Number of Airport Incidents Recorded Last Year

There was a notable decline in the number of airport incidents between January and June 2009 compared to the same period of time in previous years.

This is according to figures from the UK Airprox Board (UKAB), which revealed a total of 60 incidents during the first six months of the year involving commercial, general aviation and military aircraft.

In each of the previous five years, the average number of incidents during the same time frame stood at 88.

Ian Dugmore, UKAB’s director, said the reduction is “particularly welcome” news.

“However, we need to acknowledge that the decline in commercial air transport and general aviation incidents may be partly due to traffic reduction during the recession,” he explained.

Mr Dugmore went on to say that unauthorised incursions into controlled airspace can cause disruption and delay to passengers travelling on flights.

Earlier this month, the Civil Aviation Authority revealed that UK airports accommodated 17 million fewer passengers last year than the total recorded in 2008.

TAT Technologies Lost Profits Aviation Industry Weakness

Aviation supplier and defense contractor TAT Technologies Ltd. said Monday it lost $1 million in the fourth quarter because of general weakness in the aviation industry.

The loss, which amounts to 12 cents per share, compares with a net income of $700,000, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier. TAT, based in Israel, said its revenue dropped 41 percent to $18.4 million.

For the full year, TAT reported net income of $1.8 million, or 22 cents per share, down from profit of $4.3 million, or 65 cents per share, in 2008. Its full-year revenue fell 20 percent to $83.1 million.

TAT said its profit fell because of weakness in aviation during the global economic downturn, and because its work in electric motion systems returned to normal levels in 2009 after it finished a major project for Israel in 2008.

CEO Shmuel Fledel said TAT reorganized and made strategic acquisitions. In December, subsidiary Piedmont Aviation Component Services LLC acquired 37 percent of the shares of First Aviation Services Inc., an aerospace parts supplier and repair company.

TAT also announced that Dan Topaz was unanimously elected to its board of directors on Sunday, replacing Eran Saar, who resigned. Topaz is CEO of Isal Amlat, TAT’s controlling shareholder.

TAT shares fell 42 cents, or 4 percent, to close at $9.50 Monday.

Frontier Airlines New Owners Plan To Expand at Kansas City International Airport

Frontier Airlines emerged today from bankruptcy protection, providing a boost to its new owners’ plan to expand at Kansas City International Airport.

Denver-based Frontier is now a subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings Inc., which beat out a bid from Southwest Airlines Co. Republic also bought Midwest Airlines this summer.

Republic’s goal is to beef up service of both airlines at KCI. In particular Republic wants to bring Midwests’ service here back to levels similar to the first half of 2008, when the carrier had 31 flights to nearly 20 cities.

Frontier has five daily flights to Denver from KCI, and Midwest has 16 departures to several cities from Kansas City. A week ago, Midwest annnounced plans to start new seasonal, nonstop flights to Fort Myers, Fla. from mid December through mid April 2010.

Combining Republic, Midwest and Frontier work forces at KCI, total employment is near 300. More than half of the total work force is 155 pilots and flight attendants employed by Republic, the company said last month.

Frontier filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2008. It shrank while in bankruptcy and has been turning an operating profit for the past several months.

Nearly all of Frontier’s flights come or go from Denver.

Republic has said it will keep the Frontier name for its new subsidiary and there’s no change to its frequent-flier program, so passengers are unlikely to see any difference in the airline now that it’s out of Chapter 11 protection. Republic is looking for ways to make the operation more efficient, though, possibly including moving Frontier’s maintenance operation out of Denver.

“This is the end of a long, difficult journey and the beginning of a new, exciting one,” said Sean Menke, Frontier’s president and CEO, in a prepared statement picked up by Bloomberg News.

Further Flight Delays at Liverpool John Lennon Airport

Passengers at Liverpool John Lennon Airport were still stranded this morning as planes remained grounded following the volcanic eruption in Iceland.

And all but a few flights will be grounded in the UK until 7pm this evening at the earliest, air traffic control service NATS said this morning.

More than 14,000 people were affected at JLA yesterday after flights into and out of the airport were cancelled following a decision by the Air Traffic Control Service to ground all UK flights.

Following a review of the latest Met Office information, NATs advises that restrictions would remain in place in UK controlled airspace adding: “However, flights in Northern Ireland and the Western Isles of Scotland to and from Glasgow and Prestwick may be allowed up to 1300 today, subject to individual co-ordination.

“North Atlantic traffic to and from Glasgow, Prestwick and Belfast may also be allowed over the same period.We will review further Met Office information and advise the arrangements that will be in place until 0100 on Saturday, April 17.”

Ryanair were not due to operate any flights to/from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden or the UK before 1pm today and Easyjet said they expected travel disruption to continue throughout the day.

Airport spokesman Robin Tudor said: “14,000 travellers were affected yesterday and we don’t yet know for sure when the ban will be lifted.

“Our advice to passengers is to check with their airline before they come to the airport.”

In a 4am update on its website, JLA said it was estimated “flights will operate from 1900BST 16th April, subject to review by NATS [National Air Traffic Services]. Passengers scheduled to fly on the 16th April should check the latest flight status directly with their airline website”.

Cheap flights to India, Leaving Best Service for Passenger Flights

The recent war of low flight charges has left the passengers with the best worth for their money. Of late you might have observed that the flight charges have gone down considerably thus providing opportunity for many first time fliers to have a feel of the India cheap flights. The passengers are overwhelmed at this amazing opportunity.

Not many might have dreamed to travel in flight a couple of years ago when the flight charges were sky rocking and tickets to Chennai from Mumbai might have cost around Rs.7,000.00 to Rs.8,000.00. This scenarios has changed drastically and the prices fallen very sharply following the recession. An amazing situation prevailed in the aviation industry with the insertion of low cost air fares by many new airlines operators. This led many airlines to revise their air fare and offer air tickets at almost half a price.

Many of the domestic flights operators are running in huge loss and are not able to cover even the operation charges of the flight. The passengers are not complaining though. They’re actually happy that the tight competition in the industry has left them with many reasons to smile. The following are some the benefits you can avail in this situation.

Low Air Fare:

Many of the airlines are offering very low fares which are quite surprising for many. Some of the airlines who’re offering such fares are Go Air, Indigo, Spice Jet, Jet Lite and Jet Airways Konnect. The margin between these operators is very little but still you can save a lot by choosing any of these airlines.

The main idea of these flight operators is to fill the seats fully and not to fly with empty seats. Therefore to fill them they would offer tickets at much lesser prices to attract the middle class passengers. For example they would sell the tickets to Chennai from Bangalore for as less as Rs.500.00 which would have cost Rs.2,000.00 in the normal circumstances.

So by selling the ticket they would at least cover the operation cost of the particular seat and wouldn’t incur loss. In contrast the passenger is very happy to fly at Rs.500.00 (excluding fuel surcharge and taxes).

Amazing Discounts and Offers:

Many operators of domestic flights are offering huge discounts and special offers to the passengers. The airlines are offering amazing discount if you book your ticket 14 days in advance. You can save as much as 50-60% on base fare by doing so. If you book your return ticket 14 days in advance you can save an additional Rs.1000.00 to Rs.1500.00 on the base fare.

This would account for almost 20-30% of your total flight charges. Some of the airlines and travel portals are even offering 5% cash back and book one ticket and get one ticket free offers. international flight booking

So you can save lot of money every time you fly by booking your tickets intelligently. Don’t let this opportunity go begging and enjoy the benefits before its too late.