Korean Air Launches Inaugural A380 Services

Korean Air, South Korea’s flagship airline, is pleased to announce that the airline’s first-ever A380 will begin its inaugural services between Seoul/Incheon and both Tokyo and Hong Kong from June 17, 2011 onwards.

The environmentally friendly next-generation aircraft arrived in Korea at 09:00 on June 2 (local time) after successfully completing final flight and ground tests in Toulouse.

Come fly with them: Upcoming 'Pan Am' TV show capitalizes on '60s airline style

Pan Am is coming back -- to the airwaves, that is.

Pan American Airways, the giant airline that virtually defined air travel from 1927 until its demise in 1991, will get a "Mad Men"-like treatment on a TV show set to debut on ABC in the fall. The "Pan Am"show, which is scheduled to air at 10 p.m. on Sundays and stars Christina Ricci, will follow the lives of stewardesses circa 1963 and their bouts with "passion, jealousy and espionage" at 30,000 feet, according to the show's Facebook page.

Drama aside, it likely will be the glamour of the golden age of air travel and those snug blue Pan Am uniforms that will seduce viewers to tune in -- again, taking a page from AMC's "Mad Men's" fashion-driven portrayal of Madison Avenue in the same period.

Swedish economic boom boosts air traffic

The current economic boom is sending us flying. According to new forecasts from the Civil Aviation Administration (Luftfartsverket - LFV), the number of flight movements in Swedish air space is up by 4,5 percent - from 650,000 movements last year to a predicted 680,000 movements in 2011.

These joyous figures for the airline industry are echoed in flight passenger statistics. 17,9 million passengers are expected to travel from Swedish airports in 2011, which would be a record high.

The current record is 17,4 million passengers, a figure which was reached in 2008.

Chinese Airline Group ‘Totally Opposes’ EU’s Emissions Plan

China’s airline association said it “totally opposes” the European Union’s plan to include aviation in a carbon-emissions program after European carriers said the initiative may prompt trade conflict.

The EU plan is “unreasonable and illegal,” Chai Haibo, vice president of the China Air Transport Association, said today in Singapore. “Our group totally opposes it.” China’s big three state-controlled carriers all belong to the group.

Battle Over EU Flight Passenger Data Rages on

Digital rights organizations have hit out at new agreements to transfer information about flight passengers in Europe to the U.S. and Australia.

Fresh negotiations on the so-called PNR (Passenger Name Register) 2007 deal are currently taking place and last week draft agreements on the transfer and retention of air passenger data were leaked.

The agreements, which would require airlines to send passenger information to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Australia's Customs and Border Protection, has provoked outrage among civil liberties groups.

Etihad Airways and American Airlines enter new frequent flyer agreement

Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi-based national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and American Airlines announced today that they will build on their existing codeshare relationship by offering their passengers the opportunity to earn frequent flyer miles on flights booked on each other's networks.

Starting June 1, 2011, members of Etihad Airways' Etihad Guest frequent flyer programme and American Airlines' AAdvantage® programme will be able to earn miles on eligible American Airlines flights* and eligible Etihad Airways flights, respectively. The airlines plan to expand this agreement later this year to include mileage redemption across the two airlines' networks.

The codeshare agreement between Etihad and American, in place since August 2009, delivers a combined codeshare network of more than 50 destinations worldwide.

Ministry to hike fuel surcharges for long-haul flights

Air travelers will likely pay more fuel surcharges for long-haul flights and less for short-haul flights starting July at the earliest as the government looks to better adjust the rates to fluctuations in petrol prices, officials said Sunday.

Fuel surcharges are an extra charge added to the ticket price of air flights, to cover the cost of fuel rates. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs applies different rates in four categories by flight length.

Currently, the ministry said the fuel surcharge on one-way flights to Europe and the U.S., which is 4.4 times the rate for Japan routes, is $32. But it is not balanced according to flight length since the distance to Europe or the U.S. is five or six times that to Japan.

Etihad in new pitch to Canada

After months of stalemate between UAE carriers and the Canadian government over landing rights, the CEO of Etihad is in Toronto trying to mend fences.

In a keynote address to the Board of Trade in Canada's largest city, James Hogan outlined the case for opening up Canadian skies to UAE carriers. Under the current agreement, Etihad and Emirates are each limited to three flights weekly to Toronto. Both airlines want more flights and want access to other destinations including Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal.

The landing rights issue has soured relations between Abu Dhabi and Ottawa, with Canadians now being required to obtain a single entry visa before visiting the UAE.

"We are no threat to Canadian airlines or to Canadian aviation," he said in a prepared speech released in advance of yesterday afternoon's meeting of the Toronto Board of Trade.

"We come in peace, as the Martians like to say."

Protesters target Air France KLM investors over Animal Transportation

Protesters targeted investors in Air France KLM as the airline is reportedly the largest transporter of animals for vivisection. Franklin Templeton and Bank of New York were both targeted.

Allegedly the airline remains the only exporter of monkeys from Mauritius with an estimated 10,000 sent from the island each year.

All Hell Breaks Loose After Slap Fight On A United Flight

It all started when a passenger on a Ghana-bound United flight out of D.C.’s Dulles Airport decided to recline his seat. That pissed off the passenger behind him, leading to an exchange of heated words between the men, and the recliner being “smacked in the head.”

That’s right: the very act you’ve fantasised about countless times before, but never dared actually do, because you are a civilised human being and not insane. But let’s just for a moment say that you aren’t. Have you ever wondered what might happen if you smacked your fellow passenger in the head after a massive jet takes off? Here’s what happens: