British Airways Raided In Price Fixing Probe

Authorities have raided British Airways as part of a trans-atlantic investigation into an alleged cartel over airfares and fuel surcharges which saw BA suspend two senior executives.

American Airlines, United Airlines and Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic said they were also involved in the probe, which is being conducted jointly with US authorities, but were not direct targets.

Those four airlines are the only carriers allowed to fly direct between Heathrow Airport and the United States under bilateral treaties.

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Cyprus Airways Spins Off Charter Unit

Cypriot flag carrier Cyprus Airways has sold charter subsidiary Eurocypria to the government for CYP13.45 million pounds (USD$29.3 million) as part of a restructuring.

The government, which owns close to 70 percent of Cyprus Airways, has said the acquisition and spinning off of Eurocypria from the main airline unit was designed to create a second, debt-free scheduled carrier.

Cyprus Airways, burdened by fleet renewal costs and cheaper competition, posted a pretax loss of CYP25.03 million (USD$54.6 million) in 2005 and required an EU approved and government-backed financial bailout last year.

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US Lawmaker Wants Limits On A380 Airport Upgrades

A senior Republican lawmaker influential on transportation matters said on Friday he wants Congress to prohibit US airports from spending federal funds on upgrades to accommodate the European-made superjumbo Airbus A380.

"Until a US airline chooses to acquire and operate the passenger version of the A380, foreign airlines that operate A380 passenger service to and from the United States should pay for any needed infrastructure improvements at the airports they serve," US Rep. John Mica, a Florida Republican, said in a statement.

Mica is chairman of the House of Representatives transportation subcommittee on aviation.

About 50 percent of the cost for A380-related upgrades would be financed through federal airport grants. So far, Los Angeles (LAX), New York's John F. Kennedy, Miami and San Francisco are preparing for A380 passenger service. Several other airports are evaluating A380 passenger and cargo development to see if carriers they serve will fly it.


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Pressure On Boeing, As Airbus Falters

The latest slip-up by Europe's Airbus -- whose giant A380 jet is now more than a year late and mid-sized A350 set for a total redesign -- appears to hand US rival Boeing a golden opportunity to take back the lead in the commercial jet market.

But the US plane maker, which has trailed Airbus in orders for the last five years, faces a tough schedule of its own as it aims to put its strong-selling 787 Dreamliner into service by 2008, and may not be able to ramp up production quick enough to take advantage of Airbus's problems.

"Boeing has huge challenges in front of it, nothing has changed there," said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at aerospace consultants Teal Group. "It's high-risk, high pay-off -- there's no getting around that equation."

The 787's fuselage, which is primarily made of carbon composite materials baked into shape and promises fuel savings for airlines and roomy cabins for passengers, has roundly beaten Airbus's rival A350 in sales since its launch two years ago.

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Man Tries To Hijack South African Plane

A man, believed to be armed, tried to hijack a South African Airways domestic flight on Saturday but was subdued before he could enter the cockpit, the airline said.

"South African Airways (SAA) can confirm an incident occurred today on SA 322 from Cape Town to Johannesburg. The flight turned back to Cape Town and landed safely," SAA spokeswoman Jacqui O'Sullivan said in a statement.

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EADS Boss First Knew Of Airbus Hitch In April

EADS co-chief executive Noel Forgeard said on Friday he first knew in April of potential production problems on the Airbus A380 but ruled out resigning over the issue which triggered an EADS stock collapse this week.

Under fire over what Airbus parent EADS told investors and his own decision to sell stock in March, shortly before the group veered into what its chairman has called a "major crisis", Forgeard said the scale of problems had not been clear at first.

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Ryanair Complains To EU About Air France

Europe's largest budget airline, Ryanair, said on Wednesday it had complained to the European Commission about what it called Air France's attempt to stop it from using an airport in Marseille.

Ryanair has already complained to Europe's top antitrust authority about Air France, claiming the French airline had received almost EUR1 billion (USD$1.26 billion) in state aid.

"This is the latest in a long line of abuses by Air France to protect their stranglehold on the French market," Ryanair's head of regulatory affairs, Jim Callaghan, said in a statement released in Brussels on Wednesday and first announced on Tuesday.

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Singapore Air Orders Boeings After A380 Delay

Singapore Airlines on Wednesday announced an order for 20 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners worth USD$4.52 billion at list prices and said it would take rights for another 20 planes.

The order was seen as a further blow to Airbus after the planemaker revealed delays of at least six months in deliveries of the A380 on Tuesday.

The 787-9, which can carry between 250 and 290 passengers and will have range of 15,900 to 16,300 km (9,900 to 10,200 miles), will be used for flights to north Asia, India and the Middle East.

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Emirates Says No A380 Flights Until 2008

Dubai-based airline Emirates, the biggest customer for the world's biggest airliner, the Airbus A380, said on Tuesday that because of a further six month delay in deliveries, it would not be able to put the plane into operation before January 2008.

"We have been informed by Airbus that the delivery of our A380 aircraft will be delayed by six months. Emirates now expects to receive its first A380 in October 2007, to be put into operation in January 2008," an Emirates spokesman said.

"We are considering our position and will be engaging with the manufacturer over the next few weeks," he added.

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Airbus Hit By Fresh A380 Delivery Delays

Airbus revealed delays of at least six months in deliveries of its A380 superjumbo on Tuesday, in an embarrassing new setback that parent company EADS said could cut its earnings between 2007 and 2010.

The European planemaker said it would still deliver the first aircraft to Singapore Airlines in 2006, but would slow down deliveries from next year onwards because of problems with the installation of electrical wiring harnesses.

"We have had an industrial delay. It will shift the program to the right by six to seven months," John Leahy, Airbus' chief commercial officer said.

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Delta To Recall 60-70 Pilots

Delta Air Lines on Friday said it was recalling between 60 and 70 furloughed pilots.

The company said the recalled pilots will begin training in late June and will return to line flying late summer.

Airline consultant Robert Mann said Delta may be recalling the pilots in anticipation of increased pilot retirements.

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Cathay Pacific Seals Dragonair Buy-Out

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways said on Friday it would pay HKD$8.22 billion (USD$1.06 billion) in cash and shares to take over rival Dragonair in a long-expected deal that expands its access to the fast-growing mainland Chinese market.

Cathay, the world's seventh most valuable airline, has been frustrated by its limited position in mainland China, where its only passenger routes are to Beijing and Xiamen.

Dragonair, which flies to 23 mainland cities including the lucrative Shanghai market, has in turn relied on Cathay to feed it international traffic bound for China

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India To Modernize 35 Airports

The Indian cabinet approved a proposal mandating the state-run airport operator to modernize 35 airports in second-tier cities within the next two years, the civil aviation minister said on Thursday.

The modernization process will cost the government between 70-80 billion rupees (USD$1.5 billion - USD$1.75 billion), Praful Patel told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

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China Approves Tianjin For Airbus Plant

The Chinese government has given the formal go-ahead for an assembly plant for Airbus A320 narrow-body airliners to be built in the northern port city of Tianjin, the official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

It gave no further details in the brief report, sourced to the Tianjin branch of the powerful planning department, the National Development and Reform Commission.

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BAE To Speed Up Airbus Stake Sale

BAE Systems said it has decided to exercise an option to speed up the sale of its 20 percent stake in Airbus to the plane maker's majority owner, EADS.

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Airbus Orders Slow In May

Airbus reported its slowest month of the year on Wednesday, with orders for just six aircraft in May.

For the second month running, Airbus sold no airliners in its wide-body family to commercial carriers, though it did win an order for its A330-200 from an unidentified private buyer.

Airbus also sold five single-aisle jets in May, bringing the backlog for 2006 to 84 narrow-body aircraft and 21 wide-body jets, for a total of 105.

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Cathay's Dragonair Takeover Expected Soon

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways was negotiating on Wednesday towards a takeover of rival Dragonair in a deal said to be worth roughly USD$1.3 billion that could be announced within 24 hours, sources familiar with the situation said.

Shares in five listed firms involved in the deal were suspended for a third day on Wednesday as the companies and their investment bankers hammered out a complicated transaction that also includes Beijing-run Air China and requires government approval.

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Saudi Airline Gets New Boss As Privatization Nears

Saudi Arabia appointed Khaled al-Mulhim as the new senior manager of Saudi Arabian Airlines on Tuesday, a move that could be a step towards privatizing the flag carrier.

Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said last week that the airline, one of the three largest in the Middle East and North Africa, could be the kingdom's next major privatization.

Al-Mulhim was instrumental in the privatization of Saudi Telecom (STC), which he left as chief executive in February.

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EasyJet May Passenger Numbers Up 15 Percent

Low-cost airline easyJet said on Wednesday it carried 2.94 million passengers in May, up 15.2 percent from a year earlier.

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