London, Nov 5 : With rapid advances in air travel, newlyweds may get a chance to spend their honeymoon in space by the end of this century, say industry experts.

Finnair, the Finnish airline, outlined its predictions to celebrate its 85th anniversary and said the industry would thrive after overcoming the current economic downturn.

It said that newlyweds would be able to spend a romantic honeymoon in hotels, with holidaymakers being carried around in vast aircraft, just as cruise ship passengers.

An overnight stay could cost the equivalent of around 5,000 pounds.

The airliners will fly at up to five times the speed of sound, cutting short the journey from Europe to Australia to three hours.

Stockholm - The SAS Group, the operator of the joint carrier Scandinavian Airlines, on Wednesday posted a pre-tax loss for third- quarter 2008, citing high fuel costs, the economic downturn and a goodwill writedown in its Spanish-based carrier.

The SAS Group posted a third-quarter pre-tax loss of 1.78 billion kronor (231 million dollars) compared to a pre-tax profit of 457 million kronor in the corresponding business period of 2007.

Third-quarter sales were 16.36 billion kronor, slightly up year- on-year.

Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Union Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal MP, allegedly assaulted the station manager of Kingfisher Airlines at Patna Airport on Monday. The incident took place when he was not allowed to board Patna-Kolkata flight, as he reported late at the airport.

Seattle/New York - US airplane manufacturer Boeing again postponed the test flight of its new flagbearer, the 787 Dreamliner, the financial news television channel CNBC reported Tuesday, although Boeing said such a decision had not been made.

After an almost-two-month-long machinists' strike that just ended, the test flight of this long-haul plane will not take place before the end of the year, as Boeing had planned, according to the report.

A Boeing spokesman stressed, however, that there had been no such decision.

Singapore - Singapore and Kuwait have concluded an Open Skies Agreement (OSA), allowing for full flexibility on air services by carriers from both countries, officials announced Tuesday.

Under the new agreement, Singapore carriers may now operate any number of flights between Singapore and points in Kuwait, as well as beyond Kuwait to any other city in the world.

Similarly, Kuwait carriers will be able to operate any number of flights to and beyond Singapore, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said.

A Memorandum of Understanding on Air Services between the two governments was signed Tuesday at the at the Seif Palace in Kuwait City.

L