A private jet was sent into an uncontrolled spin with both engines out after reportedly hitting wake turbulence from an Emirates Airbus A380 believed to be bound for Sydney, an authoritative accident website has reported.

Several aboard the German-registered Canadair Challenger 604 jet were injured, one seriously, after the plane plummeted about 10,000 ft during the January 7, 2017, encounter over the Arabian Sea, according to The Aviation Herald website.

The business jet was believed to be en-route to Abu Dhabi from the Maldives when the crew observed the A380 passing about 1000 ft overhead in the opposite direction.

The Aviation Herald said the aircraft encountered wake turbulence one to two minutes after passing below the A380, which was flying at 35,000 ft and continued to Sydney without incident.

It said information provided earlier this month was that the turbulence sent the aircraft into an uncontrolled roll that turned the aircraft at least three times, and possibly as many five times, and both engines flamed out.

“The ram air turbine could not deploy, possibly as result of G-forces and structural stress, the aircraft lost about 10,000 feet until the crew was able to recover the aircraft exercising raw muscle force, restart the engines and divert to Muscat,’’ it said.

While the website said it been unable to substantiate some of the details of the incident, it had confirmed it was being investigated by German authorities.

Wake turbulence is generated as an aircraft passes through the air and is stronger with bigger aircraft. The most dangerous components are wing- tip vortices, horizontal twisters generated by the end of the wing that can persist for several minutes and tend to sink behind the aircraft.

The Aviation Herald said air traffic controllers globally had been warned recently to exercise particular care with A380s passing over other traffic and pointed to several incidents involving very large aircraft in recent years.

These included a September, 2012, incident involving a Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 near Bali, a 2011 Incident involving an Air France A320 and an Emirates superjumbo near Frankfurt and a problem with a British Airways A320 and a Qantas A380 near Braunschweig, also in 2011.

In a separate incident,  the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating a March 13, 2017, encounter with turbulence by a Qantas Boeing 737 that injured two crew members.

The incident happened while the plane was at 24,000ft near the Australian capital of Canberra.

"The flight crew turned on the seat belt sign and while returning to their seats one cabin crew member sustained a serious injury and one cabin crew member sustained a minor injury,’’ the ATSB said. “The flight crew, other cabin crew and passengers were not injured and the aircraft was not damaged.”

American  Airlines has become the latest US carrier to announce it will reintroduce free food in economy class on some domestic services.

The decision comes after a similar move by Delta Air Lines as the four main airline groups, which now account for about 80 per cent of the US market, seek to differentiate their products.

Whether it marks a reversal of the airline industry’s lucrative “unbundled” pricing formula and its lucrative ancillary revenue stream remains to be seen and the American response so far is limited.

The carrier said it would make main cabin meals available on select cross-country flights on its up-market A321T trans-continental flights in both directions between Los Angeles and New York, and between San Francisco and New York.

But don’t expect to be wowed by a cordon-bleu banquet when the new meal service begins on May 1.

Depending on the time of day, customers will be offered a continental breakfast or a boxed meal with a sandwich wrap, kettle chips and dessert.  The menu also includes a vegetarian option and a fruit and cheese plate.

 “Some of our best customers fly our trans-continental routes and we want to give them a top-notch onboard experience,” said Fernand Fernandez, American’s vice president – global marketing.  “Providing complimentary meals in the main cabin is yet another step we’re taking to enhance our service in this competitive market.”

Delta began offering free economy food from March 10 on its banner runs from New York Kennedy to Los Angeles International and plans to widen the service to other routes frequented by business travellers.

 On April 24, Delta starts serving up free meals between Boston Logan International and San Francisco, Boston and LAX, Boston and Seattle/Tacoma, JFK and Portland, Oregon, New York Kennedy and San Diego, Kennedy and Seattle/Tacoma International, Sea-Tac and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood and from Sea-Tac to Raleigh/Durham international Airport.
 

A headphone meltdown involving a sleeping passenger has prompted a renewed warning from aviation safety authorities about the dangers of lithium batteries.

The incident involved a passenger listening to music using a pair of her own battery-operated headphones while on a recent flight from Beijing to Melbourne and who fell asleep with them on.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau reported that the passenger heard a loud explosion about two hours into the flight.

 “As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face,” the passenger told the ATSB.  “I just grabbed my face which caused the headphones to go around my neck.

“I continued to feel burning so I grabbed them off and threw them on the floor. They were sparking and had small amounts of fire.

“As I went to stamp my foot on them the flight attendants were already there with a bucket of water to pour on them. They put them into the bucket at the rear of the plane.”

The battery and cover were melted and stuck to the floor of the aircraft and passengers spent the rest of the flight coughing as they endured the smell of melted plastic as well as burnt electronics and hair.

The incident is the latest of a series involving lithium batteries on aircraft, most notably the recent problems with Samsung Note 7.

Problems have also occurred where mobile phones have fallen between gaps in powered seats and passengers have crushed the battery moving the seat while trying to recover the device.

The ATSB said lithium batteries should be kept in approved stowage unless in use and spare batteries must be in carry-on baggage and not checked luggage.

This means keeping the batteries in the original retail packaging, taping over exposed terminals or keeping them in a separate plastic bag or protective pouch.

Passengers who lose their smartphone in a powered seat and are unable to find it should immediately call a cabin crew member and make sure they do not move the seat.

There are also power limitations on lithium batteries that can be taken on planes and limits on the number of spare batteries that can be carried.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority also warns about the dangers of buying online cheap batteries which may be counterfeit.

“Unfortunately, electronic counterfeit goods do not meet stringent safety standards and pose serious dangers to the end user,’’ it says on a page dedicated to travelling safely with batteries.

“The best way to make sure the battery you’re buying is genuine is to buy it from a reputable, well-known buyer.”

South Korea’s already busy low-cost market will get another player in 2018 when start-up  KAIR Airlines begins flying Airbus A320s.

Airbus announced on Monday that the start-up had signed a firm order for eight conventional A320s to operate from its base in Cheongju, in central South Korea. The airline will focus primarily on services to international destinations in North East Asia. 

 “We see enormous potential for the development of a low-cost model linking central South Korea with destinations in China, Taiwan and Japan”,  Byung Ho Kang, KAIR Airlines chairman, said in a statement. “KAIR Airlines will focus on point-to-point services at low fares while offering passengers a modern and fun product offering.”

KAIR Airlines joins a slew of  existing low-cost carriers in South Korea, including Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Air Busan and T’way Airlines. Asiana Airlines Joined the fray last year with low-cost subsidiary Air Seoul, based at Incheon International Airport.

LCC’s enjoy a 22 per cent market share on South Korea’s international routes, up from 16.2 per cent in 2015, and experts predict they are heading quickly towards 30 per cent.

They dominate the domestic market with a combined market share of 56.6 per cent, according to November government statistics reported by the Pulse business news site.

That put them ahead of network carriers Korean Air and Asiana, which between them commanded 43.4 per cent of the market.

Jeju Air, Jin Air, T`way Airlines, Eastar Jet and Air Busan were profitable in 2016 with combined revenues estimated at more than 2.5 trillion won ($US2.08 billion).

Airbus backed the potential of its latest customer with chief operating officer customers John Leahy saying the European manufacturer had been impressed by KAIR’s business model.

 “We are confident that the efficiencies offered by the A320 will contribute to a successful launch by KAIR Airlines, bringing more choice for passengers flying in the North East Asian region,’’ he said.
 

Airberlin has urged striking unions in Berlin to return to the table after tens of thousands of passengers have been prevented from boarding their flights by a continuing wage dispute.

An extension of the strike involving ground handlers at Berlin’s two airports was extended until 5am Wednesday Berlin time and led to the cancellation of about 650 flights on Monday. This was in addition to more than 700 flights cancelled at the two airports, Tegel and Schoenefeld, on Friday.

Ground staff working in areas such check-in, baggage handling and directing aircraft are striking for a pay increase from the companies employing them.

Union are demanding a pay increase to 12 euros ($US12.80) an hour from about 11 euros. The demand was initially met by much lower offers which have since been increased to an 8 percent increase over three years.

Airberlin said it cancelled more than 200 flights on Friday and said hundreds more would be cancelled Monday and Tuesday. 

The only flights operated by the carrier were long-haul services to Abu Dhabi, the Caribbean and the US and Tel Aviv aswell as long-haul feeder flights to the carrier’s hub in Dusseldorf.

“Each day that this labour dispute continues is causing millions in damages to the airline sector and all other service providers at Berlin’s airports,”’ airberlin chief executive. Thomas Winkelmann and Chief human resources officer Martina Niemann said in a letter sent to unions.

“As the largest airline operating from Berlin-Tegel airport, this dispute is hitting airberlin particularly hard. 

"We therefore urge both parties involved in this wage dispute to take responsibility and return to the negotiating table without further delay.”

Among those affected by the strike were visitors to last week’s ITB International Travel Trade Show.

The Lufthansa Group says a completely new business class on its  Boeing 777-9X  aircraft will "be more than just a seat'' when the plane goes into service in 2020.

There are few details about the new product except that it will be a completely new design and passengers will be able to control functions such as seat position and inflight entertainment from their smartphones. 

However, if recent unveilings by other airlines are any indication, particularly Qatar, it would be reasonable to assume that the new seat will see amenities previously associated with first class move into business.

Read: Qatar sets new level in business class.

Lufthansa is a launch customer for the 777X and ordered 34  of the redesigned, fuel-efficient planes with options and purchase rights for 64 more.

 “This seat will be more than ‘just’ a seat,’’  Lufthansa executive board member Harry Hohmeister said at the ITB event in Berlin last week. “It will meet the specific needs of customers – no matter whether they prefer to work or sleep, or whether they are travelling with their families or on their own for business.’’

The new seat is being developed across the group with input Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Swiss as part of a move that has also seen the sales department restructured to make it easier to book across the carriers.

Lufthansa also revealed the group is planning to spend 500 million euros to develop and improve digital offerings for its services.

Those offerings already include the electronic availability of more than 250 newspapers and journals, a chatbot called Mildred and apps for the Apple Watch.

It is currently developing a new application for the Google Home personal assistant that will use text-to-speech technology to answer questions about flights.

“At Lufthansa, digitalisation is much more than just developing new apps,’’ Hohmeister said.   “It isn’t just about major innovations – it’s also about all the little things that make travelling with us more pleasant, more comfortable and more personalized.”