BALPA

Pictures from Old Website

Admin — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 22:18:27 +0000

Piece of Aviation History November 29

Admin — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:12:13 +0000

1945 – The first civilian air-sea rescue by helicopter takes place when two seamen are rescued from an oil barge by a Sikorsky R5, piloted by Captain Joseph Pawlik assisted by crewman Steven Penninger, at Long Island Sound off Fairfield, Connecticut, USA

LAN formally acquires Aires

Admin — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:09:54 +0000

LAN Airlines has announced that it has signed for the purchase of 98.942 per cent of the outstanding shares in Colombian low cost carrier Aires. The deal had originally been revealed last month.

According to its statement, the Chilean flag carrier will “acquire Aires for $12 million in cash, in addition to assuming net liabilities of approximately $100 million, which includes $18 million of bank debt”.

It is now expected that Aires will become part of the LATAM Airlines Group, which is being formed from the proposed merger of LAN and Brazil’s TAM

Fernando reappointed as President of ICAO’s Air Navigation Commission

Admin — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:08:37 +0000

ICAO has unanimously appointed Mr. Mervyn Gerard Fernando for a further one-year term, beginning 1 January, as President of the Organization’s Air Navigation Commission (ANC). ICAO explained that “Mr. Fernando was initially appointed President of the ANC in 2010. He has been a member of the Commission since 2006 and of the permanent mission of Singapore to ICAO since 2004, in the capacity of technical expert. Mr. Fernando is an air traffic management expert with 30 years of operational air traffic control and airspace management experience”.

Ilyushin crashes soon after take-off from Karachi

Admin — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:06:53 +0000

An Ilyushin IL-76 freighter, similar to the one pictured, crashed just after take-off from Karachi-Jinnah airport yesterday.

The aircraft had a crew of eight on board, none of whom survived. It is also understood that there were another four fatalities on the ground.

The Ilyushin, operated by Georgia based Sun Way, was carrying relief supplies to Khartoum when it came down in a construction site near the airport. The number of fatalities on the ground may rise as workers were known to be living there.

Passenger demand still improving, turning point for freight? IATA

Admin — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:01:34 +0000

IATA has published its results for October which reveal a 10.1 per cent increase in international passenger demand and a 14.4 per cent growth in international freight traffic, compared to the same month last year.

The increase in passenger demand is slightly below the 10.7 per cent growth reported for September, but both months are an improvement over August’s 6.4 per cent.

However, freight “appears to be at a turning point” said IATA. Volumes have been declining five per cent per month since May but it remains to be seen whether the increase is a stabilisation in volumes or it is the start of an upward trend.

Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO commented “As we approach the end of 2010, growth is returning to a more normal pattern. Passenger demand is five per cent above pre-crisis levels of early 2008, while freight is one per cent above. Where we go from here is dependant on developments in the global economy. The US is spending more to boost its economy. Asia outside of Japan is barrelling forward with high-speed growth. And Europe is tightening its belt as its currency crisis continues. The picture going forward is anything but clear, but for the time being, the recovery seems to be strengthening”.