Year Archives: 2024

[ad_1] Q I am planning a trip to Samarkand and Bukhara in Uzbekistan in March. But I am confused by the Foreign Office advice which, as I read it, could invalidate my insurance. It appears that these two cities are safe but some border areas are not. Could you confirm whether my trip will be covered, please?Peter SA You raise an important point: a traveller who visits a destination to which the Foreign Office advises against going is likely to find …

[ad_1] Emirates Airline hopes by next summer to be operating both versions of the Airbus A350-900 it has on order, as deliveries of the widebody twin to the Gulf carrier ramp up. Speaking at an event in Dubai on 27 November to mark the arrival of the first A350 from a 65-unit order, Emirates president Sir Tim Clark said the initial example was configured for “regional” missions of up to 12h. Seating 312 passengers, the twin-aisle “offers a versatile mix of capacity and …

[ad_1] Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need …

[ad_1] London Gatwick and UK budget carrier EasyJet are midway through a small-scale operational trial of a new AI-enabled remote gate-monitoring system which could boost airline efficiency through optimising turn times. Dubbed “SmartStand”, the system takes a host of existing technologies – AI image recognition, automated foreign object detection, and remote-controlled air bridges, for example – and knits them together into a single system, allowing turn co-ordination to be carried out from a central control station rather than at the gate itself. “It …

[ad_1] Panama’s Copa Airlines has cut four destinations from its network and again pushed back fleet growth plans due to a shortage of new jets from Boeing. “Due to Boeing delivery delays, the arrival of our last two aircraft of the year was postponed by a few months,” Copa chief executive Pedro Heilbron said on 21 November during the airline’s third-quarter earnings call. “We are temporarily pulling out of four markets… The reason we are doing that is also tied to aircraft …

[ad_1] Norse Atlantic Airways is expanding its Scandinavian reach by establishing an operation from Stockholm Arlanda next year. It will open a twice-weekly route from Stockholm to Bangkok from the end of October 2025, the beginning of the winter season. Norse uses a fleet of Boeing 787s. The aircraft will be configured with 338 seats in two cabin classes. “This new route ensures travellers have a premium, yet budget-friendly, choice on one of the most in-demand long-haul routes,” says Norse chief Bjorn Tore Larsen. The …

[ad_1] Bangkok Airways is to wet lease a pair of Airbus narrowbodies from French operator Amelia to provide capacity boost for its international operations.  The deal will involve an A319 and an A320, both of which will be based in Bangkok. Bangkok Airways says the pair will be deployed on flights to Luang Prabang in Laos, as well as Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia.  The decision to wet lease the aircraft is “to accommodate increased demand for international flights”, says Bangkok …

[ad_1] Congo Airways is to lease a pair of Boeing 737s from Avia Solutions Group as part of an effort to restore capacity. Both aircraft are being taken on a six-month wet-lease from Avia’s KlasJet division. KlasJet says Congo Airways’ pair of Airbus A320s have been grounded for engine maintenance, and the airline needs the narrowbody capacity to reinstate services. One 737-800 – registered LY-BBN – has been leased from November to the end of April next year. The aircraft has been based at Kinshasa …

[ad_1] Struggling US budget carrier Spirit Airlines has filed for a pre-arranged Chapter 11 restructuring process, from which it hopes to emerge in the first quarter of next year having already secured investment commitments from existing bondholders. Spirit says it will continue to operate as normal during what it calls a “streamlined” Chapter 11 process. The airline’s chief executive Ted Christie says: ”I am pleased we have reached an agreement with a supermajority of both our loyalty and convertible bondholders on a comprehensive …

[ad_1] Japan’s two largest carriers are seeing slower-than-expected recovery on their Mainland China network, echoing a sentiment made a year ago in the aftermath of the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.  Senior executives from Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways also flagged an imbalance in demand on their China network, with Japan outbound far weaker due to visa-related restrictions for Japanese visitors to China.  Conversely, the two airlines, who spoke to FlightGlobal at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines’ assembly of presidents in Brunei, …

[ad_1] Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need …

[ad_1] Restructuring Brazilian carrier Gol is hoping to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by the end of April as it today reported progress in restoring capacity during the third quarter. The updated timeline on completion comes after Gol earlier this month reached a key debt-for-equity agreement with majority shareholder Abra group.  The agreement, secured 10 months after the Brazilian airline entered the formal financial restructuring process, will eliminate up to $2.55 billion in debt from the carrier’s books and see Abra receive around $950 million …