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Boeing, moving to counter a competitive offering from rival Airbus, said it will roll out a more efficient version of its best-selling 737 narrowbody with a new engine in 2017.

The new model, named the 737 MAX, will compete with the revamped A320neo family from Airbus, a similar model due to be equipped with fuel-saving engines and delivered in 2015.

The Boeing jet will have engines from CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric Co and France’s Safran.

source: Reuters

A bizarre new hotel, shaped like a boat,- is to be placed on top of the Queen Elizabeth Concert hall peering out over the River Thames for the 2012 Olympics.

The nautical building, due to be hoisted into position on London’s South Bank in December, will be equipped with a mast and look-out station and guests will be expected to keep a detailed log and hoist a flag to indicate they are aboard.

source: indiatimes.com

Forthcoming winter airline schedules will catapult Dubai International Airport into the place of the world’s second busiest international airport, new analysis has shown.

The airport, which is the hub of Dubai-based Emirates, is currently the world’s fourth busiest, but the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) predicted this week that it will be second only to London Heathrow in terms of passenger traffic by November 2011.

That jump means overtaking Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

source: Independent.co.uk

While European and American airlines rarely feature in the top 10 rankings for best customer service, airlines from these regions have dominated a new list of the world’s safest carriers

Air France-KLM, British Airways and Lufthansa are the safest airlines in Europe.

The safest US-based airlines are AMR Corporation, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways, while the safest from Asia is Japan Airlines, it said, without giving a ranking within the top ten.

To obtain this classification, the first of its kind, ATRA examined publicly available information on 15 criteria, such as the average age of the aircraft used or the homogeneity of the fleet, it said.

World’s 10 safest airlines (in alphabetical order)
Air France-KLM
AMR Corporation (American Airlines, American Eagles)
British Airways
Continental Airlines
Delta Airlines
Japan Airlines
Lufthansa
Southwest Airlines
United Airlines
US Airways

source: smh.com.au

Cash-strapped Air India is mulling several options, including closing operations on routes where the losses were high in a bid to reduce mounting expenditure.

Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi yesterday said the loss-making routes of the state-owned carrier, however, have not been identified yet but the process is underway.

“‘Our focus is on reducing expenditure. We are discussing several options, including closing operations on loss-making routes,'” Ravi told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

source: tribuneindia.com

EgyptAir has flown its first flight to Baghdad in 21 years in what Iraqi airport officials are hoping will be an economic boost from a fellow Arab nation.

EgyptAir suspended flights to Iraq in 1990 before the first Gulf War.

Austrian Airlines, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, Bahrain’s Gulf Air and Turkish Airlines, have also resumed flights to Iraq.

source: washingtonpost.com

A court has ordered Brazil’s second-largest airline to plant trees near Sao Paulo’s international airport to compensate for pollution caused by its passenger jets.

The Sao Paulo State Court of Justice says in a statement that Gol Lineas Aereas Intelligentes S.A. must reforest an area whose size has not yet been determined to compensate for pollution generated by departing and landing aircraft at the airport, located next to the city of Guarulhos.

source: Boston.com

Delta Air Lines ordered 100 Boeing narrow-body jets worth more than $8.5bn at list prices, giving the US aerospace company a welcome boost after a series of setbacks.

Last month Boeing was forced to split a large order from American Airlines with its arch-rival Airbus, and was hurried into announcing a plan to upgrade its best-selling 737 family of narrow-body aircraft rather than building an all new small jet.

Fuel efficiency is a particular priority for airlines. Fuel costs constitute about 40 per cent of total airline operating expenses and high fuel prices have dented the fragile recovery that the sector has enjoyed since the global downturn.

source: FT.com

U.S. airline, rail and transit systems in New York and other eastern cities initiated sweeping weekend shutdowns and slowdowns on Saturday as Hurricane Irene bore down on the region.

Tens of millions of air travelers, train passengers and subway and bus riders scrambled to adjust their routines, work commutes and vacations as transportation networks gradually scale back operations to minimize disruptions.

Coordinated transportation-related closures or slowdowns, often seen during winter storms in the Northeast, were mostly announced on Friday to give travelers enough time to adjust and ensure they stay away from Irene’s fury.

source: Reuters

Low-fare airline easyJet is to start services to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands.

From March 28 next year, the budget carrier will operate twice-weekly flights to the second-largest of the Canary Islands from Gatwick airport.

Fuerteventura is the ninth new route to be introduced by easyJet from Gatwick since the beginning of this year.

source: Independent.co.uk