M.O.T.Y. - And once again the questionhad to be answered, “Who is goingto be the Man of the Year 2006.” It was not an easy task to select thetop three from the thousands of entriesfrom all over the world. But a relentlessjury finally managed to award the topthree nominations. So, here is our selectionfor the Man of the Year 2006! … [Read more...] about M.O.T.Y.

HELLO? ANYBODY THERE? -When Airbus decided last month tosuspend work on the freighter versionof the A380 and instead focus on thepassenger version, it apparently forgotto tell the only customer for thefreighter. That was unfortunate, at least as faras UPS was concerned. The world's largest package deliverycompany, which operates the eighthlargest airline in the world, found outabout the shift in priorities from reporters'phone calls. “It certainly was not a very courteoushandling … [Read more...] about HELLO? ANYBODY THERE?

ENGLISH PATIENT - Still on theAustralian carrier, you may have heardthat one of the carrier's female flightattendants recently faced the sack afterbeing accused of having sex with Britishactor Ralph Fiennes - the star of TheEnglish Patient - in an aircraft toiletwhile flying from Australia to India. Of course, everyone knows the officialacronym for Qantas: “QueenslandAnd Northern Territory Aerial Service”or the less-official “Quite A Nice Takeoff,Any … [Read more...] about ENGLISH PATIENT

JOB CUTS - Qantas' strained relationshipswith Australia's labour unionssank to another low last month whenQantas CEO Geoff Dixon in a statementwarned that further restructuringand lowering of the Australian flag carrier'scost base would be necessary. The reason?? Middle East carrier Qatar Airwaysreceived government approval fordaily service between Doha and Melbourne. In a statement, Dixon said the airline“will have no option but to achievefurther cost savings if it is to … [Read more...] about JOB CUTS

LIQOUR THREAT - The US TransportationSecurity Administration(TSA) says it collected more than 9tonnes of oversized bottled items atMiami airport - mostly alcohol andperfume - from October throughJanuary. Hundreds of airline passengers eachweek returning from Caribbean vacationsare trying to go through Miami's security checkpoints carrying bottlesof alcohol only to be told their spiritsthreaten security. The problem stems from a TSApolicy that limits passengers to carryingonly small bottles … [Read more...] about LIQOUR THREAT

John Batten, currently managingdirector global network and air cargosales for TNT, is to become the latestair cargo professional to try his hand atrunning Qatar Airways Cargo. The airline has had a series of aircargo managers in recent years, someonly staying a few months. Batten insiststhat things will be different this time,though he was remaining tight-lippedabout why ahead of taking up his poston 1 April. … [Read more...] about Qatar Airways