Economy Class & Beyond

Virgin set to destroy any sense of quiet in the sky with the introduction of mobile phone use inflight

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One of the things I love about flying is that for a set amount of time, you're disconnected from the greater outside world. Well Virgin Atlantic wish to fully smash my desire for quiet with the announcement today that the new Airbus A330 aircraft will have Mobile Phone Call Reception installed. Unlike the service offered on the British Airways Club World City Service which … [Read more...]

Malaysia Airlines prepares to receive it’s first A380

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Lets have some nice A380 news - well it is the nearly the weekend after all. Malaysia Airlines first Airbus A380 is edging ever closer after the bird being flown back from Hamburg - where the interiors, furnishings and cabin tests were conducted to the Airbus factory in Toulouse. Here's a pic of the plane returning to Toulouse... and someone really spent money on the … [Read more...]

AA announces long haul fleet re-jig

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Stand by for times of wondering what type of plane you'll get. American Airlines have confirmed they are to change some of the configurations of their 777 and 767-300ER's. The fleet of Boeing 777-200ER aircraft will also get the fully-flat seat from 2014 and have along with wifi capabilities on international routes, and  Main Cabin Extra product installed.  More importantly, … [Read more...]

BMI Regional sold to Sector Aviation

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In what can be described as some good news, BMI Regional has been sold by International Airlines Group to a company called Sector Aviation Holdings. The price: A cool £8 million. The sale is pending CAA approval, but IAG anticipates this will be completed within two weeks. For that cool £8 million, Sector Aviation Holdings will get: All of BMI Regional's fixed … [Read more...]

AirBerlin: We’ll stay at Tegel for a bit, but we’re annoyed…

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For those of you who missed yesterdays news, Berlin Brandenburg Airport won't be opening on the 3rd of June as planned, and has been put back to late 2012. Air Berlin have been.. well seething to put it blunt. A new PR from the company came out regarding the chaos, with an operation task force to try and make Berlin-Tegel work. For passengers, nothing changes for now, … [Read more...]

Oh great. Big UK Border Fun as one of the unions goes on strike….

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Arriving on the 10th May? Well you're probably going to have more of a wait to get into the country as the Immigration Services Union (who represent 4500 members) are going out on strike over pensions and retirement ages. The 24 hour strike is set to start at 00:01 on 10 May for 24 hours. BAA who operate London Heathrow, Stansted and other some other UK airports … [Read more...]

Berlin-Brandenburg Airport is now delayed….

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It seems plans to open Berlin Brandenburg Airport have gone into the air, with the start date of 3rd June 2012 cancelled and a new start date will be set for some point "after the summer holidays" For Lufthansa and Air Berlin, this is a major setback, with both carriers promoting the new BER airport heavily. Both carrier have planned a major resource attack at the new Berlin … [Read more...]

EVA Air to expand 777 operations

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EVA Air is gearing up for an expansion of its Boeing 777-300ER fleet, with announcement of seven more aircraft to join the fleet Deliveries will begin from 2014, and the airline expects to receive all of the aircraft by 2016. Looking at the EVA Air fleet, it's clear to see what the 777-300ER's are going to be used for - there are currently 7 Boeing 747-400's of two … [Read more...]

UK Border chaos spreads to Stansted

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In what should be no surprise to anyone, the border wait times have extended to London Stansted. Last night entries into the United Kingdom on a European Economic Area Passport were taking from 90 minutes to two hours. Which for a mainly European port of entry for low cost carriers is again... disgusting. The UK Border Force states: "We flexibly deploy staff to meet … [Read more...]