News From Around The World

Richard Maslen March 03, 2011

LONDON OXFORD AIRPORT LENGTHENS ITS RANGE

London Oxford Airport has received approval from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for a (896 ft/273m) increase in the declared take-off distance from its runway, boosting its length by just over a fifth. The licensed take-off distances for the strip are now 5,223 ft (1,592m) and 5,112 ft (1,558m), allowing many more aircraft types to achieve maximum take-off weight or near maximum performance from the airport. The increased useable lengths come hard on the heels of newly approved runway status from Code 2C to Code 3C. The airport is developing as an alternative gateway for corporate and general aviation traffic into London, but is also generating scheduled air services thanks to its locality and large catchment. “This achievement makes a substantial difference for the future evolution of the airport,” said James Dillon-Godfray, Business Development Director, London Oxford Airport. “On the airline side, we can now court the furthest parts of the European market.”

MALAYSIA AIRLINES AND SITA DEVELOP NEW SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM

Malaysia Airlines has further enhanced its social media activity with the launch of ‘MHbuddy’, an application that allows any user of Facebook to not only book a flight with the airline but to integrate trip details into their social graph, identifying friends who might be sharing flights, or who will be at their destination. The media platform has been developed in partnership with SITA Lab, a research group of air transport IT provider SITA. "Our passengers are spending more and more time using social networks,” acknowledged Dr Amin Khan, Executive Vice President, Commercial Strategy, Malaysia Airlines. “A few airlines sell tickets on Facebook but, unlike Malaysia Airlines, none fully integrates into the user's social graph or allows passengers to check-in. ‘MHbuddy’ can be used in any country worldwide and really takes flight booking to another level," he added. With ‘MHbuddy’ passengers can also check in for their flights from Facebook and during seat selection they are shown the seats selected by any of their friends who are travelling on the same flight. This is another example of how we are enhancing the travel experience for passengers and giving them applications that are relevant to the way they live their lives,” said Jim Peters, SITA Chief Technology Officer who heads up the SITA Lab. “This initiative is a great step forward and gives people who use Facebook the opportunity to do what Facebook does best - keeping in touch and sharing life experiences with friends.” Since its establishment three years ago, SITA Lab has delivered numerous innovations, several of which were developed with Malaysia Airlines including the world's first kiosks to sell airline tickets using the Apple iPad and an augmented reality application for the Apple iPhone to allow customers to pick up the best airline deals from nearby airports.

KENYA AIRWAYS DEVELOPS CARGO OPERATIONS WITH FIRST FULL-FREIGHTER

African carrier Kenya Airways is to develop its cargo business with the arrival of its first freighter aircraft. The airline has noted a rising demand for cargo across Africa and the rest of the world and believes now is the time to expand away from offering just belly-hold capacity. Speaking at the opening of the Africa Air Cargo Conference in Nairobi last week , Dr Titus Naikuni, Group Managing Director and CEO, Kenya Airways, confirmed that the airline would source a single freighter aircraft to enter service by the next financial year, which starts in April 2011. “The freighter will be used for operations across Africa destinations,” he added, revealing that additional aircraft could be added “as business demand” changes. The airline has not revealed the type of aircraft it will acquire, simply stating that its introduction will be complemented by “capacity offered by widebody aircraft already serving [its] Lusaka, Lilongwe, Harare and Kinshasa routes”.

AMERICAN AIRLINES, BRITISH AIRWAYS AND IBERIA OPEN FIRST PREMIUM LOUNGE

Oneworld alliance partners American Airlines (AA), British Airways (BA) and Iberia (IB) have opened the doors of the airlines' first joint Premium lounge. The facility is located in Concourse E at Miami International Airport in the US and represents a key development as part of the joint business agreement among the carriers to share revenue, co-ordinate networks and schedules and co-operate commercially on routes between North America and Europe. The lounge is 6,000 sq ft (557m2) and offers seating for up to 120 guests, who can use its multi-functional Business Centre, relax in its television lounges or refresh themselves in spa-like showers, while taking advantage of complimentary food and beverages. "The opening of this new lounge enables us to offer our customers the best service at a time when our presence in Miami is growing significantly - apart from our daily flight between Miami and Madrid we will begin operating three non-stop weekly flights from Miami to Barcelona on March 29," said Jose Maria Alvarado, Iberia's Country Manager in the US.

UK CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY WARNS OF DANGERS OF LASER CRIME

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a campaign to raise awareness of laser crime against aircraft amongst law enforcement bodies, with briefing packs being made available to all serving police officers. The incidence of laser devices being shone at aircraft in flight has grown exponentially for the last three years, it says, with over 1,400 recorded laser attacks on aircraft being reported last year, a 100 per cent increase on 2009. According to the CAA, most of these attacks “happened near large regional airports, as airliners on final approach were targeted from nearby streets”. It said the dramatic increase in incidents (in 2007 there were only 29 attacks) was probably down to the increasing affordability and availability of laser devices on the Internet. It is believed that other parts of the UK’s transport infrastructure on the ground are also frequently targeted. “Aircraft are particularly vulnerable during crucial phases of flight such as take-off and landing,” said Bob Jones, Head of Flight Operations at the CAA. “Distracting the pilots with high intensity light during these phases endangers the lives of hundreds of people onboard the aircraft and on the ground.” Last year saw a new law come into force in the UK making the shining of a light or laser at an aircraft so as to “dazzle or distract the pilot” a specific criminal offence. Offenders can still also be charged under the more general offence of recklessly endangering an aircraft. According to CAA data, the worst affected airports in 2010 were Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, London Heathrow and Leeds Bradford.

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