Delta + Northwest = World's Biggest Carrier

US merger forms 'largest airline'
Rival US companies Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines have agreed to merge in a $5bn (£2.5bn) deal that will create the world's biggest carrier.
BBC News
Page last updated at 07:24 GMT, Tuesday, 15 April 2008 08:24 UK

The new airline, to be called Delta, will have annual revenue of more than $35bn and employ about 75,000 staff.

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1000+ American Airlines Flights Cancelled

American Airlines grounds flights
American Airlines has cancelled more than 1,000 flights after grounding its MD-80 aircraft to conduct extra safety inspections on wiring.
BBC News
Page last updated at 19:39 GMT, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 20:39 UK

American Airlines said there could be more cancellations after Wednesday as it continued to check its fleet of MD-80 aircraft.

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In Flight Mobile Calls on European Flights

Could be a dream come true should you need to make a call or a nightmare if you find yourself sitting next to a blabbermouth!

Europe clears mobiles on aircraft
Mobile phone calls will be allowed on planes flying in European airspace under new European Commission rules.
BBC News
Page last updated at 10:27 GMT, Monday, 7 April 2008 11:27 UK

The decision means that mobiles could be used once a plane has reached an altitude of 3,000m or more.

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Freshly Packed Suitcase Full of Misery at T5

Fresh baggage woes at Terminal 5
Hopes of Heathrow's Terminal 5 operating its first full schedule of flights have been scuppered by a new glitch with the baggage system.
BBC News
Page last updated at 13:19 GMT, Saturday, 5 April 2008 14:19 UK

Airport operator BAA's computer system which sorts bags before they are loaded onto flights malfunctioned and manual sorting had to be carried out.

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T5 Nightmare Continues

What did go wrong at Terminal 5?
Seventy flights have been cancelled in the last two days as teething problems at Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5 caused chaos. But what actually went wrong?
BBC News
Page last updated at 18:43 GMT, Friday, 28 March 2008

The problems appear to be due to a combination of factors.

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BA promising Terminal 5 fix soon
The Press Association - 1 hour ago
BA has moved to reassure air passengers contemplating a third day of travel chaos at Heathrow's Terminal Five (T5) by revealing that just 37 flights would ...

British Airways boss Willie Walsh refuses to quit after Heathrow chaos
Mirror.co.uk, UK - 1 hour ago
Arch-rivals Virgin Atlantic stuck the boot in, saying BA had been given a wonderful gift with T5 "but they couldn't unwrap it properly". ...

Disruption at T5 enters third day
BBC News, UK - 2 hours ago
Cancelled flights, a temporary suspension in luggage check-in and baggage delays blighted the opening day of T5 on Thursday, leaving many passengers ...

Day 2 At T5 .. And It's Business As Usual
Glasgow Daily Record, UK - 3 hours ago
Scheduled flights from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen were axed as T5 saw a second day of long queues, cancellations and baggage delays. ...

SEEING RED IN STYLE
Mirror.co.uk, UK - 3 hours ago
In fact the staff at T5 were faultless - impossibly patient, relentlessly cheerful and endearingly helpful. All in all, it was a very British day out - 18 ...

COMPO TO COST DEAR
Mirror.co.uk, UK - 3 hours ago
The T5 debacle will cost BA millions - but it may try to get some of the cash back from the British Airports Authority, which technically runs the building. ...

ERRORS PILED UP ALL DAY
Mirror.co.uk, UK - 3 hours ago
When they finally got into T5, a programming error meant staff could not log into the baggage handling computer. Passengers arrived to find check-ins ...

T5 Nightmare

Baggage halted at new £4.3bn T5
Flights from Heathrow's new £4.3bn Terminal 5 are departing with hand baggage only after luggage check-in was suspended due to technical problems.
BBC News
Last Updated: Thursday, 27 March 2008, 19:43 GMT

British Airways, which has sole use of T5, announced check-in of all hold luggage was suspended until Friday. The airline has already cancelled 34 flights because of baggage system problems and passengers have had to wait up to four hours for luggage.

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Western Tourist's Report of Protest in Lhasa, Tibet

Lhasa eyewitness: 'City in cinders'
After days of violent street protests, a Western tourist in Lhasa, who wishes to remain anonymous, describes a tense, deserted city firmly in the hands of the Chinese military.

BBC News
Last Updated: Sunday, 16 March 2008, 18:12 GMT

Some tourists who were in the east were forcibly removed from their hotels and hostels. Police turned up today and tried to forcibly remove all of us to a hotel further out west ... Our hostel was largely occupied by Chinese people and they were panic-stricken. They armed themselves with anything they could find; beer bottles, meat cleavers. They started to break chairs and windows to arm themselves.

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Biofuel's Virgin Flight

Airline in first biofuel flight
The first flight by a commercial airline to be powered partly by biofuel is to take off from Heathrow airport.
BBC News
Last Updated: Sunday, 24 February 2008, 09:36 GMT











Billed as a green fuel breakthrough, the Virgin Atlantic flight to Amsterdam will not have any passengers on board.

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Deputy Mayor of Delhi Killed by Horde of Monkeys

Monkeys kill Delhi deputy mayor
Delhi's deputy mayor dies after falling from a terrace while trying to fight off a horde of wild monkeys.
BBC News
Last Updated: Sunday, 21 October 2007, 21:33 GMT 22:33 UK










SS Bajwa suffered serious head injuries when he fell from the first-floor terrace of his home on Saturday morning trying to fight off the monkeys.

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BBC Worldwide buys Lonely Planet

BBC Worldwide buys Lonely Planet
BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, has bought the travel guide publisher, Lonely Planet.
BBC News
Last Updated: Monday, 1 October 2007, 10:27 GMT 11:27 UK

We felt that BBC Worldwide would provide a platform true to our vision and values, while allowing us to take the business to the next level ...

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Photography courtesy of Plymography's photostream on Flickr.

Maponya Mall in Soweto

Giant Soweto shopping mall opens
Former South African President Nelson Mandela has opened the largest shopping centre in southern Africa in Soweto.
BBC News
Last Updated: Thursday, 27 September 2007, 11:35 GMT 12:35 UK

The Maponya Mall marks a transformation for the Johannesburg township, once an impoverished centre in the struggle against apartheid.

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Photography courtesy of Pan-African News Wire File Photos' photostream on Flickr.

BBC Photos from Papua's Central Highlands

In pictures: Papua gets connected
BBC News

















Eight hours flying time from the Indonesian capital, the Central Highlands in Indonesia's Papua province are among the least visited places in the world.

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Garage Culture in Murmansk, Russia: No Girl's Allowed

In pictures: Murmansk's gorgeous garages
BBC News










The men of Russia's Arctic city of Murmansk have an unlikely passion - as a woman living there explains: "Many men in Murmansk love escaping to their garages, which are often built far away from the apartment blocks where they live."

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