Flights depart from Incheon International Airport at 9:15 pm and arrive at Macau International Airport at 11:55 pm. The return flight departs from Macau International Airport at 1:10 am the next day and arrives at Incheon International Airport at 6:00 am. The flight time is approximately 3 hours and 40 minutes.

Macau, a special administrative region of China, offers a unique blend of Chinese and Portuguese cultures. With its mild winters, it is considered a great travel destination year-round. Visitors can explore exotic streets, historic buildings and the vibrant skyline as well as enjoy many activities such as night bus tours and fountain shows.

Macau’s proximity to Hong Kong, accessible within an hour by ferry or bus, offers further travel convenience. Korean Air also operates four daily flights between Seoul Incheon and Hong Kong.

In response to growing travel demand, Korean Air is restoring services and exploring new markets to strengthen its China network. The airline has resumed three weekly flights between Seoul Incheon and Zhangjiajie and four weekly flights between Seoul Incheon and Zhengzhou from April 23 and 24, respectively.

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Airlineratings.com is packed with information about air travel and answers questions that many of us may have thought of, but didn’t know who to ask. Well, now you do!

Airlineratings.com was developed to provide everyone in the world with a one-stop shop for everything related to airlines, formed by a team of aviation editors, who have forensically researched nearly every airline in the world.

Our rating system is rated from one to seven stars on safety – with seven being the highest ranking. Within each airline, you will find the country of origin, airline code, booking URL and seat map information.

The rating system takes into account a number of different factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies, lead associations as well as the airline’s own safety data. Every airline has a safety rating breakdown so you can see exactly how they rate.

Over 230 of the airlines on the site that carry 99 per cent of the world’s passengers have a product rating.

Given that low-cost, regional and full-service carriers are so different we have constructed a different rating system for each which can be found within each airline.

Airlineratings.com has information on over 30 types of aircraft from the latest Boeing 787 to the A380 and smaller jets.

Best of all, there are simple answers to many of the quirky questions including:

“What are all those noises after takeoff and before landing?”
“Why do you have to put the window shades up for landing and takeoff?”
“What is a winglet and what is it for?
“Why is it so costly to fly short distances?”
“How often is an aircraft maintained?
“How strong is a wing?”
“How do they test aircraft”
“How often do plane tyres need to be replaced?”

The post Korean Air Launches New Daily Service To Macau appeared first on Airline Ratings.

Within the historical record, wooden-hulled sailing ships reigned supreme for most of the passenger ship’s almost 6,000-year heritage. From the Polynesian islands to ancient Egypt, China and the once numerous European empires, sailing ships facilitated the movement of people across the globe.

While rudimentary steam engines had existed for centuries, the 1830s and 1840s saw the technology adapted for widespread use aboard ships. The gradual replacement of sail with steam gave birth to the era of the steamship. As these ships grew, engineers adapted iron and later steel, to build even larger hulls and superstructures – doing away with the wooden designs that had endured for thousands of years.

Throughout the late 19^th century and early 20^th century, shipbuilders expanded their designs to create larger, faster, and more comfortable ocean liners. The 1880s saw the widespread adoption of electricity aboard. The 1890s witnessed an upscaling of amenities and passenger comforts, while in the 1900s fast and efficient turbine engines powered the giant Lusitania and Mauretania at record-breaking speeds – allowing them to cross the Atlantic in under 6 days.

The Atlantic speed record, known as the Blue Riband, was held by the ship that made the fastest Westbound crossing – west being more challenging due to the Atlantic currents.

Throughout the 20^th century, speeds quickened. Queen Mary achieved a crossing in under 4 days in 1938, and the SS United States crossed in 3 days, 12 hours 12 minutes in 1952 – the fastest transatlantic transit ever achieved by Ocean Liner.

The QE2 survived the jet age by blending resort facilities with traditional transatlantic liner capabilities.

However, by the 1950s the global travel paradigm was starting to shift.  The same year as SS United States blitzed her way across the Atlantic, the de Havilland Comet entered service with BOAC.

While the range of the first Comet variant meant the aircraft could not make efficient transatlantic crossings, the comfort and convenience of jet air travel took the world by storm. But the Comet’s reign was short-lived, with the airliner suffering numerous fatal crashes that irreversibly damaged its reputation.

Yet despite devastating losses, the pace of change quickened. In 1957, for the first time, the number of air travellers eclipsed sea travellers on the prestigious transatlantic service.

This shift was driven by improvements in large piston driven airliners, such as the Lockheed Constellation and the Douglas DC-7. Yet there were still plenty of travellers taking ocean crossings, and for a brief period, shipping executives attempted to maintain the status quo.

BOAC Douglas DC-7C

However, on October 26, 1958, the Boeing 707 entered service with Pan American Airways. This aircraft, N711PA ‘Clipper America’, set off from New York flying an 8-hour, 41-minute service to Paris.

Though the aircraft did make a fuel stop at Gander, Canada, on the return service, the speed of the service was a true game-changer. The 707-made ships, even the mighty SS United States, appear positively glacial.

As more jet aircraft, entered service on the North Atlantic, passengers with means flocked to the airlines. The question on the mind of many travellers was: ‘Why spend days at sea on a ship when I can cross the Atlantic in just a few hours by air?’

Nearly always, the answer resolved in favour of air travel. And as Douglas DC-8s joined the world’s fleets from 1959 and Vickers VC10s from 1964, there were ever more airlines operating jet services.

Passenger shipping on the North Atlantic was almost immediately impacted. And the shift to jets spread globally, meaning the loss of ocean liner passengers was not constrained to the North Atlantic.

Qantas, for example, was the first non-US carrier to operate the 707, flying the modified long range -138 model from June 1959. These jets allowed the Australian flag carrier to compete head-to-head with long-established ocean liner operators for business travellers, as well as people with means emigrating to Australia.

Widebody airliners were the final death knell for passenger ships as a primary form of transport. The efficiency and capacity of the Boeing 747, Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 led to an almost global adoption of air travel as the main way to travel between continents.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, ocean Liners were laid up en masse. Many were sent to scrap yards. A few, such as the iconic QE2, Mardi Gras and SS Norway, were able to transition successfully to a cruising role.

It may surprise you to know that the modern-day cruise industry owes much of its success to the same airlines that decimated ocean liner travel. But that is a story best left for another day.

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Airlineratings.com is packed with information about air travel and answers questions that many of us may have thought of, but didn’t know who to ask. Well, now you do!

Airlineratings.com was developed to provide everyone in the world with a one-stop shop for everything related to airlines, formed by a team of aviation editors, who have forensically researched nearly every airline in the world.

Our rating system is rated from one to seven stars on safety – with seven being the highest ranking. Within each airline, you will find the country of origin, airline code, booking URL and seat map information.

The rating system takes into account a number of different factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies, lead associations as well as the airline’s own safety data. Every airline has a safety rating breakdown so you can see exactly how they rate.

Over 230 of the airlines on the site that carry 99 per cent of the world’s passengers have a product rating.

Given that low-cost, regional and full-service carriers are so different we have constructed a different rating system for each which can be found within each airline.

Airlineratings.com has information on over 30 types of aircraft from the latest Boeing 787 to the A380 and smaller jets.

Best of all, there are simple answers to many of the quirky questions including:

“What are all those noises after takeoff and before landing?”
“Why do you have to put the window shades up for landing and takeoff?”
“What is a winglet and what is it for?
“Why is it so costly to fly short distances?”
“How often is an aircraft maintained?
“How strong is a wing?”
“How do they test aircraft”
“How often do plane tyres need to be replaced?”

The post How The Jet Airliner Eclipsed Ocean Liners appeared first on Airline Ratings.

The touch-down of the Lufthansa 747 was very heavy and the aircraft bounced back into the air before touching down again and then the pilots initiated a go-around.

Here is the video;

The post Lufthansa 747 In Rough Landing And Go-Around appeared first on Airline Ratings.

At no stage during the booking, check-in, or boarding process was it made known to the passengers that there would be pets in the cabin or their whereabouts.

Worryingly it gets worse and could have ended in disaster if this didn’t happen…

According to Mr Molinari, the presence of the dog only became known to him when he asked the passenger next to him to move his large bag to the overhead lockers as it was too big and was encroaching on his foot space. The passenger replied that he could not do that because he had a dog in the bag!

If the dog’s bag had not been so big that it took up some of Mr Molinari’s foot space then he would have been unaware of it until in acute respiratory distress over the Atlantic Ocean in which case a medical emergency would have had to be declared.

As soon as the couple learned of the dog they brought the matter to the attention of the stewardess. The Molinari’s asked that they (or the dog and its owner) be moved to alternative seating. The stewardess’s initial response was patronising saying that as the flight was full nothing could be done, and then, “What do you want me to do about it – make an announcement and ask if someone will swap?” The Molinari’s responded with an appreciative “yes”, however, no announcement was ever made.

After some discussion, the stewardess offered to selectively ask other passengers nearby whether they would be willing to swap seats but to no avail. The Molinari’s shared with AirlineRatings that they did not witness the Stewardess asking other passengers and therefore were not surprised when told Mr Molinari had no choice but to separate from his wife and move to a windowless bulkhead seat with limited recline.

At no time was the dog owner inconvenienced, with the stewardess making it very clear that it was a problem for the Molinaris on the basis that the dog owner had paid for his dog and an aisle seat.

When Mrs Molinari complained again she was advised that the next time they booked a flight to mention her husband is allergic to dogs. It’s worth noting that the booking system doesn’t allow for this type of notification, except for general allergies such as peanuts. In addition to this, the airline does not state on its booking site that pets are carried on board and therefore how would a passenger know to even raise the issue?

Mr Molinari spoke to two other single passengers immediately next to his new seating and enquired if either would swap seats with his wife so that they could be together. He also asked if the stewardess had already requested this of them. They said they were unaware of the situation and both happily offered to move.

Of the entire incident Mr Molinari said,

“The lack of concern by Lufthansa management and staff remains stunning. This airline has minimal concern for the onboard medical safety and well-being of its passengers. Presumably, this is about putting money ahead of passenger well-being. The passenger should be treated respectfully with due regard for their health and welfare. An airline with such disregard for its customers is not one we will be rushing to use again!”

The Molinaris have written letters of complaint to the airline and requested that the rules around animals in the main cabin be reviewed with their concerns regarding medical safety and passenger comfort in mind.

The Global Customer Relations Expert, Disability Claims at Lufthansa simply sent irrelevant and unhelpful internet links that effectively passed the buck back to the passenger. The replies to Molinari’s complaints are poorly written and dismissive of their concerns. Requests for compensation have been ignored. The Molinari’s shared these responses with AirlineRatings and they are quite simply, unacceptable.

We are very sorry to hear that you had health concerns during your flight to Frankfurt on March 16, regarding your asthma allergy and being seated next to a passenger with a dog. Due to a full flight, re-seating to another seat for both of you was unfortunately not possible.

To communicate with us your health concern, may we suggest to contact our medical operation centre for further information and guidance – https://www.lufthansa.com/gb/en/travelling-health

As Lufthansa allows passengers to travel with pets, like any other airline, we hope you understand that we cannot assume responsibility for this. Here we have a link for you to see Lufthansa animal policies – https://www.lufthansa.com/gb/en/reisen-mit-tieren#TravelOpportunities

We hope that you continue to put your trust in Lufthansa and we can welcome you on board again in the near future.

AirlineRatings has attempted to contact the Lufthansa Media Relations Office in the Americas and Europe for comment but with no response. We have also contacted their Social Media team but again, we received no reply.

This incident raises a whole host of questions and concerns and we ask our AirlineRatings community to share this story so it does not happen again.

All passengers have the right to know about pets on planes at the time of booking and if an airline chooses to carry pets then they must be in a set-aside section of the plane. If airlines are going to carry pets then there needs to be a place for passengers to highlight their allergy to pets during the booking process.

This story also raises the question about animal welfare, and how a dog can endure an 11.5-hour flight (plus boarding) without passing waste into its carrying bag, and making sounds/smells that are unacceptable to human passengers but that’s an issue for another day.

Rosie and Steve Molinari’s experience illustrates the risks when airlines fail to disclose the presence of pets on board. Despite requests to change seats, Lufthansa’s crew was dismissive and unhelpful, prioritizing the comfort of the dog owner. The incident raises concerns about airline transparency, the need for clear policies on pets, and better accommodation for passengers with allergies.

READ: Virgin Australia Allows pets on plane

The post What happened on this Lufthansa flight can’t happen again. appeared first on Airline Ratings.

The Seoul Incheon – Calgary flights will connect Korean Air passengers to Calgary, a gateway to Canada’s Banff National Park, renowned for its stunning Lake Louise and scenic mountain trails.

“We are thrilled to expand our codeshare agreement with WestJet, allowing our valued customers access to a wider range of transpacific destinations,” said Tae Joon Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of International Affairs & Alliance at Korean Air. “The launch of WestJet’s Calgary – Seoul Incheon route will strengthen connections between Korea and Canada, providing seamless access to a broader selection of Asian and Canadian cities through our hubs at Incheon and Calgary.”

WestJet customers, in turn, will gain access to flights operated by Korean Air to six new destinations—Bangkok, Da Nang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, and Singapore—via Korean Air’s hub at Incheon Airport.

“As we prepare for WestJet’s first flights between Calgary and Incheon, this codeshare expansion comes at the perfect time. We’re enhancing connectivity for our guests and WestJet Rewards members to more destinations in Asia through Korean Air’s global hub,” said Jeff Hagen, WestJet Vice-President of Commercial Development and Strategic Partnerships. “Our enduring partnership with Korean Air provides excellent opportunities for both leisure and business travelers to explore the Asian continent, while also offering new guests from Asia easy access to Canada through our Calgary hub.”

Since Korean Air and WestJet began their codeshare partnership in June 2012, it has continued to grow, initially covering Korean Air’s flights from Seoul Incheon to Vancouver and Toronto, and WestJet’s domestic routes within Canada. With this latest expansion, the codeshare network will grow to 36 routes, providing broader connectivity across both continents.

About Korean Air

Korean Air, serving global destinations for over 55 years, ranks among the world’s top 20 airlines, transporting more than 27 million passengers in 2019, pre-pandemic. With its main hub at Incheon International Airport (ICN), Korean Air operates in 110 cities across 39 countries on five continents with a modern fleet of 160 aircraft and more than 20,000 skilled employees.

The airline’s dedication to safety and exceptional customer service has garnered various accolades, including a 5-star rating from Skytrax, as well as Airline of the Year and Cargo Operator of the Year awards from Air Transport World.

Korean Air is a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance and has become one of the largest transpacific carriers through its joint venture with Delta Air Lines.

The post Korean Air and WestJet expand codeshare agreement appeared first on Airline Ratings.

This tiny county is one of the world’s luxurious tourism destinations that attracts about two million holidaymakers each year.

Among the four international airports in the country, there is only one that serves over 95% of the international arrivals and the rest usually caters for private jets and occasional charters. Resorts that are close to the main Velana International Airport usually offer speedboat transfer between the airport and the resort. For the rest of the islands, it is either domestic flight or seaplane, the latter is more common and popular among the tourists.

The Twin Otter originally came with a conventional undercarriage but was then fitted with pontoons to land and take off on water. Produced by De Havilland Canada, this is the most popular seaplane in the Maldives. In fact, this is the only model of seaplane used by 3 different companies in the country.

The first tourist resort in the Maldives was opened in 1972 at Vihamnaafushi island as Kurumba Village, today the resort is known as Kurumba Maldives.

To cater for the needs of growing tourism Hummingbird Island Helicopters was founded in 1989 with few helicopters, due to a lack of infrastructure and reliability issues most of the resorts still relied on traditional wooden boats that took several hours for the transfer. In 1991 Lars Erik Nielsen travelled to Kuredu Island Resort which took 7 hours for the journey and many tourists fell seasick. That was when Mr Nielsen felt the need for better transportation.

In 1993 the Maldivian Air Taxi was born with just two Twin Otter aircraft. Since it can land and take off at sea there was no need to develop infrastructure in resorts. Quickly the Twin Otter proved itself with high reliability and safety in different weather conditions. That led to tremendous growth of the seaplane market in the Maldives. Today, Trans Maldivian is the world’s largest seaplane operator, the company that began service in 1993 with few rented aircraft today operates 62 aircraft in its fleet and flies to 79 destinations.

Other competitors in the market include Island Aviation Services operating as Maldivian, and Manta Air. All the seaplane operators chose the reliability-tested Twin Otter.

For safety reasons, seaplanes in Maldives fly only in the daytime. Their operations start early morning at sunrise and end at sunset. Even though there are no fixed runways there are sea-based runways at different resorts. The resort operators and seaplane companies exchange information during the construction of villas, especially water villas, to leave enough space in the lagoon for seaplanes to land and take off during different seasons.

On some islands, it is the same sea runway that is used in all seasons. Resorts usually operate speedboats and wooden boats called Dhoni for various activities such as water sports or diving. The movement of boats is channelled away from the runway for seaplanes.

During the day there is good visibility for pilots to monitor conditions in the whole area. When seaplanes get chartered to unusual destinations the aircraft usually performs a few circles above the landing spot to ensure clearance.

Having two engines is double the safety and while a rare experience to have engine issues in the Twin Otter there have been the occasional case. A blogger writing to Maldives Resorts shared one such case in which the seaplane landed perfectly but had an engine issue at a resort in Meemu Atoll. An engine change was required and another aircraft delivered a spare engine, a portable crane and tools. Engineers had the engine changed within a few hours.

Trans Maldivian keeps spare engines available that save time and loss of revenue.

The regular Twin Otter can accommodate up to 16 passengers. Based on baggage weight there may be some empty seats in the aircraft. These seaplanes are not airconditioned but there are small fans behind the cockpit for cooling. Some of the aircraft have air inlets in windows and that helps passengers stay cool.

The VIP aircraft come with fewer seats that are bigger and more luxurious, and this aircraft has air conditioning as well. Most of the private charters for couples or small families usually take place with this aircraft. But, in peak periods the availability becomes tight and many guests have no choice except the regular seaplane.

All the seaplane operators in the Maldives have VIP aircraft. Resorts choose one company for an exclusive contract under which the seaplane operator commits to operate flights based on the demand, at fixed pricing. So, even if there is just one guest the seaplane operator must provide a transfer and the price cannot be increased. On the other hand, the resorts are restricted from doing business with other seaplane companies. In very rare cases if the TMA cannot provide VIP aircraft it may hire from other airlines and cater to the resort. Capacity issues usually affect only the VIP transfers. For regular operations the airlines estimate demand and keep enough aircraft, they only do contact based on available capacity.

The post How Reliable Are Twin Otter Seaplanes in the Maldives? appeared first on Airline Ratings.

The world’s biggest international airline operations were devastated by the storms with 400 flights cancelled and many more delayed.

The airline’s operations have now returned to normal but the disruptions to passengers journeys will take a little longer to smooth out.

The videos below show just some of the incredible scenes from the severe storms.

This is Sir Tim’s letter.

To all our valued customers,

This week has been one of the toughest for Emirates operationally, as record storms hit the United Arab Emirates.

I would like to offer our most sincere apologies to every customer who has had their travel plans disrupted during this time.

On Tuesday 16 April, the UAE experienced its highest rainfall in 75 years. Lashing storm winds and rain disrupted activity across the cities. Our 24/7 hub in Dubai remained open, with flight movements reduced for safety, but flooded roads impeded the ability of our customers, pilots, cabin crew, and airport employees to reach the airport, and also the movement of essential supplies like meals and other flight amenities.

We diverted dozens of flights to avoid the worst of the weather on Tuesday, and over the next 3 days we had to cancel nearly 400 flights and delay many more, as our hub operations remained challenged by staffing and supply shortages.

We were clear on our 2 priorities: Look after our customers who have been impacted by the disruption and get our operations back on schedule.

To free up resources and capacity to manage impacted customers as a priority, we had to suspend check-in for passengers departing Dubai, implement an embargo on ticket sales, and temporarily halt connecting passenger traffic from points across our network coming into Dubai.

We deployed additional resources to aid our airport and contact centre teams with rebooking and put on additional flights to destinations where we identified large numbers of displaced customers.

We sent over 100 employee volunteers to look after disrupted customers at Dubai Airport departures and in the transit area, prioritising medical cases, the elderly and other vulnerable travellers. To date, over 12,000 hotel rooms were secured to accommodate disrupted customers in Dubai, 250,000 meal vouchers have been issued, and more quantities of drinking water, blankets, and other amenities.

Behind the scenes, it was all hands-on deck for thousands more employees across the organisation to get our operations back on track.

As of this morning, Saturday 20 April, our regular flight schedules have been restored. Passengers previously stranded in the airport transit area have been rebooked and are enroute to their destinations. We have put together a taskforce to sort, reconcile, and deliver some 30,000 pieces of left-behind baggage to their owners.

It will take us some more days to clear the backlog of rebooked passengers and bags, and we ask for our customers’ patience and understanding.

We know our response has been far from perfect. We acknowledge and understand the frustration of our customers due to the congestion, lack of information, and confusion in the terminals. We acknowledge that the long queues and wait times have been unacceptable.

We take our commitment to our customers very seriously, and we have taken learnings from the last few days to make things right and improve our processes.

I’d like to also acknowledge and thank our teams across the airline, and our many suppliers and partners for their tireless efforts around the clock this week, despite the challenging conditions, to support customers, recover our network, and bring our operating schedule back to normal.

Finally, and once again, I want to offer, on behalf of myself, and all the teams across Emirates, our apologies to each and every customer affected by this disruption.

We will continue to work hard to live up to your expectations and to our Fly Better brand promise.”

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Airlineratings.com is packed with information about air travel and answers questions that many of us may have thought of, but didn’t know who to ask. Well, now you do!

Airlineratings.com was developed to provide everyone in the world with a one-stop shop for everything related to airlines, formed by a team of aviation editors, who have forensically researched nearly every airline in the world.

Our rating system is rated from one to seven stars on safety – with seven being the highest ranking. Within each airline, you will find the country of origin, airline code, booking URL and seat map information. The rating system takes into account a number of different factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies, lead associations as well as the airline’s own safety data. Every airline has a safety rating breakdown so you can see exactly how they rate.

Over 230 of the airlines on the site that carry 99 per cent of the world’s passengers have a product rating. Given that low-cost, regional and full-service carriers are so different we have constructed a different rating system for each which can be found within each airline.

Airlineratings.com has information on over 30 types of aircraft from the latest Boeing 787 to the A380 and smaller jets.

Best of all, there are simple answers to many of the quirky questions including:

• “What are all those noises after takeoff and before landing?”
• “Why do you have to put the window shades up for landing and takeoff?”
• “What is a winglet and what is it for?
• “Why is it so costly to fly short distances?”
• “How often is an aircraft maintained?
• “How strong is a wing?”
• “How do they test aircraft”
• “How often do plane tyres need to be replaced?”

The post Emirates Apologises For Severe Weather Disruption appeared first on Airline Ratings.

Mr Thomas said that the claims by Sam Salehpour were “extraordinary” and in total contrast to the facts that show both the Boeing 787 and 777 are incredibly safe.

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Airlineratings.com is packed with information about air travel and answers questions that many of us may have thought of, but didn’t know who to ask. Well, now you do!

Airlineratings.com was developed to provide everyone in the world with a one-stop shop for everything related to airlines, formed by a team of aviation editors, who have forensically researched nearly every airline in the world.

Our rating system is rated from one to seven stars on safety – with seven being the highest ranking. Within each airline, you will find the country of origin, airline code, booking URL and seat map information. The rating system takes into account a number of different factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies, lead associations as well as the airline’s own safety data. Every airline has a safety rating breakdown so you can see exactly how they rate.

Over 230 of the airlines on the site that carry 99 per cent of the world’s passengers have a product rating. Given that low-cost, regional and full-service carriers are so different we have constructed a different rating system for each which can be found within each airline.

Airlineratings.com has information on over 30 types of aircraft from the latest Boeing 787 to the A380 and smaller jets.

Best of all, there are simple answers to many of the quirky questions including:

• “What are all those noises after takeoff and before landing?”
• “Why do you have to put the window shades up for landing and takeoff?”
• “What is a winglet and what is it for?
• “Why is it so costly to fly short distances?”
• “How often is an aircraft maintained?
• “How strong is a wing?”
• “How do they test aircraft”
• “How often do plane tyres need to be replaced?”

The post Boeing Whistleblower Claims Refuted appeared first on Airline Ratings.

The carrier informed the Izvestia newspaper that it explored various approaches to retrieve the Ural Airlines Airbus A320-200. These approaches and obstacles are outlined below:

1. Attempting to create a frozen surface for the jet’s takeoff, but the soil’s density proved insufficient, necessitating the construction of an artificial platform.
2. Contemplating the construction of a runway suitable for the aircraft, but this option was deemed impractical and costly due to the distance from Novosibirsk, which would require extensive material transportation.
3. Highlighting the expenses associated with renting the field where the A320 is located, in addition to maintenance costs and security measures required to safeguard the aircraft.

Ural Airlines conveyed to the newspaper that the aircraft would not return to commercial service. They have explored alternative solutions, including the possibility of dismantling it in sections and airlifting it via helicopter.

Ural flight U6-1383 with 159 passengers and 6 crew, was on final approach to Omsk’s runway from Sochi when the crew initiated a go around from about 600 meters due to a hydraulics failure. The aircraft climbed to 18000 feet and diverted to Novosibirsk about 320nm east of Omsk.

The A320 however never made it to Novosibirsk. Just 11km from the airport and with less than 5 minutes of fuel left, the decision was made to perform a forced emergency landing on an open field. Due to the hydraulic failure the landing gear doors remained open for the entire diversion which together with strong head winds increased fuel consumption.

The governor of Omsk stated that the crew reported a hydraulic problem affecting the brakes and were concerned the aircraft would not be able to stop on the runway in Omsk. The crew therefore diverted to Novosibirsk where longer runways (length 3,600 meters/11,800 feet) are available and sufficient to stop the aircraft despite the hydraulics failure. According to computations there should have been sufficient fuel on board to reach the aerodrome and land safely.

Aviation Herald share the summarized report by the captain.

The aircraft had been inspected without any anomalies for departure from Moscow Domodedovo towards Sochi. The flight from Sochi had been normal until final approach into Omsk. The winds were gusting in Omsk, the aircraft was heavy, so that the commander decided to not take the risk of trying to land in Omsk and decided to take the aircraft to Novosibirsk. During the go around a hydraulic failure occurred after gear retraction, green hydraulic pressure was lost after gear retracted, the nose gear doors remained open as result of insufficient hydraulic pressure. They computed the fuel and found they should have about 1200kg of fuel left in Novosibirsk. While in flight to Novosibirsk the fuel quantity suddenly began to critically decrease, the crew declared emergency, instructed cabin crew to prepare for an emergency landing and began to look out for a suitable landing field. When only about 5 minutes of fuel was left they spotted the landing site and landed the aircraft there successfully, only the nose gear was fractured.

READ: More about Ural Airlines safety

The post Ural A320 to stay in field after crash appeared first on Airline Ratings.

Best Long-Haul Airlines

Europe; Air France

North Asia; Korean Air

Asia: Cathay Pacific Airways

Pacific: Air New Zealand

Middle-East: Qatar Airways

Americas: Air Canada

For rankings, the editors of AirlineRatings.com, some of the most experienced and awarded, combine international industry and government audits, with another 11 key criteria that include: fleet age, passenger review ratings from several sources, investment rating, and key product offerings to arrive at a ranking. Added to that the editors monitor passenger feedback as well as personal experience.

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Airlineratings.com is packed with information about air travel and answers questions that many of us may have thought of, but didn’t know who to ask. Well, now you do!

Airlineratings.com was developed to provide everyone in the world with a one-stop shop for everything related to airlines, formed by a team of aviation editors, who have forensically researched nearly every airline in the world.

Our rating system is rated from one to seven stars on safety – with seven being the highest ranking. Within each airline, you will find the country of origin, airline code, booking URL and seat map information. The rating system takes into account a number of different factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies, lead associations as well as the airline’s own safety data. Every airline has a safety rating breakdown so you can see exactly how they rate.

Over 230 of the airlines on the site that carry 99 per cent of the world’s passengers have a product rating. Given that low-cost, regional and full-service carriers are so different we have constructed a different rating system for each which can be found within each airline.

The post Best Long Haul Airlines For 2024 Announced appeared first on Airline Ratings.