Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Saturday, 01 August 2015

BBC News

• Etihad sued over obese passengerAn Australian plane passenger, who says he suffered back pain after being seated next to an overweight man, is suing Etihad Airways.
• Airbus reports profits up by 34%Europe's aircraft maker Airbus group beats forecasts with a rise in profits for the first half of the year.
• BA owner IAG in big profits jumpBA and Iberia owner International Airlines Group (IAG) reports a big jump in second quarter profits.

Financial Times

• Q&A: The hunt for flight MH370Will the discovery of wreckage solve the aviation mystery?
• IAG against paying for Heathrow runwayOwner of British Airways opposes ‘excessive’ cost of Heathrow expansion
• Chinese investors compete to buy AvolonBidding battle for Irish aircraft leasing company could see it valued at $2.5bn

The Guardian

• Heathrow third runway unjustifiable, says BA parent company bossIAG chief executive Willie Walsh said Heathrow had glossed over its ability to finance the new infrastructure, which he called inefficient and unfit for purposeHeathrow’s biggest customer, the group that owns British Airways, has dealt a stinging blow to the airport’s expansion hopes by saying the £17.6bn price for a third runway is excessive and “cannot be justified on any basisâ€�.Willie Walsh, the chief executive of BA’s parent company IAG, warned that his airlines would not pay the outrageous cost for new infrastructure that he called “inefficient and not fit for purposeâ€�. Continue...
• MH370: flaperon arrives in France as search for truth switches to laboratoryThe debris washed up on Réunion will be driven from Paris to the defence laboratory in Toulouse for confirmation that it belonged to the Boeing 777 missing since March 2014Investigators in Toulouse are hoping to unlock the mystery of the disappeared Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 as the piece of plane wreckage found washed up on a beach on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion arrived in France for official identification.The two-metre, barnacle-encrusted chunk of metal debris which emerged from the sea this week has raised hopes of discovering what happened to the Kuala Lumpur-Beijing...
• Osama bin Laden sister and stepmother feared dead in UK plane crashSaudi ambassador offers condolences to the family amid reports that relatives of the al-Qaida leader were among four killed in light aircraft crash in HampshireThe sister and stepmother of notorious al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden were reportedly among the dead after a business jet crashed at a private airport in Hampshire and ploughed into a car auction centre.Without confirming the identities of the victims, the Saudi ambassador to Britain, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf Al Saud, offered condolences on the embassy’s official Twitter account to the Bin Laden family, a prominent Saudi Arabia clan w...

The Herald

• Washed up wing likely to be from missing Malaysian Airlines flightA CHUNK of 8ft long aircraft wing washed up on a remote French island is almost certainly the evidence needed to solve the world's greatest aviation mystery, according to investigators.
• Four dead after private jet crashes into car lotFour people have died after a private jet crash landed in a car auction site and burst into flames as prepared for landing on a nearby runway.

The Independent

• Hampshire plane crash: Four dead after light aircraft hits Blackbushe Airport car auction site while trying to land Four people have died after a light aircraft 'went up into a ball of flames' when it crashed into a car auction site at Blackbushe airport, Hampshire, as it attempted to land on a runway.

The Scotsman

• Delayed air passengers fail to claim compensationTENS of thousands of air passengers who suffered severe delays at Scotland’s busiest airports last summer failed to claim compensation totalling more than £15 million, new research shows.

The Telegraph

• Private jet owned by Osama Bin Laden's family crashes in Hampshire, killing fourThe Embraer Phenom 300 was owned by Salem Aviation, a company which is part of the Bin Laden conglomerate based in Jeddah

Daily Express

• Stansted Airport security alert as 'suspected pipe bomb' found in cargo areaARMY bomb disposal experts were called to Stansted Airport after a suspected pipe bomb was reportedly found in a cargo facility.
• Osama Bin Laden's stepmother and sister 'killed in Hampshire private jet crash'OSAMA Bin Laden's stepmother and sister were reportedly among four killed in yesterday's horrifying plane crash in Hampshire.

Mail Online

• British Airways slashes the size of hand luggage The firm permits two pieces of baggage to be taken into the cabin, but is nearly halving the size of the ‘personal’ bag. It could lead to many travellers having to buy new luggage.
• Army explosives experts called in and staff evacuated after suspected pipe bomb found by FedEx staff at Stansted Airport  The device was detected on scanners by FedEx staff before it could be loaded on to a plane. Cargo flights have been suspended at the airport and staff have been evacuated.
• Bin Laden family’s jet crashes into a car auction near Blackbushe Airport A plane has reportedly overshot the runway at Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire and crashed into vehicles parked at a nearby car dealership sending thick smoke into the air.

The Mirror

• Cops 'probe whether Bin Laden family members were on private jet which smashed into car auction killing four'Although based in Saudi Arabia, the aircraft was flying into Hampshire from Milan and the Bin Ladens have interests in northern Italy
• Two RAF aircraft came within 20 FEET of high-speed crash in what could have been UK's closest near miss A report into the near miss, which occurred in Lincolnshire in March, found that one jet was travelling at almost 400mph
• Stansted Airport security scare after suspected pipe bomb found in FedEx cargo areaArmy bomb disposal were called to the airport after scanners picked up a suspected explosive device as it was about to be loaded onto a cargo flight

London Evening Standard

• Third Heathrow runway is ‘an outrageous vanity project’ says BA boss Willie Walsh British Airways boss Willie Walsh today launched a scathing attack on plans for a third runway at Heathrow, dismissing it as a “vanityâ€� project whose costs would be “outrageousâ€�.
• Hampshire plane crash: four people killed after light aircraft crashes at car auction site Four people were killed after a light aircraft crashed at a car auction site in Hampshire this afternoon.

Blackpool Gazette

• Small airport review 
a ‘lost opportunity’Failing to offer more support for small airports like Blackpool is a ‘lost opportunity’ one of the resort’s MPs warned today.

Sleaford Standard

• FEATURE: Air ambulance could be asked to transport pregnant and seriously ill patientsHeavily pregnant women could be among cases sent to hospital via air ambulance under some of the proposals by the counties health leaders.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• BA owner IAG reports big jump in quarterly profitsBritish Airways (BA) owner International Airlines Group (IAG) has reported a big jump in quarterly profits. IAG reported a 25% rise in pre-tax profits to £315m for the three months to 30th June. Chief executive Willie Walsh told the BBC's Today programme the results 'reflect the underlying strength of the airlines'. IAG is in the process of buying Irish carrier Aer Lingus. The group is still waiting for approval from stakeholder Ryanair, which Mr Walsh is confident they will receive. The company said that at current fuel prices and exchange rates, IAG's outlook remains unchanged. Since t...

Aviation Industry

• Walsh: ‘We will not pay for third runway’IAG boss calls runway plan at Heathrow “way over the topâ€�

Other News Sources

• Gatwick teams up with nutrionist to produce happy meals to make passengers smile AN AIRPORT can be a pretty stressful time during the summer getaway but bosses at Gatwick hope their happy meals will put a smile on passengers’ faces.