Reuters - 2 hours 11 minutes ago
By Augustine Anthony
ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani passenger plane crashed in heavy rain near Islamabad on Wednesday, killing at least 90 people and officials said it was unlikely that there would be any survivors among the 152 people on board.
The Airbus 321, belonging to private airline Airblue, crashed into a heavily wooded and hard-to-access hillside while flying from the southern port city of Karachi. Rescue workers were scouring the site for bodies, officials said.
"Most of the bodies are charred. We're sending body-bags via helicopters. It's a very difficult operation because of the rain," said Aamir Ali Ahmed, a senior city government official.
"We can pray and hope but what experts are saying is that there's no chance of any survivors," he added.
Earlier reports that five survivors had been pulled from the wreckage were wrong, said Imtiaz Elahi, chairman of the state-run Capital Development Authority, a city municipal body.
"It would be a miracle but we're not expecting any survivors," said another official, who declined to be named.
Rescuers said they had to dig through the rubble with their bare hands, with fire and thick smoke hampering their work. The fire has since been extinguished, but access to the hillside remained limited to pedestrians and helicopters.
"You find very few intact bodies. Basically, we are collecting bodies parts and putting them in bags," Bin Yameen, senior officer in the Islamabad police, told Reuters from the scene of the crash.
"I don't know the exact death toll but one can imagine not many could survive in such a bad situation.
The plane lost contact with the control room of the Islamabad International Airport at 5:43 a.m. British time. It was carrying 146 passengers and six crew members.
The crash site is on the Margalla Hills facing Islamabad, about 300 meters up the side of the hills. Smoke could be seen from some districts of the city after the crash.
"It was raining. I saw the plane flying very low from the window of my office," witness Khadim Hussain said. Heavy monsoon rains have lashed the area for the past few days.
NEW PLANE
The military said it had sent three helicopters to the site and troops had also been moved there. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was surveying rescue operations from the air and the government declared Thursday a day of mourning for the victims.
Airblue began operations in 2004 with a fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft, according to its website www.airblue.com. It flies primarily domestic routes as well as to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Manchester in Britain.
Spokesman Raheel Ahmed said this was the first crash for the airline and that an investigation was being launched.
"It's too early to speculate," he said about the cause of the crash. "The civil aviation authorities will also be involved."
Airbus confirmed one of its planes was involved in the Airblue crash.
"We regret to confirm there has been an accident with an Airbus aircraft and we will provide more information when we have more confirmed data available," said Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath.
At Islamabad's international airport, passengers in the departure lounge scanned the television screens for news.
"I'm not surprised something like this has happened," said Ahmed Fairuz, a passenger awaiting departure. "The weather is just too bad for flying."
Aviation industry sources in Europe said the aircraft was leased from International Lease Finance Corp, the leasing unit of U.S. insurance giant AIG
Los Angeles-based ILFC was not available for comment and there was no immediate confirmation of these details.
The A321 is the largest of the A320 family of single-aisle jets produced by EADS subsidiary Airbus. This particular type of aircraft, which can seat up to 185 passengers, has been in service since 1994.
Forty-five people were killed when a passenger plane belonging to Pakistan International Airlines crashed near the central city of Multan in 2006.
Including the 2006 incident, PIA has had 11 crashes since 1957, according to AirDisaster.com.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Boeing's Dreamliner completes first flight outside US
AFP
FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom (AFP) - – Boeing's 787 Dreamliner jet, whose delivery to clients faces fresh delay, landed in Britain on Sunday after its first flight outside of the US ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow.
The test plane landed at Farnborough airport at 9:08am (0808 GMT), watched by journalists from around the world, ahead of the major week-long trade show that begins on Monday, where aircraft makers are hoping to secure major orders.
"It's such a nice plane," Mike Bryan, the pilot who flew the Dreamliner to Britain from the United States told reporters after landing.
"I can't find a pilot who doesn't love it. I'm privileged enough to fly it."
Last week, US aircraft maker Boeing said it may be forced to delay the delivery of its first fuel-efficient Dreamliner to 2011 from late this year -- a date that was already more than two years behind schedule. It has secured 860 orders so far.
Last month, Boeing said it had detected a "workmanship issue" with the horizontal stabiliser of the aircraft, whose innovative structure and manufacture across more than 100 sites has created many technical problems.
The company is hanging its future hopes on the mid-sized plane -- Boeing's first new model in more than a decade -- which draws on huge advances in aviation technology and is capable of flying long-haul routes with up to 20 percent less fuel.
The fuel efficiency is largely down to the fact that up to half the twin-aisle Dreamliner is made of lightweight composite materials, such as carbon fibre-reinforced resin, according to the company.
Boeing launched the programme in April 2004 and initially had planned to deliver the first plane to Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways in the first half of 2008 -- a deadline which may now be pushed back until the start of 2011. The plane can seat up to 330 passengers.
Boeing's fierce European rival Airbus is meanwhile working on a new long-haul plane of its own -- the A350 XWB (Extra Wide Body). Another big project for Airbus is its long-delayed A400M military transport plane.
The head of Airbus parent company EADS, Louis Gallois, said on Sunday that he expected contracts with clients for the A400M to be signed in the European autumn later this year.
"I expect it will be at fall," Louis Gallois told reporters.
The client countries for the Airbus transporter are France, Germany, Spain, Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Turkey.
The seven states, after tense negotiations in the face of production difficulties with the A400M, reached an agreement in March with EADS on sharing out 5.2 billion euros (6.4 billion dollars) in cost over-runs.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company plans to deliver the first A400M to France in early 2013.
Gallois meanwhile added on Sunday that he expected the military plane market to face a tough few years as governments look to slash their defence spending in a bid to reduce massive state deficits.
"We think that we have ahead of us three or four years that will be difficult," said Gallois.
On the civilian side, any new orders for aircraft at Farnborough -- one of aerospace's biggest events -- are likely to be dominated by airlines from emerging economies across Asia and the Middle East where air traffic is growing rapidly.
Boeing and Airbus meanwhile head to the show facing increased competition for their mid-sized civilian jets from smaller manufacturers, such as Brazil's Embraer and Bombardier of Canada.
FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom (AFP) - – Boeing's 787 Dreamliner jet, whose delivery to clients faces fresh delay, landed in Britain on Sunday after its first flight outside of the US ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow.
The test plane landed at Farnborough airport at 9:08am (0808 GMT), watched by journalists from around the world, ahead of the major week-long trade show that begins on Monday, where aircraft makers are hoping to secure major orders.
"It's such a nice plane," Mike Bryan, the pilot who flew the Dreamliner to Britain from the United States told reporters after landing.
"I can't find a pilot who doesn't love it. I'm privileged enough to fly it."
Last week, US aircraft maker Boeing said it may be forced to delay the delivery of its first fuel-efficient Dreamliner to 2011 from late this year -- a date that was already more than two years behind schedule. It has secured 860 orders so far.
Last month, Boeing said it had detected a "workmanship issue" with the horizontal stabiliser of the aircraft, whose innovative structure and manufacture across more than 100 sites has created many technical problems.
The company is hanging its future hopes on the mid-sized plane -- Boeing's first new model in more than a decade -- which draws on huge advances in aviation technology and is capable of flying long-haul routes with up to 20 percent less fuel.
The fuel efficiency is largely down to the fact that up to half the twin-aisle Dreamliner is made of lightweight composite materials, such as carbon fibre-reinforced resin, according to the company.
Boeing launched the programme in April 2004 and initially had planned to deliver the first plane to Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways in the first half of 2008 -- a deadline which may now be pushed back until the start of 2011. The plane can seat up to 330 passengers.
Boeing's fierce European rival Airbus is meanwhile working on a new long-haul plane of its own -- the A350 XWB (Extra Wide Body). Another big project for Airbus is its long-delayed A400M military transport plane.
The head of Airbus parent company EADS, Louis Gallois, said on Sunday that he expected contracts with clients for the A400M to be signed in the European autumn later this year.
"I expect it will be at fall," Louis Gallois told reporters.
The client countries for the Airbus transporter are France, Germany, Spain, Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Turkey.
The seven states, after tense negotiations in the face of production difficulties with the A400M, reached an agreement in March with EADS on sharing out 5.2 billion euros (6.4 billion dollars) in cost over-runs.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company plans to deliver the first A400M to France in early 2013.
Gallois meanwhile added on Sunday that he expected the military plane market to face a tough few years as governments look to slash their defence spending in a bid to reduce massive state deficits.
"We think that we have ahead of us three or four years that will be difficult," said Gallois.
On the civilian side, any new orders for aircraft at Farnborough -- one of aerospace's biggest events -- are likely to be dominated by airlines from emerging economies across Asia and the Middle East where air traffic is growing rapidly.
Boeing and Airbus meanwhile head to the show facing increased competition for their mid-sized civilian jets from smaller manufacturers, such as Brazil's Embraer and Bombardier of Canada.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Top 5 Airlines 2009
The top 5 airlines from from 81 to 118.3 Billion Passenger Kilometres
1) Emirates 118.3 Billion Passenger Kilometres
2) Lufthansa
3) Air France-KLM
4) Singapore Airlines
5) Cathay Pacific 81 Billion Passenger Kilometres
1) Emirates 118.3 Billion Passenger Kilometres
2) Lufthansa
3) Air France-KLM
4) Singapore Airlines
5) Cathay Pacific 81 Billion Passenger Kilometres
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Russia to buy 50 Boeing 737s worth four billion dollars
AFP - Friday, June 25
WASHINGTON, USA (AFP) - – President Barack Obama on Thursday said that Russia was buying 50 Boeing aircraft valued at four billion dollars that could create 44,000 jobs in the struggling US economy.
Obama, speaking after White House talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, said the order was part of a broad array of trade and investment deals between the two countries.
"Consistent with my administration's national export initiative, this includes the sale of 50 Boeing aircraft worth four billion dollars that could add up to 44,000 new jobs in the American aerospace industry," Obama said.
In a statement released after Obama's comment, Boeing said that it had signed a document with the Russian state corporation Rostechnologii "confirming the decision by Rostechnologii to place an order for 50 Boeing Next-Generation 737 airplanes."
The document was signed during Medvedev's official visit to the United States, the aerospace giant said, without providing further details.
"Rostechnologii's selection of Boeing airplanes demonstrates its commitment to deploying the optimal solution for the market needs," the Chicago-based company said.
Touting "the economic benefits and operating efficiencies" of the Next-Generation 737, Boeing said the planes would "directly support Rostechnologii's plan to provide Russian airlines with efficient and reliable airplanes that will help them to consolidate and grow their domestic and international operations."
"We look forward to continuing our long-term partnership with Rostechnologii and finalizing the contract," the company said.
Jim Proulx, spokesman for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in an interview with AFP that the 50 Next-Generation 737s were worth "3.6 billion dollars at current list price."
Commercial aircraft are often sold below list value.
Proulx noted the agreement signed was for the Russian state firm to purchase the planes, but further details needed to be worked out for a firm contract, such as which airlines would be taking the planes, delivery dates and deposit amounts.
The US company briefly announced at the end of May that the Russian state firm had selected the Next-Generation 737 for its aviation business development.
Boeing currently has an order backlog of 2,000 for the planes.
Last week Boeing announced a second production rate increase on the Next-Generation 737 program, taking the rate from the rate of 34 airplanes per month, previously announced in May, to 35 planes in early 2012, citing continued strong demand.
WASHINGTON, USA (AFP) - – President Barack Obama on Thursday said that Russia was buying 50 Boeing aircraft valued at four billion dollars that could create 44,000 jobs in the struggling US economy.
Obama, speaking after White House talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, said the order was part of a broad array of trade and investment deals between the two countries.
"Consistent with my administration's national export initiative, this includes the sale of 50 Boeing aircraft worth four billion dollars that could add up to 44,000 new jobs in the American aerospace industry," Obama said.
In a statement released after Obama's comment, Boeing said that it had signed a document with the Russian state corporation Rostechnologii "confirming the decision by Rostechnologii to place an order for 50 Boeing Next-Generation 737 airplanes."
The document was signed during Medvedev's official visit to the United States, the aerospace giant said, without providing further details.
"Rostechnologii's selection of Boeing airplanes demonstrates its commitment to deploying the optimal solution for the market needs," the Chicago-based company said.
Touting "the economic benefits and operating efficiencies" of the Next-Generation 737, Boeing said the planes would "directly support Rostechnologii's plan to provide Russian airlines with efficient and reliable airplanes that will help them to consolidate and grow their domestic and international operations."
"We look forward to continuing our long-term partnership with Rostechnologii and finalizing the contract," the company said.
Jim Proulx, spokesman for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in an interview with AFP that the 50 Next-Generation 737s were worth "3.6 billion dollars at current list price."
Commercial aircraft are often sold below list value.
Proulx noted the agreement signed was for the Russian state firm to purchase the planes, but further details needed to be worked out for a firm contract, such as which airlines would be taking the planes, delivery dates and deposit amounts.
The US company briefly announced at the end of May that the Russian state firm had selected the Next-Generation 737 for its aviation business development.
Boeing currently has an order backlog of 2,000 for the planes.
Last week Boeing announced a second production rate increase on the Next-Generation 737 program, taking the rate from the rate of 34 airplanes per month, previously announced in May, to 35 planes in early 2012, citing continued strong demand.
Spending Spree by Emirates Shakes Up Airline Business
By STEVE ROTHWELL and ANDREA ROTHMAN
Published: June 23, 2010
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LONDON — Emirates, the international airline, is rattling rivals in Europe and Asia with a growth splurge that may be as game-changing for long-distance carriers as the expansion of Ryanair and Southwest Airlines was over shorter routes.
Emirates, a 25-year-old company, is building up a fleet of 90 Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft with a total of 45,000 seats and operating costs that the manufacturer says are 12 percent lower than those for Boeing’s latest 747.
That is a threat to European carriers that specialize in the same long-distance transfer traffic, the chief executive of British Airways, Willie Walsh, said during an interview.
Emirates’ latest order, for 32 A380s worth $11 billion, was announced this month. It will give the airline 70 more superjumbos than any other airline, funneling price-sensitive passengers through its Dubai hub in a challenge to network carriers including Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and Singapore Airlines. Competitors say that the company is benefiting from government ownership and that they cannot compete with its purchasing power.
“It’s a miracle that Emirates already has more intercontinental seats than Air France and British Airways combined,” said Wolfgang Mayrhuber, the chief executive of Lufthansa. “It took us 40 years to get 30 747s in the air in one of the biggest global economies, so one must assume that this is an investment for the world.”
Emirates ranked only 24th among international airlines as recently as 2000, putting it on a par with Sabena, the state-owned Belgian carrier that failed a year later. In the intervening period the Gulf carrier has increased traffic sixfold, overtaking Lufthansa last year to become the biggest carrier for international flights. British Airways, ranked No.1 in 2000, now is fourth.
“We always planned to grow,” Maurice Flanagan, the founding chief of Emirates and current executive vice chairman, said during an interview. “We were just never able to put our finger on how quickly. Now we’re short of capacity all the time.”
Rivals should follow the Emirates example in buying more large planes to reduce expenses per head, he said.
“I can’t understand why other airlines have been so slow to pick up on the A380,” Mr. Flanagan said. “The economics are fantastic.”
Emirates, which reported net income of $964 million for the year ended March 31, has reached the top spot while remaining outside the three main airline groupings, choosing instead to build Dubai into a transfer hub to compete with alliance bases in London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Chris Tarry, an independent analyst who has followed the airline industry for two decades, said the model was largely the result of improved jetliner range and Dubai’s fortuitous location midway between Europe and Asia.
“First, there’s now the technological capability to join any two places on the globe with just one stop,” Mr. Tarry said from London. “Second, Dubai is very well placed to capture those intercontinental traffic flows from North America to Asia and Europe to Asia and Australia and so on.”
Emirates has 14 daily routes from six British airports, including five from Heathrow, the busiest European hub, and three from London Gatwick. Starting in September, one of two daily flights from Manchester in northern England will handle the A380, the plane’s first service to a secondary city.
Weight reductions and improved fuel loads should allow the superjumbo to reach the West Coast of the United States from Dubai by 2014, Mr. Flanagan said. The chief salesman for Airbus, John Leahy, predicted that more airlines would buy the plane to defend market share from Europe to Asia and across the Pacific.
While Mr. Flanagan estimates that 40 percent of traffic from Britain connects to other cities via Dubai, Mr. Walsh, the British Airways chief, says that the Gulf carrier is a bigger threat to Lufthansa and Air France-KLM because of the greater proportion of transfer passengers who travel through Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam.
“It’s definitely going to have an impact on the business,” Mr. Walsh said last week. “It’s challenging a segment of the market that is important for B.A. But there are other European hubs where the reliance on transfers is bigger.”
The British carrier’s Oneworld alliance partner, Cathay Pacific, will aim to counter the expansion of Emirates with “enhanced connectivity” from its own hub in Hong Kong, a spokeswoman said in an e-mail message.
The Emirates model is eroding network carriers’ long-distance traffic in the same way that discount airlines have eaten into short-haul operations.
The effect could be even greater, since much of the success of Ryanair, which has increased revenue eightfold, to €3 billion, or $3.7 billion, in a decade to become the biggest European low-cost airline, came from linking cities with no air service, whereas Emirates is confronting established carriers more directly on some of their most profitable routes.
Basic to the strategy is the use of so-called sixth-freedom treaties that permit flights between two nations by an airline from a third via its home country. The model works best on long-distance routes requiring refueling, on which Emirates does not lose out to competitors by stopping in Dubai, and for passengers who care more about ticket prices than the duration of a journey.
Andrea Rothman reported from Paris.
Bloomberg News
Published: June 23, 2010
Recommend
LONDON — Emirates, the international airline, is rattling rivals in Europe and Asia with a growth splurge that may be as game-changing for long-distance carriers as the expansion of Ryanair and Southwest Airlines was over shorter routes.
Emirates, a 25-year-old company, is building up a fleet of 90 Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft with a total of 45,000 seats and operating costs that the manufacturer says are 12 percent lower than those for Boeing’s latest 747.
That is a threat to European carriers that specialize in the same long-distance transfer traffic, the chief executive of British Airways, Willie Walsh, said during an interview.
Emirates’ latest order, for 32 A380s worth $11 billion, was announced this month. It will give the airline 70 more superjumbos than any other airline, funneling price-sensitive passengers through its Dubai hub in a challenge to network carriers including Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and Singapore Airlines. Competitors say that the company is benefiting from government ownership and that they cannot compete with its purchasing power.
“It’s a miracle that Emirates already has more intercontinental seats than Air France and British Airways combined,” said Wolfgang Mayrhuber, the chief executive of Lufthansa. “It took us 40 years to get 30 747s in the air in one of the biggest global economies, so one must assume that this is an investment for the world.”
Emirates ranked only 24th among international airlines as recently as 2000, putting it on a par with Sabena, the state-owned Belgian carrier that failed a year later. In the intervening period the Gulf carrier has increased traffic sixfold, overtaking Lufthansa last year to become the biggest carrier for international flights. British Airways, ranked No.1 in 2000, now is fourth.
“We always planned to grow,” Maurice Flanagan, the founding chief of Emirates and current executive vice chairman, said during an interview. “We were just never able to put our finger on how quickly. Now we’re short of capacity all the time.”
Rivals should follow the Emirates example in buying more large planes to reduce expenses per head, he said.
“I can’t understand why other airlines have been so slow to pick up on the A380,” Mr. Flanagan said. “The economics are fantastic.”
Emirates, which reported net income of $964 million for the year ended March 31, has reached the top spot while remaining outside the three main airline groupings, choosing instead to build Dubai into a transfer hub to compete with alliance bases in London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Chris Tarry, an independent analyst who has followed the airline industry for two decades, said the model was largely the result of improved jetliner range and Dubai’s fortuitous location midway between Europe and Asia.
“First, there’s now the technological capability to join any two places on the globe with just one stop,” Mr. Tarry said from London. “Second, Dubai is very well placed to capture those intercontinental traffic flows from North America to Asia and Europe to Asia and Australia and so on.”
Emirates has 14 daily routes from six British airports, including five from Heathrow, the busiest European hub, and three from London Gatwick. Starting in September, one of two daily flights from Manchester in northern England will handle the A380, the plane’s first service to a secondary city.
Weight reductions and improved fuel loads should allow the superjumbo to reach the West Coast of the United States from Dubai by 2014, Mr. Flanagan said. The chief salesman for Airbus, John Leahy, predicted that more airlines would buy the plane to defend market share from Europe to Asia and across the Pacific.
While Mr. Flanagan estimates that 40 percent of traffic from Britain connects to other cities via Dubai, Mr. Walsh, the British Airways chief, says that the Gulf carrier is a bigger threat to Lufthansa and Air France-KLM because of the greater proportion of transfer passengers who travel through Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam.
“It’s definitely going to have an impact on the business,” Mr. Walsh said last week. “It’s challenging a segment of the market that is important for B.A. But there are other European hubs where the reliance on transfers is bigger.”
The British carrier’s Oneworld alliance partner, Cathay Pacific, will aim to counter the expansion of Emirates with “enhanced connectivity” from its own hub in Hong Kong, a spokeswoman said in an e-mail message.
The Emirates model is eroding network carriers’ long-distance traffic in the same way that discount airlines have eaten into short-haul operations.
The effect could be even greater, since much of the success of Ryanair, which has increased revenue eightfold, to €3 billion, or $3.7 billion, in a decade to become the biggest European low-cost airline, came from linking cities with no air service, whereas Emirates is confronting established carriers more directly on some of their most profitable routes.
Basic to the strategy is the use of so-called sixth-freedom treaties that permit flights between two nations by an airline from a third via its home country. The model works best on long-distance routes requiring refueling, on which Emirates does not lose out to competitors by stopping in Dubai, and for passengers who care more about ticket prices than the duration of a journey.
Andrea Rothman reported from Paris.
Bloomberg News
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Berlin Air Show takes off with record 'superjumbo' order
AFP - Wednesday, June 9
BERLIN (AFP) - –
The 100th edition of the Berlin Air Show took off with a roar Tuesday as Dubai-based airline Emirates snapped up 32 Airbus A380 superjumbos, hailed as the largest order ever for commercial aircraft.
In the year's first order for the massive A380 plane, Emirates splashed out 11.5 billion dollars, providing a much-needed boost to Airbus and a headline-grabbing start to the Show.
"It's the largest order ever placed for civil aircraft by dollar value based on catalogue prices in aviation history," said a delighted John Leahy, chief commercial officer at Airbus.
Airbus also announced that TAM Airlines of Brazil had ordered 20 A320 planes and five of its new long-haul A350-900 aircraft, with the deal worth around 2.9 billion dollars (2.43 billion euros) at catalogue prices.
And in another boost for Airbus, France, Germany and Spain pledged cash to help the firm develop the A350 XWB wide-bodied aircraft.
Paris would stump up 1.4 billion euros, Berlin 1.0 billion euros and Madrid 350 million euros, representatives of the various governments said at the Show.
Running until June 13, the Berlin Air Show (ILA) was set to attract about 1,150 exhibitors from nearly 50 countries presenting all manner of planes, helicopters, rotors, motors and other technology to around 200,000 visitors.
The ILA this year was opened by Chancellor Angela Merkel who hailed the special role played by the aviation industry in Germany's economy.
"Aviation is, as it has always been, an area of the economy that pushes forward the development of technology in general," she said.
"Therefore, for a business location such as Germany, aviation technology has an influence that goes far beyond its own domain," added the chancellor.
With the annual gathering of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) also taking part in Berlin at the same time, almost all of the high-fliers in the aviation world were to be found in the German capital.
However, while the aircraft suppliers were feting Merkel at the ILA, on the other side of town, their main customers at the IATA meeting were attacking her after she announced Monday a new tax on passengers leaving German airports.
The tax, which Merkel outlined Monday as part of a multi-billion package of belt-tightening measures, is set to run until the carbon-emissions trading scheme that has already been agreed comes into effect for air travel in 2012.
It is expected to bring in about one billion euros annually.
IATA's director general, Giovanni Bisignani, called for the tax to be scrapped immediately, saying it threatened to bring airlines down just when they were starting to see a recovery after several years of massive losses.
"This is the worst kind of short-sighted policy irresponsibility. It's a cash-grab by a cash-strapped government," he told reporters in Berlin.
"If this is related to the environment ... I would like the chancellor to say to us, where is the investment? How many trees is she planting with this one billion?" he said.
"This is not the time to burden the aviation industry with more taxes ... this tax is a body blow to the weak economy and a fragile industry," he added.
IATA had earlier revised up its forecasts for this year, projecting the industry's first profit since 2007.
BERLIN (AFP) - –
The 100th edition of the Berlin Air Show took off with a roar Tuesday as Dubai-based airline Emirates snapped up 32 Airbus A380 superjumbos, hailed as the largest order ever for commercial aircraft.
In the year's first order for the massive A380 plane, Emirates splashed out 11.5 billion dollars, providing a much-needed boost to Airbus and a headline-grabbing start to the Show.
"It's the largest order ever placed for civil aircraft by dollar value based on catalogue prices in aviation history," said a delighted John Leahy, chief commercial officer at Airbus.
Airbus also announced that TAM Airlines of Brazil had ordered 20 A320 planes and five of its new long-haul A350-900 aircraft, with the deal worth around 2.9 billion dollars (2.43 billion euros) at catalogue prices.
And in another boost for Airbus, France, Germany and Spain pledged cash to help the firm develop the A350 XWB wide-bodied aircraft.
Paris would stump up 1.4 billion euros, Berlin 1.0 billion euros and Madrid 350 million euros, representatives of the various governments said at the Show.
Running until June 13, the Berlin Air Show (ILA) was set to attract about 1,150 exhibitors from nearly 50 countries presenting all manner of planes, helicopters, rotors, motors and other technology to around 200,000 visitors.
The ILA this year was opened by Chancellor Angela Merkel who hailed the special role played by the aviation industry in Germany's economy.
"Aviation is, as it has always been, an area of the economy that pushes forward the development of technology in general," she said.
"Therefore, for a business location such as Germany, aviation technology has an influence that goes far beyond its own domain," added the chancellor.
With the annual gathering of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) also taking part in Berlin at the same time, almost all of the high-fliers in the aviation world were to be found in the German capital.
However, while the aircraft suppliers were feting Merkel at the ILA, on the other side of town, their main customers at the IATA meeting were attacking her after she announced Monday a new tax on passengers leaving German airports.
The tax, which Merkel outlined Monday as part of a multi-billion package of belt-tightening measures, is set to run until the carbon-emissions trading scheme that has already been agreed comes into effect for air travel in 2012.
It is expected to bring in about one billion euros annually.
IATA's director general, Giovanni Bisignani, called for the tax to be scrapped immediately, saying it threatened to bring airlines down just when they were starting to see a recovery after several years of massive losses.
"This is the worst kind of short-sighted policy irresponsibility. It's a cash-grab by a cash-strapped government," he told reporters in Berlin.
"If this is related to the environment ... I would like the chancellor to say to us, where is the investment? How many trees is she planting with this one billion?" he said.
"This is not the time to burden the aviation industry with more taxes ... this tax is a body blow to the weak economy and a fragile industry," he added.
IATA had earlier revised up its forecasts for this year, projecting the industry's first profit since 2007.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Thousands flee Ecuador, Guatemala volcanos
GUATEMALA CITY : Thousands of people were evacuated and airports were closed as two volcanos erupted in Guatemala and Ecuador Friday, choking major cities with ash, and leaving two dead, officials said.
Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared a 15-day state of emergency around the Pacaya volcano, 50 kilometres (31 miles) south of the capital.
The volcano erupted again Friday after first bursting back to life Wednesday, killing two people, including a television reporter covering the event.
In Ecuador, the Tungurahua volcano exploded into action Friday, forcing the evacuation of at least seven villages and closing down the airport and public schools in Guayaquil, the country's largest and most populated city.
As the 2,552 metres (8,372 feet) Pacaya volcano exploded anew on Friday, with billowing clouds of ash and dust, Colom said La Aurora International Airport, in Guatemala City, would remain closed until Saturday "because we've got to clean the runways and surrounding areas" of ash.
The airport closures were reminiscent of the massive blanket of ash Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano spewed out last month causing the biggest aerial shutdown in Europe since World War II, affecting more than 100,000 flights and eight million passengers.
President Colom said the eruptions of Pacaya since Wednesday had killed two people, injured 59, left three children missing and destroyed 100 homes.
The Emergency Management Coordinator said between 1,700-1,900 people have been evacuated from their homes to nearby shelters in three departments affected by the emergency decree.
The education ministry also suspended classes in the emergency area.
On Friday, the volcano was rocked by constant explosions and spewed bright-colored plumes into the air.
Guatemala City was covered in a blanket of ash and dust, as people evacuated from the danger zone wandered the streets darkened by the ash cloud and the city's two million inhabitants tried to cope with the catastrophe.
The head of the national seismological institute warned more eruptions could take place "in the coming days" at the most active volcano in Central America.
The Pacaya volcano has been active for 49 years and has experienced six large eruptions.
The head of the national seismological institute Eddy Sanchez said the volcano had accumulated a lot of energy over several years. "Like a pressure cooker, it will release the pressure violently," he told reporters.
He warned that lava would continue to spew out at high altitudes.
The charred body of television journalist Anibal Archila was found near the volcano by a colleague, who said the victim could not escape the raining rocks and other projectiles thrown out when the volcano exploded late Thursday.
"We decided to stay a few minutes longer taking more photographs. Suddenly, we heard rumblings and rocks began falling all around so we had to get out running," a driver for one of the reporters covering the scene with Archila told the Nuestro Diario newspaper.
The second eruption-related fatality was that of a 22-year-old man who fell to his death as he cleaned volcano ash from the roof of a school.
Colom vowed government action to clean up the gray mess.
"The people must feel confident that the state is responding," the president said as he announced he would travel to the most affected municipalities to work with emergency committees.
Within a 100-kilometre (62-mile) radius of the volcano, locals armed with brooms and shovels scrambled to remove sand and ash from the roofs and courtyards of their homes.
"We've only cleaned the backyard so far and we've already filled a large garbage bag," Isabel Estevez told AFP. She and her husband began cleaning the sediment dumped by the volcano, up to five centimetres (two inches) thick in some places.
In Ecuador, meanwhile, the Tungurahua volcano experienced one of its biggest eruptions Friday, spewing columns of ash and rock prompting evacuations of at least seven surrounding villages.
"Certain measures have been taken, including the closure of Guayaquil airport until further notice and the suspension of classes in Guayas province, as we make a new assessment" of the situation, said Yuri De Janon, regional coordinator of risk management.
He said the ash fallout from the volcano was affecting Guayaquil and four other towns in Guayas.
Hugo Yepes, director of Ecuador's Geophysical Institute, noted that the volcano was at one point spewing molten rocks and large clouds of ash and gas 10 kilometres (33,000 feet) into the sky. But he said the volcanic activity had since decreased. - AFP/jy
Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared a 15-day state of emergency around the Pacaya volcano, 50 kilometres (31 miles) south of the capital.
The volcano erupted again Friday after first bursting back to life Wednesday, killing two people, including a television reporter covering the event.
In Ecuador, the Tungurahua volcano exploded into action Friday, forcing the evacuation of at least seven villages and closing down the airport and public schools in Guayaquil, the country's largest and most populated city.
As the 2,552 metres (8,372 feet) Pacaya volcano exploded anew on Friday, with billowing clouds of ash and dust, Colom said La Aurora International Airport, in Guatemala City, would remain closed until Saturday "because we've got to clean the runways and surrounding areas" of ash.
The airport closures were reminiscent of the massive blanket of ash Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano spewed out last month causing the biggest aerial shutdown in Europe since World War II, affecting more than 100,000 flights and eight million passengers.
President Colom said the eruptions of Pacaya since Wednesday had killed two people, injured 59, left three children missing and destroyed 100 homes.
The Emergency Management Coordinator said between 1,700-1,900 people have been evacuated from their homes to nearby shelters in three departments affected by the emergency decree.
The education ministry also suspended classes in the emergency area.
On Friday, the volcano was rocked by constant explosions and spewed bright-colored plumes into the air.
Guatemala City was covered in a blanket of ash and dust, as people evacuated from the danger zone wandered the streets darkened by the ash cloud and the city's two million inhabitants tried to cope with the catastrophe.
The head of the national seismological institute warned more eruptions could take place "in the coming days" at the most active volcano in Central America.
The Pacaya volcano has been active for 49 years and has experienced six large eruptions.
The head of the national seismological institute Eddy Sanchez said the volcano had accumulated a lot of energy over several years. "Like a pressure cooker, it will release the pressure violently," he told reporters.
He warned that lava would continue to spew out at high altitudes.
The charred body of television journalist Anibal Archila was found near the volcano by a colleague, who said the victim could not escape the raining rocks and other projectiles thrown out when the volcano exploded late Thursday.
"We decided to stay a few minutes longer taking more photographs. Suddenly, we heard rumblings and rocks began falling all around so we had to get out running," a driver for one of the reporters covering the scene with Archila told the Nuestro Diario newspaper.
The second eruption-related fatality was that of a 22-year-old man who fell to his death as he cleaned volcano ash from the roof of a school.
Colom vowed government action to clean up the gray mess.
"The people must feel confident that the state is responding," the president said as he announced he would travel to the most affected municipalities to work with emergency committees.
Within a 100-kilometre (62-mile) radius of the volcano, locals armed with brooms and shovels scrambled to remove sand and ash from the roofs and courtyards of their homes.
"We've only cleaned the backyard so far and we've already filled a large garbage bag," Isabel Estevez told AFP. She and her husband began cleaning the sediment dumped by the volcano, up to five centimetres (two inches) thick in some places.
In Ecuador, meanwhile, the Tungurahua volcano experienced one of its biggest eruptions Friday, spewing columns of ash and rock prompting evacuations of at least seven surrounding villages.
"Certain measures have been taken, including the closure of Guayaquil airport until further notice and the suspension of classes in Guayas province, as we make a new assessment" of the situation, said Yuri De Janon, regional coordinator of risk management.
He said the ash fallout from the volcano was affecting Guayaquil and four other towns in Guayas.
Hugo Yepes, director of Ecuador's Geophysical Institute, noted that the volcano was at one point spewing molten rocks and large clouds of ash and gas 10 kilometres (33,000 feet) into the sky. But he said the volcanic activity had since decreased. - AFP/jy
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