Economy Class & Beyond

BD: BMI is off on anohter mad deployment… to Tripoli?

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Once again, someone is smoking something good at Donnington Hall with the formal announcement that BMI will be commencing a service from London to Tripoli, Libya. They will join British Airways and Libyan Airlines who fly from Heatrow, and Air Afriqiyah from Gatwick. Seemly, the route has been introduced due to the oil and gas sector which BMI is building a little niche to … [Read more...]

D7: Air Asia also HND bound!

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Hot off the heels of the news British Airways is heading to Toyko Haneda, is one that is slightly less impressive, but perhaps a lot more locally important.Air Asia X is joining in the fray connecting Kuala Lumpur to Toyko Haneda with a low cost entry. They will be offering a 3 times a week service, using A330 aircraft, fitted with “Premium FlatBed seats” which have … [Read more...]

LH: Crazy A380 deployments continue – Viva Espania!

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It seems Lufthansa is still trying to get their pilots trained on A380's, and have announced more odd deployments of the the WhaleJet.This time, the A380's are off to get some sun in Mallorca during next month.Times and dates are Date     DEP FRA   ARV PMI02/10/10 09:20      11:2003/10/10 … [Read more...]

EY/DJ: What’s that Skippy? Virgin Blue Group and Eithad alliance approved

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News flies in from Austraila of the proposed alliance with Virgin Blue Group and Eithad has been approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).The upshot of the decision is that the two companies are allowed to cooperate on pricing and scheduling between the two networks, and new services from Sydney-Abu Dhabi and Brisbane-Abu Dhabi in the future. The … [Read more...]

S7: Confirmed to Join OneWorld in 15th November

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It's confirmed that S7 Airlines will be formally joining the OneWorld Alliance on the 15th November and gaining full membership of the alliance. It's been some time since S7 declared their interest, and a slow slog to membership (although faster than Air India joining Star Alliance it seems), but from the go date, OneWorld Code-shares, privileges and benefits will apply. S7 … [Read more...]

AA: They’re trusting grown ups to be AAdults – Complimentry drinks on US Domestic lounges

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It seems that another airline in the USA has finally got a clue and is giving up drink tokens - or the silly "buy a drink" routine. Step forward American Airlines.Visitors to Admirals Club lounges inside the USA will be able to have free alcoholic drinks just like they do when you travel internationally. This goes forward from 1st October. Of course, this is not all alcoholic … [Read more...]

BA: New Routes – HND abound!

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Time for some good BA News. British Airways has announced new routes and frequency upgrades today with:South America:London Heathrow - Buenos Aires - Now a Direct flight as opposed to a stop in San Paulo (with both having direct flights daily)Caribbean:London Gatwick to Barbados will increase from 10 to 12 flights a weekLondon Gatwick to Antigua will increase from five to six … [Read more...]

Eastern Airways to take over Air Southwest

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It seems the UK regionals are starting consolidation moves. Air Southwest (which I've talked about in this blog when it's parent company put it up for sale)It seems that there is a knight in shining armour, and that knight is another UK Regional - Eastern AirwaysSutton Harbour (Air Southwest's parent) put the airline on the market due to the little economic problems that have … [Read more...]

CO/UA: United and Continental Cleared to Merge at Shareholder level

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The shareholders have stood up, and the merger has been approved by both sides, allowing United and Continental to progress with the process. The aim of course is size, and reductions in cost. As stated before the new airline will have the blend of the United and Continental Airlines livery, known as United, and with Jeff Smisek (CEO of Continental) taking the lead. With both … [Read more...]