Bodies, debris retrieved from Air France crash
Brazilian search crews on Saturday retrieved the first bodies from a crashed Air France flight in the Atlantic, and investigators said faulty speed readings had been found on the same type of jets. Navy ships found the bodies of two men and debris including a blue seat with a serial number matching Air France Flight 447, a rucksack containing a vaccination card, and a briefcase with an Air France ticket inside, rescue officials said.

Read the rest of this entry »

First made-in-China Airbus makes maiden flight
The first Airbus plane built outside Europe made a successful four-hour maiden flight on Monday in China, European consortium EADS said. Airbus began assembling some A320 jets in Tianjin near Beijing in September from fuselage parts shipped from Europe, increasing its presence in the world’s fastest growing markets for large aircraft. Airbus aims to reach output of four A320s a month in China by the end of 2011. Airbus has estimated that China would need more than 3,000 large aircraft between 2006 and 2025, including 180 super jumbo passenger planes. The first aircraft will be delivered to Dragon Aviation Leasing in June and be operated by China’s Sichuan Airlines. Chinese firms have ordered more than 700 aircraft from Airbus, the majority of which are from the A320 family of planes, it said. Airbus and U.S. rival Boeing have been turning to Asian markets, led by China, for growth as demand weakens at home.
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSPEK18447420090518
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-05-18-a320-china_N.htm

Read the rest of this entry »

Amadeus and ITA to display airline charges by end of 2009
The controversial ancillary charges levied by airlines are expected to be included in screen display by at least one GDS later this year. Amadeus said it hoped to have details of the various charges by each airlines alongside fares by the fourth quarter. Robert Buckman, Amadeus North America’s director airline distribution strategy said his IT company and ITA Software would be able to offer the content. ITA Software is an American based IT company and one of the so called GNEs - global new entries - which several years back threatened to challenge the supremacy of the GDSs. Mr Buckman said both Amadeus and ITA had been working “very hard” with other industry bodies, among them the Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO) to perfect the software needed.
http://www.abtn.co.uk/news/1412478-airline-charges-appear-gds

Read the rest of this entry »

Sabre and Lufthansa extend content deal, shield from preferred fares program
The agreement extends the deal signed by the two parties last year which is due to expire at the end of June. The new deal, which will come into force on July 1, will continue to exempt the GDS’s agents in Germany, Austria and Switzerland from surcharges imposed under the airline’s controversial Preferred Fares Programme (PFP).

Read the rest of this entry »

Topaz: Airfares cheaper through agencies
Airfares booked last year through corporate travel agencies cost on average $61 less than identical itineraries booked through airline Web sites or online travel retailers, according to a Topaz International study on client data released this week. That figure, however, does not include agency transaction fees or servicing charges, Topaz president and CEO Brad Seitz noted. Comparing the same itinerary publicly available online with fares booked through travel management companies, Topaz found agency fares were either the same or less costly nearly 92 percent of the time, down slightly from the nearly 95 percent rate reported in 2007.
http://www.btnonline.com/businesstravelnews/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003968250

Read the rest of this entry »