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Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou is taking easyJet, the airline that he founded, to the High Court to try to limit its ability to make money from activities that may clash with his other ventures. The surprising spat between the budget carrier and its founder stunned the City yesterday and threatens to limit the airline’s ability to raise revenues.

Sir Stelios founded easyJet in 1995, is still a board director and owns 16 per cent of the airline. He also owns the easyJet name through a company called easyGroup IP Licensing, which has brought the High Court action.

source: Times OnLine

The airlines, along with Iberia, a prospective partner of British Airways, said on Thursday that they planned to apply for antitrust approval from the Transportation Department to form a marketing alliance to link their global flight networks.

American and British Airways tried twice before to bring about such an arrangement, only to face stiff requirements from regulators. But the aviation landscape has changed significantly since they first proposed the deal in 1996. Then, flights between the United States and Heathrow Airport near London were strictly controlled, and deals between big airlines were routinely viewed as anticompetitive.

source: New York Times

The airlines, along with Iberia, a prospective partner of British Airways, said on Thursday that they planned to apply for antitrust approval from the Transportation Department to form a marketing alliance to link their global flight networks.

American and British Airways tried twice before to bring about such an arrangement, only to face stiff requirements from regulators. But the aviation landscape has changed significantly since they first proposed the deal in 1996. Then, flights between the United States and Heathrow Airport near London were strictly controlled, and deals between big airlines were routinely viewed as anticompetitive.

source: New York Times

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic is set to launch a major advertising campaign to challenge British Airways’ (BA) plans for a tie-up with American Airlines (AA). Branson claims that the proposed deal would damage transatlantic competition.

BA is expected to make an application in the US this week to enact the joint venture with AA. The pact between the two airlines would mean they would have dominant shares of transatlantic flights from Heathrow on six routes including New York JFK, Chicago and Los Angeles.

source: marketingweek.co.uk

JetBlue Airways said Monday that it planned to begin charging for pillow and blanket sets on flights of two hours or longer. The $7 sets, which passengers can keep and reuse, include a 10-by-12 inch pillow, a fleece blanket and a $5 coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond.

Buying the sets will be the only option for airline slumberers who do not tote their own; pillows and blankets will no longer be distributed free.

source: NYTimes.com

Budget airline Ryanair yesterday declined to comment on speculation that it may make a bid for Stansted Airport.

The carrier’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, reportedly said he was interested in making a bid for the airport, which is London’s third largest.

The move comes after BAA started legal action against the airline after it refused to pay a 15% increase in landing charges.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG is still interested in rival Austrian Airlines after the Austrian government said it aims to keep at least 25 percent of the company in Austrian hands, management board member Stefan Lauer said.

The Austrian carrier’s supervisory board recently discussed a shortlist of possible partners that includes Lufthansa, Aeroflot, Air France-KLM and Turkish Airlines, and media reports said the board prefers a tie-up with Lufthansa.

source: Forbes

If Ritz-Carlton Hotels put a commercial jetliner into service, it would be like the Airbus A380-800 that Emirates Airline displayed Tuesday at Los Angeles International Airport.

It is equipped with two shower-spas, two lounges and 14 first-class “‘suites'” fitted with vanities, mini-bars, widescreen video displays and seats that convert to beds.

The showers and adjoining spas — the first to be installed on a commercial aircraft — are available to first-class passengers, who pay about $18,000 for a round-trip ticket from Dubai to New York.

source: LAtimes.com

Ryanair is facing a lengthy court battle as the British Airport Authority confirmed it had begun legal action against the airline over its refusal to pay a 15% increase in airport charges at London’s Stansted Airport.

The court action is the latest twist in a long-running dispute between Ryanair and the UK airport manager over charges at Stansted, which is the main hub for the airline.

source: belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Now Delta is looking to capitalize on the popularity of in-flight Wi-Fi by outfitting its entire domestic fleet of aircrafts with Aircell’s GoGo service.

GoGo will cost Delta flyers $9.95 on flights of three hours or less, and $12.95 for flights that are longer than three hours. Delta says it expects to begin to offer in-flight Wi-Fi early 2009.

American Airlines and Virgin America have been on-board for some time with in-flight Wi-Fi. Both have announced testing of Wi-Fi aboard its airliners for a limited number of flights. But Delta is making a big splash with an ambitious rollout of Wi-Fi to all its domestic fleet. This is big news coming from an airline that has been struggling lately.

source: PC World