AirAsia X pulls out of Europe, India

Malaysian long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X announced plans to scrap unprofitable routes to Europe and India as it prepares for a planned flotation, citing weak demand and a row over European Union emissions charges. The decision to scale back will affect flights to Mumbai from January, while services to New Delhi, London and Paris will cease in March.AirAsia X said customers who hold bookings after these dates would be offered an alternative travel option at no additional cost."AirAsia X will...

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Thai AirAsia to pull out from Delhi airport

After AirAsia and Air AsiaX, Thai AirAsia has announced it would withdraw flights from India in two months from now. The subsidiary of the AirAsia Group announced it would do so from March 24. An AirAsia executive in India confirmed on Tuesday that the airline had announced withdrawal of its flights between New Delhi and Bangkok, owing to high operating costs that include high airport and fuel charges. Thai AirAsia operates a daily flight between the Indian and Thai capitals, besides a weekly flight...

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Bahrain special report

When Bahrain's security forces violently put down protests inspired by the Arab Spring last year, it exposed growing ethnic fissures and shook the perception many had of the island as the Gulf's most relaxed, democratic and liberal state. It also dealt a blow to Bahrain's economy, which is highly dependent on banking and tourism. The 2011 motor racing Grand Prix - a huge source of visitors - was cancelled and many business people avoided the country in the aftermath of the conflict. The second...

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Boeing plans mission-control centre to monitor its early 787s

Boeing plans a dedicated mission-control centre to monitor its early 787s in service by harnessing live data streamed from the aircraft.By harnessing live data from the 787's Airplane Health Management (AHM) system, Boeing aims to deliver 777-level dispatch reliability on its 787 fleet.Housed in the airframer's 40-88 building at its Everett, Washington campus, the 787 Operational Control Center (OCC) will be manned 24 hours a day with six to seven staff on each of the three daily shifts.The facility...

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SLS configuration finalised

After months of speculation, NASA has confirmed the final design of the Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy lift launch vehicle meant to launch NASA payloads into deep space by 2017. The first rockets will be capable of lifting 70 metric tonnes to low earth orbit (LEO), and later versions will be scaled up to 130t.The first stage of SLS, as many anticipated, will be powered by five Rocketdyne RD-25D/E rockets, also known as space shuttle main engines (SSME), assisted in the first minutes of flight...

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