Flaws halt work on Boeing 787 sections

Boeing Co (BA.N) said on Friday an Italian supplier stopped production in June on two sections of its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner after structural flaws were found on fuselages. Alenia Aeronautica halted production because of wrinkles in the fuselage skin caused by flaws in subcomponents of the one-piece composite barrel, said Boeing spokeswoman Loretta Gunter. Flaws [...]

Turbulence injures 26, flight diverted to Miami

A Continental Airlines jet carrying 179 people from Brazil to Texas hit severe turbulence over the Atlantic early Monday, injuring at least 26 — including four seriously — and forcing an emergency landing in Miami, officials said. One passenger said he felt Continental Flight 128 drop without warning while flight attendants were in the aisles, [...]

Euro regulators order Airbus sensors replaced

European air safety regulators told world airlines on Friday they will have to replace hundreds of air speed sensors of the type that may have contributed to the Air France Airbus A330 crash in the Atlantic Ocean in June. The announcement came after Airbus recommended that airlines flying its planes exchange some of the speed [...]

Lufthansa to cut 400 jobs, reconsider new plane orders

Airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG expects to cut 400 administrative jobs at its passenger division and will reconsider its schedule of new aircraft deliveries in a bid save 1 billion euros by 2011. In a letter sent to workers, Christoph Franz, the deputy chief executive, told employees that Lufthansa’s losses had continued from the first quarter [...]

Airbags for airliners: What will they cost you?

You may never need them at 35,000 feet, but you’ll be glad they’re around if you do. Defibrillators, medical kits and life vests are a few examples of the safety equipment the government requires airlines to put on passenger jets. Of course, each item comes with a cost — from hundreds to thousands of dollars [...]

AMR posts loss, but beat forecasts

American Airlines parent AMR Corp (AMR.N) on Wednesday posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss as capacity cuts and new revenue streams helped offset weak travel demand. The No. 2 U.S. carrier was the first major U.S. airline to report its second quarter earnings, and its results easily beat expectations, sending its shares higher. Airlines are struggling [...]

Southwest checks planes after hole forces landing

Southwest Airlines Co. inspected about 200 planes overnight after a football-sized hole opened up in the passenger cabin of a jet in flight, forcing an emergency landing in West Virginia. Travelers on the Boeing 737 aircraft could see through the 1-foot-by-1-foot hole that appeared during the flight Monday. The cabin lost pressure, but no one [...]