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United Airlines and US Airways are nudging up baggage fees, and analysts expect other carriers to follow.

As of June 10, United Airlines plans to hike its luggage fees by $5 per bag for customers who pay for the service at the airport, charging $20 for the first bag checked and $30 for the second.

Luggage fees and other ‘a la carte’ charges have quickly become an important source of revenue to U.S. carriers, which are struggling to become profitable. The 21 largest U.S. carriers generated $1.2 billion in baggage fees in 2008, according to the Bureau of Transportation.

source: Chicago Tribune

Moroccan low-cost carrier Air Arabia Maroc launches services from London Stansted today.

Roundtrip flights will operate four times per week between Stansted and Air Arabia Maroc’s hub in Mohamed V International Airport, Casablanca.

Launch flights from Casablanca to Marseille, Brussels, Milan, Lyon and Paris will start on May 10, 12, 14 and 16 respectively.

source: Travelmole

Budget airline Easyjet has asked council officials for permission for its pilots to marry couples on flights.

The Luton-based airline said it hopes to combine marriage proceedings with taking newlyweds on honeymoon.

Easyjet’s Paul Simmons said: “‘If our request is replied positively, then so-called ‘floating on cloud nine’ would get a new meaning for people in love.'”

source: BBC

British Airways said this afternoon that first and business class traffic fell 17.7 per cent last month as its more lucrative customers cut back amid the recession.

Overall, the airline said total traffic for April rose by just 0.9 per cent, as market conditions continued to be “‘very challenging.’”

Economy traffic rose 5.2 per cent, boosted by Easter falling during April this year instead of March, although the seasonal difference did mean fewer premium passengers. Its total load factor, a measure of how full its planes were, fell 2.6 per cent to 78.1 per cent. Cargo traffic was down 14.8 per cent

source: timesonline.co.uk

Sixty climate campaigners have held a picnic in the check-in hall at Leeds Bradford Airport in a protest over its planned expansion.

The airport wants to build a £28m two-storey extension to the terminal building which would house an improved check-in area and departure lounge.

The expansion is part of a wider £70m, five-year investment package for the airport.

Source: BBC

Competition authorities on both sides of the North Atlantic are struggling to respond to the growing efforts by some of the biggest airlines in Europe and the US to deepen their transatlantic cooperation.

The decision this week by the European Commission to launch two formal antitrust proceedings against planned airline deals among core carriers in the Star and Oneworld alliances, respectively, highlights the confusion and the very different approaches being taken by US and European Union competition agencies.

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Overweight passengers may soon have to pay a ‘fat tax‘ or even purchase a second ticket to fly with budget airline Ryanair.

The low-cost European carrier is considering an excess weight fee for very large customers after 30,000 people voted in favour of the measure on its website.

More than 100,000 passengers gave on-line feedback on various cost-cutting ideas put forward by Ryanair. Almost one in three people polled thought obese and overweight people should be charged more for tickets.

source: dailymail.co.uk

Luton Airport is to become the first UK airport to charge drivers for dropping passengers off at the terminal.Motorists will have to pay £1, which will allow them to spend just 10 minutes in the refurbished drop off zone.

The “‘kiss and drop'” levy will be enforced by barriers which will take payment as the driver leaves. It is due to come into force later this month and comes within weeks of the same airport unveiling plans to allow passengers to jump the security queue for £3.

source: telegraph.co.uk

BA and Virgin Atlantic are among five groups taking the lead in volunteering to be included in global climate change agreement that could open the way for extending the growing emissions trading system to the airline industry.

Environmental groups have strongly criticised airlines for their reluctance to take a climate change initiative. Airlines are estimated to account for just 2pc of global pollution but with the EU planning to include aviation in its emissions trading scheme from 2012 there is growing pressure for airlines to fall in line.source: telegraph.co.uk

The world’s airline industry is heading for more consolidation because of the global recession and drop in air travel, according to the chief executive officer of Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned airline.

Combinations such as Air France-KLM Group, Europe’s biggest airline, will probably become more common as companies seek to cut costs, James Hogan said. Etihad, based in Abu Dhabi, will seek ways to work more closely with Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia’s largest carrier.

“‘We are already seeing a number of airlines under huge pressure,’” Hogan said. “‘Airlines will have to make decisions as any other business does with regard to their network, their fleet and whether they rationalize, consolidate or continue to invest in expansion.’”

source: Bloomberg