New Technology

South Korea's Incheon International Airport was voted the best in the world for 2009 in an annual survey dominated by Asian airports. The survey, by British-based consultancy Skytrax, covered more than 190 airports and is based on the results from 8.6 million passenger questionnaires completed from 2008 to 2009. 'Incheon is an airport that has been in the global top 5 ranking for the World Airport Awards during the past 5-6 years, and it is a great achievement for them to secure this premier mark of customer satisfaction,'Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted said.

India's flag carrier Air India, which is struggling to cope with a cash crunch, will ask for a Rs.10,000-crore (about $2 billion) bailout package from the central government, a senior official said.

Airline officials, who discussed the airline's financial problems with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Tuesday night, will meet top government officials again seeking help.

The minister arrived here Tuesday after attending the Paris air show.

'We are looking for at least Rs.10,000 crore bailout package. I am not sure if the government would agree on this,' said the Air India official, who did not want to be named.

Air India earlier said it was looking for a bailout package worth at least Rs.15,000 crore from the government.

Air India chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav, Civil Aviation Secretary M. Madhavan Nambiar and other senior ministry and airline officials had met the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, T.K.A. Nair, Monday with the demands.

But they did not get any assurance from Nair.

Jadhav last week met Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar.

National Aviation Co of India Ltd (NACIL), which owns Air India, had earlier announced that it would delay the salaries of its over 31,000 employees for 15 days. The management has also asked the top executives of the airline to forgo their one month's salary.

The employees, however, did not accept the management's decision and said they would go for an indefinite strike from July 1 if the management delays their salaries.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global aviation industry is expected to lose about $9 billion this year.

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) says the Indian aviation industry is likely to incur around $2 billion losses this year.

An Italian woman, who arrived late for the Air France flight that crashed in the Atlantic, was not so lucky after all. She has been killed in a car accident in Austria.

Johanna Ganthaler was holidaying in Brazil with her husband and missed Air France Flight 447 after turning up late at Rio de Janeiro airport on May 31, The Times reported.

All 228 people aboard lost their lives after the plane crashed into the Atlantic four hours into its flight to Paris.

The couple, from Bolzano-Bozen province, had managed to pick up a flight from Rio the following day.

Ganthaler died when their car turned across a road and swerved into an oncoming truck.

Her husband was seriously wounded.

Bahrain's state-owned carrier Gulf Air said it has walked away from a deal to lease four Boeing 777 aircraft from Jet Airways, citing economic conditions.

Loss-making Gulf Air said on Thursday it had an option to lease the aircraft after an existing six-month contract expires, but has decided not to go ahead.

"After careful analysis of various commercial and other business considerations, Gulf Air has decided not to pursue the dry-lease option for the foreseeable future," the company said.

Dry leases are contracts where airlines lease planes without staff.

Gulf Air said in February it had agreed to lease four Boeing 777s as part of its efforts to replace its fleet.

The existing six-month contract is a wet lease agreement, which typically includes staff. A Gulf Air spokeswoman said the airline had received the fourth plane under that deal on Thursday.

In March, Gulf Air director of corporate development Siah Joo Tan said the airline was poised to break even next year despite the financial downturn.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Thursday airlines were prepared to deal with the swine flu outbreak and noted the World Health Organisation was not calling for restriction of regular travel.

The industry body warned earlier this week that swine flu will compound financial problems for airlines, already hard hit by the global economic crisis, which pushed passenger numbers down 11.1 percent in March compared with a year ago.

It said passengers should be reassured that the environment in plane cabins was safe due to air filtration systems similar to those in hospitals, regular disinfecting and crew trained in handling those who might become ill on board.

It noted the WHO had advised there should be no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders, although people who are ill should delay international travel.

"WHO is the global expert," said IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani in a statement.

"We hope that governments take decisions and coordinate their actions in line with WHO recommendations," he said, adding that the move by some governments to adjust immigration procedures could create confusion for travellers.

IATA, which represents 230 airlines including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, United Airlines and Emirates, has said airlines would lose $4.7 billion this year as a result of the economic downturn that has kept people and cargo from flying.