Laos recovers crashed plane black boxes

Search teams on Thursday recovered the flight data recorders of a Lao Airlines plane that plunged into the Mekong River in bad weather killing all 49 people on board, officials said.

The black boxes, which include both voice and data recordings, were found early Thursday as part of efforts to recover parts of the stricken craft from the river's fast-flowing waters, according to Yakua Lopankao, director general of Laos' Department of Civil Aviation.

"It has not yet been decided where to send them to be examined, it is up to the air accident investigation committee," he said of the operation, which has been assisted by experts from the French aviation safety agency BEA.

The Lao Airlines turboprop ATR-72 plummeted into the Mekong as it went to land in the southern town of Pakse on October 16 in the country's worst air disaster.

More than half of the 49 passengers and crew were foreigners from some 10 countries.

So far, 47 bodies have been recovered, some many kilometres downstream from the crash site as rescuers battled strong currents along the swollen river.

At least 43 of the victims have been identified, according to a Lao Airlines statement on Wednesday.

"Our efforts remain focused on caring for the bereaved families of the victims and doing what we can to alleviate the trauma they are suffering and assist them as much as possible at this difficult time," it said.

The carrier has said the aircraft hit "extreme" bad weather, while witnesses described seeing the plane buffeted by strong winds before plummeting into the Mekong.

According to a passenger list released by the airline, there were 16 Laotians, seven French travellers, six Australians, five Thais, three South Koreans, two Vietnamese, and one national each from the United States, Canada, Malaysia, China and Taiwan.

There were also five crew, including the Cambodian captain.

Founded in 1976, Lao Airlines serves domestic airports and destinations in China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Impoverished Laos, a one-party communist state, has seen 29 fatal air accidents since the 1950s, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

Previously the country's worst air disaster was in 1954, when 47 people died in an Air Vietnam crash near Pakse, the organisation said.

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Air-passenger traffic up 5.5% in September: IATA

Businesses are spending more on travel and this has helped global air-passenger traffic rise by 5.5 per cent in September from the equivalent figure last year, the International Air Transport Association said on Thursday.

"We are seeing a more positive environment for air travel demand, based on rising business confidence," IATA chief Tony Tyler said.

Rising export orders and improvements in key emerging markets such as China had also contributed to the improvement, he said in a statement.

Despite the continuing strong demand, September nonetheless marked a slight slowdown from August, when global airline traffic grew by 6.8 per cent, enabling the industry to match an all-time record of 83.4 per cent of seats filled.

Last month, in comparison, the load factor stood at a respectable, but far from record-breaking, 80.3 per cent, basically unchanged from September 2012.

Tyler remained optimistic.

"The strong growth of recent months, coupled with the continuing improvements in air travel demand in September, suggests that there could be a further acceleration in air travel growth before the end of the year," he said.

Traffic on international routes was up 5.7 per cent in September, with Middle East carriers showing the strongest year-on-year traffic growth of 10.4 per cent.

Asia-Pacific carriers meanwhile registered 8.5 per cent growth, IATA said, adding that improvements in the Chinese and Japanese economy in the third quarter appeared to have helped ease the downward pressure on growth seen in recent months.

Modest economic improvements also helped boost airline travel in Europe by 3.4 per cent, while North American airlines saw demand rise 2.3 per cent, after registering 5.1 per cent growth in August.

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Japan Airlines H1 net profit slips 17.8% to US$833m

Japan Airlines said on Thursday net profit for the six months to September dropped 17.8 per cent to $833 million, as the strong yen and rising fuel costs bit into its bottom line.

But it boosted its outlook for the full year, striking an optimistic note on prospects for customer numbers on both domestic and international routes.

In a half that saw the grounding of its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners after a series of safety glitches, the company said it had made 81.94 billion yen ($833 million), with an operating profit that was down 14.6 per cent at 95.84 billion.

Sales however edged up 4.0 per cent to 659.30 billion.

The numbers were healthier than main rival All Nippon Airways, which issued a grim earnings report, citing high fuel costs and the worldwide grounding of Boeing's next generation aircraft as contributing factors.

JAL, which returned to the market last year after a spectacular bankruptcy, did not give a specific reason for its weaker earnings.

But depreciation of the yen, which has slid to around 100 to the dollar compared with 80 a year ago, was seen amplifying the cost of fuel as well as user fees for international airports.

Japan's thorny ties with neighbours also depressed demand for flights to South Korea and China.

Tokyo is embroiled in separate territorial spats with both countries.

But JAL said revenues from its international services increased "despite the suspension of Boeing 787 flights and stagnant demand on Korea and China routes".

"On June 1, 2013, JAL resumed operation of the Boeing 787 on completing of all necessary safety measures, after battery problems grounded the fleet in January 2013 and caused substantial concerns and inconvenience," the company said.

JAL and ANA were sideswiped by the grounding of Boeing's new aircraft that began in January. After a long-running probe, the planes were allowed to fly again in June.

JAL said it increased the use of the fuel-efficient Dreamliner on international services to increase overall efficiency, while reducing Narita-Beijing flights because of shrinking demand.

Domestic services also fared well, with expanded routes and improved services such as better airport lounges.

Unlike ANA, which cut its full year profit forecasts by two-thirds, one-time flag carrier JAL upgraded its annual forecasts, citing strong demand for flights to Southeast Asia and cost cutting efforts.

The figures were also expected to benefit from an adjustment in foreign exchange movement and falling fuel prices.

The new net profit projection came to 128 billion yen, up from the previous estimate of 118 billion yen.

Operating profit is now expected to come in at 155 billion yen, compared with 140 billion yen, on sales of 1.286 trillion yen, up from 1.272 trillion yen.

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Qantas, Japan Airlines up stakes in Jetstar Japan

Australian flag carrier Qantas and Japan Airlines on Thursday boosted their stakes in Jetstar Japan by injecting a combined Aus$120 million (US$113.6 million) into the budget carrier.

Since it began flying in July last year, Jetstar Japan has become the country's largest budget airline and the money will help it expand further.

"The equity injection will support Jetstar Japan's future fleet and infrastructure growth, enabling the carrier to capitalise on the significant potential of the low-cost carrier market in the world's third largest economy," Qantas said in a statement to the Australian stock exchange.

The combined equity injection, in the form of non-voting shares, will see Qantas' and Japan Airlines' stakes in the carrier increase from 41.7 percent each to 45.7 percent.

Mitsubishi Corporation and Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation's holdings decrease from 8.3 percent each to 4.3 percent.

Jetstar Japan started operations in July last year and now operates a fleet of 18 aircraft to nine domestic destinations. It expects to grow the fleet to 24 planes.

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Japan's ANA says H1 profit dives 45.7%, slashes FY outlook

Japan's ANA Holdings, parent of All Nippon Airways, on Wednesday slashed its full-year net-profit forecast by two-thirds as first-half profit nosedived due to higher fuel costs and the delayed delivery of a modified Dreamliner.

The company now expects a net profit of 15 billion yen ($153 million) for the year to March 2014, down from the 45 billion yen it projected in April.

ANA Holdings said April-September's net profit fell to 20.07 billion yen, down 45.7 percent from the same period last year.

"Passenger unit cost and numbers fell short of initial targets and there were delays in receiving new aircraft that caused delays in establishing new international routes and adding flights," the company said in a statement.

While the statement did not name Boeing's glitch-plagued Dreamliner, for which it is the world's biggest customer, ANA was hit hard by the grounding of the high-tech aircraft this year.

The company also said its budget unit AirAsia Japan "did not perform as well as expected".

AirAsia Japan is a joint venture with Malaysia-based AirAsia, which is due to end services under the name by Thursday owing to a spat over business practices.

ANA has rebranded the carrier Vanilla Air, which is to begin flights in December.

Regarding revenue for the second half, it said it expected prices on domestic routes to continue to fall.

In addition, "the yen continued to weaken in the first six months, which increased costs for fuel and other dollar-denominated outlays, causing expenditures to exceed initial estimates", it said.

"ANA has no choice but to assume that (the) yen will continue to weaken further in the second half, and must also assume that fuel costs will increase".

It also cut its operating-profit forecast to 60 billion yen from 110 billion yen and revenue estimate to 1.58 trillion yen from 1.61 trillion yen.

In April-September, ANA Holdings' operating profit fell 42.5 percent from a year earlier to 43.31 billion yen despite a 5.9 percent rise in revenue to 797.63 billion yen.

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Airbus urges Berlin to unfreeze 600m euro loan payment

Airbus on Saturday urged the German government to pay out a promised final loan instalment of 600 million euros (US$830 million) for the construction of the A350, after the aircraft manufacturer said it had created German jobs in return.

Airbus chief operating officer Guenter Butschek told the German daily Tagesspiegel that the firm was offering 4,000 jobs - 250 per cent more than originally planned - in a bid to unfreeze the last loan tranche, which has been blocked for months by Berlin pending agreement on German-based manufacturing and research jobs.

"We have clearly kept our promises and are of the opinion that there is no reason to withhold the remaining amount," Butschek was quoted as saying. "The ball is now in the government's court."

But he added that Airbus, a subsidiary of France-based EADS, was capable of completing the A350 development programme even without the outstanding loan amount.

"We have proved with our first flight, and with 400 flight hours since then, that we can finance and develop such a project according to plan, even without the rest of the government loan."

The first A350 XWB wide-bodied passenger jets are scheduled to be delivered by the end of next year. The next-generation plane carried out its first test flight in June.

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Air Serbia names first plane after Djokovic

Serbia's new national airline, Air Serbia, began flying on Saturday with a plane named after favourite son Novak Djokovic, the men's tennis world number two.

The Airbus A319, emblazoned with a double-headed eagle and Serbia's national red, blue and white colours, took off for Abu Dhabi.

Air Serbia said all its future planes would be named after prominent Serb figures.

The airline was formed in August, when the Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways acquired 49 per cent in Serbia's sole air carrier JAT.

Etihad has been awarded a five-year contract to manage the carrier.

Earlier, Etihad's chief James Hogan said the company's first 10 new planes will also be A319s, part of Airbus's family of single-aisle medium-haul aircraft that can carry 124 passengers in its normal configuration.

JAT has a fleet of 14 planes, 10 Boeing 737-300s and four ATR 72-200s, all of which are around 20 years old.

Etihad holds equity investments in Airberlin, Air Seychelles, Virgin Australia, Aer Lingus and Jet Airways.

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India's Tata SIA Airlines expects to take flight by mid-2014

 India's newest planned airline, a joint venture of Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, expects to win swift regulatory clearance and be able to start flying by mid-next year, the carrier's chairman said.

Indian tea-to-steel conglomerate Tata will hold a 51 percent stake and Singapore Airlines Ltd 49 percent in the new venture, which was announced last month, as they seek to exploit one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets.

"We are looking at very fast clearances. We hope that we will be able to launch by May-June," Prasad Menon, chairman of the new carrier, Tata SIA Airlines, told reporters late Friday.

Even though the Foreign Investment Promotion Board earlier this week cleared the venture to be headquartered in India's capital, a string of other regulatory approvals are needed before the new carrier can take to the skies.

"I don't see any problems" in the new airline obtaining the clearances, aviation minister Ajit Singh told reporters after meeting Tata Sia's executives in New Delhi on Friday.

The airline, which is planning to offer full service unlike rival carriers, which are mainly no-frills, needs a "no-objection certificate" from the aviation ministry.

The airline, which will have an initial combined investment of $100 million from the two stakeholders, marks the third foreign direct investment in the aviation sector since the government declared last year international airlines could buy as much as 49 percent of local carriers.

The Tata Group is setting up another airline venture in India with Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia, which is expected to start operations early in 2014.

The government has also cleared the way for Abu Dhabi-based Etihad to pick up a stake in Indian private carrier Jet Airways.

India's aviation sector was once celebrated as a sign of the country's vibrant economy.

Its fortunes faded owing to a range of obstacles ranging from aggressive fare rivalry and rundown infrastructure to expensive fuel, but there now is renewed interest as investors eye the nation's vast aviation market and growing middle class.

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Tigerair posts S$23.8m net profit in Q2

Tiger Airways Holdings Limited (Tigerair) has booked a second quarter net profit of S$23.8 million, compared to a loss of S$18.3 million in the corresponding quarter last year.

In a statement, Tigerair said the net profit in Q2 took into account the gain on partial disposal of Tigerair Australia, which amounted to S$106.1 million.

The one-time gain on partial disposal of Tigerair Australia has mitigated losses from its associates.

The group recorded an impairment loss in associates of S$48.3 million and share of losses from associates of S$24 million during the second quarter.

For the second quarter which ended September 30, its group revenue decreased by 16.7 per cent on-year to S$163.8 million.

Tigerair said its bottom line was impacted by higher airport and handling charges following its relocation from Changi Airport's Budget Terminal to Terminal 2, and losses in the associate airlines in Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Looking ahead, the company said Tigerair Singapore will take delivery of three more Airbus A320s, ending the financial year with 26 aircraft.

But passenger load factor and yield are expected to face some near-term pressure, as it will take time for the additional capacity to be absorbed into the market.

Meanwhile, Tigerair Mandala will continue to grow its presence in Indonesia.

Tigerair Philippines is also seeking to expand its route network, particularly from the Philippines to Hong Kong and Thailand.

It has applied for air rights between the Philippines and Japan following a bilateral agreement to increase flights between the two countries.

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Boeing boosts 2013 forecast as Q3 profit soars

Boeing raised its 2013 earnings forecast Wednesday after third-quarter profits soared, saying it would boost production of its flagship 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Net earnings totalled US$1.16 billion for the July-September quarter, an increase of 12 per cent from US$1.03 billion in the same period in 2012, the US aerospace and defence giant said.

Earnings per share came in at US$1.51 compared with US$1.35 a year ago.

Adjusted earnings per share, excluding certain pension expenses, increased 16 per cent to US$1.80, well above Wall Street analysts' average estimate of US$1.55.

Revenues also beat expectations, rising 11 per cent to US$22.13 billion, reflecting higher commercial airplane deliveries.

"Consistently strong operating performance is driving higher earnings, revenue and cash flow as we deliver on our record backlog and return increased value to shareholders," said Jim McNerney, Boeing's chairman, president and chief executive.

Boeing raised its 2013 core earnings outlook to a range of between US$6.50 and US$6.65 per share, from the prior estimate of US$6.20-US$6.40 range. It maintained its revenue forecast of US$83-86 billion.

Investors cheered, pushing Boeing shares to new all-time highs despite an overall lower market. The Dow component's stock was up 4.9 per cent at US$128.44 in late-afternoon New York trade, after climbing as high as US$129.99.

In the year to date, Boeing shares have spiked about 60 per cent, after trading steadily in the US$70 range in 2012.

Boeing said it expected to deliver 635 to 645 new commercial aircraft in the year, including more than sixty 787s, at an operating margin revised to above 10 per cent, an increase of a half percentage point.

The Chicago-based company, which employs more than 170,000 people in the US and in 70 countries, said it had third-quarter operating cash flow before voluntary pension contributions of US$4.31 billion, up from US$2.35 billion a year ago.

It also had a record US$415 billion order backlog, including US$27 billion net orders booked during the quarter.

Third-quarter profits from its Commercial Airplanes subsidiary soared 40 per cent to US$1.62 billion, while revenues rose 15 per cent to US$13.99 billion.

Despite technical glitches that have plagued Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner , the company reported "continued strong demand" for its cutting-edge plane, which entered service two years ago.

The company said it planned to increase its 787 production rate for 2016 to 12 airplanes per month from 10, and would raise that 14 airplanes per month before the end of the decade.

But McNerney, in a conference call with analysts, expressed dissatisfaction with the 787's performance.

"Improving dispatch reliability of the 787 is at the top of our priorities," he said, referring to the ratio of the number of flights delayed because of technical problems to the total number of flights.

Boeing booked 200 net aircraft orders in the third quarter. Deliveries accelerated to 170 airplanes from 149 a year ago, as the pace of 787 deliveries nearly doubled.

Commercial Airplanes had a backlog of nearly 4,800 airplanes valued at US$345 billion.

Headwinds from US cutbacks in defence spending amid a protracted Washington budget battle that forced sharp "sequestration" automatic cutbacks beginning in March appeared to impact Boeing's Defence, Space & Security subsidiary.

Profits in the smaller defence unit fell 19 per cent to US$673 million, led by a 48 per cent fall in earnings from military aircraft. Boeing said that its military aircraft unit's operating margin fell 6.2 per cent, in part reflecting one-time charges on the F-15 and C-17 programs.

The Defence unit had an order backlog of US$70 billion, with 38 per cent of that representing orders from international customers.

"Despite the uncertainty of the US defence market, overall our customer-focused business strategies and disciplined execution on our programs are producing the results we expect, McNerney said.

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Laos recovers crashed plane cabin from Mekong River

Search teams have retrieved the main cabin of a Lao Airlines plane which plunged into the Mekong River killing all 49 people on board, officials said on Wednesday.

The recovery operation involved a large crane that lifted the midsection of the turboprop ATR-72 from the fast-flowing waters, said Yakua Lopankao, director general of Laos' Department of Civil Aviation.

"It was tough because the current was strong," he told AFP of the operation that was carried out on Tuesday, nearly a week after the nation's worst known air disaster.

So far, bodies of at least 43 of the victims have been recovered from the swollen river in Laos, some many kilometres downstream from the crash site.

More than half of the 49 passengers and crew were foreigners from some 10 countries.

Lao Airlines said the aircraft hit "extreme" bad weather, while witnesses described seeing the plane buffeted by strong winds before plummeting into the Mekong and sinking to the bottom on October 16.

Experts from the French aviation safety agency BEA, who are helping the search operation, said Monday they had detected the aircraft's two "black boxes" in the tail, which may hold crucial evidence as to the cause of the crash.

But efforts to reach them were hampered by poor visibility and strong river currents.

Yakua said the devices had yet to be retrieved.

"We could not see the plane's head or tail," he told AFP, adding that the wreckage was winched from about nine metres under water.

Search teams from neighbouring Thailand have been scouring the river for bodies, along with experts from the airline and the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer.

On Saturday, the airline said it had identified 14 of the 32 bodies hauled from the river by that point.

Two Australian passengers, the Cambodian captain and several members of the crew were among those named so far.

According to an updated passenger list released late Saturday by the airline, there were 16 Laotians, seven French travellers, six Australians, five Thais, three South Koreans, two Vietnamese, and one national each from the United States, Canada, Malaysia, China and Taiwan.

There were also five crew, including the Cambodian captain.

Founded in 1976, Lao Airlines serves domestic airports and destinations in China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Impoverished Laos, a one-party communist state, has seen 29 fatal air accidents since the 1950s, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

In 2010 the United Nations' air safety arm, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, found Laos was just above the world average for all factors except airworthiness and operations, which were recorded as marginally below global norms.

Previously the country's worst air disaster was in 1954, when 47 people died in an Air Vietnam crash near Pakse, the organisation said.

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Changi Airport handles more passengers, lower airfreight in September

Singapore's Changi Airport handled 4.3 million passengers in September 2013, an increase of 6.9 per cent over the same month last year.

In terms of flights, 28,400 landings and take-offs were recorded in the month, a growth of 7.2 per cent.

On the cargo front, Changi Airport handled 152,800 tonnes of airfreight in September 2013, a decrease of 2.5 per cent year-on-year.

For the month, traffic to and from Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and the Middle East registered double-digit growth.

Among Changi Airport's top 10 city links, travels to Denpasar in Bali and Taipei saw the largest increase of over 30 per cent.

For the first three quarters of 2013, 39.7 million travellers passed through Changi Airport, representing an increase of 5.6 per cent, compared to the corresponding period in 2012.

Aircraft movements increased in tandem, growing by 5.5 per cent to 254,000.

Airfreight shipments were stable at 1.4 million tonnes, with a slight increase of 0.7 per cent for the same period.

As at 1 October 2013, more than 100 airlines operate at Changi Airport, connecting Singapore to 250 cities worldwide.

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Vietnam Airlines plane lands despite missing wheel

A Vietnam Airlines plane landed with a wheel missing in the popular tourist city of Danang, but nobody on board noticed, state media said on Tuesday.

The incident on Monday involved an ATR-72 turboprop -- the same model as a Lao Airlines plane that crashed last week.

"When the aircraft was already in the parking lot, technicians found a broken front axle and one missing wheel," the airline said in a statement.

The affected plane is now being investigated by the French-Italian manufacturer, it said.

The incident was "rare" for its 14-strong fleet of ATR-72 planes, it said.

All of the rest of the fleet had been inspected and were found to be flight-worthy, it added.

The plane was flying from the northern port city of Hai Phong, the gateway to the World Heritage Site of Halong Bay. It was carrying 41 passengers and crew, state media said.

No one on board realised there was any problem with the plane on landing, according to the Tien Phong newspaper.

"Later, when I asked the technical assistant in the cockpit if he'd noticed any difference, he said no," chief pilot Vu Tien Khanh was quoted as saying.

"What worried me most was whether the wheel had fallen onto anyone below," the 34-year-old pilot, who has six years of experience with ATR-72 aircraft, told the paper.

Last week, a Lao Airlines ATR-72 plane plunged into the Mekong River in stormy weather, killing all 49 people on board near Pakse airport in southern Laos.

More than half of the passengers and crew were foreigners from some 10 countries.

Vietnam Airlines (VNA), the national flag carrier, was established in 1989 as a fully state-owned company.

Its last fatal accident was in 1997 when a Russian-made Tupolev plane crashed in Phnom Penh killing 65 people, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

Laos, a one-party communist state, observed a nationwide minute's silence on Monday afternoon to remember the victims of the crash, which is the nation's worst known air disaster.

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ANA undecided after Airbus unveils Japan ambitions

All Nippon Airways (ANA) on Tuesday said the composition of its fleet was under discussion after plane-maker Airbus announced its intent to scoop up half the Japanese market.

The European manufacturer is riding high after bagging a landmark $9.5 billion order from Japan Airlines (JAL) earlier this month, and wasted no time in setting out its aims in a country that has traditionally been a Boeing stronghold.

Airbus has a 13 per cent share of the Japanese market and that figure will almost double to 25 per cent by 2020, thanks to orders already in hand. Further down the road it wants to be the maker of one of every two planes in operation in Japan.

"We are going to raise our market share in Japan," Airbus chief Fabrice Bregier told a business forum in Tokyo on Monday, adding that he wanted to boost that figure to "as close to 50 per cent as possible".

JAL's announcement two weeks ago that it had agreed to buy 31 airplanes from Airbus set the aviation industry buzzing with speculation that its competitor may follow suit. Bregier has said he would welcome business with ANA.

An industry source told AFP earlier this month that ANA, which is known to be looking at aircraft to replace part of its fleet of Boeing 777, was expected to order around 30 new planes within six months.

The source said Airbus and Boeing were going head-to-head to win this order.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for ANA, whose hangars are filled with Boeing-made planes, said there had been no decision as yet.

"As we are currently studying planes for our fleet, we have no firm plan at the moment," he said.

Bregier has acknowledged the lofty goal to grab a big part of Boeing's business -- in place since Japan's post-WWII reconstruction -- would take time.

"For many years we asked why our market share in Japan was so low," he said, adding that "people thought we would never sell aircraft to JAL and in fact we had always failed until now".

Japan's two big carriers have been badly hit by the well-publicised problems with Boeing's troubled Dreamliner.

The lightweight plane -- hailed for its fuel-efficiency but marred by years of production delays -- was grounded globally in January after lithium-ion batteries overheated on two different planes, with one of them catching fire while parked.

The Japanese airlines, which are the single biggest operators of the Dreamliner, have put their fleets back into service. But they are seeking compensation from Boeing for a string of problems which forced them to cancel hundreds of flights and dented their bottom line.

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Mexico's VivaAerobus orders 52 Airbus jets

Airbus signed on Monday its biggest Latin American order from a single airline in its history, with a US$5.2 billion purchase agreement for 52 aircraft with Mexican budget carrier VivaAerobus.

The deal will replace the airline's entire fleet of Boeing 737-300 planes to become an all-Airbus carrier by 2016, the European aircraft maker said in a statement.

The purchase agreement with VivaAerobus Group includes 52 Airbus A320 Family aircraft: 40 A320neo, a more fuel efficient version of the medium haul A320 and 12 A320ceo.

VivaAerobus is a partnership between Grupo IAMSA, one of Mexico's biggest transport companies, and Irelandia Aviation, whose Ryan family founded Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair.

The A320 deal was signed in Mexico City by Ryanair co-founder Declan Ryan, a vice chairman of VivaAerobus, and Airbus North America chief executive Barry Eccleston, Mexican officials said.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and visiting Irish counterpart Michael Higgins witnessed the ceremony at the National Palace along with the signing of other deals between universities and companies from both countries.

"After evaluating the latest aircraft technology with the objective of further reducing our costs, improving our reliability, punctuality and the overall passenger experience, today we are proud to announce that the Airbus A320 has been our final choice," Juan Carlos Zuazua, VivaAerobus chief executive said.

VivaAerobus would announce the engine selection at a later date, the statement said.

Zuazua said the deal would allow the airline to reduce fares and increase its domestic market, reinforcing its bases in the northern city of Monterrey, the western city of Guadalajara and the east coast resort of Cancun.

The carrier currently has one international route between Monterrey and Houston in the US state of Texas.

Six of the new aircraft are expected to arrive in Mexico in 2014, with the rest delivered gradually by 2021.

Airbus had purchase agreements for 2,392 A320neo from 43 clients by the end of September.

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Black boxes detected at Laos crash site

Investigators have detected signals from the flight data recorders of a Lao Airlines plane which plunged into the Mekong River killing all 49 people on board, officials said Monday.

The airline said the bodies of 43 of the victims had been recovered from the swollen river in Laos, some many kilometres downstream from the crash site.

The French-Italian made turboprop ATR-72 went down in stormy weather last Wednesday near Pakse airport in Champasak province, sinking to the bottom of the river.

More than half of the passengers and crew were foreigners from some 10 countries, including seven from France.

Experts from the French aviation safety agency BEA said they had detected the aircraft's two "black boxes", which may hold crucial evidence as to the cause of the crash.

But efforts to reach them were hampered by poor visibility and strong river currents.

"The Mekong has very powerful currents. The water is muddy. You can't see anything," BEA director Jean-Paul Troadec told AFP.

Once they are found, any data from the boxes will have to be carefully extracted and analysed, he said, adding that it was important not to prejudge the cause of the accident.

Laos authorities earlier said divers had been forced to use ropes to guide them through the murky waters and only parts of the submerged plane have been found.

"It's difficult for divers to go down because the water is not clear. It's fast-flowing and about 12-13 metres (40-43 feet) deep," Yakua Lopankao, director general of the country's department of civil aviation, told AFP.

The airline said two more bodies had been retrieved on Monday about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the crash site.

According to an official passenger list, there were 16 Laotians on board, seven French travellers, six Australians, five Thais, three South Koreans, two Vietnamese, and one national each from the United States, Canada, Malaysia, China and Taiwan.

There were also five crew, including the Cambodian captain.

Impoverished Laos, a one-party communist state, observed a nationwide minute's silence on Monday afternoon to remember the victims of the crash, which is the nation's worst known air disaster.

Previously the country's worst air disaster was in 1954 when 47 people died in an Air Vietnam crash near Pakse.

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United jet turns back to Sydney after take-off problem

A Los Angeles-bound United Airlines jet had to turn back to Sydney on Sunday after experiencing a problem on take-off, with reports that it had suffered a tyre blowout.

The Boeing 747 had to circle the Australian city several times to dump fuel before making an unscheduled landing not long after takeoff at 3pm (0400 GMT).

A Sydney Airport spokeswoman said Flight UA840 "has returned to Sydney Airport following a problem experienced during take-off.

"The aircraft has landed safely and passengers and crew are currently in the process of returning to the terminal," she said.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said the jet blew one of its tyres on takeoff, though that could not be confirmed by transport officials or the airport.

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At least 10 dead in plane crash in Belgium

A plane carrying 10 parachutists crashed shortly after takeoff in southern Belgium on Saturday, killing all the passengers on board, the local mayor said.

"The plane took off from Temploux aerodrome with 10 parachutists and probably a pilot on board and crashed around 10 minutes later in a field. All those on board are unfortunately dead. The toll is 10 or 11 victims," the mayor of Fernelmont, Jean-Claude Nihoul, told AFP.

He added it was "very difficult" to be more precise given the state of the aircraft which was "unrecognisable" after being "burned up".

The small plane came down around 250 metres from houses near the village of Marchovelette, 10 kilometres from the southern city of Namur, the mayor added.

Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo said he "learned with sadness of the tragic plane accident near Namur."

He offered his "most sincere condolences to the families and relatives" of the victims.

"I just saw a plane lose its right wing in mid-flight and crash. I heard a massive 'bang' towards the south of Marchovelette. I didn't see anyone escape with a parachute," one witness told local television channel RTL.

Firefighters said the accident took place just before 4:00 pm local time (1400 GMT).

Another local witness described seeing the plane fly over him with "pieces falling off it."

"Then the plane's nose dropped and it crashed 200 metres further on," the witness added.

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Boeing cuts 747 jumbo production again

Boeing on Friday said it would cut production of its 747-8 jumbo aircraft for a second time this year, citing weaker demand for big aircraft.

The Chicago-based aerospace giant said 747-8 production rate would be reduced from 1.75 airplanes per month to 1.5 airplanes per month "because of lower market demand for large passenger and freighter airplanes."

"This production adjustment better aligns us with near-term demand while stabilising our production flow, and better positions the program to offer the 747-8's compelling economics and performance when the market recovers," Eric Lindblad, vice president and general manager of the 747 program, said in a statement.

Lindblad said the output adjustment "doesn't change our confidence in the 747-8 or our commitment to the program."

In April Boeing cut the production rate for the four-engine jumbo jet from two airplanes to 1.75 airplanes per month, again giving lower demand as the reason.

Boeing predicted on Friday that long-term average growth in the air cargo market would begin returning in 2014, and put global demand for large airplanes over the next 20 years at 760 units, valued at $280 billion.

The list price for a 747-8 twin-aisle passenger plane is $356.9 million, while the 747-8 Freighter is valued at $357.5 million.

Boeing said it has 107 orders for passenger and cargo versions of the jumbo jet to date, of which 56 have been delivered. For 2013 through October 15, Boeing booked a net five 747 orders, according to its website.

Deliveries at the new production rate were expected to begin in early 2014. The reduced rate was not expected to have a significant financial impact, it said.

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Rescuers search for bodies after deadly Laos plane crash

Rescuers searched for bodies on Thursday after a Lao Airlines plane believed to be carrying 49 people, around half of them foreigners, plunged into the Mekong River during stormy weather.

Seven French citizens, six Australians and five Thais were among those thought to have been killed when the turboprop ATR-72 came down on Wednesday near Pakse airport in Champasak province.

Debris was seen floating in the river at the scene of the disaster, while suitcases were wedged in mud on the riverbank, according to an AFP reporter.

Around a dozen rescuers were using a crane perched on a floating platform in the middle of the Mekong to try to winch the submerged aircraft from the river, which was swollen by a recent tropical storm.

Divers from a Thai rescue team were on the scene to assist in the operation.

State-owned Lao Airlines said more than half of the 44 passengers and five crew onboard were foreign nationals.

Rescue teams have recovered six bodies so far but no survivors, said an airline official in Pakse.

"We can't find most bodies or the plane yet because the aircraft has sunk," he told AFP.

Citizens from up to 11 countries were reported to have been on the flight from the capital Vientiane.

Some of those killed were taken to a mortuary at a Chinese temple in Pakse, which is a hub for tourists travelling to more remote areas in southern Laos. Three bodies draped in blue plastic sheets were seen in the building, which was guarded by some 10 policemen, some armed, who turned away onlookers.

"They are foreigners from the crash," staff at the centre told AFP, adding that their nationalities were unknown.

Lao Airlines said the aircraft hit "extreme" bad weather while witnesses described seeing the aircraft buffeted by strong winds.

"The plane was about to land but appeared to be hit by a strong wind, causing its head to ascend and pushing it away from the airport area and out of reach of the air traffic control radar," state-run Laos news agency KPL quoted a witness as saying.

France said it was rushing embassy officials to the site of the crash in Pakse.

French President Francois Hollande learned of the disaster "with profound emotion and great sadness" and offered "sincere condolences" and full support to the victims' families, his office said in a statement.

According to a passenger list published by Thai media, people from the United States, Vietnam, Canada and Malaysia were on the flight.

Australia said six of its nationals were feared dead, including a family of four.

The family of two Australian men -- father and son Gordon and Michael Creighton -- issued a statement requesting privacy "at this devastating time".

"We have lost a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a fiance and a best mate in one tragic circumstance and are trying to come to terms with our loss," they said.

Thailand said five of its nationals had died.

Three South Koreans were also among the victims, according to the Transport Ministry in Seoul.

Taiwan said one of its citizens was killed while Beijing's official Xinhua news agency said one Chinese was on board. It said an earlier figure of two had included the Taiwanese victim.

The QV301 flight set off from Vientiane on time at 2.45pm (0745 GMT) and was supposed to arrive in Pakse just over an hour later.

French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR said the twin-engine turboprop aircraft was new and had been delivered in March.

The director general of the country's Department of Civil Aviation, Yakua Lopangkao, told the Vientiane Times newspaper that the accident may have occurred due to bad weather triggered by tropical storm Nari.

Founded in 1976, Lao Airlines serves domestic airports and destinations in China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Impoverished Laos, a one-party communist state, has had 29 fatal air accidents since the 1950s, according to the Aviation Safety Network, whose data showed that the country's safety record had improved dramatically in the last decade.

The last fatal air accident was in October 2000 when eight people died after a plane operated by the airline -- then called Lao Aviation -- crashed in remote mountains in the northeast of the country.

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No air-con so passengers on Indonesian plane turn hysterical

Passengers on a Lion Air flight from Manado to Jakarta became panicky and nauseous when complaints of the rising heat in the cabin went unaddressed.

According to a report on Indoboom, passengers had complained about the warmth the moment they boarded the plane on Sept 30.

One man, Raymond Pasla, said that tissues were handed out by flight attendants when passengers began to perspire, but this was only done for five minutes.

The situation became even more tense when doors closed and temperatures increased. The aircraft then suddenly moved backwards, causing more panic and hysteria.

"Some passengers in the rear even opened the emergency door," said Pasla, who claimed to have been in the plane for over an hour.

After the emergency door was opened, the pilot parked the plane and passengers immediately disembarked from the aircraft.

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44 dead in Laos plane crash

A Lao Airlines plane carrying 44 people, including French and Thai citizens, from the capital Vientiane to the southern town of Pakse crashed killing all on board on Wednesday, officials said.

At least seven French citizens and five Thais were among those killed when the plane carrying 39 passengers and five crew went down around eight kilometres (five miles) from the airport in Champasak province in southern Laos, officials said.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he had learned of the deaths with "deep shock and great sadness" and that France was rushing embassy officials to the site of the crash.

Pakse is a hub for tourists travelling to more remote areas in southern Laos.

"I can now confirm, according to our reports, that all 44 people on board have died, including five Thai," Thai foreign ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee told AFP.

Pictures on Thai television showed a small plane, half submerged in the river, with what appeared to be bodies lying on the banks.

An official at the South Korean embassy in Bangkok told Yonhap news agency that three South Koreans were also among the dead.

State-owned Lao Airlines confirmed the crash in a statement on its official Facebook page, in which it expressed "our condolences to family, friends, colleagues and relatives" of the passengers.

It said the aircraft hit "extreme" bad weather and had crashed into the Mekong River.

"There were no news of survivors at this time," it said, but did not confirm the number of deaths.

"Lao Airlines is taking all necessary steps to coordinate and dispatch all rescue units to the accident site in the hope of finding survivors and at the same time informing relative of the passengers," the English language statement said.

The QV301 flight set off from Vientiane on time at 2.45pm (0745 GMT) and was supposed to arrive in Paske just over an hour later, but crashed as it prepared to land.

A spokesman from aircraft manufacturer ATR in France confirmed the crash and told AFP that the state-owned Lao Airlines flight was one of its twin-engine turboprop ATR-72 planes. He said Lao Airlines has a fleet of six ATR-72 planes.

An official at the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos told AFP on condition of anonymity that all on board the plane had been killed.

Founded in 1976, the carrier operates a fleet of ATR-72 turboprop, Airbus A320 and Chinese-made MA60 planes, serving domestic airports and destinations in China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, according to its website.

It has a chequered safety record.

The country has had 29 fatal air accidents since the 1950s, according to the Aviation Safety Network, whose data showed that the country's safety record has improved dramatically in the last decade.

The last fatal air accident was in October 2000 when eight people died when a plane operated by the airline -- then called Lao Aviation -- crashed in remote mountains in the northeast of the country.

Communist Laos, landlocked between Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and China, is a closed country with a secretive one-party government.

The nation of about seven million people is one of Asia's poorest countries and is highly dependent on foreign donors.

The economy is relatively insulated from global trade and financial networks, though Laos has become a popular tourism destination and mining has played an increasingly important role in growth.

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SIA signs new partnership with WDA to boost service excellence

Singapore Airlines has signed a new partnership with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) to boost service excellence.

This will see some 800 new cabin crew members each year receiving a nationally-recognised certification for service excellence when they graduate from a 15-week Cabin Crew Readiness Programme.

Recently, the first batch of 20 cabin crew members received their Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) certifications.

The trainees underwent classroom and on-the-job training.

The training included modules on social etiquette, customer-handling skills, meal service procedures as well as safety and security.

Erma Dzalin, an SIA flight stewardess, said: "The training has been very thorough. I have learned how to become more of a service professional. I learned how to anticipate customers' needs and how to overcome difficult situations with our customers."

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New Airbus A350 on track for 2014, says EADS chief

The head of European aerospace giant EADS Monday said its aircraft unit Airbus is on track to deliver the first A350 XWB by the end of next year.

The wide-bodied aircraft is the latest passenger jet from Airbus as the Toulouse-based manufacturer ramps up production in a bid to overtake US rival Boeing and become the world's biggest plane producer within four or five years.

"We are on track to deliver the first aircraft at the end of 2014. It's going to be a great aircraft," said Tom Enders, chief executive of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS).

The new fuel-efficient airliner is set to compete with Boeing's troubled 787 Dreamliner.

"The 350 is a bit behind the 787 in terms of schedule," Enders admitted during a trip to Sydney, but noted that 750 of the latest model have already been sold.

"I was quite pleased that we were trailing the 787 because by taking our time we could learn some of the lessons from that project," he said.

Airbus last week unveiled a US$9.5 billion deal with Japan Airlines (JAL), challenging Boeing's dominance in the Japanese market as it struggles with the Dreamliner.

Enders, who was Airbus chief executive from 2007 to 2012, said he hoped the company's first order from Japan's flagship carrier would lead to more sales in Tokyo.

"We hope that other actors in Japan see that it's worldwide, we have the same competition, and look seriously at Airbus products in the near future, he said, referring to the company's success in competing against Boeing across the globe.

JAL has ordered 18 long-haul A350-900s and 13 A350-1000s with an option to buy another 25 aircraft.

The German admitted he was disappointed by sales of the double-decker A380, of which 111 have been delivered so far with 150 more on order.

"It's very obvious we cannot be content with the level of sales that we have on the A380... (it) was impacted by the economic crisis but also by the problems we had... we had to refurbish the entire fleet," he told Australia's National Aviation Press Club.

But he was optimistic about its future.

"I believe that the time of this plane is still to come. After all... we don't develop aircraft for five or 10 years, we develop aircraft for 20, 30 years."

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner -- hailed for its fuel-efficiency but marred by years of production delays -- was grounded globally in January after lithium-ion batteries overheated on two different planes, with one of them catching fire while parked.

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Chinese group in US$1.2b British airport development deal

Chinese construction giant Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG) has signed a deal with British firms to develop a business district around Manchester airport, the companies involved in the project announced on Sunday.

The development of Britain's third busiest airport -- described as one of the largest construction projects in the United Kingdom since the 2012 London Olympics -- will cost £800 million ($1.27 billion).

MAG, the operator of Manchester airport; GMPF, a pension fund based in the city; and the British construction group Carillion will work alongside BCEG in the joint project, a statement released by the companies said.

A breakdown of each company's investment in the business district, dubbed "Airport City", was not given in the statement.

British finance minister George Osborne, who is currently on a trip to China hoping to boost trade ties between the two nations, wrote on his verified Twitter account that the development is "one of the largest" in Britain since the Olympics, and would eventually create 16,000 jobs for the region.

Once built, "Airport City" will take up five million square feet (460,000 square metres) and will boast a mix of offices, hotels, advanced manufacturing firms, logistics and warehousing, the statement said.

Manchester Airport is currently used by over 20 million passengers annually. The city and surrounding North West region contains 6.5 million people, eight per cent of the UK's population.

The deal comes at a time when Britain is seeking to boost trade with the world's second largest economy, with both nations agreeing in 2010 to double their trade to $100 billion by 2015.

"We see our involvement in Airport City as an extension of the memorandum of understanding between China and the UK, where we have been looking to further explore joint infrastructure opportunities for some time," said Xing Yan, Managing Director of BCEG.

Charlie Cornish, Chief Executive of MAG, added: "The inclusion of BCEG is significant because as a Group, we have been keen to forge greater links with the Far East and this gives us an opportunity to strengthen vital business links with China."

Earlier this month a Chinese investment firm announced plans to resurrect London's Crystal Palace, once the largest glass structure in the world and the venue for the 1851 Great Exhibition, in a deal worth $800 million.

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Airbus chief eyes overtaking Boeing in production by 2018

Airbus chief Fabrice Bregier says the European planemaker will overtake its US rival Boeing to become the world's biggest producer within four or five years, in an interview with a German Sunday newspaper.

Bregier told Welt am Sonntag that Airbus would step up production through its new A320Neo and long-haul A350 models.

"In 2017/2018 we will therefore again be able to gain the lead also in deliveries," the Airbus chief executive said according to an extract of the interview to appear in German in Sunday's edition.

Airbus will deliver more than 600 aircraft this year and more next year, he said, adding that in terms of orders, it would also beat its target. "2013 is becoming an excellent year for Airbus," he commented.

Airbus last week announced a $9.5 billion deal with Japan Airlines, its first jet order from the carrier, challenging Boeing's dominance in the Japanese market as it struggles with the troubled Dreamliner.

The fuel-efficient aircraft, marred by years of production delays, faced a global grounding order in January after lithium-ion batteries overheated on two different planes, with one of them catching fire while the aircraft was parked.

Bregier also criticised the comfort of the 787 Dreamliner, telling the Welt newspaper he had seen a cabin with nine seats in a row. "For me it's clear that as a passenger I wouldn't like to sit 12 hours long in there," he said.

Referring to the Dreamliner's technical problems, he said: "From my team I expect the commissioning of the A350 to run much smoother."

Like Boeing's Dreamliner, the Airbus A350 is to be made mainly of lightweight composite materials to save fuel, which can currently account for more than half of overall airline operating costs.

In November 2011, Airbus announced a six-month delay in the first delivery of the A350 to the first half of 2014. In July 2012, it said there would be another delay of about 3 months to the second half of the 2014.

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Boeing warns of layoffs as US shutdown drags on

Boeing said on Saturday it may have to send home workers in its defence, space and security unit without pay if the US government shutdown in a budget battle continues.

"While the company is working to limit the negative impact of the shutdown on customers and employees, we expect some consequences could emerge in the coming days, including limited furloughs of employees in some areas," the company said in an email to AFP.

"At this time, we expect the furloughs to be limited to employees in Boeing Defence, Space & Security."

The US aerospace and defence giant's announcement came as the partial federal government shutdown ground through a 12th day with no sign of a political budget deal to end it, and as the nation careened toward an October 17 deadline to raise the debt ceiling or face a catastrophic default.

The failure of Congress to agree a budget for 2014 fiscal year that began on October 1 forced the shutdown of so-called "nonessential" government operations, furloughing hundreds of thousands of civil servants and dramatically disrupting military contract work because the Pentagon has no money to cover compulsory inspections and audits.

Boeing said the furloughs would be ordered "as a result of customers issuing stop work orders, limiting access to federal installations where Boeing employees work, and curtailing government inspections or eliminating funds to continue operations."

The Chicago-based company did not say how many employees it could furlough from Boeing defence, Space & Security, which has 59,000 employees worldwide.

Boeing also noted the shutdown was negatively impacting activities such as for NASA and other government customers, and that it was continuing to work with its customers and suppliers to maintain normal operations in as many parts of its business as possible.

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'Report on Kudat crash probe out next month'

Two women remained in intensive care after surviving the air crash that killed two people in Kudat on Thursday.

Sue Isabella Abal, 26, and Fauziah Pelimin, 32, were being kept under close supervision at Queen Elizabeth 2 Hospital here. Three other survivors were also warded at the hospital.

A hospital spokesman said Sue was recuperating well after surgery, while Fauziah injured her back. Both were reported to be in stable condition.

Fauziah's 20-month-old daughter, Nurfilzah Raudhah Redzuan, also a survivor, was traumatised.

Fauziah's husband, Redzuan Binting, said Nurfilzah would only drink water and had rejected milk formula. He said she had been breastfed before the crash.

"She also has difficulty sleeping and wants to be cuddled all the time," Redzuan said.

He added that their other child, 4-year-old Mohd Raiyan, was also onboard the flight that ploughed into a house at Kampung Sin San after missing the runway while attempting to land at Kudat Airport.

Redzuan said he was told that Fauziah was holding Nurfilzah during the crash, but was thrown at least four seats away.

"She never let go of our baby until she was rescued."

Three other victims warded at the hospital were pilot Captain Wan Mohd Abdul Amir Wan Yahya, 52, who fractured his ribs, and passengers Noorhazwin Sharom, 29, and Merang Maharani, 54.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and Defence Minister and acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein visited the survivors at the hospital here yesterday.

Hishammuddin said the wreckage of DHC-6 Twin Otter 9M-MDM would be moved to a hangar in Kota Kinabalu International Airport for investigations.

"I will monitor the probe and will leave no stone unturned. Until the report comes out, which will not take too long, I don't want speculation."

Hishammuddin said the report would be ready in a month.

He said the investigation would also take into account weather conditions at the time of the accident.

The crash killed co-pilot Marc Joel Bansh and passenger Tan Ah Chai. There were 16 passengers onboard.

The wreckage, with its tail resting on the fence of a single-storey house, surrounded by electric cables, has attracted crowds over the past three days.

The front part of the plane, which was ripped off exposing the cockpit with its bloodstained seats, is lying on what used to be the kitchen of the house, while the fuselage was spread across the front lawn.

Two four-wheel-drive vehicle were also damaged.

One of the plane's two propellers was found some 20m behind the house beside a tree that was clipped by the aircraft before it ploughed into the house, spun and came to a halt.

The MASWings 19-seater Twin Otter was attempting to land here before proceeding to Sandakan when it crashed.

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Tigerair Cadet Pilot Programme by SFC

A surprise move by SFC. It is the first time they're opening up their training facilities for another airline, albeit Tigerair is partly owned by Singapore Airlines. Tigerair currently has MPL cadet programmes conducted by STAA and CAE OAA, so this makes SFC the third flight school to train pilots for the low cost carrier.

Very limited information is available currently, with not even an online application portal available. Application will have to be done through email, or better if in person at Seletar. If the CPL/IR course is going to cost the same as a privately funded cadet, then it definitely will not come cheap. Do not forget that after graduation, you may still need to pay for type-rating on the A320 in order to start flying for Tigerair.

Near miss at Changi Airport

Their job is to pick up debris on airport runways: Rags, dead birds - any foreign object that should not be there, so planes can land safely.

But last week, two airport maintenance personnel were in a van parked on the runway when a Singapore Airlines plane landed, said Changi Airport Group (CAG).

The plane's wing tip narrowly missed the van.

The runway incursion is being investigated by the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) at the Ministry of Transport.

Last Thursday, just after 11am, SQ001 was approaching Changi Airport.

An SIA spokesman said the Boeing 777- 300ER plane with 194 passengers and 15 crew members on board was landing after flying from Hong Kong.

At that point, a yellow maintenance van had entered the runway, with two people inside.

The van was taking personnel to the runways to clear debris.

As part of operating procedure when entering the runway area, the vans' occupants are supposed to contact the control tower, which then gives them permission to enter, The New Paper understands.

Once in, the vehicle is supposed to wait at a holding area for permission to approach the runway.

But that morning, the van apparently approached the runway without heading to the waiting area. It is understood its occupants believed they had the goahead to do so.

Their van was stationary as the plane landed and barrelled towards them. The plane's wing tip narrowly missed the van.

They then drove out of the area. The SIA spokesman said yesterday there were no injuries and no damage to the aircraft.

SUSPENDED

TNP understands both men who were in the van have been suspended. An AAIB spokesman said it had been informed of the incident and is currently investigating.

A CAG spokesman said it takes the matter seriously and is also conducting its own investigation.

MP Ang Hin Kee, a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, said that while the incident should not be taken lightly, people should not be quick to assign blame.

"We need to investigate how there was a breakdown in operating procedures, whether the training and drills given to the staff are adequate and then establish where the gaps are and plug them," he said.

Mr Gary Ho, a senior lecturer in Temasek Polytechnic's Aviation Management and Services diploma course, said such incidents are rare as there are many checks in place to prevent them.

Had the two vehicles collided, depending on the speed and location of the aircraft, it could have resulted in fatalities, he said.

Mr Andrew Belshaw, a registered aviation consultant with the British Association of Aviation Consultants, said that nine out of 10 runway incursions are caused by human error, such as inexperienced airfield drivers, miscommunication between control tower and the driver, language issues and when a pilot fails to understand the instructions given.

The most important thing is that such incidents are dutifully reported and investigated, he said. "It's the only way lessons can be learnt and we can prevent such mistakes from happening again."

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One dead after plane crashes in Malaysian Borneo

8.17pm update:

KUALA LUMPUR - One person died and five were injured when a passenger plane crashed into a house in eastern Malaysia's Sabah state on Thursday, Malaysia Airlines said.

But a woman and her 11-year old son who were in the house's living room at the time escaped unhurt when the aircraft hit the bedroom, dining hall and porch, the New Straits Times reported.

"Malaysia Airlines regretfully confirms that there has been one fatality," it said in a statement after the afternoon crash.

Newspapers reported that another two of the five injured were in critical condition. All 16 on board the plane were taken to hospital for checkups.

The airline said the cause of the incident was still under investigation and its chief executive was en route to Sabah to oversee the situation.

7pm update:

Sixteen people were taken to hospital for checks after a passenger plane crashed in eastern Malaysia on Thursday, the airline said, and media reports said three of them were seriously injured.

National carrier Malaysia Airlines said the Twin Otter propeller plane took off from Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah state, but landed short of the runway in Kudat about 150 kilometres (94 miles) northeast.

"No reported fatalities as of now. Focus of the airline is on the rescue of passengers and crew," it said in a statement less than two hours after the afternoon crash.

All those aboard the plane were taken to Kudat Hospital for checkups.

Newspapers said six of them were injured, including three in critical condition.

The Star said the plane had crashed into the grounds of a house, but there were no immediate reports of casualties on the ground.

Authorities are still trying to ascertain the cause of the accident, state news agency Bernama reported.

Sabah is on the northeastern tip of Borneo, an island which has seen repeated plane and helicopter crashes.

A helicopter crash in July last year saw three passengers die while a Singaporean trainee pilot was killed in a plane crash a week later.

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Air France to offer Singapore-Jakarta link

From next March, Air France will extend its daily Paris-Singapore flight onwards to Jakarta, as the carrier grows its Asian presence to mitigate the slowdown in its own backyard.

If demand for the one-stop service is strong, the carrier will consider a second daily flight, said Mr Matthieu Tetaud, who moved here recently to assume his new role as commercial director for several Asian markets.

The planned Singapore-Jakarta leg comes after Air France cut capacity on its Paris-Singapore sector earlier this year by replacing the Airbus 380 superjumbo with the Boeing 777 aircraft which has about 200 fewer seats. Mr Tetaud told The Straits Times on Friday: "We had no trouble filling up the aircraft, but there was a greater need for the A380 in Shanghai."

On flying to Jakarta from Singapore, he said: "As an airline, we would like to fly direct to all destinations but to do that, you need enough demand. When there isn't, you look for a hub. The good thing about Changi is that when you land an aircraft here, you have many options for connections."

This not only benefits Air France customers wishing to access other Asian cities, but also provides the airline with feed traffic for its own onward flights.

For example, up to 40 per cent of travellers on the Singapore- Bali leg of KLM's flight from Amsterdam board the aircraft from Changi Airport, Mr Tetaud said. Air France and KLM merged about a decade ago, although the two carriers have maintained their separate brands. By the second half of next year, the Paris-based airline will operate to 23 Asian destinations.

The shift towards Asia comes even as the head office announced on Wednesday plans to cut more than 1,800 jobs in France.

The latest cuts aim to put the airline back in the black after a string of losses since the 2008 global financial crisis.

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Broken toilet flush forces JAL Dreamliner to turn back

A 787 Dreamliner bound for Japan was forced to turn around and fly back to Russia after toilets on the plane refused to flush, operator Japan Airlines (JAL) said Thursday.

The Boeing plane carrying 151 crew members and passengers left Moscow late Wednesday for Narita airport east of Tokyo but returned two hours later, a JAL spokesman said.

"It was hit by trouble," he said.

He added the glitches were believed to be due to an electrical fault but had nothing to do with the plane's batteries.

The average flight time between Moscow and Tokyo is around 10 hours.

Boeing's 787 lightweight plane -- hailed for its fuel-efficiency but marred by years of production delays -- was grounded globally in January after lithium-ion batteries overheated on two different planes, with one of them catching fire while parked.

JAL and its Japanese rival All Nippon Airways, the single biggest operators of the Dreamliner, have put their fleets back into service. JAL resumed Dreamliner flights in June after fixing the batteries.

European planemaker Airbus on Monday announced a $9.5 billion deal with JAL, its first jet order from the carrier, challenging Boeing's dominance in the Japanese market as it struggles with the troubled Dreamliner.

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Passenger lands light aircraft after pilot falls ill

A passenger with no flying experience made an emergency landing in a light aircraft in Britain after the pilot became ill, officials said Wednesday.

He safely brought down the four-seater Cessna 172 on Tuesday evening with the help of two instructors on the ground, a spokesman for Humberside Airport in eastern England said.

The passenger was unhurt although police said the pilot later died, without giving details. The pair were the only ones onboard.

One of the instructors who helped talk the passenger down, Roy Murray, said he did a "remarkable job".

"He made quite a good landing, actually. He didn't know the layout of the aeroplane, he didn't have lights on so he was absolutely flying blind as well," Murray told the BBC.

Murray said there were cheers in the airport control room as the plane landed on its fourth attempt, adding: "It's a fantastic feeling knowing I have achieved something and probably saved somebody's life.

"I think without any sort of talk-down he would have just gone into the ground and that would have been the end of it."

The plane had taken off from an airfield in Yorkshire, further north, on Tuesday morning, the airport spokesman said.

"At 6:20pm (1720 GMT) last night, the pilot declared an emergency shortly before falling ill and becoming unable to fly the plane," he told AFP.

The plane landed safely at 7:30pm, he said, adding: "It's an incredible story."

The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is the most popular aircraft in the world, according to its manufacturer.

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Air France is being "saved", heads for profits

A deep restructuring plan with big job cuts is rescuing French airline Air France, and the whole Air France-KLM group will become profitable by the end of the year, the group said on Monday.

Air France "is in the process of being saved," the head of the whole group Alexandre de Juniac told Europe 1 radio.

"Air France-KLM should make money from 2013 and Air France should do so in 2014, which means that we will have the means for development, to open new routes," notably in Africa, Asia and Latin America, he said.

Until now, the company had said only that Air France-KLM was being turned around from financial crisis. It had suggested in the six-month results that the group might be profitable by the end of the year.

In September, the number of passengers carried by the entire group rose by 0.7 per cent but freight traffic again fell sharply, by 4.1 per cent.

The Air France component, which celebrates its 80th anniversary on Monday but has been in difficulties since 2009, appears to be climbing towards brighter skies, having put in place a deep restructuring programme.

De Juniac said: "Air France is in the process of being saved but we have to do what we have said we will do.

"The staff are involved in an enormous plan. We have asked them to make a considerable effort. They have increased their working hours, they have increased their time in the air, they have changed their work methods."

In January 2012, the group launched a programme called "Transform 2015", to enable it to return to profit by 2015 and to put itself on a new, sound footing.

Under the plan, 1,826 people were to leave voluntarily, and in a second wave announced on Friday another 2,800 jobs will be shed.

The head of the Air France part of the group, Frederic Gagey, had said that the action was needed because Air France would not otherwise achieve its targets for ending losses in 2013 and would end up reporting an operating loss for the sixth year in a row.

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Japan Airlines orders 31 Airbus A350s valued at US$9.5b

Japan Airlines said Monday it is ordering 31 Airbus A350 planes in a deal valued at $9.5 billion and which challenges Boeing's dominance in the Japanese market as it struggles with its troubled Dreamliner.

The carrier said it had signed a purchase agreement for 18 long-haul A350-900s and 13 A350-1000s, with an option to buy another 25 aircraft.

The deal marks the first time JAL has bought Airbus planes with the slate of new aircraft expected to come into service from 2019, the carrier said.

The push by the European plane maker comes as JAL and domestic rival All Nippon Airways -- whose fleet is also dominated by Boeing -- have been sideswiped by problems with the Dreamliner.

The fuel-efficient aircraft was grounded globally in January after lithium-ion batteries overheated on two different planes, with one of them catching fire while parked.

The Japanese carriers -- the single biggest operators of the Dreamliner -- have put their fleets back into service. But they are seeking compensation from US-based Boeing.

JAL shares rose 3.01 percent to 5,810 yen on Monday as the broader marker fell 1.22 percent.

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First-ever global deal struck on airline CO2 emissions

A first-ever global deal on curbing the airline industry's rising carbon emissions was agreed on Friday, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) said, though hammering out the details could take years.

The full agreement is not scheduled to take effect until 2020 but the most contentious issues have been resolved, officials said, as the ICAO's full assembly met behind closed doors in Montreal.

The deal "is an historic milestone for air transport and for the role of multilateralism in addressing global climate challenges," ICAO Council President Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez said in a statement.

Air transport "now becomes the only major industry sector to have a multilateral global market-based mechanism agreement in place to help govern future greenhouse gas emissions," he added.

Leading up to the vote, China and India had joined the United States and Russia in balking at a European Union (EU) push for a carbon levy on flights within three years.

But at midday (1600 GMT), after some 1,400 delegates representing 170 member states voted on the executive committee's resolution, officials said the plan had been passed and details of the accord would follow.

"The good news is (in) having concluded a general agreement that includes China and India," a diplomat involved in the negotiations told AFP.

Aviation accounts for around three per cent of global CO2emissions but the ICAO forecasts that by 2050 emissions will have risen between four and six times the levels they were in 2010.

Last year, the EU suspended its CO2 Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for intercontinental flights, after facing a storm of criticism.

Under the EU's ill-fated arrangement, airlines flying in EU airspace were required to buy pollution credits to cover 15 per cent of their CO2 emissions for the entire flight, wherever it originated.

Several nations rejected the scheme that threatened to tip into a trade war.

The ICAO resolution "is a strong message to Europe after it lost three votes on its proposals," a negotiator said.

According to a draft text of the agreement submitted for consideration at the ICAO meeting, countries must agree by 2016 on a global market-based mechanism and reject all regional schemes, according to the negotiator.

The measure is to be accompanied by a series of technical and operational steps to reduce emissions, said a European Commission statement.

Specific proposals under consideration for curbing CO2 emissions include a carbon tax and a carbon trading system.

The EU would thus have to abandon its more ambitious ETS and adhere to the new global system for curbing greenhouse gases linked to global warming.

Even so, European Commission Vice President Siim Kallas praised Friday's outcome.

"I am very pleased that after long and hard negotiations we finally have a global deal on aviation emissions," Kallas said in a statement.

"This is good news for the traveling public, good news for the aviation industry, but most importantly it is very good news for the planet," he said.

Furthermore, he added, the deal averts a "damaging conflict among trading partners."

European Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard meanwhile congratulated the ICAO members.

"After so many years of talks the ICAO has finally agreed to the first-ever global deal to curb aviation emissions," she said.

In addition to the mechanism for curbing emissions, the accord also calls for promoting the use of better alternative aviation fuels and fuel-saving navigation.

There is also an exemption clause that provides a "fair and equitable solution" for a number of countries facing "special circumstances or with limited capabilities," said the EU.

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ANA wins most landing slots at Haneda

The transport ministry announced Wednesday it will allocate 11 arrival and departure slots for international flights, scheduled to be added to Haneda Airport in late March, to ANA Holdings Inc. and five to Japan Airlines.

ANA Holdings, which has All Nippon Airways under its umbrella, and JAL currently have the same number of slots for international flights at the airport. But ANA and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have urged aviation authorities to correct unfairness in the industry caused by the government's bailout of JAL, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010. This was apparently reflected in the ministry's decision on the slot allocation.

The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry plans to nearly double the annual number of daytime departures and arrivals of international flights at the airport to about 60,000 from the end of March. The number of slots will increase by an average of 40 a day, half of which will go to foreign airlines. The remaining 20 slots will be divided between ANA and JAL. The ministry first decided on the allocation of 16 of the 20 slots, excluding flights departing to and arriving from US destinations, due to a standstill in negotiations with the country.

ANA called on the ministry to fix the disparity between JAL and its rivals resulting from JAL's rehabilitation measures, including a nine-year exemption from corporate tax, insisting that it deserves more slots. JAL had argued that equal slot allocation is reasonable, considering that appropriate fares for customers could result from competition on certain routes.

When Haneda gained an additional 25 slot for domestic flights in late March this year, the ministry awarded eight to ANA and three to JAL, after a government expert panel looked into an operations grading system, which was used in deciding on slot allocation.

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