Australian budget airline Virgin Blue said on Thursday November passenger traffic rose by 8.6 percent on a year ago after slowing capacity growth and introducing a frequent-flyer program.

Boeing's commercial plane orders more than tripled to a record 1,002 for 2005, the US planemaker said on Thursday, signaling that it will probably reclaim the lead from European rival Airbus for the first time since 2001.

The pilots' union at Northwest Airlines says the carrier is "risking labor peace" if it voids their collective bargaining agreement before another consensual deal is in place, according to court documents.

Two US airlines are returning 42 regional jets to Canada's export lending agency, which guaranteed the sale of the 50 seat Bombardier aircraft, an agency spokesman said on Thursday.

Australia's air safety regulator proposed four years ago that skydiving planes should warn passengers they may not be as safe as other aircraft, but it did not proceed with the idea.

Bankrupt Northwest Airlines intends to create a new regional feeder airline that will fly 70- to 100-seat jets in medium-sized markets that Northwest says are key to its growth, according to a company newsletter published on Thursday.

Boeing has finally acknowledged increased interest in the proposed stretched 787-10 and says it will "probably happen".

Boeing is reassuring airlines over the use of composite material for the primary structure of the 787 following claims by Airbus that the new Boeing twinjet could be grounded "because of a scratch in the paint".

A computer problem with United's passenger processing system delayed about 150 of United's 3,700 flights worldwide Jan. 3, airline spokesman Jeff Green said.

CSA Czech Airlines announced that President and Chairman Jaroslav Tvrdik is resigning, subject to formal approval at extraordinary board meetings scheduled Jan. 18.