In an attempt to lower fuel consumption and consequently reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being emitted during a typical flight, ANA has started with an experiment which encourages passengers to use the airport lavatory services prior to boarding the aircraft. In this way the airline hopes to reduce overal aircraft weight just before departure which in turn would lead to a reduction in fuel usage and CO2 emission.
An interesting measure many would expect from an airline such as Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair. According to the Japanese airline the experiment takes places during the October month on 42 domestic and trans-continental routes, after which the results will be evaluated. If the results are satisfying the airline plans to extend the experiment by an unspecified period of time.
Malaysia Airlines said on Friday October 2 that it will stick to its current order of six Airbus A380s as it expects global passenger travel to pick up by late 2010. Managing Director Tengku Azmil Zahruddin stated that the superjumbos, planned to be delivered from 2011, will be used for long-haul routes such as to Sydney, London and Amsterdam.
Furthermore, the airline will take delivery of 35 Boeing 737-800 aircraft from the final quarter of 2010 as a means to replace its existing aging fleet of single-aisle aircraft. "Our core network is in Asia, Middle East and Australia...but we do not have a lot of traffic coming in from Europe. The A380's will allow us to do a lot more than what we are able to do today", the newly appointed director told in a news conference.
Some of the potential users of the A380 are currently reviewing their orders as the significant decrease in global travel could undermine the expected profitability of the new aircraft.
"We make long haul flying cheap, fast and differently enjoyable", a slogan we'll be hearing much of if it's up to the owners of new Finnish start-up carrier Feel Air. Plans for the new airline were launched on 2 October 2009 and it is expected that the first flight will take place in the first half of 2010.
Feel Air is set up as a low-cost long-haul airline that offers flights from Oslo Airport, Gardermoen in Norway and Stockholm-Arlanda Airport in Sweden. First destinations named by airline are New York JFK and Bangkok and are expected to be serviced by Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
Virgin Nigeria has been officially rebranded into Nigerian Eagle Airlines. With this new name the airline aims at attracting new investors. Currently Virgin Atlantic Airways still owns a 49% stake in the airline but has indicated it wants to get rid of them.
Virgin Nigeria discontinued its long-haul flights earlier this year in order to focus on its more lucrative domestic and regional route network. After Nigeria Airways ceased operations in 2005, Virgin Nigeria was started-up by its parent company, Virgin Atlantic.
Boeing has unveiled details of the company's latest potential offering to the US Air Force KC-X tanker competition by saying that there KC-7A7 will be able to offer maximum capability at the lowest cost. The concept, which is based on the Boeing 777 design, was first introduced in June at the Paris Air Show in a response to a new battle with other aircraft manufacturers for the prestigious USAF tanker contract.
The US Air Force initially selected Los Angeles-based Northrop for the contract earlier this year. From that day on Boeing has challenged the award in a protest, claiming the Air Force's evaluation was riddled with errors and skewed to favor Northrop. Eventually the decision for Northrop was made undone and the competition was re-opened.
In an attempt to lower fuel consumption and consequently reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being emitted during a typical flight, ANA has started with an experiment which encourages passengers to use the airport lavatory services prior to boarding the aircraft. In this way the airline hopes to reduce overal aircraft weight just before departure which in turn would lead to a reduction in fuel usage and CO2 emission.