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News of November 2008


Sardinia to get major boost in 2009 with two new Ryanair bases

16 November 2008

Ryanair’s recent decision to designate both Alghero and Cagliari on the island of Sardinia as bases is another step in the airline’s on-going expansion in the Italian market. Passenger traffic at Sardinia’s three main airports of Alghero, Cagliari and Olbia has almost doubled from just under three million in 1996 to over five and a half million in 2007. Cagliari has remained the busiest airport on the island followed by Olbia and Alghero, though thanks to Ryanair’s existing network Alghero has been the fastest growing, especially last year when passenger numbers increased by 22%.

source: Anna.aero


Virgin Atlantic in talks with easyJet to buy Gatwick airport

16 November 2008

Virgin Atlantic, the British airline owned by tycoon Richard Branson, said on Friday that it was in talks about forming a consortium that would bid for London’s second biggest airport, Gatwick.

Analysts have estimated that the sale of Gatwick could fetch up to three billion pounds (3.48 billion euros, 4.42 billion dollars).

Britain’s Spanish-owned airport operator BAA announced in September plans to sell London’s Gatwick hub after regulators called for the offloading of two of its airports on competition grounds.

source: AFP


SkyEurope, MyAir.com team up

9 November 2008

Individually, airlines are finding it hard to stay viable, let alone turn a profit. For smaller airlines trying to bill themselves as budget, cooperation may be the solution in creating a wider distribution of resources and lowering operating costs. Flyholding, the holding company of MyAir.com, and SkyEurope Holding announced Oct. 15 a cooperation agreement that would boost their standings in Europe’s budget airline industry.

MyAir.com has entered a protocol agreement with Bratislava-based SkyEurope Airlines for an operating partnership that is an example of a new trend in strategic alliances. MyAir.com said it hopes the partnership will streamline operations and cut costs by taking advantage of the economies of scale on the market in which both airlines currently operate. With largely complementary networks, the partnership will also bring additional destinations to customers in their major hubs.

source: The Prague Post


Ryanair opens new base at Reus airport

9 November 2008

Ireland-based low-cost airline Ryanair has opened its 26th base at the Reus Airport in Spain.The airline has announced new domestic routes which will link Reus with Santander, Seville, Santiago de Compostela and Palma de Mallorca starting December 19, 2008 and a new international route to Paris, France.

Four of the new Reus routes will operate as daily services, while the new service to Seville will operate twice daily

source: Redorbit.com


Aer Lingus workers vote to strike over airline’s Job-Cuts Plan

9 November 2008

Aer Lingus Group Plc workers voted to strike over the airline’s plan to cut more than 1,500 jobs. Around 80 percent of the Dublin-based airline’s workers that voted were in favor of the strike.

Aer Lingus plans to cut jobs, hire outside providers for ground operations and halt pay raises until at least the end of 2009 as part of a plan to save 74 million euros ($94.4 million). It says the cuts are necessary as consumer demand wanes.

source: Bloomberg


Air Berlin’s dba to cease flying

1 November 2008

Dba, the former Deutsche BA, is to cease operations from 30 November. The carrier operates on German domestic routes from Munich and Dusseldorf.

The airline, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Berlin, currently operates nine aircraft and employs 120 pilots and 175 flight attendants. The airline’s parent company said the employees would be offered comparable jobs within the group and at their current locations.

source: businesstravelworld.com


EasyJet steps into Sterling Airlines’ shoes

1 November 2008

easyJet is starting a service between Gatwick and Copenhagen in the wake of the collapse of Scandinavian carrier Sterling Airlines.The daily flight will start on January 15 and run alongside easyJet’s existing Stansted-Copenhagen service, which operates three times a day.

EasyJet might also add capacity to the Gatwick route in the summer. The new route goes on sale on Wednesday November 15.

source: ttglive.com