Latest news with #Airbus380
The Irish Sun
7 days ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
New UK airline with cheap US fares is ‘parked' after just TWO flights – with people fearing it's been scrapped for good
A BRAND new UK airline's only plane has been stored after just two commercial flights, raising questions over the airline's future. 3 Global Airlines' only aircraft has been stored in Tarbes, France Credit: Reddit It made its inaugural flight on May 19 from Glasgow Airport to New York's JFK, returning four days later. It's only other journey was from Manchester Airport and Global Airlines' only plane '9H-GLOBL' has now been parked at Tarbes Airport in France, which is the largest aircraft storage facility in Europe. The facility is usually used for long-term storage. Read more on travel inspo Tarbes is often used by airlines to store or recycle aircraft with aviation news site In a LinkedIn post, the airline said: "After completing the latest maintenance in Dresden, 9H-GLOBL will be heading to Tarbes to park until it is time to head off to the next stage of heavy maintenance. "It's always great to see her in the sky and it won't be long before she is up in the clouds once again on the way to the next adventure." Tarbes Airport is often referred to as an 'aircraft boneyard' or Most read in News Travel Boneyard facilities are often used to store aircraft while they receive maintenance. Other aircraft may be disassembled and parts sold before planes are then scrapped. Global Airlines Take-Off According to Simple Flying, Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport near the French Pyrenees, is the most notable boneyard in France. TARMAC Aerosave operates at the airport, to store, maintain and recycle aircraft and can handle over 100 aircraft at any one time. One person said on Reddit: "Love the A380, sucks to see one going back to storage and when looking at the news surrounding Global Airlines, I'm not sure if we'll see this Another user added: "They were never an airline in the first place - they don't have an air certificate, their recent 'flights' earlier this year were just PR exercises with HiFly operating the plane on their behalf." A third user commented: "How does it need heavy check already?" The Global Airlines website still states that it will be "landing soon" with "a new website and news of the first flights on 9H-GLOBL to 3 As a result, people have started to question what it means for the airline's future Credit: Alamy However, if you try to access the 'story' page about the The airline previously pledged to take travelled back to the 'Golden Age' of travel and is the second airline to operate an Airbus 380 secondhand. Return economy flights were £778, 95 per cent more expensive than a standard £399 British Airways seat. However, slow sales saw this price more than halved. Now with the aircraft in storage, it is unclear when and if it will fly again. Will the airline take off? Lisa Minot, The Sun's head of travel weighs in. IT'S being billed -by its millionaire owner - as a game-changing new airline that will revolutionise the passenger experience. But despite the lofty ambitions of its founder James Asquith - and its first commercial flight today from Glasgow to New York - the plain fact remains, it is simply not a functioning airline yet. With just two fixed-date, charter flights from Glasgow and another - from Manchester later this month, the airline does not yet have the necessary permits - or slots - to fulfill its original ambition of launching regular scheduled flights from Gatwick to New York. It is also taking on the big boys of the UK and US aviation industry on the most popular transatlantic route. Asquith is looking to offer a revolutionary new service by using the huge Airbus A380 but Global's only functioning plane - flying on the Glasgow inaugural today - is a 12-year-old A380 that was owned by China Southern. Despite promising five different classes on the plane - including a much vaunted 'gamer class' that would sit between premium economy and business class and feature pods where passengers could play Xbox and PS5s - the aircraft taking off this week will feature just the original three classes if flew as a China Southern outfit - first, business and economy. The London to New York route is lucrative for the legacy airlines like British Airways and Virgin as the number of business class passengers mean it can bring in decent profits. Global Airline's plane will have fewer premium seats than its competitors on an older plane - and right now can't even offer scheduled flights or regular departures. While competition is always good for passengers, Global has a mountain to climb before it can consider itself a serious alternative to the traditional carriers. It will be interesting to see if the ambitions translate into a real game-changer of a service. An abandoned UK airport is set to reopen its doors after a decade in a £500m revamp – and could offer Ryanair and easyJet flights. Plus, a 3 The airline claims that 'it won't be long before she [the plane] is up in the clouds once again' Credit: Wikipedia
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A look at the futuristic jet dubbed ‘a living room in the sky'
(NewsNation) — Aircraft developer JetZero is designing a plane that is being called 'a living room in the sky' and the future of commercial aircraft. JetZero's Z4 plane model has a blended-wing body design with its engines on top and is up to 10 feet wider than the Airbus 380 model. The Z4's design will be able to seat up to 250 passengers. The Z4's design will allow for roomier comfort for passengers on board, with a mockup showing various seating bays and wider aisles throughout the cabin. It will be 50% more fuel-efficient than other plane models. Why are students short-circuiting their laptops? It will also not require any airport infrastructure updates because the design can work with current jet bridges and runways. JetZero CEO Tom O'Leary says for passengers, the future means a better flying experience. 'There's a lot about the current experience that is not quite so lovable,' O'Leary said. 'We built this mockup so that people could get a feel for what a blended-wing body plane is going to feel like, more spacious, more of a living room than a hallway.' The Z4 is among other designs commissioned by NASA in a push towards a new generation of low-emission commercial aircraft, including a concept craft with 10 propellers and another with an elongated wing design, which stretches around to connect to the plane's tail section. Long-haul carrier Emirates reports record profit of $5.2 billion The Z4 has received a $235 million grant from the U.S. Air Force and attention from United Airlines, which has recently invested in the company and committed to purchasing up to 200 of the planes, contingent on a demonstrator model in 2027 that meets the requirements of a plane. 'This plane fits into the same exact gates as the wide body that we fly today. It can really put more people through the same gate infrastructure,' O'Leary said. O'Leary also said the planes will be much quieter for communities surrounded by airports because the engines being on top of the plane will radiate noise upward. Delta and Alaska Airlines have also invested in JetZero. The company hopes to have actual planes in the air commercially by 2030. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Arabian Business
30-04-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
ATM 2025: Emirates will ‘never compromise' on quality, innovation, says airline boss
Emirates will 'never compromise' on service quality or innovation commitment as it expands globally, the airline's Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer Adnan Kazim told Arabian Business in an exclusive interview. 'At Emirates, we are not going to compromise on our quality, the service on board that we give, the innovation and will always be ahead of the game,' Kazim said during the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025 at Dubai World Trade Centre. '[This] comes from our customer service, our offerings, from our menus, and more – we always try to innovate and come up with new ways through the services on board, or even on ground,' he added. Emirates remains focused on Premium Economy expansion Kazim further explained that Emirates is focusing this year on its Premium Economy product. 'ATM, so far as we announced, was focusing around the Premium Economy routes that we mentioned. We announced already eight routes. This is part of the strategy of the company to ramp up and do even more in this particular domain,' he said. 'Today, we have 1 million seats that we offer in Premium Economy cabins. We have 51 aircrafts already retrofitted. This number will increase to 66 destination… by end of the calendar year 2025 [we] will increase the number of seats deployed to 2 million seats, which is coming from the retrofit programme of the Airbus 380 and the Boeing 777.' In addition, Kazim further revealed that the airline is also focusing on sustainability and digital transformation, with plans to highlight its efforts at ATM using immersive experiences. 'We are focusing on sustainability and our core initiatives, while showcasing through VR how we are creating a more seamless passenger experience at the airport—through biometrics, online and mobile check-in, and the integrated tunnel and gate system.' Aside from this, Kazim gave a glimpse into Emirates' progress towards implementing the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) 'One Order' system, aimed at simplifying the customer experience across the travel journey. 'This is definitely as our focus for the future, which is, we call it the one order. This is driven by IATA, and this is a road map that we are working in towards achieving it. But that is the end game, I would say.' Kazim explained that before reaching the one order requirement, Emirates must 'address' numerous challenges through technology, AI, and system enhancements. The airline's team is 'focused' on implementing these changes throughout the company, which involve multiple layers of transformation needed to achieve this level of integration. The customer journey extends beyond booking to include all 'touch points' that must fulfill these requirements. 'Too early' to talk about DWC expansion; DXB continues to remain 'home base' On Emirates' future move to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), Kazim said the transition is still years away. 'I think it is too early to talk about Al Maktoum [International Airport], because we are talking about at least eight to ten years from now. Still, our home base remains at DXB, which is Dubai Airport, for eight years to come—and still would need to expand within this domain.' 'Our mapping of the fleet—more than 319 aircraft ordered to date—will be deployed primarily at DXB,' he said adding that this expansion will involve both the introduction of additional aircrafts and the phasing out of older models in the airline's fleet. Competition 'generates new opportunities' As for how Emirates stays ahead in an increasingly competitive industry, Kazim said: 'We do welcome competition. This is quite healthy—it generates new opportunities.' He also highlighted the airline's investment in customer-facing infrastructure, including retail. 'We open today 11 retail shops to even be getting closer to the consumer in terms of the product offering, with a new, modern look and feel that we introduced and combined with technology around these retail shops.'
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
After water, Pakistan may lose even in air as it loses around $600 per flight by closing its airspace for India
While Indian airlines have started opting for longer routes with a certain rise in flight tickets after Pakistan announced airspace curbs for India, the neighbouring nation might be starring at loses worth millions after this move. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack India stares at a 'water bomb' threat as it freezes Indus Treaty India readies short, mid & long-term Indus River plans Shehbaz Sharif calls India's stand "worn-out narrative" Airlines pay the civil aviation administration of the country they are flying over a certain fee based on the type of aircraft, the distance covered while overflying a country and the aircraft's all up weight (AUW) or gross weight, which is the weight of an aircraft before it takes off. In Pakistan's case, for a Boeing 737, the charges are $580 through its airspace — which will increase in case an Airbus 380 or Boeing 747 is flying over. Pakistan last week barred Indian airlines from using its airspace. The closure of the airspace is resulting in longer flying hours for their international flights, especially those flying out from north Indian cities, and pushing up the operational costs of airlines. 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play this game for 1 minute and see why everyone is addicted. Undo Over 800 weekly flights are operated by Indian airlines to and from north Indian cities to overseas destinations, including North America, the UK, Europe, and the Middle East, as per an analysis of the Cirium data. How much will closing airspace will cost Pakistan? Pakistan had closed its airspace on February 26, 2019 after IAF fighter jets had attacked a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot. The airspace at that time was closed for 5 months, resulting in loss of around loses around Rs 700 crore, according to a TOI report. Live Events The DGCA sets the overflight and landing charges in India, with domestic flights required pay less than international flights. The charges are calculated by multiplying the distance in nautical miles and the weight with a fixed charge component for airspace fees of Rs 5,330 if the fight lands in India. For those flights which are overflying, the charges are calculated on the basis of the route or the airspace fees, the distance and the weight, with an additional amount of Rs 5,080. Due to closure of airspace by Pakistan, national carrier Air India lost Rs 491 crore till July 2 , according to data presented by civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri in Rajya Sabha. Private airlines SpiceJet , IndiGo and GoAir lost Rs 30.73 crore, Rs 25.1 crore and Rs 2.1 crore, respectively, the data stated. The possible loses comes as the nation struggles with an economic crisis. Pakistan's $350 billion economy struggled as inflation rose to record high of 38.50% in May 2023, with growth turning negative, reserves shrinking to barely a couple of weeks of controlled imports, and interest rates jumping to 22%. It had reserves of just $3.7 billion remaining. For nearly five years, it remained on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for terror funding which made access to loans difficult. The economic crisis was the most prolonged, pushing the country to the brink of a sovereign default in the summer of 2023. With Pakistan's debt-to-GDP ratio in a danger zone of 70%, and between 40% and 50% of government revenues earmarked for interest payments in 2023, only default-stricken Sri Lanka, Ghana and Nigeria were worse off. What pulled it back from the brink of sovereign default was a $3 billion short-term financial bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Long-time allies Saudi Arabia, the UAE and China also rolled over billions of dollars in loans. The World Bank on Wednesday lowered Pakistan's GDP growth forecast to 2.7 per cent for the current fiscal year, citing continued economic stabilisation but persistent constraints from tight monetary and fiscal policies. Govt works on solutions for Indian airlines: India is considering the closure of its airspace to Pakistani carriers, a move that would force the rerouting of planes over China or Sri Lanka to reach Southeast Asian destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, said people with knowledge of the matter. India is also contemplating a ban on Pakistani ships from calling at Indian ports. Pakistan had shut its airspace to Indian airlines following New Delhi's measures against its neighbour after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22 that killed 26, mostly tourists. The government is assessing the situation arising out of the Pakistan airspace closure and any decision will be taken only after a thorough understanding, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said on Monday as he emphasised that it is working with airlines for solutions. Aspects related to airlines as well as passengers, including possible increase in airfares due to higher operational costs, against the backdrop of the airspace closure will also be assessed by the civil aviation ministry. The minister said he has asked airlines to work out the possibilities and assessment in case the airspace closure for a longer time. In the current situation, the ministry is looking at the passenger aspects and ensure that safety is the key priority, Naidu said.
Express Tribune
31-01-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Karachi airport being upgraded
KARACHI: In a bid to enhance airside infrastructure and accommodate larger aircraft at Jinnah International Airport, work to upgrade the airport is in full swing. The reconstruction of the main runway (07L/25R) will enable the Karachi airport to seamlessly accommodate wide-body aircraft up to category 4F, including Airbus A380. The classification of the airports is based on the characteristics of the 'critical aircraft'. The critical aircraft is the airplane with the highest requirements that can use the airport. In accordance with its own characteristics to each airport is assigned a code number and a code letter. The code number refers to the airplane reference field length; in the reference field length the stop way and the clear way are included as well. The code letter refers to the critical airplane's wing span and the distance that it's between the external extremities of the wheels of its main landing gear. An aerodrome's reference code may be 1A, 2B, 3C, 4D, 4E, 4F. A state-of-the-art new taxiway, an airfield lighting control and a monitoring system will also be built. The upgrade will feature the latest energy-efficient lighting system, an extended runway by 1,000 feet, making it 11,500 feet, and reconstructed taxiways and overruns at both ends. Four taxi links near the 07L end will also receive an asphaltic overlay, and a control and monitoring system will be installed in the control tower. The project will be completed in one-and-a-half-year at a cost of Rs8.35 billion. The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) expects this upgrade to attract both domestic and international airlines to operate at the airport in the future. The project, led by the Project Management Unit of the Pakistan Airports Authority, began on July 4, 2024, and is expected to be completed by January 3 next year. The primary objectives of the project include the renovation, revamping, and expansion of the main runway, 7L and 25R. After the completion of the project, Karachi Airport will be upgraded to Category 4F, enabling it to accommodate exceptionally large aircraft, including the Airbus 380.
