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Rescuers recovered the first two bodies from the wreckage of a crashed Brazilian passenger plane in the Amazon jungle on Sunday and reported that none of the 155 people on board had survived, the Brazilian Airforce said.

The crash of the brand-new Boeing 737-800 belonging to low-cost airline Gol is Brazil’s worst aviation disaster.

Search and rescue teams had to rappel down from helicopters while others hacked their way through thick jungle to reach the wreckage after the plane went down in remote Mato Grosso state on Friday.

source: Sidney Morning Herald

Low-fare carrier AirTran Airways Inc. said Wednesday it plans to delay the delivery of eight Boeing 737 aircraft that were scheduled to be delivered in 2007 and 2008.

The Orlando, Fla.-based airline, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings Inc., said it is pushing back the delivery of five of the 19 aircrafts scheduled for delivery in 2007 and three of the 18 aircrafts planned for 2008. They will now be delivered between 2009 and 2011.

A pilots’ union that had threatened a two-day strike at Japan Airlines has called it off while the union and management keep talking to work out differences over the right to strike, an airline spokesman said Thursday.Japan Airlines Corp. had been in talks with one of its labor unions to avoid a strike on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 over new work conditions that will come about with the company’s planned integration of its domestic and international services.

source: chron.com

European Union countries have agreed to restrict the amount of liquids that airline passengers can take on board, as well as the size of hand luggage.

The tighter security measures have been drawn up after an alleged plot to blow up transAtlantic flights to the United States, using liquid chemicals, was uncovered last month.

The new rules will limit passengers to carry no more than 100 milliliters of liquid per container.

All liquid containers will also have to be carried in a clear plastic bag.

Hand luggage must measure no more than fifty-six by forty-five by twenty-five centimetres.

source: Newswire

It’s not exactly the Oscars but, in the mile-high world of entertainment, Qantas has no peer, the World Airline Entertainment Association says.

The association has named the Australian airline the world’s No. 1 carrier for in-flight entertainment for the fourth time in five years.

The honour was given at the association’s annual conference in Miami Beach this month. Qantas won three Avion Awards: for best overall in-flight entertainment, for best in-flight entertainment guide and for best entertainment for inseat systems (full cabin).

source: smh

Ryanair is offering to build a â?¬250 million ($319.5 million) “low-cost, efficient” new terminal at Dublin Airport, operated by itself or an independent operator, and is calling on the Dublin Airport Authority to “scrap” its proposal to build a â?¬760 million terminal that would increase passenger ticket taxes by as much as 25%. Ryanair argues that the proposed Terminal 2 is badly designed, in the wrong location and five times more expensive than similar facilities in the UK and Europe.

fuente: ATWonline

Singapore Airlines, the world’s second-biggest airline by market value, said on Monday it was seeking court arbitration to settle a dispute with its pilots over pay and benefits for flying its new A380 superjumbo planes.Singapore Airlines has ordered 19 of Airbus’ double-decker A380 aircraft and will be the first airline to fly the new plane next year.

“The company is seeking to have some differences with Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore (Alpa-S) over proposed pay scales for A380 pilots adjudicated. We hope that the outstanding issues can be resolved quickly,” Singapore Airlines said in a statement.

Singapore daily The Straits Times said on Monday that Alpa-S, which it said represents 1,600 pilots, is upset because the airline is proposing to pay the pilots less than what a Boeing 747 captain makes, although the airline’s A380s, with just under 480 seats, will carry about 100 more passengers than its 747s.

source: Reuters

Four U.S. airlines this week are intensifying a contest to open the next non-stop route to China, the world’s hottest growth market.

On Monday, American, Continental, Northwest and United airlines will submit briefs to the U.S. Department of Transportation to boost their bids for the one China route to be approved this year.

The DOT decision is expected to give an economic boost to one of the four U.S. metro areas that would be linked to China by the new air service: Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Washington, D.C., or New York City. Of the four, only the New York area now has a non-stop link to China.

The DOT is charged with choosing a route that will best serve the public interest. But that hasn’t stopped the airlines from waging intense public lobbying campaigns to try to influence the decision.

source: USATODAY.com

Alitalia SpA trade unions have called for a 24-hour strike on Oct 9 in addition to one already set for Sept 29, as talks with management on restructuring falter, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.

In talks Friday, the unions opposed plans for the airline to sell its information technology and administrative activities. Unions and management are due to meet again on Monday, while unions are also asking for intervention of prime minister Romano Prodi.

source: Forbes

60-year-old woman who says she was disfigured when a poisonous spider repeatedly bit her on an American Airlines flight is suing the carrier.The woman is seeking unspecified damages in a lawsuit filed earlier this month against American Airlines and its parent company, Fort Worth-based AMR Corp. The suit seeks damages for medical expenses, pain, suffering, physical impairment and lost wages.

American spokesman Tim Wagner said the company usually does not comment on pending litigation.

source: chron.com