Gulf News/Agencies<br/>Emirates airline is providing support to the family of one of its flight attendants who died on Thursday after falling from an open doorway of a passenger jet at the Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. “We can confirm that a member of our cabin crew fell from an open door while preparing the aircraft for boarding on flight EK730 from Entebbe on 14 March 2018,” said an Emirates spokesperson Friday. “The injured crew member was brought to the hospital, but unfortunately succumbed to her injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, and we’re providing them with all possible support and care. We will extend our full cooperation to the authorities in their investigation. Francis Sekandi, spokesman for the Kisubi hospital where the female crew member was taken for emergency treatment following the fall on Wednesday, confirmed her death. Uganda's Civil Aviation Authority said an investigation into the incident has been opened. Emirates meanwhile said "a member of our cabin crew unfortunately fell from an open door while preparing the aircraft for boarding". The airline promised to "extend our full cooperation to the authorities in their investigation," the Dubai-based carrier said.<br/>
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An Alaska Airlines pilot has sued the airline, alleging she was drugged and raped by another pilot during a layover last year. The lawsuit by Betty Pina, 39, was filed in King County Superior Court in Washington State on Wednesday, 20 days after it was presented to the airline on Feb. 13. A copy of the complaint was provided by her lawyer, Eric John Makus. It claims that Pina, an Army veteran who flew helicopter missions in Afghanistan, was the co-pilot on a June flight with the captain from Anchorage to Seattle to Minneapolis, where the two had a scheduled layover. According to the complaint, the pilot asked Pina to join him for pizza and drinks in the hotel bar where flight crews spend time. Once there, Pina said she had one glass of wine, and then he brought her a second. Sitting on a stool, she had a “hard time keeping her head up” and “things appeared to be closing in,” the complaint says. It claims that he proceeded to “drug Ms. Pina and rape her during a state of involuntary intoxication.” In the lawsuit, she said she was sick and vomited, and when she “challenged” the pilot, he denied that there had been sexual contact and replied, “You were coming on to me pretty hard.” Pina said over subsequent weeks, she reported details of what she could remember to the union, an airline human resource official and an investigator referred by the airline. She did not report the episode to the police. Pina is seeking damages for workplace rape and the airline’s “unlawfully retaliatory” actions, according to the complaint. It claims that the airline has failed to hold the male pilot accountable and that he poses a “threat to other employees.” In a statement, Alaska Airlines said it was taking the matter seriously.<br/>
Emirates is set to raise $600m from the sale of Islamic bonds as the world’s biggest airline by international passengers joins a rush of borrowers from the Gulf region. The Dubai government-owned carrier sold 10-year amortizing sukuk at a profit rate of 4.5%, the company said. The yield was cut from an initial guidance, which was in the high 4% range, according to a person familiar with the deal. Emirates will use the money for general corporate purposes. Emirates joins a list of regional issuers seeking funding from bond markets before increases in US interest rates push up borrowing costs. The emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and Oman are among sovereigns that have raised funds via bonds so far this year, while Saudi Arabia is said to have selected banks to help manage an offering as soon as this month. Bond sales from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes the two biggest Arab economies of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have raised $20.3b so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That is just short of the $22.3b raised in the same period last year, when sales were at a record $85b.<br/>
The UK Supreme Court Friday refused Emirates airline permission to appeal an October ruling refusing it leave to appleal an order to pay compensation of up to E600 each to delayed passengers who miss connecting flights, UK media reported on Friday. An Emirates spokeswoman said, “We are very disappointed by the Supreme Court’s ruling denying us leave to appeal against the earlier judgement of the High Court in relation to the application of Regulation EC261 to flights of non-Community carriers originating outside of the EU. “As one of the world’s largest airlines, we always comply with all legal requirements and based on the judgement, we’ll advise customers of our approach in due course.” The case centres around EU rules on compensation for delayed flights. Under the EU regulations, passengers whose flights are delayed more than three hours must be compensated. However, Emirates contended that passengers whose flights were delayed by less than three hours, but sufficient to cause them to miss a connecting flight in Dubai, were not covered under EU rules as the connecting flight did not originate in Europe.<br/>
Unions representing Ryanair pilots across Europe have signed a deal to cooperate in a move that could raise the prospect of coordinated action, something its management has been keen to avoid. In the agreement signed on Saturday, the unions decided to form a transnational pilot group to negotiate with Ryanair at a pan-European level, the European Cockpit Association said. Ryanair is in talks to formalise union recognition in several European countries but it has refused requests to engage with pilots on a pan-European basis. The airline did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “It is now up to Ryanair to take this great new opportunity to reach out to its pilots and engage in genuine social dialogue,” said Dirk Polloczek, president of the ECA. “Today is a historic day for Ryanair pilots in their quest for fair and equitable working conditions. And it is a great day for unity among the European pilot community,” he said.<br/>
Niki Lauda aims to turn a profit from next year with Laudamotion, the airline he has rebranded after buying it back from insolvent Air Berlin, the ex-motor racing champion said Friday. The former Niki airline, which he founded in 2003, will begin operations under its new name on March 25 with six leased aircraft. Its first flight will be from Duesseldorf, Germany, to Palma de Mallorca. “You cannot expect to make money in the first year. But if you make it right, you should start earning money from the second year on,” Lauda a news conference in Vienna. The three-times Formula One champion pipped BA owner IAG to win the bidding for Niki in January, initially investing around E50m and then more to relaunch operations. Lauda said he will add flights from Switzerland from April and from Austria from June, expanding the fleet to 21 planes. The carrier will fly to holiday destinations in Greece, Spain and Italy in summer and add city shuttles and charter flights later this year. “Shuttles at the right price with the right product plus charter flights, this is what we need and my goal is to implement that from autumn,” he said. Of the 60,000 takeoff and landing slots he bought as Niki assets only 40,000 were needed, and he will return 20,000.<br/>
Vietjet Aviation Friday said it signed a memorandum of understanding worth $609m with Investec Bank to finance the purchase of five Airbus A321 aircraft, as the budget airline is seeking to expand in the region. The MoU was signed in Sydney during an official visit to Australia by Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Phuc and his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull announced on Thursday that the two countries elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership level from a comprehensive one, paving the way for deeper bilateral cooperation. Phuc is set to attend the ASEAN-Australia Summit there this weekend. Vietjet said it also signed an agreement with Brisbane Airport Corp. to open a non-stop service between Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s economic hub, and Brisbane. “I believe that this service will soon be put into operation, meeting increasing travel demand of many people and tourists,” Vietjet VP Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh said.<br/>
Two Indigo aircraft were grounded on Sunday after pilots reported about some glitches. The aircraft belonged to Airbus' A320 Neo series, which have been in the news for its glitches-prone engines. In the first incident, the aircraft that operated on the Bangalore-Delhi route was grounded for maintenance check at Delhi airport as the pilot reported about the malfunctioning engine. During the maintenance check, metal chips were observed on an engine bearing a chip detector which is known to be a matter of concern with the Neo engines, according to a statement by the airline. Later in the day, another Indigo Neo aircraft in Srinagar was grounded due to hydraulic leak from one of its two engines. After some maintenance works, the aircraft was declared fit to fly after rectification of the problem.<br/>