Two bodies were discovered in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue plane on Monday after a flight from New York to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the airline said in a statement on Tuesday. JetBlue Flight 1801 departed Kennedy Airport in New York at 7:49 p.m. Monday and landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport at 11:10 p.m., according to flight tracker data. The bodies were discovered during a routine post-flight maintenance assessment of the plane, the airline said. Paramedics pronounced the two people dead at the scene, according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. It was unclear how long the people had been in the landing gear compartment. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages Kennedy Airport, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about how the individuals may have gained access to the aircraft. At a news conference on Tuesday afternoon, Carey Codd, a public information officer with the sheriff’s office, said the two individuals were both men but said their identities were not yet known. He said the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office would conduct autopsies to determine the cause of their deaths. Landing gear compartments, located under an aircraft’s wings and at the front of the plane, have long been used by people attempting to travel undetected on airplanes. The airline did not say whether the two people who were found dead on Monday were stowaways. Such attempts to hide in landing gear compartments have proven deadly in the past. The compartments open and close upon takeoff and landing to deploy and retract wheels and other landing components, and other stowaways have fallen to their deaths from the openings, sometimes landing in public spaces along flight paths. Those who can stay within the compartment risk being crushed by landing gear when it is withdrawn back into the aircraft, along with other hazards, including severe temperatures, pressure changes and lack of oxygen. Many stowaways die of hypothermia. <br/>
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Southwest Airlines Co. will gain $92m from selling and leasing back 35 of its Boeing Co. 737-800 aircraft, the first move in the carrier’s broader plan to monetize part of its large fleet and extensive aircraft order book. The airline received gross proceeds of $871m from the transaction that closed in December with Babcock & Brown Aircraft Management, Southwest said in a statement on Tuesday. The $92m gain will be recorded in 2024’s fourth quarter. A sale-leaseback on an additional plane is expected to be completed in January, the airline said. Southwest’s effort to wring additional value from its fleet of more than 800 Boeing 737 jets and the almost 700 planes it has on order is part of sweeping changes at the Dallas-based carrier to improve investor returns that have lagged peers in recent years. Other moves include stepping away from its traditional model and offering assigned seating and premium fares with more leg room. The fleet transactions aim to capitalize on aircraft demand and pricing that have soared as Boeing and Airbus SE face production challenges that have limited the supply of new jetliners. Sale-leaseback deals allow the carrier to sell some of its mid-life 737-800 jets to a lessor and then lease them back for a fixed time period. — in this case from 26 to 37 months. The transaction will add $2.6m a year in rent payments for the airline. The carrier has said it also may sell some planes in its fleet outright, as well as new 737 Max aircraft after receiving them from Boeing. It doesn’t currently need the aircraft, and will lose existing credits from past delays if it doesn’t take the ordered planes. Southwest has Boeing orders through 2031. <br/>
Discount carrier Frontier Airlines is beefing up service in New York, planning new nonstop routes to major American Airlines hubs with fares starting under $20. The airline plans to launch service between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Miami International Airport on March 30. A roundtrip flight leaving on April 1 and returning a week later was showing as $38 on Frontier’s website for a basic ticket, which doesn’t include a seat assignment or carry-on bag and is nonrefundable. The same trip on those dates on American, which includes a carry-on bag and a nonalcoholic beverage and snack, was going for $142. Frontier has a base in Miami, but the airport is dominated by American. Frontier is also launching flights between New York’s Kennedy Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth four times a week, starting April 22. On May 1, it plans to start daily nonstops between JFK and Los Angeles International Airport. Frontier has less than a 1% market share of the capacity out of the three main airports serving the New York City area, according to analytics firm Cirium. It launched JFK service last June and with this spring’s adds, it will have eight flights out of the airport.<br/>
Russian airline Utair made an emergency landing at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport on Tuesday, Russia's RIA news agency reported. The Boeing 737 plane with 173 passengers on board was flying from St Petersburg to Samarkand in Uzbekistan but landed safely at Vnukovo, RIA reported. TASS news agency reported that Utair said the emergency landing was due to a stabiliser malfunction. Utair and Vnukovo airport did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. RIA cited the airline as saying all passengers and crew were unharmed. Russia currently does not have enough planes to meet demand for air travel, which is rising as Moscow's war effort fuels economic growth, driving up wages and people's propensity to spend. Western sanctions over Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine have cut off the supply of planes and parts, which domestic production has been unable to replace.<br/>
Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, has claimed that another Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft had turned away from southern Russia over conflict-zone warnings 10 days before the crash of an Embraer 190. Speaking during a 6 January meeting with relatives from the E190 crew, and survivors of the 25 December crash, Aliyev said a “similar incident” had occurred near Grozny. “The [Azerbaijan Airlines] aircraft turned back halfway,” he says. “Why wasn’t the crew warned this time?” Aliyev did not elaborate on the flight involved. While the investigation has yet to reach conclusions over the E190 crash, there is evidence that the twinjet suffered damage from an external explosion during military activity in the vicinity of Grozny, its destination. The aircraft, with its flight controls apparently crippled, diverted to Aktau in Kazakhstan where it crashed while attempting to land. Aliyev has already expressed exasperation over the occurrence, and reiterated his frustration during the meeting, claiming that the hazardous airspace was closed only after the aircraft was “fired upon from the ground”. “If there was a threat to Russian airspace, the captain of the aircraft should have been immediately informed about it,” he says. Aliyev acknowledges that only preliminary information has emerged from the inquiry, and that he expects the investigation to provide full details on the circumstances – including the reasons the jet flew to Aktau rather than a closer airport.<br/>
Shanghai Airlines is set to boost connectivity between China and North Africa with the launch of a new one-stop route to Morocco later this month. Starting Jan. 19, the carrier will extend its existing Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) to Marseille Provence Airport service to Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport. Flights will operate three times per week using Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Shanghai Airlines received approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China in the third quarter of 2024 to operate up to five weekly flights on the Shanghai-Marseille-Casablanca route. It marks the airline’s first service to Africa and becomes only the second link between mainland China and Morocco, complementing Royal Air Maroc’s flights between Casablanca and Beijing Daxing International Airport.<br/>
Korea and the United States have begun an analysis of the crashed Jeju Air plane's flight data recorder (FDR), and their joint investigation team is speeding up a probe of key components of the wreckage, including engines and main wings, at the crash site, a top government official here said Wednesday. Acting Interior Minister Ko Ki-dong made the remarks at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, vowing to conduct an objective and fair investigation into the cause of the crash in compliance with international standards and relevant laws. "The investigation will be conducted by domestic and international experts, and its process and results will be disclosed as transparently as possible," Ko said. The two countries have already established a 23-member joint investigation team that includes U.S. experts from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board to look into the cause of the crash that claimed 179 lives at Muan International Airport, in southwestern Korea, on Dec. 29. Earlier this week, the plane's FDR, also referred to as a black box, was sent to the U.S.<br/>
South Korea's transport minister said on Tuesday he intends to step down to take responsibility for the deadly crash of a Boeing jet operated by Jeju Air on Dec. 29. Jeju Air 7C2216, which departed the Thai capital of Bangkok for Muan in southwestern South Korea, belly-landed and overshot the regional airport's runway, exploding into flames after hitting an embankment. "I feel heavy responsibility for this disaster," Park Sang-woo told a press briefing. He said he will try to find the right timing to resign after addressing the current situation. The transport ministry also said it will swiftly improve the safety of airport landing systems that experts said contributed to the catastrophic accident that killed 179 people on board. Air safety experts have said the embankment, designed to prop up the "localizer" antenna used to guide landings in poor visibility, was too rigid and too close to the end of the runway.<br/>
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) reiterated on Tuesday that the controversial localizer and its concrete foundation at Muan International Airport, linked to the severity of casualties in the Jeju Air flight 7C2216 crash, were constructed in accordance with regulations. The design firm responsible for adding a concrete slab beneath the localizer also asserted that there was no violation of any safety guidelines. At a press briefing on Tuesday, officials reaffirmed that the localizer was "constructed in accordance with regulations," despite criticism from domestic and international experts that its structure contributed to the high number of casualties. The Dec. 29 crash saw the aircraft successfully execute a belly landing, only to overshoot the runway and collide with a 2-meter-high localizer embankment, resulting in an explosion that claimed 179 lives. The embankment, supported by 19 concrete pillars, has been cited as a critical factor in exacerbating casualties. The controversy centers on the interpretation of the guidelines. Under the "Standards for Airport and Airfield Facilities and Runway Installation," the runway end safety area (RESA) must extend at least 90 meters beyond the runway end, with a recommendation to expand it up to 240 meters where feasible.<br/>
Korean cargo carrier Air Incheon is seeking authorisation to open services to several US destinations from mid-2025. The expansion has emerged from its planned acquisition of Asiana Airlines’ cargo operations as part of last year’s merger between Asiana and Korean Air. Air Incheon, which was founded in 2012, started services with Boeing 737-400 freighters, introducing a 767-300ER in 2018 and subsequently a batch of 737-800s. But Asiana’s divestment of its cargo activities included freighter aircraft, slots and traffic rights, and means Air Incheon can expand its long-haul operations. Air Incheon is proposing scheduled services on the Seoul-Anchorage-Chicago routes, from which it would also serve Dallas-Seattle and Atlanta. It is also looking to operate Seoul-Los Angeles, with an onward connection to San Francisco, as well as Seoul-Anchorage with onward service to New York JFK and Brussels. These routes would be served primarily with Boeing 747-400 freighters, with 767s potentially being used on the Los Angeles sector. Air Incheon has informed the US Department of Transportation that it plans to commence flights on 1 July. It states that, as a result of the Asiana deal, it will become South Korea’s second-largest cargo airline.<br/>
Indian Ocean carrier Maldivian is embarking on widebody operations after introducing an Airbus A330-200 to its fleet The carrier states that the twinjet represents a “significant expansion” for the airline, 25 years after it emerged with a small fleet of two aircraft. Maldivian’s A330 – fitted with 264 seats – is configured with three classes, including 18 in the business cabin and 36 in premium-economy. It was formerly operated by carriers including KLM. Powered by GE Aerospace CF6 engines, the aircraft (8Q-IAB) was flown from Colombo to the Maldives capital, Male, on 6 January. The carrier says the jet will allow it to open services to China, with flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu. “We are now poised to expand our international flight capacity, open new routes, and connect the Maldives to long-haul destinations,” says Ibrahim Iyas, managing director of Island Aviation Services, the company which runs the airline.<br/>