The U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch said lightning hit a British Airways B-757 on approach to Amsterdam last October, and the first officer, whose arm was apparently resting close to the windscreen, suffered an electrical burn to the chest. The plane landed safely and nobody else was hurt. The pilot recovered but has developed an irregular heartbeat that may be a consequence of the incident. The lightning strike appears to be the first on record, at least for airline pilots.

Korean Air Lines Co. could buy up to 16 superjumbo 747X freighters from Boeing Co trade magazine Flight International reported in its latest edition. Boeing was in "advanced discussions" aimed at making KAL the launch customer for the 747X stretch cargo plane in a deal that would include about $200 million in financing from the Seattle-based aerospace giant, the article stated, citing unnamed Boeing and KAL sources. With a likely list price of about $200 million per 747X, the order for eight planes plus eight options could be worth as much as $3 billion though as a launch customer KAL would receive hefty discounts.

A study presented by Canadian scientists at the 18th International Cabin Safety Symposium hosted by the Southern California Safety Institute has an interesting tidbit for you to add to your "I did not know that" file: The cumulative effect of exposure to cosmic radiation during one year's worth of flying routes at 30,000 to 40,000 feet is roughly equivalent to receiving a barium enema. Ahem. The study, reported in Air Safety Week, arose from concerns that long-term exposure to high-altitude flying could equate to a significant increase in the probability of developing cancer due to increased exposure to ionizing radiation in the upper flight levels. In Europe, concern over crew exposure to radiation resulted in a safety standards directive from the EU that went into effect in May 2000. Among other things, the directive requires crewmembers to adjust their schedules if exposure levels of six millisieverts (a radiation measurement) are reached over the course of a year. For context, the general population is not considered to be at risk if exposed to one millisievert per year, while nuclear powerplant workers can expect a 20 millisievert/year dose before anyone starts glowing ... er, raises an eyebrow. The International Commission on Radiological Protection, which established that criteria back in 1990, included air crews among the 20-millisievert group, but clearly the EU is taking a slightly more conservative tack. If you want it in English: A trip across the Atlantic in a commercial airliner is about equivalent to having one dental x-ray. (It's actually a touch higher if you go over the poles -- more like a chest x-ray.) If that's the kind of thing you do very often each year (the x-rays or the flying) and continue doing it for the next 30 years, you can expect your chances of developing terminal cancer to rise by a maximum of about 0.7 percent compared to that of the general population. Professors Brent Lewis and Les Bennet of the Royal Military College of Canada conducted the studies, and their findings corresponded with information gathered independently by Dr. Slavica Vlahovich, medical advisor to Canada's Radiation Protection Bureau. Don't worry about it, though. According to Lewis and Bennet, there's a 25-percent chance you'll die of cancer, anyway ... have a nice day.

Swissair Flight 111, an MD-11, fell into the sea off Nova Scotia on September 2, 1998 -- roughly 15 minutes after the flight crew reported smoke in the cockpit, killing 229. On Tuesday, the FAA announced its latest proposals to check potential electrical fire hazards in the surviving fleet. Boeing, which inherited the MD-11 and whatever electrical idiosyncrasies it may be prone to in 1997, considers that the lion's share of directives have already been attended to after completion of a review aimed at the aircraft's electrical system. Of 195 MD-11-series aircraft flying, the new proposed Airworthiness Directives apply to just under one-third. Regardless, the FAA's latest salvo includes recommendations regarding the aircraft's wiring and insulation as it pertains to specific cockpit, galley, cargo, right landing gear well, and number 2 engine installations, depending on the specific model aircraft. A $40 million recovery effort salvaged some 2 million individual pieces of wreckage and more than 170 miles of the aircraft's suspect wiring from 200 feet below the surface of the Atlantic. The last-ever MD-11 order should be filled today, with a delivery to Lufthansa.

Southwest Airlines refuses to reimburse the city for $40,000 in emergency services provided after a jetliner skidded off a runway, crashed through a fence and rolled onto Hollywood Way just shy of gas station pumps. City officials said Wednesday they will likely continue to push Southwest to pay the bill, which included the cost of police and firefighter overtime after the March 5 accident. Southwest said it was entitled to emergency services without additional fees because it pays taxes in Burbank, including $1.2 million last year.

Cyprus Airways said on Friday it will buy two planes and lease six to upgrade its fleet, investing about $100 million and offsetting costs by selling four old aircraft. Cyprus Airways, 65 percent state-owned, plans to buy two planes and lease a pair from European manufacturer Airbus Industrie. The airline, which currently flies only Airbus planes, said it will also lease four craft from rival U.S. manufacturer BOEING for its charter unit Eurocypria. Cyprus Airways said it expected to pay about half the investment by selling four of its existing planes and is in talks with European leasing firms. Further financing would be met with existing funds raised last year in a capital increase.

More than 95 percent of passengers survive commercial airplane accidents and even more lives could be saved by changes such as redesigning the safety cards in seat pockets, safety regulators say. The National Transportation Safety Board (news - web sites) said in a report Wednesday that the number of people killed has fallen as a result of improvements that include exit lights along the floor and cabin materials less likely to burn. While passengers should read the safety cards and pay attention to follow the crew's safety instructions, board members also mentioned requiring new tests for emergency evacuation equipment, and redesigning the safety cards and attendants' preflight presentations to passengers. The NTSB's acting chairwoman, Carol Carmody, said she would urge the FAA to follow the safety board's recommendations.

Europe's largest no-frills airline RYANAIR PLC said on Wednesday it would extend its reach across continental Europe with seven new routes from its hub at London Stansted. Starting on April 5, Ryanair will fly from Stansted to Brussels (Charleroi), Gothenburg (Save) and Stockholm (Vasteras) in Sweden, Salzburg in Austria, Esbjerg in Denmark, and Pescara and Trieste in Italy, Ryanair said in a statement. Ryanair also said it had almost finished negotiating with four European airports about setting up a new continental base, and it would announce which airport it had chosen on February 28. The airports concerned are Stockholm, Pisa in Italy, Frankfurt and Charleroi.

Alitalia is talking to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Swissair and Air France about becoming partners, the chairman of Italy's national airline said Tuesday. Alitalia Chairman Fausto Cereti said there might be other possibilities as well. He said the recent nomination of Francesco Mengozzi as new chief executive, replacing Domenico Cempella, marked the beginning of renewed efforts to find a partner. "A global alliance would require at least one European (partner) and one American...The timing will be as fast as possible but without overtaxing ourselves," Cereti said. As for last year's failed alliance with KLM, he said that the Dutch group may have preferred other partners.

Air France has concluded its first major marketing agreement with an Italian airline by signing an extensive codeshare with Bergamo (near Milan) based regional Gandalf Airlines. The airline operates Dornier 328 JET with a further 3 on order & 4 Dornier 328 turboprops.

The Greek government has shortlisted four bidders for a majority stake in Olympic Airways, the loss-making state carrier due to be privatized this year. In the meantime, Athens' new international airport will begin operation on March 28, according to Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis.

The TNT group which operates AVRO jets, B727s & A300 Freighters from its Liege airport (Belgium) hub should decide very soon concerning its fleet renewal. Flight Operations management expects a massive order for used B757s & B767s… These aircraft should replace old B27s & A300s.

Want to fly round-trip to Paris for less than $25? United Airlines inadvertently listed such eye-popping fares on its Web site for nearly an hour last month - then disappointed customers who snatched them up by saying it wouldn't honor them. A United spokesman blames a technical error for the misleading offerings at www.ual.com that lasted 55 minutes on the evening of Jan. 31. The result: International fares such as San Francisco to Paris for $24.98 with similar deals for flights to Hong Kong and other cities. A total of 143 tickets were sold at the near-giveaway prices, United spokesman Chris Brathwaite confirmed Thursday. United later informed the ticket holders that the fares that looked too good to be true were just that. United has offered to find the lowest possible fares for the customers. But that's not sitting well with customers like Eric Bescher, who snapped up a $27.98 ticket from San Jose to Paris and expects United to honor it. United's spokesman said customers should have realized you don't get something for nothing.

For the past few weeks passengers on a few Air Canada flights in North America have been able to do something most business travelers have only dreamed of - send and receive e-mail and skate across some of the Web. It is a sign of things to come as the airline industry and earthbound tech companies look for ways to keep people wired at 33,000 feet. The Air Canada test uses existing seat-back telephones on the plane to which a laptop can be connected. With software put in place ahead of time, the passenger can access a server on the plane that intermittently sends and receives data, refreshing cached news and securities quotes, for instance, and sending and receiving e-mail.

Morocco's King Mohammed met Airbus President Noel Forgeard on Thursday after the two parties reached an accord which enables Royal Air Maroc (RAM) to buy four Airbus 321-200 planes, a government official said. The deal, which took more than three months of talks to be finalized, is estimated at the equivalent of $220 million, the official who declined to be named told Reuters. RAM has a fleet of 32 aircraft, most of them manufactured by U.S. Boeing firm and this was the first time it decided to introduce Airbus aircraft in the transport services to reinforce its links with Europe, including France, the official added.

The government of Canada, concerned by increasing cases of air rage, issued an order Wednesday requiring Canadian pilots to lock the cockpit door every time a passenger begins to cause trouble. Transport Minister David Collenette said all of Canada's airlines with cockpit locks on their planes had 30 days to comply with his order. Collenette said he was particularly alarmed by the case of a deranged Kenyan man who burst into the open cockpit of a British Airways Boeing 747 last December and attacked the crew, almost causing the plane to crash.

Discount canadian carrier CanJet Airlines is deferring a further expansion and filing more pricing complaints against Air Canada, it revealed yesterday. But while the startup carrier is optimistic about its future, its struggles indicate that it is having trouble gaining a foothold in the airline industry. The Halifax-based airline, an arm of privately-owned I.M.P. Group Ltd., said talks to lease three more Boeing 737 jets from U.S. Airways have hit an impasse because the American air carrier would not agree on terms for returning the aircraft if they are no longer needed.

Singapore Airlines has ordered 10 Boeing 777-200 aircraft and has options to buy 10 more planes in a deal with a total value of about $4 billion. The planes will replace Singapore Airline's existing fleet of Airbus A310-300s, the airline said Wednesday. The airline said the 20 aircraft, to be delivered between 2003 and 2009, will be used mainly on regional routes, but will be suitable for longer routes if required. As with previous orders, it expects to finance the purchase largely from its cash flow, but added that if necessary, the airline "will consider borrowing or leasing." The airline is phasing out its A310-300 fleet, with 13 still in operation. The last A310 aircraft will be retired from the operating fleet in 2006. The airline operates 91 aircraft, comprising 777-200s and -300s, 747-400s, A340-300s and A310-300s.

Bulgaria's government said it would take urgent measures to halt a crisis at national carrier Balkan Airlines, including possible legal action against majority owner Israel's Zeevi Holding. Balkan remained grounded for 2 days as a row between Zeevi and the Bulgarian government remained deadlocked after Zeevi suspended Balkan's flying operations on Wednesday, saying it had decided to halt financing. The government's Privatization Agency will ask prosecutors to investigate whether Zeevi was breaching the contract under which it bought 75 percent of Balkan for $150,000 in 1999, pledging to pay Balkan's debts of $100 million. Under the terms of the contract Zeevi was also to invest $100 million over five years. The airline has since been plagued by conflicts with employees and the government.

DHL Airways says the US DOT should dismiss claims that the airline does not comply with laws on foreign ownership. FEDEX & UPS argue that their rival is controlled by Deutsche Post & Lufthansa Cargo via stakes in DHL International which has 52 % share & 23 % voting rights in DHL Airways, part of DHL worldwide Express. For information, foreign ownership of US carriers is capped at 25 %...

Air New Zeland (AIR NZ) has ordered 16 new Beech 1900D turboprops from Raytheon to replace the ageing fleets of Embraer 110 Bandeirante & Fairschild Metro III operated by its commuter subsidiaries.

Go -the low-cost subsidiary of BA - will not be sold to any of British Airways ' leading rivals says BA CEO Rod Eddington. BA has drawn up a short list of six potential buyers that is understood to include rival low-cost carriers Ryanair & KLM subsidiary Buzz. Iberia however, dropped plans to bid for Go, citing fleet & airport incompatibility.

Vietnam Airlines is planning to double the size of its 23 aircraft fleet by 2010 in a $ 2 billion program. The first phase will see the Vietnam Airlines fleet expand to 32 aircraft while the second would boost it to 46 aircraft. Vietnam's current fleet is mostly leased & comprises 5 B767-300ER, 10 Airbus A320s, 2 Fokker 70s & 6 ATR 72 turboprops. After official Clinton's visit, Vietnam Airlines signed a Letter of Intent for 3 B777-200ERs . 4 more B767-300ERs are expected by the end of 2001 while 5 more A320s & 4 more ATR 72-500s should be delivered between June 2001 & December 2002. (1 B767-300ER is ACMI leased from City Bird of Belgium on the Hanoi-Dubai-Paris CDG route). The government is anticipating annual growth of 14% in domestic and international passenger traffic up to 2005, and a further 9% growth each year from 2006-2010. Cargo traffic is expected to increase 8% annually. In 2005, the government is predicting Vietnam Airlines will carry 5.5 million passengers and 87,000t of cargo, rising to 8.2 million passengers and 13 0,000t of cargo by 2010. The carrier has reported a $31.97 million gross profit for last year.

EL AL is planning to save money by selling its Boeing 757 and 767 fleets and boosting its 737s and 777s to reduce the number of aircraft types it operates. The Israeli national airline operates six all-Boeing fleets - 737s, 747-200s, 747-400s, 757s, 767s and 777s - but intends to sell its eight 757s and six 767s in order to purchase more 737-800/900s and 777s. El Al operates two 737-700s, three 737-800s and one 777, with two more on order. A fifth 747-400 is also an option, while the 747200s will be sold.

British Airways hopes to restart commercial services with its Concordes in June 2001 The airline says that it expects the fitting of Kevlar-reinforced fuel tank liners to take about another six weeks.

A new Minnesota US-based airline has received the first of eight B737 New Generation (-800 & -700) that it has acquired on lease from ILFC. This new US operator will operate charter services to destinations in Florida, Mexico, the Caribbean & Las Vegas. It also flies scheduled services to more 30 destinations.

The german Tour operator, expects a $ 22 million in annual cost savings from its takeover of Thomas Cook, the UK's third largest package holiday group.

China Airlines forecasts pre-tax profit will hit $ 100 million in 2001, an 8,4 % increase over the amount expected in 2000.

Brazil is stirred up by 2 new entrant airlines, Nacional Transportes Aeros (NTA) and Gol. NTA started with 737-400 while Gol operates six 737-700. Both are offering no-frills service with fares up to 22 % lower than competitors Varig, Vasp, TAM & Transbrasil.

SAIRGROUP'S plans to merge 3 french airlines (the above) to create a major competitor to Air France appear to be in tatters following the resignation of the CEO of SairGroup France, Paul Reutlinger. SairGroup admits a huge loss ($ 450 million) for the year 2000. Sources declare that AOM & Air Liberté long-haul operations (operated by old DC-10s & Airbus 340s) could be partially sold to Corsair (the charter arm of Nouvelles Frontieres recently sold to the German giant "Preussag"). Air Littoral could be purchased by Air France. The main problem is that approximately 40 % of the Flight crew & 50 % of ground staff should be fired. Vive la France!