Professional Documents
Culture Documents
http://www.pbs.org
Hackers disrupt Polish airlines computers, grounding 1,400
Around 1,400 passengers of the Polish airline LOT were
grounded at Warsaws Frederic Chopin Airport Sunday after a
cyber attack temporarily disabled the computer systems that the
carrier uses to issue flight plans.
In a press release, the company emphasized that the attack only
affected LOTs ground-based computer systems, not those on
its planes, saying that planes that were already in the air would
fly to Warsaw as usual.
http://www.news.com.au
The dangers of high-heels, why El Al flight attendants are right to protest
LAST week Israeli flight attendants from El Al Airlines began protesting
against plans to enforce the wearing of high heels for the duration of
flights.
The workers union of El Al instructed its female flight attendants to
ignore the proposed plans, stating that stance was aggressive and
would impact on the attendants health and safety and it turns out
theyre right.
A study published this month in The International Journal of Clinical
Practice revealed high-heel shoes may be damaging if worn in excess.
The study, conducted by researchers at Hanseo University in South
Korea tracked young women at the University studying to become airline
attendants who were required to wear stilettos to class.
It found that senior students who had been wearing high heels for many
years showed weakening of ankle muscles. In particular those on the
inside and outside of the joint and dramatically worse balance when
compared to first-year students just starting to consistently wear heels.
Professor of exercise physiology at Hanseo University, Jee Yong-Seok
stated that wearing high heels alters the ratio of strength between the
various muscles in the ankle, leading to ankle instability and balance
problems. This eventually decreased strength even if wearing high-heels
in the short-term may strengthen muscles, reports the New York Times.
Furthermore, a review looking at various research on the effects of high
heel shoes stated that they alter the natural position of the foot-ankle
complex, and thereby produce a chain reaction of mostly negative effects
that travels up the lower limb at least as far as the spine.
Another study published in 2012 in the Journal of Applied Physiology
looking at the long-term use of high-heeled shoes found they altered the
neuromechanics of human walking, with results suggesting long-term
high heel use may compromise muscle efficiency in walking and are
consistent with reports that high heel wearers often experience
discomfort and muscle fatigue. Adding, Long-term high heel use may
also increase the risk of strain injuries.
Lets hope El Al Airlines takes note.
http://ftnnews.com
Airbus beats Boeing at Paris Air Show 2015
During this weeks Paris Air Show, the total orders placed for
commercial jets between Boeing and Airbus stood at an impressive
$107 billion in orders and commitments. Airbus won $57 billion worth
of business for a total of 421 aircraft. The deals comprise firm orders
for 124 aircraft worth $16.3 billion and commitments for 297 aircraft
worth $40.7 billion.
On the other hand, customers announced orders and commitments
during the week for a total of 331 Boeing airplanes, valued at $50.2
billion at list prices.
Airbus secured a last-minute deal Thursday for 110 A320neo singleaisle jets from Central European discount carrier Wizz Air before its
closing news conference. That allowed it to defend its home turf and
best Boeing for the bragging rights of taking in the most commitments
for new planes.
Both aircraft makers have said the record pace of order bookings of
years past would start to moderate because bulging backlogs of jets
mean many airlines have to wait years to get new ones, hampering
their appetite to buy more. The strong U.S. dollar also is an
impediment to sales to airlines based in other markets, executives
said.
John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers said, The
orders and commitments at this years Paris Air Show demonstrate
three things; Asia is powering the growth, we are leading in singleaisle and widebody and our A321neo is the aircraft of choice in the
middle of the market.
http://en.starafrica.com
Nigeria: Lufthansa earmarks 1m for onboard products
http://www.abudhabicityguide.com
http://www.tradearabia.com
Kuwait picks Thales in-flight entertainment system
Kuwait Aiways, the national airline of the country, has selected
Thales Avant in-flight entertainment system for its newest fleet of
A330-200.
The programme is part of a total order of five A330-200. This
represents the newest wide body fleet being delivered to Kuwait
Airways over the past 18 years.
Passengers on-board the airlines new A330 will have access to a
wide selection of on-demand entertainment and the latest generation
of applications on the market including the Thales acclaimed 3D
Maps. In Premium Class, Kuwait Airways selected the 15.4 inch video
monitor to compliment the award winning Touch passenger media
unit (PMU) handsets. In Economy Class, 10.6 inch video monitors are
available at each seat.
Avant Android system features a highly customisable passenger
experience. It has been selected by 19 airlines. More than 130 aircraft
are flying with the Avant system with total orders exceeding 500
aircraft. The system is offerable on all new generation Boeing and
Airbus platforms.
http://jewishbusinessnews.com
German Efromovich May Call a Foul Over Sale of Portuguese Airline TAP
http://jewishbusinessnews.com
However ten days ago, the Portuguese government announced that the
winning bidder is actually a consortium led by American-Brazilian
investor David Neeleman Neeleman is the original founder of
American budget airline JetBlue. The consortium will be paying about
US$400 million to acquire the heavily indebted airline, with
bonus payments on top if the airlines performance improves. A formal
signing ceremony for the deal is expected to be held at the Portuguese
Ministry of Finance next week.
This is now the second time Efromovich has been spurned by the
owners of TAP, after the earlier expression of interest he made was
rejected in 2012. This time it seems he may contest the outcome by
asking whether European Community standards have been met with
the implication that perhaps instead some form of favouritism may
have been enjoyed by the winners.
German Efromovich is 63, was born in Bolivia and was brought up in
Brazil and in Chile. Today his Brazilian based company, the Synergy
Group, of which he is the Chairman and CEO, owns extensive energy
and industrial interests, as well as Columbias national airline Avianca,
and a number of smaller affiliated regional airlines.
The company also owns a Brazilian-Ecuadorian private airline as well
which today has the same name, Avianca Brasil. Germans brother
Jos, five years his junior, is his partner in Synergy and CEO of the
Brazilian airline.
http://jewishbusinessnews.com
German and Joss parents came from Poland after the Second World
War. They settled first in Bolivia, where German was born, then in Chile
where German went to school and then moved finally to Sao Paulo in
Brazil in 1964.
German Efromovich earned his degree in mechanical engineering from
FEI University in Brazil. He got started in business selling
encyclopedias, and later helped to dub movies into Portuguese. At one
point he even ran a school where he taught a union leader by the name
of Lula da Silva, who went on to later serve as one of the most popular
Presidents of that country.
A citizen of Brazil, he was granted honorary citizenship of Columbia as
well in 2005 by a grateful government there for saving the domestic
airline industry after it had gone bankrupt. In 2012 he also became a
Polish citizen, in a clear nod to his familys roots, though nominally
primarily in order to qualify as an EU citizen to qualify to bid for TAP
and surmount ownership restrictions.
In an interview several years ago when German Efromovich was asked
where he got his business skills from he credited his father, but also
his grandmother too, saying: My father was a good negotiator, but
even better than him was my grandmother. Despite the fact that she
was illiterate and had never set foot in a school, she bought and
sold and did the most complex calculations in her head.
The Columbian Avianca airline has been a member of the Star
Alliance of international airlines since 2009, which shares codes and
cooperates on international marketing issues and includes some of the
worlds largest airlines. In December 2013 the Alliance voted to add
Avianca Brasil to the Alliance as well.
http://www.albawaba.com
Singer Amal Maher turns air hostess for the day!