Iberia and Meridiana have signed a code-sharing agreement for flights within Italy, enabling Iberia to offer flights to Cagliari, Catania, Olbia as well as to another eight Italian destinations. Under the new scheme, Iberia passengers can book to Cagliari and Olbia via Roma and to Catania via Bologna.
source: traveldailynews.com
German no-frills airline Germanwings, owned by Lufthansa, will renew flights between the Cologne-Bonn and Berlin-Schoenefeld airports in Germany to Bourgas and Varna airports in Bulgaria in May this year, according to its summer season schedule made public on its website.
Flights from Bourgas to Cologne-Bonn and back would be carried out every Tuesday and Sunday, while flights between Bourgas and Berlin-Schoenefeld would be carried out on Wednesdays and Sundays. Germanwings will also fly between Varna and the two German airports on Saturdays.
source: Sofia Echo
EasyJet stuck to a five-year-old pledge yesterday and promised not to introduce a fuel surcharge, even as its shares fell 17 per cent amid warnings that it would be spending £45 million more than it had forecast on aviation fuel in the second half of the year.
A profit warning from the low-cost airline dragged down the aviation sector and easyJet predicted worse to come from its rivals, which it said were basing their forecasts on oil at $850 a tonne, while it had risen to more than $1,000 a tonne.
source: Times OnLine
Terminal 5 was supposed to be the saving grace for British Airways and London Heathrow, one of the most congested airports in Europe. Instead, as the glitzy new terminal enters its second week, passengers are bracing for more chaos.British Airways canceled another 54 flights at the new terminal Monday as it struggled with the computerized baggage-handling system that has already led to at least 15,000 pieces of misdirected baggage. The airline, which has canceled more than 250 flights since the gleaming terminal opened Thursday as its main hub, said Monday that the situation was improving daily and that it hoped to fly at full capacity again soon.
But the disruptions, which are set to last for at least the rest of this week, could not come at a worse time for British Airways, which had enjoyed a turnaround under its chief executive, Willie Walsh, who cut jobs and focused on the more lucrative premium travel business between the United States and Britain.
source: International Herald Tribune
British Airways travellers face more disruption this weekend as the airline continues to struggle to overcome problems at its showpiece £4.3bn Terminal 5 at Heathrow.
The company plans to cancel 54 flights on Saturday, on top of the 140 eliminated in the past two days since Thursday’s disastrous opening of T5, which saw thousands of bags lost and some passengers forced to sleep in the terminal overnight.
The chaos forced BA to pull a multi-million pound advertising campaign planned for next week that would have trumpeted the speed at which travellers should be able to move through the airport and collect their baggage.
source: FT.com
David Neeleman, who as founder of JetBlue Airways helped to redefine start-up carriers in the United States by using new jets and offering above-bargain-basement service, said Thursday that he would start a domestic airline in Brazil.
He has already agreed to buy 36 Brazilian-made jets with a total list price of $1.4 billion.
Mr. Neeleman said he had raised $150 million to finance the airline and invited Brazilian consumers and travel agents to suggest a name for the carrier, promising the first person to submit the winning name free lifetime travel for two on the airline.
source: NY Times
Southwest Airlines is conducting a “‘fierce study’†of potential partnerships with other airlines that could result in the discount carrier offering international service for the first time in its history, a top executive said Friday.At the same time, it has been pulling back from long-haul flights in the United States and is focusing on shorter trips that are more profitable, said John Jamotta, Southwest’s senior director of schedule planning.
The Dallas-based airline has implemented a number of changes to its strategy in the past year as it struggles to boost revenue to offset higher costs. But the possibility of offering international travel to customers would likely be the biggest change for the airline, which is the most profitable in the nation.
source: star-telegram.com
American Airlines might begin charging $25 each way for a second checked bag as jet fuel prices remain near record highs.
American, the world’s largest airline, notified Canadian regulators that it’s considering adding the charge for passengers originating in Canada. The airline isn’t required to file a similar notice in the U.S. No decision has been made, spokesman Tim Wagner said Thursday.
source: theNewsTribune.com
Liverpool John Lennon airport’s axed transatlantic routes will not be brought back this summer.
Last year Scottish airline Flyglobespan said it would renew its New York and Toronto services in May. They were scrapped last October due to operational problems.
But the Edinburgh-based business said soaring fuel costs and the poor reliability of leased aircraft meant they were unable to return to Liverpool.
Centralwings, the low-cost arm of the Polish national airline carrier LOT, which noted significant losses last year is now cancelling dozens of unprofitable flights, Gazeta Wyborcza writes.
Since April 1 Centralwings will serve only one route from the mid-western Polish city of Poznań to Rome. The connections to Paris and Edinburgh will be put on hold. New flights to Amsterdam and Manchester which were supposed to take off in April were cancelled.
source: Polish Market
