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Staff at flag carrier Cyprus Airways CAIR.CY called off a strike on Wednesday to allow more time for consultations over a controversial ground handling contract, labour unions said.

Two unions representing staff involved in ground handling had called for a walkout at the troubled airline but one labour union backed down on Monday and the second on Wednesday morning.

“‘We have suggested a temporary postponement of measures to allow further consultations,'” said Antonis Neophytou of the SIDIKEK-PEO labour union.

source: Reuters

Details about the new air routes that will be opened up to competition by the “open skies” agreement between the USA and the European Union next year are beginning to emerge.

This week, Northwest Airlines and KLM confirmed that they will provide services from London’s Heathrow airport to a number of major cities in America’s Midwest and on the west coast.

Along with flights to Detroit and Minneapolis, Northwest’s hub airports, the joint venture partners will provide a daily flight from Heathrow to Seattle from June 2008.

British Airways is currently the only operator serving this destination, and is a very expensive, highly lucrative route. Competition is likely to bring considerable benefits for air passengers aiming to get to the north-west USA’s biggest and most economically important city.

source: holidaylettings.co.uk

Icelandair said Monday it will cease operations at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport next month.

The move by the Rekjavik-based airline, effective Jan. 18, is another blow to BWI’s efforts to grow its base of international carriers. Icelandair cited escalating costs and decreasing revenue for the move.

“‘We are fine-tuning the Icelandair route network and our capacity in an effort to increase profitability,'” said Jon Karl Olafsson, CEO of Icelandair, in a statement.

The announcement comes the same day BWI said it set an October record for the number of travelers passing through its gates.

source: Baltimore Business Journal

Lufthansa, the German flag carrier, is to become the first European airline to set up its own fleet of business jets to augment the services offered to its most lucrative premium customers.

The group has been testing the market for executive jet services for the past three years in a co-operation deal with NetJets Europe, the leading operator of business jets in Europe and part of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

However, NetJets, which specialises in fractional ownership and card membership schemes for private jets, has decided to terminate the deal, as the venture has developed differently to that which was first envisaged and there have been disagreements over pricing and aircraft availability.

source: FT.com

Aer Lingus will make history today with the start of its services from Belfast International Airport.

Belfast Internatinal Airport is the airline’s first ever base outside the Republic, and follows the company’s controversial decision to end flights between Shannon and Heathrow and to transfer the slots to the North.

BMI, the UK’s third-largest airline, will start daily non-stop flights from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport in March, becoming the second British carrier to fly that route. British Airways Plc had been the only UK airline allowed to operate between London and Tel Aviv.

The UK and Israeli governments agreed in September to allow another British carrier to operate the route.

source: The Jerusalem Post

Two firms have announced plans to offer free, in-flight Wi-Fi connections for laptop computers and smart phones on flights on the JetBlue airline.

The new service, offered by Yahoo and Research in Motion (RIM), will allow passengers to access customized Yahoo mail and instant messenger services on their laptops or access corporate e-mails on Wi-Fi enabled versions of the popular Blackberry device from RIM.

The Houston-based airline was named the best airline for North American travel by Business Traveller magazine’s 2007 Readers’ Choice Best in Business Travel Survey.

Continental also took the top spot for best flight attendants in North America and best in-flight services in North America.

source: Houston Business Journal

Indian low-cost carrier Jet Airways launches daily flights from the eastern Indian metropolis of Chennai to Toronto and New York, both via Brussels, starting tomorrow.

The flight involves a two-hour layover in Brussels, from which passengers can fly to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport or John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The airline is introducing the route with an economy return fare of 36,000 rupees (US$913) plus taxes, and a premier class return fare of 157,500 rupees (US$4,000) plus taxes.

source: Wall Street Journal

Airline passengers in Houston went high-tech Tuesday, boarding planes using cellphones and personal digital assistants, rather than paper boarding passes.

The three-month Continental Airlines test program at Houston’s Intercontinental Airport may expand nationwide if it’s successful, USA Today said. Passengers showed photo identification and codes sent to their cellphones or PDAs to board planes. The two-dimensional bar code contains passenger names and flight information. It is scanned by the Transportation Security Administration to verify authenticity.

source: United Press International