State-owned Air India is having second thoughts about turning its cargo unit into separate business unit, according to Indian media reports. The loss-making carrier had earlier announced plans to hive off its cargo business into an independent autonomous unit from 1 April this year to cater to the growing cargo market in the country. Based on the recommendations by consultancy firm Accenture, Air India’s parent, the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), had … [Read more...] about INDIA: Air India may not hive off cargo unit

A dispute with the country’s sole fuel supplier over payment has led to Viva Macau Airlines being grounded after its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) was revoked. The airline claims its AOC was terminated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau without any prior notice, which affected flights to a number of destinations, including Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. … [Read more...] about MACAU: Viva Macau grounded by dispute

Indonesian carrier, Garuda Indonesia, is introducing new routes, new aircraft and adding frequencies in four Southeast Asian markets - Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore - in response to what it says is pent-up demand for travel across the region. The move is also in support of the airline’s goal to grow international departures by more than 300 per cent to 1,222 weekly by 2014. … [Read more...] about INDONESIA: Garuda eyes Southeast Asia growth

A Qantas Airbus A380-800, enroute from Singapore to Sydney burst two tyres on landing resulting in a fire that stopped once the aircraft came to stop. The rear two tyres of the left hand main wheel assembly burst after the brakes locked during touchdown. Alarmed passengers watched on their in-flight, seat-back monitors as a tail-mounted camera caught relayed video of the incident. The weight and friction of the locked wheels running along the runway ground the wheel assemblies in half, down … [Read more...] about AUSTRALIA: Qantas A380 bursts two tyres on landing

Qantas Freight announced today that it would join Cargo 2000, the air freight industry’s premier quality management programme as an associate member. “Joining a quality management system like Cargo 2000 is a natural extension of the business transformation work we are undertaking through our Freight Futures programme,” Qantas Freight head of commercial, Theo Triantafillides said. “We are at a point in our transformation program where it makes sense to ensure our … [Read more...] about AUSTRALIA: Qantas Freight joins Cargo 2000