Wreckage Found Off Coast of Borneo May Be That of Missing Air Asia Flight 8501

Searchers combing the waters between Borneo and Sumatra may have found the wreckage of an Air Asia flight that disappeared off of radar screens abruptly early Sunday morning. Prior to losing contact with Air Traffic Control in Indonesia, Air Asia flight QZ8501 took off from Surabaya on the island of Java enroute to Singapore.

While over the Karimata Strait, the crew requested clearance to change altitude from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet to avoid storm clouds. Permission was denied by Indonesian controllers due to already heavy traffic in the area. Less than 45 minutes into its flight, the Airbus A320 disappeared from screens with 162 people on board and no distress signal sent.

Searchers began scouring the area of QZ88501's last known whereabouts with aircraft and sonar within hours of the flight's disappearance. After nearly 48 hours, searchers believed they had spotted debris from the air and bodies were being recovered from the sea by helicopter and warship. Horrified relatives waiting on news regarding their loved ones were reportedly shown images from Indonesian media of a helicopter crew retrieving a dead body floating from the sea.

By early Wednesday, Indonesian officials said that they had obtained what appeared to be sonar images of an airplane upside down on the sea floor. Meanwhile, Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes sent out a tweet that confirmed the debris spotted by Indonesian searchers was in fact the remnants of QZ8501.

My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501. On behalf of AirAsia my condolences ... http://t.co/OJGobL93cR

— Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) December 30, 2014

The A320 used by the Kuala Lumpur-based airline was reportedly purchased new from Airbus in 2008, According to the passenger manifest, all but 7 of QZ8501's passengers and crew were from Indonesia. Other nationalities on board included South Korea, Malaysia, the UK, Singapore and France.

Air Asia was started in 1993 and is widely considered to be southeast Asia's first viable budget airline.

Japanese Budget Airline Under Fire From Critics For Retro-Style Stewardess Uniforms

And now for some aviation news out of the Pacific Rim that doesn't involve a Malaysian Boeing 777-200 that's gone walkabout.

A Japanese labor union has lashed out at budget carrier Skymark for introducing a retro-style flight attendant's uniform that prominently features miniskirts.

The new uniform consists of a short, fitted Sixties’ style minidress in royal blue, accessorised with large yellow neck bows, small hats, sheer tights and heels.

Criticisms were led by the Japan Federation of Cabin Attendants, which issued a statement opposing the length of the new dresses and questioning the budget airline’s motivation behind such a move.

Highlighting its concern that the uniform could invite sexual harassment, it read: “We’re concerned that the design of this uniform may cause problems.

“The airline is saying the uniform is meant to attract more customers, but this shows the company is treating women like a commodity.”

Fears of passengers leering at cabin attendant’s legs or even taking pictures up their skirts with a mobile phone were among a string of concerns posted in comments onto the union’s website.

On a practical level, there were queries as to how the staff would be able to fulfill their duties, such as bending over, serving food and reaching above their heads while wearing such short skirts.

However, the airline countered that the uniforms were meant to promote the arrival of new Airbus 330s to the company's fleet and were primarily intended for promotional appearances more than in-flight service. A spokesman for Skymark said that the uniform would be voluntary [Having actually flown on an Asian flag carrier, I can tell you that the hiring preferences for stewardesses tends toward attractive, unmarried women under the age of 30].

While the uniforms are reminiscent of the golden age of jet travel, Skymark Airlines is pretty new itself. Founded in late 1996 after Japan de-regulated their domestic airline industry, Skymark began regular service in 1998 with a fleet of Boeing 767s and 737s. The larger, widebody 767s were retired by 2009 and initiated leases on seven Airbus A330s- the first of which arrived in January of this year. Currently Skymark competes with the domestic arms of JAL and All Nippon Airways as well as a number of commuter and regional airlines.

Turkey Forces Syrian Passenger Jet to Land, Claims Civilian Aircraft Was Carrying Military Equipment From Russia

Turkish authorities ordered a Syrian civilian airliner flying in Turkish airspace to land in Ankara this week. The Turks claimed they had recieved intelligence that the Damascus-bound airliner was carrying cargo that violated international sanctions against Bashr Al Assad regime. Not surprisingly, both Damascus and Moscow claim an entirely different series of events than what the Turks claim happened.

The civilian A320 plane, which was carrying 35 passengers, landed in Damascus early Thursday after Turkey allowed it to take off, but Turkish officials will continue to investigate the confiscated cargo, Mr. Erdogan added.

"These are equipment and ammunition sent to the Syrian Defense Ministry from the Russian [state-owned arms manufacturer]. At the moment, our authorities are continuing their investigation of these items and the further statements will be made as necessary," Mr. Erdogan said at a news conference in Ankara.

Asked to clarify precisely what the plane's cargo included, the prime minister's spokesman said that "it would be more accurate to refer to call it military equipment and not ammunition."

According to Syrian authorities, Turkish air-traffic control contacted the pilot at 5:20 local time and altered the GPS coordinates of the preset flight course. Turkish jets then appeared without warning to force the plane to land in Ankara, where the airliner sat for two hours before being searched.

Turkish authorities contested those charges, stressing that the Syrian plane was warned before it entered Turkish airspace that it would be forced to land, but the pilot opted not to change course.

Once grounded, the passengers' needs were catered for and that their safety was compromised are "baseless," the Turkish authorities said.

Although Turkish authorities declined to specify what exactly was among the cargo, a number of private and state-run media outlets throughout Turkey reported that the contraband included military-grade communications devices bound for al-Assad's army upon arrival in Damascus. Other sources had claimed the cargo possibly included missile components, but Russian officials denied any weapons or weapons components were on board.

Russia has provided Syria with arms since the Cold War, and until the mass uprisings against Bashr Al Assad's regime began in 2011 Turkey has enjoyed fairly cordial relations with both Syria and Russia. Since the uprisings began, Turkey has taken in a number of refugees from Syria and in recent weeks has traded artillery fire with forces loyal to Syrian president Bashr Al Assad after the Turkish border town of Akçakale was hit by mortar fire earlier this month, killing five Turkish civilians.

Shortly after the Syrian aircraft was forced to land at Ankara, Russian president Vladmir Putin announced that he was postponing a scheduled visit to Turkey.

Vietnamese Airline Fined by Officials for Unorthodox In-Flight Entertainment

Vietnam's only privately-run airline was fined by aviation officials in that country after video surfaced of bikini-clad beauty pageant contestants dancing in the aisles as music blared and appreciative male passengers snapped photos as their flight was underway.

In a letter to Vietnamese aviation authorities, Hanoi-based VietJet said that the local beauty queens were part of the in flight ceremonies celebrating the low-cost carrier's innagural flight from Ho Chi Minh City [aka Saigon] to the southern coastal city of Nha Trang earlier this month. A VietJet employee who declined to be identified said that the performance in no way violated safety guidelines.

In a letter to Vietnamese authorities Tuesday, the company said the event inaugurated its first flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang on the southern coast. It said all safety regulations were followed. A company spokeswoman refused to comment on the fine Friday, but confirmed the local beauty queens were paid for their performance. She would not give her name because she was not authorized to speak to the media.

Photos and video also show the bikini-clad women handing out stuffed animals to passengers as prizes or souveniers.

Like the viral video of Australian hurdler Michelle Jenneke, I opted to go with the non-musical video since the music dubbed in after the fact is pretty loud and grating.

Established in 2007, VietJet didn't begin regularly scheduled passenger flights until December 2011. The airline operates exclusively with a small fleet of leased Airbus A320s.

152 Killed in Pakistani Airliner Crash

A Pakistani passenger jet crashed into the mountains just outside of that country's capital city of Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board. Authorities say the domestic Airblue flight took off from Karachi and lost contact with the control tower on approach.

The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known, but Civil avaition officials believe that the plane may have veered off course in the monsoon rains after losing contect with the Islamabad control tower. Terrorism wasn't immediately suspected, but officials still need to locate the black box for the Airbus A321. Emergency workers and volunteers were hindered by the rain, mud and rough terrain for most of the day.

The US State Department said that two US citicizens were on board, although they didn't immediately identify them