The recent Qantas -Emirates partnership agreement seems to be having a flow through effect with two major announcements today. One World Alliance has been set for a week now to announce a “significant membership development” today in NewYork. The alliance includes American Airlines, British Airways/Iberia, Cathay Pacific, LAN and Royal Jordanian. The shortlisted options are: Qatar Airways or Emirates. In the meantime, Etihad snuck in their own announcement today with a wide sweeping relationship with Air France-KLM. Etihad’s a major code-sharing arrangement is between itself and 30% owned Air Berlin (itself a new member of One World with Air France-KLM), a Skyteam founding member The code-sharing agreement is seen as…
Airline News (Friday)
Category Archives for Airline News (Friday).
WindJet Winds Down – and Up
Another closure with no warning. On August 13th, 2012 ENAC, the Italian civil aviation authority, ordered Italian carrier Windjet to suspend all operations and to cease issuing tickets. The low-cost carrier shut down its website and grounded all of its aircraft at the start of the busiest holiday week of the year. 300,000 air travellers found they were stranded and 500 staff lost their jobs. Windjet was established in 2003 by Antonino Pulvirenti, owner of the Catania football team. It grew to be the fourth largest airline in Italy after Alitalia, Air One (now part of Alitalia)…
Armavia-Time running out????
At the beginning of 2012, there was much speculation that Armavia,the national airline of Armenia was struggling financially. They had a debt of $US6.2 million with the Zvartnots airports authority. Services to the airline were suspended for non payment of airport fees. Armavia’s owner, Mikhail Bagdasarov, in March, threatened to file for bankruptcy unless Zvartnots reduced the service fees. A compromise was worked out. Then last week, Zvartnots airport again, suspended services to Armavia air company over the latter’s debts. Over the summer the Russian media has reported several times that Armavia was about to be sold to a Russian…
Thoughts about Aeroflot
I am flying in Eastern Europe in November. I have assiduously avoided Aeroflot all of my life. Should I have a rethink these days? Aeroflot is the Russian carrier founded by the Communists in 1923. It is now a profitable semi privatised carrier and part of the Skyteam alliance. Skytrax ranks them as a three star airline and the passeger reviews have them at 4.7 out of ten, which seems to be average for the Skyteam carriers! The carrier used to have an appalling safety record – so bad it has its own wikipedia page devoted to the…
ANA adds EVEN MORE 787s
ANA (All Nippon Airways) is purchasing eleven more Boeing 787-9 aircraft valued at $USD3.3 billion) for delivery between 2018 and 2021, the carrier said in a statement. ANA plans to switch its Narita to Seattle service to 787 aircraft from 1st October and between Tokyo and Beijing from 28th October. Tokyo Narita to San Jose, California will follow in January 2013. When added with existing orders, these purchases bring ANA’s Dreamliner fleet to 36 B787-8s and 30 B787-9s. The 787-8 is the base model of the 787 family: 57 metres long (186 feet), a wingspan of…
Adios Air Nigeria
When I was a child, in the late 1960s, I lived in Ibadan, Nigeria. From Ibadan we once flew to the then capital Lagos on a Nigerian Airways WAAC flight –along with live chickens in the cabin. (Pictured is a the type of Vickers plane they used at Lagos Airport in 1969 -Wikipedia) The carrier was renamed Nigeria Airways in 1971, the year I left Nigeria. Sadly, despite government ownership, the great BOAC legacy and a potentially huge passenger base, Nigeria Airways folded in 2004. The Nigerian government immediately began negotiations for a new carrier and Virgin…
Changement d’Air France
Air France announced this week, a series of changes designed to reposition its products and services at the best possible level in the industry” . These changes are all designed to attract custom back to an airline which has been hit by the global economic downturn and volatile oil prices. Under a three-year plan dubbed “Transform 2015,” Air France- KLM is seeking to reduce operating costs by two billion euros ($US2.59 billion) with the proceeds going to pay down debt. This includes cutting more than 5,000 jobs by 2015. Alongside this, is a new focus on attracting…
LOT announces 787 services
At last a European carrier gets their turn. LOT Polish Airlines has announced that the carrier’s inaugural Boeing 787 service from Warsaw to Chicago will be on January 16, 2013. This will be followed closely by Warsaw to Toronto on February 1 and to New York JFK on February 3. LOT Polish Airlines will launch Boeing 787 service to Beijing a month later, on March 3. LOT is offering 252 seats all with individual entertainment in three classes of service on the new aircraft. This compares with JAL’s 186 seats, ANA’s 216, United with 219 and Ethiopian’s 270 seats. Elite Club (business…
The Return of JAL
There are very few success stories in the airline world about bankrupt airlines. The trading of Japan Air Lines (JAL) shares, this week, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after a two and a half year absence, was welcome news. Generally, when a flag carrier fails, it vanishes. Consider Malev and Pluna this year. When Japan Air Lines failed on January 19, 2010, it had a phenomenal $US 25 billion in debts. One would have assumed that would be farewell. Instead, the carrier is flying high after its massive $US8.5 billion float on the Tokyo Stock Exchange a few months ago,…
No time for 1time?
The South African airline industry has had a very colourful and interesting selection of carriers. Now they really seem under pressure. Earlier in 2012, airline Velvet Sky went into liquidation. The action was launched by oil company BP over unpaid bills. At the end of August, the carrier 1time which is estimated to have 15 per cent of the SA market, filed for “Business Rescue” . This arrangement protects the airline from any creditor forcing it into liquidation while the new management team tries rescue the carrier. 1time (which means in South Africa: “for real!” has…
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