Recognising the support and congratulating the outstanding business performances for the year 2006, Gulf Air honoured ten of its Bahrain-based travel agents recently. The agents were given awards in three categories with the top-performing agent receiving the Gold award, and the second best travel agent the Silver, while eight other agents were chosen for Bronze awards. Gulf Air General Manager Bahrain Mr. Abdulmalik Al Saei personally handed over the awards to the travel agents and thanked them for their continued support and cooperation to Gulf Air.

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Toronto, November 30, 2007 - Bombardier Aerospace and SkyWest, Inc. announced today that SkyWest, Inc. of St. George, Utah has placed a firm order for 18 CRJ700 NextGen and four CRJ900 NextGen regional jets. The transaction also includes 22 options which SkyWest can apply to either aircraft. This is the first order for CRJ NextGen aircraft by SkyWest, Inc., which through its SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) subsidiaries, already operates the world’s largest CRJ fleet with 363 aircraft. The fleet currently includes 244 CRJ200, 102 CRJ700 and 17 CRJ900 regional jets. Based on aircraft list prices, the value of the firm order is approximately $773 million U.S.

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Melbourne FL / December 28, 2007 — Josef Bostik attended a ceremony as Czech LSA producer Urban Air occupied new quarters. The company’s production of their Lambada has moved to a larger facility in Kerhartice, not far from the original Moravia factory. As manager of importer Urban Air USA, Bostik reported, “I was present at the Grand Opening Gala on the 7th of November with many Czech political figures in attendance, which generated national television coverage.” Also in late stages of development are plans to build a new manufacturing plant at the airport where the original factory is located. “Urban Air expects the new factory to be in production by 2009,” explained Bostik.

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Roger Stokes’ lifelong dedication to the development of military aircraft navigation systems over a career that has spanned more than 40 years has been rewarded with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year’s Honours List. Roger joined the then Royal Aircraft Establishment (now QinetiQ) in Farnborough, the day after his 22nd birthday in 1966, having just completed a BSc in Mathematics at Exeter University. Since then Roger has played a key role in developing navigation systems used on almost every UK military aircraft in service today. Much of his work has been on the Harrier aircraft, having worked on the early GR3 variant right through to the latest GR9s that came into service earlier in 2007. He has also been involved in significant programmes for Nimrod, Hercules Sea Harrier, Tornado, Jaguar, Typhoon and the JSF, plus a variety of helicopters including Merlin and Chinook and even sea and land systems.

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SEATTLE, Dec. 31, 2007 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced that South Korea-based Jeju Air has ordered five Boeing Next-Generation 737-800s to meet future growth plans. The new airplanes are valued at US$370 million at list prices. The 737s will be the first Boeing airplanes to enter the Jeju Air fleet. The airline currently operates five regional jets of smaller capacity. Jeju Air, in a statement, expressed its confidence that “the 737-800 aircraft exactly matches our long term growth requirements for our routes within Korea domestically and to Japan, China and other Asia Pacific regions. “We also believe that Boeing’s modern and enhanced aircraft and initial support will bring great benefits for Jeju Air,” said the airline.

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easyJet, the UK’s largest airline, has found five of the best New Years resolutions, keeping them simple, affordable and low cost for 2008. Why avoid tempting foods when you can head for the Mediterranean and indulge in a more healthy option without the restrictions. Why can’t you have three family holidays a year, when others seem to do it? Why miss out on the best deals you hear everyone else talking about, in the office, the playground and amongst friends and families, you too can have it all if you log onto easyJet.com and register and reward yourself in 2008. See below the easyJet guide to the top five New Years resolutions that are easy on the eye and on the wallet.

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The Kingdom’s national carrier, Gulf Air, has successfully completed Bahraini registration of all its 30 aircraft in less than three months’ time.  A brief ceremony was held today to mark the accomplishment in the presence of Gulf Air Acting President and Chief Executive Björn Näf, officials from Bahrain Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) and SR Technics, […]

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With this status report, Copenhagen Airports A/S (CPH) seeks to inform Finance Minister Thor Pedersen about our efforts to ensure a smooth flow of traffic at the airport. This report is a follow-up to the CPH commentary dated 7 July 2006.

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Budapest Airport (BA) has presented its new tariff manual valid as of 1 January 2008. The document records the landing, parking, noise protection and passenger service charges at Ferihegy Airport. The new tariffs package contains a three-year incentive scheme that supports airlines in launching new flights and expanding the frequency of their existing flights with significant discounts. If an airline decides to add a new destination to the list of cities accessible from Budapest Airport, it does not have to pay landing fees at all for one year, and receives a fifty percent discount in the second year. In the third year, when the service has become well known to passengers, it has to pay three-quarters of the landing fee.

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On the night between Friday 28 December and Saturday 29 December, Na-viairs new air traffic management system, and the new control tower at Co-penhagen Airport, was taken into operational use. The cut-over from the old to the new system took place at 01:00 o’clock Friday night – and everything went according to the plan. In the running-in period, there will for safety reasons be a risk of air traffic delays of up to an hour – mainly in peak hours. The risk for delays will de-crease as the Air Traffic Controllers gain experience with the new system. Naviair co-operates continuously with the airline companies as to minimize the effects of air traffic delays.

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WASHINGTON – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) named Portland International Airport (PDX) as the agency’s Western Area Airport of the Year during the agency’s national awards ceremony held this past November. The award recognizes the airport that exhibits exceptional courtesy and attentiveness to all passengers and customers while offering the highest quality of airport security. TSA also recognized two transportation security officers from the state of Oregon with honorary awards.

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Montreal, 28 December 2007 – Major decisions taken at the 36th Session of the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), held from 18 to 28 September, reaffirmed the organization’s global leadership role in 2007, sending a powerful message as to the critical strategic importance of ICAO in establishing the future direction of international civil aviation. The Assembly, which attracted a record number of 179 Member States and 44 observer delegations, amongst many initiatives embraced a plan for advancing aviation safety in Africa and made significant progress in tackling the issue of climate change.

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Volunteers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., are helping with the finishing touches on the Lab’s Rose Parade float saluting “50 Years of Space Exploration.” A half-century ago, on Jan. 31, 1958, JPL’s Explorer 1 became America’s first satellite to reach Earth orbit, launching our nation into the space age. “In January 2008 we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Explorer 1, the first American satellite, which was built at JPL. This is a historic milestone not only for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech and Pasadena, but for the country,” said Charles Elachi, director of JPL. “I can think of nothing better than kicking off the celebration with a float in the ultimate New Year’s pageant, the Rose Parade.” JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. More information on the Explorer 1 anniversary, including a video chronicling its history, is available at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/explorer/ .

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Starting this summer, passengers at Copenhagen Airport will be able to fly direct to the Italian cities of Naples, Olbia (on Sardinia) and Trieste and to Varna in Bulgaria when Sterling begins serving these four new destinations. Sterling has just published its programme for this coming summer, and among its destinations are four new ones out of Copenhagen Airport: popular vacation spots in Italy and Bulgaria.

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In close cooperation with the airlines, Copenhagen Airport is investing in new and modern check-in facilities to ease the process for passengers. An increasing number of passengers prefer to use the new check-in possibilities, such as self-service kiosks, the internet and the cell phone. Today, 40 percent of our passengers check in on their own and the number of airlines offering check-in over the internet has more than tripled during 2007. “In a close dialogue with our customers, Copenhagen Airport is investing in modern passenger-friendly equipment, which is available to the airlines free of charge. Our self-service kiosks, which most of the airlines at Copenhagen Airport are connected to, have been a huge success and we are seeing increasing demand from airlines wanting to offer check-in over the internet and the cell phone to their passengers,” says Brian Petersen, CEO of Copenhagen Airports A/S.

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Providence, RI – November 27, 2007 – In a move to further broaden its single engine product portfolio, Textron Inc.’s (NYSE: TXT) Cessna Aircraft Company today announced it was the successful bidder for select assets of Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing Company, a Bend, Oregon-based producer of high-performance, single-engine aircraft. The bid of $26.4 million was the high bid in United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon this afternoon. “This is a significant day as it brings together two top aircraft design and production companies to offer the global general aviation community the widest range of propeller aircraft, along with world-class product support, all under the Cessna brand – one of the most trusted names in aviation,” said Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack. J. Pelton. “I would like to thank the 400-plus Columbia employees for their continued hard work and dedication during the bankruptcy process. We look forward to welcoming them to the Cessna family.”

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Geneva, 27 December 2007. For the first time in Europe, an air navigation service provider and an airline, skyguide and SWISS, have held joint comprehensive training programmes for air traffic controllers and pilots. In 2007, a total of 30 workshops have been held under the joint leadership of both companies on the subject of “Human Factors”, attended by 200 skyguide air traffic controllers and 500 SWISS pilots. Following this successful start, a further 40 of these workshops will be held in 2008.

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Orlando, Florida (27 November 2007) – Adacel, an industry leader in software integration, simulation development, and voice recognition technology, announced today that it will be demonstrating the integration of its intelligent speech recognition and simulation solutions built on the Microsoft ESP visual simulation platform. The demonstration will be at this year’s Interservice / Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Orlando, Florida. Adacel will be demonstrating military and civil flight simulation solutions based on Microsoft ESP with an integrated real time MaxSim Air Traffic Control environment utilizing intelligent speech recognition to interact with computerized air traffic controllers. This solution fills a critical gap in flight training by providing a realistic radio communications environment for new pilots, removing the need for simulation instructors to role play as air traffic control.

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SEATTLE, Dec. 27, 2007 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] and London-based British Airways have finalized an order for eight Boeing 787-8s and 16 787-9s, raising the total number of 787s ordered worldwide from 766 to 790 and taking the 787 order book past the 787th mark. The order is valued at $4.4 billion at list prices. British Airways also placed options for 18 787s and purchase rights for an additional 10. Willie Walsh, British Airways’ chief executive, said, “The 787 is a fantastic aircraft and will be a welcome addition to our fleet. It will provide major environmental improvements in terms of global emissions, local air quality and noise. “With lower operating costs and the range to fly to all our destinations, it will give us more flexibility when planning our route network and we are confident that our customers will enjoy flying on the aircraft,” Walsh said.

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Geneva, 27 December 2007. For the first time in Europe, an air navigation service provider and an airline, skyguide and SWISS, have held joint comprehensive training programmes for air traffic controllers and pilots. In 2007, a total of 30 workshops have been held under the joint leadership of both companies on the subject of “Human Factors”, attended by 200 skyguide air traffic controllers and 500 SWISS pilots. Following this successful start, a further 40 of these workshops will be held in 2008.

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TEMPE, Ariz., Dec. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — US Airways (NYSE: LCC) announces it will accept tickets for standby travel from passengers who were scheduled to fly on MAXjet Airways flights between Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York City and London. MAXjet customers will be able to travel on a standby basis for a $100 non-refundable, one-way fare (minimum two segments per itinerary) plus any applicable taxes and fees on US Airways flights to/from London’s Gatwick Airport originating or terminating at the following airports: Los Angeles International, Las Vegas McCarran International, Newark Liberty International, John F. Kennedy International and New York’s LaGuardia Airport. All flights will connect through US Airways’ hubs in Charlotte, N.C. or Philadelphia. Travel must be completed by Jan. 6, 2008.

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TEMPE, Ariz., Dec. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — US Airways (NYSE: LCC) announces the recall of more than 200 flight attendants effective Feb. 15, 2008. The recalls are being initiated to ramp up for the busy summer schedule and to compensate for retirement and attrition. Notices are being issued to eligible employees beginning today on a seniority basis among furloughed US Airways flight attendants. Since merging with America West in 2005, US Airways has recalled 330 flight attendants.

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Air France-KLM today announces it has reached an agreement on the terms to acquire VLM Airlines, a subsidiary of the Dutch company Panta Holdings B.V. VLM Airlines is one of Europe’s leading regional carriers catering principally for business travellers. The company operates a fleet of 18 Fokker 50 and one BAE 146 aircraft. London City Airport is the hub for the majority of its flights and therefore VLM Airlines will actively cooperate with the regional carrier CityJet, a 100% subsidiary of Air France, already operating out of London City Airport.

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Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has fully geared up its fleet and manpower to transport returning Haj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia. A detailed plan has been put in action by the Gulf Air operations management that includes pressing in as many as 25 extra flights in a span of 10 days (between 22 and 31 December) in addition to the 10 scheduled flights per week to help Haj pilgrims return to their homes as fast possible. “Gulf Air, as the pioneering Pan-Arab airline, understands the importance and sanctity attached to Haj pilgrimage, which is undertaken by thousands of Muslims around the world,” says Gulf Air Vice President Ground Operations Mr. Ahmed Janahi.

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A second aircraft manufacturer will now begin testing green approaches to Stockholm-Arlanda Airport. Airbus will partner with LFV and SAS International to test a concept that saves fuel, reduces environmental pollution and saves money − and does this so successfully that LFV is now making it a permanent practice. The Airbus tests are occurring in three rounds, starting this past Saturday morning December 8, when a Scandinavian Airlines’ flight arriving from New York applied a Continuous Descent Approach, or “green approach”. According to plans, further tests will continue in the spring of 2008. A green approach means that an aircraft glides down from its cruise altitude to its approach path before landing at an airport, resulting in lower fuel consumption, emissions and noise.

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