According to Air France, Ryanair received 660 million euros in 2008 in the form of reduced landing fees and airport taxes. While Air France avoided to make any comments regarding their action, Ryanair said the accusations are false, a spokesman adding: “It’s Air France that is getting illegal aid in terms of reduced airport taxes on its domestic routes in France.”

The European Commission opened an investigation to see if Ryanair, the Irish low-cost airline, is getting preferential treatment at European airports.

Previously, in 2008, Ryanair won an appeal when a European anti-trust court overturned a decision from Brussels, that made the company reimburse aid received from a regional airport in Belgium.

The news will be updated as soon as we receive more info.

Here is a list of all illegal subsidies of Ryanair’s in France (source AirObserver):

The Paris – New York flight serviced by the A380 was just launched only 5 days ago in a hyped ceremony. Nicolas Petteau, spokesman for Air France, said the A380 suffered a “minor technical problem” that made the crew turn the plane around for checks.

Petteau said the plane landed safely, the technical problem was fixed and took the 402 passengers to Paris with a considerable delay.

“It was a minor glitch, but we do apply a principle of absolute caution and as soon as there is the slightest concern, we come back, we fix it and the plane takes off again. It was a problem with the in-flight computer but it did not at all affect air speed,” he added.

This is the second time A380 has to return mid-flight. A Singapore Airlines aircraft had to return to Paris on September 27 because one of its four engines failed.

Air France is the first European airline that owns Airbus’s biggest plane, the A380 superjumbo which can carry 525 people in the standard three-class layout . Other airline companies that own this model are Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qantas airlines.

Air France is set to launch another flight serviced by the A380, between Johannesburg and Tokyo in the next months.

“This is an important step on the road to completely sustainable aviation,” said KLM President & CEO Peter Hartman. “KLM has joined forces with its partners to vigorously stimulate the further development of alternative fuels. In so doing, we need to rely on the input and support of all the relevant parties: the business community, government and society at large.’’

The biofuel that will power the plane will be made entirely out of camelina. Studies have shown that camelina-based fuel reduces carbon emissions by up to 84% when compared to the standard petroleum-based fuels.

KLM along with Air France has been the driving force for innovation in eco-friendly flying. The Dutch side of Worldwide Fund for Nature has voted KLM as its Business Partner of the year for 2009, while KLM-Air France was given the top spot in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which tracks the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide.

Here’s a video from the inaugurational flight, as shot by our twitter friend, @klmfan:

”Passengers will be able to check one bag, weighing up to 50 pounds (23 kilos), free of charge. If passengers would like to check a second bag … they may do so for a fee of $US50 ($53.79) for all flights departing from the US or E50 ($80.87) for all flights departing from Europe,” Air France said.

Charges will not apply to passengers who are Flying Blue Platinum, Gold and Silver members, SkyTeam Elite and Elite Plus Frequent Flyer members.

Air France said this measure comes after a similar move by Delta, American Airlines and British Airways. They also said only 14% of passengers on Economy Class check in a second bag. These airlines charge US$50 for a second bag on most flights, while US Airways charge US$55. Virgin will also introduce new rules for second checked-in luggage.

The fee will be implemented starting November 1th and will also be applied to flights from the US to Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.

Photo Courtesy of Air France

Starting November 23rd, the A380 “superjombo” will make to daily transatlantic flights, except on Wednesdays:

• flight AF006 will depart Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 1:30 PM, arriving at JFK at 3:45 PM,
• flight AF007 will depart JFK at 7:10 PM, arriving at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 8:45 AM the next day.

On board, there will be three cabin classes and a total of 538 passengers: 80 seats in Business, 106 seats in Voyageur (Economy) on the upper deck and 9 seats in Premiere (First) and 343 Voyageur (Economy) seats on the main deck. This enormous plane will replace Boeing 747, as the world biggest jumbo, with a total weight of 361 tons. Air France’s inaugural flight was postponed more than two years, due to the complex details of production.

Air France will also use the A380 to operate flights for the Paris – Dubai, Paris – Johannesburg and Paris – Tokyo routes. The company has ordered 12 planes, which will go into service this winter and in the spring of 2010. But Air France is not the first company to use the jumbo. A380′s first commercial flight was Singapore – Sydney, in October 2007, after a similar Internet auction. The price of the tickets ranged from £271 to £50,000! The most expensive ticket was bought by a 38-years-old Briton established in Sydney, who took the 1A seat in the First Class.

Economy Class seats

All the profits will be donated to the Air France “Street Childern” Foundation, for a worthy cause. It’s a historical moment both for the aviation and for the transatlantic transport, something we’re looking forward to.

The news was not well received by the company’s investors – its shares dropped a staggering 18% to a record low. Mr. Nishimatsu said after meeting Transport Minister Seiji Maehara that they plan to apply for public funds under the industrial revitalisation law. This means that companies need approval from the government to restructure and can apply for loans at banks backed by the Government.

“Ultimately, we think that the use of more funds will reduce our debts to the public,” Mr Nishimatsu said.

JAL president also said that they hope to strike a deal with an international carrier by the middle of October. Bail-out might not be JAL’s only option as several US and European carriers such as Air France-KLM, Delta Airlines and American Airlines are interested in taking a part of the company in order to expand into Asia.

Japan Airlines is not the only company hit by the global downturn; a few weeks ago, the Slovakian low-cost company, SkyEurope announced bankruptcy and left hundreds of passengers stranded. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts losses of up to $11bn for 2009 across the airline industry. For the Asia-Pacific region, the estimates losses of $3.6bn for 2009. (via BBC)