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Continental Airlines, the last U.S. carrier serving free meals in the coach cabin, will start charging for food for economy-class passengers on most domestic and Canadian flights as well as certain Latin American routes.

Complimentary meals will still be offered to passengers on economy fares on all intercontinental trips, certain other international routes and domestic flights longer than six hours, Houston-based Continental said today in a statement.

Now, with shorter flights and pressure from low-fare rivals such as Southwest Airlines Co., Continental and the rest of the large U.S. airlines are turning to fees including bag-check charges to raise revenue from sources other than tickets.

source: Business Week

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

British Airways’ cabin crew have voted for strike action over two consecutive weekends in March: a three-day walkout March 20-22 and a four-day walkout March 27-30.

The strikes will involve 12,000 flight attendants and will affect more than half a million BA passengers. As promised, there will be no strikes over the Easter period, but further strike action will take place after April 14 if no deal has been reached by then.

source: OnTheShow.com

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has announced it will install new technology on its long haul aircraft that will monitor in detail the condition of ill passengers.

The system, called Tempus IC, will allow cabin crew to gather vital information about a passenger’s health quickly. Information gathered by the system will be transmitted to a medical team of experts around the world who specialise in assisting in-flight medical situations.

The technology, designed and manufactured by UK-based company RDT, will be installed on Etihad’s A340 and Boeing 777 aircraft, and then across the remaining long and extra long haul fleet.

source: theaustralian.com.au

Hungary’s Government has stepped in to rescue struggling flag-carrier Malev, retaking control of the airline three years after its privatisation.

The Government, via state holding company MNV, has agreed to acquire a 95% stake in Malev through a Ft25.2 billion ($127 million) investment funded partly by cash and partly by debt conversion.

The finance ministry says that the acquisition will clear the way towards creating stability for the troubled airline. But the ministry warns that “intensive” restructuring is required in order to minimise the burden on taxpayers and ensure that the rescue does not constitute illegal state aid.

source: flightglobal.com

All Nippon Airways (ANA) will introduce the women-only lavatories on international routes. ANA says they received “numerous requests from passengers for this service.” In a 2007 survey, 90 percent of women said they liked idea.

One women-only lavatory will be provided in the rear section of the passenger cabin and will display a pink ladies sign, a signal designed to let male travelers know that they’ll have to look elsewhere.

ANA says there are exceptions. If a passenger is not feeling well or “when there are very few female passengers and the women-only designation has been lifted for the flight,” male passengers will be allowed to use the lavatory.

source: seattlepi.com

The Canadian Transportation Agency will review a policy at the country’s biggest airlines allowing cats in the cabin to see if it interferes with air travel for allergic customers.

The independent tribunal announced the review on Thursday after ruling that three people who are allergic to cats are, in effect, persons with disabilities because the airlines’ pet policies affect their ability to fly.

The passengers had complained about Air Canada, the country’s biggest airline, its regional carrier Jazz Airline, and WestJet Airline, the No. 2 airline in Canada.

source: Reuters

Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. said Tuesday it has signed an initial pact to join the Oneworld Alliance, comprising 11 global carriers such as American Airlines and British Airways.

Kingfisher, controlled by billionaire Vijay Mallya, also applied to India’s civil aviation ministry to seek approval for its membership of Oneworld, India’s biggest airline by market share said. The airline will add 58 cities in India to the Oneworld network, expanding the alliance’s total network to 800 destinations in nearly 150 countries.

source: The Wall Street Journal

Greece’s two largest carriers Aegean Airlines and recently privatized Olympic Air have agreed to merge to form a stronger airline better able to compete with European peers.

“The company that will be formed as a result of the merger will carry the name and logos of Olympic Air, following the necessary transition and adjustment period during which the name and logos of Aegean will be used in parallel,” they said in a joint statement.

fuente: calgaryherald.com

Lufthansa pilots in Germany agreed to suspend for two weeks a strike that grounded about 900 flights on Monday.

Some 4,000 Lufthansa pilots took part in a stoppage that was meant to last for four days, leaving thousands of passengers around the world stranded, on concerns the company could try to cut staff costs by shifting jobs to foreign units.

Lufthansa aims to cut 1 billion euros ($1.36 billion) of costs by 2011, to become more lean while expanding abroad.

source: Reuters