Brazilian and French search crews have recovered another 13 bodies from the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil where Air France Flight 447 with 228 passengers and crew aboard, came down over a week ago. Airbus 330-200 crashed en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on 31 May and while investigators are certain the aircraft suffered multiple computer malfunctions, officials have not ruled out terrorism. While early speculation centered around a lightening strike and then extreme turbulence as a … [Read more...] about Air France crash: Terrorism possibility gains ground
Carriers
Emirates cargo boss hopes for ‘U’ shaped recovery
“This is clearly the worst recession since 1930s and we thought history wouldn’t repeat itself, but it did and here we are in the middle of it,†he said noting that March and April saw the worst cargo volumes thus far. “I think we’re over the bottom,†the SkyCargo boss said with some optimism citing the visible stability in the stock markets over the past few months. “We’re starting to see a slowing of decline and I’m … [Read more...] about Emirates cargo boss hopes for ‘U’ shaped recovery
Turkish Airlines keeps growth firmly in its sights
The global recession seems to have had no impact on its operations – the airline carried 3.1 million passengers in the first two months of the year, a rise of 9 per cent from a year earlier and cargo too is up 3.4 per cent, emphasising just what the carrier’s CEO, Temel Kotil, had told PayloadAsia in Delhi, a few months ago. On the eve of launching the daily services from Delhi and Mumbai to Istanbul, Dr Kotil had said that there had been no reduction in the … [Read more...] about Turkish Airlines keeps growth firmly in its sights
Polet branches out into mainstream cargo
Heavy and outsized cargo carrier, Polet Airlines has announced it is entering the international regular cargo market by establishing a hub in Munich with fl ights serving key gateways throughout Europe and around the world. To accomplish this Polet has leased three IL-96-400T aircraft from Ilyushin Finance Co. which will begin commercial operations by third quarter 2009, Polet said. Th e carrier said it will also purchase three additional IL-96-400T aircraft in 2010-2011. According to … [Read more...] about Polet branches out into mainstream cargo
Cathay Pacific Cargo meets challenges head-on
Responding to the rapidly changing market situation, Cathay Pacific’s strategy took into account variables such as fuel prices, fleet deployment and fluctuations in world trade patterns, all of which had shown a marked change globally over the past 12 months. The carrier’s response included capacity cuts, special leave schemes for staff , adjustment of frequencies, focusing on new markets and also included delaying a planned cargo terminal to cut costsamid the global … [Read more...] about Cathay Pacific Cargo meets challenges head-on
Russia’s S7 Airlines joins oneworld alliance
Russian domestic airline, S7 Airlines, is to join global airline alliance, oneworld. The carrier was unanimously elected on board by the grouping’s existing ten member airlines and will become part of oneworld, offering the alliance’s full range of services, benefits and fares, during 2010. As a first step, its network will be added from 1 June to the Global Explorer round-the-world fare offered by all oneworld member airlines and selected carriers that are not part of the … [Read more...] about Russia’s S7 Airlines joins oneworld alliance