Wizz Air said it would immediately call on the European Commission to investigate the Hungarian government’s decision to yet again waste significant financial resources into Malév, the struggling and massively loss making national airline.
The Malév re-nationalization plan does not solve the issue as the airline will require continuous illegal financial aid from tax payers’ money going forward.
source: Travelio.net
The UK’s airports handled 7.4% fewer passengers last year than in 2008, the biggest annual decline since records began 65 years ago, figures have shown. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that with passenger numbers having also fallen in 2008, it was the first time levels have fallen two years in a row.
It said last year’s decline was led by a fall in holiday airline traffic, with charter flights down 17%. UK domestic flight traffic was down 8% and overall scheduled airline traffic fell 6%.
source: BBC News
European airport authorities subsidise Ryanair to the tune of at least €11 (£10) per passenger, Air France-KLM claimed this week as it filed a lawsuit in Brussels against the low-cost carrier.
In the latest in a series of legal attacks on Ryanair’s business model, the Franco-Dutch airline accused the Irish company of receiving illegal state aid and distorting competition.
Air France-KLM said that Ryanair obtained at least €660 million a year in financial incentives from regional authorities in Europe, notably in the form of reduced ground-handling fees and other airport charges.
source: Times Online
British Airways’ cabin crew have voted for strike action over two consecutive weekends in March: a three-day walkout March 20-22 and a four-day walkout March 27-30.
The strikes will involve 12,000 flight attendants and will affect more than half a million BA passengers. As promised, there will be no strikes over the Easter period, but further strike action will take place after April 14 if no deal has been reached by then.
source: OnTheShow.com
Japan’s 98th airport has begun operations – offering just one flight a day. Ibaraki airport is located 80km (50 miles) and a long bus ride north of Tokyo.
The airport was conceived as a hub for budget carriers but the check-in counters were almost deserted as operations began. There is just one plane a day, to South Korea. Another flight, to the Japanese city of Kobe, will begin next month.
The airport has become a symbol of decades of public spending to prop up the economy that has left Japan studded with bridges to nowhere and unneeded dams.
source: BBC News
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has announced it will install new technology on its long haul aircraft that will monitor in detail the condition of ill passengers.
The system, called ‘Tempus IC’, will allow cabin crew to gather vital information about a passenger’s health quickly. Information gathered by the system will be transmitted to a medical team of experts around the world who specialise in assisting in-flight medical situations.
The technology, designed and manufactured by UK-based company RDT, will be installed on Etihad’s A340 and Boeing 777 aircraft, and then across the remaining long and extra long haul fleet.
source: theaustralian.com.au
Hungary’s Government has stepped in to rescue struggling flag-carrier Malev, retaking control of the airline three years after its privatisation.
The Government, via state holding company MNV, has agreed to acquire a 95% stake in Malev through a Ft25.2 billion ($127 million) investment funded partly by cash and partly by debt conversion.
The finance ministry says that the acquisition will clear the way towards creating stability for the troubled airline. But the ministry warns that “‘intensive'” restructuring is required in order to minimise the burden on taxpayers and ensure that the rescue does not constitute illegal state aid.
source: flightglobal.com
All Nippon Airways (ANA) will introduce the women-only lavatories on international routes. ANA says they received “‘numerous requests from passengers for this service.'” In a 2007 survey, 90 percent of women said they liked idea.
One women-only lavatory will be provided in the rear section of the passenger cabin and will display a pink ladies sign, a signal designed to let male travelers know that they’ll have to look elsewhere.
ANA says there are exceptions. If a passenger is not feeling well or “‘when there are very few female passengers and the women-only designation has been lifted for the flight,'” male passengers will be allowed to use the lavatory.
source: seattlepi.com
The Canadian Transportation Agency will review a policy at the country’s biggest airlines allowing cats in the cabin to see if it interferes with air travel for allergic customers.
The independent tribunal announced the review on Thursday after ruling that three people who are allergic to cats are, in effect, persons with disabilities because the airlines’ pet policies affect their ability to fly.
The passengers had complained about Air Canada, the country’s biggest airline, its regional carrier Jazz Airline, and WestJet Airline, the No. 2 airline in Canada.
source: Reuters
Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. said Tuesday it has signed an initial pact to join the Oneworld Alliance, comprising 11 global carriers such as American Airlines and British Airways.
Kingfisher, controlled by billionaire Vijay Mallya, also applied to India’s civil aviation ministry to seek approval for its membership of Oneworld, India’s biggest airline by market share said. The airline will add 58 cities in India to the Oneworld network, expanding the alliance’s total network to 800 destinations in nearly 150 countries.
source: The Wall Street Journal
