NEWS Russia to reduce taxes for domestic airlines
The Russian government has approved a bill to reduce the value-added tax (VAT) from 18% to 10% for airlines operating domestic flights. Link
NEWS Airlines starting over 450 new routes in first three weeks of S15 season
Sunday 29 March represents the start of the northern hemisphere’s “summer season”. This is when airline schedules are significantly adjusted to cope with the seasonal changes in demand, and when European airlines typically launch the bulk of their new routes for the year. Link
NEWS Germanwings Drafts in Planes From Other Airlines as Crews Deemed ‘Unfit to Fly’
Germanwings has drafted in 11 planes from other airlines to cater for 40 of its flights today as mourning crew members are declared “unfit to fly”. Link
NEWS American Airlines Slow to Deal with 'Dead Passenger' Problem
The largest airline in the world seems willing to let dead people aboard its jets because the carrier appears reluctant to abide by its own policy and issue refunds to families of those who’ve died after booking a flight. Link
UPDATE: The latest details in the Germanwings crash
Germanwings crash scene (AFP/Denis Bois/Gripmedia/AFP TV) Latest developments: One of the pilots on board Germanwings Flight 9525 was locked out of the cockpit when the plane crashed Tuesday, a senior military official told The New York Times, citing evidence from the cockpit voice recorder. Helicopters have airlifted some victims’ remains from the site of the…
NEWS Germanwings plane crash: A320 pilot says co-pilot can be locked out of cockpit
It is possible for one pilot of an Airbus A320 to lock the other pilot out of the cockpit to the extent that he cannot regain entry, even if the aircraft is in a fatal dive, says an Australian pilot of an A320. Link
NEWS Germanwings plane crash: pilot locked out of cockpit
As officials struggled to explain why a jet with 150 people on board crashed in relatively clear skies, an investigator said evidence from a cockpit voice recorder indicated one pilot left the cockpit before the plane’s descent and was unable to get back in. Link
NEWS Investigators Reach Germanwings Crash Scene in French Alps
French investigators reached the scene of the Germanwings Airbus A320 accident late in the afternoon local time and have recovered one of the aircraft’s two recorders, although whether it was the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder was not announced. Link
NEWS New MH370 Report Reveals Radar, Procedural Failings
One year after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a factual document issued by the Malaysian Ministry of Transport to fulfill its obligations under ICAO Annex 13 has shed new light on the partial primary radar traces obtained after MH370’s secondary surveillance radar mode ceased to function. It also exposed failings in communications and…
NEWS (Video) Airbus Reinforced Cockpit Door Description and Procedure
Inevitably there will be questions about cockpit access procedures; here is a video explaining how it works on an Airbus. Link