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Aviation
Qatar Airways says may buy Czech airlines stake
Qatar Airways could buy a stake in the troubled Czech Republic
Airline CSA but had yet to make a final decision, the Gulf carrier's
chief executive said.
Qatar Airways is "interested in the privatisation of the Czech
airline," Akbar al-Baker told reporters in Doha, but stressed, "We have
not yet made our decision... we are still studying the proposal." The
Czech government said in December that Qatar Airways and Korean Air had
expressed an interest in buying part of CSA.
The Czech Republic is offering up to 96 percent of the entirely
government-owned carrier to European investors, and would allow
non-European companies to only acquire a minority stake. A previous
attempt to privatise CSA, which is beset by financial problems, was
halted in 2009 when AirFrance-KLM backed out, leaving a Czech charter
company as the sole bidder.
In 2011, CSA posted a loss of 241 million koruna (9.5 million euros,
$12.4 million). Baker also said his company is "still in talks with
Canadian planemaker Bombardier to buy 10 planes in a deal worth around
$700 million (535.7 million euros)." In May, Qatar Airways said it had
put on hold negotiations with Bombardier over the purchase of its new
CSeries craft as the airline was dealing with other issues.
AFP
Second Boeing incident raises questions about 787
A Japan Airlines Boeing 787 that was to fly to Tokyo was grounded in
Boston following a fuel spill, one day after another plane of the same
type suffered a fire, government officials said.
"Japan Airlines flight 7 was leaking fuel" as it was taxiing before
taking off, said Matthew Brelis, a spokesman for Massport, the local
airport authority. Around 40 gallons of fuel spilled, according to
Brelis.
Since the incident around midday, the spill has been stopped and the
tarmac cleaned up, Brelis added. The plane is currently being analyzed
and the reasons for the problem are not yet known, said a spokesperson
for JAL. After the aircraft returned to the gate, passengers disembarked
the aircraft, said the JAL spokeswoman.
It was the second incident involving a Boeing 787 in two days. On
Monday, a smoky fire broke out on another JAL aircraft of the same model
after it landed in Boston from Japan.
A Boeing statement said it would be "premature" to discuss Monday's
incident prior to a complete investigation.
AFP
Japan's ANA cancels Dreamliner flight for brake glitch
Japan's All Nippon Airways said it cancelled a Boeing Dreamliner
flight because of a brake problem, the third glitch to hit the
next-generation aircraft in as many days.
ANA 698, a domestic flight bound for Tokyo's Haneda airport, was
cancelled because brake parts from the rear left undercarriage needed to
be replaced, said a spokesman at Yamaguchi Ube airport in western Japan.
"In the cockpit, an error message related to its brake system was
displayed," an ANA spokeswoman said. "The exact nature and the cause of
the error message is not clear yet," she said, adding that the 98
passengers were switched to another flight for Haneda. On Monday a Japan
Airlines-operated 787 Dreamliner caught fire after landing in Boston on
a flight from Tokyo. On Tuesday the same airline aborted a flight after
around 40 gallons of fuel spilled onto the runway.
The Dreamliner has been touted as the great new hope for US
manufacturer Boeing, which says its high-tech composite fibre body
reduces weight and improves fuel efficiency. But the incidents this week
are only the latest in a series of glitches for the aircraft.
In July last year test engine trouble was the subject of a probe by
the US National Transportation Safety Board.
On July 23, ANA said it was grounding five Dreamliners for repairs
because of a defect in the Rolls-Royce engine.
AFP |
