FLIGHT NEWS

Delta jet blows out tire on landing; 4 injured

2011-05-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

(CBS/AP) A MD-88 aircraft carrying 43 passengers for Delta Airlines on a flight from Pittsburgh to Atlanta blew out at least one tire and had an engine fire upon landing Saturday afternoon. At least four passengers sustained minor injuries.

A Delta spokesperson told CBS News that all passengers aboard flight 2284 were safely evacuated via the rear stairwell, and the fire department sprayed foam to extinguish the fire in the plane's right engine on a runway.

As of the writing of this report, the plane was still on the tarmac and the incident was under investigation. A spokesman said there was minimal disruption to other flights at Atlanta Hatfield airport, one of the nation's busiest.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the flight from Pittsburgh blew at least one tire as it landed, resulting in the fire.

Parker said she received a report indicating the problem was caused by "overheated brakes...the plane will be taken out of service and looked at by maintenance."

Calgary chasing direct flights to China

2011-05-30T22:46:00.000-07:00

Jenny Guan has been in China's ballooning tourism industry for a decade and says travellers from her country are now willing to jet to Canadian destinations such as Calgary.

But, she notes, direct flights remain a big deal for people who face a gruelling 12-hour jet ride between Asia and North America. Some customers simply don't want to hopscotch between other cities before reaching their final destination -and will only consider non-stop trips.

"The significance is really big," said the senior account manager for Beijing tour operator CTS Mice Service Co., which specializes in assisting Chinese business travellers and met Friday night with Calgary tourism officials.

"It's convenient for consumers if they can take a direct flight from Beijing or Shanghai. A direct flight will cut the time to fly. It's more comfortable for the consumer."

The reality for Alberta, however, is that there are no direct daily air links between Calgary and cities in the world's secondlargest economy.

At least, not yet.

"Definitely, we're chasing more Asian connections," said the Calgary Airport Authority's chief commercial officer Stephan Poirier, who is in China as part of a weeklong trade mission led by Calgary Economic Development.

"The traffic does exist and because we don't have the (flight) capacity here, people just fly to Vancouver and connect and go. For us in Calgary, it's real bad because we want those passengers to go non-stop."

Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who is part of the trade delegation now in China, said Friday he's heard several Beijing business leaders lament the lack of non-stop flights to Calgary.

The broader issue, Nenshi said, is that there's a lack of available landing slots at the congested Beijing Capital Airport, which was the second-busiest in the world last year and handles about 74 million passengers.

Plans are underway to build the booming city a second airport in southern Beijing, with construction starting this year.

Calgary's airport, which added a direct flight to Tokyo last year as it also looks to expand into the Asian market, is Canada's fourth busiest with about 12.6 million passengers last year.

It's also planning a new international terminal, a $1.4-billion development that should be open by 2015, and airport officials want to add flights to Asia when that happens.

Nenshi said the current gridlock over getting a direct flight to Beijing stems back several years when Canada established a new air transportation agreement with China in 2005, but not a full "open skies" agreement that allows complete access to each other's markets.

A lack of landing spots means there will be no direct journeys to China's biggest city for the time being, but the groundwork is being laid for future routes.

"We need a direct flight," Nenshi said after a series of meetings with Chinese oil companies and business officials. "If the money is there, they will come."

But Poirier warns it's "going to be very difficult battle to fight to get a slot at the Beijing airport. They're full and they just can't take anymore."

The issue is unfolding as Calgary is now home to offices for China's three state-owned oil companies, which have employees who jet back and forth to the corporate headquarters in Beijing.

Oil executives in China's capital who have met with the trade delegation say it's a hassle if their workers can't get easy access to the province and have to take connections through Vancouver or Toronto, said Alberta Finance Minister Lloyd Snelgrove, who is also on the trip.

"They do not have the time to sit in Vancouver for four hours," he said of the Chinese business travellers. "If you're going to be a big player, you need direct flights."

Last week, Air Canada officials noted the relatively new non-stop flight between Tokyo and Calgary is progressing, but nothing is on the books for Beijing to Calgary.

"No decision has been made on that end," said Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah.

"Any opportunities we have to start new service would be based on demand, as well as aircraft availability."

Provincial trade officials say a daily flight is complicated and needs a long-term commitment, but other options such as starting a weekly charter are being examined. Flying into smaller "second tier" cities from Calgary is also under consideration; China has more than 100 centres with a population of more than a million people.

But it's not just business travellers seeking a direct link into mainland China. Tour operators say it would make a big difference to tap into the Chinese marketplace, as Canada now has the ability to market directly to these tourists.

And China is expected to have 100 million travellers journeying outside the country by 2020.

"I think it's just something we have to get," George Brookman, chief executive of Tourism Calgary, said of the direct flight issue.

"This is a massive market. There were 57 million Chinese tourists last year, and 56 million were travelling inside Asia, so the rest of the world is fighting over a million tourists, you might say. But I think the business opportunity would be really enhanced if we had a direct flight from Calgary to Beijing."

Other businesses note a direct flight would help fill some of the gap from a downturn in travellers from other counties.

"Having the ability to get direct flights to Calgary would open not only additional business for tourism, but that very lucrative incentive travel market," said Francisco Gomez, a regional vice-president for Fairmont Hotels, which operates iconic facilities in Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper.

"It's a huge issue . . . to have direct access."

15 flights take manual guide after radar snag

2011-05-30T22:42:00.001-07:00

KOLKATA: One of the key radars at Kolkata airport blanked out for 10 minutes on Thursday, forcing air traffic controllers to guide at least 15 flights manually. Though not many flight operations were affected as the snag had happened at 11.35am, when most of the early morning flights had departed, controllers guided planes on the blind.

The secondary radar covers a radius of 200 nautical miles and gives the speed and altitude of aircraft. Of late, traffic controllers have been complaining about the radar's reliability. Installed in 1998, the radar should have been junked in 10 years. But it is still in service despite malfunctions being reported since 2008 when flights began disappearing randomly from the screen.

"We lodged several complaints but no action has been taken. We hope a mishap does not occur due to the technical failure," another controller said, breathing easy after the radar returned to service.

When the radar is functional, the minimum horizontal separation between two aircrafts is 5 nautical mile (9.26 km) within 60 nautical mile (111.12 km) of radar coverage. Beyond that, it is 10 nautical mile (18.52 km). But when controllers switched to manual mode, the separation had to be increased to 80 nautical mile (148.16 km) between aircrafts to avoid collision in the air.

Even then, controllers are worried as the minimum distance during manual surveillance is dependant on the flight position data provided by pilots. An error by one pilot in reporting his position or by the ATC officials in hearing it or issuing wrong direction can result in a close call.

328 flights delayed in April

2011-05-30T22:41:00.000-07:00

A day after the Mumbai International Airport Limited, released a list of frequently delayed flights (flights delayed more than 20% times) in April, an air passenger body said that the initiative would be ineffective unless the government regularly publishes such lists in the public domain.

“There should be a government-appointed agency assigned to put up such lists across all airports every month,” said Sudhakar Reddy, national president with the Air Passenger Association of India (APAI).

According to the list, on an average 328 flights out of the 600-odd daily flights across all domestic carriers were delayed while taking off or landing at Mumbai airport.

The civil aviation ministry said it is working out modalities to designate an agency such as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to publish lists of errant flights across metro airports every month.

“We are working on it,” said Alok Sinha, joint secretary with the civil aviation ministry. Some of the flights featured in the list failed to stick to their schedule even once throughout the month. For instance, a Kingfisher flight — IT 3571 —that leaves Mumbai for Patna at 11.20am was delayed on all the 30 days it operated.

Similarly, Air India’s Mumbai-Goa flight AI 661 left the city on time only on four occasions out of the 25 times it operated in April.

A Jet Airways flight to Hyderabad, 9W 2135 that takes-off from the city at 2.35pm was also delayed on 24 times out of the 28 times it operated.

Among low-cost carriers, a daily Jetlite flight to Rajkot, S2 397, departed on schedule only twice in April. The flight arrival timings is also dismal. A Spicejet Airlines flight — SG 894 — from Delhi landed late in the city 30 out of the 31 times it was operated.

Another Indigo Airlines flight — 6E 177 — from Delhi was scheduled to reach the city at 1pm, but was delayed on 25 occasions out of 30 times it operated last month.

Alaska Air To Use Apple's IPads To Replace Paper Flight Manuals

2011-05-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

Alaska Air Group's (ALK) namesake airline said it will issue its pilots Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPad tablets in place of paper flight manuals to cut down the weight of the required documents.

The iPads, which will be distributed by mid-June, will weigh 1.5 pounds against the traditional manuals' 25 pounds, the company's Alaska Airlines unit said. The move follows a trial by 100 line pilots, instructor pilots and Air Line Pilots Association representatives who evaluated the plan over the past winter and spring.

"We've been exploring the idea of an electronic flight bag for several years, but never found a device we really liked," Alaska Airlines flight operations Vice President Gary Beck said. "When the iPad hit the market, we took one look at it and said this is the perfect fit."

For Apple, the iPad--with its quirky position somewhere between a giant smartphone and small computer--is further opening the doors to new corporate accounts, a trend that began with the iPhone. While desktop computers running Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) software continue to dominate office cubicles, iPads are gaining traction as an alternative to laptop computers for traveling workers.

Medical firms, for instance, have passed out thousands of iPads to their sales staff to spruce up pitches to doctors. Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Medtronic Inc. (MDT) and Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) are among the drug and medical-device firms making the move, while others say they are testing out the devices.

Alaska Airlines said it is the first major domestic airline to use the iPad to replace paper manuals for pilots. It is also contemplating using the tablets instead of paper navigation charts, which further add to the often 50-pound bags pilots are forced to carry.

Separately, Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN.AU) last October introduced the tablets to passengers of its Jetstar flights as in-flight entertainment devices.

Alaska Air shares were recently up 1.1% to $68.02 Friday. The stock has gained 40% over the past year.

-By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909; Andrew.FitzGerald@dowjones.com

Google Adds Flight Schedules to Search Results

2011-05-30T22:38:00.000-07:00

It might be a little late for a Memorial Day getaway, but Google has begun adding flight schedules to its search results.

How useful is this? Without pricing information, the number of flights leaving from a particular airport might not be all that informative. And that's what the new results offer: the number of flights leaving from a given airport, the departure times and duration, what days of the week they fly out, and the carrier.

Currently, Google appears to have restricted the routes to and from a given airport to just nonstop routes, so if you want to fly from San Francisco to Minneapolis and don't mind a layover to save you a few dollars (from Southwest, for example) the Google results won't immediately indicate the possibility.

Users won't be able to get pricing information until, presumably, the company begins integrating the flight information it included with the acquisition of ITA Software, which was approved last month.

Google announced plans to acquire Boston-based ITA in July 2010. The purchase will help Google produce new flight search tools intended to simplify the process of searching for flights, comparing options, and buying tickets, the company said at the time. Currently, that function is served via Web sites like Kayak.com, which allows users to compare flight information and prices across various airlines.

"With the close of our ITA acquisition last month, we're eager to begin developing new flight search tools to make it easier for you to plan a trip," Peter Wedum, a software engineer for Google, wrote in a blog post. "While this flight schedule feature does not currently use ITA's search technology, this is just a small step towards making richer travel information easier to find, and we hope to make finding flights online feel so easy, it'll feel like... well, a vacation!"

Officials express divergent views on Faridabad air crash enquiry

2011-05-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

As an enquiry into Faridabad air crash began, questions are being raised as to whether the clearance granted to the ill-fated Pilatus P-12 plane to carry out a medical emergency flight was in accordance with rules and regulations laid down by DGCA.

Some officials in the DGCA are of the view that the rules were flouted in allowing the single-engined plane to carry out a medical emergency service while others cited the rules of the civil aviationregulatory authority to show there were regulations permitting night flights by such type of an aircraft.

However, the officials who have expressed divergent views said the report of the Enquiry Committee, which has just begun its work, should be awaited in order to get a clear picture.

On the night of May 25, the nine-seater aircraft crashed into a residential colony in Faridabad, killing all the seven on board and three on the ground. A preliminary probe report said high velocity winds and technical malfunction were suspected to be the prime cause.

Responding to questions whether the single-engined plane could operate at night, an official said only those aircraft having piston engines were barred from night operations.

The Pilatus P-12 aircraft was a Pratt & Whitney-made turbine engine, called PT6A-67B, he said, adding that the DGCA rules on single-engine aircraft allowed a turbine-engined aeroplane to operate at nights too.

Similarly on whether medical emergency flights could be carried out at nights, the official said even choppers were permitted to fly in the night under rules specifically made for the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS).

Reuters Aires to begin flights as LAN Colombia at end of 2011

2011-05-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

Colombian airline Aires is to begin operations under the new name of LAN Colombia at the end of 2011, announced the general director of parent company LAN Chile.

Director Ignacio Cueto gave an interview to Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, in which he said that the Colombian subsidiary of his company will go into operation later this year, Caracol Radio reported Monday.

The new airline was due to go into operation earlier this year but was postponed due to a delay in obtaining the security certificate from the International Air Transport Association, IATA.

Aires is the second biggest airline in the domestic market, with 22% of market shares, a fleet of 24 aircraft and routes to 27 Colombian and three international destinations.

Cueto also announced a plan to invest $4.6 billion in the airline between 2011 and 2014, in order to refurbish and increase the fleet of aircraft. "We always like to have a relevant size to be able to have good service," he said.

LAN, which is headquartered in Santiago, the capital of Chile, flies to 70 destinations around the world in association with other carriers and operates in the South American countries of Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru.

Executive director of Aires, Hernan Pasman, said in early May that $20 million has already been invested in the company since it was taken over by LAN at the start of the year.

What a VAT in Amritsar!

2011-05-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

AMRITSAR: Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) has feared that many airlines operating from Sri Guru Ramdas International Airport could suspend their operations if state government did not reduce VAT on air turbine fuel (ATF) from 22% to 4 % .

AVM patron Charanjit Singh Gumtala told TOI on Monday that the government should also release Dr Manohar Singh Gill committee report which was prepared in 2009 to find ways and means to attract new airlines and to start more flights from Amritsar.

He said there was 22% VAT on ATF in Amritsar, while it was only 4% in Chandigarh, "Airlines have to shell out Rs 6,000 more on per kiloliter of ATF in Amritsar as compared to Chandigarh. And in terms of one flight, it translates into a loss of Rs 3 lakh which is a major disincentive for the Airlines from starting operations from Amritsar," he said.

In 2008 Jet Airways withdrew its Amritsar- London international flight. Singapore Airlines also stopped its operations fom February 2009 due to costly fuel and high landing charges in Amritsar as compared to Delhi .

"For landing at Rajasansi Airport, the civil aviation ministry was charging Rs 154,000 per flight in Amritsar from Singapore Airlines as compared to Rs 75,000 by the Delhi airport. Similarly, Jet Airways was shelling out Rs 94,000 as landing fee for domestic flights compared to Rs 69,000 in Delhi in 2008" he said.

BJP MP from Amritsar Navjot Singh Sidhu had launched an intensive agitation to restore these flights following which a Parliamentary panel headed by the then sports minister Manohar Singh Gill, former union minister and MP SS Dhindsa, Rajya Sabha member Tarlochan Singh and Airports Authority of India chairman PK Aggarwal visited the airport on December 16th 2008.

After the visit, Manohar Singh Gill had stated that he would submit a detailed report to the civil aviation ministry to save the airport within a week. The panel also said that up-gradation of facilities at the airport in the next three months would attract airlines to resume services. But nothing has happened so far.

New AI flights to woo back passengers

2011-05-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

KOLKATA: Air india has started an aggressive brand promotion to boost passenger confidence that had dipped to an all-time low following the 10-day strike by its pilots.

While the first flight from Kolkata to delhi via Kanpur was introduced on Tuesday, the other flight is to Lilabari via Guwahati.

Air travellers from Kanpur now have a non-stop service to Kolkata, eliminating the need to travel to Lucknow or any other city for connecting to Kolkata. The flight is operated by Alliance Air, a subsidiary of AI, with a 70-seater CRJ-700 jet aircraft.

Meanwhile, the carrier introduces a five-day per week (Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays) flight linking Kolkata with Lilabari via Guwahati with an ATR aircraft from Thursday. The travellers of this region can now conveniently connect to various metros in India.

Though passenger load factor has increased to 80%, it is a holiday season rush rather than an indicator of improved passenger confidence. "It is difficult to expect passengers to be taken for a ride one day and return the next. The strike dented the airline's image," an official said. With concerns over passenger figures again nose-diving after the holidays are over, the airline has decided to connect new destinations and maintain on-time performance as twin incentives to woo back passengers. Over the past few days, the carrier has clocked 100% on-time performance in most sectors in the region.

Walkout leads to yet more luggage chaos at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport

2011-05-30T22:27:00.000-07:00

Stoppages were apparently prompted by loss of travel benefits

Hundreds of airline passengers were left without their luggage when ground personnel at Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport walked off the job without any prior warning on Friday afternoon.

It could take several days to sort out the chaos, said Arja Suominen, the Head of Communications at Finnair, late on Friday evening.

Tom Christides, the Communications Manager of Blue1, said that the airline’s customers would get their suitcases during the course of Saturday.

Because of the work stoppage that started around 3:00 pm on Friday, no luggage was handled, which led to delays and cancellations of many flights, even though Jukka Backlund, the CEO of ISS Aviation, had said earlier on the same day that all flights of the airlines handled by the company would take off.

The industrial action involved around 100 workers employed by Barona and another 100 employees of ISS Aviation. The two companies are in charge of the ground services for airlines at Helsinki-Vantaa.

The Barona and ISS employees returned to their regular work shifts at midnight between Friday and Saturday, the Finnish Aviation Union reported late on Friday evening.

The stoppage affected the flights of Finnair, Blue1, Lufthansa, SAS, Austrian Airlines, and Norwegian Airlines.

Communications Manager Tom Christides advised passengers to go straight home from the airport. The situation at the baggage reclaim area was chaotic, while hundreds of incoming passengers were staring forlornly - though with increasing anger - at a few suitcases going around on the conveyor belt.

In addition to the backlog with luggage, for security reasons dozens of passengers had to be kept in airplanes for many hours, as there were no airport buses to take them to the terminal.

The employers were not informed of the illegal strike in advance, neither were they given any reason for the walkout, nor any demands.

More than half of the suitcases that were stuck at Helsinki-Vantaa because of the stoppage were delivered to their owners during the weekend.

According to Juhani Haapasaari, the Chairman of the Finnish Aviation Union, the reason for the industrial action was the loss of travel benefits.

Haapasaari commented on the issue to the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) on Sunday.

Some of Barona’s employees have had travel benefits, which Finnair has now wanted to negotiate all over again.

According to a statement issued by the Finnish Aviation Union, the protest was targeted at the one-sided policy lines of Finnair and SAS, the former employers of the ground handling staff, in the collective bargaining talks.

The negotiations are to continue on June 9th.

Grounded international flights may get back wings

2011-05-30T22:21:00.000-07:00

Srinagar, May 27: If all goes as planned, international flights may again operate from the Srinagar ‘International’ Airport in next few months, brining respite to the stakeholders who have been pitching hard for revival of the service to bring Kashmir on the international air travel circuit.

Highly placed sources disclosed to Greater Kashmir that serious efforts are on in the power corridors of New Delhi to revive the grounded Srinagar-Dubai flight and also make a Srinagar-Jeddah flight operational.

The development comes in the wake of recurring demands from the stakeholders that the Srinagar-Dubai flight—which was launched with much fanfare by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on February 14, 2009—be revived to give fillip to the tourism sector in Kashmir. The maiden international flight to Kashmir was grounded in January last year, with the Air India Express citing “it was not a commercially viable venture”—something which the stakeholders never accepted.

“At appropriate levels, New Delhi has set in motion the process to revive the international flights and in the concerned quarters feasibility study is also being undertaken to look into the commercial viability of the ventures. Once the exercise is completed, you’ll certainly see some positive headway on the issue, which has been a long-pending demand of the people of Kashmir,” the sources disclosed.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation, the sources said, is in the process of persuading the Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, on the issue. “So far there is nothing in black and white which says the Srinagar-Dubai flight was not a commercially viable venture. At least nothing of this sort has been communicated to the state government so far. There are, no doubt, some issues involved in the flight like a proper route plan, but those things can be sorted out,” they said. “It is in that connection, a feasibility study is must to sort out the issues facing the airlines and come up with a solution for the same. Having an airport with international tag serves no purpose. It has to be ensured that international flights operate from here so that the tourism sector in the Valley gets considerable fillip.”

THE DEMANDS

The stakeholders have been crying hoarse to restore the Srinagar-Dubai flight and also the direct Hajj flights, which were not able to operate from the Srinagar ‘International’ Airport, last year. The tourism and travel agencies in Kashmir had reacted sharply to grounding of the flights, describing the international status of the airport as a “cruel joke being played with Kashmiris.” After the public outcry, the state Congress chief, Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz, raised the issue in the Parliament, urging the Civil Aviation Ministry to restore the service. “If you connect the flight with Jeddah, you will draw many customers,” Soz had told the Parliament in May last year.

Sources said in the wake of criticism on the government’s failure to get the Srinagar-Dubai flight restored, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently took up the issue with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

‘WE ARE AT IT’

When contacted, the Commissioner, State Civil Aviation Department, Capt S Katoch said the issue has been taken up at the highest level in the Centre.

“And the state government is pursuing vigorously with the Government of India to recommence this operation, at least to the destination where it was working before and also to some other destinations. In a couple of months, we may see some decision in this direction,” Katoch told Greater Kashmir.

“The GOI is very much aware of the problem. A couple of meetings have taken place on the issue and another meeting is scheduled next month where the matter shall again be discussed.”

‘FLYING RIGHTS ISSUE’

Sources said route plans with regard to the international flights are also required to be reviewed. This comes in the backdrop of reports that foreign airlines are barred from carrying out operations from the Srinagar airport even though it has been designated as an “international airport.”

“Foreign airlines cannot be allowed to operate direct flights from Srinagar as Pakistan does not allow these airlines to use its airspace (other than Indian) while flying to and from Srinagar. Foreign Airlines will have to follow a circuitous route, halting in either Delhi or Mumbai,” a Delhi-based newspaper reported last year when Srinagar was ousted as embarkation point for Hajj pilgrims.

Sources said route permits need to be reviewed to see how best the flights can operate.

Competition for Atlanta flights to Bermuda ignites

2011-05-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

Atlanta flights to Bermuda ignites
That puts it in competition with Delta on the route.Atlanta flights to Bermuda push back from the gate at 10:25 a.m. and arrive on this almost mythical island at 2:25 p.m., in plenty of time to clear customs, check into your hotel and get ready for dinner. Return Bermuda flights do a quick turn and depart at 2:40 p.m., getting to the gate at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International at 4:50 p.m. That puts you in position to connect to a slew of flights from AirTran’s largest hub.

AirTran goes virtually head-to-head with archrival Delta, whose Atlanta flights to Bermuda depart at 10:55 a.m. and arrive at 2:45 p.m. Delta’s Bermuda flights to Atlanta push back at 3:45 p.m. and arrive ATL at 5:52 p.m.

In either instance, with AirTran or Delta, connections at ATL go comparatively quickly. That’s because you clear customs in Bermuda, via pre-clearance. When you get off the plane in Atlanta, just go to your connecting gate.

Bermuda is famous for pristine pink beaches, terrific tennis, and great restaurants. But the island is also rife with history – forts, gardens, historic houses, even a perfumery. A significant slice of Bermuda’s architectural history is tied to its houses of worship. The island has more churches per square kilometer than any place on earth.

Transpolar Flights : Good for the Planet, Bad for Your Health?

2011-05-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

Last month, I flew on a direct flight from DC's Dulles Airport to Beijing. About eight hours into the flight, I was surprised to learn that we were flying straight over the North Pole. From the window, I could see the vast stretches of ice floes and not much else. The plane was flying low enough that a man near the galley window took a photo with his iPhone that showed distinct snowy peaks. Passengers jokingly asked children whether they could see Santa Claus. It was eerily bright. Big cracks across the ice revealed canyon-like patches of open water. I had visions of what it must have been like when Ernest Shackleton got the Endurance stuck in the ice near the South Pole.

As cool as it was to be flying over the top of the world, I had the distinct feeling that maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Some of my misgivings were for safety reasons: There aren't a whole lot of places to land out there should someone try smoking in the lavatory or if an engine falls off. But also, the North Pole looked, to my eye at least, like untouched wilderness. It's the last really unexplored place on earth, and it seemed like even the odd commercial jet could really disturb some critical if poorly understood ecological balance. But really, what did I know? I was just a random passenger.

So when I got home, I decided to consult some experts to see what the possible environmental impacts might be, if any. What I learned is that transpolar flights have a lot of net benefits for the environment in terms of climate change. But those benefits have to be weighed against some fairly serious potential health issues for passengers—none of which were disclosed to us when I booked my ticket.

In terms of environmental impact, those developments may be a good thing, because they shave significant amounts of flying time off trips from the US to Asia, saving hundreds of gallons of jet fuel and reducing the pollution produced by the jets. When Canadian officials were contemplating opening up the airways to more commercial jets over the North Pole in 2000, they estimated that the route would knock five hours off the usual flying time for a trip from New York to Hong Kong, for instance. That's serious money—and jet fuel.

One of aviation's biggest contributions to climate change is the contrail, those clouds of condensed water vapor created by the jet exhaust. Because they trap outgoing radiation from the earth, the contrails are thought to contribute to global warming. I thought maybe some of this could be more pronounced at the North Pole, where holes in the ozone tend to show up, and where there are already myriad concerns that the ice is quickly melting from increased global temperatures. But David Fahey, a research physicist with NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory who studies the upper atmosphere, says that he suspects that the arctic climate at the pole isn't very conducive to contrails, so that's probably not an issue. He posits that the Earth may be better off with more jets flying over the pole.

People on those jets, however, might not be. One of the complications of flying over the North Pole is that planes and their passengers are exposed to significantly more radiation, especially during solar storms, than they would be on a traditional route. That's because the planes travel through the thinnest layer of the magnetosphere, which typically shields the earth and other commercial flights from cosmic radiation.

When the transpolar flights were first considered in 2000, scientists estimated that flying over the North Pole would expose passengers to the amount of radiation they'd get in three chest X-rays, which could be hazardous to pregnant women. (Traditional routes would have exposure similar to less than two X-rays.) In 2009 NASA researchers discovered that during a 2003 solar storm, people flying over the North Pole would have been exposed to about 12 percent of the annual radiation limit recommended by experts, significantly more than regular commercial flights.

Along with the radiation issues, flying over the North Pole presents some safety issues, in part because of the lack of places to land in an emergency (a concern when flying over the Pacific Ocean as well), but also because the magnetic forces and solar activity at the pole can really screw up navigation and communications systems. Planes making transpolar flights need special equipment to keep from getting lost—as the Korean Air flight 902 did when trying to make the polar route in 1978, prompting the Soviets to open fire and kill two passengers on the jet. There haven't been any major polar air disasters recently, but it's still something to consider when you book your ticket.

When it comes to weighing the environmental pluses and the health and safety minuses, taking a flight that may cross the pole is a complicated equation. If you're an infrequent traveler, the polar flight probably makes sense. If you're pregnant, you might want to take the long route or stay home. And if you travel to Asia a lot, Fahey jokes, "Wear lead-lined clothes next time."

Crash Report Shows Confused Cockpit

2011-05-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

Crash Report

The airline industry is expected to implement major changes in its training procedures—particularly those intended to help pilots quickly react and regain control in the event of high-altitude flight upsets following a report last week that shed light on the 2009 stall and crash of an Air France jet.

While cruising at 35,000 feet and nearly four hours into what seemed a routine overnight flight to Paris from Rio de Janeiro, Air France pilots got a stall warning and responded by yanking the nose of the plane up, instead of pointing it down to gain essential speed, according to information released Friday by French accident investigators.

Apparently confused by repeated stall warnings and reacting to wildly fluctuating airspeed indications, pilots of Flight 447 continued to pull back sharply on the controls for almost a minute—even as the Airbus A330 plummeted toward the water, according to the information released Friday.

The report raised questions about how seasoned pilots for a top airline, flying one of the industry's most advanced jets, violated such a fundamental rule of airmanship.

The aviation industry already implemented major changes in pilot training months before Friday's release, but the report is bound to set the stage for further training revisions, according to international safety experts.

Led by aircraft manufacturers Boeing Co. and Airbus—and supported by airlines and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic—new stall-recovery training programs have been developed to reiterate the importance of reducing the upward angle of the nose of the aircraft as pilots add power to regain speed and control.

While French investigators are months away from releasing their final conclusions and safety recommendations from the Air France probe, critics of traditional stall-recovery training are pushing for further changes to help pilots feel more comfortable manually controlling planes in various emergencies.

Claude Lelaie, a top Airbus safety official, told an international safety conference in Istanbul in March that the manufacturer for months had been advocating revised stall-recovery procedures emphasizing "more pitch down control" to push down the nose of the aircraft and reduce its "angle of attack," or the angle between the airflow and the longitudinal axis of the plane.

Specifically, the Airbus official told the conference that after the Air France crash, pilots for the first time were trained to recover from stalls at high altitudes, without the benefit of certain computer aids. "Pilots were afraid of that" technique in the past, he said, because standard simulator training assumed certain automated protections would remain in place.

Many of the same changes also are gaining momentum in the U.S., where various industry groups, union officials and government safety experts are mulling regulatory changes to lock in the new training approaches. The Federal Aviation Administration is considering updated simulator techniques and recurrent training requirements, and lawmakers also have been pushing for similar revisions.

Paul Kolisch, a U.S. airline pilot and senior flight instructor participating in that effort, believes traditional stall-recovery training has been too predictable and failed to reflect the nature of real-world emergencies. "The training is akin to synchronized swimming," he told the March conference in Istanbul. "It requires a good deal of skill and preparation, but has nothing to do with swimming safely across a river."

Likewise, Boeing Co. safety officials have urged enhanced stall-recovery training that is more realistic and suddenly confronts pilots with surprising flight-control difficulties, while also teaching crews to better understand the impact of automation on their responses.

The introduction of automation has made flying dramatically safer over the years. In the U.S., for instance, fatal accident rates are at record lows. But if pilots are taught to abdicate too much responsibility to automated systems, essential piloting skills can dull and aviators become too reliant on computers in emergencies.

That's particularly troublesome if onboard flight-control computers malfunction, disconnect or, as in the case of Flight 447, give conflicting information and warnings to pilots. "Pilots are starting to serve the automation, not the automation serving the pilots," said Bill Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation of Alexandria, Va., an independent advocacy group championing enhanced training. "It's almost like we have to train the pilots to know how to triage these situations."

The long-awaited factual report, though it doesn't explicitly say the pilots acted improperly, provides important new details about their actions during a dangerous loss of forward momentum that lasted more than three and a half minutes. Investigators already concluded that except for malfunctioning airspeed probes, there were no other mechanical, electrical or system errors.

The report paints a somewhat unflattering picture of a seemingly confused cockpit, with the crew making extreme inputs to their flight controls and the engines spooling up to full power and later the thrust levers being pulled back to idle. At one point, according to the report, both pilots sitting in front of the controls tried to simultaneously put in commands.

The preliminary findings offer "a strong piece of evidence that as an industry, we need to improve upset recovery training," said John Cox, a former airline pilot and accident investigator who now runs Safety Operating Systems LLC, a consulting firm based in Washington, D.C.

The senior captain on the flight, Marc Dubois, who was on a routine rest break in the cabin when the trouble started, rushed back to the cockpit and was present and observing the other pilots' actions during a large portion of the descent.

Air France praised the three pilots, who "demonstrated a totally professional attitude and were committed to carrying out their task to the very end," the airline said in a statement.

The carrier, a unit of Air France-KLM SA, noted that "the initial problem was the failure of the speed probes which led to the disconnection of the autopilot and the loss of the associated piloting protection systems."

The largest trade union representing Air France pilots, SNPL, said Friday the report "describes only part of the sequence of events experienced by the crew" and it awaits the full report.

Throughout the sudden descent, according to the report, "inputs made by the [pilot flying] were mainly nose-up," which reduced the plane's lift. Pilots are taught from their earliest training that if an airplane begins to stall and its wings have lost the lift to remain airborne, they should immediately push the nose down to regain speed, lift and maneuverability.

The report could provide ammunition for the lawsuits against Air France, though plaintiffs also are likely to pursue Airbus for how it handled airspeed-indication issues over the years.

The problems with the speed probes on the Air France plane, and others like it, were well known. They had a history of icing up and giving faulty readings. The probe's maker, Thales SA of France, declined to comment. Airbus and regulators had established procedures to handle such situations with the probes, which are called pitot tubes. These procedures focused on maintaining sufficient thrust and avoiding extreme maneuvers.

Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., said in a statement it is committed to continuing to provide support to the investigation "with the objective of identifying all potential lessons to be learnt."

About three hours and 40 minutes into the flight, when the airspeed-indication issue first cropped up and the pilots received their initial stall warning at around 35,000 feet, the report shows the crew maintained control and temporarily managed to stabilize the plane at an altitude above 37,000 feet. That took just under a minute.

But then with their jet basically flying level despite airspeed-sensors that continued to display unreliable readings, the pilots started to veer away from typical procedures, the data released Friday reveal. French investigators didn't comment on reasons for the crew's behavior.

Upon receiving a second stall warning, the crew increased engine thrust substantially—part of standard practice to cope with such a situation. But for the next 50 seconds, the pilot at the controls did something that safety experts consider anathema: He continued to pull the jet's nose up, despite the threat of worsening the stall.

About two minutes after the first problems—and with the captain back in the cockpit—the jet was falling at a rate of 10,000 feet a minute, comparable to dropping 15 stories a second in an elevator. Yet the plane's nose remained pointed sharply upward as the wings rocked side to side and its forward speed hovered around 100 miles an hour, too slow for a jetliner to fly.

"I don't have any more indications," one of the pilots said, perhaps referring to airspeed but possibly something else. "We have no valid indications." The report doesn't elaborate.

At that juncture, according to the report, both thrust levers were pulled back to idle. The report also said that both engines were operating and responding normally to pilot commands.

The report goes on to describe how roughly a minute later, with the plane already dropping to around 10,000 feet altitude, there were "simultaneous inputs by both pilots on the sidesticks" that control the aircraft, with one of the pilots trying to clear up the confusion by telling the other "go ahead, you have the controls." Pilots are trained to avoid such simultaneous commands.

The plane's data recorders stopped four minutes and 27 seconds after the autopilot kicked off, with the plane still dropping at roughly 10,000 feet a minute, tail down and slightly rolled to the left.

Air France has had a history of safety issues over recent years. After the crash of an Air France Airbus A340 on landing in Toronto in 2005 that resulted in no fatalities but destroyed the plane, the airline ordered a thorough study of its approach to safety. The airline later said most of the report's recommendations had been implemented.

After the 2009 crash, the airline commissioned another study of its practices by a panel of leading international safety experts. That report, which was delivered to the airline in January, found a lack of "strong safety leadership at all levels of management" that resulted in lax cockpit discipline and ineffective pilot training.

Air France said it was studying and implementing the report's recommendations.

India-Europe flights unaffected by ash cover as of now

2011-05-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Indian air carriers Wednesday reported no cancellation of flights to Europe, despite volcanic ash from Iceland grounding about 500 flights in Britain alone and covering some part of the continent's air space.

"Our operations till midnight are on schedule. Any alterations due to the ash cover would be informed to the passengers," a senior Air India official with the operations arm of the airline told IANS.

According to the official, the ash cover was unlikely to affect the airlines' operations, as longer and safe routes were available with Air India.

"There is no such scenario of flight cancellations as operations are unlikely to be affected. The major cancellations are of domestic European flights."

Currently, the flag carrier is India's largest flight operator to Europe with 30 flights to and from the continent on Boeing 777LR (long range) aircraft.

Other leading carriers like Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, which operate flights to Europe, also confirmed that there was no cancellation or disruption due to the ash cover so far.

"We are, however, keeping a close watch on the situation to avoid chaos," a senior official at the Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines told IANS.

The senior official added that if the situation worsens, the airline may take measures like route alteration to avoid the ash cover zones.

Kingfisher Airlines currently operates four daily flights between India and Britain, including Delhi-London and Mumbai-London.

Jet Airways, which has a considerable presence on the European continent with its international hub based in the Belgian city of Brussels, said the situation was under control and none of its 18 daily flights, including six connecting flights to North America, were affected.

Jet Airways operates 12 flights from India to Europe including return flights, while six flights have a stopover in Europe before they either move on to North America or return back to India. The company operates its operations on Boeing 777 ER (extended range) aircraft and Airbus A330 aircraft.

The ash cloud from Iceland's erupting Grimsvotn volcano now threatens northern Europe. British Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said airports in Britain should return to normal Wednesday as the ash cloud went down from 12 miles to just two.

Around 500 flights were cancelled in Britain after the eruption began on Saturday, leaving passengers stranded at certain Scottish and northern England airports.

Aviation experts assert that an aircraft passing through the ash clouds may experience technical difficulties like engine failure.

The airline safety risk assessment procedures explains this anomaly as an increase of suspended particles in the engine's turbines, which have the potential to choke the engine to an halt.

Last year a similar spectacle of ash cover blocking airline traffic in one of the busiest aviation sector of the world was witnessed in April. According to the International Air Transport Association ( IATA), it cost $1.8 billion and set back the global economy by $5 billion.

Cargo numbers: Recovery ahead

2011-05-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

As a rough rule of thumb, Brian Pratte says, the economic impact of an air cargo flight is 10 times greater than the impact of a passenger flight.

“Those boxes didn’t move themselves,” says Pratte, director air service and cargo development at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

And that translates into good news for the northern Nevada economy as the amount of cargo handled at the airport during March increased more than 19 percent from a year earlier.

In fact, cargo shipments through the airport have been up year-over-year for 14 consecutive months.

Two big trends hold promise of spurring air cargo traffic even further.

One is the rapid development of new Internet fulfillment operations in northern Nevada. In recent weeks, Urban Outfitters, Toys“R”Us and GSI Commerce all have announced plans for big new centers that will fill orders placed by online customers.

While many of those orders will travel by truck, history shows that air cargo operations will benefit as well.

One statistic tells the story: Most months, somewhere between 150 and 200 cargo flights land at Reno, about 10 flights each weekday.

But last December, when Amazon.com distribution at Fernley and Barnes and Noble distribution in Reno were filling holiday orders, the number of cargo flights topped 300.

A second factor that could drive air cargo growth is the major push undertaken by Pratte and other airport officials to open direct cargo service between Reno and Chinese destinations.

“We are very diligent about building capacity,” says Pratte.

He met with nearly three dozen Chinese shipping companies during a recent Asian visit, building their awareness of Reno as a potential gateway to U.S. markets.

A big sales pitch: A flight between Beijing and Reno is 300 fewer nautical miles than the trip between Beijing and Los Angeles. That can cut $4,000 from the fuel bill of a 747 cargo aircraft, even without accounting for traffic delays in the skies above Los Angeles.

Airport executives believe, too, that there’s potentially plenty of cargo to fill aircraft headed west from Reno to Asia. About 50 percent of the international air cargo from northern Nevada destinations currently is trucked to Los Angeles before it’s loaded on aircraft, Pratte says.

The availability of good air cargo service is an important element in attracting new jobs to the region, says Todd McKenzie of McKenzie Properties, a Reno-based developer of industrial, office and commercial properties.

“Air cargo is important for global trade and is used for transporting high-value-to-weight items in a timely manner,” says McKenzie. “Having a strong air cargo capability along with our rail, trucking and overall geographic location bodes well for our future economic growth. It enhances our overall distribution mix.”

Pratte notes that strong air cargo service at Reno-Tahoe International Airport ripples through a wide region.

The airport sees potential markets for air cargo within a one-day truck drive of Reno — an area that includes parts of Oregon and Idaho as well as northern Nevada and the Sierra region of northern California.

Endeavour preparing for the trip home – TPS clearance overview

2011-05-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

Endeavour preparing for the trip home

After nearly 12 days of docked operations with Space Station Alpha, the Space Shuttle Endeavour, NASA youngest Shuttle orbiter, departed the international outpost to begin her final journey home. Thanks to the superb work by her flight crew and her thousands of support staff on terra firma, Endeavour’s Thermal Protection System (TPS) was formally cleared for reentry thanks in large part to Endeavour’s former Orbiter Boom Sensor System.

Post Undocking TPS Damage Assessment Team (DAT) clearance:

Following the preliminary clearance of all areas of Endeavour’s TPS on FD-5, less the multi-tile gouge area between Endeavour’s Right Hand MLGD (Main Landing Gear Door) and Right Hand ET Umbilical door, Endeavour’s flight crew was instructed to proceed with a focused inspection of the damage location.

Prior to that, all Damage Assessment Team (DAT) assessment of OBSS (Orbiter Boom Sensor) data and FD3 RPM (R-bar Pitch Maneuver) photography from the ISS confirmed that Endeavour’s two ET umbilical well doors were closed, that there were no upper flight surface protrusion of any kind, and that six of the seven lower damage sites had been cleared without the need for a Focused Inspection (FI).

Following the FI of the three-tile damage location, lovingly dubbed “The Maine” damage because of its remarkable resemblance to the U.S. state of Maine, a detailed characterization of the damage was compiled.

From this, it was confirmed that all tile material was still intact in all areas with no exposed filler bar material; no cracks were identified; the dark area of TPS as seen from RPM imagery was an area of abrupt damage depth change – as expected; all thermal stress assessments revealed no structural overtemp issues for reentry; a “small area” of TPS bondline overtemp would occur during reentry but is acceptable for reentry due to its distribution over three tiles; all TPS and structural margins were well within safety limits for reentry.

Thus, the TPS DAT unanimously recommended clearing Endeavour’s entire Thermal Protection System for reentry in emergency return cases and for nominal EOM (End of Mission) reentry pending the completion of the Docked Late Inspection (DLI).

Detailed Focused Inspection damage site clearance overview:

Following the detailed and fascinating Focused Inspection of the “Maine” damage site, photographic and laser measurement data revealed that the damage was 0.89 inches in depth, +/-0.04 inches, and remained above the filler bar.

This means that tile margin exists in all areas of the damage cavity, or what the post-FI inspection presentation – available for download on L2 – classed as a “dense layer.” (View Anaglyph slide left with 3D glasses).

In all, the damage location is 0.89 inches in depth, 2.95 inches in length, and 2.43 inches in width.

In fact, the TPS clearance presentation notes that there are very few areas of missing material and no cracks radiating outward or downward from the main damage site.

Furthermore, views of the damage location obtained from the OBSS’s Laser Dynamic Range Imager (LDRI) confirmed that sections – but not all – of some AMES gap fillers were missing, indicating that the “Impactor had enough energy to damage multi-layer AMES gap filler.”

However, it appears that the AMES gap fillers had an unintended positive consequence as “Adjacent tile damage size [was] reduced by the presence of AMES gap filler.”

In comparison to a similar tile damage event on the STS-118/Endeavour mission, the STS-118 damage was 3.48″ x 2.31″ x 1.12″, was located at Xo 1260 Yo 123 Zo 269, and carried a tile depth of 1.12 inches.

STS-134/Endeavour’s damage was 3.22″ x 2.49″, was located at Xo 1243 Yo 106 Zo 267, and was located on a tile with a thickness of 1.04 inches.

Based on analysis conducted during the STS-118 mission, that mission’s damage was found, based on on-orbit information analysis, to have a Mach 16.7 Boundary Layer Transition (BLT) time. STS-134′s damage is predicted to have a Mach 12 (nominal) BLT time.

All STS-134 FI damage was further found to have baseline aeroheating, BLT, Boundary Layer Wedge, Cavity Heating, Thermal Analysis, Tile Stress, and Stress indicators in Model Category “A” – indicating that “Baselined model used within model limitations or intended use.”

A maximum temperature calculation for the FI damage locations was created, and “Due to flow orientation, assessment [was] performed in both the aligned and cross-flow orientations of the simplified cavity,” notes the TPS DAT clearance overview presentation.

Based on these parameters, a maximum structural temperature of 219-degrees F and a maximum RTV bondline local temperature of 1,194-degrees F are expected during entry on Wednesday morning. The maximum structural temperature allowed is 350-degrees F, leaving high structural margin.

Nonetheless, the total RTV bondline temperature does exceed nominal limits; however, RTV bondline temperature “over 625°F is limited to 6 inches squared distributed over 3 tiles.” For the damage site on STS-134/Endeavour, the aligned flow max temperature is predicted at a modeled rate of 5.75 inches squared with an actual in-flight temp on the critical tile of 4.06 inches squared – both meeting the design requirements

A new revolution in In- Flight Entertainment

2011-05-30T21:50:00.000-07:00

Mumbai: Betting on the fact that entertainment while on a flight is the need of the hour, coupled with the fact that low cost carriers business model do not permit personalized entertainment systems, IP Avenue, a Mumbai based technology company has launched MINT POD – My Interactive Nano TV.

Mint Pod is a 5.3′ inch interactive screen offering passengers a variety of pre loaded content from blockbuster movies to fashion shows, cartoons, travel shows and more … to cater to men, women and children.

The Mint Pod, has over 30 hours of content to keep passengers entertained and occupied on long tiring journeys. The interactive Mint allows one to easily browse between channels and even fast forward pause and rewind.

IP Avenue has tied up exclusively with EROS Entertainment to provide latest Bollywood movies, laughter shows etc.

Today Mint Pod is conveniently available on board across all flights of Go Air and one can rent them for a nominal fee. Soon IP Avenue would be launching Mint Pod with other Indian Low Cost Carriers as well as a few International carriers as well.

On the technology front the Mint Pod’s content is encrypted, aviation copyrighted, with the ability to listen only with help of headphones thereby not disturbing fellow passengers.

Passengers angry over cancellation of AI flights

2011-05-30T21:47:00.000-07:00

NEDUMBASSERY: Confusion prevailed on Cochin International Airport premises here on Friday when Air India announced the cancellation of some of its flights as oil companies issued a notice curtailing the supply of fuel and demanding AI to settle fuel charge arrears reportedly amounting to Rs 1200 crore. The passengers and their relatives who reached the airport raised protests against the irresponsibility of the AI.

However, sources claimed that the passengers were informed sufficiently early about the possibility of the cancellation of the flights owing to fuel crisis.

AI had announced that the Riyad-bound AI flight from Thiruvananthapuram via Kochi (AI 928/929) would be cancelled on Friday. But the passengers who arrived without knowing the cancellation turned violent and shouted slogans. They even prevented AI staff from going out of the airport. Around 164 passengers had reserved tickets to travel from Kochi to Riyad.

Interestingly, the AI management later decided to resume the operation of the flight.

Gulfstream G650 resumes flight testing

2011-05-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

“We have conducted all the necessary reviews to assure ourselves that we can safely resume the flight-test program at this point,”Gulfstream Programs, Engineering and Test senior vice president, Pres Henne said in a statement. “We have worked closely with the Federal Aviation Administration in this process and received the agency’s concurrence to resume flight testing,”

G650 S/N 6001 was the first aircraft to resume flight testing, completing a 1 hour, 39 minute flight on May 28. Since then, all four test aircraft have resumed flying, with the company still expecting to achieve certification this year, followed by service entry in 2012.

“It is our responsibility to move forward with the flight-test program, and we will do so in a safe and prudent manner. The G650 will enter service as the flagship of our product line, where it will represent the very best in business aviation technology,” Henne added, with Gulfstream still cooperating with the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) into its investigation of the earlier crash.

Gulfstream claims that its G650 flight-test program has completed 470 flights to date, accumulating 1560 hours towards the estimated 2200 hours required for certification.

Flights canceled, power cut in Ill., Mich.

2011-05-30T21:41:00.000-07:00

DETROIT, May 29 (UPI) -- Severe thunderstorms Sunday knocked out power for 100,000 people in Michigan and caused the cancellation of at least 450 flights out of Chicago.

Damaging winds and heavy rains accompanied a tornado watch issued for 34 counties in Michigan, the National Weather Service said.

"We've got lots of wires down all over the place," Jay Jacobs, a spokesman for Consumers Power, told the Detroit Free Press. He said crews would work nonstop through Monday to restore service.

Delays at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport reached up to 3 hours, and at least 450 flights were canceled as of 3:30 p.m., NBC-TV, Chicago, reported.

An estimated 18,000 households in the Chicago area were without power, and a flood watch was issued for the Windy City.

Goa received 273 more charter flights this tourism season

2011-05-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

PANAJI: For the current tourist season which is drawing to a close, Goa received 273 charter flights more than the previous season, totalling nearly 900 flights with more than 50 % of the total charter tourists coming from Eastern Europe - Khazakistan and Russia. Announcing the statistics of charter tourism for the current season, the government on Friday said that a total of 899 charter flights carrying 1,71,178 travellers from 12 international destinations have landed into Goa since the start of the tourist season in October 2010.

This is a marked rise from the 626 charter flights that flew into Goa in the previous tourist season with 1,37,790 passengers onboard, director of tourism Swapnil Naik said. The season saw charter flights from UK, Russia, Poland, Germany, Norway, Kazakhstan, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, France, Netherlands and Iran fly into Goa. Statistics show that more than 50% of the total number of charter flights arriving into Goa originated from Eastern Europe, mainly Russia and Kazakhstan.

In all 435 flights arrived from Russia and 20 from Kazakhastan from a total of 899 flights. Ralph de Souza, spokesperson for the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) said, "There is no doubt that Goa's popularity is increasing across the globe. This tourist season, the state has seen a large increase in tourists from countries like Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia." Officials, however, said this is not to indicate that English tourists are very few. Goa continues to attract a steady stream of visitors from the UK. Officials said that a total of 261 charter flights carrying 57,848 travellers arrived into Goa from UK. De Souza said travellers arriving from Russia and other Eastern European countries arrive into the state mainly through the charter route. He further said that "Goa has consistently received a high number of British travellers, especially long staying guests.

However, tourists arriving from the (East European) region are significantly higher than these numbers because many arrive via Mumbai as the connectivity of flights is better." Overall, the arrivals of charter flights were high in December and January which is normally the case. 167 flights came in December 2010 and 187 flights in January 2011. TTAG spokesperson said, "Goa is the only holiday destination in India which has enjoyed the highest number of repeat tourists, especially from UK and parts of Western Europe.

Foreign tourists arriving into Goa stay for an average period of two weeks including short and long term stays, not less." Tourism officials said that over the last year Goa has embarked on "a 360 degrees targeted campaign, proactively pitching Goa as a holiday destination," to the European countries, Scandinavia, Russia, and the east, including Japan.Commenting on the season, director tourism said, "Each year we have either been on par or are doing better than the previous years. We are pleased that we will be closing the tourist season on a healthy note and are extremely optimistic about the coming tourist season as well."

Direct flights to Tajikistan soon

2011-05-30T21:37:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD (APP) - Zubaydullo Zubaydov, Tajikistan Ambassador to Pakistan, said on Sunday that efforts were being made to start direct flights between Pakistan and Tajikistan to further aggrandize mutual trade between the two countries.
"A direct flight from Islamabad to Dushanbe takes less time than that of from Islamabad to Karachi", he said while speaking at a press conference, which was also addressed by representatives of Trade Development Authority (TDAP) and Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI) here to highlight the objectives of the upcoming visit of a business delegation to Tajikistan. The Ambassador said that Tajikistan has a lot of potential areas in which the two countries can cooperate with each other. "Power sector is one of the main sectors, where Tajikistan can supply cheaper electricity to Pakistan", he added.

Tariq Iqbal Puri of TDAP said that the Tajik President during his visit to Pakistan in March this year, invited a high powered business delegation to visit Tajikistan to deepen the business relationship between the two countries and to explore areas of mutual cooperation.

Tariq Puri said that TDAP and FPCCI have jointly undertaken this important businessmen delegation, which represents the cross section of Pakistan's trade and industry and business leaders from all parts of the country.

The industrial and services sectors represented in the delegation include: Textiles, Rice, Pharmaceutical, Engineering, Financial sector, Food and Agriculture. Information Technology, Minerals, Construction, Travel and Tourism, Leather, Arms and Ammunition, Auto Parts, Cutlery and other General Products. Areas of interest in the Tajik economy for Pakistani investors include Cotton, Aluminum and Hydel Power sectors in which joint venture opportunities will be explored, he added. Dr. Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, former textile advisor to the Prime Minister , said that the upcoming visit would prove as a role model and after this visit "we will send delegations to other regional countries like Iran, Russia and India".

B-24 Bomber Flight Is Exhilarating and Hair Raising, Literally

2011-05-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

B-24 Bomber Flight Is Exhilarating

A ride in the plane brings appreciation of those who flew in the cold and heat, under gunfire, in foreign lands. We present this for Memorial Day.

There I sat. Squeezed in with other intrepid travelers in a World War II-era bomber, about to take off from Ramona Airport. I was told it was the only restored B-24J in the world that was still flying and I hoped things were in working order.

A gentleman sitting — like I was — on a thin, khaki cushion on the floor behind the cockpit, crossed his legs in order to allow me to stretch mine out. As he scrunched, I felt bad.

“Go ahead and stretch,” I offered. “You can stretch your legs out over mine. I don’t mind. Get comfortable.”

Looking at the cramped quarters around me, I finished, with a chuckle, “I expect we’ll all get intimately acquainted on this flight.”

Little did I know that the considerable wind flowing through the plane at altitude would later whip my shirt up around my neck, just as this gentleman prepared to take my photo for me. I say “gentleman” because he never batted an eyelid and pretended it never happened.

I, on the other hand, couldn't help but say, “I told you we’d all get intimately acquainted on this trip.”

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Back to the beginning.

The story starts with me sitting, with sweaty palms, tweeting messages for readers: “Ready for take off in the B-24.” The juxtaposition of me fiddling with my iPhone while sitting in a plane that sent young men over the ocean all those years ago wasn’t lost on me. How out of place. But I was tweeting because I was excited. I was also tweeting because I was nervous.

You see, as we began taxiing toward the runway, I couldn’t help but notice that the undercarriage of the bomb bay was still open. Open! In other words, I was seeing the tarmac and I happened to be the one sitting closest to it.

I began to realize why I was the only media person from Ramona who had taken the Collings Foundation up on their offer of a flight at the end of this non-profit group’s visit to Ramona. What was I thinking?! I felt sure now that bomber flights weren't every woman’s “cup of tea,” and maybe I was one of them.

I felt sure the pilot had forgotten to close the bomb bay. I felt sure that he wouldn’t hear me if I screamed, “Hey the bottom of the plane is open!” at the top of my lungs. I felt sure I’d made a giant mistake.

While all this was going through my mind, a teenager was sitting on top of the plane, spotting the end of the wings for the pilot. In other words, both the top and bottom of the plane were open above and below me and we were getting ready for takeoff.

“I’m mad,” I thought. I tried not to let it show but the sweaty palms continued.

Then, we took off.

Oh, my God.

We were free of the ground.

We all beamed at each other.

A flight in this historical behemoth is nothing short of exhilarating. It’s a “two thumbs up” experience, a must-do on the bucket list.

I will say that, at first, I didn’t want to move. I thought I’d be the only person on the plane who would remain in a seat belt for the entire trip to John Wayne Airport, the foundation’s next stop on its national Wings of Freedom Tour.

But, seeing the look on my face, one passenger motioned me to follow him to see the nose turret. I didn’t want to go. It meant I would have to walk, hunched over, past an area that said, “Warning. Do not step,” and into a narrow area at the front of the plane, under the pilot.

“You go first,” I said with my eyes. You see, in a B-24 bomber, I can now say with experience, a person has to communicate through gesticulation, expressive eyes or a tap on the shoulder. The alternative is to yell at the top of your lungs directly into a person’s ear canal, which apparently wasn’t preferable to any of us.

I motioned my tour guide to lead the way, wishing I hadn't been so polite and wanting to be in my seat belt. I felt sure that I would step on the aforementioned spot and plummet out of the plane and someone else would be writing Ramona Patch.

But, as you can see from my big smile on the video accompanying this story, when I looked through the nose turret at the landscape below, I understood why I’d been invited up front.

“Now you see, don’t you?” the other pair of eyes looked back at me with a smile. He’d obviously taken this ride before.

“Yes,” I beamed back. I was so grateful that he’d taken me out of my comfort zone to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I tried to be brave from then on, though I felt a bit shaky. He went back to be with his brother to share the ride together. Their father had helped build and fly these aircraft and they were taking the trip in memory of him. It was one of many touching father-son stories I encountered while covering the tour.

I negotiated the 10-inch-wide catwalk through the bomb bay — carefully — because, as we were warned pre-flight, stepping on the undercarriage on either side could drop us out of the plane. I felt like I was walking through a mine field and I was a bit of a nervous wreck.

Then, I made it to the center of the aircraft, which houses the ball turret. Inside the “ball,” a gunner would sit, hanging beneath the plane. He would be lucky to live through the experience because of his vulnerable spot. I can’t imagine the fear that must have run through those young men’s minds.

The center of the plane is the widest, most comfortable spot to ride in and the views are amazing. Each side of the plane is open because of the guns — the rush of fresh air on our faces was thrilling. On the video, you'll see one young man pretending to fire on enemy aircraft.

Undulating hills gave way to the beach and then the ocean as we made our way to John Wayne Airport. The sparkling ocean was mesmerizing. Here and there, we saw a tiny sailboat far below.

I wondered what it was like for young men in the 1940s heading over a vast Pacific or Atlantic to foreign countries, not knowing what would happen there. I imagined them with a blend of adrenaline and testosterone, mixed with trepidation and the worry of possibly never seeing their loved ones again. I felt grateful for my own life.

One of the passengers told me that these young men had to sit for 10 or 12 hours, cross-legged like I described, in temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero because they sometimes flew above 9,000 feet. On the video, you'll see the big yellow oxygen tanks and the small, personal, green ones.

“That's why they wore those bomber jackets,” the passenger said.

I thought about how I don’t like the cold. I would have been shivering miserably.

It was only partly a joke I made about getting to know each other intimately while on the plane. It isn’t just the close proximity to each other. It’s also the shared experience. The reliance on each other for safety.

How much more of a shared experience the war must have been by comparison to our short flight. I considered how people would have to learn to get along as best they could in small confines, with all their different personalities and the mixed emotions of being sent into battle.

After the flight, I talked to a veteran pilot whose B-17 was blown up during the war. He was the only survivor. You can see his interview on the video.

I was impressed by what seemed to be genuine interest in each veteran’s story shown by the B-24 pilot, Jayson Owen, of Kodiak, Alaska. He and his father have volunteered for Collings for many years. Owen flew for Northwest Airlines, he said, for more than 20 years. He has worked around planes all his life and does maintenance on the Collings aircraft as the group travels on the Wings of Freedom tour.

I was also very impressed by his skills taking off and landing that plane. I was told by another volunteer that the monster B-24 is “unforgiving” to anyone with less skill. I was amazed that I didn’t even know we had landed, it was so smooth.

I want to thank the Collings Foundation for the flight. I realize that there are people who would have given their back teeth to have gone on the flight I was offered.

The foundation extends flights to the media so that the public can be made aware of the tour and the experiences it offers. I know there will be many people hoping the tour returns to Ramona.

On this Memorial Day, I am offering this story and video for veterans to share memories and for the rest of us to appreciate what they went through. There are so few World War II veterans left. The Wings of Freedom tour provides an opportunity for us to connect with them and to honor their service.