An Air France Airbus A318-100, registration F-GUGI performing flight AF-3484 from Lyon (France) to Amsterdam (Netherlands) with 98 passengers and 6 crew, was on final approach to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport's runway 18C. Tower had advised that winds came from 240 degrees at 20 knots gusting 29 knots. While in the flare at about 15 feet above ground the crew received an onboard indication of gusts exceeding 35 knots and decided to go around climbing to 1500 feet MSL.

A KLM Boeing 737-900, registration PH-BXS performing flight KL-1027 from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to London Heathrow,EN (UK) with 189 passengers and 6 crew, was cleared for takeoff from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport's runway 24 and was in the initial climb when both aircraft received TCAS resolutions, the KLM B739 received an advisory to climb in excess of 1500 feet per minute, the A318 received an advisory to descend with at least 1000 feet per minute.

The Dutch Onderzoeksraad (DSB) reported that minimum separation reduced to almost 0 feet vertical and 460 meters/6 seconds horizontally, the A318 passing the crossing point just 6 seconds after the B739.

The A318 was vectored for another approach to runway 27 and landed safely, the B739 continued the flight to London also for a safe landing.


SOURCE

Due to high fuel prices and what they call an uncertain operating environment throughout the world, officials at airline code Air France-KLM have decided to scale back long-haul capacity growth for the next half of the year. The organization’s fuel costs for the second quarter stood at €1.67 billion, a 16.1-percent, year-over-year increase.

By bringing capacity growth down 2.4 percentage points to 2.7 percent, officials maintain they will end 2011 with positive operating results. Worries over the air transport environment in Japan, Africa, the Middle East contributed to the decision. The current crisis in Europe also played a role.

“Activity over the quarter, and particularly in June, was strongly affected by the difficult situation in some important markets for the group,” a company spokesman wrote in the airline codes share Air France-KLM’s quarterly report. “The cargo business was impacted by the crisis in Japan as well as a situation of overcapacity on China departures.”

The decision to limit capacity is borne out in Air France-KLM’s cargo numbers for the second quarter of 2011. Capacity experienced a 6.2-percent year-over-year growth spurt, with traffic only growing by 1.9 percent.

Money is coming in, however; total cargo revenues ended the second quarter at €799 million, a 3.2-percent increase over the same time period in 2010. The company’s maintenance business also performed well, turning in a year-over-year increase of 7.4 percent.

SOURCE

Just recently, shares in EasyJet skyrocketed 18 percent. Apparently this happened just after the company announced airline profits forecast was up by some £50 million. The carrier is saying that this increase in profits is due to its campaign to attract more business travelers.

Recently the airline launched a new flexible fares program, which gives people the option to switch flights up to two hours before departure. This is great for people whose meetings have overrun or they need to change their travel plans. Overall, easyJet has claimed that this has led to a 20 percent increase in business travelers over the past three months.

Now this is a big deal for easyJet and would pretty much be a big deal for any airline. This is because airlinesprofits ’ major source of income just so happen to come from business travelers. Thus, it is easy to see why revenue in this quarter has gone up 23 percent for the airline when compared to last year.

Of course, it is not just the increase in business travelers that has caused the airlines profits to rise. The carrier has also recently increased its number of flights and hiked baggage charges as well. All of this has led to a nice increase in profits for the airline.

In this quarter, easyJet carried 14.4 million passengers. This is a nice 17.3 percent increase when compared to a year ago. Of course, some experts do point out that this increase was also partly due to the disruption that was caused last year by the Icelandic volcano. Since there was no disruption this year, they did not have to cancel as many flights, thus increasing the airline’s profit.
SOURCE

Volcanic plumes have been a danger to air traffic for decades.  It's just taken us a while to catch on.

WHEN flights along the eastern and south-eastern seaboard were cancelled yet again on June21, social commentator and Fairfax columnist Mia Freedman took to Twitter with thoughts that reflected the views of many.

"I don’t remember volcanic ash clouds from when I was a kid. Are they, like, a new thing?’’ she wrote.

A professor of geology at the Australian National University, Richard Arculus, says no. He says that in the past century, there have been at least 10incidents when vast plumes of volcanic ash traversed the globe. It’s just that airlines have become responsive to them, which is why we now know when they hit.

Advertisement: Story continues below Arculus puts that down to an incident in 1982 when a British Airways 747 almost crashed due to volcanic ash from Mount Galunggung, south-east of Jakarta.

A 1989 engine failure (that’s all four engines) on a KLM flight, which was landing in Anchorage, Alaska, after flying through ash, sealed the deal for airline sensitivity to such events.

Not only did the 1982 incident cause near-death for hundreds of people; in the 1989 case the ash, which is essentially tiny particles of glass, caused tens of millions of dollars worth of damage to the six-month old KLM aircraft, sandblasting windshields, seizing engine components and creating one hell of a vacuum job later.

‘‘Airlines started to realise just how dangerous these incidents were for aircraft,’’ Arculus says.

He also adds this discomforting fact: it’s not just Puyehue-Cordon Caulle lurking as a possible cause of disruption to Australian aviation; plenty of other volcanoes at our latitude  are active.

‘‘Rest assured, the volcano in Chile has erupted many times before. There have been huge eruptions,’’ says Arculus, who visited the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano in 2007.

‘‘But no one took any notice of it. Basically, this volcano is 40 degrees south. There are 30 to 40 in Chile atour latitude and three or four in New Zealand. Of course there is alsoa stack to the north of us whichcould threaten airspace at higher latitude.’’
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/raking-over-the-ashes-20110630-1gsmj.html#ixzz1RoF7O63D

The incredible new Zero Emission Hypersonic Transportation (ZEHST) was unveiled in blueprint plans at the Paris Air Show on June 20, 2011. Promising to fly virtually pollution-free at a speed of over 3,125 mph, the ZEHST will be powered mostly by seaweeds and a mixture composition of hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike traditional aircraft planes, the only emission the ZEHST will be releasing is perfectly harmless water.

Designed to be a successor of the legendary Concorde plane that became extinct in 2003 due to environmental and budget concerns, the ZEHST project has been headed by the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS). Unlike its noisy predecessor, the ZEHST will be no louder than traditional airplanes.

Although this supersonic project is just a concept vehicle, David Kaminski-Morrow, air transport editor at Flight International stated, "It is well within capability. The technology is available. The real difficulty is the economics of making a completely new type of aircraft work. It will take billions to take it off the drawing board into the sky." The main concerns of experts seem to come from the economic limitations of creating the ZEHST. Having such a small capacity for passengers and a likely steep production cost could be deal breakers for this dream project.
By Tuan Mai - Source : Designbuzz

Imagine yourself walking through a security check-post at an airport without undergoing intrusive searches or avoiding standing in long queues while taking off your belts and shoes and unpacking your belongings. Yes, this may be soon possible as technology is almost ready. Standardisation of securit y technology is going on and certifications may be granted in the next 2-3 years.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) unveiled the first mock-up of a 'Checkpoint of the Future' at its annual general meeting in Singapore recently.

The checkpoint is designed to enhance security while reducing queues and intrusive searches at airports, using intelligence-driven risk-based measures.

"Over 2.8 billion passengers are screened per year. We cannot treat our passengers like they are the terrorists we are trying to protect them from," IATA's director security and travel facilitation Kenneth Dunlap told PTI in Singapore.

This checkpoint "ends the one-size-fits-all concept for security," he said.

IATA chief Giovanni Bisignani said, "We spend $7.4 billion a year to keep aviation secure. But our passengers only see hassle. Passengers should be able to get from curb to boarding gate with dignity. That means without stopping, stripping or unpacking, and certainly not groping."

Under this new system, passengers would be categorised as 'known traveler', 'normal' and 'enhanced security'. This determination would be based on a biometric identifier in a passport or travel document that would trigger the results of a risk assessment conducted by government before the passenger arrives at the airport.

The three security lanes would have technology to check passengers according to their individual risk levels.

Passengers would just have to place the passport for a biometric check, following which one of the three lanes would be assigned to them. They would then pass through the assigned lane in the checkpoint and get security screened while walking by without having to remove clothes or unpack belongings.

While 'known travellers' who have registered and completed background checks with government authorities would have expedited access,'normal screening' would be for the majority of travellers.

And those for whom less information is available, who are randomly selected or who are deemed to be an 'elevated risk' would have additional levels of screening.

The IATA's Checkpoint for the Future is being evolved through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Dunlap said 19 governments, including the US, are working to define standards for such a checkpoint. The IATA was also closely coordinating with the US Department of Homeland Security's 'Checkpoint of Tomorrow' programme that has similar goals.
"While some of the technology still needs to be developed, even by just re-purposing what we have today, we could see major changes in two or three years time", said IATA chief Bisignani.
Noting that air travel was rebounding with significant growth being witnessed in regions like China and India, Dunlap said aviation remains the highest target for terror attacks.

The latest instances of such attacks range from the December 2009 attempted bombing of a NorthWest flight by an al Qaeda operative and detection of bombs being sent through printer cartridges from Yemen in October 2010 to the January 2011 Domodedevo airport bombing in Moscow.

Airbus unveiled the ‘Airbus Concept Cabin’ which might become a part of our air-transport by 2050 at the “Le Bourget” Paris Air Show. Airbus says they are going to offer a whole new flying experience inspired by nature. We believe it’s surely not for the people with blood pressure. Take a look at following pictures to know what we mean. The future aircraft will replace the traditional business and economy class by offering personalized zones. That is, passengers will be able to relax, play virtual golf, read kids back home a bedtime story and even recharge ‘yourself’ in a vitalizing seat. Sounds interesting? 

The cabin will feature a bionic structure equipped with a responsive membrane that will generate panoramic views. It will be equipped with a neural network which will identify the needs of any individual passenger. The fittings and furnishings will take care of their own cleaning. The aircraft’s bionic structure mimics the efficiency of bird bone optimized to provide strength where needed, and allow for an intelligent cabin wall membrane which will control air temperature and can become transparent to give passengers open panoramic views.

The scariest part of the plane seems to be the see-through cabin where the passengers will be able to get to see the ‘pilot’s view’. Charles Champion, Airbus Executive Vice President Engineering, said: “Our research shows that passengers of 2050 will expect a seamless travel experience while also caring for the environment. The Airbus Concept Cabin is designed with that in mind, and shows that the journey can be as much a voyage of discovery as the destination. Whichever flight experience is chosen, the passenger of 2050 will step out of the Airbus Concept Cabin feeling revitalised and enriched.”

Global airlines will spell out the cost of a whirlwind of disasters, political unrest and high oil prices on Monday while mounting an all-out offensive against European plans to make them pay extra for carbon emissions.

The International Air Transport Association, whose airlines carry more than 90 percent of global air traffic, may be forced to cut its benchmark forecast for 2011 industry profits at a major annual gathering in Singapore.

It is the latest sign of concern that the economic rebound that pulled many companies out of financial trouble in 2010 may be screeching to a halt. Such fears reflect Japan's earthquake, recent instability in the Arab world and a rise in oil prices.

IATA most recently predicted an industry-wide profit of $8.6 billion in 2011 after a $16 billion surplus in 2010 -- a year in which the economy had seemed to be recovering quickly.

Although drastic cost cuts and a tight lid on capacity appear to have prevented the industry from plunging back into the red, most analysts say the current forecasts are too optimistic.

The industry's outlook is often seen as a guide to the strength of cyclical performance in developed markets and growth in emerging economies, which rely heavily on air transport.

Airline chiefs arrived at the conference sounding off against European Union plans to curb emissions from aviation, which they say would threaten their recovery and discriminate against carriers located the farthest away from Europe.

The EU plans will require all airlines flying to Europe to be included in an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) from January 1.

The system forces polluters to buy permits for each metric ton of carbon dioxide they emit above a certain cap.

The plan is meant to tackle growing emissions from the $500 billion aviation industry, which is responsible for about 2 percent of mankind's greenhouse gas pollution.

Airlines say it will only increase costs and add to pressures caused by a faltering global economy.

WARNING OF TRADE CONFLICT

Governments and airlines have been piling on pressure, some describing the forced inclusion of global airlines as illegal.

"The last thing that we want to see is a trade war," said Giovanni Bisignani, director-general of the International Air Transport Association. The EU had to heed a "growing chorus of countries strongly opposing an illegal extraterritorial scheme."

European airlines and Airbus have written to the European Commission warning of a "trade conflict with the world's most powerful economic and political players," over the plans that are opposed by the United States and China.

The letter, signed by Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders and Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Steve Ridgway on behalf of European airlines, says the measures are perceived as a tax.
U.S. airlines are challenging the move in EU courts.
Industry and diplomatic sources say China has threatened retaliation against European airlines and planemaker Airbus if the EU goes ahead with its plans.

But Europe's climate chief insisted on Sunday the EU would stand firm against any threats of retaliation.
"When some parties start to threaten specific European companies, I think Europe should be very firm," Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard told Reuters in Brussels.
The EU has offered to exempt airlines of countries that can prove they are taking equivalent steps to cut emissions.
Airlines are meanwhile involved in a growing number of bilateral trade disputes over access rights as Gulf airlines seek markets for planes such as Airbus A380s that they have ordered.
By Tim Hepher and David Fogarty
SINGAPORE | Sun Jun 5, 2011 2:16pm ED
(Additional reporting by Alison Leung, Harry Suhartono, Pete Harrison; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)

  THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) has demanded that Air Zimbabwe puts down a US$1,7 million deposit before it can be restored on its worldwide financial and flight booking service.

IATA suspended the cash-strapped airline earlier this month over a US$280,000 debt which the aviation control body insists must be paid, on top of the huge deposit – a penalty for defaulting.

On May 15, IATA told travel agents worldwide to "immediately stop all ticketing and refund transactions" for Air Zimbabwe after the crisis-hit airline failed to pay the debt for worldwide billing and ticketing fees.

The state-owned airline is still flying using only its own booking facilities, but it has suffered a sharp drop in bookings by passengers who are not Zimbabwean nationals.

Air Zimbabwe, which is sitting on a debt of over US$100 million, said bookings made through IATA-accredited travel agents accounted for nearly 80 percent of its international travellers.

But the airline’s push to be restored on the service suffered a major reversal when IATA imposed the latest penalty. “We had raised the US$280,000 required by IATA and were ready to make a settlement when the bill shot up to nearly US$2 million, including the deposit,” the airline’s general manager for Europe David Mwenga revealed on Friday.

The setback means it could take Air Zimbabwe several more months before IATA gives the green light for travel agents to start making bookings for the debt-ridden carrier.

Mwenga said they continued to engage IATA, calling for understanding. “We never defaulted before this incident, and we feel the deposit requirement is harsh,” said Mwenga, who blames the failure to pay on crippling month-long strikes by pilots which grounded the airline’s planes and decimated its revenues.

Air Zimbabwe’s troubles have snowballed into a major crisis, caused partly by aging planes which have put it at a disadvantage against regional and international competitors using newer equipment.

The airline was recently forced to ground three of its Boeing 737 which the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe said were unfit to fly.

Air Zimbabwe then took on a Zambezi Airways B737-500 on a long-term lease which is now servicing the regional routes previously plied by its grounded medium-range planes. Even that agreement nearly collapsed on May 18 when Air Zambezi withdrew its plane over a US$460,000 debt, which has now been settled.

A cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland that had forced airport closures yesterday in northern Germany blew further north and east, allowing air traffic to resume as experts said the eruption appeared to be winding down.

European air traffic controllers said they expected about 700 flights to be cancelled yesterday but Eurocontrol added that activity from Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano has declined sharply and that traffic in European airspace could return to normal today.

"There were very few eruptions by the volcano over the last six to 12 hours so the volcano is in a reasonably calm state at the moment," said Mr Brian Flynn, head of network operations for Eurocontrol.

"Assuming that continues, we would expect that the European aviation would be able to return to almost a normal situation within the next 24 hours."

Ash clouds forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights over Britain on Tuesday. And yesterday, German air traffic control banned all takeoffs and landings at airports in Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg and Luebeck for several hours, causing hundreds of flights to be cancelled.

Eurocontrol said the ash has reached parts of Russia but has not affected air traffic there. The ash could also drift to Poland but a Polish air traffic control official said no traffic limitations were due.

While experts say particles in the ash could stall jet engines and sandblast plane windows, many in Britain argued the flight bans on Tuesday were a massive overreaction by badly prepared safety regulators.

New regulations in the United Kingdom use Met Office forecasts to place ash clouds into three categories: Low, medium and high.

Currently all airlines are clear to fly through the medium zones that have drifted across much of British airspace in recent days but none have clearance to go through the high density "red zone" that has hit services in Scotland and has been the target of British Airways (BA) and Ryanair test flights.

Mr Willie Walsh, the chief executive of International Airlines Group - formed from the merger of BA and Iberia - said its plane encountered no difficulties on Tuesday.

"We flew in the red zone for about 45 minutes at different altitudes over Scotland" and the north of England, Mr Walsh told BBC radio. "All the filters were removed and will be sent to a laboratory for testing. The simple answer is that we found nothing."

Irish budget airline Ryanair has also challenged the bans, saying on Tuesday it had sent its own aircraft into Scottish airspace and found no ash in the atmosphere.
British Transport Secretary Philip Hammond defended the new regulations, saying it was possible for different aircraft to encounter varying levels of ash in the same zone.
German Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer also insisted that precautions are justified and said that the authorities were better prepared after the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption last year.

Story Published By:-
http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC110526-0000386/Air-traffic-over-Europe-could-return-to-normal-by-today