HONG KONG, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific has been 'hit hard' by the global financial crisis with a significant drop in the number of first and business class travellers, senior managers said.

Cathay's chief executive Tony Tyler said that concern had shifted from the sky-high price of oil earlier in the year to weak passenger numbers.

KATHMANDU, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - Poor visibility caused the crash at a tiny airstrip in Nepal's Mount Everest region that killed 18 people, including 12 German tourists, officials said Thursday.

DUBAI, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - Dubai-based airline Emirates is to take delivery of its second A380 superjumbo this month, its president said on Thursday, adding that he hoped Airbus would stick to the new delivery timetable after earlier delays.

KATHMANDU, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - A small passenger plane crashed on landing Wednesday morning in Nepal's Everest region, killing 18 people believed to be mostly German tourists, Nepalese officials said.

The aircraft, flying from the capital Kathmandu to Lukla in eastern Nepal, burst into flames after crash-landing on the sloping airstrip, eyewitnesses reported.

MOSCOW, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Russian flag-carrier Aeroflot will have to reconsider a deal to buy new Airbus planes if global credit conditions worsen, its chief said in news agency reports Wednesday.

ATHENS, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Road, rail and air links across Greece were paralyzed Wednesday by a sweeping anti-privatisation strike that saw huge protests in Athens, traffic pile-ups and dozens of cancelled flights.

KATHMANDU, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - A passenger plane crashed on landing at a remote airfield in Nepal's Everest region on Wednesday, killing 18 people most of whom were German tourists, Nepalese officials said.

ATHENS, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Flights and rail links in Greece will be disrupted Wednesday by a 24-hour strike called by unions against an ongoing privatisation drive by the conservative government.

National carrier Olympic Airlines, which is itself a privatisation target, said it would cancel 50 domestic and foreign return flights, including 11 to European destinations.

SAO PAULO, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Brazil's biggest airline, TAM, said Tuesday it will soon be part of the Star Alliance after the grouping of carriers unanimously approved its membership.

TAM president David Barioni Neto said in a statement that the adhesion was 'a decisive step for TAM, which is being recognized as a world-class airline.'

WASHINGTON, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - The nine major US airlines are increasingly using outside contractors to perform maintenance work, making the Federal Aviation Authority's (FAA) oversight duties more difficult, a government report said this week.