Air France-KLM Group, British Airways and a handful of other carriers may face multimillion antitrust fines from EU regulators within weeks after attempts to broker a settlement failed.

Shares in Cathay Pacific Airways slumped after Asia’s biggest international carrier said first-half performance was “below expectations” and yields were under “intense pressure”.

A Singapore Airlines plane caused a stir when footage emerged of it engulfed in flames.

Your readers should be aware that the Government has agreed to sell its share in Aer Lingus to the International Airlines Group (IAG), which also owns British Airways (BA), for a pittance.

Singapore Airlines is investigating how one of its jets suffered a loss of power in both of its engines over the weekend, falling 13,000 feet (3,962 metres) before regaining altitude en route from Singapore to Shanghai in China.

First-class air travel is back on the menu, and healthy sales indicate there is a growing appetite for it.

A Canadian passenger has been hit with a sky-high $1,200 bill after using on-board wifi on a Singapore Airlines flight.

Flyin' high.

Qantas Airways says it will shed 5,000 jobs as it posted a first-half loss of AUD $235m (€153m) amid tougher competition, sending its shares down more than 7%.

Giant American carrier Delta today took a 49% stake in Richard Branson’s airline Virgin Atlantic following the clearing of two regulatory hurdles in the way of the joint venture.

Shannon-based aircraft leasing firm GE Capital Aviation Services have bought 10 new Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners for an estimated $3bn (€2.24bn) at list price.

European aviation stocks declined, following a drop among Asian carriers, on concern an outbreak of the bird-flu virus in China will clip travel and hurt demand already unsettled by rising military tensions with North Korea.

Richard Branson retained control of his airline Virgin Atlantic today after a deal that will see America’s largest carrier take a 49% stake.

Richard Branson has said he is prepared to bet the boss of British Airways £1m (€1.25m) that Virgin Atlantic will not disappear within five years.

Speculation over Richard Branson’s control of Virgin Atlantic grew today after Singapore Airlines confirmed it was in talks over the sale of its stake in the transatlantic airline.

The International Air Transport Association raised its 2012 global airline profit forecast 37% as carriers slow capacity growth to cope with higher fuel prices and waning travel demand.

EUROPE’S safety authorities have ordered urgent inspections on one-third of the Airbus A380 fleet after the discovery of wing cracks on the world’s largest jetliner.

Around 200 passengers were safely evacuated when a Singapore Airlines flight from Manchester slid off the runway in Munich just after landing today.

Singapore Airlines said it has ordered eight Boeing jets for $2.3bn (€1.6bn) to help bolster expansion plans.

Three airlines have reached financial settlements with a New Zealand regulator for participating in a price-fixing scheme in the global air freight market, the regulator said.

Virgin Atlantic today fuelled speculation it could pursue a merger or tie-up after it said it had received "a number of lines of enquiry".

Qantas has launched preliminary legal action against Rolls-Royce, the manufacturer of the engine that exploded on one of its A380 superjumbos in mid-air last month.

ROLLS-ROYCE may replace up to 40 engines on Airbus A380 superjumbos flown by three airlines, Qantas said yesterday after a mid-air explosion sparked safety fears over the world’s biggest passenger jet.

An engine blow-out on a Qantas jet damaged the left wing, slicing electric and hydraulic cables and starting a cascade of system failures.

Up to half of the Rolls-Royce engines of the type which disintegrated on an Airbus superjumbo this month may need to be replaced by the three carriers in Australia, Singapore and Germany that use them, Qantas’s chief executive said today.

A bird and a bolt of lightning have struck two separate Qantas planes and caused more problems for the Australian airline.

AN ELECTRICAL fault sent smoke into the cockpit of a Qantas Boeing 747 and forced pilots to turn back yesterday in the latest in a string of problems for the airline since an engine explosion on a superjumbo prompted a global safety scare.

Rolls-Royce is to temporarily replace complete jet engines suffering from oil leaks which came to light after one disintegrated in flight, aviation sources said today.

Manufacturing giant Rolls-Royce today said it had identified the faulty part behind an engine failure which forced an A380 superjumbo into an emergency landing and was making efforts to fix the problem.

Europe’s air safety authority ordered airlines today to conduct more tests on the type of Rolls-Royce engine that failed in an Airbus A380.

Singapore Airlines grounded three of its A380 superjumbos today after tests uncovered problems with the planes’ Rolls-Royce engines.

Tests uncovered oil leaks in three Rolls-Royce engines on Qantas’ grounded Airbus A380s, the airline’s chief executive officer said today, as engineers tried to zero in on the cause of an engine failure on board one of the carrier’s superjumbo jets last week.

International airlines cancelled flights into Indonesia’s capital today after a volcano hundreds of miles to the west unleashed its most powerful eruption in a century, incinerating villagers as they fled a searing gas cloud.

A FAULTY part or design issue may have caused the severe damage to an engine that forced a Qantas Airways Airbus A380 to make an emergency landing in Singapore, Qantas’s boss said yesterday.

The engine failure that forced a Qantas Airbus A380 to make an emergency landing was “probably” caused by a material failure or a design fault, the Australian airline said today.

QANTAS Airways and Singapore Airlines suspended flights of Airbus A380 superjumbos yesterday after engine failure forced an emergency landing in Singapore.

Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce said the airline is suspending all flights of its six Airbus A380 jetliners after a mid-air engine problem on a flight from Singapore.

RYANAIR has been named as one of the worst airlines for customer satisfaction in a survey conducted by a leading consumer watchdog.

AS THE Ireland squad jetted in through the South Seas squall enveloping Auckland yesterday, it was a good thing they chose Singapore Airlines rather than the country’s host carrier, Air New Zealand, for the mammoth journey.

Europe began allowing limited air traffic to resume, giving hope to millions of travellers stranded around the world when ash from a volcano in Iceland choked the jet age to a halt.

Irish airline Ryanair has come bottom of a UK survey of favourite airlines, it has been announced.

KERRY Foods has confirmed its status as Ireland’s most valuable brand.