SAS launches services between Stavanger and Houston

SAS is launching services between Stavanger and Houston on August 20. This fulfils the wishes of leading players in the oil industry for better connections between Norway, and the rest of Scandinavia, and Houston, Texas. 

"The route we have established is a tailored product for a defined market with particular travel needs," says Rickard Gustafson, President and CEO of SAS. 

The route will be operated by a business version of the Boeing 737-700 and will have an SAS Long Haul Business Class concept on board, with just 44 comfortable business seats, along with a modern inflight entertainment system and full-service meals and service.

British Airways pilot killed in Essex aircraft crash

The man in charge of a light aircraft that crashed in Essex was an experienced British Airways pilot, it has emerged. Andrew Sully and 29-year-old Simon Chamberlain died in Saturday afternoon's crash near Chelmsford.

British Airways confirmed Mr Sully, from Writtle, near Chelmsford, was "a highly-respected and popular member" of its "pilot team". The YAK 52 plane they crashed in has been taken away for investigation. Mark Reynolds saw the accident and described how the cockpit had "bent underneath" the plane.

Mr Reynolds, a chef at a pub opposite the crash site, said he was standing outside on a break with a colleague when they saw the plane overhead. 

"While standing out the back of the building we saw a plane overhead doing what seemed to be, at first sight, aerobatics," he said.

British Airways bullish on Indian market

British Airways today said India has become the second largest market for the airliner and witnessed 10 per cent growth in terms of seats last year, a senior official of British Airways said today. 

"India is one of the fastest growing markets for British Airways. It is only second to North America. We would like to improve our share as we expand. We grow around 10 per cent in terms of seats in this market. This is one of the biggest growth areas in our global net work," Christopher Fordyce, Regional Commercial Manager, South Asia told reporters here. 

Replying to query he said British Airways has recently increased the number of flights to 48 per week operating daily flights to Hyderabad and Bangalore apart from two flights a day to Mumbai and Delhi and six flights to Chennai.

Lufthansa cancels 3,800 flights in advance of three-day pilot strike

Lufthansa has canceled 3,800 flights for April 2-4 in advance of a pilot strike called by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union, affecting 425,000 passengers. The strike affects Lufthansa and low-cost carrier Germanwings flights. Lufthansa will operate only about 500 short- and long-haul flights.

Lufthansa Cargo said 23 of 31 planned cargo flights from Frankfurt have been canceled. Most of the remaining domestic and European flights will be flown by subsidiaries Eurowings and Lufthansa CityLine, whose pilots are not participating in the walkout. Lufthansa’s other subsidiaries—Swiss International Air Lines, Austrian Airlines, Air Dolomiti and Brussels Airlines—will use larger aircraft on routes to and from Germany to bring as many rebooked Lufthansa passengers as possible to their destinations.

Finnair welcomes TAM Airlines and US Airways to oneworld

TAM Airlines and US Airways today completed their transition to oneworld, marking the biggest single-day expansion of the world’s leading quality airline alliance since its launch 15 years ago.

From today, the 140 million members of the established oneworld airlines’ frequent flyer programs can earn and redeem awards and tier status points and receive all other oneworld benefits when flying on TAM and US Airways. To celebrate the additions to oneworld, Finnair Plus members will receive double the normal mileage awards when flying on TAM during May, and double the regular mileage awards when flying on US Airways between April 1 and June 30.

TAM and US Airways significantly expand the alliance on many key measures:

Asiana Airlines says pilot flying too slow before crash

Asiana Airlines acknowledged for the first time that the "probable cause" of the fatal crash in San Francisco last July was its pilot flying too slow, according to documents federal investigators released today.

However, the airline also said "inconsistencies" in the Boeing 777-200ER's autothrottle contributed to the crash. The airline's positions submitted earlier this month were part of hundreds of pages of documents the National Transportation Safety Board will consider while investigating the crash that killed three passengers and injured more than 200.

Asiana said the plane's navigation equipment "led the crew to believe that the autothrottle was maintaining the airspeed set by the crew" and instead the equipment "disabled the aircraft's minimum airspeed protection." The airline also said test pilots had trouble landing under the same conditions in simulators.

Easyjet pledges 2,500 jobs at London Luton Airport if expansion approved

Easyjet has said it will create 2,500 jobs and more than double its presence at London Luton Airport if expansion plans are approved by the government.

The firm wants to increase passengers from four million to nine million a year and add more destinations.

But chief executive Carolyn McCall said the plans were in-part reliant on improvements at the airport being made.

A campaign group said it wanted evidence Easyjet would commit to quiet engines and avoid night flights.

At the end of last year Luton Borough Council approved increasing airport passengers from 10 million to 18 million a year, but the decision is currently being reviewed by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles.

Southwest Airlines to start Mexico service in August

Southwest Airlines Co., which announced its first international destinations in late January, said Monday that it will begin service to Mexico in August.

Southwest will take over the international service from subsidiary AirTran Airways Inc. on Aug. 10.

Southwest will begin flights to Cancun from Atlanta, Baltimore and Milwaukee, and to Cabo San Lucas from Orange County, Calif. In October, it will add flights to the two Mexican cities from Denver.

The Dallas-based carrier extended its schedule from Aug. 9 to Oct. 31. However, as Southwest scheduler Bill Owen took note in the airline’s “Nuts About Southwest” blog, the new schedule left unanswered some big questions.

Qantas opens expanded Broome Regional Lounge

Qantas has opened its new Regional Lounge at Broome Airport in response to what it says is growing demand for premium air travel to and from the region.

The airline says the new expanded lounge offers improved facilities for passengers. “With thousands of Qantas passengers moving through the terminal each week, we have seen first-hand the significant growth in leisure and regional business travel to Broome,” Qantas Domestic CEO Lyell Strambi said in a statement. “The extension of the Lounge will help cater for the increased traffic and give passengers more room to relax and work prior to their flight.”

The airline offers 20 flights per week to and from Broome on its mainline and QantasLink branded aircraft.

Ryanair teams with Paypal to transform sales

INTERNATIONAL transaction giant PayPal is collaborating with Michael O'Leary's Ryanair to make buying flight tickets a matter of a few taps on your mobile – in a move that could completely transform air travel.

It's the second collaboration with a technology giant for the €10bn-valued airline, which is already working with Google on a radical flight-buying system. Ryanair is working to massively boost its sales as it awaits the arrival of 175 new jets.

The low-cost airline is completely overhauling its spiky image and customer service, as well as introducing new initiatives to make air travel easier and less stressful. These include a new website, business and family-friendly flights, new major airport routes and allocated seating.

Emirates Airline launches A380 service to London Gatwick

Emirates was the first carrier to operate an all-A380 service out of Heathrow and is now the first to lead the service out of Gatwick – the same airport from which Emirates flew its inaugural UK flight 26 years ago.

Speaking about the launch, Hubert Frach, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President Commercial Operations West said: “Six years after launch the Emirates A380 is still a customer magnet. Airports the world over are eager to have the Emirates A380 on their roster and today’s launch to London Gatwick is representative of that demand.”

London Gatwick has invested $10.6 million in new facilities in becoming A380-compliant, including the widening of three runway rapid exit taxiways and modifications to taxiways between the runway and the stand.

Delta-Virgin takes up battle for New York-London fliers

Delta Air Lines has been making inroads in the dogfight over the lucrative market for business travel between New York and London, but the newly merged American Airlines Group is fighting back.

Delta is hoping to attract customers through its new partnership with Virgin Atlantic, known for its high-tech and non-traditional approach to flying, and its own boosted profile in New York, where it expanded flights and renovated terminals.

Now under new management, American is trying to bounce back from years of under-investment and market share losses, drawing from its recent merger with U.S. Airways.

The New York-London route is popular with Wall Street executives who are willing to pay for the priciest seats and who often travel at the last minute. Eager for their business, airlines are using their best planes on the route and investing in upgrades such as satellite WiFi and seats that turn into flat beds.

Why a Boeing 777 costs $320 million

The Malaysian Airlines plane that has disappeared on a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing is a 777-200ER from Boeing (BA). The 777 family of planes itself is Boeing's best selling dual-aisle, two-engine plane. Through the end of February Boeing has delivered a total of 422 of the 777-200ERs including 15 to Malaysian Airlines. Of 370 planes on order from the 777 family, none is a 777-200ER.

13 tips for finding low airfares in 2014

No question about it, airfares on some routes are higher than they were four or five years ago, although Airfarewatchdog airfare searchers frequently find hundreds of fares crisscrossing the country for $250 or less round-trip. And even though fares seem higher, let’s not forget that, adjusted for inflation, most fares are actually lower than they were 10 or 20 years ago. That said, here is Airfarewatchdog.com’s best advice for making your airfare dollars go further.

1. There’s no “magic” day or lead time to buy the best airfare.

A lot of airfare experts think they’re clairvoyant, so they know where airfares are headed or how far in advance you should start looking for a fare. The latest myth is to buy exactly 54 days in advance. Others say buy on Tuesday at 3 p.m. or Wednesday at midnight or when the moon is full. But airlines are unpredictable, and anyone who claims he or she knows that airfares will be lower or higher in the coming months or the coming days should trade in their crystal ball. No one can accurately predict where airfares are heading, any more than we can predict the stock market.

JetBlue to start Airbus A321 “Mint” service from New York (JFK) to San Francisco on October 26

JetBlue Airways (New York-JFK) will launch nonstop two-class Airbus A321 “Mint” service between the New York (JFK) hub and San Francisco on October 26 according to Airline Route.

According to the airline, “Mint will offer an unparalleled in-flight experience: the longest lie-flat beds in domestic business class (a) and four private suites among the 16 Mint seats. 

Qatar Airways to serve Edinburgh wiith 787 Dreamliner

Qatar Airways has announced plans to launch the first service to Scotland using a new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

CEO Akbar Al Baker said the new scheduled service from Edinburgh to Doha will launch on May 28, making it the first direct route from the capital city to the Middle East.

He said the new addition is set to significantly reduce journey times for those travelling from Edinburgh to destinations around the world.

Adria orders two CRJ900 jets

Adria Airways yesterday signed a firm purchase agreement for two Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen aircraft. Based on the list price, the order is valued at approximately $92 million dollars. “Our Bombardier CRJ900 regional jets have proven to be most efficient and economical assets to increase capacity and replace larger aircraft where passenger loads are insufficient”, Adria’s CEO, Mark Anžur, said. “With its demonstrated reliability and low fuel consumption, the CRJ900 NextGen regional jet offers an unmatched mix of cost

Bombardier didn't report Canada jet-fuel spill; cleanup continues

Bombardier Inc said on Thursday it had spilled 10,000 liters (2,642 gallons) of kerosene in February at its Mirabel plant outside of Montreal in Quebec, but failed to report the accident with environment officials immediately. 

United Airlines to Launch San Francisco-Taipei, Boost Houston-Tokyo Service this Weekend

United Airlines is expanding its extensive trans-Pacific network this weekend, connecting its San Francisco hub with Taipei, Taiwan, beginning Saturday, and launching a second daily flight between Houston and Tokyo on Sunday.

United will host inaugural gate events in both San Francisco and Houston, marking the importance of these flights to tourism and economic development.

United will operate both services with Boeing 777-200 aircraft. The aircraft flying San Francisco-Taipei will offer 269 seats – eight in United Global First, 40 in United BusinessFirst and 221 in United Economy, including 113 extra-legroom United Economy Plus seats.

The aircraft flying Houston-Tokyo will offer 267 seats – 50 in United BusinessFirst and 217 in United Economy, including 72 United Economy Plus seats.

In United Global First and United BusinessFirst, United offers customers seats that recline into fully flat beds, personal on-demand entertainment, in-seat power and USB ports, enabling travelers to rest or to be productive in-flight. Customers in United Economy also enjoy personal, on-demand entertainment at every seat and in-seat power.

United is the only U.S. airline to offer the comfort of flat-bed seats in its premium cabins on every long-haul, international flight from the continental United States. The airline also offers more extra-legroom economy seating than any U.S. airline.

These Taipei and Tokyo additions come as United plans to introduce three-times-weekly Boeing 787 service June 9 betweenSan Francisco and Chengdu, China, pending government approval. This nonstop service would be the first by a U.S. airline from the United States to mainland China, beyond Beijing and Shanghai. The company also plans to offer, subject to government approval, nonstop Boeing 787 service between Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia, six times weekly beginningOct. 26.

Easyjet signs seven-year deal with London's Gatwick Airport

Budget airline easyJet has signed a new deal with London's Gatwick Airport, underpinning its intention to grow at Britain's second busiest airport.

The company said on Thursday that the deal would give it certainty over user charges at Gatwick for the next seven years and help it move to operate from one terminal at the airport.

The first Asiana Airlines Airbus A380 is rolled out of the paint shop

The first Airbus A380 for Asiana Airlines (Seoul) was rolled out of the Airbus paint shop in Hamburg, marking the completion of its painting. The aircraft will then have completion of its cabin and enter a final phase of ground and flight tests in Hamburg, during which all cabin systems will be thoroughly tested, including air flow and air conditioning, lighting, galleys,

Britain’s largest airport solar installation completed at London Southend

Reading-based Photon Energy has completed the largest installation of solar panels in the UK at London Southend Airport, as part of a £10m terminal expansion by Kier Construction.

The airport, which recently crossed the one million passenger mark, said the 496 solar panels will provide clean solar electricity through the airport's private electricity network to the terminal's expanded range of shops, cafes and restaurants.

Thomas Cook flight chaos fear for summer holidays as staff consider strike action over job losses

Thomas Cook holiday flights could be hit by industrial action this summer in a mounting row with cabin crew.

The travel giant is proposing to reduce the number of stewards and stewardesses on its planes to the bare minimum allowed under EU rules.

Crew are furious, claiming the change will push already stressed out staff “past breaking point”.

airBaltic to enter summer season with an improved schedule

For the summer season starting on March 30, Latvian national airline airBaltic has improved its flight schedule and introduced six new destinations. 

airBaltic has discontinued a number of routes with a weaker demand therefore making aircraft capacity available for the new routes, among them to popular cities on the Mediterranean and Black Sea coast.

Norwegian Air: we are not courting Air Berlin

Norwegian Air Shuttle, Europe's third-largest budget airline, is not in talks to buy Air Berlin, the company told Reuters on Friday, denying a report in business daily Finansavisen that it was. 

"Under normal circumstances we would not comment on such rumors and speculations in the market. But on this occasion I can deny that Norwegian Air is a potential buyer," Norwegian Air spokeswoman Anne-Sissel Skaanvik said in an interview.

Vueling to launch Rome - Zagreb service

Spanish low cost airline Vueling will launch seasonal flights from Rome Fiumicino Airport to Zagreb this summer season. Services will be inaugurated on Thursday, June 29, and will operate twice per week until September 14. As a result, Vueling will be the first airline to tap into the much discussed and underserved Rome - Zagreb market which currently has no direct flights. Etihad Regional’s earlier decision to drop the planned route will give Vueling an extra boost as it faces no direct

Los Angeles airport baggage thefts probed by police

A $15,000 camera, Gucci bags, name-brand clothing, electronics and jewelry are among the thousands of dollars in valuables stolen by baggage handlers at Los Angeles International Airport, police said Thursday. Police served more than two dozen search warrants and made six arrests Wednesday night after a months-long

Etihad Airways seeks finance for fleet expansion

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has hosted the latest edition of its highly successful financial roadshows in New York and London, attracting a record number of guests.

Led by James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ president, and supported by James Rigney, chief financial officer, and Ricky Thirion, group treasurer, the roadshows welcomed more than

United Airlines installs 500 airport charging stations

United Airlines this month began installing nearly 500 electronics charging stations in customer-seating areas at many U.S. airports, beginning with its hometown airport Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the airline said Thursday.

O’Hare will be outfitted with more than 110 of the new charging stations in concourses B and C, the airline said. Each new charging station offers access to six, 110-volt power outlets and two USB ports.

BREAKING: World Airways Immediately Shutting Down

Following on the heels of competitor Evergreen International Airlines, World Airways CEO John Graber announced earlier today that World will cease operations immediately, and remaining operating businesses including North American Airlines will see significant reductions. In an email to staff, Graber said “the decisions were made by each Company Board of Directors based upon the events of this week.”

The final nail in World’s coffin, according to Graber, was the inability to secure further funding from Cerberus, World’s first lien lender. 

Qantas falls from 14th to 17th place in Brand Australia rankings

While Qantas still remains Australia’s most valuable airline, its rankings are beginning to slip, according to the annual study from Brand Finance.

Australia’s most valuable brand is Woolworths, with a value of more than $12 billion, whereas the other supermarket giant, Coles, slips into fourth place with a value of $7.097 billion. Telstra is Australia’s second most valuable brand, with its value up 59% to $9.3 billion. In third place is BHP Billiton, with a value of $7.377 billion.

ANA Chooses Boeing In 777 Replacement Contest

All Nippon Airways has opted for Boeing’s 777-9X to replace most of the international component of its large 777 fleet. The carrier’s decision has been closely watched, as it has previously said that it would choose between the 777X and the Airbus A350. This was regarded as a key contract for Boeing to win, following rival Japanese carrier Japan Airlines’ decision last year to order Airbus A350s for its own 777 replacement needs.  

MH370: Thai satellite sees 300 floating objects

Thailand’s earth observing satellite recorded 300 floating objects which are potential fragments of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 within the southern search zone SW of Perth on Monday.

The objects were imaged the day after an Airbus Defence satellite passed over this general area of the southern Indian Ocean, finding 122 objects varying between 1-23 metres.

Air Canada Expanding Lower-cost Rouge Service to Vancouver, Calgary

Air Canada is accelerating its efforts to cut costs by replacing its regular service on some U.S. routes from Vancouver and Calgary with its lower cost subsidiary Rouge starting this spring. The airline is using Rouge to lower its costs by filling planes with more passengers and paying workers less than on the main network.

Air Canada said Tuesday that Rouge will begin daily flights at the end of April from Calgary and Vancouver to Las Vegas.

Emirates Airline: Phone calls don’t cause problems on our airplanes

Today’s your last chance to comment on allowing phone calls on airplanes, and we have one airline saying its customers like the ability to place a call while in flight.

Emirates Airline filed comments saying that it began allowing in-flight calls in March 2008. To date, passengers have placed more than a million voice calls and sent more than 16 million text messages.

IATA: Charting a Successful Future For Latin America

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged governments in Latin America and the Caribbean region (Latin America) to take full advantage of the connectivity provided by aviation in order to chart a more successful future for the region.

“Latin America is ripe with possibilities. It has a dynamic airline industry that has embraced cross-border consolidation to boost efficiency and competitiveness and deliver more value to customers. And it has a geography that is particularly reliant on air transport,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO in the opening address of the Wings of Change conference in Santiago, Chile.

Japan Airlines Selects Panasonic Avionics Connectivity Service For Widebody Aircraft

Japan Airlines (JAL) has selected Panasonic Avionics (Panasonic) for a major expansion of in-flight Wi-Fi for its international fleet which includes Boeing 787s, Boeing 777-200ERs and Boeing 767-300ERs. The commitment comes after a successful introduction of Panasonic’s broadband Wi-Fi service on 13 of Japan Airlines’ 777s that have been flying international routes since July 2012. The carrier has become one of the first airlines to offer internet access, email services, and more on flights between Japan and Europe and across the Pacific to North America.

Lufthansa cancels 600 flights on Thursday due to strike

Lufthansa, Germany's largest airline, said it had cancelled around 600 flights - about a third of its services - on Thursday due to a planned strike by public-sector workers across the country's airports.

Trade union Verdi has called on ground staff, baggage handlers and maintenance staff at almost all of Germany's big airports, including Europe's third largest hub at Frankfurt, to strike during the morning shift on Thursday, which runs until around 1300 GMT.

Finnair’s cabin crews to wear kimonos on flights to Japan until April 16

Finnair (Helsinki) between today (March 26) and April 16 will feature specially tailored kimonos created for the cabin crew by Marimekko on Japanese flights in celebration of the Japanese Sakura (Hanami), the Cherry Blossom viewing. During this three week period three kimonos will be worn per flight during boarding and inflight sales. The kimonos

Iberia will offer daily flights between Madrid and Panama City starting in July

Iberia is increasing its flight frequency between Madrid and Panama to offer a daily flight. From June onwards, it will add a weekly flight to the five it operates at present, and by July it will offer daily flights.

In this way, Iberia significantly improves its product, as it will offer a daily connection between the many destinations it serves in Europe, including France, Germany, Italy

Qatar’s new Saudi airline to take off ‘in November’ despite Gulf tensions

A Qatar Airways offshoot carrier serving Saudi Arabia is set to launch in November, the kingdom’s aviation authority said, following fears that take-off could be blocked due to tensions between the two Gulf states.

State-owned Qatar Airways said in January it plans to launch a domestic airline in Saudi Arabia by the third quarter of this year. The carrier’s Al Maha Airways intends to fly between Saudi cities such as Riyadh and Jeddah, competing with Saudi Arabian Airlines and National Air Services.

EasyJet expects Gatwick business travel lift with five new routes

EasyJet expects passengers using its flights from Gatwick to rise by 5% this year with the addition of five new routes targeting business travellers. Year-round services from Gatwick to Brussels, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Jersey, Newcastle and Strasbourg take off on March 30 following the purchase of take-off and landing slots from Flybe.

Japan Airlines, British Airways and Finnair begin joint business on flights between Europe and Japan

Japan Airlines and fellow oneworld® alliance members British Airways and Finnair will start their planned joint business between Europe and Japan starting on April 1, 2014.

The joint business means that the three airlines will share revenue and cooperate on scheduling and pricing between Japan and Europe, providing customers with more flexible routing options and an attractive range of fares.

SAS launches advance seat reservation on short haul flights

SAS now offers all its customers with SAS Go tickets to European destinations the opportunity to choose their seat when they book their flight. SAS is focusing on making life easier for travelers, and as one of several new products and services now being launched, you can now pre-reserve your seat on routes between Scandinavia and Europe. 

This option has previously only been available on long haul routes, but is

Qantas cuts 5000 jobs, posts $252 million first half loss

No stranger to toughing it out, Qantas boss Alan Joyce has declared he has the full support of the board after announcing the airline's worst result in nearly two decades.

However, Mr Joyce received a fresh blow mid-afternoon, when Prime Minister Tony Abbott played down the prospect of Qantas being handed a debt guarantee, despite the airline hours earlier announcing the $252 million half-year underlying loss and plans to cut 5000 jobs and close routes.

Southwest Airlines CEO calls on FAA to speed up 'next-gen' navigation

The Federal Aviation Administration needs to accelerate the use of modern, satellite-based air traffic control systems that could make aircraft travel more efficient and safe, and which Southwest Airlines now uses at Denver International Airport, said Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest, the No. 2 carrier at DIA.

"Today, the majority of U.S. traffic is managed through 1950s technology, resulting in longer flights, less efficient use

NTSB reminds pilots not to land at the wrong airport

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a safety alert Wednesday about landing at the wrong airport, the gist of which was that pilots should be careful not to land at the wrong airport.

You can blame Southwest Airlines and Atlas Air for this one.

“All of us have experienced a loss of situational awareness at some time, but the consequences for pilots mistaking a nearby

Ryanair Seeks More Love, Less Hate From Customers

Too often for customers, it's been the Ryanair Ordeal. Now Europe's no-frills airline leader, renowned for forsaking service in favor of the cheapest fares, is hoping to improve its love-hate relationship with customers by offering them fewer tears in exchange for their trip.

On Wednesday in London the airline's famously rude chief, Michael O'Leary, plans to unveil a company initiative billed as "The Ryanair Experience."

Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Celebrate New Transatlantic Partnership

On Tuesday, March 25 representatives from Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic will visit the New York Stock Exchange and ring The Closing Bell® to highlight their new transatlantic partnership. By coming together, the two airlines will provide more flight choices for travelers on routes between North America and the U.K., in particular improving the travel options for business customers in the New York to London market, the most important business market in the world.

Passenger's family sues airline, Boeing

Malaysian Airlines and Boeing Co are facing a potential lawsuit over the Beijing-bound flight that disappeared more than two weeks ago with 239 people on board, according to a law firm representing passengers' families.

A petition for discovery has been filed against Boeing Co , manufacturer of the aircraft, and Malaysian Airlines , operator of the plane, Chicago-based Ribbeck Law said in a statement on Tuesday.

The petition for discovery, filed in a Cook County, Illinois Circuit Court, is meant to secure evidence of possible design and manufacturing defects that may have contributed to the disaster, the law firm said.