FLYi said its subsidiary Independence Air has deferred the delivery dates of six Airbus A319 planes as it struggles to avoid a bankruptcy filing. Independence Air is still ordering a total of 16 planes from an Airbus affiliate. However, instead of taking deliveries of six of the A319 jets next year, all the planes in the order will now be delivered between the second half 2007 and 2009. FLYi, a former regional feeder airline that has struggled to make a go of it as a low-cost carrier, has seen shares plunge 75 percent so far this year amid concern it could be forced to seek bankruptcy protection from creditors.

Hundreds of British Airways flights left London without meals on board for passengers following a dispute between workers and management at an airline catering firm. British Airways said about 100,000 passengers on 410 flights, including 140 long-haul, were affected by the dispute at its Heathrow Airport caterer, Gate Gourmet.

But Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority says it’s a no no Britain’s advertising watchdog said it would not uphold complaints against a Ryanair ad campaign featuring an image of Winston Churchill urging passengers to defy last month’s London bombings and take cheap flights to the capital. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it received 318 complaints against the newspaper ads for being “offensive and distressing”, but ruled against upholding the objections. The ads carried a photo of a cigar-toting Churchill urging passengers to fight back against the bombings and fly to London despite the July 7 bombings. “We shall fly them to the beaches; we shall fly them to the hills; we shall fly them to London,” the advertisement quips in a play on words from the former British prime minister’s morale-boosting speech during World War Two.

LTU International Airways, one of Germany’s leading airlines, is celebrating its golden anniversary in 2005. On September 4, 2005 LTU will host a huge celebration in Duesseldorf, Germany, LTU’s hub in the beautiful North-Rhine Westpahlia region of Germany. The event will take place in Hangar 8, spread over a quarter of an acre at the Duesseldorf airport. Planned festivities include interactive games and attractions for children along with their parents, friends and special guests. Attendees will catch a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes at an airline as guests will have the opportunity to go on board LTU’s newest Airbus 330-200 as well as one of LTU’s first airplanes, the DeHavilland Dove. Many more surprises and activities are in store for all the attendees as LTU’s touristic partners, ITS, Jahn-Reisen, Tjaereborg, as well as Coca-Cola, Walt Disney and Playmobil participate in this fun-filled and exciting event. LTU continues to be a leader in German aviation and looks to continue to serve the North American market for many years to come.

Delta Air Lines said it would sell its Atlantic Southeast Airlines regional airline unit to Skywest for USD$425 million in cash, but the company still did not rule out seeking bankruptcy protection. Delta said in a filing with the US Securities and Commission that its liquidity would “decline substantially” throughout the remainder of 2005 despite the planned sale of its unit, and that cash flow from operations would not be sufficient to meet its cash needs for the second half of the year. The company said in the filing that it would record a “substantial net loss for the six months ending December 31.The company also said in the filing that it had renegotiated terms with its credit card processor for Visa/MasterCard charges to October 31. Proceeds from the sale of ASA, which is expected to close in September, would be used to pay down USD$100 million in debt, Delta said in a statement.

A strike by mechanics at Northwest Airlines continued during a week of operations in August. In the first US airline strike since 2001, Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) workers walked off their jobs at Northwest after failing to reach a new contract. The strike by the 4,400 mechanics and maintenance workers has not been joined by other unions at Northwest, and the carrier has been able to keep its planes in the air with few disruptions. The spokeswoman said no further talks have been scheduled between the AMFA and Northwest, which flies 177,000 passengers daily and has hub airports in Detroit and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Kenya Airways has ordered new planes to replace three old ones on its east African routes, Managing Director Titus Naikuni said. “We have ordered other (Boeing) 737s, which will be coming next year to replace three of our ageing planes,” Naikuni told shareholders during the airline’s annual general meeting. Naikuni did not give a date when the planes would be delivered. Kenya Airways operates three Boeing 737-200 planes between Mombasa and Nairobi and other towns within East Africa.

Virgin Atlantic Airways announced the latest enhancement to their passengers’ personal entertainment systems – ‘Relaxation and Sleep,’ a video version of its audio Meditainment program. Virgin Atlantic looks to enhance their passengers’ flight experience by introducing this 55-minute program that helps passengers relax into a perfect sleep. The new visual program was produced for Virgin Atlantic’s in-flight entertainment system by Meditainment Ltd, which specializes in guided meditation experiences. Richard Latham, Producer and Script Writer for Meditainment Ltd, said: “Long haul flights can be a major mental challenge for some travelers, especially if they are unable to sleep. With Meditainment, passengers can enjoy the effects of meditation, while awake or sound asleep.”