Economy Class & Beyond

Snow falls in the UK – Cancellations ahoy.

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Well the white stuff has descended on the UK (and outside GhettoIFE Towers, it is white indeed), and as the UK can't cope with a flake a snow falling without panic descending, here is an update on what airlines are planning to do tomorrow. Heathrow is throwing an Emergency Timetable, with tomorrow's schedule cut by 30%. According to the airport: … [Read more...]

Airplane.. ummm p**n? Bloomberg take it to a WHOLE new level.

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In the dim and distant past when my weekly Airplane Art section was known as Airpane p**n (yes, I'm self censoring myself... no, don't look at me like that). And I thought I was doing OK. Then Bloomberg comes out with this (c/o The Huffington Post) Hot 737 on 737 action there! (Even if the "old" United had given up running Classic 737's for a year or so). So … [Read more...]

From bad to worse? Kingfisher suffers more troubles and holds OneWorld Membership…

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Well if it's one, it's anohter. And it's Kingfisher now in the spotlight with two big things happening to them. For alliance lovers out there and what caps a bad day for OneWorld with Malev falling down, Kingfisher is to suspend it's current ascent into OneWorld to allow it to reorganise its current fiscal position - and if you watch this blog, you'll know the answer to that … [Read more...]

IAG to merge BMI in upon completion of takeover

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From the IAG Traffic Stats document, it seems the British Airways pilots have voted to integrate BMI  Mainline (A319/A320/A321/A330) into the British Airways arm after the merger is approved IAG plans to integrate bmi mainline into British Airways, subject to receiving regulatory approval for the acquisition. This follows agreement by British Airways’ pilots to make … [Read more...]

UK Weather Warning Issued: Snow inbound

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The blanket of snow which has been covering Europe is heading for the UK with some speed with the following warnings in effect from the Met Office: Outbreaks of sleet and snow will spread from the west on Saturday morning. Accumulations of 2 to 5cm are likely, mainly on ground above 150m, with perhaps 10cm on roads above 300m. Snow will turn increasingly to rain on lower … [Read more...]

Malev falls and halts operations

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Well the inevtiatable has happened, and Malev has stopped operating due to liquidity issues. In other words, they haven't got the cash to continue. As of 05:00 GMT (06:00CET), all Malev flights have been grounded. The press release from Malev.com is below “Unfortunately, the event occurred which we had a greatest fear of and we wanted to avoid with might and main. … [Read more...]

Air Berlin confirms its ascent into OneWorld on 20th March 2012

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Air Berlin has formally announced its date of ascent into the OneWorld alliance, and it's the 20th March 2012 according to the PR at http://www.airberlin.com/site/pressnews_dr.php?ID=3613&LANG=eng. After the 20th March, they will be a full members and NIKI will be joining OneWorld as an affiliate member. Already codesharing with some members of the alliance, joining … [Read more...]

BMI Baby saved? Possibly…

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It seems that fortune is smiling on BMI Baby with the announcement that someone is actually interested in buying the little airline. The low cost carrier operating a fleeting Classic Boeing 737-300's and 737-500's, has been sold to a new potential owner who has not disclosed who they are. Financial terms have not been disclosed either. However, the talks are … [Read more...]

The UK Civil Aviation Authority does something useful… a constantly updated list of fees…

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Now here is something useful from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (The CAA). A list of how airlines will get you. But more importantly, they will be keeping the list up to date. The list covered covers many of the major UK based airlines in a comparison table. It covers  the cost of taking hold luggage on board, having an in-flight meal and reserving specific seats is all … [Read more...]

ANA has Teething troubles with Long Haul 787 services…

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All Nippon Airlines seems to have some growing pains with it's introductory long haul 787 service, with 2 of the 10 flights operating between Tokyo-Haneda and Frankfurt so far. Whilst ANA has five 787's so far, only one of them is equipped for long haul duties (JA805A),  with a failure with the aircraft flap system on the ground at Toyko-Haneda with one incident, and … [Read more...]