Breaking at Sky News, IAG (International Airlines Group - owners of British Airways) appears to have tabled an offer to Lufthansa to buy BMI. If this is the case, this is big news, as it will open up the question of the Competition Commission and British Airway's dominance of London Heathrow. According to the post, discussions are at an early stage, and could involve … [Read more...]
Air Canada strikes – halted for now after Goverment Intervention
Air Canada seems to be having labour issues, and was facing a strike from it's 6,800 flight attendants. This has been halted due to a "procedural move" by the Canadian Labour minister Lisa Raitt that prevents the crew from legally going on strike. The strike action has been referred up to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to determine if a strike disrupting … [Read more...]
O’Leary want to remove toilets from the plane – world yawns
That shy and retiring CEO of Ryanair, Michael O'Leary today has been grabbing the headlines as it proposes to reduce the amount of toilets on-board their 737-800's from three to one. The says by doing this, he would be able to reduce fares by a grand total of 5% on a flight by adding an whole extra row of seating in a 737-800, estimating a fare would fall £2 from £40 to … [Read more...]
Emirates suspends a Houston trip to start Dallas services
Interesting news today from Emirates who have confirmed that to start up their new Dallas service, they'll be utilising one of the Boeing 777-200LR's that is assigned to the Houston service. Therefore the following of flights are suspended from the timetable from 31st January, to allow the Dallas service to commence on the 1st February. EK213 DEPART DXB 02:45 ARRIVE IAH … [Read more...]
Dear Sir Richard Branson. Buy It or Put up and Shut Up… (the sale of BMI)
I'm probably going to win no supporters over at London Heathrow Terminal 3, but really the whining from Virgin Atlantic over the sale of BMI is getting intolerable from over there. As we all known, Lufthansa is trying to get shot of it's BMI subsidiary, and of course as I reported earlier this month, Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic fame is after BMI as usual, and … [Read more...]
Adria Airways cuts more routes
Poor old Adriana Airways. Feeling the pinch from all corners, it's cutting another couple of routes - this time it's connections left, right and centre. Up for the chop are routes from Ljubljana to: London Gatwick Paris Toulon Warsaw Banja Luka These terminate at the end of October. Adriana Airways is in the process of restructuring at the moment in a deal … [Read more...]
American Airlines to retire up to 11 757’s…
According to Flight, it seems that American Airlines are modifying their fleet. with the carrier announcing it is to remove up to 11 757-200's from service during 2012. As part of an effort to reduce capacity, it's retiring 11 birds due to due to costs, jet fuel costs, and of course, the economy (when in doubt, blame the economy).. Speaking of fuel prices, a hedge of $29 … [Read more...]
Sri Lanka to charge for Visas….
If it isn't Australia or the United States of America, it's now Sri Lanka who will be charging for Visas. So if you're heading there from 1st January 2012, you'll need one. Head to www.eta.gov.lk and be prepared to cough up the following: US$50 for tourists (a double-entry month-long permit) US$60 for business travellers (business people multiple-entry) US$25 for … [Read more...]
Keep your laptop close when going through Germany…
Disturbing news from Germany today with reports of a sanctioned Malware component from German government. The Chaos Computer Club has discovered a Trojan horse virus that is capable of spying on Skype internet calls, monitoring the online activity of infected computers, logging keystrokes, and updating its functionality via the net. The tenuous link to travel is … [Read more...]
Arik Air orders two 747-8i’s… huh?
Arik Air is an odd beast. With bits of it from Nigerian Airlines, and different investments here and there, it operates a 22 aircraft fleet, focusing on Nigeria and the area, as well as a few long-haul routes (namely, London, New York JFK, Abu Dhabi and Johannesburg). To run the long haul routes, it's drafted in a pair of Airbus A340-500's which can been seen flying some of … [Read more...]
