EU-DIGEST

Obese passengers who are unable to squeeze into a single plane seat are to be charged double to fly with Air France and KLM. Overweight flyers will be asked to pay for two seats, or not be allowed on board for 'safety reasons', the airline announced today.

Air France spokeswoman Monique Matze added: 'People who arrive at the check-in desk and are deemed too large to fit into a single seat will be asked to pay for and use a second seat.

Labels: Air France, Airline Industry, EU, KLM, Obeisity, Tourism

An Air France 330 taking off

For the complete report from the BBC News click on this link

"Black box" flight recorders should be modified to emit signals for longer, experts investigating June's Air France disaster over the Atlantic have said. Their inquiry into why the flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed has been hampered by the failure to find the jet's recorders. The reliability of speed sensors on the Airbus A330 has been questioned and BEA experts have suggested that new safety standards might be needed. "At this stage, despite the extensive analyses carried out by the BEA on the basis of the available information, it is still not possible to understand the causes and the circumstances of the accident," the BEA report said. Another recommendation was that passenger planes flying over the sea should be equipped with an extra beacon transmitting on a different frequency, which would increase the chances of finding the wreckage.

A string of automated messages just before the crash showed there were inconsistencies in data from the sensors, known as pitot tubes. BEA said safety tests on the equipment did not replicate high-altitude conditions and it called for more studies of cloud masses and icy conditions.

Labels: Air France, Airbus A330, Aircraft disaster, BlackBox

Friday morning, at 11:39 am, Air France's Airbus A380 departed from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, operating flight AF 380, made the first transatlantic flight between Europe. The aircraft, registration F-GHJA, landed at New York-Kennedy airport at 1:07 PM. Among the 538 passengers were the 380 winning bidders for seats on the inaugural Paris-New York - Paris flights. This auction raised proceeds of 300,000 euros which will finance five different humanitarian projects by charities chosen by the Air France Foundation. The proceeds of this auction of seats on the two inaugural Paris-New York-Paris flights finally reached 300,000 euros, more than expected. The amount will thus finance 5 humanitarian projects for children in need instead of the three initially planned. The benefits of the auction for the inaugural Paris-New York-Paris flights will go to several projects in aid of humanitarian associations for children in need all over the world.

Labels: A380, Air France, Aircraft Industry, EU, Tourism, US

Time's Ticking To Bid On The Air France A380 Auction

Time to check the balance in your PayPal account, because there’s only a few days left until bidding ends for the inaugural flight of the A380 on Air France. Prices for the economy seats start at just $380—clever—every day and slowly begin to creep up. However, as of this morning, we were able to see a couple seats that were still $380-ish and several more between $400 and $500. Fares like that are decent deal for a transatlantic crossing on an old plane, but flying across the Atlantic on a jumbo-jumbo makes it almost a steal. Too bad the bids will likely keep on rolling on. Bidders can choose between the Paris to New York launch on November 20 and the New York to Paris journey on November 21. All proceeds from the auctions will be donated to humanitarian organizations supported by the Air France Foundation. We’re not totally sure if that means you can use your trip as a tax deduction, but we’d definitely check with an authority a little more reliable than TurboTax.

Labels: Air France, Airbus, Airline Industry, EU

Air France sued over Airbus 330 crash investigation

A lawyer says the family of a French flight attendant who perished in an Air France plane crash on June 1 over the Atlantic Ocean is suing the airline to force it to release information on what caused the tragedy. The Airbus jet went down while flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 people aboard were killed. The lawyer for Clara Amado's family says they have filed a civil suit against the airline. Jean-Claude Guidicelli says the family wants the company to disclose information on whether the plane's speed sensors were to blame for the crash.Air France declined to comment.

Labels: Air France, Airbus, Aircraft disaster, EU

Air France - Research ship ends hunt for Air France - by Allen Levin

The search for wreckage from the Air France jet that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1 has failed to find a trace of the airliner on the ocean floor, French investigators announced Thursday. A research boat spent weeks studying the ocean bottom with sonar in a circle 47 miles from the last known position of the Airbus A330 jet, said the French accident investigation agency, the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA). Searchers also used high-tech equipment to scan an even wider area in less detail, the BEA said. The French research vessel Pourquoi pas? that conducted the research is heading to port, leaving investigators to contemplate their next step, the investigative agency said. Over the next few weeks, the BEA will consult with international experts and plan for the next phase of the search, it said.

Jet manufacturer Airbus has said it will help pay for additional searches because finding what happened to the flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris is considered critical.

Labels: Air France, Aircraft disaster, EU

Air France to auction seats on first A380 flights; proceeds go to charity

Air France will auction off 380 of the 538 seats on its first two flights on the Airbus A380 super jumbo jet and the proceeds will go to charity. France's first A380 flight is set for Nov. 20 on the Paris-to-New York route. The carrier's second A380 flight will come on the return on Nov. 21. Air France will be the first European carrier to put the A380 into regularly scheduled commercial service, according to the Press Association.

Labels: A380, Air France, EU

Special Investigation - The series of mysterious Airbus 330 accidents culminating in tragic loss of Air France Flight 447

Made by Airbus, the giant European company that emerged around the time of Concorde’s development, the twin-engine, wide-bodied A330 is less than five years old. Since 1993, Airbus has received more than 1,400 orders for this plane and its close sibling, the four-engine A340, and there are around 1,000 of them in the sky. Each A330 costs about euro 150 million. ‘From nose to tail, the A330 and A340 incorporate the latest advances in Airbus technology and innovation,’ the company’s website says, adding that they exhibit ‘the best take-off and landing performance in all conditions, as well as high-efficiency flight’. With its human-proof computer systems, it is the most technically advanced aircraft in the world. So why has the Airbus 330's gleaming new fleet been so dogged by technical problems... and disturbing evidence of flawed cabling been so comprehensively ignored?

Company sources insist that the ADIRUs aren’t to blame because QF72 and AF447 used different types. This argument fails to impress the families’ lawyer, Tardivat: ‘We’re looking at the failure of large parts of the system, and there’s no way something like this should happen simply because of a problem with the pitot tubes. We need to look at the software. Was it the same – or very similar – in both planes? So far, Airbus won’t tell us. If it was, the fact that there were different boxes on different planes is no more important than one person using an IBM, another a Dell PC.’ Chris Hounsfield, editor of Aerospace Testing International, points to another possible cause: ‘Airbus crew have told me that their pilots can rely too heavily on an “intelligent” aircraft’s flying ability, and should the “intelligent” systems fail, they may not have had enough simulator training to cope with a sudden “flip” to mechanical systems.’

However, Tardivat and Hounsfield agree that the ultimate problem may lie somewhere else entirely – with the 100-odd miles of insulated wire connecting everything from computers to seat-back televisions. Ed Block, an American air investigator, has long been trying to draw attention to the dangers of some wire types. It was he who found the evidence of the likely cause of the disaster on TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747 that blew up off Long Island in 1996, killing all 230 on board. He concluded the problem had been short circuits, or arcs, that ultimately led to sparking in the vapour-filled central fuel tank.

Labels: Air France, Air Safety, Airbus A330, Aircraft disaster, EU

A new balance of power emerges - by Peter S. Rashish

The European Parliament elections suggest that a power shift is under way in the European Union. A new triumvirate consisting of Germany, France, and Poland may be emerging; a triumvirate that will keep Berlin in the lead, increase central and eastern Europe's clout and also offer Paris the opportunity to play the role of honest broker. Those forming the US's developing strategy for transatlantic engagement should take note. It is clear that the incumbent parties in Germany, France and especially Poland, all of whom are members of the centre-right European People's Party, were the big winners. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU-CSU won 42 seats, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP took 29 seats. In both countries, the left-of-centre opposition suffered defeats of historic proportions. But the most impressive victory was scored by Civic Platform, the party of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which garnered 44% of the vote and 25 seats. Poland – one of the central and eastern European countries best weathering the economic crisis – is going to try to make its voice heard.

While US President Barack Obama has now made two visits to Europe since his inauguration and the tone of transatlantic relations has improved, it appears that his administration's strategy for engagement with the European Union is still evolving. In two policy areas that would benefit from close US-EU co-operation – energy security and the post-crisis economic agenda – Washington should build in an approach that takes account of this emerging EU balance of power.

Labels: Air France, Balance of Power, EU, Germany, Poland

What caused Air France Flight 447 crash? No speculation, just facts

Those following the crash of Air France Flight 447 have probably realized that speculation abounds about what may have caused the plane to break up just 14 minutes after the pilots had indicated that they were flying into dark clouds. It is still not clear that the Airbus A330 that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean was going too fast or too slow. Any assertions about either, at this point, are speculation.

Here's what is publicly known about the technical situation on board the aircraft just before it went down:
# The auto pilot was off, though it is not clear that the pilots switched it off.
# French investigators have determined that "based on the analysis of the automatic messages broadcast by the plane, there are inconsistencies between the various speeds measured."

Labels: Air France, Airbus A330, Aircraft disaster, EU

At Air France crash site, 4 more bodies recovered

Search ships methodically worked through a "sea of debris" from a doomed Air France jet Sunday, recovering four more bodies near the spot where the Airbus A330 is believed to have gone down a week ago. Six bodies have been retrieved since Saturday and ships were headed to pick up more Sunday afternoon after pilots participating in a grid search reported additional sightings. The bodies have been found in an area about 45 miles (70 kilometers) from where the jet sent out messages signaling electrical failures and loss of cabin pressure. "We're navigating through a sea of debris," Brazilian Navy Capt. Giucemar Tabosa Cardoso said. Brazil's military is not releasing information about bodies or debris that have not been taken aboard ships, after sea trash was mistaken last week for a cargo pallet from the plane, prompting criticism.

Labels: Air France, Airbus, Aircraft disaster, EU

Airfrance A330 Disaster - Equatorial region known for massive storms

It's the birthplace of some of the world's strongest storms, a nearly continuous band of colliding weather systems near the equator where the Air France jet vanished in the night. The region is known to scientists as the Intertropical Convergence Zone. It's where winds from the northern and southern hemispheres clash, spawning violent thunderstorms that can tower up to 60,000 feet, far higher than any commercial airliner could fly over. Officials suspect the Air France jet carrying 228 people that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday night between Brazil and Africa may have run into trouble as it crossed into this zone. Reports indicate the plane may have passed into a 400-mile-long cluster of developing thunderstorms with lightning and 100 mph updrafts.

Basically, this zone, which experts refer to as the ITCZ, is a stormy weather band that wraps some 25,000 miles around the world, generally hugging the equator. Like an ocean current, it's fluid in its movements as the seasons change, deviating several degrees north and south. The zone's shape is more like a slithering snake than a pencil-straight line, and can sometimes be several hundred miles wide. While the region can be quiet and calm, it is also "the birthplace of our strongest storms on Earth," said Henry Margusity, a senior meteorologist for AccuWeather.com.

Labels: Air France, Airbus A330, Aircraft disaster, EU

Air France Air Crash Victims Include VIP Business Executives, and a Royal - by John Lyons

Although Brazilian and French authorities have yet to release a detailed passenger manifest, the list is expected to read like a roster of European and Brazilian blue-chip companies, whose executives regularly packed the business- and first-class sections of this trans-Atlantic flight. Already, some firms, such as French tire maker Michelin SA, have begun confirming their executives were aboard the Airbus A330-200. German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp Steel AG said that Erich Heine, chairman of its Brazil unit, was aboard. Brazil-based Vale SA, the world's biggest iron-ore producer, said one of its senior executives was aboard. Norwegian oil giant StatoilHydro ASA said three employees -- two Brazilians and a Norwegian -- were on the plane. Already, some firms, such as French tire maker Michelin SA, have begun confirming their executives were aboard the Airbus A330-200. German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp Steel AG said that Erich Heine, chairman of its Brazil unit, was aboard. Brazil-based Vale SA, the world's biggest iron-ore producer, said one of its senior executives was aboard. Norwegian oil giant StatoilHydro ASA said three employees -- two Brazilians and a Norwegian -- were on the plane. China -- which in March surpassed the U.S. as Brazil's biggest trade partner -- had nine citizens on the jet.

Also among those feared dead were figures from Brazil's elite. Pedro Luiz de Orléans e Bragança, a 25-year-old relative of Dom Pedro II, the Portuguese royal and emperor of Brazil deposed in 1889, was on board, a family spokesman said.

Labels: Air France, Aircraft disaster, EU

Missing Air France jet, debris sighted

Brazilian media outlets are reporting that debris from the missing Air France passenger jet has been sighted floating on the Atlantic Ocean by the crew of a French freighter. The "Douce France" freighter is reported to be in the same area off the coast of Senegal where a Brazil TAM airline pilot was also reported to have seen a burning piece of wreckage, reported news.com.au.

Labels: Air France, Aircraft disaster, EU

Fears for 228 passengers as Air France jet 'disappears' between Brazil and France

An Air France plane with 228 people on board has disappeared from the radar off the Brazilian coast. Air France flight 447 was on its way from from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil bound for Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. The flight was scheduled to arrive in Paris at 9am British time, according to the airport. Air France spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand said: "Air France regrets to announce that it is without news from Air France flight 447 flying from Rio to Paris." The plane disappeared about 186 miles (300km) northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal.

Air traffic control are reported to have lost contact with the Airbus A330 at O600 GMT after it took off from Rio de Janeiro.

Labels: Air France, Airbus A330, Aircraft disaster, Brazil, France

Unmanned nEUROn stealth combat aircraft

For the complete report from defpro.com click on this link

nEUROn Europe's unmanned combat aircraft taking shape

On February 9, 2006, French defense procurement agency DGA, the program executive agency, named Dassault Aviation as prime contractor in charge of developing nEUROn, a European combat aircraft vehicle demonstrator. This signaled the active launch of the project.The AVE-C drone carried out a demonstration flight on June 30, 2008. Since this drone features a general design similar to nEUROn, this test helped confirm the likelihood of the new UCAV performing a successful automatic takeoff and landing right from its first flight.The maiden flight of nEUROn is scheduled for the end of 2011. Test flights will be carried out over a period of about 18 months, in France (Istres), then Sweden and Italy. 85% of the total budget has now been awarded to Industry by DGA, which acts on behalf of the six Partner States (France, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Greece and Switzerland).In other words, not only is nEUROn beginning to take shape, but so is a real pan-European military aviation industry.

Labels: Air France, Aircraft Industry, EU, European Military, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland. nEUROn, Unmand Aircraft

France - Carla Bruni-Sarkozy on the Catwalk

Since marrying French president Nicolas Sarkozy, in February 2008, former supermodel Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has toned down not only her husband’s image but also her own, stepping out in stylish but demure suits, slacks, and knee-length dresses. Lest we forget that at one time she was paid millions to wear provocative clothing, here is a look back at some of the more avant-garde—and revealing—outfits she modeled.

Labels: Air France, Carla Bruni, Cécilia Sarkozy, EU

EU plan for grand union - by Lorne Cook

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and 42 other leaders were to launch last night a union between Europe and its Mediterranean neighbors but tensions among Middle East countries could undermine their grand plan. Heads of state and government from the 27 European Union nations and an arc of countries running from Morocco to the Balkans representing some 756 million people were expected to endorse the new forum at the Grand Palais on Paris's Champs Elysee."

Labels: Air France, EU, Grand Union, Mediterranean region, Sarkozy

US, France clash over G8 expansion

The United States and France clashed Monday over plans to accommodate India, China and other large developing countries into the Group of Eight (G8) of industrialized countries, according to Japanese media reports quoting officials from both sides.In an interview given to Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper prior to his departure for Japan, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said G8 annual summits should also include China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.

Labels: Air France, Council of Europe, G8, Russia; US, Sarkozy

Air France-KLM May traffic up 6 percent;load factor up 0.2 points

Air France-KLM (nyse: AKH - news - people ) said passenger traffic rose 6 percent year-on-year in May, slightly exceeding a 5.8 percent rise in capacity to allow the load factor to rise 0.2 points to 79.3 percent. The carrier's cargo activities saw a 2.7 percent increase in traffic.

Air France-KLM said it recorded a further rise in unit revenue, excluding currency effects.

Labels: Air France, Airline Industry, EU, KLM