Dana Air Resumes Flights After Crash

Passengers on board Dana Air Abuja – Lagos flight shortly after take off. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele

Nigeria's Dana Air resumed flights on Friday, seven months after one of its planes crashed into a Lagos apartment block, killing 163 people in the country's worst airline disaster in two decades.

The government lifted a ban on the airline in September but an investigation is ongoing and there is still no official explanation of the crash.

Dana Air's five remaining McDonnell Douglas MD-83's operating in Nigeria have a capacity of 140.

Airline spokesman Tony Usidamen said 67 passengers were on board the resumed Lagos-Abuja flight on Friday and 82 on the return journey.

"There was a round of applause for the very smooth landing," Usidamen said.

Tickets were sold for as little as 14,400 naira (USD$92) one way, around half what some airlines are charging. Dana Air will only be flying the Lagos-Abuja route for the time being.

The MD-83 crashed in a Lagos suburb on June 3, killing everyone on board and 10 people on the ground.

The pilot reported dual engine failure before the plane went down.

Pilot Arrested After Failing Alcohol Breath Test

An American Eagle pilot preparing for a flight to New York on Friday morning was arrested on board an aircraft at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol, an airport spokesman said.

"The pilot was in the process of doing the pre-flight check and a witness had smelled alcohol on the pilot's breath," airport spokesman Patrick Hogan said.

Hogan said airport police arrested the pilot at 6:19 am. He failed a breath test administered by airport police and was taken to a local hospital for a blood alcohol test, Hogan said. Results of the blood test could take weeks.

Hogan did not know the results of the breath test. In Minnesota, the blood alcohol threshold for pilots is 0.04, half of what it would be for a motorist, he added.

American Eagle, a regional carrier for American Airlines, was operating Flight No. 4590 to New York's LaGuardia Airport.

"We are cooperating with authorities and conducting a full internal investigation," American Eagle said in a statement. "The pilot will be withheld from service pending the outcome of the investigation."

Balotelli and Mancini in a fight?

Eurosport - Mario Balotelli, Roberto Mancini (Paul Cousans, Zenpix)

It is reported Mancini stepped in after Balotelli went in too strongly on team-mate Scott Sinclair for the City boss's liking.

Balotelli is reported to have taken exception to Mancini's intervention, leading to the pair having to be pulled apart.

In the sequence of pictures, Mancini is seen striding towards Balotelli, pointing in an aggressive manner.

He is then seen to grab hold of Balotelli's orange bib in an apparent act of fury before the young striker is dragged away by a member of City's coaching staff.

A short time later, Balotelli is believed to have left the training ground at Carrington, on the outskirts of Manchester.

Balotelli's habit of attracting negative press has seen him frequently become the subject of criticism, but Mancini has always been a firm ally of the temperamental but talented striker.

Yet after this latest spat it seems increasingly likely the 22-year-old - whose off-and-on girlfriend Raffaella Fico recently gave birth to a girl - will leave City. Bookies responded to the pictures by immediately slashing odds on Balotelli signing for AC Milan from 5/1 to 2/1.

The Italy international's form has been poor this season and he was recently involved in a dispute over a fine he received from the club.

However, Mancini said on December 31: "The relationship between me and him is always good.

"I love him because for many years we live together, and I’ve seen him grow. But the professional relationship is another thing, and I’ve told Mario what I need from him."

The Mancini-Balotelli confrontation is not the first to be captured at City's training ground, which is not totally enclosed.

Balotelli has also had confrontations with former team-mate Jerome Boateng, Vincent Kompany and Micah Richards, while Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor were also involved in a melee on one occasion.

Courtesy:eurosport

How Boeing Beat Airbus In 2012

Boeing said it booked 1,203 net orders and delivered 601 new jets in 2012, a performance that likely puts it ahead of rival Airbus for the prize of being the world's largest plane maker.

Boeing's tally of 601 planes delivered to customers puts it ahead of Airbus's stated target of 580 deliveries for the year.

Airbus figures won't be announced until January 17, but Boeing's tally makes it virtually certain the company will regain the crown as the world's largest plane maker, a title its rival has held for a decade.

Airbus won the most new orders over the last two years, a period when both companies introduced new versions of their top-selling single-aisle planes, the Airbus A320neo and the Boeing 737 MAX.

Airbus has so far announced 721 gross orders for 2012, bringing its two-year total to 2,329. That tops Boeing's count of 2,260 for the two years, based on 1,339 gross orders in 2012 and 921 in 2011.

Jet Airways Confirms Stake Sale Talks With Etihad

Jet Airways said on Thursday that it was in talks with Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways for a potential stake sale in the Indian carrier, although terms have not been agreed yet.

The statement was the first confirmation of a potential deal by either side, a day after an Indian government source said the Gulf carrier could pay up to USD$330 million for a 24 percent stake in Jet.

Jet shares rose 6.4 percent on Thursday. The stock has risen 65 percent since September, when India relaxed rules allowing foreign airlines to buy up to a 49 percent stake in local carriers.

"Various structures are being explored by the legal and commercial teams," Jet said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange, adding any structure would comply with Indian rules.

The founder of Jet Airways is likely to convert shares owned by its holding company into his personal stake to comply with foreign investment regulations, a government source had said.

Tail Winds, the Isle of Man-based investment vehicle of Jet founder Naresh Goyal, currently holds 79.99 percent of Jet Airways.

Etihad declined comment.

Etihad and Jet already have a code-sharing agreement, and a tie-up could make Jet a more formidable competitor to state-owned Air India, while strengthening Etihad's position against Dubai-based Emirates, which carries a big chunk of the traffic between India and the Middle East.

A deal between Jet and Etihad could close the door on grounded rival Kingfisher Airlines, which is in desperate need of cash to fly again and was in talks with Etihad to sell a stake.

Etihad's decision to buy into Jet may be announced in 10 days, the same source quoted earlier said on Wednesday.

Etihad, which expanded globally through stake purchases in Air Berlin and Virgin Australia, is looking to extend its geographical reach to India and other Asian markets, its chief executive told reporters in October.

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