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Virgin Atlantic has held last-ditch talks with the union representing the airline’s pilots aimed at averting the first-ever strike in the company’s history.

Virgin Atlantic pilots are currently guaranteed 120 days off a year on top of holiday – which corresponds approximately with time off such as weekends and bank holidays.

However, management at the airline, which posted a £132 million loss last year, is looking to trim the figure as part of cost-cutting measures.

source: dailymail.co.uk

A Ryanair passenger has been arrested after he complained about the quality of a £3.80 sandwich.

The man was detained by police when his flight landed after crew complained he had become disruptive.

But Henrik Ulven (52), from Oslo, said he merely asked for a refund after he bought a sandwich and was unhappy with its quality. He was shocked when arrested upon arrival at Rygge Airport near Oslo on Tuesday.

source: Belfast Telegraph

A flight attendant working for Air France has been charged with 26 counts of theft. For more than a year, she operated stealthily as business class passengers slumbered; an apparently comforting flight attendant who poured tea for travellers with one hand and swiped their bank cards with the other.

But the game is finally up for an Air France flight attendant, who allegedly took to rifling through passengers’ pockets in mid-air to solve her money problems. She was arrested on the runway of Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport on Friday, and faces a prison sentence if found guilty of a string of robberies on flights from France to Asia.

Police said the items that the 47-year-old stole ranged from credit cards and cash – in multiple currencies – to jewellery and designer watches.

source: Guardian.co.uk

Air Berlin expects to start flying as part of the Oneworld alliance of airlines in early 2012 in a move analysts said would bolster its position against German flagship carrier Lufthansa.

In a first step, Air Berlin has entered code-sharing agreements with Oneworld members American Airlines and Finnair. Bilateral agreements with British Airways and Iberia will follow.

Joining the Oneworld alliance would allow Air Berlin to share pricing, scheduling and other information within the alliance.

source: Reuters

Data compiled by Gatwick, the airport that is easyJet’s largest base, show that fewer than 50pc of its flights from the airport took off on time last month.

In June, 48pc of easyJet’s international flights departed on time – within 15 minutes of its advertised schedule. That was worse than Air Zimbabwe, which managed 50pc on time, and considerably worse than British Airways, which hit 85.7pc. The revelation will stoke the furore about the state of easyJet’s operations.

source: Telegraph.co.uk

Ryanair’s first-quarter net profits have fallen by 24% to 93.7m euros ($122m, £80m) because of the volcanic ash disruption earlier this year.

The airline said the Icelandic ash cloud had caused it to cancel almost 10,000 flights at a cost of 50m euros.

source: BBC News

Spirit Airlines has announced the cancellation of even more flights through Thursday due to the strike by pilots, which started on Saturday. To help passengers with the cancellations, the carrier says that they will be given flight credits for the full cost of their tickets, as well as an extra $100 credit to use on future flights. However, customers can also choose to get a full refund.

On Saturday morning, hundreds of pilots began industrial action after talks over pay failed with Spirit Airlines. The two sides tried to reach an agreement through the night, but were unable to come to a resolution.

source: mns.co.uk

Easyjet has drawn up plans to drop the Easy name if it cannot resolve a bitter row with the airline’s founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou.

The company could until recently have revived Go, the name used by the low-cost airline set up by former British Airways executive Barbara Cassani. Easyjet bought Go in 2002 but sold the brand last year for $1m (£688,000).

A simmering dispute between Stelios and the company exploded on Friday, with Stelios resigning from the board. He said he had stepped down to speak freely about his concerns with the way the company was being run. “The gag is off,” he said. He accused Andy Harrison, the chief executive, of pursuing a reckless expansion programme and buying too many aircraft.

source: Times Online

Italy’s civil aviation authority has imposed a fine of just over $4 million on the Irish low-cost airline, Ryanair, for failing to help passengers stranded during the disruption caused by a volcanic ash cloud last month.

The Italians say Ryanair failed to provide passengers at an airport in Rome with drinks, meals and hotel rooms. Tens of thousands of flights were grounded during a week of travel chaos caused by the ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland.

The Italian civil aviation authority said its own staff had to help stranded Ryanair passengers in Rome, and it cited 178 cases where the company had breached the rules

source: ABC News

Emirates says Baghdad will be among the new destinations it will begin serving this year. Emirates will begin flying to Baghdad in July, making it “the latest carrier to add routes to Iraq as the nation struggles to recover from war.”

Other Middle East carriers (FlyDubai and Qatar Airways) have also recently announced Baghdad service, writing that “the flights also are a possible sign of increased Arab investment in Iraq’s oil and commercial sectors.”

source: USA Today