Global Airlines one step closer to launching

Prospective start up airline Global Airlines has taken another step towards being an operational airline after signing an agreement with German MRO Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH to prepare and maintain its sole Airbus A380 which is currently stored at Glasgow's Prestwick Airport (PIK/EGPK).

Global Airlines signed the contract yesterday which will see EFW carry out airframe heavy maintenance on the ex-China Southern A380 which was recently purchased from Hi-Fly Malta.

In a statement EFW said it "will be responsible for all scheduled maintenance, including mandatory inspections and component replacements." Works will commence at EFW's Dresden facility during the fourth quarter of this year.' Once the maintenance and flight preparation are complete the A380 will then be having a cabin refit ready for operations which Global hopes will begin early 2025.

Global Airlines is the idea of James Asquith who thinks he sees a gap in the transatlantic market from London Gatwick (LGW/EGKK) using high density aircraft. There 380 will have a three-class layout with between 450-470 seats.

Destinations touted by Global include New York and Los Angeles putting in direct competition with Heathrow based British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, both well-established Airlines in the transatlantic market.

The Global Airbus A380-841 started its life with China Southern Airlines on the 01/03/2013 as B-6140 It was stored in 12/2022 

02/02/2023 HiFly Malta took ownership.

03/02/2024 Global Airlines took ownership of the aircraft and registered to 9H-GLOBL

Turkish Airlines pilot dies mid-flight

                               BREAKING NEWS 

Hearing about this is truly heartbreaking. My family and I would like to extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones and colleagues.

TURKISH AIRLINES BOEING 737-MAX 8 TC-LCU (MSN 60068)

A Turkish Airlines pilot passed away during a flight from Seattle (SEA/KSEA) to Istanbul (IST/LTFM), necessitating an emergency landing in New York.

Pilot İlçehin Pehlivan, aged 59, became unconscious after the departure of flight TK204 from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport on the United States' west coast shortly after 7pm PDT on Tuesday, according to Turkish Airlines spokesperson Yahya Üstün.

Following initial medical intervention on board, the second pilot and co-pilot decided to proceed with an emergency landing. The Airbus A350-900 was over Canada when it rerouted to John F. Kennedy International Airport, approximately four and a half hours into the journey. The plane landed successfully just before 6am EDT, but sadly, Pehlivan was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Pehlivan had been employed by Turkish Airlines since 2007, and a routine health check in March indicated no issues that would have precluded him from flying, stated Üstün.

"We at Turkish Airlines are profoundly saddened by the loss of our captain and offer our deepest sympathies to his family, colleagues, and all those who cherished him," he expressed.

TATCA, the national air traffic controllers association, remarked that Pehlivan had "dedicated many years to the aviation community" and extended its condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

The exact cause of his death has yet to be disclosed.

Provisions had been made to assist passengers in continuing their journey to their final destination from New York.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Turkish Airlines

Code: TK/THY

Aircraft: Airbus A350-941

Registration: TC-LGR

Serial Number: 651

Engines: 2 RR Trent XWB

First Flew: 6th February 2024

Age: 8 Months old

Qantas ordered to pay $100 million in fines for cancelled flights

Qantas, Australia's premier airline, has been fined $100 million for selling tickets on flights it had already cancelled and for delays in notifying passengers about the cancellations. This Federal Court decision follows Qantas' May agreement to pay $20 million in compensation to the many consumers impacted by the prolonged issue.

The company acknowledged that its senior managers were aware that cancelled flights were not immediately withdrawn from sale and that customers were not quickly informed of cancellations. Qantas has consented to overhaul its operational and scheduling systems to avoid future violations of consumer law.

The hefty fine was imposed by the court following a joint proposal by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Qantas, suggesting it as a suitable measure to deter Qantas and other companies from future infringements of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

"This is a significant penalty, sending a clear message to all businesses, regardless of size, that there are grave repercussions for deceiving their customers," states ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.

The ACCC initiated legal action against Qantas in August of the previous year, accusing the airline of misleading consumers by selling tickets and not promptly notifying them of flight cancellations, which they claimed was a violation of the ACL. "This significant penalty sends a clear message to all businesses, large or small, that they will face severe consequences if they deceive their customers," reiterated ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.

In May of this year, Qantas acknowledged its intentional deception of customers and consented to a $20 million compensation payout.

Furthermore, Qantas collaborated with the ACCC to propose to the Federal Court a $100 million fine for its legal infractions.

At that time, Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson offered an apology, admitting the airline had "disappointed customers" and mentioned that investments were being made in technology to prevent a recurrence of such issues. Following its May confession, Qantas has been in contact with nearly 87,000 customers eligible for a portion of the $20 million compensation.

These passengers, who between 2021 and 2023 had either booked flights that the airline intended to cancel or were reassigned to these flights following the cancellation of others, are set to receive payments ranging from $225 to $450, based on whether they were booked on domestic or international flights.

An additional 883,000 passengers are also believed to have been misled by Qantas's failure to promptly inform them of flight cancellations. However, these customers are not receiving financial compensation from Qantas as per its agreement with the ACCC.

Emirates bans walkie-talkies and pagers on all flights in and out of Dubai

EMIRATES AIRBUS A380-861 A6-EDV (MSN 101)

Emirates Airlines has now banned walkie-talkies and pagers on all flights in and out of Dubai after Israel's booby-trap attack against Hezbollah. Flyers are not able to take them in checked or hand luggage and comes after the airline cancelled many flights on Friday.

In a statement posted on their website, Emirates Airlines said: 

"All passengers traveling to, from, or via Dubai are prohibited from transporting pagers and walkie-talkies in checked or cabin baggage."
It went on to say
“Such items found in passengers’ hand luggage or checked baggage will be confiscated by Dubai Police."

The Middle East's largest airline also announced that flights to Iraq and Iran will remain suspended until Tuesday, while services to Jordan will resume on Sunday.

Israel is set to strike Iran after the Ayatollah sent a rocket barrage at the country on Tuesday causing fire to rain down over the country's skies. That's made flying in the region dangerous as Israel could strike at any time with a revenge blitz of its own.

In the aftermath of the mass simultaneous sabotage strike, Lebanon's aviation authority also made the same decision. Thousands of Lebanese were injured, including Hezbollah fighters and innocent civilians. Over 30 were killed and many lost fingers, eyes, or had large chunks of flesh taken out of their legs.

One security expert told reporters that the strike would cause global fears that terrorists could use the same tactic. Ex-military intelligence officer Philip Ingram said there could be "panic around the world" with airports and planes now more vulnerable than before.

Another aviation security expert said terrorists could use the same tactic to bring down a plane as it was just a "numbers game".

Qantas apologises after R-rated movie played to passengers

Qantas has apologised to passengers on a flight from Sydney to Japan after an R-rated film was played to the entire plane. Passengers on the flight to Haneda were shown the start of Daddio, a 2023 R-rated film starring Dakota Johnson.

Technical issues meant individual movie selection was not available, so after a request from some passengers, the crew chose to play the film for the entire flight. Once passengers realised the content of the movie, crew members ended it and instead put a children’s film on screens.

“The movie was clearly not suitable to play for the whole flight and we sincerely apologise to customers for this experience,” a spokesperson for Qantas said.

“All screens were changed to a family-friendly movie for the rest of the flight, which is our standard practice for the rare cases where individual movie selection isn’t possible.

“We are reviewing how the movie was selected.”

After the flight, some passengers shared the experience on social media. One described the movie as “40 minutes of penis and boobs”.

“These poor kids and their parents because you should’ve heard the audible gasps across the plane,” wrote the passenger.

“The film was featuring Dakota Johnson, and I really thought they were playing Madame Web or something – I honestly don’t know if that would’ve been worse.”

Another passenger wrote that the screens appeared locked, and the movie could not be turned off until staff changed it.

Jetstar flight forced to turn back to Adelaide due to a blocked toilet

JETSTAR AIRBUS A321-251NX   VH-OFE (MSN 9540)

This morning, a Jetstar flight bound for Bali had to return to its origin after the toilets onboard malfunctioned. Flight JQ125, destined for Denpasar (DPS/WADD), took off from Adelaide Airport (ADL/YPAD) at 7 .13 am from runway 23 and was rerouted back to Adelaide 1 hour and 19 minutes into the journey. The aircraft landed back in Adelaide around 9:50 am. 

Mid-flight, the toilets ceased functioning and would not flush, a situation confirmed by Jetstar to the awaiting media. The issue with the toilets could not be resolved in the air, and passengers were notified that the flight would head back to Adelaide for engineers to rectify the problem.

A substitute aircraft was arranged for the passengers, and the subsequent flight left Adelaide at 11 am.

The passengers are expected to reach Denpasar at 1:40 pm local time.

The first original aircraft was an Airbus A321-251NX with the registration of VH-OFY (MSN 11410)

the second aircraft was also an Airbus A321-251NX with the registration of VH-OYD (MSN 11797)

Looking back on Qantas Flight 72

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-303 VH-QPA (MSN 0553)

Qantas Flight 72, a scheduled service from Singapore Changi Airport (SIN/WSSS) to Perth Airport (PER/YPPH) made an emergency landing at Learmonth Airport (LEA/YPLM) near Exmouth, Western Australia, on the 7th of October 2008. This was due to an in-flight incident involving sudden, uncommanded pitch-down movements that resulted in serious injuries, including fractures, lacerations, and spinal injuries, to passengers and crew. The aircraft was met by the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia and Care Flight at Learmonth. 

Fourteen individuals were airlifted to Perth for hospital treatment, and thirty-nine others were also hospitalised. Overall, one crew member and eleven passengers sustained serious injuries, while eight crew members and ninety-nine passengers incurred minor injuries. The investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) identified a malfunction in one of the plane's three air data inertial reference units (ADIRUs) and an unrecognized software design flaw in the Airbus A330's fly-by-wire flight control primary computer (FCPC).

Qantas Flight 72, carrying 315 passengers, departed Singapore at 9:32 am local time. By 10:01 am, the aircraft had reached a cruising altitude of approximately 37,000 feet (11,000 m) and was maintaining a cruising speed of Mach 0.82. The incident began at 12:40 Perth time when one of the plane's three air data inertial reference units (ADIRUs) began supplying incorrect data to the flight computer. As a result, the autopilot automatically disengaged. Shortly thereafter, the pilots received electronic warnings on the aircraft's electronic centralized aircraft monitor about inconsistencies in the autopilot and inertial reference systems, along with conflicting stall and overspeed alerts. At this point, the captain took manual control of the aircraft. The autopilot was re-engaged briefly, prompting the plane to revert to its previously selected flight level. However, the crew disengaged the autopilot after roughly 15 seconds, and it remained off for the rest of the flight.

At 12:42, the aircraft executed a sudden, uncommanded pitch-down maneuver, experiencing -0.8 G and reaching an 8.4-degree pitch down, resulting in a rapid descent of 650 feet (200 m). Twenty seconds later, the pilots managed to return the aircraft to its assigned cruise flight level, FL370. At 12:45, the aircraft underwent a second uncommanded maneuver of a similar nature, this time with an acceleration of +0.2 G, a 3.5-degree pitch down, and an altitude loss of 400 feet (120 m); the flight crew successfully re-established the aircraft's assigned level flight within 16 seconds.

Passengers and crew who were unrestrained—and even some who were restrained—were thrown around the cabin or injured by falling overhead luggage, as well as by impacts with and through the overhead compartment doors. The pilots stabilized the plane and issued a Pan Pan Pan call, which was later escalated to a Mayday when the extent of the injuries became known to the flight crew.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Qantas Airways

Code: QF/QFA

Aircraft: Airbus A330-303

Registration: VH-QPA

Serial Number: 0553

Engines: 2 x GE CF6-80E1A3

First Flew: 11th November 2003

Age: 20.11 Years Old