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AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS

A WEEKLY NEWS REVIEW PUBLISHED EVERY MONDAY
PO Box 1315, Potters Bar, Herts EN6 1PU, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1707 665454
All enquiries: info (AT) abtn (DOT) co.uk

In conjunction with The Times business travel on line
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/businesstravel

4 SEPTEMBER 2006

BREAKING NEWS is that FlyBe took delivery in Brazil on Friday of the
first Embraer 195 of 14 on firm order. Arrival in Exeter should be
this week. After further training and route proving flights the first
aircraft is expected to go on the Southampton ? Edinburgh route. FlyBe
is the lead airline for the 195, what might be the final stretch for
the highly successful 170 series family. Other commitments include
GECAS, the aircraft leasing company, Royal Jordanian and Swiss.
http://www.flybe.com http://www.embraer.com

Please see a lovely A380 flypast photograph on the website

AIR ASIA ? new destination
AIR FRANCE ? all change
AIR SAHARA ? new aircraft
ALASKA ? new tax
ALMATY ? hotel
AMMAN ? services dropped
ARIK AIR ? about to fly
BOLIVIA ? to Europe
BREAKFAST ? major meal
GPS ? in the air
HONG KONG ? don?t leave the airport
LAS VEGAS ? third arrival
LIVERPOOL ? legacy hotel
LUFTHANSA CITYLINE ? the big CRJ arrives
MACAU ASIA EXPRESS ? starting soon
REGENT HOTELS ? Middle East arrival
ROCCO FORTE ? confused
ROYAL JORDANIAN ? smarter deal
RYANAIR ? too much talk
STANSTED ? road closure
ON TOUR: On Tour to Skopje
INCIDENTALLY: Airline loses disabled athlete's leg

ON THE SOAPBOX: Help Brooklands Please

It is the first Monday of the month and ABTN continues with its
tradition of offering industry leaders to put their personal points of
view. For September it is New Zealander Allan Winn, Director
Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, South West London. In 1989 he became
editor of Flight International following a spell in a similar position
with Commercial Motor. He is a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical
Society and liveryman of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators.
He is also the proud owner of a 3-litre vintage Bentley.

?Just one month ago, Brooklands Museum officially opened its latest
exhibit, Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde 202, G-BBDG, the most expensive
restoration this small private-sector charity has ever undertaken.
Delta Golf, received from British Airways as a stripped-out hulk which
only just survived a 22-year career as a spares ship for the rest of
BA?s Concorde fleet, had to be cut into five major sections for
transport the 100 miles from Filton and rebuilt at Weybridge. And then
this bare shell, with the aid of some 45 lorry-loads of components,
had to be turned into a working exhibit which now gives visitors the
closest approximation available anywhere to flying in a Concorde. They
sit in the real seats, hear and feel the rumble of Olympus engines on
full reheat, and watch the cabin displays flick through Mach1 and Mach
2 in a vivid reminder of the progress which we have lost with the
retirement of the world?s only supersonic airliner to see commercial
service.

Brooklands enjoys the distinction of having been arguably the most
prolific aircraft production site in Europe, with over 18,500 aircraft
of nearly 260 different types assembled or completed there over an
80-year period. Almost the last in that unmatched line-up was
Concorde, with roughly half of every airframe having been built at
Brooklands. The consolidation and streamlining of the industry over
the last 50 years have seen most of the evidence of that staggering
legacy obliterated, with just one Bellman Hangar remaining of the
buildings in which thousands of people created some of the greatest
aircraft of the first century of flight. But the aircraft themselves
remain as an inspiration to future generations ? be it from the big
idea of getting airborne at all (with our replica of A V Roe?s biplane
which got airborne at Brooklands in June 1908), or getting aloft on
vectored thrust (Sidney Camm?s P1127 and Harrier), or cruising
supersonically without reheat as Concorde?s clever intake design
allowed it to do decades before the military invented ?supercruise?.

There is now nowhere in the UK where members of the general public can
see large aircraft being built or assembled, so it has become
incumbent on museums such as ours to show visitors just how aircraft
were and are put together, and what?s under the skin. We have the
ultimate example at Brooklands in our Vickers Wellington bomber,
recovered 21 years ago from a 42-year sojourn at the bottom of Loch
Ness. Its distinctive Barnes Wallis ?geodetic? structure has been left
largely uncovered so that visitors can appreciate how it was built,
how the controls work etc. Again, our Concorde has sections left
unlined internally, so that the intricacies and cleverness of its
machined-from-solid structure (and our structural repairs following
dismantling for transport) can be appreciated. We will do more of this
as our project to restore our 1940 Bellman Hangar moves forward, and
we are able to display major aircraft sections in jigs just as they
would have been decades ago.

And inspiration doesn?t have to be on a grand scale ? watching the
delight on young children?s faces as they discover for themselves that
an egg dropped from a balcony suspended under a bit of cloth and
string need not break on landing, or understanding Newton?s third law
from launching a water-powered rocket, is proof of that. The grander
the scale, however, the greater the possible involvement, as shown by
the dozens of students from the University of Surrey and the
Farnborough College of Technology who have been able to contribute to
our Concorde rebuild. All these students ? thousands of them per year
- are meeting aerospace hands-on, not through a computer or television
screen, at just one small museum in Surrey, UK.

It is vital that youngsters are able to see these aircraft at close
quarters, and to touch and feel them, and that doesn?t happen any more
at airports or, indeed, at many airshows and displays. It can at those
museums which allow it: at Brooklands we have an ?open cockpit? policy
for as many of our large aircraft as we safely can, and young visitors
are actually encouraged to take the controls of such as our VC10 and
Harrier, and have the effects of those controls explained by volunteer
guides. And when we and the University of Surrey finish restoring the
old Concorde flight-deck simulator from Filton next year, we will be
able to do even more.

And all that introduction, all that inspiration, all that hands-on
experience, is delivered largely without cost to the state or to the
industry which will benefit from it in years to come. Because
Brooklands Museum, like so many other similar private-sector bodies
throughout the world, has to rely on admission fees, generally small
(though no less welcome for that) private and corporate donations and
the work of an army of volunteers (over 500 strong in our case). Many
of those volunteers grew up in the industry at Brooklands, or with the
airlines which operated Brooklands-built aircraft, and are now giving
their spare (and in many cases not-so-spare) time to put something
back. And of course Brooklands is not just aviation. It is the site of
the world?s first purpose built motor racing circuit, with some of the
banking still in existence. Today Brooklands is one of the world?s
most unique motoring museums too.

So with all that good work, and all that input from extraordinarily
generous ordinary people, why is it that an organisation like
Brooklands Museum finds it so difficult to attract real financial
support from the industry it does so much to support and represent to
the coming generations, their parents and their teachers? We have
spent almost £500,000 of our own cash (most of it borrowed) putting
Concorde back together, plus a great deal of help in kind from small
local businesses and the support of BA. It?s going to take an awful
lot of visitors buying their £4 boarding cards for the Brooklands
Concorde Experience to recoup that sort of investment, far less get
Concorde generating the profits that will fund the next £4m worth of
urgent investment needed to safeguard this uniquely important site.
Want to help? Call me!? +44 (0)1932 857381
allanwinn (AT) brooklandsmuseum (DOT) com http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com

___________________________________________________________________

AIR ASIA is to introduce daily flights from Singapore?s low cost
terminal to Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, from Wednesday 4 October.
Flight time is around 3.5 hours and the carrier, founded in 2001, will
compete with the already established Singapore Airlines and Vietnam
Airlines. Headed by the dynamic Tony Fernandes Air Asia currently has
a current fleet of 35 Boeing 737-300, and nine Airbus A320, its route
network spanning ten countries covering Brunei, Cambodia, China,
Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam, http://www.airasia.com

AIR FRANCE last Thursday moved all its flights to the United States to
Terminal 2E at Paris-Charles de Gaulle except for services to Detroit
and Cincinnati. Passengers who have up to now passed through this
terminal (mainly operations to African destinations) have been
transferred to other international terminals at Paris-CDG2, mostly to
2C. These changes have been brought about by the additional security
measures recently introduced. Air France operates flights to 13 cities
to the USA, a total of 22 daily flights. The airline strongly advise
customers to check on its internet site and make provision for
connections when transferring to and from its UK regional destination.
http://www.airfrance.com

AIR SAHARA, which earlier this year nearly became part of fellow
Indian operator Jet Airways, has confirmed an order with Boeing for
ten Next-Generation 737-800 aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to
begin in mid-2009. In the meantime the airline is expanding with 14
new destinations to its network within the next four months including
on the international front Colombo, Dhaka, Guangzhou (China), Male
(Maldives). Singapore ? Delhi continues but the short-lived London
service has not been resurrected. The carrier has an extensive
domestic network. http://www.airsahara.net

ALASKA is likely to charge cruise ship visitors $50 per head next year
if the Alaskan Legislature decides that the results of a citizen?s
vote last week should be implemented. Just over half of those eligible
said ?yes?, defeating the ?no? lobby, supported by the tourist
industry in such places as Juneau, Skagway and Ketchican and the
cruise line operators. However radio interviews indicated that even if
such a tax were to be put into practice it would not put off tourists.
?It?s a trip of a lifetime,? said one visitor, ?$50 is not going to
make much difference on a $2,000 dollar holiday?. A casino tax is
likely to go ahead too, mainly aimed at those who never get off the
ships. http://www.legis.state.ak.us

ALMATY, capital of Kazakhstan, is to get an InterContinental Hotel.
The Windsor (England) based accommodation provider, which claims to be
the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, is increasing its
presence in the former Soviet republic with the opening of the
InterContinental Almaty. It already operates an ?InterCon? in Astana,
the commercial centre of the country. The new hotel, the former Regent
Almaty, will undergo a substantial refurbishment. A 290-room property,
it commands a prestigious location opposite the presidential palace.
Work will shortly be undertaken on many of its public areas including
the lobby and bars, along with 15 additional suites.
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com

AMMAN in Jordan is to be dropped by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines from the
Amsterdam winter schedule, together with Damascus in Syria. The
airline says both are loss making and is offering Paris Charles de
Gaulle with partner airline Air France as an alternative. From AMS
Royal Jordanian continues with a limited service to Amman as does
Syrian Arab Airlines to Damascus. http://www.klm.com

ARIK AIR is a new Nigerian airline seemingly well organised and the
development of a successful corporate jet business. On 3 April 2006,
Arik Air gained occupation of the former Nigeria Airways Limited
facilities in Lagos, some three years after liquidation and major
reconstruction work began immediately. In June the new airline took
delivery of the two new build Bombardier CRJ900 regional jets with two
former United Airlines Boeing 737-300s and three pre-used 50-seat
Bombardier CRJ200 regional jets. http://www.arikjobs.com

BOLIVIAN airline LAB has restarted direct scheduled services from
Madrid to Bolivia from 25 August. Initially operating every Monday and
Thursday, the frequency is likely to be increased to three a week from
early September. The re-introduction of a 309-seat L10-11 Tristar
service coincided with the delivery of a Boeing 767-200 which will be
used on international services between Bolivia and the United States.
LAB is one of the world's oldest airlines and last year celebrated its
80th birthday. However 2006 proved difficult with the Madrid ? Santa
Cruz service suspended on 28 March 2006 due to a major corporate and
fleet reorganisation. http://www.labairlines.co.uk

BREAKFAST still seems to be the most controversial meal of the day
when it comes to the business traveller. We?ve lost track of the
airlines and their on/off philosophy but the railway people do seem to
know what people want, and breakfast is definite. Train operator
Midland Mainline is championing breakfast as the most important meal
of the day. The company, whose London services leave from St Pancras,
have introduced its very own Breakfast Ambassadors. The idea is to get
to grips with a new menu where the choice has transformed from a
traditional breakfast grill and pre-packed bacon butties to almost 20
options, with all hot dishes freshly cooked on board. The ?Full Works?
combines a ?Healthy Option? of citrus fruits, cereals and probiotic
yoghurt with the Great British ? bacon, egg and the trimmings ? or
smoked salmon, or kippers. Alternatively, diners can now enjoy the
?Healthy Option?, a vegetarian grill, salmon or kippers, as individual
choices. In addition, Midland Mainline has introduced bacon and
sausage baguettes, freshly cooked on board, and toast served on its
own or with scrambled eggs. And there?s a new range of breakfast
snacks including yoghurts, smoothies, tropical fruit salad, cereal
bars, croissants and Danish pastries. Breakfast baguettes and snacks
are served at seat in first class and are available to all passengers
from the mm?s bar. http://www.midlandmainline.com

HONG KONG?S Regal Airport Hotel which actually adjoins the terminal,
has unveiled a new executive conference centre. Each of the 13 meeting
rooms is self-contained providing state-of-the-art audio and visual
equipment, as well as wireless facilities. They are also equipped with
business centre facilities and services. The venue is aimed at the
international and Chinese market saving participants from the time and
inconvenience of travelling into downtown Hong Kong. Capacities range
from a 16 persons boardroom to the maximum of 140 persons in theatre
style. The Regent Airport Hotel has 1,103 rooms, Hong Kong?s largest
pillarless ballroom, six restaurants and bar, and a complete range of
recreational facilities featuring an outdoor pool and an indoor heated
pool. http://www.regalhotel.com

LAS VEGAS, already linked to the UK by both Virgin Atlantic from
Gatwick and bmi from Manchester, is to have a route from Stansted.
Maxjet is the operator, and says it is not taking a gamble with the
new service. The all business class airline, already established on
New York and Washington routes, will launch a twice-weekly flight
Thursday 2 November to the casino capital of the world departing 1300
with a 1700 arrival local. From 1 October the airline is revising its
existing schedule. The six weekly New York flights will depart from
Stansted at 1145 and JFK 2015. The Washington, four times per week
schedule calls for STN departure at 1500 with the aircraft leaving
2030 for the return trip. http://www.maxjet.com

LIVERPOOL, which already is the home of John Lennon International
Airport, and much Beatle memorabilia, is now to have a four-star Hard
Day?s Night Hotel. The £17m property ? set to open in autumn 2007 ? is
located on the corner of Mathew Street, just yards from the famous
Cavern Club where the Beatles first shot to fame. A stunning
refurbished Grade II listed building, dating back to 1844, the Hard
Day?s Night Hotel incorporates the Beatles? story into its design.
Acclaimed Beatles? artist, Shannon, has been commissioned to create
more than 110 pieces of original artwork. Offering the luxury and
comfort of a four-star boutique hotel with a twist, Hard Day?s Night
is four storey?s tall and features 110 bedrooms, including executive
rooms and two penthouse suites with panoramic views of Liverpool.
http://www.harddaysnighthotel.com

LUFTHANSA CITYLINE has officially inaugurated Bombardier CRJ900
regional jet services with a flight from Bonn-Cologne to Westerland on
the Frisian island of Sylt. Lufthansa CityLine now has all four
variants of the Bombardier CRJ family, the 50-seat CRJ100 and CRJ200,
70-seat CRJ700 and 90-seat CRJ900, totalling 77 aircraft. The airline
also operates 18 Avro RJ aircraft and last year carried 6.8m
passengers. http://www.lufthansacityline.de

MACAU ASIA EXPRESS has been established in the former Portuguese
colony. Planned to become operational in the forth quarter of this
year it will operate in a low cost model initially flying to new
destinations in China mainland and Asia. The company is 51% owned by
Air Macau and the balance by CNAC whose investors China National
Aviation Company and local gambling interests. Macau has a booming
economy as a result of her emergence as the leisure and entertainment
hub in the Pearl River Delta Region. It is expected that the airline
will recruit managers from the airline and travel industry worldwide.
http://www.macauasiaexpress.com

REGENT HOTELS, part of Carlson Hotels Worldwide, is moving into the
United Arab Emirates. New for 2010 will be the Regent Dubai Canal
Point. The 200-room property is part of a major new multi-purpose
development right in the heart of the city between the Palm, Jumeirah
and Jebel Ali Free Zone. The development will consist of three office
towers, two major residential towers and a community services area,
including a medical centre. Regent Hotels include The Regent Beverley
Wilshire Hollywood, the Regent Singapore and The Regent Berlin.
http://www.regenthotels.com

ROCCO FORTE has got himself a slight problem with the naming of his
hotels. His latest property is in Berlin and is called the Hotel de
Rome. It opens on 1 October. In Rome the Rocco Forte hotel is the de
Russie, and yes has a property in Russia too, the Hotel Astoria, St
Petersburg. The Berlin hotel takes its name from a luxury property
called the Grand Hotel de Rome, which opened in the late 19th century
close to the Bebelplatz where the new Hotel de Rome is located. The
original 200-room property was built in 1875 by Adolf Mühling, who
included the most modern equipment of the time, such as central
heating, marble bathrooms and a hydraulic lift, the hotel rapidly
becoming the most prominent hotel in Berlin. The new Hotel de Rome
will have 146 rooms and suites; each fitted with discreetly concealed
state of the art technology, including flat screen televisions and
iPod docking stations. The restaurant will open out to the building?s
inner courtyard to take advantage of the warmer weather and the
hotel?s bar features enviable views over the Bebelplatz.
http://www.roccofortehotels.com

ROYAL JORDANIAN is now heavily promoting its impressive new Crown
Class premier brand, an amalgamation of the old first and business
class plus its upgraded economy. For the Airbus A340 the latest
sleeper seats are 83 inches apart and can recline to a flat 180
degrees. In comes new catering and an individual service with only
24-hour pre-booking for those with special dietary requirements. Royal
Jordanian offers a full bar in both classes. On Airbus A310 and
A320/321, seat pitch is 54 inches and 39 inches and can be tilted back
up to 127 degrees and 124 degrees, respectively. http://www.rj.com

RYANAIR has announced a deal that will see the airline?s entire fleet
of Boeing 737 aircraft fitted with OnAir's onboard mobile
communications solution. The deal means that from mid-2007 (subject to
relevant regulatory approval) Ryanair's passengers will be able to
call, text and email using their mobile phones, BlackBerrys and Treos
at rates which will mirror international roaming charges. OnAir
intends to fit 50 Ryanair aircraft during the second half of 2007,
with the remainder of the fleet receiving installations from early
2008 onwards. The big question is will the customers accept it?
Rynair?s last gimmick, hand held movie units, were not a success, and
with the airline?s quality reputation lacking (see YouGov brand
index), and 29? seat pitch, it could be that passengers will rebel
against the noisy chatter of fellow travellers. A ?quiet zone? on the
737s will be against the O?Leary principal of quick turnarounds.
http://www.ryanair.com http://www.onair.aero

STANSTED users should note that a £2.1m scheme to provide dedicated
left-turn lanes to improve access from the M11 at Stansted Airport
(junction Cool

starts today (Monday 4 September). The work is due to be
completed by Friday 15 December. There will be overnight closures of
the A120. Work will be taking place during daytime off-peak hours from
0930 to 1530 and overnight from 2000 to 0400 each day when a 40 mph
speed restriction will be in place. Allowances should be made in
getting to the airport.
http://www.gnn.gov.uk/environment/detail.asp?ReleaseID=223276&NewsAreaID=2
&NavigatedFromDepartment=True

GPS in its earlier forms is not new in the aviation business but it
has taken much development to enable Thomas Cook Airlines becoming the
first UK carrier to gain CAA approval to use GPS-based RNAV (Required
Navigation) technology in landing approaches. RNAV is likely to be
used by all civil aircraft in the future and utilises onboard
computers and software linked to flight guidance systems. GPS has been
used on aircraft for some time, this new advancement big advantage
being that it allows ?planes to operate when ground navigational aids
are unserviceable or unavailable Thomas Cook Airlines two
latest-generation Airbus A 330s already have RNAV hardware and
software fitted and the airline has spent the past 18 months making
the exhaustive preparations to be able to put it to use. The airline
is now working in close conjunction with the Authority to pilot the
system, largely on its Canadian and Caribbean flights. The reliability
and accuracy of such GPS-based equipment means that aircraft will be
able to conduct approaches to lower altitudes in poor weather. It may
well lead to the ability to carry out low visibility approaches and
auto lands. Curved approaches and approaches down valleys can also
take place with RNAV, easing the previous challenges of difficult
terrain or locations. http://www.thomascook.co.uk

Mike Farge passed away on 30th August, he had been bravely battling
with leukaemia. Mike was an immensely popular and respected figure
through an aviation career that took in Westland, BAe, FLS
Engineering, CASCO and Meggitt. He was latterly CEO of Club328. Mike
leaves a son James and wife Anne.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO READERS:

ABTN owner Centaur Plc tells us that they were absolutely delighted
with the results of the survey over the last two weeks, nearly 10% of
the readership responding. The forms went straight to the marketing
department who have not yet released the full results, or indeed
comments, to the editorial team. However what we have been told is
that 79.2% of respondents read ABTN every week and that 49% are
responsible for buying, booking or arranging travel. Nearly one
quarter forward their copy on to others (and here is a plea that if
you get your copy via a third party why not sign up yourself ? it
could not be easier ? you will only get ABTN mailings) and 95% think
the frequency about right. Two thirds would like to get it as HTML
which gives us something to think about. Breaking down the readership
24.9% were in management, 21.5% commercial, 10.5% consultants, 8.5%
public relations/journalists.

The forthcoming event only affects James Dabell, Travel Manager for
Siemens. He wins a case of Champagne which will be presented to him at
some point in the future.

Malcolm Ginsberg and the ABTN team would like to thank James and
everyone else who returned the electronic form, even including one
Mike Savage, formerly of Saab, now CFM, who printed his out and
returned it by post. He also dreamed up the Boeing Behemoth. See
below.

___________________________________________________________________

ON TOUR: On Tour to Skopje

NEW England coach Steve McClaren faces his biggest test with a tricky
tie away to Macedonia on Wednesday as his team continue their European
Championship 2008 qualifiers. The venue is Skopje, a city of 600,000
at the heart of this relatively new republic in the Balkans.

ABTN thought it would give any readers set to travel with Terry?s boys
(how strange not to be Beckham?s boys) to Macedonia for the 6
September tie a heads-up on the city.

The Republic of Macedonia borders Serbia to the north, Albania to the
west, Greece to the south, and Bulgaria to the east. It?s full name is
the snappy Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), as
neighboring Greece continues to dispute the name as more than half of
the region of Macedonia is in its territory.

The country has been independent of the old Yugoslavia for 15 years,
but Skopje?s heritage reflects 2,500 years of Roman, Byzantine,
Ottoman and Soviet architecture and culture. It rests on the river
Vardar and boasts modern hotels and infrastructure alongside its
ancient heritage.

Highlights for football fans with a bit of time on their hands include
the Stone Bridge, Skopje?s symbol. It was built in the 15th century
and connects the old and new city.
The 6th century Kale castle dominates the left bank of the Vardar to
give excellent views over Skopje. Other points of interest include the
Museum of Macedonia, the Ottoman old bazaar of Carsija with numerous
shops, and Mustapha-Pasha Mosque, built in 1492, and the Cathedral of
St Clement of Ohrid.

The main restaurants and bars are along the River Vardar and near the
city?s main square, but some gems are found down various side streets.
Local delicacies include very strong Turkish coffee and strong
brandies, while the food has Mediterranean and Ottoman influences.
Naturally, there are western bars and cafes for the unadventurous.

There are several five-star properties and many cheaper ones in the
city and along the river. The main hotel is the luxurious Aleksandar
Palace Skopje on the Vardar and next to a park, but if your wallet is
not up to that check out the other choices.

The match against England will be at the Skopje City Stadium, the home
of Macedonian champions FK Rabotnicki and FK Vardar. The stadium holds
18,104 people, many of whom should be England fans.

Macedonia have started their campaign well with a 1-0 win over Estonia
and will take some heart from the fact that they have drawn with
England before and narrowly lost 2-1. They are though ranked 67th in
the world according to FIFA and should present, on paper at least,
little difficulty for the World Cup quarter-finalists.

Flying to Skopje does present some challenges and there are no direct
services from the UK. Instead you will have to go via Europe?s major
hubs with incumbent airlines like Lufthansa, Alitalia, Swiss or
Austrian Airlines. Alternatively, blag your way on to the England
charter aircraft!

http://www.skopjetourism.org http://www.exploringmacedonia.com,
http://www.thefa.com

INCIDENTALLY: Airline loses disabled athlete's leg

This in fact is a very serious story and shows up the problems
associated with the new, some would call ?over the top?, security
arrangements.

Last week it seems that British Airways lost disabled New Zealand
athlete Kate Horan's artificial leg, just prior to the Paralympics
world championship in Amsterdam, according to a report in The
Scotsman.

Horan, a former world record holder in her section of the women's 100
metres, was forced to consign her £3,375 running leg to the baggage
hold under the latest clampdown. The airline has been unable to locate
it. "They said there's 20,000 bags sitting in Heathrow and they don't
know where it is," Horan explained.

Late Update: Following press reports the limb has been found and
dispatched to Amsterdam. A baggage handler at the airport said it was
easy to find, ?it stuck out by a mile!?

and

The Mighty Boeing

Since last week?s ABTN was published a reader has kindly sent in
another image of the Boeing Mammoth in Taiwan and Mike Savage (already
mentioned) has come up with the name Boeing Behemoth. Do have a look
at the web site.
--
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