updraftplus domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home2/bharrod/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114Troubled airline had earlier cancelled flights to Australia and New Zealand, citing ‘maintenance’ requirements
The Pacific Island country of Vanuatu has put its national carrier Air Vanuatu into voluntary liquidation, after it cancelled flights to Australia and New Zealand, leaving tourists stranded.
The airline had cited extended maintenance requirements for its aircraft when it cancelled its flights through to Sunday.
Continue reading...Santiago Paredes says he raised concerns over defects on fuselages leaving Spirit AeroSystems factory
A former employee of Boeing’s largest supplier has alleged that key aircraft parts regularly left the factory with serious defects.
Santiago Paredes, who worked for Spirit AeroSystems in Kansas between 2010 and 2022, said he was used to finding “anywhere from 50 to 100, 200” defects on fuselages – the main body of the plane – that were being shipped to Boeing, and he felt threatened for raising his concerns.
Continue reading...‘That would require a stadium,’ federal court hears as airline administrators try to organise online meeting for Friday that would allow everyone to vote
Administrators determining the future of the troubled airline Bonza are bracing for as many as 20,000 out-of-pocket customers to join a creditors meeting this week with the federal court hearing that online voting options are being considered.
On Tuesday lawyers representing Hall Chadwick, the administrators controlling Bonza after its planes were abruptly repossessed a week ago, appeared before the federal court justice Elizabeth Cheeseman seeking orders to streamline the process for the first creditors meeting on Friday. It will be held amid ongoing efforts to find a new owner for the budget carrier.
Continue reading...Countdown halted hours before liftoff in latest delay for long-planned flight, with no word on next attempt
Boeing called off its first astronaut launch because of a valve problem on its rocket on Monday night.
Two Nasa test pilots had just strapped into Boeing’s Starliner capsule when the countdown was halted, just two hours before the planned liftoff. A United Launch Alliance engineer, Dillon Rice, said the issue involved an oxygen relief valve on the upper stage of the company’s Atlas rocket.
Continue reading...While the new CEO has stemmed some of the reputational damage of the past, the $120m fine is a clear success for the ACCC
In agreeing to pay a $100m penalty and compensate tens of thousands of customers to the tune of $20m for selling them tickets on already-cancelled flights, Qantas has abandoned its farcical claim that as an airline it doesn’t sell seats on a specific service, but rather a “bundle of rights”.
For new CEO Vanessa Hudson – who stepped into the top job eight months ago after allegations aired in the consumer watchdog’s legal action against Qantas hastened former boss Alan Joyce’s retirement – the landmark settlement is a retreat from her predecessor’s confrontational style that many argued had trashed the airline’s brand.
Continue reading...Transport minister Catherine King says it is unlikely the airline will be saved, while insiders think repossessed planes will be returned to the US
The administrators determining Bonza’s future have held round-the-clock talks, including with international aviation figures and the owner of the airline’s aircraft, as Australia’s airports maintain the budget carrier was “instrumental in improving competition and pushing down air fares”.
Administrators had meetings scheduled late on Wednesday evening and into Thursday morning with “key industry participants” in Australia and overseas, their second day working to such a schedule. They also had an “open dialogue with the lessor of the company’s fleet” of Boeing 737 Max 8 planes that remain parked at airports across the country.
Continue reading...Airline investigating whether privacy breach allowing customers to view others’ account details was caused by ‘recent system changes’
Potentially thousands of Qantas customers have had their personal details made public via the airline’s app, with some frequent flyers able to view strangers’ account details and possibly make changes to other users’ bookings.
Clare Gemmell from Sydney said that she and four colleagues encountered the problem shortly after 8.30 on Wednesday morning.
Continue reading...Australia’s aviation industry, dominated by the Qantas-Virgin duopoly, may have claimed another victim – but it’s far from the first to fall
The future of Bonza is in limbo as the fledgling budget airline enters voluntary administration – a well-trodden path in Australian aviation.
While Tuesday’s developments may come as a blow to competition in an industry dominated by a duopoly, the abrupt cancellation of services and seizure of planes will trigger memories of a long history of fallen Australian carriers.
Continue reading...Investigators say man concealed iPhone to record bathroom video of 14-year-old girl, who used her phone to document evidence
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted on Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September. Authorities also alleged that Estes Carter Thompson III had four separate videos which showed girls using lavatories on an aircraft where he worked.
The 36-year-old Thompson of Charlotte, North Carolina, was indicted on one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of images of child sexual abuse depicting a prepubescent minor.
In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
Continue reading...Passengers numbers this year predicted to hit 82.4m but airport’s future uncertain, with proposed £6bn sale in doubt
Heathrow is expecting its busiest ever summer holiday season but faces uncertainty over its long-term future as the proposed £6bn sale of the UK’s biggest airport remains in doubt.
The airport said on Wednesday that the summer getaway this year was expected to be “the busiest on record” and promised to have “robust” plans in place to keep the airport “running smoothly”, even if staff strikes held last year are repeated.
Continue reading...Engineer Sam Salehpour calls on planemaker ahead of testimony before Senate homeland security committee
A whistleblower has urged Boeing to ground every 787 Dreamliner jet worldwide after warning they are at risk of premature failure ahead of a high-profile hearing on Capitol Hill.
The planemaker has been grappling with its latest crisis since a cabin panel blowout in January raised fresh questions about the production of its bestselling commercial jet, the 737 Max.
Continue reading...The superstar arrives in Europe next month – and Swifties, tourist boards and venues are already preparing
Tim Brown, 44, and his wife, Marcella, 34, may not consider themselves bona fide “Swifties”, but when it was announced last June that Taylor Swift would be visiting their corner of the globe this summer they could not resist joining the scramble for a pair of tickets.
A post-pandemic appetite for live music events has fuelled huge worldwide interest in the American singer-songwriter’s Eras tour, which surpassed in $1bn sales in November to become the highest-grossing series of concerts in history.
Continue reading...Airline’s Perth to London flights will now stop over in Singapore to avoid Iranian airspace amid fears Tehran will strike Israel
Qantas has been forced to pause its non-stop flights from Perth to London to avoid Iranian airspace amid fears Tehran is planning an imminent attack on Israel.
As the world braces for a potential flare up in the region, the airline’s Perth to London flights will instead operate via a stop in Singapore for the foreseeable future.
Continue reading...London hub says charge for overseas travellers using UK airports puts country at competitive disadvantage
Heathrow has called on the government to scrap a new £10 charge for overseas travellers using UK airports to connect to other flights, warning that it puts UK airports at a competitive disadvantage compared with other European rivals.
The government introduced the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in November for non-UK residents travelling to the UK from Qatar, with a wider rollout for other countries throughout 2024.
Continue reading...Federal Aviation Administration looking into claims US aircraft maker knew of flaws but covered them up to speed production
Claims that Boeing knew of safety flaws in the manufacture of one of its largest passenger jet aircraft, but covered them up to speed production, are under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to a reports.
The information came from a whistleblower inside the beleaguered US aircraft maker, and relates to the structural integrity of the 787 Dreamliner jet, a report published by the New York Times alleges.
Continue reading...Southwest flight returns to Denver airport after latest accident to afflict airline’s Boeing fleet
US airline regulators have launched an investigation after an engine cowling on a Boeing plane fell off during takeoff and struck the wing flap.
The Southwest Airlines flight 3695 rose to about 10,300ft (3,140 metres) before returning safely 25 minutes after takeoff to Denver international airport at about 8.15am local time on Sunday. It was towed to the gate after landing. The Boeing aircraft with 135 passengers and six crew members aboard had been headed to Houston. No one was injured.
Continue reading...Travellers will have to wait another year for 100ml limit to be lifted after government extends deadline for new scanners
Holidaymakers will continue to face limits on the amount of liquid they can carry on flights out of the UK this summer after the government extended the deadline for airports to install new security scanners by a year.
The Department for Transport had previously set a target for the introduction of 3D scanners in all UK airports by 1 June, but this has now been extended by 12 months because some major airports will not be ready in time.
Continue reading...Live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets as UK postal service says it wants to cut 1,000 jobs and cut delivery days
The question on economists’ lips after the surprise easing of eurozone inflation is: will the European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates as early as this month?
The ECB’s rate-setting governing council, led by president Christine Lagarde, meets next week. Economists expect the council to cut rates in June, but surprising data and some doveish comments from some members of the council appear to have put an April cut into play.
While at first sight this looks like it opens up a possible rate cut in April, the ECB is unlikely to act this month. More data on wage growth will come in May, and the ECB needs to be certain of its path. In President Lagarde’s own words: “we will know a little more in April, but we will know a lot more in June”.
Christine Lagarde’s previous indication that the ECB may not commit outright to a path of rate cuts suggests a cautious approach, but the consensus among economists leans towards a potential cut as early as June, pending further data on wage growth trends.
The challenge here for the ECB is that reaching the last mile target inflation rate of 2% may prove more arduous than anticipated, with incremental decreases seen as most likely.
Will the labour market tighten further now that GDP growth looks to be rebounding? We doubt it and, in fact, suspect the unemployment rate will edge up over the coming months.
A still-low unemployment rate doesn’t necessarily mean wage growth will remain at today’s highs, so it need not worry the ECB nor prevent it from starting its easing cycle. We think wage growth will come down, in line with the fall in inflation in recent months as workers’ negotiating power diminishes. A recovery in productivity would support wage growth even as inflation eases. We think productivity growth is now improving, but slowly does it.
Continue reading...Airline faces delay in receiving new planes as Boeing struggles with production due to manufacturing problems
United Airlines is asking its pilots to take time off in May because of delays in receiving new planes that the airline ordered from Boeing, which is struggling with production due to manufacturing problems.
A United spokesperson said Monday that the offer is voluntary.
Continue reading...FAA investigating loss of panel before Boeing 737-800 landed safely in Oregon
The US Federal Aviation Administration is investigating how a United Airlines Boeing 737-800 lost an external panel before landing safely in Oregon.
United flight 433 landed at Medford airport at about 1.45pm on Friday carrying 139 passengers and six crew after departing from San Francisco, the FAA and airline said.
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