The Australian Taxation Office has accused Virgin Blue executives of destroying documents relating to an elaborate taxation scheme after the airline became the target of an investigation.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, said Tuesday it has priced a public offering of $400 million in newly issued shares at $26.80 per share.

Airbus has chosen Russia as its initial partner in the eventual passenger-to-freighter conversion of its A320 family aircraft, announcing yesterday at the ILA Airshow in Berlin the execution of a preliminary cooperation agreement with EADS EFW, MiG and Irkut.Conversion activities for A320s and A321s will include design, kit production, conversion and maintenance and are scheduled to begin in Russia in 2011. This is the first announcement of any A320 passenger-to-freighter conversion program.

Rearden Commerce is to integrate FlightStats real-time data for airport, airline and flight status into its automated traveler notifications. (5/17/2006)

The US government's final rule on air cargo security was issued this week after three years of debate and revision, marking the first major change to the regulations since 1999."Working with the industry, we have set a solid foundation for a major segment of the transportation network," US Transportation Security Administration Assistant Secretary Kip Hawley said. "In addition, TSA is working with our partners on a series of separate operational measures that raise security in air cargo."

Galileo International has signed a seven-year, full content agreement with Delta Air Lines. (5/18/2006)

A US Bankruptcy Court judge sided with Mesaba Airlines pilots and flight attendants last week, denying management the right to cancel existing labor contracts.The carrier, which operates as a Northwest Airlink partner, wants a 19.4% reduction in labor costs over the next six years to ensure financial viability. In February it filed documents with the court seeking approval to cancel its labor contracts with pilots, flight attendants and mechanics and cut 1,600 jobs.

Offering a useful tool for smaller companies, Malev Hungarian Airlines has worked on its online B2B booking service. (5/11/2006)

Ryanair said it filed a complaint to the European Commission claiming Air France received some ?1 billion ($1.28 billion) in illegal state aid "over the past number of years."

Silverjet, which emerged as a new business class airline for the London-New York route last month, has reportedly raised ?5.3 million from an initial public offering of shares. (5/10/2006)