AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*According to media reports today, EMIRATES will "let some time pass" before it renews its lobbying efforts for more flights to Canada after the re-election of Stephen Harper, the prime minister, and his conservative government. The UAE civil aviation ministry and Emirates have been at loggerheads with the Harper government for the last 5 years over more air rights to the nation. Canada has steadfastly refused to allow the Airline more than 3 flights a week to protect AIR CANADA, which relies heavily on international traffic to south Asia and the Middle East in competition with UAE carriers. In a potential setback for Emirates' expansion plans, Canada's conservatives gained seats this month and secured another fixed 4-year term of uninterrupted government.

*Irish budget carrier RYANAIR reported today a 374m euros ($525m) annual profit, a 23% rise. But the carrier said high fuel cost, and a lack of growth in capacity, will mean no increase in profit next year. It projected a 4% growth in passenger numbers in 2012, to 75 million, and said that average fares would rise in line with increased fuel costs. Ryanair saw 14,000 flights cancelled during the year, which ended on March 31, due to volcanic ash, snow and strikes. It also said its fuel costs rose by 37% during the 12 months. However, the carrier said it now has 90% of its fuel needs hedged at a cost of $820 per ton, which it says would give it an advantage over competitors. Ryanair does plan to cut back some routes during the winter season. An announcement on that matter is expected soon.

*Germany will not grant Middle Eastern carrier EMIRATES rights to service additional cities within the country, the latest development in a spat over access to German-Gulf routes. In a statement, a German Transport Ministry spokesman said that there is no need to extend the existing bilateral air transport agreement between the 2 countries. This agreement limits the airline's number of landing points in Germany to 4. Emirates would be free to add Stuttgart and Berlin, said the spokesman, but would then need to give up to give up 1 of its existing destinations. Although Emirates can only fly to 4 destinations within Germany, there are no limits to the frequency of flights or what model of aircraft is deployed. In other words, capacity is unlimited. It currently serves Munich, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Hamburg. This morning, Emirates announced that it is adding a 3rd flight this winter from Dubai to Frankfurt. It will also add the A380 for its morning service to Munich, which it serves twice daily.

*Ukraine's AEROSVIT announced that it will begin 3x weekly service between Kiev, Ukraine and Hong Kong, on October 30. The carrier will use Boeing 767-300ER aircraft on the service.

*VIRGIN AUSTRALIA is the latest carrier to announce a new fare structure, reducing the number of fare options from 5 to 3. Virgin's move comes after low-cost carrier JETSTAR last week consolidated its fare types to 2, from 5 previously. Under the new fare structure, passengers on Virgin can purchase saver, flexi or premium fares. Saver represents Virgin's lowest fare, while those who bought flexi fares would receive priority check-in, baggage allowance and a food and beverage pack on board. Premium fares were for Virgin's business class and premium economy seats. The changes, which apply to Virgin Australia, PACIFIC BLUE and POLYNESIAN BLUE services, but not V AUSTRALIA, are effective today.

*EL AL Flight 27, a Boeing 777, had to make an emergency return to Tel Aviv, Israel, today, May 23. The aircraft departed Tel Aviv at 1:50am, local time, for service to Newark, New Jersey, with 279 passengers and crew onboard. Moments after departure, the crew reported that they were unable to retract the left hand main gear. They then entered a holding pattern to troubleshoot the problem, however the unsafe gear indication continued throughout recycling the gear. The crew then declared an emergency and circled the over the Mediterrean Sea to dump fuel. Officials at the Ben Gurion Airport declared a full state of emergency, dispatching over 70 Emergency Services vehicles, pictured above, in preparation for the landing. Meanwhile, fighter jets were deployed to give the Pilots onboard Flight 27 the best visual impression of the gear. The crew continued to circle, waiting for daylight to break, before coming in for a landing. Passengers were then told to brace and the 777 approached Ben Gurion, pictured, and landed safely at 5:30am. The aircraft was allowed to taxi and offload the passengers, before being removed from service for inspection and repairs. According to media reports, the massive disaster deployment is part of a program tested in November 2010 for responding to possible landing accidents at the Airport.

*AEGEAN Flight 618, an A321, had to make an emergency return to Athens, Greece, yesterday, May 22, after suffering a bird strike. The Airbus suffered the bird strike on takeoff, however the crew continued to climb. They leveled off at 16000 feet, reported unusual sounds and requested return. After circling to burn off fuel, the aircraft landed safely back in Athens, about 1 hour after its initial departure. The A321 was then removed from service for a damage assessment and a replacement A321 was brought in for the flight to Paris, France.

*THOMAS COOK Flight 2219, a Boeing 757, had to make an emergency landing in Manchester, England, on Saturday, May 21, due to a hyraulic leak detected while on approach. The 757, inbound from Faro, Portugal, landed on the runway 23R without incident. The runway had to be closed for several hours so that crews could clean up the leaking hydraulic oil. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service yesterday.

*RYANAIR Flight 449, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency landing in Dublin, Ireland, on Friday, May 20. While enroute at 18000 feet from Liverpool, England, to Dublin, and about 50 miles from Dublin, the crew declared an emergency and performed an emergency descent down to 10000 feet, reporting cabin pressure problems. The crew then entered into a brief holding pattern at 6000 feet, before landing safely in Dublin, about 30 minutes later with Emergency Services in attendance. According to media reports, passengers reported the Captain came over the PA suddenly and said "Emergency Descent! Emergency Descent!," and the passenger O2 masks deployed. Cabin crew also instructed the passengers to prepare for a possible water landing. Once on the ground in Dublin, a "number" of passengers were treated by Emergency Services for "shock like" symptoms. The 737 was removed from service and the incident is under investigation by Irish aviation officials.

*SINGAPORE AIRLINES Flight 321, an A380, had to make an emergency return to London Heathrow, on Friday, May 20. While enroute at 35000 feet from Heathrow to Singapore, and near Amsterdam, The Netherlands, the crew requested return due to an unspecified electrical fault. The A380 landed back at Heathrow about 50 minutes later and burst 6 tires upon landing. The Airbus rolled out safely and taxied to the gate to offload passengers. According to media reports, a passenger onboard said the lights on the right hand side of the passenger cabin suddenly extinguished, with the loss of power to the entertainment system reported thru-out the aircraft. There was no unusual sounds, vibrations, jolts or odor at the time. The A380 was on the ground at Heathrow for about 20 hours and then departed for Singapore on Saturday, May 21, on regular service.