The wreckage of an Iranian plane that crashed with 65 people on board was found in central Iran, state media said on Monday, but aviation authorities could not confirm the report. The Aseman Airlines flight from Tehran disappeared from radar screens on Sunday 50 minutes into its journey to the southwestern city of Yasuj. It is believed to have gone down in a mountainous area near the town of Semirom. No one is expected to have survived. The deputy governor of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province was quoted by state media as saying the wreckage was found near Dengezlu city, in Semirom county, in Isfahan province. A few minutes later, Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation said it could not confirm the wreckage had been discovered. “We are facing a total enigma. We do not know anything about the crash,” Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency shortly after his arrival in Semirom. Iran asked European countries and China to help the search with satellite imagery, Iranian Space Agency deputy head Mojtaba Saradeghi was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency. A member of the Red Crescent rescue team was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency that “a dark spot” had been seen near Dengezlu village that “might be a trace to the crashed plane”. ISNA did not elaborate. Glacial temperatures and mountainous terrain hampered rescue teams. The twin-engined turboprop ATR 72 was just over 24 years old. It had been restored to service just three months ago after being in storage for six years. Planemaker ATR said the cause of the accident was not yet known. <br/>
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A NokAir plane made an emergency landing at Sakon airport in Thailand after flames were seen coming from one of its two engines and the propeller stopped turning shortly after take-off. Flight DD9407, a Bombardier Q400 carrying 84 passengers, left Sakon Nakhon airport about 3.10pm Sunday, due to arrive at Don Mueang airport at 4.35pm. A few minutes later it suddenly turned back to Sakon Nakhon airport and made an emergency landing. Some passengers were transferred to another flight heading for Don Mueang late on Sunday night. Passengers on the aborted flight took videos of the failing engine and the landing and posted them on social media. One passenger wrote on his Facebook account that he saw flames coming from the engine exhaust on two occasions before the propeller stopped turning. Nok Air had technicians check the defective plane at Sakon Nakhon airport and used another aircraft for scheduled flights between the northeastern province and Bangkok on Monday.<br/>
Italian airline Meridiana will make Milan’s Malpensa airport its new hub, rename the carrier ‘Air Italy’ and aims to grow its fleet and passenger numbers fourfold by 2022 in a bid to become the country’s national carrier, executives said Monday. Meridiana was put under new ownership last year after Qatar Airways bought a 49% stake in AQA Holding, the Sardinia-based carrier’s new parent, with previous sole owner Alisarda retaining 51%. Air Italy is Italy’s second-largest airline behind Alitalia, which was put under administration last year after workers rejected a plan to cut jobs and salaries. However, with a new restructuring plan - that includes the launch of new domestic and intercontinental routes - Air Italy aims to become Italy’s “airline of reference”. By 2022, the carrier expects “to transport 10 million passengers a year and have a fleet of 50 aircraft,” Chairman Francesco Violante said at the launch of the new brand in Milan. Over the next three years, 20 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will be added to Air Italy’s fleet, the first of which arrives in April. Qatar Airways will lease five of its Airbus A330-200 to Air Italy “at market prices”, said CEO Akbar Al Baker.<br/>
Arsenal has just secured its biggest sponsorship deal ever. The top London soccer club and Emirates Airline on Monday announced a 5-year extension to their shirt partnership lasting until the end of the 2023-2024 season. A spokesperson for Emirates said the deal is worth "in excess of GBP200m ($280m)." Arsenal players have been wearing shirts with Emirates branding since 2006. As part of the deal, the airline will also provide planes for the team on pre-season tours and "retain marketing rights to develop campaigns and initiatives around the world," Emirates said in a statement. Emirates have a separate deal with Arsenal which gives the Dubai airline the naming rights to the north London club's stadium. That deal was renewed in 2012 and runs until 2028.<br/>
The owner of British budget airline Jet2.com said annual profit would be “materially ahead” of current expectations as pricing in the holiday market strengthened, lifting its shares. Parent company Dart said on Monday its profit for the twelve months ending March 31, 2018, would be boosted by “a more normalised pricing environment” for flights and holidays following a previous period of heavy discounting. Jet2.com, which last summer was Britain’s fourth largest airline by passenger numbers and also sells holidays, would have benefited from the collapse of rival travel firm Monarch last year. Monarch’s demise came partly as a result of tough competition in the Spain, where a price war among airlines and tour operators coincided with hotels raising prices. Monarch’s collapse removed capacity from the market, easing pressure on prices, which has also recently boosted Jet2.com’s bigger rivals easyJet and Thomas Cook. <br/>
Emirates plans to launch a new daily service from Auckland to Bali and then on to Dubai from June 14. The airline will use a Boeing 777-300ER on the route and provide competition to Air New Zealand's five-times a week seasonal service to Denpasar. One agent said this increased competition would help push down prices on the route which takes about 9 hours and 20 minutes. Air New Zealand's will use a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the route and its flights which start in April are available on Google Flights for $1430 return that month. "With another carrier flying into Bali and an increase in capacity we are sure this is going to further grow upcoming booking numbers and potentially help drive airfare prices even lower," said House of Travel commercial director Brent Thomas. President of Emirates Airline Sir Tim Clark said there was strong demand for travel to Bali, and to and from Auckland.<br/>