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A sluggish economy and higher fuel prices will hold down airline growth until 2015, according to a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration forecast.

The number of fliers will reach 800 million in 2015 and 1 billion in 2024, according to the FAA. The agency in 2011 had predicted the industry would reach the 1 billion level three years earlier. The FAA uses the predictions to estimate staffing and equipment needs.

Revenue passenger miles, which take into account how many people fly as well as how far, are expected to increase faster than passenger totals alone, the FAA forecasts. The agency predicts an average annual increase of 3.2 percent in RPMs over the next 20 years, to 1.57 trillion by 2032 from 815 billion in 2011.

source: Bloomberg

An American Airlines jet about to take off was halted after a flight attendant began “‘ranting'” about 9/11 and claiming that the plane was about to crash.

Chicago-bound Flight 2332 had departed the gate at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport this morning and was preparing for takeoff when, according to a law enforcement officer, a female flight attendant began talking on the plane’s public address system about mechanical problems. Her speech also included “‘ranting'” about 9/11.

source: cbsnews.com

Virgin America Inc., the trendy California-based discount airline, is aiming for an initial public offering as soon as next year, after it hopes to post its first annual profit in 2012, Chief Executive David Cush said.

When the carrier was founded in 2007, it targeted this year or next for an IPO. But fuel costs “‘essentially wiped out the operating profit'” for 2011, delaying plans, Mr. Cush said Thursday in an interview.

Virgin America is the fastest-growing airline in the U.S., with plans to increase capacity by about 30% this year. The Burlingame, Calif., airline lost nearly $70 million in the first nine months of 2011, according to the most recent results available, but Mr. Cush said the company is showing strong profits in routes it has operated for at least a year.

source: WSJ.com

Talks between Australia’s Qantas and Malaysia Airlines to establish a premium airline in Asia have broken down, in a setback for both carriers.

Qantas said the two sides could not agree on commercial terms. Qantas shares fell 4% in Sydney.

Qantas has announced plans to focus on the Asia region as a way to stem losses in its international business.

source: BBC.co.uk

The UK will be increasingly reliant on travel and tourism in 2012 as jobs and economic growth in the sector outstrip the wider economy.

According to a report released today by the World Travel&Tourism Council (WTTC), the industry will grow by 1.3 percent in 2012 – over double the rate of growth in the wider economy, predicted to be 0.6 percent by the International Monetary Fund.

This rate of growth means that the travel and tourism industry is expected to directly contribute £35.6 billion and almost 950,000 jobs to the British economy.

source: travel-news.co.uk

An advertising watchdog has reprimanded Irish airline Ryanair over an ad campaign that suggested British travel company Thomas Cook was likely to collapse.
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The London-based Advertising Standards Agency says in a judgment Wednesday that Ryanair’s newspaper ads in the run-up to last Christmas misled viewers and denigrated Thomas Cook, which was struggling financially after a string of profit warnings.

source: Boston.com

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Beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines was today suspended for non-payment of dues for the second time in just over a month by the IATA from participating in a system which enables the airlines to settle their interline billings globally.

“‘IATA has suspended Kingfisher Airlines’ participation in the IATA Clearing House (ICH). This is because the airline did not settle their ICH account within the stipulated deadline,'” IATA’s assistant director (corporate communications) Albert Tjoeng said in a statement from Singapore.

source: The Times of India

Travelodge has announced it plans to open 184 hotels in London by 2025 with at least one in each borough.

The hotel chain made the announcement after John Penrose MP opened its 500th hotel at Stratford yesterday in time of the Olympic games this summer.

Travelodge currently has 47 hotels in the capital and plans to open another six before the games begin.

source: traveldaily.co.uk

American Airlines is offering another option to the passenger who is tired of jamming his knees into a fellow flier’s back. The carrier’s new “‘Main Cabin Extra'” seats in coach will offer four to six inches of additional legroom.

The airline will start installing the new seating configuration across its fleet this year, the airline said.

The roomier seating will be at the front of the main coach cabins to make boarding and deplaning easier for passengers who opt for the extra legroom. Prices for customers who purchase the roomier seating will range from $8 to $108 per segment, depending on length.

source: CNN

A new regional airline has been announced that plans to link Europe’s small and mid-sized airports, starting from 5 April (just before Easter) with the Venice Marco Polo market. Volotea, which is based in Barcelona and whose start-up management team features a number of former Vueling employees, will initially operate two 717s in a single-class 125-seat configuration, increasing to four for the peak summer season.

By mid-summer, the airline plans to serve 24 destinations and become the leading airline at Venice Marco Polo in terms of destinations served, of which 80% will be new routes according to the airline. The number of weekly flights will grow from 90 per week in April to 160 in August, while the number of weekly seats will increase from 11,250 to some 20,000 during the same period.