Berlin - Airbus SAS is considering an extended 1,000-passenger version of the A380 aircraft, Louis Gallois, chief executive of Airbus's parent company, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) NV, told a German newspaper in an interview to be published Friday.

The airlines, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM SA, were both interested in the extended version of the A380, Gallois told the Dresden-based Saechsische Zeitung.

Vienna  - SkyEurope's losses more than tripled in the latest quarter as record fuel prices wiped out rising passenger revenue, the low-cost airline said Thursday.

SkyEurope, which uses Bratislava, Slovakia, as its hub, lost a net 16.8 million euros (24.7 million dollars) in the three months ending June 30, compared to a 5.1-million-euro loss a year earlier.

"We have been forced to increase fares and cut capacity to eliminate poor performing routes," the Austria-based airline said in a statement. "Our results have been significantly impacted by the high fuel prices."

Berlin - Air Berlin plc Thursday posted a reduced loss in the first half of the year on increased turnover and higher passenger numbers.

The loss before interest and tax (EBIT) at Germany's second- largest airline after Lufthansa came in at 53.9 million euros (80 million dollars), from a loss of 66.3 million euros in the first half last year.

The net loss at the airline, with its subsidiaries LTU and Belair, was 50.8 million euros, compared with red-ink of 60.4 million in 2007.

The company's share rose almost 4 per cent on the news to trade at around 4.00 euros at mid-morning.

Madrid - One week after a Spanair MD-82 passenger plane crashed at Madrid airport, killing 154 people, the causes of the accident remain unknown, Spanish media reported Wednesday.

The pilot did not report anything to the control tower after take- off, the daily ABC said.

The plane hit the ground tail first outside the runway, according to a commission investigating the accident.

The tail then broke off and the plane bounced for 1,200 metres, hitting the ground three times and suffering increasing damage.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's top software exporter, has secured a multimillion dollar, back-office accounting processes contract, from Singapore Airlines Cargo (SIA Cargo).

SIA Cargo, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, is the world's fourth-largest cargo airline in terms of international freight tonne kilometers. The Airline has a route network that covers more than 39 countries across the world.

Under the five-year agreement, TCS will provide service to its cargo revenue accounting back office processes.