AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*Flight Attendants owed up to 9 months' wages by the grounded Spanish Airline AIR COMET, have posed nude for a calendar to draw attention to their plight. The calendar, numerous excerpts of which appeared in the Spanish media, shows the Air Comet Attendants, all female, posing provocatively in and outside Airline cabins, and in one case on top of a jet turbine. "We are just demanding our rights to receive what is ours, we each have 8 or 9 months of unpaid salaries," said a spokeswoman. Air Comet filed for administration in December after a British court impounded 9 of its aircraft at the request of a German bank.

 

*Australian Airline VIRGIN BLUE says it will buy up to 105 new aircraft from Boeing in its biggest single order. The deal signals that the Australian market is recovering, with delivery scheduled from June 2011 to 2017. The Airline would not reveal the price, although its chief executive, said that it was "attractive". Virgin Blue is Australia's 2nd largest Airline, behind QANTAS. The deal includes 50 Boeing 737-800NG aircraft, with 25 additional firm delivery positions secured as options and 30 future purchase rights. A significant number of the aircraft is to replace its existing fleet, while the remainder is intended for new routes and to boost frequency if needed.

*An AMERICAN AIRLINES Boeing 767 had to make an emergency return, yesterday, March 31. Flight 178 was on Domestic Service from San Francisco, California, to New York JFK, and had just taken off when the tower reported a large amount of smoke coming from the right hand engine. The crew shut the engine down, declared an emergency and leveled off at 3000 feet. On finals back to SFO for landing, the tower reported that no more smoke could be seen. The 767 landed without incident about 8 minutes after its initial departure. Once the aircraft stopped on the runway, light smoke could be seen from the engine, but no fire was present. The aircraft was removed from service for a full inspection and repairs.

 

*A DELTA AIRLINES MD90 had to make an emergency landing, yesterday, March 31. Flight 1912 was on Domestic Service from Atlanta, Georgia, to Indianapolis, Indiana, with 128 passengers and crew onboard. The crew declared an emergency on approach to Indianapolis, reporting a right side hydraulics failure. The MD90 landed without incident about 10 minutes later.

*A CSA CZECH AIRLINES ATR42 had to make an emergency landing, on Sunday, March 28. Flight 967 was on International Service from Bratislava, Slovakia, to Prague, Czech Republic, when the crew reported strange noises from the landing gear during takeoff. The crew also reported that the gear doors remained audibly open and that they received unsafe gear door indications. The ATR continued on to Prague, where it landed without incident, with Emergency Services on standby. Local media reports said that passengers had assumed the brace position for landing as a precaution.