Economy Class & Beyond

Iberia route cuts to bite from January 2013

by

We've been waiting to see how the cuts at Iberia are going to strike... well here they are. From Mid-January 2013, the short haul following routes are withdrawn: Athens Cairo Istanbul From 1st April, the following Long Haul services are facing the axe: Havana Santo Domingo San Juan (re-route via Miami) Montevideo (via other Iberia destinations) The … [Read more...]

Holiday Inn £20.12 UK sale now on

by

For those who like the ICHG rooms on the cheap, ICHG is throwing away hotel rooms at £20.12 a pop. The full list is at: http://www.priorityclub.com/hotels/us/en/global/offers/celebrate_2012/hotels, with a mixture of Holiday Inns, a few Crowne Plaza's and a singular Hotel Ingido. Booking is at http://www.priorityclub.com/hotels/us/en/global/offers/celebrate_2012 and is … [Read more...]

Delta to purchase a lot of CRJ’s

by

Good news if you like CRJ's... or terrible news if you hate CRJ's and fly Delta. Delta have placed an order for 40 Bombardier CRJ900's, with options for another 30 CRJ900's if needed. The jets will be operated by Delta Connection carriers as needed, and will configured with 76 seats in a two-class layout, configured with 12 first class seats, 12 Economy Comfort Seats and … [Read more...]

Lufthansa to roll out Premium Economy seat on Long Haul Services

by

For some time, Lufthansa has been umming and ahhing over a Premium Economy product, and it seems the airline has finally given into deploying a PE product in its Intercontinental fleet. According to Lufthansa, they are planning what they are calling a " substantially upgraded economy product",with details to be finalised in 2013 In the Press release, Lufthansa … [Read more...]

China Southern to get 10 more Airbus A330’s

by

It seems that the tensions over European Union's Emission-Trading System are easing, with news that China Southern Airlines is to get 10 Airbus A330-300 aircraft. Long haul orders seem to have been logged jammed with arguments over the ETS, with significant orders put on hold if they were being brought for use in China. China Southern says that the aircraft … [Read more...]

Fastjet eyes the remains of 1Time

by

It seems Fastjet is eyeing up 1Time carefully, and is in negotiations to buy the carrier. 1Time was forced to suspend flights in November when it ran into serious cashflow problems. However, Fastjet sees this as an easy entry into South African aviation market. The plan would be for Fastjet to pay a nominal fee to acquire the airline and reach a settlement with 1time's … [Read more...]

Planes with Sharklets? Check!

by

Oh this would please Doctor Evil so much - it also pleases me too. Most of us who have boarded a modern short haul plane (and quite a few long haul planes), can't help but see on the end of the wing, a wingtip device - be it a: Winglet (as seen on Boeing 747-400's, Airbus A330/A340's), Wingtip Fences (Airbus A320 family, Airbus A380), Blended Winglets  (Boeing … [Read more...]

British Airways introduces gate-to-gate IFE

by

It seems the march of Gate-to-Gate In-Flight Entertainment continues, with British Airways now allowing use of its IFE systems through all phases of the flight - take off, cruise and landing. BA has worked with the CAA, trialling the modified IFE product, and checking safety of using such a product. This will allow BA to deliver the entertainment product beyond the 20 … [Read more...]

Sinapore intrested in selling its stake in Virgin Atlantic – Delta lining up as a possible suitor

by

It seems that Singapore Airlines is talking to others over the share of Virgin Atlantic it owns. The share - 49% of Virgin Atlantic is the part up for sale - for which Singapore Airlines paid $600 million in 1999. The other 51% of the airline is owned by the Virgin Group. Singapore Airlines also state that thethe discussions may or may not result in a transaction, and … [Read more...]

Reminder: BMI to BA Status Match and other BMI to BA bits

by

A little - but important reminder for those of you who are BMI Gold/Silver and have yet to match to British Airways Executive Club. Time is now running out with the status match closing on the 31st December 2012, and if you haven't matched over yet - now is the time to do it. It does take a little while to do - so the sooner you do it, the sooner the status is in your … [Read more...]