New York / Bloomberg Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg postponed a flight of his solar aircraft around the Statue of Liberty due to gusty winds. The Solar Impulse project, which is flying an ultralight one-man aircraft around the world, will announce a new flight date later, according to its website. Borschberg, 63, had planned to take off in the fuel-free ...
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Malaysia Air chief backs downsizing
Kuala Lumpur / Bloomberg Malaysia Airlines Bhd. Chief Executive Officer Christoph Mueller, midway through a six-month notice period following his surprise resignation in April, said the company should resist unwinding a turnaround strategy that’s cut 6,000 jobs and reduced capacity by almost a third. The Asian carrier is ahead of schedule with its restructuring, having reached break even recently, ...
Read More »Astronauts enter inflatable room at space station
WASHINGTON / AFP Astronauts entered an inflatable add-on room at the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday for the first time since it was fully installed last month, NASA said. US astronaut Jeff Williams told the US space agency’s mission control that the flexible habitat — known as the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) — looked “pristine” and was ...
Read More »Qatar CEO ‘blasts’ Delta for ruining Doha-Atlanta trip
Doha / Bloomberg Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker branded Delta Air Lines Inc. “wicked†over what he said was the US carrier’s part in ruining the Middle Eastern company’s first flight from Doha to Atlanta. Qatar’s Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet wasn’t allocated a gate when it arrived at the world’s busiest airport this week, forcing passengers ...
Read More »Checked-bag fees blamed for long airport lines
Tribune News Service Airlines could help reduce lengthy security lines by suspending checked baggage fees this summer or diverting fee revenues to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), some aviation experts and congressional members contend. Long security lines at major airports have led to thousands of missed flights in recent weeks, and some say TSA’s screening problems stem, in part, ...
Read More »Airbus plans to revamp A380 for extra space
Paris / Bloomberg Airbus Group SE is exploring ways of carving out extra space on its A380 superjumbos in order to boost capacity and enhance margins for operators, among them modifying the staircases that connect the double-decker jet’s two passenger floors. Feedback from existing A380 customers suggests that curved steps located toward the rear of the world’s biggest jetliner ...
Read More »Airbus unveils 3D-printed mini aircraft Thor
Berlin / AFP Dwarfed by huge jets all around, the mini-plane Thor was nonetheless an eye-catcher at the Berlin air show this week — the small Airbus marvel is the world’s first 3D-printed aircraft. Windowless, weighing in at just 21 kilos (46 pounds) and less than four metres (13 feet) long, the drone Thor — short for “Test of ...
Read More »Avianca jumps most on record
San Francisco / AFP Avianca Holdings SA jumped the most on record amid reports that Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. are weighing bids for the Latin American airline. Avianca is exploring strategic options including a full or partial sale, according to people familiar with the matter. Avianca has recently begun working with a financial adviser to ...
Read More »Airbus to make original A320 jets amid Neo wait
Paris / Bloomberg Airbus Group SE will continue building the older variant of its single-aisle A320 aircraft until at least 2019, two years later than intended, as glitches with the re-engined Neo version curb handovers of the new plane. Customers due to take the New Engine Option jets next year will be invited to swap to the less expensive ...
Read More »Emirates pushes to get its 142 superjumbos
Dubai / Bloomberg Emirates, the largest operator of Airbus Group SE’s A380 superjumbo, has all but given up on getting an upgrade of the double-decker with new engines and is instead making a more modest pitch to the planemaker: please don’t drop the program altogether. “I can’t force Toulouse to do anything,†Emirates President Tim Clark told reporters on ...
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