SKTRAX have announced that Kingfisher Airlines Star Ranking status review has been completed, and the airline is set to receive the ranking status of a 5 Star airline. A 5 Star Airline status is the "ultimate" ranking, awarded to airlines achieving the highest Quality performance. 5 Star status recognizes airlines at the forefront of product and service achievement, that generally set trends to be followed by other carriers, and recognizes highest standard of Product and consistently high standards of Staff Service delivery in Onboard and Airport environments. Commenting on

Kingfisher Airlines 5 Star ranking, Skytrax CEO, Mr Edward Plaisted "We congratulate Kingfisher Airlines in achieving this 5 Star Airline Ranking. This is no easy task, when looking at the rigorous and most exacting analysis of quality standards we apply to evaluation and Quality certification. This 5 Star ranking level is the ultimate mark of Quality an airline can achieve, and is demonstrative of the dynamic leadership and management at Kingfisher Airlines, which has enabled such a young airline to receive this most prestigious recognition of quality for it's front-line service and product standards."

American Airlines has been trying for more than a decade to develop a partnerships with its overseas rival British Airways, but efforts have so far been for naught because of opposition from antitrust regulators. That could soon change with the enactment next month of an open-market treaty between the U.S. and Europe aimed at giving each other's airlines greater access to their respective markets. That's likely to provide American parent AMR Corp. the opportunity to develop a new relationship with British Airways, possibly even forming a joint venture. An outright merger with an overseas carrier is unlikely because of a rule that prohibits foreigners from owning more than 25% of a U.S. airline. Speculation that Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR might be looking for an overseas partner has flourished as Delta Air Lines edges closer to a merger. That deal is expected to trigger a similar tie-up between United Airlines' parent UAL Corp. Such a spate of anticipated consolidation in the industry raises questions about how AMR, the No. 1 airline in the U.S., would respond to a sudden drop to the No. 3 spot.

A now-former Southwest Airlines employee and her husband pleaded guilty in San Antonio to wire fraud. The two admit stealing more than 5,000 plane tickets and selling them to friends, co-workers and other acquaintances at cut-rate prices. Ex-Southwest employee Althea Jackson and former Bexar County court bailiff James Jackson face sentencing May 8th and each could get up to 20 years in federal prison and $250,000 in fines. Officials say their plea agreement means they'll likely have to serve up to 2.5 years in prison. Althea Jackson acknowledged acquiring about 5,600 courtesy tickets when she worked for Dallas- based Southwest from 2001 to September 2005. Prosecutors estimate the scam was worth about as much as $1.8 million dollars.

There is a steadily growing shortage of trained airline pilots across the industry but American Airlines is really feeling the pinch more than others. American Airlines Inc. said 143 pilots retired last week, an unusually high monthly number that the carrier says was caused by the falling stock market, as pilots decided to lock in the value of retirement plans. In Dallas-Fort Worth, union officials told pilots that 56 of their locally based colleagues had retired. Anticipating the retirements, the carrier last month canceled 28 flights that it had intended to operate in February, mostly on long-distance international routes that used American's newest and largest airplanes, the Boeing 777. "Although this represents an unusual number of retirements, it is about on par with what we anticipated," American spokesman Sue Gordon said. "We made the decision to cancel a limited number of select flights in February. These cancellations represent a small fraction of our February schedule."

British Airways' plan to launch twicedaily business flights from London's financial district to New York will pile further pressure on start-ups in the business travel niche such as Eos, analysts say. The announcement follows BA's recent plans to fly from mainland Europe to the United States and marks the airline's second salvo in a renewed battle for business travelers. US-based Eos and British rival Silverjet say trading has been strong since December, when their budget businessclass rival MAXjet filed for bankruptcy protection. But analysts say the sector is vulnerable to weakening consumer sentiment, rising fuel costs and a competitive backlash from traditional carriers like BA. BA's service will operate from next year, and became possible after recent tests to ensure the Airbus A318 can handle London City airport's short runways.

Airline Also Brings the E190 Jet West to Offer New Destinations From Long Beach JetBlue Airways announces a major expansion of service in the western United States, with new service at Los Angeles International Airport plus new intrawest routes from other Southern California regional airports to Austin, Las Vegas, San Diego, San Jose, and Seattle, all beginning this May. JetBlue already offers more nonstop flights between the East and West Coasts than any low-fare, low-cost airline, and will add even more transcontinental routes with the addition of new nonstop service from LAX to New York and Boston, plus the only nonstop service from Burbank to Washington, D.C. Jet- Blue will complement its robust schedule of coast-to-coast flying with five new western routes linking Burbank to Las Vegas; Long Beach to Austin, San Jose, and Seattle; and San Diego to Seattle. JetBlue's expansion in California also marks the West Coast debut of the airline's brand-new EMBRAER 190 aircraft.

Billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson unveiled what he called the start of a new, cleaner, era for the airline industry; a flight partly fuelled by a clear liquid derived from coconuts and the Amazonian babassu tree. The London-to-Amsterdam flight by a Virgin Atlantic 747 jumbo jet was powered by three tanks filled with standard jet fuel and a fourth tank carrying a blend of 80 per cent standard fuel and 20 per cent oil from the coconut and Amazon babassu nut. The crossing – the first known commercial flight using biofuel – was billed by Sir Richard, founder and president of Virgin Atlantic, as a milestone in aviation history and a major move toward a viable alternative fuel that will help the airline sector reduce its carbon

footprint. “Today marks a vital breakthrough for the whole airline industry,” he said during a ceremony at London's Heathrow Airport. An executive with Boeing Co., which partnered with Virgin Atlantic in the project, said in an interview from London that the test flight shows conclusively that jet biofuel is now a practical reality and could be commercially widespread within five years.

Korean Air is partnering with the Louvre Museum to enhance art and cultural understanding for people all over the world. This initiative, unveiled in Paris, involves an investment of nearly one million dollars and is the first of its kind between a global airline and international museum of this stature. Korean Air is co-sponsoring the Louvre’s innovative new multimedia guide with commentary translated into seven languages including English, German and Korean. This is also the first time any guide has been available in the Korean language for the tens of thousands of Korean visitors who visit the Louvre. However, according to Korean Air, this is only a first step in its strategy to create new cultural partnerships in different countries around the world.

JetBlue Airways and Ireland's Aer Lingus announced a strategic partnership aimed at boosting traffic but that could test the limits of their bare-bones business models. When the plan goes into effect -- flights will be available for sale April 3 for travel later that month -- European and American passengers will be able to book linked flights between Ireland and more than 40 U.S. destinations in single reservations, connecting through JetBlue's home base at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The alliance is unusual because budget airlines generally shun inter-line partnerships, especially with international carriers.

AirTran Airways CEO Robert Fornaro said that mergers are a good idea for struggling airlines that may need to reduce capacity but not for AirTran, which has been profitable consistently for nearly a decade. Speaking at an Aero Club luncheon in Washington, Fornaro said, "The industry needs to evolve and the quicker the better. . .It creates larger competitors for us to contend with but we can compete with anyone out there," adding that the carrier "would seek assets and opportunities in any merger." He said he expected it would have expanded opportunities at certain airports, as gates likely would be reallocated following a merger to ensure fair competition. "We need access to East Coast markets. These are being closed to competition," he said, mentioning New York as a market it would like to serve more frequently. Feb 15, 2008

Continental also officially confirms talks with others Continental Airlines, which confirmed in a regulatory filing it has talked to competitors about "strategic alternatives" such as mergers, has ordered 27 additional aircraft from Boeing as it continues expanding internationally. The Houston-based company said the new planes will give it the flexibility to replace less efficient airplanes and to pursue growth opportunities. Continental is now scheduled to get 111 new Boeing aircraft over the next six years. Continental said it is ordering eight 777s that will be used for long-haul international flights like the Newark-Shanghai route it is scheduled to begin in 2009. The carrier also said it needs the wide-body aircraft for its service to London Heathrow next month, twice daily from both Houston and Newark. It also has ordered 19 more Next-Generation 737s and already has on order 25 Boeing 787s, the highly efficient long-range aircraft dubbed the Dreamliner. In the unrelated regulatory filing, Continental formally disclosed for the first time this year that it has had discussions with other airlines about mergers and strategic alternatives. "There are potential consolidations that could adversely affect our competitive position, and that could cause us to respond by attempting to engage in a separate transaction," the filing said.

The Boeing Company and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines today celebrated the delivery of the airline's first 777-300ER (Extended Range). The airplane joins KLM's fleet of 15 Boeing 777-200ERs when it arrives at Amsterdam Schiphol airport on Wednesday, Feb. 13. The fuel-efficient 777-300ER is the world's largest long-range twin-engine airplane. In KLM's configuration, the airplane is capable of carrying 425 passengers in a two-class configuration with a maximum range of 14,685 kilometers (7,930 nautical miles) at a cruising speed of 0.84 Mach.