Budget airline Flybe would consider a flotation late next year or early in 2009, its chief executive said on Monday.
Jim French told reporters the carrier would first want to complete the integration of BA Connect, which it bought from British Airways a year ago, as well as its substitution programme of replacing the BA Connect fleet with new planes.
source: Reuters
Aer Lingus Group PLC faced a new strike threat Monday after Ireland’s largest labor union demanded that the airline abandon its new contracts for temporary employees.
The Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union said its members at Aer Lingus would walk off the job Nov. 20 and Nov. 23 if the airline didn’t restore the temporary workers’ previous pay and employment conditions.
source: IHT
At least 200 European airline websites are misleading the consumer, a study by the European Commission has found.
Websites are failing to show taxes and charges, and refusing to advertise the lowest fare prominently, according to the report.
The Commission has refused to name any airlines involved in order to give them time to improve their service.
Last month, a Spanish watchdog said it had found misleading information on seven websites, including Ryanair.
source: BBC News
AirAsia X of Malaysia is taking a gamble on a barely tested business model by buying 25 brand new wide-bodied airplanes worth US$3.5 billion.
The carrier placed the bet on Nov 2 when it took off for its maiden flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Gold Coast, Australia, that marked the beginning of Southeast Asia’s first long-distance budget carrier service.
AirAsia X took to the skies just 15 months after the idea of setting a long-haul no-frills service was first floated.
Industry critics are now watching to see whether long-haul no-frills flights will succeed in the market, as perceived by AirAsia X’s investors, including Virgin Group and AirAsia, the region’s largest low-cost carrier (LCC). Senior executives of AirAsia acknowledge that AirAsia X is indeed a gamble, albeit a calculated one with potential to win.
source: bangkokpost.com
Travel agents have hit back after Ryanair referred to them as the “‘greatest deadwood'” and “‘the costliest parasites in the travel industry'”.
The low-cost airline spoke out over the news that easyJet had signed deals with global distribution systems Amadeus and Galileo in a bid to target more corporate customers.
Ryanair head of communications Peter Sherrard said: “‘EasyJet has signed a deal [allowing] travel agents, the costliest parasites in the travel industry, [to book its flights].'”
source: travelweekly.co.uk
EasyJet has put flights from summer 2008 on sale from Belfast, Liverpool and Newcastle.
These include new routes from Belfast to Barcelona, Gdansk, Prague and Venice and Liverpool-Lisbon, as well as increased frequencies on others.
source: travelmole.com
GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. has stated that GOL Transportes Aereos has transported 70 million passengers, achieving the milestone two months shy of its seventh anniversary.
“‘Transporting 70 million people in less than seven years is a significant accomplishment for a young airline. Our business model allows us to offer tickets at competitive fares, increasing the accessibility of air transportation and setting new performance records in the Brazilian aviation industry,'” said Tarcisio Gargioni, VP – Marketing and Services at GOL.
Low-fare bigshot Southwest Airlines is making some big changes.
In a move to attract the more lucrative class of business travelers, Southwest is putting a higher fare structure in place today, offering perks for passengers willing to pay more.
Southwest said its new “‘business select'” fare will offer the ability to board first, additional credits for frequent fliers and a cocktail on the house.
The airline said it expects to make at least $100 million a year more with the change.
source: Chron.com
Aer Lingus has announced plans to begin two new routes from Dublin and Cork next summer.
Direct flights will begin from Dublin to Ibiza and from Cork to Jersey.
The airline also plans to increase capacity on a number of its other flights, with services between Dublin and San Francisco, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Orlando operating on a year-round basis.
The airline also says it will fly from Belfast to Nice twice a week from April onwards.
source: independent.ie
The airline Iceland Express has changed its corporate identity and will from now on use orange as its main colour and has introduced the slogan “‘We fly to please’â€. The airline, which has been in operation for nearly five years, now flies between Iceland and 15 different destinations in Europe, including daily to London Stansted.
source: Easier
