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The great heave forward...  Chinese passengers are forced to get out and push their broken passenger plane   By John Garth  Anyone who has ever used budget airlines know only too well how uncomfortable it can be: long queues, cramped seats and every tiny extra costs you.  But at least they are never told to get out and help push their plane.That is exactly what happened to a group of passengers in China who were asked to get out and push after their plane broke down shortly after landing.      The Chinese Shandong airlines flight CRJ7 arrived safely...

How The West Was Won The rapid and unexpected decline of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq was officially recognized this week, when Maj. Gen. John Kelly, commanding the Marine Expeditionary Force, turned operational control of Anbar Province over to the Iraqi army and police. Anbar, a vast expanse of desert the size of North Carolina, had been the stronghold of the Sunni insurgency. For years, foreign fighters loyal to al-Qaida had sneaked across Iraq's northwestern border with Syria, into Anbar and down a "rat line" of safe houses in Haditha, Ramadi and Hit. From Fallujah, the arch terrorist Zarqawi...

Excerpt - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - British Airways has suspended its flights to Pakistan because of security fears after a bloody suicide truck-bomb blast at a hotel in Islamabad on the weekend, an airline spokesman said on Monday. ~ snip ~

HOUSTON, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today announced a $15 service fee for the first checked bag for certain customers who purchase economy-class tickets. The service fee will not apply to EliteAccess customers, including those seated in First or BusinessFirst, OnePass Elite and SkyTeam Elite members, customers traveling on full-fare economy (Y) class tickets, or military personnel and their families traveling on official orders. The policy will apply immediately for tickets purchased for destinations within the U.S., and between the U.S. and Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada for travel commencing on or after Oct....

Fox says there is an AA plane circling LAX with a blown tire, burning fuel before it attempts an emergency landing.

Mail Online Holiday flight is diverted after mid-air brawl breaks out By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 4:07 PM on 15th August 2008 A holiday flight between to Crete had to be diverted after a brawl erupted among drunken passengers, it has been revealed. An eye-witness told how one man began smashing overhead luggage bins before the captain decided to land the plane in Venice. Aoife O'Reilly, 18, a student from Dublin, said the men involved were all over 30 years of age and had obviously been drinking.

On July 20th, Julianna's (delayed) Delta flight landed in Atlanta at 7:30pm, with a connecting flight scheduled for 8:05pm. Julianna, who has muscular dystrophy, missed the connecting flight because nobody came with a wheelchair until 8:05—the same time the connecting flight took off. To make matters worse, the plane crew told Julianna she might make the flight anyway if she stopped waiting for help and got off the plane right now, so she crawled down the stairs on her own. When the wheelchair came she was "wheeled into a back room and advised" that her plane had taken off. But...

The Department of Homeland Security has solicited a proposal from a Canadian security company to develop a stun bracelet. In order to enhance the security of air travel and to help manage illegal immigration, the Department of Homeland Security has solicited a proposal from a Canadian security company to develop a passenger stun bracelet.

My father travels for work every now and again. He’s always complaining about the airlines and getting stuck sitting next to a big guy, that smells and loves to talk. I think he just likes to exaggerate. Then this morning I get up and read this story as I’m downing my cup a joe. Maybe air travel really does suck. (MIAMI - An uninvited passenger created a smelly situation on a plane in Miami. American Airlines Flight 915 from Miami to Bogota, Colombia, was delayed Wednesday night after a skunk was found in the back of the cargo hold, discharging...

Continental Airlines Inc., rumored to be in advanced talks to merge with United Airlines Inc. parent UAL Corp., told its employees Sunday that it has decided not to merge with any other carrier. In a message from chairman and chief executive officer Larry Kellner and president Jeff Smisek, the Houston-based carrier said it has decided that it should go it alone in the troubled airline industry. "We want you to know that our Board of Directors met today and has unanimously supported management's recommendation that, in the current industry environment, the best course for Continental is to not merge with...

It's interesting how asymmetric forces shape industries despite the best planning by corporate strategists. What's going on in the airline industry this week with Delta and NorthWest is just phase one of the Great Airline Consolidation movement. "Together We're Bigger" will not just be a marketing strategy but a survival one. My prediction is that you will see only about three majors, three regionals, and three variations of private aircraft before it's over. The next most obvious merger is United with American. It would give both of them dominance in the Chicago and Dallas routes as well as a strong...

Woman denies the allegations NEW YORK (WABC) -- A woman trying to board a JetBlue flight in New York City is accused of causing a a bomb scare at JFK Airport. The Daily News is reporting the woman, 44-year-old Rosalinda Baez, was trying to board a JetBlue plane but was stopped by an attendant because the jetway had closed. In a complaint filed with the Brooklyn Supreme Court, prosecutors allege that Baez told the attendant her suitcase was on the plane and asked, ""What if I had a bomb in my bag?" Baez, a Dell web consultant, says she asked:...

Even as rising fuel costs are grounding weaker airlines -- including three this month -- airline competition is heating up for travelers flying the Pacific coast. On the runway is JetBlue Airways Corp. with new 100-seat jets that will begin flying next month from Long Beach up and down the coast in a move that financial analysts say may be bold but risky Next month, the low-cost carrier, popular with Southern California leisure travelers, is adding six flights from Long Beach to San Jose, Seattle and Austin, connecting some of the nation's top tech-heavy cities. Long Beach passengers can fly...

Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines this week are expected to announce a long-anticipated merger, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The merger may to be unveiled as early as Tuesday, The Journal reported, adding that the deal could go through without support of Delta's 6,000 pilots. Delta and its pilots were holding separate talks this weekend on a post-merger contract, while negotiations with Northwest's 5,000 pilots were to be held at a later date, the daily reported. Last week, US authorities gave tentative approval for Delta, Northwest, and four of their international partners to combine their transatlantic routes in...

April 07, 2008 © 2008 WorldNetDaily A group of concerned citizens has been raising alarms about the Islamic elements planned for the Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville, Pa., for years. And a member of Congress has demanded the National Park Service make changes in its plans. But there's been no substantive response, and now the activists say it's time for the American people to let officials know whether they want to pay for and have installed in the memorial a crescent that points to Mecca to make up a "mihrab," the foundational point for every Islamic mosque, a tower that...

Driving winds and rain ground flights in Houston and Dallas after a massive weather system rolls across Texas. The stranded traveler syndrome was repeated hundreds of times at Bush Intercontinental Airport where airlines reported cancellations and delays of more than six hours. American Airlines diverted some flights from Dallas to Houston to avoid thunderstorms. Travelers weren't pleased with the outcome. "[We] landed in Houston. We taxied around burning fuel for about 15 minutes -- went to to the gate, the hangar refuel [with] still no information whether Dallas was gonna open or not," one woman said. At Dallas-Fort Worth International...

CERGY, France (AFP) — A French prosecutor has called for US airline Continental to be put on trial over the 2000 crash of an Air France Concorde, a court official said. A French inquiry found that the disaster, which killed 113 people, was caused in part by a strip of metal from a Continental plane, which fell off and later shredded one of the Concorde's tyres. A deputy prosecutor in the city of Pontoise, Bernard Farret, said a request was made to bring to trial the airline as well as four individuals, including the Continental mechanic who allegedly fitted...

China fabricated terror plots: Uighur leader by Jitendra Joshi WASHINGTON (AFP) - Exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer Monday accused China of fabricating alleged plots against the Olympics, and even of scheming to carry out its own terror attacks, to blacken her community's name. ADVERTISEMENT "It's completely untrue. All these allegations are falsified," the separatist figurehead, who joined her US-based husband in 2005 after six years in a Chinese jail, told AFP through an interpreter. "The real goal of the Chinese government is to organize a terrorist attack so that it can increase its crackdown on the Uighur people," the 61-year-old...

A major airline is under fire from environmentalists for flying an aircraft across the Atlantic with only five passengers on board. The flight from Chicago to London meant that the plane, a Boeing 777, used 22,000 gallons of fuel. It led to American Airlines being accused of reckless behaviour by green lobby groups. The latest "eco- scandal" flight took place on February 9 after American was forced to cancel one of its four daily services from Chicago to London. While it was able to find places for nearly all the passengers on the fully-booked flight, five still had to be...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. apparently won't be rushed into a merger until the carriers' pilots have ironed out their own integration plan, highlighting the importance of successfully negotiating thorny labor issues that have plagued industry mergers in the past. "If you don't have the pilots in, the success of the merger is definitely questionable because you won't get the efficiency you need over time to make the deal worth it," said Henry Harteveldt, analyst with Forrester Research. Pilots, not to mention mechanics and flight attendants, have to be satisfied with their pay...

Rising fuel prices have forced two small but well-known US regional operators out of business permanently. Big Sky Airlines shut down in January after a disastrous eastwards expansion, while Air Midwest faces liquidation later this year. Both operate on thin margins, relying on federal subsidies for rural service to smaller communities. Their demise is also a sign higher operating costs may force more domestic capacity cuts. The demise of Big Sky forces its parent MAIR Holdings into liquidation. MAIR's major ­holding had been Mesaba Aviation, which Northwest Airlines bought last year, leaving it with only small turboprop operator Big Sky...

The real hero of the Heathrow crash landing was revealed yesterday as a man named Coward. Straight after the drama Captain Peter Burkill was praised for safely bringing down his stricken Boeing 777 with 136 passengers on board. But Captain Burkill admitted yesterday that Senior First Officer John Coward was at the controls when the plane suffered a catastrophic power failure in both engines 40 seconds from landing. The initial investigation report confirmed both engines had failed two miles from the airport. "Flying is about teamwork - and we had an outstanding team on board yesterday," said the 43-year-old father...

Etihad was to receive their next A340 this week, but it seems that delivery may be delayed. While running an engine test at the Airbus facility in Toulouse, France, the A340-600 jumped the chocks and headed for the blast wall. The good news is the blast wall held up remarkably well. The bad news is the Airbus did not.

If you're straight you pay full rate. But if you're gay they take 10% away. To receive this discount just enter Discount Code EC06607 Other special discount code for gays can be found here. Of course this is against federal law but hey, it's politically correct. http://www.alaskaair.com/as/alaska/gaytravel/toc.asp?mid=K98614&p=0&cm_ven=Performics&cm_cat

(BEIJING) -- Fly on a Chinese airline and you will be pampered by flight attendants who look eerily alike. They are young, beautiful and practically the same height. This is not a coffee-tea-or-me stereotype, but the result of a rigorous selection process that is more beauty pageant than equal-opportunity job interview. If you're older than 24, don't bother applying. If you aren't taller than the average Chinese woman, go home. And if your legs are similar to tree trunks, don't call. Sound like a throwback to the dark ages of workplace discrimination? Here, in the world's fastest-growing aviation market, entry...

AUSTIN — An ultra low-cost air carrier Monday announced it will begin service out of Austin Bergstrom International Airport and hopes to attract passengers with its price -- starting at $9.99. The U.S. Department of Transportation granted Mexico's vivaAerobus the right to fly out of ABIA Monday afternoon. The carrier will fly nonstop to Cancun, Guadalajara, León, Monterrey, Puebla, and Queretaro. The airline is no frills, and it will have a new terminal that will have no jet bridges, sophisticated baggage handling, gates or ticket counters.

Passengers revolt after being told to fly on jet with its wing tip missingBy DANIEL BOFFEY - More by this author » Last updated at 21:43pm on 3rd November 2007  An airline crew faced a rebellion when they told passengers they were going to fly on a jet that had lost its wing tip in a runway crash.  The SriLankan Airlines customers had been on the Airbus A340 a day earlier when it sliced through a wing of a stationary British Airways 747 at Heathrow, delaying departure by 24 hours. So they were amazed to be boarding the same...

Taking to the skies on a tight schedule Quick turnarounds, point-to-point flights help Skybus get the most mileage out of its fleet Sunday, September 16, 2007 3:58 AM By Marla Matzer Rose THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH It's not hard for the boss of the fifth-largest and fastest-growing airline at Port Columbus to count the number of planes in his fleet. He can do it on one hand. Five planes are all it takes for Skybus Airlines to offer 14 departures to 11 cities from Port Columbus a day, a schedule that's attracting more than 80,000 passengers a month. While the fact...

Airline comes out with gay-themed flight Trip will feature drag queens, pink cocktails, cabaret performed by crew The Associated Press Updated: 4:42 p.m. PT Sept 14, 2007 SAN FRANCISCO - Air New Zealand is delving into the gay and lesbian market with a special themed flight that will feature drag queens, pink cocktails and a cabaret performed by the flight crew. The destination for the airline's one-time "Pink Flight," scheduled to depart San Francisco International Airport on Feb. 26, is the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney, Australia, one of the world's most well-attended gay events, said Jodi Williams,...

Nepal airline sacrifices goats to appease sky god Tue 4 Sep 2007, 13:37 GMT   KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said on Tuesday.Nepal Airlines, which has two Boeing aircraft, has had to suspend some services in recent weeks due the problem.The goats were sacrificed in front of the troublesome aircraft on Sunday at Nepal's only international airport in Kathmandu in accordance with Hindu traditions, an official said. "The snag in the plane...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A $10 fare hike by Southwest Airlines Co, has triggered matching fare increases by rivals as the industry struggles to offset soaring fuel prices and build on a recovery that began last year. The leading U.S. low-cost carrier on Tuesday said it raised one-way fares over the weekend. AMR Corp's American Airlines, UAL Corp's United Airlines, Northwest Airlines Corp and US Airways Group all said they matched Southwest's move. Other airlines weren't immediately available for comment. U.S. airlines have initiated several revenue-boosting fare increases this year, but many attempts have failed due to a lack of matching...

ROME (Reuters) - The real miracle would have been getting it past airport security. Inspectors at Tarbes-Lourdes airport in France refused to give their blessing to holy water that passengers tried to bring on board the Vatican's new pilgrim flights this week, saying it was a security threat just like any other liquid. The water, which is said to have miraculous healing powers, came from a sacred grotto where Catholics believe the Virgin Mary appeared in 1858. Passenger Paola Saluzzi told Corriere della Sera newspaper she was carrying the water in eight small plastic bottles "in the shape of the...

VATICAN CITY, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- The Vatican's new airline got off the ground Monday with plans to fly 150,000 pilgrims a year to shrines in Europe and the Middle East. Mistral Air officials said they plan to fly Roman Catholic pilgrims to shrines in France, Poland, Spain and the Middle East and later add Mexico to the schedule, BBC News reported. Mistral Air officially opened Monday with the first flight planned from Rome to Lourdes in France with a senior Vatican cardinal aboard to inaugurate the low-cost charter service, the BBC said. Mistral Air has signed a five-year agreement...

DENVER, Colo. -- A passenger tried to open a plane door during a Frontier Airlines flight on Saturday morning but was subdued by airline staff and passengers, an airline spokesman said. Police and Transport Security Administration staff met Flight 514 after the plane landed in New York City and took the man into custody, said Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas. Hodas said the man would not have been able to open the door even if he had not been subdued. "You need special training to open the door," he said. There were 128 passengers and five crew members on the plane,...

The Vatican may have territorial limits, its own post office and even a football tournament, but it has hitherto lacked what all real states offer: an airline.That will be put right this month as the Vatican launches its first charter flights for pilgrims from Rome to Lourdes, with some of the world's top religious destinations to follow, including the shrine of Fatima in Portugal and the shrine of the Madonna of Guadalupe in Mexico."The spirit of this new initiative is to meet the growing demand by pilgrims to visit the most important sites for the faith," Father Cesare Atuire at...

Citing concerns about terrorism, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that airline passengers lose their right to object to a search after they go through initial security screenings. The San Francisco-based court, ruling in a case involving a Hawaii man, said airline passengers couldn't refuse searches once they place their belongings on an X-ray tray or walk through a metal detector. It was the appeals court's second decision in the case of Daniel Kuualoha Aukai because it wanted to clarify an earlier decision on the issue of consent. Last year, the court ruled Aukai couldn't back out...

Airlines sued by victims of the Sept. 11 attacks filed complaints with a U.S. court on Tuesday to compel testimony from FBI and CIA agents in a bid to make the federal government more culpable for not preventing the attacks. In separate complaints filed in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of New York, seven U.S. airlines sought testimony from two members of a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency unit that investigated Osama Bin Laden and five current and former FBI agents who investigated al Qaeda. Some relatives of the victims of Sept. 11 have filed suit against the seven...

JACKSONVILLE -- (AP) -- A man was charged with trying to bring a gun wrapped in aluminum foil and a towel aboard a plane at Jacksonville International Airport, authorities said Tuesday. Ahmad Abdallah Abu Ghanam was on his way to Chicago then Jordan on Monday when Transportation Security Administration workers found the .380-calibar semiautomatic gun in his checked luggage. The serial number had been scratched off, said Michael Stewart, director of external affairs for the airport. Abu Ghanam told police he bought the weapon on the street a month ago and he did not realize the serial number was missing....

NEW DELHI: India yesterday dismissed allegations of recklessness after Indonesia said one of its passenger jets was forced to turn around in mid-air due to a ballistic missile test. The Garuda Indonesia plane, full of Muslim pilgrims en route to Saudi Arabia, had reached Indian airspace when the nuclear-capable missile flew through the sky. The incident on Thursday has triggered a diplomatic row between the two countries, with Indonesia's foreign ministry demanding an explanation as to why no warning was given. But New Delhi said this was not the case. "A notice was sent a week before the test by...

A Northwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Detroit was canceled Friday evening because a crew member used inappropriate language, Northwest media relations manager Roman Blahoski said. Flight 1190, carrying 180 passengers, was scheduled to land at Detroit Metropolitan Airport at 6:18 p.m., Blahoski said. Passengers who were able to pay out of their pocket to buy a one-way ticket to Detroit may make it late Friday or Saturday, while others are waiting to be accommodated.

India (AP) - An Indian Airlines flight from Bangkok to New Delhi made an emergency landing in eastern India on Wednesday after a passenger said he had a bomb in his bag following a scuffle with another passenger, the airline said. The passenger, identified as a Mexican man, was drunk and became involved in a fight with another passenger, airline spokesman Pulak Mukherjee said. When the crew tried to subdue him, he shouted that he had a bomb in his bag, Mukherjee said. The crew informed the pilot, who decided to make an emergency landing in Calcutta. The passenger was...

This report was posted in mid-February, and has received no media coverage whatsoever. Jacobsen confirmed that the incident did occur, with an American Airlines spokesperson. This is not meant to scare, but it probably will. Consider yourself informed and warned that the threat is real. This crew reported that they were not prepared that something of this nature could be happening to them. Flt 62, Paris to MIA [Miami], a few weeks ago. 2 maybe 4 mid-eastern types causing minor disturbance from the get-go. Nothing that the FAs [flight attendants] couldn’t deal with, but, in hindsight, they seemed to be...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE:UPS - news), the last remaining customer for the Airbus A380 superjumbo freighter, said on Friday it reached an agreement for Airbus to push back delivery dates of the planes and left open its option to cancel the order outright. ADVERTISEMENT UPS, the world's largest package delivery company, has been rethinking its order for 10 A380 freighters since October, when Airbus announced a third delay on the giant plane due to wiring problems, putting it two years behind schedule. UPS's planes were originally scheduled for delivery between 2009 and 2012. The company...

r bill of rights Tuesday that promises vouchers to fliers who experience delays in a move it hopes will win back passengers after an operational meltdown damaged its brand and stock price. JetBlue customers will be compensated based on the length of the delays. The vouchers range from $25 to the full amount of the ticket. The delays include airplanes unable to taxi to the gate within 30 minutes and flight departures held up for a minimum of three hours, according to a program copy provided to The Associated Press. If JetBlue cancels a flight within 12 hours of its...

(CBS) QUEENS Jet Blue Airlines apologized late Wednesday to dozens of passengers who were kept sitting on planes at New York's JFK Airport for 10 hours or more without ever taking off.

The tiny airline spy that spots bombers in the blink of an eyeBy CHRISTOPHER LEAKE - More by this author » Last updated at 21:53pm on 10th February 2007  Tiny cameras the size of a fingernail linked to specialist computers are to be used to monitor the behaviour of airline passengers as part of the war on terrorism. Cameras fitted to seat-backs will record every twitch, blink, facial expression or suspicious movement before sending the data to onboard software which will check it against individual passenger profiles. Scientists from Britain and Germany are spending £25million developing a system which...

Anyone who knows me can tell you I'm nothing if not punctual. Ask my wife. She'll tell you I always insist on getting to the airport two hours early. It's an obsession, she'll say. My commitment to being on time is bizarre, she'll say. So, to make a very long story short, the day before yesterday, I was running a little bit late – by my standards. But I still got to the airport more than an hour before my flight to Jacksonville, Fla. This would be the time my wife, and most non-obsessed people, would plan to get to...

US Airways on Wednesday withdrew its $10 billion takeover bid for Delta Air Lines, complaining that it did not get a fair hearing from Delta's bankruptcy court creditors. The Tempe, Ariz.-based airline's decision came on the eve of a Thursday deadline for the creditors to show support for US Airway's two-month-old takeover run. US Airways withdrawal clears the way for Delta management to continue its plan to emerge from bankruptcy this spring as an independent airline. A court hearing on Delta's reorganization plan is set for Feb. 7 that could allow Delta to begin seeking creditors' votes for its plan....

150-Hour Cessna Pilot Helps Out In Continental Emergency Stephen Brown says he has no intention of abandoning his successful air conditioning business in Albuquerque, but he’s done something most private pilots haven’t. The 47-year-old 182 pilot was asked to take the right seat of a Continental Airlines Boeing 757 after the captain collapsed at the controls (he later died) shortly after takeoff from Houston bound for Puerto Vallarta 10 days ago. Brown, along with his wife and some friends, was among 210 passengers heading on vacation when, less than an hour into the flight, Brown said he knew something was...

Aviation chiefs in India have launched an inquiry after a prominent industrialist checked in a pistol and bullets on an international flight. The businessman is a grandson of Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The Indian national carrier, Air India, has removed at least one official as a result of the security breach. The official was alleged to have been present at the time the lapse occurred, and airport security apparatus failed to detect the firearm and bullets. Seized Officials say that the well-known industrialist, Nusli Wadia, was found to be flying from Mumbai (Bombay) to Dubai last week with a...