Glitch forced A380 superjumbo to return to New York
An Air France A380 was forced to turn around when it developed a problem with the navigation system.
The double-decker Airbus made a U-turn 90 minutes after takeoff from New York and landed safely at Kennedy Airport in the early hours on Saturday, an Air France spokesman told AFP on Monday.
“The plane is new and is still getting into its stride. It was a minor computer problem that made navigation a little imprecise,” he said.
Poaching new members could redraw the airline alliance map
If Delta is successful in wooing JAL from oneworld to SkyTeam, it would mean the alliances map would be redrawn according to USA Today’s columnist David Grossman.
With the world’s largest airlines already bound to an alliance, the only way to shake up the playing field is to convince another airline to switch alliances, and that can present a formidable challenge.
But if JAL jumps from oneworld to SkyTeam, it will be first time airlines from a competing alliance actively courted and actually induced another airline to switch alliances in return for a huge payment of cash and loans in excess of a $1 billion.
New Orleans airport embarks on $755 million renovation
Louis Armstrong International Airport traffic is returning to levels before Hurricane Katrina hit. As a result, the airport is beginning a $755 million modernization project.
The airport has identified 16 projects and already begun design or construction on 10 of them. Some of the work is already apparent: Bright new signs and lighting at the terminal curbside are part of a $9 million effort, construction has begun on an aircraft rescue station and heavy equipment is tearing up sections of the tarmac.
(Photo: louisvolant/Flickr Creative Commons)
