Fog causes 200 flight cancellations in Britain

Thick fog in Britain on Thursday forced the cancellation of nearly 200 flights at London's Heathrow airport, one of the world's busiest.

Most of the flights grounded were heading to destinations in Britain or Europe.

A Heathrow spokeswoman told AFP: "We're looking at 190 cancellations at the moment. They're mostly short-haul -- a mixture of flights to mainland Europe and domestic flights."

The conditions also caused flights arriving at Heathrow to be delayed by an average of one hour, while departing flights were subject to similar delays.

"We expect the fog to last into the evening," the spokeswoman said.

The fog, which was especially thick in southern England, also led to the cancellation of every early morning service at London City, an airport mainly used by business travellers.

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Airline's pay-by-weight fares take off with passengers

The head of a tiny Pacific airline that pioneered a fare system based on passengers' weight said Wednesday the move had been so successful the carrier is upgrading its fleet.

Samoa Air introduced its world-first system late last year, when it began charging passengers fares based on how much they weigh, rather than a set price for each seat.

Chief executive Chris Langton said the 1.34 tala (57.5 US cents) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) charge had proved popular over the first 12 months as it meant cheaper fares for most passengers.

"People do the sums, that's their first interest," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"They compare what they would pay on a pay-by-weight system and just do basic arithmetic."

The World Health Organisation says Samoa has one of the world's highest rates of obesity, leading to soaring levels of weight-related coronary disease, diabetes and strokes in the Pacific island nation.

"We find that generally speaking if you look at any operation anywhere between any destination worldwide, a person who comes in at about 120 kilos (265 pounds) or less will always be better off to travel on a pay-by-weight system," Langton said.

He said the airline was in the process of adding to its three-aircraft fleet a new Cessna 208, which would be configured to ensure larger passengers who pay high fares are given more space.

"That way we can provide for people who are paying more because they are larger, obviously in the Pacific that is the case," he said. "Everybody gets what they're paying for."

He said larger airlines were considering similar schemes.

"The interest worldwide hasn't diminished at all. There's massive discussion going on about how pay-by-weight can be transferred to larger airplanes," he said.

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Cockpit automation under scrutiny in Asiana crash probe

US air accident investigators hold a hearing Wednesday into the role that sophisticated cockpit automation might have played in the fiery crash of a South Korean airliner in San Francisco.

Three passengers died when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 clipped a seawall, skidded out of control and burst into flames upon landing after an otherwise routine flight from Seoul on July 6.

Another 182 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing 777 were injured -- and first indications suggested the pilots approached the runway at well below the optimum speed for landing.

Wednesday's nearly 12-hour hearing was supposed to be a two-day affair, but its scheduled start Tuesday was postponed.

Keith Holloway of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the hearing will "gather additional factual information" as the federal agency moves closer to a final report on the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 777.

"Typically it takes about 12 months to complete a full investigation," he told AFP. "This is just one phase, a fact-gathering stage, of the investigation."

None of the four pilots, 12 flight attendants and 291 passengers, many of them South Korean and Chinese nationals, are lined up to testify.

Instead the hearing at an NTSB conference centre in downtown Washington will hear expert testimony on such issues as cockpit automation in the Boeing 777 and the training of Asiana pilots in its operation.

It will also dwell on the effects of automation on pilot performance in the moments prior to an accident, airport emergency response and the crash-worthiness of aircraft interiors.

All three of the dead were young Chinese women, including one who was fatally hit by a fire engine as she lay stricken near the runway.

Landing just before noon on a clear and sunny Saturday, but with San Francisco airport's instrument landing system reportedly out of service, Flight 214 had been cleared by air traffic controllers for a visual landing on Runway 28 Left.

Amateur video of the moment of impact showed the aircraft's nose up, and its rear hitting the ground first, before it bounced abruptly then spun around 180 degrees, shedding its tail.

Large sections of the fuselage were gutted in the ensuing fire.

On the scene two days later, NTSB chairwoman Deborah Hersman said the aircraft was coming in to land at a speed significantly below the 137 knots (158 miles per hour, 254 kilometres per hour) that it should have been holding on final approach.

"We are not talking about a few knots here or there. We're talking about a significant amount of speed below 137," she told reporters.

Initial investigation also found the precariously slow speed triggered the Boeing 777's stall warning system -- a vibration on the controls known as a "stick shaker" -- four seconds prior to impact.

San Francisco airport is among the busiest in the United States, handling more than nine million international and 33 million domestic travellers in the year to June 2012.

Asiana has defended the two pilots at the controls at the time of the July 6 accident, Lee Kang-Kuk and Lee Jung-Min, saying they were "competent" veteran aviators whose experience included dozens of flights to and from San Francisco.

It also said in July that "there were no engine or mechanical problems" on the aircraft, which it acquired in 2006.

Lee Kang-Kuk, a pilot for some 10 years, was midway through training to fly the Boeing 777 and its all-digital instrument panel, known in pilot jargon as a "glass cockpit."

Lee Jung-Min, with many flying hours in the "triple seven," acted as co-pilot and instructor.

Two other pilots were on board as well -- not unusual for a long transpacific journey that would call for a mid-flight change of cockpit crew.

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Aerospace giant EADS to cut 5,800 jobs

European aerospace giant EADS, the maker of Airbus aircraft, announced plans Monday to cut 5,800 jobs in its defence and space division over three years.

The layoffs, part of a major restructuring in the face of falling orders, will affect the group's work force in Germany, France, Spain and Britain, the company said in a statement.

The news came after a meeting of its European works council with EADS chief executive Tom Enders, whose bold plan to merge the conglomerate with Britain's defence group BAE Systems was torpedoed last year with a surprise veto by Germany.

"We need to improve our competitiveness in defence and space -- and we need to do it now," Enders said, according to the statement.

"With our traditional markets down, we urgently need to improve access to international customers, to growth markets. For that to work, we need to cut costs, eliminate product and resource overlaps, create synergies in our operations and product portfolio and better focus our Research and Development efforts."

He added: "That's what the restructuring and integration plan for our defence and space business is all about."

Anticipating fierce resistance from labour representatives, the company said it would do what it could to cushion the impact of the job cuts, due to be completed by the end of 2016.

Furloughed employees will be offered redeployment with 1,500 jobs at the company's Airbus and Eurocopter divisions.

About 1,300 short-term contracts will not be renewed, and with voluntary measures, the company estimated final redundancies to come in at between 1,000 and 1,450 employees.

"The Group also intends to enter into negotiations with its works councils to seek agreements on labour cost reductions which could help mitigate the social impact of the restructuring plan," it added.

EADS has previously announced that it is changing its name the name of the group to Airbus to raise its public profile.

The overhauled defence and space division, to be called Airbus DS, will have a streamlined legal structure to cut costs and be up and running by January 1, the company said.

Shares in EADS rose 0.82 per cent to 50.49 euros in Paris on the news.

A French union, the FO Metalworkers' Federation, reacted angrily to the announcement, protesting that EADS on the whole "is doing well financially and its order books are in good shape".

It said the group's focus on improving its profit margin should not come at the expense of its staff and urged the French state as a major shareholder to fight to protect jobs.

"FO calls on EADS to avoid layoffs and appeals to its sense of responsibility and solidarity so that no employee will be left behind," it said.

Enders has stressed that the company cannot continue with business as usual while government clients are increasingly resorting to cuts to the military to shore up strained public finances.

He has cited lost orders worth several billion euros (dollars) in Germany alone that the company had thought were certain.

In November, Germany's biggest union IG Metall held industrial action as a warning against the company's expected restructuring plans.

However, the overhaul is seen by management as unavoidable after the failed plan to merge with BAE.

That was shelved after objections from Germany, which had worried it would trigger major job losses.

The success of the Airbus division came after a radical restructuring in 2007 in a plan that originally called for 10,000 job cuts, but in the end cost 7,900 jobs.

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New American Airlines emerges as world's top carrier

American Airlines and US Airways merged on Monday to create the new American Airlines, the world's largest airline, after overcoming concerns that it will hurt competition and raise travellers' costs.

AMR Corporation, the former parent of American Airlines, and US Airways Group announced in a statement they had completed the deal after AMR emerged from bankruptcy protection.

The new American Airlines Group is a goliath, providing nearly 6,700 daily flights to more than 330 destinations in more than 50 countries.

"Our people, our customers and the communities we serve around the world have been anticipating the arrival of the new American," said Doug Parker, chief executive of American Airlines and the former chairman and CEO of US Airways.

"We are taking the best of both US Airways and American Airlines to create a formidable competitor, better positioned to deliver for all of our stakeholders. We look forward to integrating our companies quickly and efficiently so the significant benefits of the merger can be realised."

The plan to create a third giant carrier to compete with US rivals United and Delta cleared a major hurdle in November after the Justice Department announced a settlement to resolve antitrust complaints seeking to block the merger.

Under the agreement, AMR and US Airways are giving up slots and other rights at seven key airports to low-cost airlines.

The agreement was joined by six states and Washington, DC, which also sought to block the merger, saying the new airline would have near-monopoly power in some routes and airports.

The two airlines are abandoning a significant number of slots at two of the busiest airports on the East Coast -- 34 at New York's La Guardia and 104 at Washington's Reagan National.

The new American is committed to maintaining hubs in New York's Kennedy International, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago's O'Hare, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Charlotte for three years.

The companies said on Monday there would be no immediate change to their operations. The integration of the two companies to achieve a Single Operating Certificate is expected to take approximately 18 to 24 months, they said.

As part of the combination, US Airways will exit Star Alliance on March 30 and will enter the next day the oneworld alliance, joining American with a group of airlines including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and Qatar Airways.

"Customers will begin to see enhancements to their experience in early January, including the ability to earn and redeem miles when travelling on either American Airlines or US Airways, reciprocal American Admirals Club and US Airways Club benefits, and reciprocal elite recognition," the companies said.

The new American Airlines is expected to generate more than US$1 billion a year in synergies by 2015, they said.

American, which filed for bankruptcy protection in late 2011, won approval from the bankruptcy court in September to go ahead with the US$11 billion merger plan announced in February.

The August antitrust lawsuit stalled the merger, which the companies had expected to complete during the third quarter after garnering the approval of shareholders, creditors and European regulators.

The lawsuit argued that the tie-up would mean four airlines -- which it said have a history of "tacit coordination" instead of competition -- would control more than 80 per cent of the US commercial air travel market.

US Airways and American alone compete directly on more than 1,000 routes, it argued.

Shares in American Airlines began trading Monday at US$23.95 on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol AAL. After 90 minutes of trade, the stock was at US$24.49, after trading as low as US$23.45.

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Nepal fears for tourism after EU airline ban

Nepal expressed fears on Friday for its tourism industry after the European Union blacklisted its airlines due to safety concerns.

EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas announced on Thursday that the bloc had placed all of Nepal's airlines on its safety blacklist, banning them from flying to the EU, saying their safety record "does not leave us any other choice".

"This is very unfortunate. This will damage our tourism industry," said Mohan Krishna Sapkota, spokesman for the tourism and civil aviation ministry.

"In our meetings with the European Union officials, we had assured that we were working on maintaining safety standards. In the past several months, we have prepared safety manuals and monitored our airlines regularly," he said.

Sapkota said the government was yet to receive official notification from the EU and would comment further after a meeting of officials later in the day.

No airlines from Nepal fly to the EU but tourists, pilgrims and professional climbers -- most of them Europeans and Americans -- rely on the country's 16 accident-prone domestic airlines to reach remote areas.

The state-run Nepal Airlines, which flies to half a dozen foreign destinations including Hong Kong and Dubai, is the only local carrier operating international flights.

The Himalayan nation has suffered a number of air crashes in recent years, usually attributed to inexperienced pilots, poor management and maintenance.

A Chinese tourist and a local pilot were killed when an ultra-light aircraft crashed into a hill in the tourist town of Pokhara in early October.

In May, 21 people, including eight Japanese tourists, were hurt when a small plane skidded off an airport runway in northern Nepal.

In May last year, 15 people were killed at the same airport, while in September 2012, 19 people, including seven Britons and four Chinese, were killed after a plane crashed minutes after taking off from Kathmandu.

The Kathmandu Post newspaper on Friday reported that Nepalese aviation officials had met the EU representatives in Brussels last month in which they had asked for a six-month period to improve safety standards.

More than 800,000 foreign tourists visited the Himalayan nation last year.

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Flight chaos in Britain after air traffic control glitch

A "technical problem" in Britain's air traffic control system sparked hundreds of flight cancellations on Saturday, leaving thousands of angry passengers stranded.

Britain's National Air Traffic Service (NATS) said the glitch, which hit major airports including London's Heathrow, was caused by a faulty switch between its night-time and daytime operating systems at its control centre in Swanwick, southern England.

The error caused delays and cancellations for 11 hours at airports from Dublin to Glasgow, before NATS finally announced that the problem had been fixed.

"Operations are returning to normal," a spokesman for the agency, which is part-owned by the government and a group of airlines, said at 1930 GMT.

"We sincerely regret inconvenience to our airline customers and their passengers."

He added that the agency's communications system, used to contact air traffic control agencies across Europe, was "very complex" and the biggest of its kind on the continent.

Heathrow, one of the world's busiest airports, was the worst-hit by the glitch, suffering 228 cancellations - 15 percent of the day's flights.

Long queues snaked through airports as frustrated passengers lined up to rebook their flights, with some complaining that they had to wait up to five hours to speak to airline representatives.

NATS said it handled approximately 300 fewer flights than normal, operating at around 88 percent of capacity.

But Eurocontrol, the European organisation for air navigation safety, said around 1,300 flights had been "severely delayed".

Many passengers took to Twitter to vent their frustration, with British Paralympic sailor Helena Lucas posting on her page: "Lots of angry people at Heathrow! Customer services is crowded with unhappy people!"

Irish budget airline Ryanair, which had 100 flights affected by the glitch, called for Britain's Civil Aviation Authority to take action to prevent a repeat of the problem.

"While we acknowledge problems can occur, where is the contingency? It's simply not good enough and the CAA needs to act now," the airline said.

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