The CAPA – Centre for Aviation was launched in 1990, to build aviation knowledge. I find them a great go to site for good deep air research. Since 2003, their annual Awards for Excellence have been intended to showcase success and industry leadership. Their 2018 winners were announced this week in Berlin at the 2018 CAPA World Aviation Outlook Summit. I wish I had been there for the buzz, the award announcements and the wonderful city that is Berlin. Being in two places is hard to do! And the winners this year were: Airline of…
Air Berlin
Tag Archives for Air Berlin.
Goodbye -The airlines that vanished in 2017
About fifty airlines stopped flying in 2017. Two were biggies. One was Air Berlin and the other UK’s Monarch. Two of the airlines had been operating for a long time: 88 years and 50. One of the airlines that collapsed had operated for just one month. I have flown two of the carriers that collapsed (marked with an asterix in the list below): Air Berlin and Hawaii’s IslandAir. Of the 98 airlines I have travelled on, 54 still remain in operation. Details of some of the 50 airlines that vanished in 2017. How many had…
Air Berlin’s Transatlantic Farewell Landing -Daring, Dangerous or Deserved?
The pilots of Air Berlin’s last transatlantic flight to Dusseldorf airport last Tuesday clearly did not want a normal landing. As Air Berlin flight AB7001, an Airbus 330 descended toward the runway, the pilot requested a”flyby” over the airport. A request that was refused. The pilot sought permission from Dusseldorf Control tower to make a left turn should a go-around be necessary. (A go around is a standard procedure when a pilot deems that the landing will not be a safe one). Clearly, the pilot decided a “go around” was necessary! As the plane came into land, it pulled…
Best Airlines in the World (my reactions and comments)
Who is the best airline you have flown? Chances are, it is not US carrier! Each year at the Paris Air Show, Skytrax releases their rankings of airlines including world’s best airlines, best cabin crew, most improved etc. Of this year’s Top 100 airlines, I have flown exactly half of them. How Reliable is Skytrax? Skytrax claims its World Airline Awards to be “the global benchmarks of airline excellence” with almost 20 million travellers from 105 countries voting on 320 airlines between August 2016 and May 2017. Yet each year I question some of their statistics. This…
Who is the best One World airline?
It’s an interest obsession of mine to “collect” airlines flown. I am inching closer to 100 different airlines flown. Some of those carriers are no longer flying. In most cases this a tragedy (eg Pan Am, Ansett Australia, Malev) and in others, probably a good thing (Air Australia). I’ve flown airlines that belong to all of the three major airline alliances (One World, Skyteam and Star Alliance). Truth be told, 40% of my flights have been with One World carriers, however. So I pricked up my ears when on Wednesday, the CEO of IAG (Iberia/British Airways) suggested…
Good Bye US Airways- will they be missed?
Tomorrow, US Airways disappears as a brand. It joins AirTran, Aloha, Continental, Midwest Express, Northwest, TWA as airline brands that have all disappeared since 2001. The largest airlines in the US have contracted to just three large carriers: American, Delta and United. US first flew in 1939 as mail carrier All American Aviation, adding passenger traffic in 1949. In 1953 it became Allegheny Airlines, a name it carried until the deregulation era of 1979 when USAir was adopted. USAir was varied to US Airways in 1997. In 2005, they entered into a “reverse merger” with America West with the America West…
Getting my cheap fares
I have to admit that I enjoy boring my friends with my latest exploits of finding low fares. I hate paying top fare for anything! What I enjoy more is when my friends use these tips to score their own low fares! Subscribe to email alerts for airlines and travel companies Watch for new cities – when an airline starts a new service, often there is a flurry of discounting not just from that carrier but their competitors. Jumping in on a new routing can save cash! Don’t use Expedia and Orbitz automatically – these are…
Etihad finishes Alitalia Due Diligence
Etihad Airways has reportedly finished a due diligence for a possible 40 percent investment in Alitalia. Maurizio Lupi , the Italian transport minister told parliament on Wednesday that Etihad could present its industrial plan for the troubled Italian carrier to the government by the end of this week. The Middle Eastern airline is apparently considering its options which a month ago its’ Chief Executive James Hogan said could swing either way. Etihad has said it will invest in the Italian carrier only if it fits in its network and if Alitalia has a credible plan to return to profit.…
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…
Air Berlin loses 200 bags -at once!
It may not seem like it but airlines aim to not lose bags. On August 9, 2013 Air Berlin flight 8109 landed in Berlin from Stockholm with none of the passenger’s bags on board! The bags were all left at the airport. The airline then could not find any of the bags. Passengers started a Facebook group called ‘Airberlin 8109 Stockholm to Berlin – Where are our bags?!?!?’. The group’s description says: “Baggage company says to contact airline; airline says to contact baggage company. Vacations & weddings ruined. We still can’t comprehend why the…
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