Wizz Air said it would immediately call on the European Commission to investigate the Hungarian government’s decision to yet again waste significant financial resources into Malév, the struggling and massively loss making national airline.
The Malév re-nationalization plan does not solve the issue as the airline will require continuous illegal financial aid from tax payers’ money going forward.
source: Travelio.net
European airport authorities subsidise Ryanair to the tune of at least €11 (£10) per passenger, Air France-KLM claimed this week as it filed a lawsuit in Brussels against the low-cost carrier.
In the latest in a series of legal attacks on Ryanair’s business model, the Franco-Dutch airline accused the Irish company of receiving illegal state aid and distorting competition.
Air France-KLM said that Ryanair obtained at least €660 million a year in financial incentives from regional authorities in Europe, notably in the form of reduced ground-handling fees and other airport charges.
source: Times Online
A Ryanair flight to Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, was forced to land on the neighbouring island of Fuerteventura during a thunderstorm.
When arriving at the airport, around 120 passengers claim they were left ‘stranded’ to organise their own accommodation and travel plans with no word from the airline.
European guidelines state if the flight disruption is outside the control of the airline, no monetary compensation is due.
source: News.com.au
German carrier Air Berlin on Tuesday confirmed that it is planning to raise its stake in its Austrian partner Niki, the airline of Formula 1 legend Niki Lauda. The German budget airline said it is “in advanced negotiations” on increasing its share and indicated that its board of directors would discuss the matter on Tuesday.
So far, Lauda’s budget carrier has profited from the Austrian Airlines takeover last year because the European Commission gave the go-ahead on the condition that the enlarged Lufthansa group hand over landing rights to Niki.
source: earthtimes.org
Ryanair has been officially branded the worst budget airline for hitting customers with hidden charges.
Holiday watchdogs investigated the cost of passengers checking in one piece of luggage each and paying by credit card. Stansted-based Ryanair charges spiralled by 61 per cent – ahead of Bmibaby, Jet2 and easyJet.
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said: “Everybody knows that Ryanair has the lowest fares guaranteed which is why Ryanair will carry 73 million passengers this year.
source: Mirror.co.uk
Air Asia will begin operating from a fourth national base this year after agreeing to buy into and rebrand a Vietnamese airline, even as the local affiliate of rival Jetstar struggles with a barrage of difficulties with the government in Hanoi.
The move strengthens Air Asia’s lead in Southeast Asia over Jetstar and Tiger Airways as the three Asia-Pacific, no-frills groups race to set up multinational franchise chains. For the first time, two of them will have franchised affiliates in the same country.
source: aviationweek.com
It could all be dismissed as just another Ryanair publicity stunt.
Michael O’Leary, chief executive of the budget airline, has challenged Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the largest shareholder in easyJet, its arch-rival, to a race round Trafalgar Square to settle a dispute over insults concerning “high fares” and the portrayal of Sir Stelios as Pinocchio.
But the latest Ryanair insults have provoked a counter-threat. For the first time in the history of their rivalry, easyJet and Sir Stelios are threatening to sue Ryanair — on two counts.
“If Stelios does not want to run, maybe he can go round in a wheelbarrow,” said Mr O’Leary. “Or maybe we could do sumo wrestling.”
source: Times Online
Germany’s second-largest airline says it will begin regular flights to Iraq from Saturday. The new route forms another link in the carrier’s expanding global network of destinations.
Low-cost air carrier Air Berlin said it will begin scheduled fortnightly passenger flights to Iraq as of Saturday, the first German airline to do so since the Iraq War.
The airline said connections would be offered from Munich to Erbil in northern Iraq and Sulaimaniya in northeastern Iraq, alternating every second week between the two destinations.
source: dw-world.de
Aer Lingus Group Plc aims to join a global airline alliance to add destinations and attract more passengers after dropping its “no-frills” business model, Chief Executive Officer Christoph Mueller said in an interview.
Aer Lingus pulled out of the Oneworld alliance, which includes British Airways Plc, in 2006, saying the revenue benefits weren’t sufficient. The carrier continues to codeshare with BA, meaning the pair sell tickets on each other’s flights, and has similar pacts with Air France’s Dutch unit KLM and UAL Corp.’s United Airlines, members of the SkyTeam and Star groups.
Ryanair Holdings Plc, Aer Lingus’s biggest competitor and a 29 percent shareholder after two failed takeover bids, doesn’t have alliances with other airlines and operates its routes as point-to-point services without connections to other flights. The strategy has made it Europe’s biggest discount carrier.
source: BusinessWeek.com
EasyJet put its staff in French airports on British labour contracts in an attempt to avoid the costly welfare contributions required under Gallic employment legislation.
Prosecutors called for the low cost carrier to be fined €225,000 and be ordered to pay more than €10 million in outstanding social security charges as easyJet went on trial yesterday on charges of flouting French labour law. The case follows a lawsuit filed by unions and social security officials.
The company denied the claims and told the court in Creteil outside Paris it had no obligation to register employees under French labour contracts at the time of the alleged offences between 2003 and 2006.
source: Times Online
