Footage of a Contact Air Fokker 100 landing succesfully with a partly retracted landing gear on Stuttgart airport have been released by German newspaper "De Bild". The fourteen year old aircraft has been in service with Contact Air since the beginning of September and has undergone heavy maintenance about a month earlier in August 2009.
Delta Airlines and American Airlines are currently in rival talks about a possible investment in Japan Airlines Corp (JAL) with the aim of forming an operational alliance with the loss-making Asian carrier. Question is why JAL is seeking investors outside the borders and why both Delta and American are interested in a capital tie-up.
JAL, Asia's largest airline measured by revenue, is heading for a second straight annual loss in the year to March 2010, as the airline is hit hard along with other airlines by a significant downturn in global travel. Setting aside the wake of the financial crises as a reason, the slump has exposed the airlines' bloated cost base, which includes generous pension payouts to a growing number of retirees.
Air France - KLM, one of the world leaders in air cargo, have decided to reduce its cargo capacity significantly. Recent plans of the airline have revealed that part of its cargo activities will be accomodated by Martinair, a full subsidiary of the airline and operating a combination of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and Boeing 747-400 full freighters. Since the aviation industry has been hit hard by the current economic crises the air cargo industry has suffered most. According to recent figures, Air France - KLM hasn't been able to operate any of their cargo routes on a profitable basis, hence the decision to transfer part of its activity to Martinair. Overall, this will mean that AF/KLM will reduce the total amount of full freighter aircraft while at the same time prices for carrying cargo will increase by some 20 to 30 per cent.
German airport operator Fraport AG said Friday a court had cleared its €4 billion ($5.7 billion) plans to expand Frankfurt's main international airport. The plan, which was cleared by the administrative court of the state of Hessen, includes building a new runway at the airport. However, the court also ruled that the state of Hessen must come up with new rules governing night flights over the Frankfurt area.
The move comes as other large European airports are also considering expansion plans, even though the industry is undergoing one of its worst ever downturns as economic woes have slashed passenger numbers and cargo volumes. In each case, expansion plans have polarized opinion, with businesses saying expansion is key to the growth of the economy, and local and environmental campaigners complaining about noise levels and the environmental impact.
Today Scotland freed the terminally ill Lockerbie bomber on compassionate grounds, allowing him to travel back to Libya and die in his homeland. The White House already declared to deeply regret the Scottish decision while U.S. family members of Lockerbie victims expressed their outrage after hearing that Abdel Baset al-Megrahi left Greenock Prison and flew out of Glasgow Airport on a Libyan plane.
Al-Megrahi spend only eight years of his life sentence after being diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. Kenny MacAskill, Scottish Justice Secretary, said that although al-Megrahi had not shown any compassion to his victims, he was motivated by Scottish values to show mercy. According to MacAskill "Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power."
Al-Megrahi, 57, was convicted in 2001 of taking part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988. He was sentenced to life in prison. The airliner exploded over Scotland, and all 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground died when it crashed into the town of Lockerbie.
