Twenty carriers disappeared in 2013 compared to twenty-six 2012 . Six of them were based in Eastern Europe/former USSR countries. Most of the carriers were small regional airlines with tiny fleets. Kingfisher of India was only one carrier that could have been considered major, although it has been some time since they were India’s largest airline. Nearly all of the airlinest that vanished are young but a few Evergreen, JAT, OLT Express and Ryan International are old names in the airline game. I thought Air Zimbabwe would finally vanish but they managed to get enough…
Airline News (Friday)
Category Archives for Airline News (Friday).
A century of commercial airlines
On January 1st, 1914, the first scheduled US commercial airline flight using a fixed wing aircraft occurred. The passenger was Abram C. Pheil, the then Mayor of St. Petersburg. He flew to Tampa, Florida paying 400 dollars for the round trip ticket in a charity auction. Pilot Tony Jannus flew a Benoist flying boat for St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line taking 23 minutes for the journey at a height of five metres (15 feet). There were reported to be over 3,000 spectators at a parade accompanied by an Italian band at the departure point. Kermit Weeks…
2013 Worst Airlines
I upset some people with my 2012 list of the worst airlines. One reader wrote “Sorry you have no idea what you’re talking about.” Another defended Tiger Airways which I would consider to be undefendable: “what is your problem!?! …tiger is alite! [sic – I think meaning elite] u r exhaggerating these airlines! these are not bad. do not listen to this person! they r provided wrong information!” I beg to disagree! Having now flown 985 times on 89 airlines, I have seen the best and worst of customer service, products and safety. My flights…
Air Berlin’s Seasons Greetings
Since 2011, Air Berlin have painted an aircraft in a Christmas livery. This year, Boeing 737-800 D-ABMS known by Air Berlin as ““Merry Santa” was painted by a seven person team at Dusseldorf Airport using a design from RAPP Germany in November. The design resembles a string of 24 fairy lights with one candle-like light for each day of Advent. The flame of each light is one of the aeroplane windows. The design is just 80 micrometres (0.003 inches) thick (about the same as a human hair). It is 15.32 metres (50.26 feet) long and…
Jetstar’s International 787 Routes
In contrast to the gloom that emanates from Qantas, Jetstar continues to announce growth. Its first international Boeing 787 Dreamliner service commenced from Melbourne to Bali, accompanied by announcements of Jetstar operating 787s from Sydney to Bali in January, 2014, Sydney to Phuket in February and Brisbane to Bali route from April. They will replace their A330 fleet with 787s. Their eleven 330s will cascade back to Qantas which will use them to replace their aging and fuel hungry 767s by early 2015. Sadly, Qantas has still not made a decision on their future deployment…
Singapore ups Low Cost ante
In a move that will add pressure to the Asian low fares market, two Singapore International Airlines (SIA) subsidaries have announced joint ventures. Nok Air (Thailand) and Scoot (Singapore) have joined forces to form a new low cost airline: NokScoot. Nok Company secretary Panya Chutisiriwong revealed that the Nok Air Board approved the decision on December 16, 2013. The joint venture carrier will fly under the name NokScoot from the second half of 2014. It will fly medium- and long-haul routes from Bangkok’s Don Mueang international airport. NokAir will own 51 per cent stake and Scoot…
Belle Air Belly Up
Belle Air and their subsidiary Belle Air Europe have both ceased operations at the end of November. Belle Air (code LZ) based in Tirana, Albania shut down on November 25, stranding hundreds of passengers. Prior to closure, they flew passengers to destinations across Belgium, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Switzerland and the UK. In a message on its website, Belle Air stated: “Following eight years of successful operations from Albania towards European destinations, Belle Air is obliged to temporarily suspend its operations due to the general economic situation, the decline of the purchasing power, recession…
B & H: how not to market an airline
Would you fly an airline if you were told it’s financial situation was “alarming” and every new day at the airline is “distressing”? The CEO of B&H Airlines, Amir Jažić, told media in Sarajevo this week that “We are just waiting to see who will shut us down first”. He questioned how the airline would be able to function and for how long! These blunt words may not have encouraged passengers but they inspired the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina into action. Enver Bijedić, Minister for Transport and Communication, said on Thursday…
Alitalia’s struggle -Ryanair Rescuer?
There is no love lost between Ireland’s low cost Ryanair and Italy’s carrier. Ryanair have tackled Alitalia a few times over their perception that Alitalia has recieved unfair state aid. Now Ryanair have launched a new hub at Rome’s Fiumicino airport. They have stated they want to feed their routes into Alitalia’s international routes. Ryanair Deputy CEO Michael Cawley stated: “Ryanair believes that by offering to feed Alitalia’s international hub at Fiumicino and by searching for opportunities to work with and assist Alitalia in its turnaround, that we can help the new investors and the…
Evolution: Etihad’s New Model
Etihad is adding its seventh “equity partner”, buying a 33.3% stake of Switzerland’s Darwin Airline. Darwin joins the other six, Etihad has gathered: airberlin (29%) Air Seychelles (40%) 19.9% of Virgin Australia (19.9%) 3% of Aer Lingus (3%), Jet Airways (24%) and plans in January 2014 to acquire 49% of Air Serbia (49% from January, 2014). All of these carriers have entered into agreements to feed traffic into the Eihad international network. Never heard of Darwin Airline? They are a Switzerland based European regional carrier. Their fleet consists of ten Saab 2000s operating from…
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