AVIATION

Ryanair fined over volcano cancellations

Italy fined Irish budget airline Ryanair three million euros on Saturday for failing to honour its obligations to assist passengers after cancelling their flights over volcanic ash.

Italy’s civil aviation authority ENAC said following an investigation it had imposed on Ryanair “fines totalling around three million euros for 178 violations of its legal obligations to assist passengers in cases of flight cancelations.” The 178 violations took place between April 17 and 22, when the ash cloud from Iceland’s Eyjafjoell volcano caused the biggest aerial shutdown in Europe since World War II, affecting more than 100,000 flights and eight million passengers over a week.

ENAC reproached Ryanair in particular for its treatment of passengers at Rome’s Ciampino airport, having failed to provide them with drinks, meals and hotel rooms as required by European regulations.

The Italian authority noted that most other airlines, despite the exceptional circumstances, had met their obligations to assist their passengers. Ryanair initially insisted it would not assist stranded travellers and only refund the cost of their tickets, but later agreed to fully implement European regulations.

AFP

Toray to supply carbon fibre to Airbus

Japanese synthetic fibre maker Toray Industries said it had agreed a 15-year deal to supply aircraft giant Airbus with materials for wings and fuselages from 2011.

A Toray spokesman said the size of the order had not been determined, but the Nikkei business daily reported that the deal could be worth as much as 200-300 billion yen (2.2-3.2 billion dollars).

The deal marks a major advance for Toray, the manufacturer of various products made with carbon fibre, a strong and lightweight material used for a range of industrial applications.

In 2006, Toray signed a 16-year contract worth at least $ 6 billion to supply carbon fibre materials for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

“The long-term basic supply agreement signed this time is expected to strengthen Toray’s relationship with EADS, in particular with Airbus, and to enable it to further increase the supply of high quality, high-performance materials for aircraft applications,” Toray said in a statement.

Toray is working hard to persuade Airbus parent EADS to use its carbon fibre composite materials for making wings and fuselages for the A350 XWB, the next generation medium-sized jet airplane.

“Our product’s strength is that it allows for the jet’s weight reduction, contributing to fuel efficiency and cutting greenhouse gas emissions,” said the spokesman, Yoshitaka Yamagata.

Toray also announced a net loss of 14.2 billion yen for the financial year ended March, but said it had returned to an operating profit of 40.1 billion yen from a loss of 36.0 billion the previous year thanks partly to the falling price of crude oil used for carbon fibres.

For the year to March 2011, Toray expects to post a 25 billion yen net profit and 60 billion yen operating profit on sales of 1.5 trillion yen, it said.

AFP

Tokyo’s Haneda to handle regular international flights

Tokyo’s Haneda airport will begin handling regular international flights in October, the Japanese government said, part of a drive to fend off competition from rising Asian rivals.

Haneda will open a fourth runway and new terminal on October 21 and start regular international flights on October 31, Transport Minister Seiji Maehara told a news conference. The airport is currently limited to domestic flights and chartered flights to and from a few East Asian cities, leaving it in the shadow of the larger Narita international airport outside the capital.

“With the start of the runway, we want to set in motion the process of making (Haneda) a 24-hour international hub,” Maehara said.

AFP

China Southern surges past JAL as Asia’s biggest airline

China Southern Airlines is now Asia’s largest carrier by passenger numbers after overtaking troubled Japan Airlines, according to figures provided by the two companies.

China Southern soared in 2009 on the back of booming domestic demand and government assistance. In stark contrast, JAL is restructuring after filing for bankruptcy in early 2010 in one of Japan’s biggest corporate failures.

China Southern actually overtook JAL in 2008, when its passenger volume rose to 58.24 million, according to data supplied by the Chinese carrier to AFP on Wednesday.

The airline, which boasts China’s biggest fleet, extended its lead even further last year with a total of 66.3 million passengers, up 13.8 percent.

“Authoritative data shows China Southern Airlines surpassed JAL as (Asia’s) top carrier in passenger volumes in 2008, but the story has only been publicised lately,” an official with China Southern told AFP.

“It is also a sign of how China’s economy expanded so fast despite the financial crisis,” added the official.

AFP

Air France mulling link between London, Paris

Air France may link Paris and London with a giant A380 airliner next month to train flight attendants before taking delivery of its fourth superjumbo in late August, the airline said.

“This is being looked into. Nothing has been confirmed,” a spokesman told AFP, confirming a report by the Figaro newspaper. The paper said the A380 would shuttle between Paris Charles de Gaulle and London Heathrow from June 12.

Air France has ordered 12 superjumbos which can seat more than 530 passengers each. It took delivery of its first A380 in late October, followed by two more in early February and mid-April. They are currently linking Paris to New York and Johannesburg.

An A380 will also fly between Paris and Tokyo ‘within months’, a company spokesman said.

AFP