News Notepad

 04/08/2005

Storm 'a factor in Toronto air crash'

Report: A heavy rainstorm, with lightning and strong winds was a factor in the crash at Toronto airport on Tuesday, investigators said yesterday. Chris Yates, a transport analyst at Jane's Publications, has said that the ravine in which Air France flight 358 came to a halt could have saved the passengers' lives, as had it been filled in, the plane would have ploughed straight onto a busy highway.

FINANCIAL TIMES PAGE: 7, THE TIMES PAGE: 25 THE TIMES PAGE: 25 THE GUARDIAN PAGE: 4 THE GUARDIAN PAGE: 4 THE INDEPENDENT PAGE: 26 THE SUN PAGE: 12 DAILY MIRROR PAGE: 12 DAILY STAR PAGE: 15

Jury accepts that student bomb text was just a joke

Report: A student who sent a text message to a friend telling her to call in a hoax bomb threat for a flight that she was running late for has been cleared of making a hoax call, but has been left with a £15,000 legal bill.

THE TIMES PAGE: 15, DAILY TELEGRAPH PAGE: 2 THE GUARDIAN PAGE: 9 DAILY MAIL PAGE: 19 THE SUN PAGE: 21

Air traffic venture

Snippet: National Air Traffic Services is to form a €150m joint venture with its Spanish counterpart to develop a new air traffic management system for the two countries.

THE TIMES PAGE: 40

Ryanair flies high

Snippet: Ryanair carried 3.198m passengers in July.

DAILY MAIL PAGE: 66

03/08/2005

Ryanair hits record first-quarter €76.9m

Report: Ryanair yesterday reported that first-quarter pre-tax profits rose by 32%, despite of a doubling of its fuel costs. Net profit rose by 31% from €53.1m to €69.6m on turnover up 35% from €299.6m to €404.6m. Underlying net profit was 21% ahead at €64.4m.

FINANCIAL TIMES PAGE: 18, DAILY TELEGRAPH PAGE: 31 THE TIMES PAGE: 36 THE GUARDIAN PAGE: 17 THE INDEPENDENT PAGE: 53 DAILY MAIL PAGE: 15 DAILY EXPRESS PAGE: 54 THE SUN PAGE: 37 DAILY MIRROR PAGE: 48 DAILY STAR PAGE: 39

300 escape as burning jet skids off runway in storm

Report: 300 passengers and crew escaped death last night after Air France Flight 358 plunged into a ravine after missing the runway at Toronto's Pearson airport.

DAILY TELEGRAPH PAGE: 1, THE TIMES PAGE: 9 THE GUARDIAN PAGE: 14 THE INDEPENDENT PAGE: 5 DAILY MAIL PAGE: 4 THE SUN PAGE: 7 DAILY MIRROR PAGE: 2 DAILY STAR PAGE: 2

Creditors ground United bid to emerge from bankruptcy

Report: UAL, parent to United Airlines, yesterday accepted demands from creditors for more time to review details of the airline's reorganisation plans. UAL said it would delay filing its formal plan of reorganisation by about one month, a move which could delay its exit from Chapter 11 until late this year or early next year.

FINANCIAL TIMES PAGE: 21

EUJet pledge to repay funds

Report: EUJet is thought to have approximately 100,000 customers booked on flights that are unlikely to be honoured after the company's move into administration last week. The carrier has announced it will refund all credit card purchases.

DAILY EXPRESS PAGE: 32

Hols pilot shortage

Report: Airlines are struggling to recruit enough pilots due to surging demand for air travel and low investment in training after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

DAILY MIRROR PAGE: 20

Monarch Scheduled carried 282,726 passengers .....

Snippet: The airline Monarch Scheduled carried 282,726 passengers in July 2005, a 46% increase on the same period last year.

DAILY MIRROR PAGE: 48

Free flying lessons for women

Report: Free flying lessons are being offered to 50 women in a bid to recruit more women pilots. At present, only six per cent of pilots are women.

DAILY TELEGRAPH PAGE: 2

Airport-bomb text was 'just bad joke'

Report: A court has heard how an Australian gap-year student made her flat mate call the police and call in a bomb threat in order to delay a plane that she was running late for.

THE TIMES PAGE: 5

02/08/2005

What an air head

Report: A student late for a flight at Stansted told a friend by SMS to call the police and say that there was a bomb on the plane she meant to catch, Chelmsford Crown Court heard yesterday.

THE SUN PAGE: 19, DAILY TELEGRAPH PAGE: 4 DAILY MAIL PAGE: 14 DAILY EXPRESS PAGE: 26 DAILY STAR PAGE: 22

Planestation administrator halts flights

Report: 127 staff have been axed and all flights stopped by Grant Thornton, the administrators of Planestation which owns Kent International airport, due to the inability to maintain necessary insurance cover.

DAILY TELEGRAPH PAGE: 28, FINANCIAL TIMES PAGE: 18

Capital Advisors helps Northwest

Report: Shares in Northwest Airlines jumped 6% yesterday, buoyed by news that SAC Capital Advisors had taken a 5.7% stake in the struggling airline.

FINANCIAL TIMES PAGE: 23

BA's Eddington is Melbourne bound

Report: British Airways chief executive Rod Eddington is to return to his native Melbourne to take over as chairman of the Victorian Major Events Company.

FINANCIAL TIMES PAGE: 19

Airbus appoints chief exec

Report: Barry Ecclestone has been appointed as the new chief executive of Airbus' North American business.

DAILY TELEGRAPH PAGE: 28

Airprox Board publishes 2004 reports

The independent United Kingdom Airprox Board (UKAB) has published the results of its investigations for 2004, and statistics showing trends over recent years.

The overall number of airproxes involving commercial flights increased to 79 in 2004 from 64 in 2003, but the number of risk-bearing incidents fell to 8 from 11. Notwithstanding the increase, 79 is the second lowest figure for ten years, despite a significant increase in traffic. The rate of risk-bearing airproxes involving commercial air transport fell to 0.79 per 100,000 flights, one fifth of the rate ten years ago. Ninety per cent of incident reports for commercial flights showed no risk of collision, compared to 75 per cent for military flights and 50 per cent for private flights.

Peter Hunt, Director of UKAB said:

"The overall story is one of continuous improvement. Commercial air transport (CAT) now account for less than four in ten of all airproxes, and the downward trend in the CAT risk-bearing rate continues, which is to be welcomed."

The only CAT Category A (an actual risk of collision existed) incident occurred outside controlled airspace: On 27 October 2004 two RAF Hawks on a training flight came into conflict with a Dash-8 turboprop flying from Newcastle to Belfast, over south-west Scotland. The Dash-8 was receiving a Radar Information Service from Scottish Area Control Centre. The controller passed 'other aircraft' information to the Dash-8 pilot but was unable to provide a height readout as neither of the Hawks was providing that information (as they should have been). The Hawks were in a turn at 15,000 feet and saw the Dash-8 too late to take avoiding action as it flew almost directly overhead some 200-300 feet above. The Dash-8 crew did not see the Hawks at all. The Airprox Board attributed the incident to late sighting (by the Hawks) and non-sighting (by the Dash-8) and observed that the failure of the Hawks to transpond in a mode that conveyed height information effectively disabled the controller's short-term conflict alert as well as the Dash-8's airborne collision avoidance system.

Ciggie scam's up in smoke

Customs officers have broken a cigarette smuggling ring that involved staff from budget carrier Flybe.

DAILY STAR PAGE: 22

Tax cheap flights

In a letter to the Guardian, Tony Bosworth of Friends of the Earth argues that taxing cheap flights would have environmental and financial benefits.

THE GUARDIAN PAGE: 15

31/07/2005

Ryanair profits from lack of a fuel charge

It is believed that low-cost group Ryanair will benefit from a lack of fuel surcharges and will see a reported net income of around €54.4 million for the first quarter. It is believed that unlike other airlines, Ryanair refused to apply to impose a fuel surcharge to cope with rising oil prices , thus attracting more ticket buyers.

THE BUSINESS PAGE: 5

News in transit

EasyJet have offered flights home to stranded EUjet customers for 325 each.

SUNDAY EXPRESS PAGE: 76

Air crash fir sued

The National Heritage is to sue Korean Airlines after it crashed into part of an ancient forest.

SUNDAY MIRROR PAGE: 34

Tourists take private jets to beat queues

It is reported that some British tourists are chartering private jets, at costs starting from around £1,750 an hour for a seven-seater plane, in an attempt to beat airport check-in queues.

OBSERVER PAGE: 6

Captain Gopinath gives India lift-off

The Observer Business features an interview with Gorur Gopinath, described as the Michael O'Leary of the subcontinent, who is attempting to bring mass air travel to the Indian market with the launch of his low-cost airline Air Deccan two years ago.

OBSERVER BUSINESS PAGE: 9

In toon with New York

American Airlines has launched a daily flight between Newcastle and New York.

OBSERVER ESCAPE PAGE: 7

TT Electronics to sell generator business

TT Electronics will tomorrow announce the sale of its Houchin Aerospace business.

FINANCIAL MAIL PAGE: 7

30/07/2005

Grounding of EUjet leads to calls for protection plan

There are calls by air regulators and the travel industry for the Air Travel Operators' Licensing scheme to be extended by the government after 5,000 passengers were this week left stranded following the collapse of the no-frills airline EUjet. Faith Dewey, writing in the Telegraph Money, notes that EUjet passengers who paid using credit cards will be able to claim refunds.

GUARDIAN JOBS AND MONEY PAGE: 7, INDEPENDENT THE TRAVELLER PAGE: 15 TELEGRAPH MONEY PAGE: 4 TELEGRAPH TRAVEL PAGE: 4

Airport misery as flight delays soar

A report yesterday revealed that passengers have experienced longer delays at UK airports this year. BAA have claimed that the added delays are a result of increased passenger numbers.

DAILY EXPRESS PAGE: 35

Turbo Genset beats larger rivals to land Boeing contract

Boeing has awarded a contract worth $20 million to supply parts for its 787 Dreamliner to Turbo Genset.

FT MONEY & BUSINESS PAGE: 3, DAILY EXPRESS PAGE: 85

Geordies...

American Airlines to fly daily between Newcastle and New York.

THE SUN PAGE: 44

Airline sued

The National Trust is suing Korean Airlines for £300,000 over the crash of the Boeing 747 in 1999 in Hatfield Forest.

THE TIMES PAGE: 11

29/07/2005

Collapsed airlines

Andrew Cooper, director-general of the Federation of Tour Operators, calls for action to ensure financial protection for all air passengers.

THE TIMES PAGE: 18