Aviation Sector

Alitalia's future in doubt as talks with unions collapse

Alitalia AirlineRome  - An Italian government-approved plan to save Alitalia was in disarray Friday with the collapse of talks between unions representing employees and a group of Italian investors seeking to take over the troubled state-controlled airline.

Following a week of unsuccessful talks with the unions, the grouping of investors, CAI, said in a statement Friday that "conditions to continue negotiations do not exist."

CAI blamed the unions for not "not recognizing the dramatic nature of Alitalia's situation and of the need for the profound break with the past that the rescue plan calls for."

Jet airways to celebrate Onam on Kerala bound flights

Kochi (Kerala), Sept 11 : Jet Airways will celebrate Onam, the popular harvest festival of Kerala on flights, by serving specially prepared Onam Sadya for all its domestic and international passengers travelling on flights out of Kochi and Kozhikode on September 12.

Passengers will be treated to delectable Onam meals such as Kalan (raw banana cubes cooked with curd, coconut paste tempered with curry leaves and south Indian spices), Erussery (raw banana and yam cooked with coconut corrainder paste and pulses), and Ela Ada (rice flour cake spread on banana leaf steamed with banana, jaggery and grated coconut stuffing).

Lufthansa upgrades services out of Italy, bigger jets

Frankfurt  - Lufthansa disclosed Thursday plans to upgrade its services operating out of Italy, but denied that the move was prompted by the maladies of its Italian rival Alitalia.

The German airline is to use six Airbus jets instead of the smaller Embraer planes it originally ordered for the new flights set to begin in February 2009.

A Lufthansa subsidiary, Air Dolomiti, will carry passengers direct from Milan's Malpensa Airport to Barcelona, Brussels, Madrid, Paris and other cities, said the group in Frankfurt.

To date, Air Dolomiti has mainly operated feeder flights to Lufthansa's Frankfurt and Munich hubs.

Ryanair plane makes emergency landing at Dublin airport

Dublin/London  - A Ryanair aircraft was Thursday forced to make an emergency landing minutes after take-off from Dublin airport in Ireland, the budget airline said.

A spokesman said the back of the plane struck the runway as it took off and the pilot returned to the airport as a precaution. He described the occurrence as a "tail-strike" which was "quite common."

"As a precautionary measure the aircraft returned with oxygen masks deployed and landed safely in Dublin," he said.

All 148 passengers disembarked normally and the flight later took off for London-Stansted airport. No-one was injured.

Prague Airport to shed 160 employees before privatization

Prague  - State-owned Prague Airport plans to lay off some 160 employees, who account for 7 per cent of firm's workforce, before privatization planned for next year, it was announced Thursday.

In a bid to get in shape prior to the privatization, the company running the airport plans to start cutting the jobs in December. The airport will also cancel 90 vacant positions.

"It is clear that this step will raise the value of our company from the perspective of potential investors," airport's executive manager Miroslav Dvorak said in a statement.

The Czech center-right government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek is either to sell or lease Ruzyne international airport, the second largest in Central Europe after Vienna.

Jet Airways chief Naresh Goyal gets UK award

Jet AirwaysMumbai, Sept. 11 : The Chairman of Jet Airways, India’s premier private international airline, Naresh Goyal, was honoured with the ‘Business Person of the Year’ award at the prestigious UK Trade and Investment India Business Awards 2008, here on Tuesday.

This distinction was conferred upon Goyal for his significant contribution to India-UK business relations and for making the UK a strategic and pivotal destination in Jet Airways’ aggressive international expansion plans.

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