Autopsy reveals Kenya Airways staff found dead in Kileleshwa was strangled

A Kenya Airways employee who was found dead in a car in Kileleshwa, Nairobi was strangled to death, according to a postmortem report.

The chief government pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor said the only injuries found on the late Jacquelyne Wairimu Muturi were on the neck.

"She was strangled using bare hands," he said.

Officers on patrol found the body of Ms Muturi at the back seat of a vehicle along Mamlaka Road Tuesday morning.

Kilimani OCPD Peter Kattam said that they had launched investigations into the death.

“We suspect the intention was to murder her since nothing was stolen from her,” he said.

The officers saw the vehicle parked and on checking found the body that had injuries on the neck.

The deceased, who lived in South B estate, had left Kileleshwa where she had gone to visit her sister.

Meanwhile Dr Oduor ruled out any foul play in the death of an American who also died in Kileleshwa on Tuesday night.

He said the postmortem conducted on the body of Mr Andrew Johnson 52, had shown that he died of heart attack.

Mr Johnson was in the country to visit her daughter, who is the country director of Farm Africa, when he collapsed and was later pronounced dead by doctors.

Tullow announces new Kenya oil discovery

Oil Company on Thursday announced a discovery of oil at the Etom 1 exploration well that it said extended the already proven South Lokichar basin “significantly northwards”.

Tullow said in a statement that the well, drilled 6.5 kilometres north of the previous Agete-1 discovery, had an estimated 10 metres of net oil pay.

The discovery is the northernmost to date in the South Lokichar basin, Tullow said.

It said that following the success of the South Lokichar basin, the site would be extended to cover a further 247 square kilometres in this northern area.

APPRAISAL WELLS

The company said appraisal wells in the Ngamia 3 field encountered 150 metres of net oil pay in both the Auwerwer and Lokone reservoirs, while the one at Amosing 1 encountered up to 30 metres net oil pay.

“Continued success in appraisal of the Ngamia and Amosing fields reinforces our belief that the South Lokichar basin holds very considerable potential which we hope to replicate in additional basins,“ said Angus McCoss, Tullow’s exploration director.

He said opening tests in the neighbouring Kerio basin would start in September.

“The next basin-opening test will be in the neighbouring Kerio Basin, with the Kodos-1 well expected to spud in early September," said Mr McCoss.

In the oil and gas industry, "net oil pay" is the thickness of a rock that can deliver hydrocarbons to the well bore at a profitable rate.

Porter Aviation Puts Billy Bishop Airport Terminal on Auction Block

Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. has put the passenger terminal attached to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the auction block, according to people familiar with the matter.

The sale is expected to value the terminal at more than $500 million, the people said. Porter Aviation's lease on the terminal expires in 2033, but it is being offered to buyers with the option for renewal, the people said.

Porter Aviation is working with RBC Capital Markets and Barclays Capital on the sale process, the people said. Porter Aviation will use the proceeds from the sale to grow its airline business, one of the people said. Porter Airlines currently offers flights to cities including Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, New York, Chicago, Boston and Washington.

Potential buyers include infrastructure-focused private-equity firms and pension funds, which like airport investments due to the stable nature of their returns.

Aviation commission should not protect Malaysia Airlines, says Umno MP

The proposed aviation commission should not solely favour cash-strapped Malaysia Airlines (MAS) as the national carrier undergoes a massive revamp to turn itself around, said an Umno lawmaker.

Pulai MP Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed (pic) said the commission, which was proposed by state sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad as an economic regulator under a plan to revive the national airline, should not disrupt the operations of other players in Malaysia's aviation industry.

"I hope the commission is not used solely in favour of MAS to the detriment of other players. The commission must be for the betterment of the aviation industry and for the benefit of the people.

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"The commission should also act in the interest of the nation by improving more routes and connectivity between domestic and international markets to make it accessible for all Malaysians," he told The Malaysian Insider.

Khazanah unveiled a 12-point comprehensive exercise for MAS yesterday to return the airline into profitability, the earliest by 2017.

Under the plan, Khazanah will invest up to RM6 billion on a staggered and conditional basis over three years.

It will also see the setting up of a new company to house the carrier, rationalise routes, renegotiate current contracts, cut 30% of the 20,000-strong workforce and move its operations from Subang to Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Nur Jazlan said the plan seemed like a financial rather than business restructuring, with the main aim of cleaning up MAS's balance sheet.

The parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman said there should be more details to address the airline's business restructuring, given that MAS is facing intense competition not only from global airlines but from other domestic players as well.

"How is MAS going to compete with other premium airlines and low-cost carriers with the Open Skies Policy and a highly-competitive globalised environment?

"MAS is no longer the main player in the domestic market, so how are they going to up their presence to fit into the international network?" he asked.

He pointed out the Asian market is suffering from over capacity and competition is fierce, and as such there are questions on how MAS can grow given these challenges.

"These are more business issues that needed more clarity," he said, adding that the new management hired to turnaround the carrier must be experienced in restructing airlines as a business.

MAS is to be taken private by Khazanah, which owns over 69% of the carrier.

Earlier in August, it had announced its plan to buy out shares it does not own at 27 sen for each MAS share, amounting to nearly RM1.4 billion, to take the troubled airline private.

A total of RM1.6 billion will be spent on restructuring and retrenchment costs, while RM3 billion will be injected progressively into the new company.

CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya will continue to lead until July 2015 when the new company comes into force, while Khazanah will announce his successor before the end of this year.

If everything goes as planned, MAS will be relisted within three to five years, or between the end of 2017 and 2019, and Khazanah will embark on a sell-down or partial sell down of its stake.

MAS announced its second quarter results yesterday which recorded a net loss of RM307 million, which brings the total loss to RM750 million for the first six months of this year.

The carrier had undergone three restructuring exercises since 2007 which had failed to yield any results due to a bloated workforce, changing market demand, stiff competition and high overhead costs.

MAS troubles was further affected by two major aviation disasters this year.

Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing vanished in March with 239 people on board, while flight MH17 from Amsterdam was shot down over Ukrainian air space on July 17, killing all 298 people on board. – August 30, 2014.

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Malaysian Crew Members 'Afraid To Fly'

Malaysian Airlines has been losing cabin crew at a higher than normal rate recently and the leader of its biggest union says there's no mystery there.

unmanned aerial systems (UAS)

Disney "imagineers" have found some unique uses for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that could eventually see airborne puppets controlled by drones pulling the strings. 

The Qantas Dispute

The Flying Kangaroo, aka Australian national carrier Qantas, celebrated its 91st birthday last week in mid-November with visits from two high-profile travelers – their ambassador, the actor John Travolta, as well as the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, in the country for promotional duties.
The events were labeled in one Australian newspaper as a “one-two PR salvo” for the troubled airline, now hard at work in the lead-up to the busy Christmas and New Year holiday period at repairing the damage done to its brand during the recent industrial dispute that led to its entire fleet being grounded.
The move by CEO Alan Joyce on October 29 to cancel all flights with immediate effect left more than 70,000 passengers (108 planes at 22 airports) stranded, or up the creek without a paddle, as some Australians might say.
Speaking on November 14 at the unveiling of theDreamliner, the “plane of the future” which Qantas has ordered 50 of, Joyce had been hopeful that the airline would reach agreements over new collective contracts with unions representing long-haul pilots, aircraft engineers and ground crew by the deadline of Monday November 21.
But on the day, negotiations between the airline and two unions representing ground crew and long-haul pilots collapsed. This leaves the sides to face binding arbitration before Australia’s industrial relations umpire, Fair Work Australia, who called a halt to the grounding on October 29.  The Transport Workers Union, who represents baggage handlers, ended talks with Qantas just after discussions with the long-haul pilots’ union broke down.
The two parties could not reach agreement on job-security demands, including the number of contractors Qantas wanted to use, said the TWU’s legal representative Michael Burns. A three-week negotiation extension had been a possibility, but both Qantas and the union had to be in agreement. The matters in dispute will now go to binding arbitration, however the pilots’ union and the TWU will discuss with Qantas negotiators those areas on which agreement is more likely.
Joyce reiterated that although the arbitration process could last months, there could be no industrial action during this time. Any union that attempts this faces big fines.

Tension
The TWU however is deciding this Thursday whether to take legal action to win back the right to strike.
These events aren’t a surprise.
Even at a rally held outside the Australian high commission in London tensions were running high, with a union official in a Joyce costume threatening two people dressed in kangaroo outfits with a fake knife.
The TWU insisted then that Qantas had no interest in cutting a deal with unions and was looking for arbitration ending.
“Qantas are just not interested in reaching any sort of agreement at all,” said national president Jim McGiveron.
The airline is also in dispute with the Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA), and the Australian and International Pilots Association, since it announced in August a plan to restructure its operations and outsource some of the services. They’re concerned about Qantas’ moves to cut costs and set up new Asia-based airlines.
Richard Woodward, the vice-president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, said negotiations between Qantas and the pilots’ union had finished after the two sides failed to agree over the terms for efficiency gains of up to 20% sought by the company, for example pilot rostering.
He said that the union was “very disappointed”, adding that Qantas had taken a “very hard-headed attitude to negotiations and have not compromised”.
The binding arbitration would drag on for months because of the “complex nature of the contract”, Woodward warned.
Qantas, who claims the long-running dispute was costing them $15 million per week due to flight delays and cancellations, was due to begin talks with the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association.
The country’s newspaper The Age warned during the industrial action that Aussies would be “understanding” if the affair turned out to be a “nasty dispute that didn’t last too long”.
“They will be unforgiving if their treasured national carrier suffers a long-running and debilitating loss of income and reputation,” an editorial said.
The strike, which came amid the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting in Perth and made international headlines, lasted 48 hours.
Some analysts are warning now it could take years for Qantas to win back customers who have shunned the carrier.

Watershed
The move to ground flights was described as a “watershed decision in Australia’s industrial history” by The Sydney Morning Herald.
“I think Qantas will have to tread very carefully – not just in the coming months but in the coming years – to regain lost ground in terms of its reputation,” said Tim Heberden from consultancy firm Brand Finance.
“Qantas has faced a number of negative headlines in the last few years and should evaluate the cumulative effect of reputational risk when considering future actions and statements.”
A poll has showed an alarming 60% of Australian voters are unimpressed with the airline over the bitter industrial dispute. Nearly half (42%) have blamed Qantas management for the grounding. The already unpopular Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who ordered the workplace mediator, doesn’t fare well either. Nearly half of voters (46%) disapprove of the way she handled the affair.
Qantas, famously mentioned in the film Rain Man by Dustin Hoffman as never having crashed (not completely true, they’ve never had a major crash) was working overtime to assure customers their Christmas flights would be safe, on Twitter.
“We’re just informing customers there’s no more industrial uncertainty & we are back on schedule,”@QantasAirways told@gusworldau.
Some customers were still doubtful.
“The little asterisks on these Qantas flights should say *unless otherwise grounded by Qantas board of directors,” wrote @LeevanNetten. @kanani81 had pleaded with them, “Dear Qantas – just booked my Christmas flights with you. Please don’t strike again. Also – double frequent flyer points would be awesome”.
They appear to have listened on the frequent flyer front. On November 16 Qantas, which has 65% of the domestic Australian market,announced new moves targeting its frequent flyer programme members as a way of saying sorry for the grounding of its fleet.
They will increase the frequent flyer points earned for passengers travelling, but only for a few weeks, and only platinum and platinum one members will receive double points. Silver and selected bronze frequent flyer members will receive only 25% more points, with gold members getting 50% more. The offer, already effective, applies to all eligible Qantas flights until December 23, including flights already booked.
The carrier will also cut fares across their entire network.  Qantas are offering passengers affected by the industrial dispute special promotional deals through one of the biggest national advertising campaigns in their 90-year history, as the busy festive season approaches.
One “goodwill gesture” to win back those directly affected by the industrial dispute though is offering them free flights to any domestic or New Zealand destination.
The airline says the free return economy flight being offered to more than 70,000 passengers affected by the grounding is completely separate to its compensation packages or any other payments. The International Pilots Association has branded the free flight sweetener a waste of money.

Happy
Some passengers are happy with the attempts by Qantas to woo them back. “thanks @QantasAirways for the double points and the free epicure membership!” said @owenbrandt. Even the smallest things seemed to please some. “I flew QF 41 last nite and enjoyed your new menu! Love the Mango bar )” Tweeted @witakwintika.
According to the Australian Financial Review, much of the country’s “high-yielding corporate market” has already defected to Qantas’ rival Virgin Australia since industrial action against the Flying Kangaroo increased in August.
On the day of the grounding Virgin announced it was offering special “Stranded Passenger” recovery fares for Qantas passengers who were at a port away from home and held a Qantas ticket to return home initially within the following five days.
Virgin said it was also in discussions with “alliance partners to add extra capacity into the market as soon as possible”.
“Expect to see some creative strategies by Virgin Australia to take advantage of the situation and assist them to increase their market share,” said Deborah Edwards, senior research fellow from University of Technology Sydney.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see emerging tactics such as a points-for-points deal offered by other airlines to take advantage of the dissatisfaction that customers will have with Qantas.”
It’s not just Aussies who feel frustrated about Qantas’ future. Trade unionists in Argentina, Chile, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand and the USA showed their support for Qantas workers.

Watching
“In Britain the Unite Union is watching very carefully because Willie Walsh [the head of British Airlines’ parent company] is looking . . . for ways to downgrade and outsource services,” said David Cockroft, the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) general secretary.
“If Qantas gets away with setting up low-cost, low-quality, offshore airlines of inconvenience then lots of other airlines would quickly do the same thing.”
The TWU has warned overseas unions may target Qantas and Jetstar.
Internationally, Qantas’ airline ranking has slipped. In 2005 they were second. Last year they were seventh. This year they’re eighth. Although it’s worth $1.1 billion, the Qantas brand was in 13th position on Brand Finance’s table of Australia’s most valuable brands at the start of this year, the biggest loser of brand value since 2008. Rankings aren’t the only thing going downhill. This year Qantas shares have lost nearly a third of their value.
In mid-November they were up 7.6% to their highest in more than three months.
Days after Qantas flights were back in the skies, The Sydney Morning Herald ran a flight asking its readers “Do we really need Qantas?”
The paper finished by alluding to US singer-songwriter Frank Zappa, who once said that to be a real country, you need “a beer and an airline”.
“One out of two wouldn’t be so bad,” the Herald concluded.
Aussies are very fond of a drink. Indeed at the height of the “national crisis” one stuck passenger, Adam Cottrell from Western Australia (WA), remarked that although Qantas had put him up in a hotel and the hospitality wasn’t too bad, he was looking forward to arriving home to some “cold beers”.
The world’s second oldest airline will have to fight very hard to ensure its surviva.

By AMY FALLON