Seattle  - Some 27,000 machinists at airplane giant Boeing could go on strike Friday after rejecting the company's proposed wage increases amid fears that their jobs could be shipped overseas.

The machinists, members of the International Machinists and Aerospace Workers, approved the strike action in a vote taken late Wednesday. But they delayed implementing the strike after the company reopened negotiations with union leaders, who gave Boeing until Friday evening to provide an "exceptional contract offer" under the guidance of a federal mediator.

London - The crash landing of a British Airways Boeing 777 in London in January was probably caused by ice blocking its fuel system, a report by Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said Thursday.

Investigators believe that a restriction in the fuel flow caused the plane's engines to lose power less than a minute before touchdown at London's Heathrow airport on January 17.

But they said they are still "uncertain" as to how the ice could have formed.

The AAIB called on airlines to introduce measures to cut the risk of ice causing fuel blockages.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain - Three families which lost seven

LHamburg  - The planned merger of Lufthansa's subsidiary Germanwings, Thomas Cook-owned Condor and TUIfly could be facing collapse, the daily Financial Times Deutschland reported Thursday.

The paper quotes a source involved in the negotiations as saying that talks were becoming drawn out and a merger of three airlines was growing increasingly unlikely.

Even when the oil companies have reduced the price of the aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by almost 16% mainly due to fall in international ATF prices, it seems domestic air travel is not willing to reduce their fares. Other than now, the prices of ATF fell in the month of February this year.

An important announcement by Indian Oil was made on Sunday that where earlier domestic airlines were paying Rs 71.02 a litre for ATF, now from September they will have to pay Rs 59.65 litre only. Airlines in Chennai too will pay Rs 65.49, down from Rs 77.66 a litre. In Mumbai, where airlines were spending Rs 73.67 per litre, now will spend only Rs 61.83 a litre.

Sydney - Qantas Airways Ltd failed to meet its own maintenance performance targets, Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said Monday.

CASA decided to investigate the carrier after a run of technical hitches that saw an emergency landing, bits falling off planes and ground crew forgetting to empty toilet tanks.