The head of Emirates said Tuesday that Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 cellphones should be kept off flights. Emirates’ call goes beyond the guidance of air-safety regulators who this week tightened their recommendations and called on passengers to power down during flight all Note 7s, including replacement models. “They are clearly dangerous items to carry on airplanes and the industry is moving to ensure that they are not allowed in the cabin, or the hold,” Emirates Airline President Tim Clark wrote in an email. Samsung Tuesday said it was scrapping the Note 7. It has shipped 2.5m of the phones, many of which remain in circulation despite a widespread recall. Industry sources said it would be difficult to enforce a complete ban on flying with the remaining Note 7s in circulation. US aviation-safety officials late Monday said fliers shouldn’t use any Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 cellphones on flights, expanding their guidance to include replacement models. They previously excluded replacement models purchased after September from their advice to fliers. The International Air Transport Association, the main global trade body, said it continued to advise members to follow the guidelines laid out by regulators and air-safety officials.<br/>
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Low-cost airline easyJet will focus on strengthening its existing bases in Germany before considering expansion at other airports such as Frankfurt, the head of its German operations said Tuesday. "We want to be the No. 1 and 2 in Berlin and Hamburg, respectively. That is the priority, not our market share in Germany," Thomas Haagensen said. EasyJet, the biggest airline at Berlin's Schoenefeld airport and the third biggest at Hamburg, currently has a market share of around 3% of air traffic in Germany, while rival Ryanair aims for 10% by the end of the current fiscal year. Haagensen said easyJet did not have a target market share for Germany, saying it only made sense to add share if it was profitable. Asked about whether easyJet could fly from Frankfurt, he also said fees there were still quite high for easyJet compared with other German airports. HSBC analysts said this week that easyJet needed to establish a meaningful presence in Germany to remain a leading pan-European airline and suggested the carrier could do a deal with TUI's TUIfly to buy German market share and compete with Ryanair.<br/>
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings has agreed to a deal with Boeing to convert nine 767 passenger aircraft into Boeing converted freighters. Four of the orders were previously announced at the Farnborough Airshow in July, attributed to an unidentified customer. Purchase-New York-based Atlas Air Worldwide has an all-Boeing fleet. “Boeing has been a longtime and trusted partner as we’ve built our fleet and business,” Atlas Air president and CEO William Flynn said.<br/>
Spirit Airlines has received its first Airbus A320neo, making the carrier the first in the US to take delivery of the type. The aircraft, which is powered by the Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engine, is on lease from Dublin-based AerCap Holdings. Spirit is set to have five leased A320neos to its network by the end of the year. The airline said its “fleet is already one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient in the industry, and this move reinforces Spirit’s commitment to protect the environment and lower its cost structure, resulting in lower fares and even more savings for customers.” “This state-of-the-art technology will burn less fuel and lower our operational costs,” Spirit CFO Ted Christie said.<br/>
Jet Airways, the Indian airline with the most frequent flights between Thailand and India, will deploy a wide-body Airbus on its Bangkok-Mumbai route to meet expected strong demand. From Oct 30, the A330-200 jet will be deployed on one of the three daily flights on the route, which is also served by the Boeing 737-800 and 737-900 single-aisle series. The Airbus, with 18 seats in business class and 236 in economy, will increase capacity on the popular route by 50%. <br/>