A Southwest Airlines flight leaving Louisville, Kentucky, was evacuated on Wednesday after a passenger's Samsung phone began emitting smoke. Flight 994 was evacuated on the runway prior to takeoff after a passenger's Samsung Galaxy Note 7 - described as a replacement in Samsung's global recall of the device - apparently caught fire, the airline said. "All customers and crew deplaned calmly and safely via the main cabin door," it said. There is an ongoing global recall of the South Korean phone-maker's "phablet" due to explosions caused by faulty batteries. The company suspended sales of the oversized device and recalled 2.5m units worldwide last month. Some 60% of US consumers had swapped their devices for replacements by the end of last month. Brian Green - whom US media identified as the man whose phone caused the evacuation of the Southwest flight - said that his device was a replacement. The tech news website The Verge reported that he had powered down the phone for takeoff, an account The New York Times confirmed through other eyewitnesses. The heat damage from the apparent explosion was so severe that a fire official could not independently verify the model of the phone, according to ABC News.<br/>
unaligned
Gulf carrier Qatar Airways and Boeing will hold a news conference Friday, a spokeswoman for Qatar Airways said Wednesday, as a big sale of Boeing widebody jetliners looked close to being clinched. Qatar Airways is in the process of firming up the order, which was delayed by the Qatari government in an effort to speed up US approval of its purchase of Boeing fighter jets, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. If the deal is finalised, it would give the Chicago-based planemaker a substantial sales boost in a year when orders for widebody planes has slumped. Last Wednesday, the US began notifying lawmakers informally that it had approved the sales of 36 Boeing F-15 fighter jets to Qatar, valued at about $4b. Last week people familiar with the situation said Qatar Airways was in the process of firming up an order for Boeing jets, which it was due to have placed at July's Farnborough airshow in Britain. The deal was delayed by the Qatari government in an effort to speed up US approval for the fighter contract, one of the sources said.<br/>
A religious rights organisation has filed a complaint with federal authorities against Southwest for what the group says was racial and religious profiling of a Muslim passenger. The Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation Wednesday on behalf of Khairuldeen Makhzoomi. Makhzoomi, a student at the University of California, Berkeley, was yanked in April from a Southwest flight from Los Angeles to Oakland after mentioning a terrorist group's name during a telephone conversation in Arabic. He has said he made a passing reference to Islamic State while telling his uncle about a speech he had attended by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Southwest Airlines says another Arabic-speaking passenger heard Makhzoomi mention the terrorist organization during his conversation and reported him to the crew. The organization says it is calling federal authorities to hold Southwest Airlines accountable for its actions against Makhzoomi.<br/>
No-frills Thai Lion Air is moving forward with a plan to spread its wings to China, as part of an accelerating international expansion. The Thai subsidiary of Indonesia's Lion Air Group is set to introduce its first Chinese destination, Guangzhou, with a daily flight from Oct 28. TLA is finalising airport formalities for its Vietnamese debut with the start of a daily service to Ho Chi Minh City, expected to launch this month or in early November.<br/>
Hollywood actor, director and producer Jennifer Aniston makes a return to the Emirates A380, and makes a new friend, in a new global digital and TV advertising campaign for the world’s best airline. The 90-second ad builds on the success of the first Emirates-Jennifer Aniston ad launched last year, a much talked-about campaign which quickly went viral. In a similar vein to the first light-hearted commercial, the actor brings her distinctive personality, classic style, and a touch of humour, to showcase the A380. In the ad, Jennifer befriends Cooper, a feisty young boy who she finds playing in her private suite in the Emirates first class cabin, while she was freshening up in the shower spa. The two strike up a conversation and build rapport, as they stroll through Emirates’ Business Class cabin and Onboard Lounge. Sitting on the stairs between the lower and upper decks of the aircraft, Cooper tells Jennifer about his aspirations to become a pilot – of ‘this plane’, pointing to his model Emirates A380 aircraft. In Economy Class, Cooper is finally reunited with his surprised parents where Jennifer chooses to remain and enjoy Emirates’ ice inflight entertainment system with Cooper. <br/>