BA boss Willie Walsh has taken the blame for the T5 fiasco, which has cost the airline £16m, led to the cancellation of 431 flights and 28,000 suitcases going walkabout. Staff at the new terminal believe the responsbility lies with Heathrow owner BAA. But Walsh’s gallant refusal to to point the finger at BAA has won him lots of support with ground staff. BA’s 3,000 pilots however argue that the T5 debacle is symptomatic of the management failings. Read full story here

Budget airline Flybe advertised for actors to fly between Norwich and Dublin to boost passenger numbers and avoid a £280,000 commercial penalty it faced if it didn’t carry 15,000 passengers on the route by today (it was 172 passengers short). The airline laid on extra flights, offered 200 free return tickets, placed an advertisement on an actors’ website for “extras” and warned staff to prepare to fly to Ireland. A Flybe spokesman said the company regretted the “unusual” move but the “ridiculous, intransigent and downright greedy attitude” of Norwich Airport had left it with no option. The airport criticised Flybe for pointlessly damaging the environment. Read original article

You’ll find no jokes here about BA selecting their first female pilot to fly the first plane to land at Heathrow’s new Terminal 5. Capt Lynn Barton, 51, became BA’s first woman pilot in 1987 - there are now 175 female pilots. She will be the flight commander on BA026 from Hong Kong, landing at 0450 GMT on Thursday. Here’s an exclusive picture of her driving to work. Read original article

BA, Virgin and First Choice Airways have ordered 97 Boeing Dreamliner jets between them, making the plane a critical component of the UK industry’s new environmentally friendly fleet. Shame then that delivery of the jets will be delayed by over a year as the American maker has to redesign parts. A six month delay was already in place. Virgin’s order alone was worth £1.4bn. Compensation talks are underway…Meanwhile the Civil Aviation Authority has refused to back down over plans to hike landing charges at Gatwick and Heathrow. Read original article

Difficult to wear your green trousers when you also don a pilot’s hat. That’s what Branson is wrestling with. First last month’s coconut-oil jet was seen as a giant publicity stunt, and now Virgin is making a noise about hydrogen fuel cell-driven limos picking up VIPs from business class flights. Business seats are worth 8.3 tonnes of CO2 (compared with 2.8 tonnes in cattle class) so a hydrogen-powered limo must really ease the conscience! Read original article