RwandAir resumes Kigali-Nairobi service with 2 daily flights; starting flights to Goma (Congo) and Dar-es-Salaam

The European Union (EU) has prohibited all airlines based in the African countries of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Sao Tome, and Principe from flying in the member-nations of the EU owing to concerns over safety.

Seems Malaysian aviaton enthusiasts would have to wait a while before they get to see their own Airbus A80. Malaysia Airlines had placed an order for six aircraft, but at the request of Airbus Industrie, actual delivery of the plane has been delayed by eight months. That means the plane would make it to Malaysia only in August 2011, and not in January 2011 as previously expected.

For the Braziliean aircraft manufacturer this is big news indeed. A press release from the company said that Embraer has bagged 30 firm orders for the Phenom 100 VLJ from India. Remember that this is at a time when the aircraft manufacturing industry is not doing particularly well, and the VLJ business is all but dead according to some analysts.

For the first time, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has fined 3 US-based airlines for leaving the passengers stranded in an aircraft on the tarmac.

Malaysia Airlines, the state-owned flag-carrier airline of Malaysia, has decided to restore the 2 additional flights between Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, and Brisbane, in Australia, from March 28, 2010.

bmi, the low-cost airline based in Castle Donington, England, is eliminating its Tel Aviv-London route from January 10, 2010, and also doing away with 600 jobs as a part of its measures to cut costs.

The fleet of Airbus planes of Cathay Pacific, the flag-carrier airline of Hong Kong, has been hit by a series of toilet blockages.

Midwest Airlines and Virgin America, comparatively small airlines based in the United States, have won the highest scores among all the US-based carriers in the annual poll conducted by Zagat Survey.

GE Aviation, manufacturer of large and small jet engines for commercial and military aircraft and the engine-making arm of General Electric Company, has bought Naverus Incorporated, the privately owned company that supplies performance-based navigation services.

A Boeing 747 aircraft of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has successfully demonstrated the use of biofuel on the first passenger flight in the world using biofuel.

Ryanair, the low-cost carrier based in Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland, has said it wait till the end of November 2009, or at the most “very early” December 2009, to reach an agreement with Boeing Company on a fresh batch of orders for Boeing planes.

United Airways, the private airline based in Bangladesh, has launched flights between Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and London.

In a development that would give relief to passengers put to hardships by delayed fights, the European Court of Justice has ruled that passengers on flights that are delayed for more than 3 hours have the same right to demand cash compensation from the airline concerned as passengers on cancelled flights.

Aer Lingus, the former state-owned flag-carrier airline of the Republic of Ireland, is likely to shift its operations to the United Kingdom with a view to cutting costs and also escaping from labour-union problems.

AirAsia , the low-cost regional airline based in Malaysia, has launched flights from  Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, to the Indian cities of Kolkata (in West Bengal) and Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi (in Kerala).

Air Canada, the flag-carrier airline of Canada, has commenced offering in-flight internet service on a trial basis aboard some of its flights on the Toronto-Los Angeles and Montreal-Los Angeles routes.

For the second time in little over a year, a malfunction at one of the two centres handling flight-plans for the air travel system in the United States caused delays and cancellations for passengers across the nation.

Azul Airlines, the low-cost airline based in Brazil, will conduct a demonstration flight in 2012 to test an aviation fuel based on sugar.

The federal government of the United States has introduced new safeguards for the airspace over the Hudson River in New York in response to the fatal mid-air collision between a small aircraft and a helicopter in August 2009.

Bombardier Incorporated, the aircraft manufacturer based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, says it is considering making its largest business jet so far in order to compete with Gulfstream’s G650 model.

Air Austral, based in Reunion, France, has announced that it plans to buy 2 Airbus A380 planes, nicknamed Superjumbo, configured with all-economy-class to carry as many as 840 passengers in each.

Deutsche Lufthansa, the flag-carrier airline of Germany, has entered into code-share agreements with the United-based airlines Continental Airlines and JetBlue Airways that will lead to seamless travel throughout the United States.

Emirates Airlines, the national airline of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is introducing additional flights between Dubai and Kolkata in India from December 3, 2009.

A series of recent incidents involving pilot behaviour have given rise to widespread concerns in the passenger-aviation sector.

Finnair, the flag-carrier airline of Finland ands also the country’s biggest carrier, has announced that it will ground all its scheduled domestic and international flights from November 16, 2009, in view of the planned strike by pilots.

Qantas Airways, the national airline of Australia, has sought to assure passengers that the strike by the carrier’s engineers would not result in grounding any flights and asked the passengers to check departure times on mobile phones and also on its website.

After a gap of over 3 years, Myrtle Beach International Airport in South Carolina, the United States, is offering its first non-stop international flight, starting in early 2010.

Southwest Airlines, the low-cost carrier based in Dallas, Texas, the United States, has launched sale of special fares on its winter flights – with fares starting from as low as $59 one-way for select destinations.

Air Canada, the flag-carrier airline of Canada, is introducing a new service which notifies its customers by a text message or email or when their flights are delayed or cancelled.