Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. Please click on photo for full view, information and other photos.
Air India’s (Mumbai) executive pilots have ended their strike and have started returning to work today.
News link:
Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. Please click on photo for full view, information and other photos.
Aria Air (Tehran) restarted operations on October 14. It previously shut down on July 25, 2009.
Flydubai Boeing 737-8KN A6-FDD (msn 40234) DXB, originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
Flydubai (Dubai) will add Khartoum (Sudan) and the Dubai-Khartoum route on November 18.
Copyright Photo: Paul Denton.
Please click on photo or link below for full view, information and other photos.
airlinersgallery.com/2/7e6a5/#/gallery/flydubai/
Copyright Photo: Paul Denton.
Royal Falcon’s (Amman) ex-Air Canada/Iraqi Airways Boeing 767-233 JY-JRF (msn 22526) is not often photographed. Although it was received on June 30, 2007 it did not received titles and the tail logo until late 2008. JY-JRF is pictured here on a visit to Dubai. Royal Falcon is a Jordanian charter airline.
Air France Airbus A330-203 F-GZCP (msn 660) DXB (tragically crashed June 1, 2009), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
News link:
www.independent.ie/national-news/flight-447-victims-given-no-warning-of-crash-1980655.html
Copyright Photo: Paul Denton.
Copyright Photo: Jay Selman. ET-ANB arrives at Dubai before the crash.
Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa) tragically lost its ex-Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS ET-ANB (msn 29935, ex EI-CSW) this morning (January 25) off the coast of Lebanon (not newly-acquired ET-AMZ). ET-ANB was built in 2002 and was delivered to Ethiopian on September 12, 2009. Flight ET 409 had just departed Beirut en route to Addis Ababa with 90 passengers and crew on board. There were reports of thunderstorms in the area. Search crews are looking for debris and any possible survivors.
Ethiopian issued this initial press release:
07:02 AM – Local Time
Ethiopian flight ET-409 scheduled to operate from Beirut to Addis Ababa on January 25th lost contact with the Lebanese air controllers shortly after take off. The flight departed at 02:35 Lebanese time from Beirut International Airport.
Flight ET-409 carries 82 passenger plus 8 Ethiopian Crew members. Out of the total passengers 23 are Ethiopian, 51 Lebanese, 1 Turkish, 1 French, 2 British, 1 Russian, 1 Canadian, 1 Syrian, 1 Iraqi nationals.
A team is already working on gathering all pertinent information. An investigative team has already been dispatched to the scene and we will release further information as further updates are received.
News links:
www.reuters.com/article/idCNLDE60O0QW20100125?rpc=44
Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best. Another picture of the ill-fated ex-Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS ET-ANB (msn 29935) landing at Dubai right before sunset in the desert.
Ethiopian Airlines’ (Addis Ababa) crash yesterday morning in Beirut is becoming a mystery. The pilot in command of the aircraft was unable to follow flight instructions from ATC and made a sharp turn before plunging into the Mediterranean Sea.
Latest news link:
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100126/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_plane_crash
Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-8AS WL ET-ANB (msn 29935) DXB (crashed January 25, 2010 near Beirut), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
Ethiopian Airlines’ (Addis Ababa) according to Jimma Times CEO Girma Wake is not happy with on-going investigation of the January 15 crash of Boeing 737-8AS ET-ANB (msn 29935). According to this published report, the CEO accused Lebanese authorities on Wednesday (February 24) of making misleading comments on the cause of flight ET 409 crash on January 25 shortly after taking off from Beirut. The airline officials are dismissing reports of sabotage and the blaming of the flight crew for not following instructions by Lebanese Air Traffic Control (ATC).
According to this published report in the Jimma Times, the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir, claims to have seen findings by the disaster investigators, suggesting that the Ethiopian pilot lost control of the plane moments before it plunged into the sea off the coast of Naameh, south of Beirut.
According to As-Safir, the preliminary report allegedly states “Navigation authorities in Rafik Hariri International Airport and other Lebanese authorities were freed from responsibility. The crash was attributed to a ‘human error committed inside the cockpit’.”
Here is the full article:
Copyright Photo: Jay Selman. Ex-Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS ET-ANB (msn 29935) is pictured on approach at Dubai before the tragic accident.
Iraqi Airways (East Air) Boeing 737-4B7 EY-537 (msn 24550) DXB (Reiner Geerdts), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
Iraqi Airways (Baghdad) has leased this ex-US Airways Boeing 737-4B7 registered EY-537 (msn 24550) from East Air.
Copyright Photo: Reiner Geerdts. Previously operated for Somon Air, EY-537 now carries Iraqi titles as it approaches Dubai for landing.
Kish Air McDonnell Douglas DC-9-83 (MD-83) UR-BXO (msn 53149) (picture of Kish Island) DXB (Reiner Geerdts), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
Kish Air (Tehran) is operating this McDonnell Douglas DC-9-83 (MD-83) registered UR-BXO (msn 53149) with a picture of the resort island of Kish Island on the left forward fuselage.
Copyright Photo: Reiner Geerdts. UR-BXO approaches Dubai for landing.
Transaero Airlines Boeing 777-222 EI-UNZ (msn 26925) DXB (Konstantin von Wedelstaedt), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
Transaero Airlines (Moscow-Domodedovo) is planning to add new scheduled service to both New York and Miami in the fall according to the Moscow Times. The Miami service will be operated twice-weekly with Boeing 747-400s starting on October 29.
The company is also planning to acquire 14 ex-Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200s and nine ex-JAL Boeing 747-400s in a major fleet expansion. Transaero does not currently fly to the United States.
Read the full report:
Copyright Photo: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt. Transaero’s ex-United Boeing 777-222 EI-UNZ (msn 26925) arrives at Dubai.
Hainan Airlines 767-334P B-2490 (msn 33047) DXB (Paul Denton), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
Hainan Airlines (Haikou) also returned to profitability in 2009 when it posted a net profit of $49 million. the company is also planning to add new service to Honolulu.
News link:
Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. Hainan Airlines’ Boeing 767-34P ER B-2490 (msn 33047) approaches Dubai for landing.
Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best. The doomed Airbus A330-202 5A-ONG (msn 1024) is seen at Dubai before the crash in similar desert conditions it would have encountered at Tripoli.
ATW has raised this question:
Copyright Photo: Rainer Bexten. Please click on photo for full view, information and other photos.
Air India Express (Mumbai) flight IX 812 on May 22, 2010 operated with Boeing 737-8HG VT-AXV (msn 36333) from Dubai to Manglalore in southern India, overran the 8,033 feet (2,448 m) runway number 06/24 while landing. The airliner skidded down the hill at the end of the runway and was destroyed by fire.
This WSJ article raises the question of whether the width of this runway contributed to the aircraft exiting the runway. ICAO Annex 14 requires runways to be 300 meters (100 feet) wide. This runway was only 200 meters wide.
Read the full article:
Air France Airbus A330-203 F-GZCP (msn 660) DXB (tragically crashed June 1, 2009), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
Air France’s Airbus A330-203 F-GZCP (msn 660), which crashed tragically on June 1, 2009 in the Atlantic Ocean, will probably remain a mystery. Investigators have called off their search for the Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder.
Air France flight AF 447 operating from Rio de Janeiro to Paris (CDG) plunged into the Atlantic Ocean during a thunderstorm, killing 228 people.
Read the full report from Reuters:
In other news, Air France-KLM will be considering a purchase of either the Airbus A350-900 or the Boeing 787-900. A decision is expected next year.
Read the full report from Reuters:
Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. F-GZCP arrives at Dubai before the crash.
Wataniya Airways Airbus A320-214 9K-EAA (msn 3739) DXB, originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
Wataniya Airways (Kuwait City) on June 2 added Vienna and the Kuwait City-VIE route with Airbus A320s. The new European route is operated three times a week.
Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. Airbus A320-214 9K-EAA (msn 3739) prepares to land at Dubai.
Transaero Airlines Boeing 777-222 EI-UNZ (msn 26925) DXB (Konstantin von Wedelstaedt), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
Transaero Airlines (Moscow) is leasing a used Boeing 777-200 from ALAFCO for 96 months.
Copyright Photo: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt. Ex-United Boeing 777-222 EI-UNZ (msn 26925) arrives at Dubai.
Qatar Airways (Doha) is planning to add Belgrade as an extension of the Doha-Ankara route in September following a new bilateral agreement between Qatar and Serbia.
Read the full report from Balkans.com: CLICK HERE
In other news, as planned, the flag carrier added Baghdad and the Doha-Bahrain route with Airbus A320s on June 9. The new route is served on four days a week.
Copyright Photo: Christian Volpati.
Qatar Airways: 
Air France‘s (Paris) tragic flight AF 447 will soon be put to rest but the safety implications are bound to last longer. The final French accident report has been issued blaming pilot error, defective pitot sensors, inadequate training and insufficient oversight spreading the blame to several entities. 228 people were killed on June 1, 2009 when the pictured Airbus A330-203 registered as F-GZCP plunged into the Atlantic Ocean.
Read the full report from IOL News: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Paul Denton.
Air France: 
Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa) has announced it has placed an order for one additional 777-200 LR (Longer Range) Worldliner, adding to the airline’s fleet of five 777-200 LRs. The order is valued at approximately $276 million at list price.
Ethiopian Airlines was the first African airline to operate the 777-200 LR, the first to order the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with an order for 10 and the first to order the 777 Freighter. Ethiopian Airlines currently operates an all-Boeing fleet of 737, 757, 767 and 777 airplanes in passenger service and a 757, MD-11 and 747 in cargo operations.
Copyright Photo: Christian Volpati. Boeing 777-260 LR ET-ANO (msn 40771) named “The Rift Valley” arrives from Addis Ababa at Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Ethiopian Airlines: 
