Economy Class & Beyond

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

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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...]

Norwegian Air Shuttle confirms its 787 configuration

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Norwegian Air Shuttle are marching forward as they prepare to launch 787 services in May 2013. The configuration of the aircraft has been revealed: Premium Class will feature 32 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration with a 46" seat pitch Economy Class will feature 259 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration with a 31" seat pitch Seats will be all leather style, supplied by Timco.  … [Read more...]

Iberia prepares for more strike action

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It seems Iberia isn't having a good time of it recently, with major changes and restructuring to help the airline survivie. This has annoyed the unions - who represent 90% of the employees who have confirmed strike action is to take place. The unions involved - UGT, CCOO, USO, SICTPLA and ASETMA – have confirmed the strikes would take place between on 14th December and … [Read more...]

Jet Airways and Star Alliance…. Talking… talking… talking.

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It seems Star Alliance is still trying to crack Indian market - and is talking to Jet Airways according to Flight. It seems that Jet Airways has asked permission to the Indian Government to join Star Alliance, with no answer recived as of yet. Star Alliance has been trying to break into India - its first attempt was with the state owned carrier - Air India. After … [Read more...]

Ryanair to add 2% surcharge for credit cards – ontop of the £6 admin fee

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Once again, the Ryanair comedians of the air are it again. All bookings made a credit card and flying with Ryanair after the 30th November will be subject to a 2% total surcharge on top of the £6 Administration fee that you are required to pay to book a ticket . This fee is per person. In addition, the £6 booking fee was avoidable by paying with a Ryanair Cash … [Read more...]

Shenzhen Airlines joins Star Alliance

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Shenzhen Airlines have officially joined Star Alliance today. The airline (which is partially owned by Air China), operates400 flights a day to both domestic China and International destinations. In terms of network, Star Alliance gains five new destinations: Juzhou Linyi Qinhuangdao  Shijiazhuang Zhoushan. Looking at the fleet, it's a narrow-body aircraft … [Read more...]

FlyNiki to remove E-190’s from fleet

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Austria's FlyNiki (A partner/subsidiary of Air Berlin) is preparing to remove its E-190's from its fleet in a swap with Air Berlin. 7 Embraer E-190's are to be swapped with Air Berlin for Airbus A320 aircraft. FlyNiki will operate three variants of the A320 family during 2013. 6 Airbus A319 13 Airbus A320 4 Airbus A321 Three of the A320 aircraft will be … [Read more...]

Emirates upscales Dubai to Glasgow route

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Emirates is preparing to up-scale the Dubai-Glasgow route. Currently, Emirates operates two flights a day - one operated by a Airbus A340 (EK25/26), whilst the other is operated by a Boeing 777-300ER (EK027/EK028). The airline is planning to up-scale the operation so that both services are operated using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from 1st January 2013. For Emirates, … [Read more...]

Air Berlin trims fleet, denies aliance changes

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Air Berlin is making another trim to its fleet to reduce costs. The fleet from a peak of 175 aircraft was due to be cut to 158. Air Berlin management is to trim the fleet further to 135 aircraft. Other details about how Air Berlin is going to further reduce costs have yet to be disclosed, but it is clear that Air Berlin is hurting still from the non-opening of the new … [Read more...]

OpenSkies to join oneworld as an affiliate

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In the section that is marked "Why did it take so long?" British Airways French Transatlantic unit - OpenSkies is to join oneworld as an affiliate carrier. Oneworld cardholders from other airlines apart from British  Airways will be able to earn and redeem miles on BA Openskies services, as well as earning tier points. For those holders with Oneworld Emerald  they will also … [Read more...]