As someone with part of their heart in Africa and a fascination with rail and air transport across that magnificent continent, I was very sad to learn that 75 year old Air Namibia is no more. Today, 636 staff lost their jobs, as the Namibian flag carrier was put into liquidation by it’s only shareholder, the country’s government. The staff will be reportedly paid 12 months salary as severance but receive no benefits. Air Namibia had been advertising Valentine’s Day Specials just two days ago. The website is no longer taking bookings. Four A319-100s, two…
Airline News (Friday)
Category Archives for Airline News (Friday).
What is happening to Your Favourite Airline? [Updated]
Six months ago, the airline industry was facing a bumper year. While a small number of airlines were struggling, it seemed that most would do well. Take away most of the global passengers because of COVID19, and we have already seen some airlines collapse and we face losing more airlines. Governments have taken very different approaches to their airlines with some offering cash injections or loans with a variety of conditions, some offering nothing and some wanting to nationalise. Company by company, this is what is happening across the globe: Aegean- March 26, Aegean Airlines…
Lifemiles -no refund on booking fee for COVID19 cancelled flights
So Avianca airlines has detected that my two trips booked with points are “non operational”. As all of Avianca’s flights are grounded and much of their Star Alliance partners, then the chances of me getting on a plane this month are very low. Can you imagine? I have had no plane flights for a month! Last year I flew seven times a month so it is a shock! The good news is that Lifemiles have offered to refund both the air taxes and the LifeMiles points. That is nice. Appreciated. BUT they will still charge…
Qatar Airways getting people home
Most of the airline networks are closed, plane after plane grounded and borders sealed. One airline is experiencing a mini boom. So much so that it has expanded capacity on some routes and even put its Airbus A380 mega jumbos back into service. Following the decision by the United Arab Emirates to close its borders to all travelers including transit passengers, Emirates and Etihad Airways, ceased all passenger operations for two weeks. Doha in neighbouring Qatar remains open as a transit point but passengers cannot enter the country. Qatar airways have launched a campaign #wewillgetyouhome…
Virgin Atlantic Sucks- COVID19 Fail
II try and avoid these type of posts but I have become so disillusioned with Virgin Atlantic. Imagine if in December, I had bought a non refundable airline ticket through Virgin Atlantic. Imagine if I changed my mind about the dates and wanted to change or refund it Would I deserve that option? A big fat “no”. I get that. I support that. Imagine, however, if since I bought the ticket that the world changed completely? Imagine that a new and scary virus emerged. A virus that results in thousands of deaths airports being shut…
Airline closures and suspensions- Status of Key Airlines
The travel industry is in a really tough place right now. I can’t see how airlines will survive without government financial aid. Every airline is making major changes. The tally is one airline shut down forever, six who have suspended all operations for a period of time and several who have made massive cuts to operations. What do you need to do? Whatever they are doing, if you are tickets, then you and/or the airline will probably be making some sort of changes to flight time, date or destination. If you have booked through a…
American ditches Fleet, Network and Frequency
Sunday evening March 15, I fly to Dublin, Ireland with American Airlines. Little did I know when I booked my trip that this would be the very last day for that flight until at least May. Flights from Charlotte, Philadelphia and Phoenix to London Heathrow, Dublin and Manchester will be suspended on March 15 and the return trips back to the USA will be flown March 16. These are part of a 75% cut in American’s international capacity which will be accompanied by a 20% cut in its domestic capacity in April and…
Good Bye Hong Kong Airlines. Facing curtains, they shaft their passengers
This post is both a farewell to Hong Kong Airlines personally and an acknowledgment that they are most certainly finally finished as an air carrier. I have used Hong Kong Airlines a few times now to zip around Asia and have loved them. As my reviews have previously noted, their service has been top notch. They also give/gave good points earning options for my Virgin Australia Velocity frequent flyer program. My enthusiasm for them has been tempered by my concern over their precarious financial situation and concerns that every flight with them might be my last! …
TAP-ing for the first time
I have been making a concerted effort to fly more Star Alliance partners having now flown all of the One World carriers. This has meant flights with ANA, LOT, EVA Airways and Air China for the first time this year. Now it’s time to try TAP Portugal on their brand new Airbus 330neo, taking advantage of their generous free Lisbon stopover program. Have you tried TAP?
HK airlines exits US market- cuts more capacity
Hong Kong airlines initially operated a nice collection of routes around Asia. Then, the airline embarked on a massive expansion, ordering a very large number of new planes and using them to new long distance destinations in the Australian, New Zealand and North American. In June 2017, Skytrax announced that Hong Kong Airlines was the second-best airline in the Asia region and 24th best internationally. Having flown them a few times, they are definitely a great airline. The trouble is they have been losing money and things really came unstuck over the last year with resignations…
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