Aircraft Industry: Russia's Aeroflot eyes A380 - ZHUKOVSKY

The Russian national carrier Aeroflot is interested in the purchase of the Airbus A380, Airbus Vice President Chris Buckley said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters at the MAKS air show near Moscow, vice president Chris Buckley said the company had "started a communication with the airline."

Russia's RBC business daily said the carrier, already an A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner customer, was considering purchasing five A380s by 2015 to help update its fleet and reach a target of 70 million passengers a year by 2025.

For more: Russia's Aeroflot eyes A380 - Airbus | Business | RIA Novosti: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Times OnLine: Russia - Passengers stop flight after 'drunk' pilot sparks panic - by Tony Halpin

For the complete report from the Times Online click on this link

Russia- Passengers stop flight after 'drunk' pilot sparks panic - by Tony Halpin

"It is normally a moment of cheery reassurance when an airline pilot greets passengers during preparations for take-off. But Alexander Cheplevsky sparked panic on flight Aeroflot 315 when he began to speak. His slurred and garbled comments ahead of a flight from Moscow to New York convinced passengers that he was drunk. When he apparently switched from Russian into unintelligible English, fear turned to revolt. Flight attendants initially ignored passengers' complaints and threatened to expel them from the Boeing 767 jet unless they stopped "making trouble". As the rebellion spread, Aeroflot representatives boarded the aircraft to try to calm down the 300 passengers. One sought to reassure them by announcing that it was "not such a big deal" if the pilot was drunk because the aircraft practically flew itself."