AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*Canada's WHISTLER AIR is planning to begin new float plane service later his month between Pitt Meadows and the Victoria and Vancouver harbours. The move comes in the wake of last week’s announcement that HARBOUR AIR  is cancelling its services between Langley Regional Airport and Victoria. The new service to Victoria will begin the same day the existing Langley service ends, under the banner of the GEORGIA STRAIT CONNECTOR, a division of Whistler Air. The float plane's, one of which is pictured above, will operate 3x daily in each direction.

*International Airlines Group, formed by the merger of BRITISH AIRWAYS and IBERIA, is reportedly planning a bid for Portuguese flag carrier TAP AIR PORTUGAL. Reports say a planned auction of TAP is set for later this summer. KLM-AIR FRANCE has also been mentioned as a possible suitor.

*The Middle East's largest carrier, EMIRATES, has announced that it is removing fuel surcharges.“In line with the recent decrease in fuel prices Emirates has removed its fuel surcharge on all tickets," the Airline's president said today. "The removal reflects our long standing commitment to our customers, that we would eliminate the surcharge as soon as it was commercially viable and this has now been done". The price of crude oil has slipped back sharply in trading in the last week.

*Two new carriers are set to take to the skies later this year in Ghana. FLY STARBOW and AFRICA WORLD AIRLINES are both in final prepartions for passenger service Exact start dates and flight routes have yet to be disclosed.

*China's XIAMEN AIRLINES has placed an order with Boeing for 6 787 aircraft. Xiamen will take delivery of the aircraft "in stages" between 2014 and 2015. No engine selection has been listed. Xiamen said earlier this year that it planned to add at least 4 new widebodies to its fleet after 2014. The carrier operates an all-Boeing fleet of 68 737s and 757s.

*QANTAS passengers face probable disruptions to flights after the carriers's 1600 licensed aircraft engineers announced today that they would begin strike action this week. A 1 hour strike is planned on Friday morning. Last-ditch talks this morning between Qantas management and the union representing the aircraft engineers before a Fair Work Australia judge failed to resolve the differences. The union said in a statement today that negotiations had "hit a brick wall" and its members intended to begin protected industrial action later this week. Qantas also remains locked in negotiations with 1700 long-haul Pilots over a new employment agreement. The Pilots want to secure their positions as the company becomes more reliant on its low-cost offshoot, JETSTAR.

*AMERICAN AIRLINES Flight 1561, a Boeing 737, reported an unruly passenger onboard, as the aircraft approached San Francisco, California, last evening, May 8. According to media reports, cabin crew members and passengers wrestled a male passenger to the cabin floor after he began pounding on the cockpit, about 10 minutes before the aircraft was due to land at SFO. The man was restrained and the flight crew radioed ahead for law enforcement to meet the aircraft. The 737, which was enroute from Chicago OHare,  landed safely at 9:10pm and taxied to the gate, pictured above. The man was taken into police custody and charges are pending.

*KLM Flight 1203, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency return to Amsterdam, The Netherlands, yesterday, May 8, after the crew shut down one engine for unspecified reasons. The aircraft, which was enroute to Stavanger, Norway, landed safely back in Amsterdam, about 30 minutes after its initial departure. The aircraft was removed from service for inspection and repairs. According to media reports, passengers said flames were coming out of the engine.

*VUELING Flight 8710, an A320, was struck by lightning twice, while holding near Vienna, Austria, yesterday, May 8. The Airbus, on service from Barcelona, Spain, to Vienna, Austria, was holding at 6000 feet, about 25 miles from Vienna, when it was struck by lightning. The crew went on to make a safe landing in Vienna. The A320 was removed from service and remains on the ground, pictured above, in Vienna. According to Vueling, the aircraft was damaged by the lightning strikes, but they did not detail the damage.

*EAGLE AIRWAYS Flight 2144, a Beech 1900D on service for AIR NEW ZEALAND, had to make an emergency return to Gisborne, New Zealand, yesterday, May 8, after the crew shut down the right hand engine due to abnormal instrument readings. The Beech, which was enroute to Auckland, New Zealand, was removed from service for inspection.

*LAN Flight 204, an A318, had to reject takeoff from Concepcion, Chile, on Saturday, May 7, after the right hand engine failed. The crew was able to stop the aircraft on the runway. The A318, which was on service to Santiago, Chile, was removed from service for repairs.