A third day of disruption due to volcanic ash in the atmosphere has hit Qantas passengers. All services to New Zealand have been grounded and services with the flag carrier and its subsidiary Jetstar to Adelaide have also been cancelled.  According to a statement, Qantas is continuing to monitor the situation, but its primary concern is for the safety of its passengers.

Rivals Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia have said that they will continue to operate trans-Tasman services by either rerouting flights below the ash or around it. Qantas timetables to Tasmania have also been cancelled and Jetstar has decided to suspend operations on the route pending further assessment of the situation.

Brisbane-based Virgin Australia said in a statement that it would be adding a number of extra services out… Read the full story

by Mia Harris on June 14th, 2011

Thousands of airline passengers have had their travel plans disrupted as carriers ground flights because volcanic ash has entered New Zealand and Australian airspace. Virgin has confirmed that it will be resuming limited services to and from New Zealand, Tasmania and Melbourne, but rival Qantas has said it will be keeping its fleet on the tarmac for the time being.

The continuing eruption of the Puyhue volcano in Chile means that ash is being carried across the Indian and Atlantic oceans. An expert from Darwin’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Service said that there was a risk to airliners from the ash, but that as it had been travelling for a week most of the denser particles were likely to have fallen back to earth.

Virgin said it had taken advice and… Read the full story

by Riley Walker on June 13th, 2011

Representatives of the world’s biggest car hire firms have challenged plans to introduce cheap, electric-powered cars onto the streets of Paris later in the year. The group, which includes Hertz and Avis, has attacked city hall for organising and introducing publically funded competition. The tribunal which has heard the legal challenge will now have to decide whether to put a halt to the scheme in its current form.

The first several hundred vehicles are due to come to Paris in December. They will offer both residents and visitors a green, cheap way of getting around the French capital and follow the extremely successful Velib’ rental bicycle scheme.

The Autolib’ cars are currently being built in Turin. They will be about the size of a Mini and will seat four people.… Read the full story

by Aadyn Taylor on June 10th, 2011

The Australian competition watchdog has given interim approval for a tie-up between Qantas and American Airlines on services across the Pacific. Code share agreements are already in place on 54 destinations in Mexico, Canada and the US. The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission’s decision will allow the carriers to go ahead with joint marketing campaigns and permits them to coordinate sales of tickets both in the US and Australia.

In May, a Joint Business Agreement application was made which, if granted, will see the two airlines broaden their relationship. Interim approval was requested by Qantas for a Dallas service which flies four times every week.

The ACCC has said that its decision to grant approval is temporary and that the application was still undergoing a full review. A final decision… Read the full story

by Isabella Robinson on June 9th, 2011

Salvage experts have concluded the mission to bring wreckage and bodies to the surface of the Atlantic Ocean from a crashed Air France plane. The passenger jet went down as it was en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro on 1 June 2009. All 228 people on board died in the accident. Crews have already managed to locate and retrieve the aircraft’s data and voice recorders and an official report into the cause of the crash is due to be released by the BEA next month.

According to Philippe Vinogradoff, a spokesman for the relatives of the victims, 104 bodies have been retrieved. The wreckage was discovered in April 3,900m below the surface. Special robots have been used to scour the ocean floor for debris.

The remains of the… Read the full story

by Lily Thompson on June 8th, 2011

Shareholders in car hire firm Dollar Thrifty have been advised by the company’s board of directors not to tender shares in the face of a $2.25 billion buyout proposal from rival Hertz. The request by Dollar Thrifty is the latest move in the long-running battle between Hertz and Avis to takeover the budget car rental company.

Last month Dollar Thrifty agreed to work with Hertz to obtain takeover approval from the US antitrust regulators. The Hertz bid is an offer of $57.60 per share plus 0.8546 shares of the company’s common stock. The offer is higher than a previous bid by Avis which includes $45.79 for the shares with the addition of 0.6543 in Avis stock. The deal equates to around $1.77 billion at current prices.

Last October, Dollar Thrifty… Read the full story

by Mia Harris on June 7th, 2011

Qantas has said that it is keen to develop closer ties with Malaysia Airlines and that it will be working with the management at the oneworld airline alliance to make sure that the Kuala-Lumpur-based carrier implements the necessary alterations to guarantee access. The process should be completed over the next 18 months.

Working more closely with Malaysia Airlines will allow Qantas to increase its presence in Asia. Alan Joyce, the flag carrier’s chief executive, said conversations between the two had been going on for some time. Speaking in Singapore, he added that Qantas intended to continue operations in the city-state but that a relationship with Malaysia Airlines would offer considerable benefits to both carriers.

Mr Joyce explained that Singapore provided Qantas with a big destination and local origin-market and that… Read the full story

by Riley Walker on June 6th, 2011

Australian travellers intending to visit Europe this summer are being advised to avoid eating salad if they go to Germany. So far, 17 people in Europe have died from food poisoning and around 1600 people have become ill. According to the World Health Organisation, a new strain of E. Coli is putting people in danger of neurological problems, kidney failure and internal bleeding.

The source of the bacteria was originally thought to be cucumbers coming from Spain. However, Rowland Cobbold from the University of Queensland has warned that the problem could also be traced to lettuce and tomatoes. The infectious diseases expert said Australians should avoid eating salad in Europe for the time being.

He explained that the current theory is that the bug has been transferred to salad items… Read the full story

by Aadyn Taylor on June 3rd, 2011

A senator in the US has announced that he plans to introduce a bill which will prevent car hire firms from renting vehicles if they are under recall. Sen. Charles Schumer said he was concerned that rental agencies were more interested in turning a profit than they were in the safety of the individuals or families using their cars.

The American Car Rental Association has proposed a system whereby vehicles considered to have a serious fault would be kept off the road, but those with less dangerous problems would be dealt with as soon as is practically possible.

Schumer said that there had to be tougher legislation in place because of the number of serious accidents in recent years involving rental vehicles which had been recalled. He added that car… Read the full story

by Isabella Robinson on June 2nd, 2011

Emirates has signalled an acceleration in growth by securing financing for new aircraft worth billions of dollars. Lending terms have been finalised with three foreign banks to ensure the delivery of 10 long-haul, wide-bodied jet airliners from both Boeing and Airbus.

Between them, San Francisco’s Jackson Square Aviation, France’s Natixis and Doric Asset Finance in Germany have provided finance for five A380 superjumbos from Airbus and five 777-300ERs from Boeing.

The new planes are scheduled for delivery by next July and are worth $3 billion at list price. An operating agreement has also been finalised between the Dubai based airline and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise for the leasing of five Boeing 777s and two Boeing 747-800Fs which will be used to carry freight. At list price, the aircraft are worth $2… Read the full story

by Lily Thompson on June 1st, 2011