Lessno partner, Partners Software extends distribution deal with easyJet
Partners Software has extended the remit of its successful cooperation deal with easyJet, Europe’s 4th largest airline. The new agreement gives the German travel software business preferred rights to manage connections between approved travel agents and booking engine suppliers to the easyJet reservation system.
http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/31017-Partners-Software-extends-deal-with-easyJet

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NYT: Rafting in Nile river
Uganda is a wonderful place to experience Africa — and rafting is just a piece of it. You can trek deep into Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and stand eye to eye with a 500-pound critically endangered mountain gorilla. You can scale mountain peaks in the Rwenzoris (also known as the Mountains of the Moon) and see wild elephants at Queen Elizabeth National Park. You can bungee jump, jet boat and kayak. And when you’re done and ready to relax, you can head to the capital, Kampala, to feast on Indian food at boutique hotels and watch enormous marabou storks fly lazy circles in the air, like feathered B-52s, right in the center of town.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/travel/24uganda.html?ref=travel

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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

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Opinion: Is full-body airport imaging revealing too much?
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/05/18/airport.security.body.scans/index.html

Opinion: Why OTAs arcane tax battle is your problem
http://www.tripso.com/today/why-online-travel-agencies-arcane-tax-battle-is-your-problem/

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Emirates told to pay $10,000 to passenger who got fired because of canceled flight
The details of this are a bit odd, but here it goes: A judge has ordered Emirates to pay $10,000 (INR 500,000 - or 5 Lakh as we say in India) to an Indian nurse who lost his job in Libya after his flight was canceled back in 1999. I know, that’s a long time ago. It gets a bit weirder: The Emirates flight from Delhi to Malta (with a connection to Libya) involved a codeshare flight with Air Malta. The Air Malta portion of the flight was canceled. The passenger was never told about the cancelation, and hence, missed his return to Libya. He then lost his job.
http://www.onlinetravelreview.com/2009/05/22/emirates-told-to-pay-10000-to-passenger-whose-flight-was-canceled-and-lost-job/

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