Virgin Atlantic said it plans to launch twice-weekly direct services between London Heathrow and Mauritius on October 28.
Sir Richard Branson’s airline said the new service to the Indian Ocean island would bring its total number of destinations to 29, with Kingston in Jamaica being the 30th route to be launched two days later.
source: hemscott.com
Clickair will start operating to Malta twice weekly from this month to October with a capacity of 15,000 passengers both ways. It is estimated that this airline will be carrying this year over 5,000 passengers one way – about 80 per cent of them tourists.
The Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech addressed a press conference at the Malta International Airport (MIA) on the occasion of the commencement of Click Air operations from and to Barcelona. He said that adding another low cost airline to the network of airlines operating to our country was good news for our tourism industry.
British low-cost airline easyJet reported a 13.8 per cent increase in May passenger numbers today, and said it would offset falling revenues per seat by cutting costs.
Average loadings fell 0.3 percentage points to 83.6 per cent of capacity. “‘Strong load factors, which were broadly in line with last year, were supported by targeted promotional activity and low lead-in fares,'” it said in a statement.
“‘For the second half we anticipate total revenue per seat to decline in the region of 5 per cent to 10 per cent versus last year,'” it added.
source: ireland.com
Emirates Airline is offering packages of three nights accommodation, including buffet breakfast, at the AC Valencia Hotel a visit to the Emirates Team New Zealand base camp at the Port America’s Cup and a day of race viewing onboard the team’s VIP boat, with full hospitality.
Wizzair, Central and Eastern Europe’s largest low fare airline and Italian low-cost carrier Air Italy, have become the latest airlines to add to Stansted Airport’s growing route network.
Air Italy will link the romantic city of Verona, famous as the home of Romeo and Juliet, and Wizzair has launched its first service to the old Polish capital of Katowice.
Flights to Brussels also return as Ryanair relaunches services to Charleroi.
Australian airline Jetstar will double its direct services between Sydney and Bali to four times weekly from 28 October, in response to the bounce back in Australian traveller demand and the ongoing recovery of the island’s tourism industry.
The additional two weekly A330 services from Sydney will see the low cost carrier operating six flights a week between the Australian east coast and Bali.
source: MICEBTN
A new long haul, low-cost airline, seeking to capitalize on the presence of a strong migrant population residing in the UK that likes to travel to the Indian sub-continent in order to maintain family and country ties, is likely to begin operations this summer. The start-up, Air Sylhet, will initially fly direct to Asian and Middle Eastern destinations, and expand operations in subsequent stages.
source: domain-b.com
Ryanair Holdings PLC posted a record full-year 2006 profit Tuesday amid higher fuel prices and strong competition, but offered a cautious forecast for 2007.
The Dublin-based airline said net income, excluding exceptional items, rose 33 percent to 401.4 million euros ($541.7 million) in the 12 months through March 31, while sales rose 32 percent to nearly 2.24 billion euros ($3.02 billion).
But chief executive Michael O’Leary said he expected to post less stellar growth in 2007, with overall profit growth slowing to 5 percent, mirroring the percentage drop for an average ticket.
source: WTOPnews.com
Korean Air has confirmed that it is to launch a new low cost carrier within the next 3 years.
Since 2005, Korean Air organized a special task force to study the feasibility of operating its own low cost carrier. For the new airline, Korean Air is considering using one of its Hanjin Group affiliates, Korea Airport Service, which has charter flight operation experience, rather than setting up a new company. Korean Air is part of the Hanjin Group, one of the world’s largest transportation conglomerates.
source: asiatraveltips.com
U.S. airlines, already taking a beating in surveys of customers, took another hit last week when a guest-satisfaction poll by a California market research company gave them their lowest ratings in four years.
“‘The drop in passenger satisfaction reveals unprecedented angst … caused, in part, by disenchanted employees, increasing fuel costs, bankruptcy and new record levels of lost, delayed and damaged luggage,'” said Jonathan Barsky, chairman of Market Metrix.
Among the 14 airlines in the survey, JetBlue and Midwest Airlines ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, even though they showed the biggest declines over the last survey. US Airways was at the bottom of the overall ratings. United Airlines, the No. 1 carrier at LAX, ranked third from the bottom, just above American Airlines. The top seven spots were all claimed by low-cost carriers.
