Economy Class & Beyond

The last day: British Midland International

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For those of us who watch the skies, the sight of the White and Blue whale will soon disappear from the sky on bigger birds as British Midland Internationals Operating Certificate expires today. BMI Airbus A320 at London Heathrow A short potted history: The Early Years bmi began life in 1938 as Air Schools Ltd, specialising in RAF pilot training In 1949, … [Read more...]

Hell freezes over – Virgin Atlantic in talks to join “an alliance”

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It seems that snowball in hell has brought itself a very comfy hat to insulate itself as Virgin Atlantic has confirmed it is in "advanced talks" with "an alliance" according to Blomberg Speaking to Blomberg, Richard Branson says: Virgin Atlantic, the airline controlled by U.K. billionaire Richard Branson, is in “fairly advanced talks” to join an aviation alliance as the … [Read more...]

Air Canada and United Joint Business Agreement reached

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Air Cananda and United Airlines have had their plan for a joint business agreement allowing them to share revenue and passengers agreed on all bar 14 routes by the Canadian Competition Bureau. The bureau said the agreement would “protect and preserve competition” on the 14 key, high demand routes between Canada and the U.S. The reasoning is that on these 14 routes. On … [Read more...]

Airplane Art Extra – Airbus A350 Tailfin

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It's Wednesday, so it must be time for some Airplane Art Extra! This special comes from Airbus S.A.S. who have unveiled the fully painted horizontal stabiliser of their new Airbus A350 aircraft Image - Airbus S.A.S. This vertical stabiliser will be integrated into the first Airbus A350 (MSN1), standing at a proud 10 meters high. For the vertical stabiliser … [Read more...]

Here we go again. Aegean goes after Olympic Air

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It what seems like a sense of deja vu, Aegean Airlines have announced a deal to acquire Olympic Air from its current owners- Marfin Investment Group - for €72 million. Aegean plan to turn Olympic into a subsidiary brand of Aegean, whist retaining the two brands up front. At the backend, route networks will be adjusted to suit the combined entity, as well as cost savings at … [Read more...]

Fog causing major issues at UK Airports

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The nemisis of some airports in the UK - fog - is hitting hard today with Heathrow Airport and London City taking the brunt of it. Heathrow reports: "Due to foggy conditions at Heathrow this morning, there are delays to certain flights. Please contact your airline for up-to-date flight information." London City Reports: Due to low visibility this morning flights to/from … [Read more...]

Kingfisher Airlines licence suspended

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In what should be no surprise to... well... anyone, Kingfisher Airlines has had its licence to operate suspended by the Indian Regulator - The Directorate General of Civil Aviation. DGCA has suspended the licence due to Kingfisher not producing a viable plan for its financial and operational revival- and to resolve the issues with over payment of employees. All bookings … [Read more...]

MBNA (UK) – United Airlines Credit Card now has a 15K signup bonus!

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Well here's something rare in the UK - a signup bonus for a credit card. MBNA with United Airlines is offering "MileagePlus American Express Credit Card" The skinny on the card isn't that bad: Earn 15,000 bonus award miles - if you spend £300 within 60 days of account open date Paperless Statements Earn miles on your everyday purchases – Earn 1 mile for every £1 … [Read more...]

Glasgow Airport reopens after an emergency landing

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Glasgow Airport today had an emergency incident where a Jet2 flight declared an emergency as it was preparing for take off. The flight - LS117 operating a Glasgow to Alicante was operated by a Boeing 737 made an emergency sop on the runway prior to take off due to smoke in the cabin at 07:40 BST. The emergency slides were deployed for evacuation with all 189 passenger … [Read more...]

Garuda Indonesia buddies up with Etihad – signs codeshares

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In another day of  the ever increasing Etihad alliance (well - it feels like it some days), Garuda Indonesia and Etihad have launched a a "worldwide strategic cooperation deal" Gaurda Indonesia  will codeshare Etihad operated on the following routes from Abu Dhabi commencing 28th October 2012: Amman,  Athens, Bahrain, Beirut, Brussels, Cairo, Chicago, Dammam, Dublin, … [Read more...]