US Airways A320 ditches in New York's Hudson River

A US Airways Airbus A320 has crash-landed in the Hudson River west of New York City after a departure from LaGuardia Airport on January 15, 2009.
According to flight tracking program, FlightAware, Flight 1549, enroute from LaGuardia to Charlotte, took off at approximately 1526h and climbed as high as 3,200ft before beginning a descent.
The final radar data from the tracking program indicates the aircraft travelling at 153kt at 300ft altitude at 1531h.
The US FAA says there were 148 passengers onboard and five crew, and everyone had been evacuated. The aircraft have struck a flock of birds. According to CNN, three minutes after takeoff, the pilot radioed controllers that he had sustained a "double hit" and had to return for an emergency landing. This is the flight path.

US Airways pilot Chelsey B. Sullenberger holds up an American flag that was presented to him during a celebration in his honor in Danville, California. The pilot who safely landed his crippled jet in New York's Hudson River received a hero's homecoming here Saturday, getting the key to the city

This is some of the picture that highlight the extraordinary effort in landing and later lifting a fully submerged, intact, Airbus A320 from the Hudson River in New York City.

viva Aerobus charity calendar

vivaAerobus, Mexico's low fares airline is the latest airline to launch a charity calendar in a bid to boost its profile.

The airline was created with the expertise of Irelandia, the investment vehicle of the founders of Ryanair, Europe's low cost airline.

vivaAerobus operates a fleet of Boeing 737-300 aircraft.

Anyway, here is a video of the making of the charity calendar. Take a look at vivaAerobus' calendar site .More information on which charity the calendar supports...



and the Ryanair Cabin Crew Charity Calander 2009. Check http://www.ryanairmag.com/ for more details

Un-necessary Airport

Controversy is brewing in Malaysia over a new airport that looks set to be built for the capital Kuala Lumpur by budget carrier AirAsia and government-linked conglomerate Sime Darby. It is already a political hot potato and things are likely to get hotter.

It all began last month, when it was quietly revealed that the government had given approval for AirAsia and Sime Darby to build a new "low-cost carrier terminal" at an area called Labu, not far from the existing flagship Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). It will be built on land owned by Sime Darby and the passenger terminal will be owned and managed by AirAsia.

Few other details were revealed, by either the government or by the would-be partners AirAsia and Sime Darby. And there are still almost no details available, the most important being an answer to the question of why it is needed. Some have asked why not convert the more conveniently located old Subang airport for use by low-cost carriers instead.

State-owned Malaysia Airports, which runs KLIA, is privately lobbying to stop the new Labu facility from being built. It built a terminal specifically for use by low-cost carriers at KLIA in 2006 and is now proposing to build a much bigger new budget terminal at KLIA.

Interestingly, AirAsia and Sime Darby have avoided calling the planned new Labu facility an airport, instead calling it a "terminal" in their brief stock exchange announcements in which they have said only that they are still in talks over it. Call it what you like - the government says it will be known as KLIA East @ Labu - but since it will have its own runway I for one will continue referring to it as an airport.

We have three airports in and around the capital city, Kuala Lumpur, one in Sungai Besi, one in Subang and one in Sepang. Sepang was designed for 125 million passengers a year. It can have two terminals, four satellites and five runways. Right now KLIA handle only 25 million passengers. So we have capacity for another 100 million passengers more.

We paid RM8 billion for KLIA Sepang. Even a small airport at today's prices would be near to RM2 billion. The distance to Kuala Lumpur would be longer but of course it would be nearer Seremban and other parts in Negri Sembilan.

The building of the airport should stimulate the economy. Somebody can make quite a bit selling land. A Government Link Company will get the job and contract it out to some lucky bloke. There will be a whole lot of other contracts to look forward to. It could even help with the coming recession.

But what happens to the low cost terminal at KLIA that have built only recently with such great speed? Do we close it down or do we transport the whole lot to Labu?

There is much that is going on behind the scenes and there is much more to come on this issue. Is it one of AirAsia taking on Malaysia Airports? Is there a power play going on between Malaysia Airports and Sime Darby? There are too many question that answer right now.

The A330 is "15 years young"

Airbus today (30 December 2008) marked the 15th anniversary of its first A330 delivery, which opened a highly successful career for the twin-engine family of medium/long-range widebody jetliners that will continue to serve operators for years to come.

The no. 1 aircraft - an A330-300 version - was provided on 30 December 1993 to Air Inter, which operated it on the airline's high-capacity domestic route network within France. This aircraft subsequently joined the fleet of Brussels Airlines - which continues to use the milestone jetliner on regular service to numerous African destinations, accumulating a total of more than 50,000 flight hours.

There are some 250 A30-300s in service today, with more than 130 firmly-ordered aircraft still to be delivered. From its original Air Inter routes with an average sector length of no more than 400 nautical miles, the A330-300 has spread its wings around the world, and now serves such long-haul routes as Frankfurt, Germany to Seattle, Washington on the U.S. West Coast - a still-air distance of over 4,400 nautical miles.

A growing proportion of the A330-300 fleet is now employed on extended-distance regional routes, such as those linking Middle East destinations with European capital cities. Similar flight lengths characterise the segments flown between Australia and Asia or from Europe to North America.

A330-300s convey large numbers of leisure travellers to the winter snow and summer sun every year. With the start of deliveries to Air Asia X in October 2008, the A330-300 is now providing low-cost services from Malaysia to China, Australia and other Asian destinations.

The A330-300 also is firmly established as the 300-seat aircraft of choice for operators in China (including Hong Kong), with almost 80 aircraft in service or on order. Operators who will receive their first A330-300s beginning in 2009 are Etihad, Gulf Air, Oman Air and Saudi Arabian Airlines - as well as Aeroflot, Finnair and Swiss. The first of the new operators will be Singapore Airlines, with deliveries commencing in January.

Overall, more than 1,000 A330s have been ordered in the aircraft's various versions, including the new A330-200F freighter, which was launched by Airbus in January 2007. The A330's versatility also is demonstrated by its evolution as an aerial tanker for the in-flight refuelling of military aircraft and the airlift of troops and cargo.