Thrust from a Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engine of a Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300 froze during approach to Hong Kong Airport on April 13, resulting in a landing at far beyond the normal speed and deflating main-gear tires. Throughout the approach, the right engine was idling and the other frozen at 70% of maximum output, delivering too much thrust for a normal landing, Cathay says. The carrier does not say why the right engine was idling, although it seems possible that the crew throttled it back as the only way to reduce thrust.

Korean Air reported markedly improved first-quarter numbers in another sign of improving times for Asian commercial air transport. The South Korean carrier says operating profit in the three months to March 31 jumped 33.3 times to 220.2 billion won ($198.2 million), while operating revenue hit 2.6 trillion won ($2.3 billion), up 14.8% on a year earlier. Income before tax came to 226.9 billion won ($204.2 million), reversing a 673.9 billion won loss in the first quarter last year.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam will forbid the country’s airlines from using foreign brands, a policy that undercuts the franchising strategy of two outside carriers with local affiliates, Jetstar and AirAsia. The deputy head of the administration, Lai Xuan Thanh, stresses that foreigners cannot directly control business plans, revenues or profits of Vietnamese airlines, says Thanh Nien News.