:30.  The second of the daily flights leaves at 1300 from Telluride and gets in to Denver at 1415.  From Denver, the flight back is conveniently times for a 1935 departure and an arrival in Telluride of 2050.

Boutique Air's modern fleet of Swiss-made Pilatus PC-12 and Beechcraft King Air 350 aircraft offers amenities that include reclining leather seats, enclosed lavatory and power outlets.

"Boutique Air brings a proven, high-quality operation and a worldwide partner network; a great fit for both our community and our guests coming to visit throughout the year," said Colorado Flights COO Matt Skinner. "We are excited to partner with Boutique Air and deliver commercial flights to TEX for the destination."

Boutique Air also partners with United Airlines,  so people can book and connect to the global United network.  "Telluride is a world-class destination, and we are thrilled to be connecting it to our Denver International hub later this month," said Boutique Air CEO Shawn Simpson. "Our strong partnerships with both Colorado Flights Alliance as well as United Airlines have paved the way to this launch, which is just in time for the Telluride Film Festival. We look forward to making it a great success." 

(images Boutique Air)

Blue Air to start winter service to Marrakech from home base of Bucharest

Blue Air, the Romanian carrier has confirmed it will be operating a brief winter service from Bucharest to the popular Moroccan city of Marrakech from the 3rd November.

The airline has scheduled a Boeing 737-400 to the route that will operate each week on a Saturday. The flight departs Bucharest at 1000 and arrives in Marrakech at 1310 local time. Following a rapid 50 minute turnaround, the return flight departs 1400 and gets back in Bucharest at 2045. 

Blue Air offers three types of fare, Light - which is always its lowest flight only fare, although it also includes a 10kg cabin bag allowance. Classic is the next level up with includes the airfare, 10 kg cabin bag, 20 kg check-in bag, 50% discount on change fee and a reserved seat. The upper level is Premium which features, 10 kg cabin bag, 32kg check-in bag, no fee for a date or route change, premium seats and a complimentary meal.

Blue Air is based in Romania's capital and largest city, Bucharest, which is the beating cultural, industrial, and financial heart of the country. Currently, the airline operates a fleet of 30 Boeing 737 aircraft, mixed between the 300, 400, 500, 700 and 800 models with seat configurations ranging from 120 to 189 seats.

During the summer of 2017, Blue Air announced a firm order of twelve Boeing 737 MAX 8, which are due to start arriving in the middle of 2019 and will allow the airline to both expand as well as retire older aircraft. The fleet was refurbished with more comfortable, better designed seat from makers Recaro, which have proved popular with passengers.  

United to move stock markets

United Continental Holdings, the parent company of United Airlines, confirmed today that it is transferring its stock exchange listing from The New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

United anticipates its common stock to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on 7th September this year, under the same symbol "UAL".  "We look forward to our future partnership with Nasdaq. Their highly respected trading platform and marketing initiatives offer the most cost-effective listing alternative and support our work to deliver on our cost targets," said Gerry Laderman, EVP and CFO of UAL.   

No Branson services for Silver Airways

Silver Airways, the small Florida based US regional airline seems to have dropped all plans to operate flights to Chicago O’Hare, Houston and New Orlean from Branson, Missouri.

The airline had previously announced it would be starting the routes with effect from the end of August this year with ATR42-600 aircraft.  However, the airline told Branson airport it could not start the new routes in August due to a lack of final certification for the ATR aircraft from the FAA.

“We were disappointed to learn of the news of the ATR certification delay,” said Jeff Bourk Executive Director of the Branson Airport. 

Now it is being reported that Silver Airways will not now pursue starting services from the airport in the mid to long-term future.

The South American Norwegian Exploration

The World's best low-cost long-haul airline, Norwegian is continuing its exploration into the markets of South America. 

From the 4th September, the airline starts selling tickets for its first two domestic flights in Argentina.  The new routes start on 16th October and will link Buenos Aires with Córdoba and Mendoza. Además️.

In addition, the flight Buenos Aires - London route will go increase frequency from four flights a week to a daily service from the 1st December. Norwegian has plans to operate more than 150 domestic flights in Argentina as well as flights to from its home base of Buenos Aires to Peru. The airline has a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with another nine on order. 

Argentina is not the only South American country that Norwegian plans to operate in, in a further step in its global expansion explorations. It has been announced this week that the carrier is interested in starting up domestic operations in Brazil.  

KLM and pilots union VNV agree to mediation

KLM and the Dutch union VNV have jointly agreed to appoint ReulingSchutte, an agency specialised in business mediation, to act as a mediator in the ongoing negotiation process taking place between the two. 

 The airline says that as previous negotiations have failed to find a solution to the current employee dissatisfaction, mediation was a logical next step. "KLM considers this a logical and desirable subsequent step and as the ultimate opportunity to nonetheless reach an agreement," it said in a statement.

KLM also hopes that entering mediation with VNV will prevent the union from instigating further strike action. "The current collective labour agreement specifies that engaging a mediator should be given preference as the next step in the event of the parties failing to reach agreement." the carrier stated.

Job cuts likely at Tunisair.... airline seeks government approval to lay off 1200 workers

There could be big job cuts at the national airline of Tunisia soon if the state-run airline gets government backing to lay off as many as 1200 workers.

Tunisair wants to shed the positions as it struggles with mounting losses and other difficulties that have caused flight delays and a lack of spare parts, which in turn has grounded some of the carriers fleet.

“The company is suffering from major financial difficulties because of the high number of workers and the wage bill of the company,” The airlines chief executive, Elyess Mankabi, told news agency Reuters. 

The airline currently employs some 8000 staff and operates a fleet of 30 aircraft, that's roughly 266 employees per aircraft. In comparison, Royal Air Maroc, also a state-owned airline has a fleet of more than 50 aircraft and an employee count of around 3300 people.

Luton ranked bottom of UK airports by a consumer publication

London Luton is yet again rated the worst airport in the UK, by Which? The annual airport survey reveals passengers have a better experience when flying from smaller airports.

The survey found the disastrous customer service, queues at passport control and poor facilities were part of the reasons why London Luton was named as the worst overall airport, with a customer satisfaction score of just 35% percent.

The survey was based on 11,265 passenger visits to UK airports, taking into account everything from queues at bag drop to the cleanliness of toilets. Of that number, the consumer publication is understood to have questioned just 521 people travelling through Luton. 

“Which? polled 521 of its subscribers who had travelled through the airport between May 2017 and May 2018, 0.003% of all passengers in that period. During this time we’ve undergone a period of significant change, investing £160 million redeveloping the airport to increase capacity and transform the passenger experience." Said Nick Barton, CEO of London Luton Airport, adding “In the first six months of 2018 alone, 1.2 million passengers responded to our customer service tracking, 70 per cent of whom told us they were happy with their experience."

Which? claims that top of the list was Doncaster Sheffield airport with an outstanding customer score of 87 percent. Passengers praised the airport’s short queues, facilities and speedy baggage reclaim process.  Robert Hough, Chairman of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said: “We are proud to be judged the UK’s and the North’s best airport, this is great recognition of the exceptional customer service offered by every single member of the team.  We have always set out to deliver a top class passenger experience, it’s what people should enjoy when at an airport whether for pleasure or business."

Eight new Airbus A330neo's for Lion Air

Lion Air will get eight brand new Airbus A330neo aircraft between now and the end of 2020 after leasing company BOC Aviation Limited confirmed it had purchased the planes.

 BOC Aviation, previously known as Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise confirmed it had done the deal today and says that Lion Air will get the new aircraft in 2019 and 2020 and will help the carrier expand its network.

“We are delighted to partner with Lion Air Group once again as we commit to deliver the latest technology Airbus twin-aisle aircraft, commencing next year,” said Robert Martin, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BOC Aviation. “This transaction takes the number of Airbus A330NEO family aircraft in our order book to 10."

Red Wings Tu-204 in engine fire drama caught on video

A Russian Tupolev Tu-204 belonging to Red Wings had to turn back immediately after taking off from Ufa in Russia on Wednesday after a fire in one of its engines.

The dramatic incident was caught on video by one of the passengers on flight 808 heading to Sochi, which has been posted to social media. Sparks and flames can be seen emanating from the left-hand engines just moments after taking off at 1704 local time.

From early reports, the pilots of the Tu-204, registration RA-64050 were alerted to the fire by both a fire warning alarm in the cockpit and by air traffic control at the airport.  The Pilot requested an immediate return to the airport as the engines inbuilt fire extinguisher failed to quench the flames. 

Some passengers recorded the incident on mobile phones, whilst others seemed panicked by the unfolding situation, however, most remained surprisingly calm.  The aircraft, which is nine years and four months old then landed a few minutes later and was greeted by a full complement of the Ufa's fire service. In one of the videos, jets of foam can clearly be seen spraying over the affected engine, dousing the flames successfully as well as the fuselage. Passengers and crew evacuated the aircraft via emergency slides once the fire was put out and no injuries have been reported.

Mandarin Airlines ATR72 damaged in runway excursion

An investigation has begun into why an ATR72-600, registration B-16852, of Mandarin Airlines was severely damaged in a collision with runway lights after a runway excursion on 22nd August.

The Taiwanese Aviation Safety Council has retrieved both the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder from the aircraft and is looking into exactly what caused the excursion.

There were 74 passengers and crew on flight AE788 from Magong to Taichung, which landed at around 1929 on Wednesday evening followed by the runway excursion. Local media are reporting that none of the passengers or crew was injured during the incident. 

Local weather reports indicate there were thunderstorms in the area of the airport on Wednesday evening, which may have played a part in the accident occurring. 

(Photo Aviation Safety Council)

Gerry Laderman named as United's chief financial office and executive vice president

The massive US airline, United has named Gerry Laderman, to become the carriers new executive vice president and chief financial officer. Laderman is a 30-year United veteran of United and most recently had been working as the acting chief financial officer since May.

He has held financial positions of increasing responsibility and will be responsible for developing United's overall financial strategy, including cost management, capital allocation and balance sheet optimization.   "Gerry has been an integral member of our leadership team throughout my tenure at United. While leading the finance organization, he has focused on enforcing cost discipline and developing a fleet plan that is capital-efficient and flexible, all while partnering with the executive team to design and implement our growth strategy," said CEO Oscar Munoz. "Gerry is widely respected throughout the industry and on Wall Street for his innovative approach to aircraft financing and debt structures, as well as his effective management of the balance sheet. He is the leader that we need in this role to ensure the momentum we've built this year extends well into United's bright future."

Laderman previously served as senior vice president of finance and treasurer for Continental Airlines from 2001 to 2010 and joined Continental in 1988. Prior to joining Continental, Laderman practised law at the New York firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed. Laderman holds a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and a law degree from the University of Michigan.

Ryanair introduces another new fee, this time for the previously free cabin bag.

The low-fare-high-fee European airline Ryanair will be making even more money from November when it introduces yet another new fee.

The airline has announced a change to its baggage policy to take effect from the 1st of November this year that will effect more than 40 percent of passengers. 

Ryanair says that from November it will end the long-standing practice of allowing passengers to take into the cabin a piece of hand luggage up to 10kgs free of charge.  Instead, if passengers want to take a medium sized case, rollable, wheelie-bag or similar cabin bag up to 10kgs in the cabin to lace in the overhead lockers, then they will have to pay between £/€6 and £/€8. If they want to check the bag into the hold the fees will increase to £/€8 to £/€10.

Passengers will still be allowed to take on one “small personal bag” to the aircraft, which must be placed under the seat in front of them, it will be charged for if it is placed in the overhead lockers.  The dimensions for the small bag will be  40 x 20 x 25cm (20,000 cm³).

Ryanair says it is introducing the new policy to cut down on flight delays, Kenny Jacobs said: "We are changing our carry-on bag policy to eliminate boarding/flight delays."

Almost all other airlines, including low-cost rivals such as easyJet, Wizz and Norwegian all currently allow a medium-sized piece of hand luggage for free on short-haul flights.

Three European airlines bow to US pressure and axe flights to Iran

Both British Airways and Air France have confirmed today that they will axe services to Iran from September this year, months after US President Donald Trump announced he would re-impose sanctions on Tehran.

IAG's UK airline, British Airways will fly its last flight to Tehran on 22nd September, with the last inbound flight concluding the operation the next day.  The airline says it is making the decision  “as the operation is currently not commercially viable”. However, The Trump administration has warned that tough sanctions could be applied to any company or country that continued to do business with Iran.

Air France has also caved in to US pressure and plans to stop its Paris to Tehran service with effect of 18 September.  A spokesperson for the airline blamed the resumption of US sanctions against Iran, saying, "As the number of business customers flying to Iran has fallen, the connection is not profitable any more,”