Category: Business

The World’s 10 Most Dangerous Airlines

Flying was less deadly in 2012 than in any year since 1945, but that does not mean all airlines are equally safe.

The Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC), which collects information about aviation accidents and safety, has published its annual Airline Safety Ranking.

The ratings take into account the number and deadliness of the hull losses (destroyed airplanes) they have suffered in the past 30 years, how they have fared more recently, and how many flights they have flown without incident.

The results do not take into account the cause of the hull losses, or whether the airline is at fault, so they are not a perfect measure of how safely an airline behaves.

Of 60 ranked airlines, here are the 10 with the worst safety records, including the number of hull losses since 1983, and how many fatalities they caused:

#10 SkyWest Airlines: 3 hull losses; 22 dead

#9 South African Airways: 1 hull loss; 159 dead

#8 Thai Airways International: 5 hull losses; 309 dead

#7 Turkish Airlines: 6 hull losses, 188 dead

#6 Saudia: 4 hull losses; 310 dead

#5 Korean Air: 9 hull losses; 687 dead

#4 GOL Transportes Aéreos: 1 hull loss; 154 dead

#3 Air India: 3 hull losses; 329 dead

#2 TAM Airlines: 6 hull losses; 336 dead

#1 China Airlines: 8 hull losses; 755 dead

Update: This post has been updated to clarify how JACDEC produces its safety rankings.

via The World’s 10 Most Dangerous Airlines – Yahoo! Finance.

January 24, 2013
Turkey Will Build World’s Biggest Airport

Alex Davies

Istanbul’s Ataturk airport serves 45 million passengers per year.

Turkey is planning to build the world’s biggest airport in Istanbul, the country’s Transportation Minister Binalis Yilidrim said yesterday.

To be built on a 828 million-square-foot plot of land on the European side of the city, it will be able to serve 150 million annual passengers, making it the busiest airport in the world, according to ABC News.

Istanbul is already served by two airports: Istanbul Ataturk, which served 45 million passengers in 2012 and is under strain, and the much smaller Sabiga Gokcen International Airport.

Another airport would add capacity and give Turkey the chance to become a major air hub, a significant economic opportunity. Ataturk can not be expanded because of land constraints, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.

The new airport is expected to be built in four stages; it could be operational and capable of serving 90 million annual passengers by 2017. The project is predicted to cost $8.84 billion, according to ABC.

Istanbul is not the only major city working to expand its airport capacity. London is facing similar strain, and may have to deal with 300 million passengers every year by 2030. Politicians and officials are debating whether to expand Heathrow (Europe’s busiest airport) or build a new airport — one proposal calls for an airport on the Thames estuary, for a $79 billion price tag.

China is also building a new, high-capacity airport outside Beijing, which will have a capacity of 130 million passengers per year.

The world’s busiest airport is Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, which serves 90 million passengers annually.

via Turkey Will Build World’s Biggest Airport – Business Insider.

January 24, 2013
Turkey aims to be in top 15 global gold producers

ANKARA – The Turkish gold industry is planning to be among the top 15 countries in terms of gold production within the next three years, Today’s Zaman reported Wednesday.

“If things go well, we hope to earn a place on the top-15 list of gold-producing countries in the world by 2016,” Muhterem K?se, general coordinator of the Gold Miners’ Association, based in Ankara, has said.

Gold production in Turkey has significantly increased in recent years. In 2006, only eight tons of gold were produced; by 2009, that figure had grown to 14.9 tons and last year, production reached 29.5 tons.

Turks are also major consumers of gold. Turkey is among the top three countries – after India and China – in which people buy the most gold jewelry items. “In fact, as far as per capita consumption of gold goes, Turkish people are at the top of the list,” K?se said, noting that 40-50 tons of gold a year are bought by people in Turkey for ornamentation and/or as a means of investment.

There are presently four companies, two of them with foreign partners, in Turkey operating in gold mining, and these companies paid a total of TL 37.7 million (nearly $21.5 million) to the state in 2011 in corporate income tax.

Turkey earned $10.7 billion from gold exports in 2012, Economy Minister Zafer Ca?layan said. Out of the total figure roughly $6.5 billion came from Iran, $3.5 billion from the UAE and the rest from other countries. – SG

via Saudi Gazette – Turkey aims to be in top 15 global gold producers.

January 24, 2013
Ghana opens Mission in Turkey

President John Dramani Mahama says he hopes the re-opening of the Ghana Embassy in Turkey will strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

Speaking at a ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, the President said Ghana and Turkey share a lot in common and is hopeful the new development will cement relations between Ghana and Turkey.

“Recently Turkey is emerging as a world force in politics, economy, culture and society. I am happy that of the historical relation that has existed since Ghana became independence are being raised again to a new level, Ghana shares the same values with Turkey; a strong stable democracy, peaceful with a strong respect for self expression and human rights. Ghana is also considered a beacon of democracy and human and social values in Africa.”

“And so on that basis of the shared values there is a lot that Ghana and Turkey can do together.”

“It will make it easier for the Turkish private sector to acquire their visa in a speedy manner.”

The Turkish Foreign Minister; Ahmet Davutoglu on his part said Ghana has always been one of Turkey’s partners, saying the two countries will continue to share very special relations.

via Ghana opens Mission in Turkey.

January 23, 2013
Jumeirah hires designer for Istanbul hotel revamp

Jumeirah has appointed designer Anouska Hempel to spearhead the renovation of the 120-year-old Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey.

Hempel will add pink taffeta, moire silks, lace curtains, velvet cushions and tiny tables, in silver and cranberry tones to the design of the patisserie

Renowned hotelier and interior designer Hempel will create new concepts for the public areas and two presidential suites of the luxury museum hotel.

Scheduled for completion by mid-2013, the project will aim to enhance the Belle Époque feel of the hotel.

Jumeirah said in a statement that Hempel aims to “display the feminine side of Patisserie de Pera’s Art Nouveau décor while complementing the more masculine characteristics of the hotel’s interior”.

She plans to add pink taffeta, moiré silks, lace curtains, velvet cushions and tiny tables, in silver and cranberry tones to the design of the patisserie.

Each area of the plan will be refurbished over a one-week period. As the project does not involve major construction work, hotel guests will not be impacted by the redesign.

Initially launched in 1892, Pera Palace Hotel, Jumeirah re-opened in 2010 after a refurbishment of the building.

The group said the redesign aims to enhance the hotel’s status among the luxurious grand hotels of the world, where guests can experience the glamour of a bygone era.

via Jumeirah hires designer for Istanbul hotel revamp | HotelierMiddleEast.com.

January 20, 2013
Crytek opens Istanbul office

Crysis company opens eighth worldwide studio in Turkish capital city; will support free-to-play endeavors.

Crytek has expanded its operations. The Crysis company today announced the opening of Crytek Istanbul, the developer’s eighth outfit worldwide.

Crytek also has offices in Frankfurt, Germany; Kiev, Ukraine; Budapest, Hungary; Sofia, Bulgaria; Seoul, South Korea; Nottingham, United Kingdom; and Shanghai, China.

Crytek Istanbul will support the growth of Crytek’s free-to-play initiatives and will focus on the Warface and Gface brands. In addition, the new company will oversee the expansion of the CryEngine business in Turkey and in the Middle East and North Africa regions.

The new Crytek office in Istanbul currently does not have any job openings posted to its careers page.

Crytek’s expansion into Istanbul is a homecoming of sorts for the company, as founders and brothers Avni, Cevat, and Faruk Yerli are from Turkey.

via Crytek opens Istanbul office – GameSpot.com.

January 18, 2013