The Air Transport Rating Agency (ATRA) has published a current list of the world’s 10 safest air carriers. European and US-based airlines dominated the list released this week, despite rarely ranking among the highest for customer satisfaction. There were no Australian carriers named and only one Asian airline made the list. The agency, based in [...]

European airlines Lufthansa and Swiss have announced that they will be charging customers who book tickets using debit cards or credit cards extra. The decision comes in spite of the Office of Fair Trading in the UK saying that it supports a Which? complaint over surcharges which calls for such fees to be banned or [...]

Global charity UNICEF has called on airlines to reduce or provide free transport for food bound for the horn of Africa. The news comes as humanitarian groups continue to ramp up aid efforts in the region. Several airlines have already committed to bring free food to the area including UPS Virgin, Lufthansa, British Airways and [...]

Australian carrier Qantas has settled with enginemaker Rolls Royce following an emergency landing last year due to an alleged manufacturing defect. One of the airline’s A380 super-jumbo jets was forced to return to Changi International Airport in Singapore late last year when one of its four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines caught fire and subsequently [...]

Austrian Airlines has resumed its service to the Iraqi capital. The news comes 21 years after the route was discontinued, and the recommencement marks the first regularly scheduled direct air link between Europe and Baghdad to operate since the beginning the Gulf War in the early 1990s. The Vienna-based carrier, which has been operating service [...]

Fears that the latest volcanic eruption in Iceland could cause airline fleets to be grounded as an ash cloud spreads towards Europe have caused shares in the largest carriers to drop. Flights in and out of Scotland have already been cancelled and the Civil Aviation Authority has warned airlines to be prepared for further disruption. [...]

German carrier Lufthansa has announced it will be launching A380 service between Frankfurt and Singapore later in the year. The state-of-the-art Airbus aircraft will offer a highly anticipated first class cabin, which includes features like sound absorbing carpet and curtains as well as a five-star exclusive toilet. Many passengers on the flight will be booked [...]

Plymouth City airport is due to close by the end of this year, according to its owners. It is one of Britain’s oldest airports and was opened in 1925 to receive and distribute mail coming across the Atlantic. Sutton Harbour Holdings, the present owners, said there was no sign of an improvement in trade in [...]

Following the massive earthquake and tsunami which devastated much of the north of Japan last month, British Airways said it would continue to run a full schedule to the country. International Consolidated Airlines Group chief executive, Willie Walsh, has since said he is keen to develop plans for greater cooperation between the flag-carrier and Japan [...]

Germany’s Lufthansa Group has reported operating profits of €876 million for 2010. The figure marks an impressive increase on those seen in 2009 when it posted profits of just €130 million as it emerged from the economic downturn. The company cited a number of factors for the improvement including increased demand in both its passenger [...]