Delta, currently the world’s second biggest airline, posted an overall profit of $363m for its third quarter numbers. In comparison, the carrier lost $161m during the same time last year.

US Airways enjoyed a personal company record for total profits, posting $240m in net revenue for the quarter. Likewise, AMR, parent company to American Airlines, enjoyed its first profit since 2007. The firm posted a net profit of $143m as opposed to last year’s $359m loss.

AMR boss, Gerard Arpey said that the airline still had a long way to go, but that the significant improvement reflected the firm’s continued commitment to controlling expenses.

All three results surpassed analysts’ predictions. All three airlines saw shares increase in New York trading as well. AMR shares closed ahead 12.5 per cent, Delta jumped by 10.8 per cent and US Airways rose 7.4 per cent.

According to Matthew Jacob, a Majestic Research analyst, the air travel industry has continued to show its resilience as business travel picks back up after the recession. He added that most major airlines had done well at improving margins by streamlining their costs.

Both men, Russel Defreitas and Abdul Kadir were charged with planning to blow up oil tankers on the airport grounds as was revealed in 2007 by Mr Kadir’s detailed plans using his previously learned engineering skills. According to prosecutors, the two men had planned to catalyse a huge explosion by using the fuel depot as an ignition source, which are linked to underground pipelines.

Formerly a member of Guyana’s parliament, Mr Kadir was prosecuted and found guilty for financing the plot, while Mr Defreitas was a co-conspirator having formerly worked as a cargo handler at the airport. According to the defence, however, the two men were manipulated by a police informant.

Mildred Whalen, Mr Defreitas’ defence attorney, argued that the evidence made it clear that the terrorist act would never have been committed by the two men alone and that neither partner had acted on his own. She added that the outcome of the verdict was deeply disappointing.

However, the prosecution argued that the alleged conspirators had taken concrete steps to implement the plans and make them a reality. According to assistant US Attorney Zainab Ahmad during his closing arguments, it was evident that a massive explosion was being planned.

Prosecutors evidenced video shot by Mr Defreitas depicting the airport, airport security and known escape routes. They also alleged that Mr Kadir had stressed the economic devastation of the attack on the city. Also brought into evidence by the prosecution were intercepted conversations by Mr Kadir, an engineer by profession. In the conversations Mr Kadir can be heard detailing the workings of the explosions and the effect.

According to company president, Tim Clark, who revealed the ambitious plans on Thursday, the carrier hopes to reveal its newest plane orders during the July Farnborough Airshow. However, at this time, Mr Clark would give no further comment on the pending product order.

He did say, however, that even the orders revealed in Farnborough would not be the end of Emirates fleet extension, adding that the airline was looking to expand its network quickly. Mr Clark gave these statements while at the airport in Prague during a firm media event. He also added that Emirates would be needing to replace at least 68 aging planes during the next few years.

In June, Emirates announced record orders for 32 A380 superjumbo jets in a USD$11 billion order placement with Airbus. The airlines current orders with Airbus is now at 90 aircraft. Quickly becoming the Arab world’s largest airline with a steadily growing fleet, the carrier posted May earnings of AED3.5 billion dirhams (USD$953 million), a five time increase on its previous year’s profits.

According to Mr Clark, the airline is doing significantly better than a year ago. He also added that the carrier was confident it would be finishing out the year ahead of its scheduled budget. As other airlines continue to battle the waning economy, Emirates has managed to weather the economic downturn with a staggering increase in revenue.

Both global carriers recently introduced seatbelt-mounted airbags in economy-class seating in preparation for the anticipated crack-down on airline safety standards. Since October, the US has begun requiring all aircraft built there be outfitted with specific equipment that will aid passengers in retaining their consciousness upon impacts with a deceleration of 16 times that of gravity force.

The idea is that passengers will have a better chance of escaping any subsequent fires, if they are able to remain conscious in the immediate wake of a crash. Europe will be issuing the same regulations at the end of next year, said Jeremie Teahan of the European Aviation Safety Agency.

Many standard aircraft seats already comply with the 16g rule without requiring additional airbags. However, AmSafe Inc, the airbag manufacturer, predicts the device will be standard procedure by 2020. At present, installing the specialised seatbelts with airbags costs $1,200 per seat, as opposed to the $25 it costs for a regular safety belt. Yet, as awareness of airplane safety issues continues to rise, AmSafe Inc believes the airbags will become a valued commodity. Currently, about two per cent of aircraft have the equipment.

Tony Tyler, chief executive officer at Cathay Pacific said that the issue with economy seats is their rigid shells making a head-on impact more difficult. He added that this required airbags to resolve the 16g issue. As it is, 80 per cent of plane crashes can be survived. Yet, a recent study by the UK Civil Aviation Authority did conclude that a further 62 fatalities could have been prevented with better seating restraints and stronger seats.

The airline, which is headquartered in Slovakia, was founded in 2001 and mainly serviced flights around continental Europe. The downfall on Tuesday and the sudden suspension of all flights left thousands of passengers on the budget airline stranded without flights on Monday and Tuesday.

After filing for bankruptcy the company abruptly shut down all flights, and told ticketholders that they would have to purchase return flights from other airlines at their own expense. The company offered FlyNiki and Austrian Airlines, also low cost budget carriers as alternative flights on their website.

In June the company sought creditor protection for a three month period out of Slovakia, and was attempting to avoid bankruptcy by reworking their debt. However when these attempts failed, SkyEurope was forced to declare bankruptcy and halt all further flights scheduled. 

Twelve scheduled flights for the company were cancelled Monday in Bratislava stranding 1,200 passengers at the airport. Then, on Tuesday, and additional 21 outgoing flights were cancelled stranding even more passengers flying with the airline.