Singapore Airlines has joined trend to take in-flight safety videos outside the aircraft with a classy production made in conjunction with the city state’s tourism board.

The video takes viewers on a panoramic journey hosted by one of the airline’s trademark Singapore Girls across landmarks such as Boat Quay, The Intan Peranakan Home Museum, River Safari, Haji Lane, and Gardens by the Bay.

The move away from conventional aircraft-based safety videos led by Air New Zealand has become increasingly popular among airlines but this is a first for the Singaporean carrier.

“Our new safety video provides a more captivating way of effectively presenting safety information to our customers as compared to the more conventional approach that we have taken up to now, said Singapore Airlines senior vice president sales and marketing Campbell Wilson. “At the same time, it proudly showcases many familiar spots in our home base of Singapore to a global audience.”

The airline said new safety video is a result of a bilateral agreement signed between SIA and Singapore Tourism Board in June, 2017 “aimed at jointly promoting inbound travel to and through Singapore, and showcasing the city state to a global audience’’.

The partners will invest $S10 million over three years on joint marketing activities, event promotion campaigns and technology initiatives to make travel easier.

The new in-flight safety video will be screened on SIA flights from the end of the year.

Video has emerged of American Airlines passengers enduring a roller-coaster ride that left 10 hospitalised after their aircraft hit severe turbulence during a flight from Athen to Philadelphia Saturday.

The American Airlines Airbus A330 operating flight 759 hit the turbulence about 35 minutes out of Philadelphia but went on to land safely with 299 passengers and crew.

American said the seatbelt sign was on at the time.

“Three passengers and seven crew members were transported to a local hospital for evaluation,’’ the airline said in a statement. “We are taking care of our passengers and our crew members at this time and want to thank our team members for keeping our passengers safe.”

The video shows passengers screaming as the plane bucks due to the turbulence.

Photographs posted on social media showed debris strewn throughout the cabin and the remains of drinks splashed over the ceiling.

“They were giving us our drinks,” passenger Ian Smith told TV station WPVI. “The flight attendants were in the last couple rows when they said ‘fasten your seat belts.’

“And then they said for the flight attendants to get to their seats, and they didn’t even have time. It started shaking, then it took a big drop. Babies screaming, people in front of us hitting the ceiling,”

Passenger Ervin fang tweeted: “Turbulence mess! Flight attendants tossed. I provided medical help (shoulder relocation mid-air).’’

Another passenger said there was coffee inside the cabin lights.

Air safety investigators probing a fiery Emirates crash a year ago say they have found no evidence of problems with the aircraft’s systems or engines.

The Boeing 777-300 was landing at Dubai International Airport after a flight from Trivandrum International Airport in India on August 3, 2016, when it crashed trying to perform a go-around.

The new interim report by the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority boosted the number of reported injuries among passengers and crew from 24 to 30.

It said 21 passengers, one pilot, and four cabin crew sustained minor injuries while four cabin crew were seriously injured.

A firefighter also died from injuries sustained in a fireball when the centre wing fuel tank exploded.

The aircraft landed too far down the runway as a headwind turned into a gradually increasing tailwind and the rear wheels touched down as the crew unsuccessfully attempted the rejected landing.

As the aircraft reached an altitude of 85ft, it began to sink back towards the runway.

Full thrust was applied three seconds before the crash but by the time the engines responded, one second before impact, it was too late.

The rear of the aircraft hit the runway at 125 knots with the nose pitched up and one of the engines was ripped off the wing as the aircraft burst into flames.

The interim statement said that a large number of aircraft systems had been tested with the help of manufacturers.

An analysis of the data downloaded “indicates that there were no aircraft systems or engine abnormalities up to the time of the accident’’.

“Regarding the operation of the flight the investigation is working to determine and analyse the human performance factors that influenced flight crew actions during the landing and attempted go-around,’’ the report said.

“In addition, the Investigation has reviewed and has identified safety enhancements related to the validity of weather information that was passed to the flight crew, and communication between air traffic control and the flight crew.’’

In a move that could have major implications for the way we fly, a US court has ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to look at minimum standards for seat pitch and width on commercial airliners.

The United States Court of Appeals For the District of Columbia, considered by some to be the second most influential court in the land,  was responding to a petition by lobby group Flyers Rights.

The court said the consumer group contended narrower seats and closer spacing were “endangering the safety, health and comfort of airline passengers.”

Judge Patricia Ann Willett said the FAA asserted that seat spacing did not affect the safety or speed of passenger evacuations.

“To support that conclusion, the Administration pointed to (at best) off-point studies and undisclosed tests using unknown parameters,” she said.

In a written statement after the court’s ruling, the FAA said it did consider seat pitch (essentially leg room) in testing and assessing the safe evacuation of commercial passengers aircraft.

“We are studying the ruling carefully and any potential actions we may take to address the court’s findings,” it said.

The fundamental rule the FAA uses before certifying an aircraft can carry passengers is the ability to evacuate all passengers within 90 seconds, in low visibility with half the exits blocked.

Flyers Rights said seat scrunch could not only affect evacuation time but threaten longer-haul passengers with DVT Deep Vein Thrombosis—blood clots.   AirlineRatings has written extensively over the years about the DVT threat.

“This is the Case of the Incredible Shrinking Airline Seat,” wrote Judge Millett. “As many have no doubt noticed, aircraft seats and the spacing between them have been getting smaller and smaller, while American passengers have been growing in size.”

Flyers Rights says seat width has shrunk from some 18.5 inches in the early part of the 21^st Century to 17 inches in the middle of this decade. Meanwhile, seat pitch has gone from 35 inches to 31 inches and, in some planes, to 28 inches. At the same time,  it argued, Americans had become bigger.

The court was notably pointed when it criticized FAA’s record- keeping when it comes to testing.

Judge Millett wrote: “That type of vaporous record will not do—the Administrative Procedures Act requires reasoned decision making grounded in actual evidence.”

US. airlines and their passengers will be waiting to see if and how FAA lifts those vapors in the coming months.

Air New Zealand is significantly boosting peak capacity on select trans-Pacific routes with more flights to Vancouver and Honolulu.

The airline will fly almost 60,000 extra seats between Auckland and Honolulu between April and October next year.

The 75 per cent increase in seat count will see the airline operate an additional 94 return services with up to nine flights a week during the July school holiday period.

The services will be operated by a mixture of Boeing 787-9 and Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

AirNZ is also increasing capacity on its Vancouver-Auckland operation by 20 per cent from January to July next year.

The airline will move from seven to eight weekly services during the first half of the January peak period and from five weekly services to daily flights during February.

It will increase to five services a week in March and April (up from four) and four weekly services during May to mid-June (up from three).

Air New Zealand chief revenue officer Cam Wallace said Hawaii was a favourite destination of New Zealanders wanting to escape winter.

“Air New Zealand has increased its services to Honolulu to offer customers even more flexibility as well as a greater number of premium seats during the peak periods by deploying our Boeing 777-200,” he said.

Wallace said the Vancouver increases recognised Canada as a winter destination for Kiwis but also aimed to give Canadians better access to New Zealand through the shoulder season.

Australians may face ID checks and full body scans at domestic airports in the aftermath of an alleged plot to attack an Etihad plane.

The Australian newspaper reported that the federal government was looking a domestic security clampdown that would also see restrictions on liquids taken on to domestic flights and allow only passengers with a boarding pass through security.

The report came as two Sydney men were charged with acting in preparation for or planning a terrorist act.

Police allege the men planned to use an explosive device hidden in a mean grinder to attack an aircraft but failed to make it past check-in.

Parts for an improvised explosive device were allegedly sent from Turkey by a senior Islamic State member.

The police allege a 49-year old man took the device to Sydney’s international airport with the intention of putting on an Etihad flight to Abu Dhabi by putting it in the luggage of an unwitting passenger related to one of the men.

But the bag failed to make it past check-in, partly because it was too heavy.

A second plot allegedly involved a plan to use an improvised chemical dispersion device to release toxic hydrogen sulphide gas in a crowded space.

A number of experts and a pilots’ union this week called for tighter security on Australian domestic flights, including ID checks, as well as tougher screening for airport ground workers.

However, airlines are likely to raise concerns about the cost of the additional measures and their impact on efficiency.