Trabber News

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News of September 2008


From Air France To ‘Train France’?

11 September 2008

The airline has announced its intention to challenge Eurostar, whose monopoly comes to an end at the start of 2010, when new EU rail laws come into force.

Air France said: “‘It would seem logical to replace some air transport services with a rail transport solution so that we can continue to provide our customers with a global offer, meeting both their short-distance and intercontinental travel needs.'”

The carrier said its plans were in their early stages and that it had not yet worked out which routes it might run.

source: Sky News


Lufthansa plans network from Milan

11 September 2008

Lufthansa is moving aggressively into the north Italian market to take advantage of the parlous state of Alitalia.

The heavily loss-making Italian airline was locked in talks with the government, trades unions and potential investors about the terms for a last-ditch rescue as its operations were hit again by cancellations and industrial action.

The German flag carrier said it was planning to base six Airbus A319 short-haul jets at Milan’s Malpensa airport to launch a network of direct point-to-point services between Milan and leading European cities.

source: FT.com


US airline passenger numbers drop in first half

11 September 2008

U.S. airlines carried fewer domestic passengers but more international travelers during the first half of this year.

The overall number of scheduled passengers fell by 1.5 million, or 0.4 percent, to 378.2 million compared to the first six months of 2007, the Transportation Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics said.

BTS said U.S. airlines carried 1.1 percent fewer domestic passengers and 5.1 percent more international passengers during the first half of the year.

source: IHT


Ryanair cancels Edinburgh flights

10 September 2008

Low-cost airline Ryanair has been forced to cancel flights from its new Edinburgh base for the next six weeks because of strike action at Boeing.

Ryanair said the strike meant US aircraft manufacturers Boeing was unable to deliver two 737 planes it purchased to operate on the new routes.

source: BBC


Continental to scrap some London flights

10 September 2008

Continental Airlines Inc. said Tuesday it will discontinue its flights to London/Gatwick Airport from the New York area and Houston, and will add a third daily flight from its New York Hub at Newark Liberty International Airport to London’s Heathrow Airport on Oct. 25.

The launch of the Heathrow flight is subject to government and airport approval.

The move is an effort to satisfy customers’ preference for Heathrow over Gatwick and to face growing competition at the airport, the carrier said.

source: BusinessWeek


Man sues airline after wife’s body lost

10 September 2008

A man is suing American Airlines and a funeral home, saying he tried to send his late wife’s body to their native Ecuador for burial, but her remains got lost.

Miguel Olaya said he hired the DeRiso Funeral Home in New York City to ship his wife’s body to Ecuador in April. But, he said, the coffin wasn’t at the airport when he went to meet it.

His lawyer said American Airlines first claimed it didn’t know where the body was, and then later said it was shipped to Guatemala by mistake.

source: wdsu.com


JetBlue puts holidays and flights on eBay

9 September 2008

US airline JetBlue is selling more than 300 flights and six holiday packages on internet auction site eBay.

The last-minute budget flights have opening bids set between 5 cents and 10 cents.

The flights are to more than 20 mainly US destinations including New York, Boston and southern California. There are also a handful of “‘mystery'” holiday packages to undisclosed locations.

source: Telegraph.co.uk


Old news report jolts United Airlines’ stock

9 September 2008

United Airlines’ stock fell more than 75 percent Monday morning after a link to a nearly six-year-old Chicago Tribune news report was circulated through Bloomberg News Service.

United stock, which had closed Friday at $12.30 a share, hit a low of $3 a share before the confusion was cleared up. The stock closed Monday at $10.92.

In a statement Monday morning, United said it is launching an investigation. United exited bankruptcy in February 2006.

source: Sun Sentinel


Hanna causes some flooding, flight delays in NYC

7 September 2008

Tropical Storm Hanna has flooded highways, delayed flights and halted the U.S. Open Tennis tournament. The storm has dropped more than a month’s worth of rain on much of the New York metropolitan area, but officials aren’t reporting any major damage.

source: abc.com


JetBlue flight diverted after fight breaks out

7 September 2008

A JetBlue flight from Boston, Massachusetts, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was diverted Saturday when a fight broke out after someone was smoking in the bathroom, federal officials said.

One passenger aboard JetBlue Flight 455 was taken into custody at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina after the plane landed about 5:45 p.m.

The jet was held at the North Carolina airport for about two hours while FBI investigators interviewed passengers.

source: CNN