Red Hat, the world’s leading provider of open source solutions, today announced that Virgin America, the newly launched American airline, has selected Red Hat Enterprise Linux as the platform on which to host its commercial website. The airline chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux for its reputation for scalability and security.
source: Irish dev
The airline will allow the use of GSM-based cellular phones on its Airbus fleet after getting approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). GSM is a digital wireless mobile telephony system widely used in the world.
The approval is the first of its kind. Officials of Airbus claim this could open similar services for flights in other countries.
source: NewsPost
Jet2.com, the low cost airline, revealed that it had come top in a punctuality list of low cost airlines operating out of the UK. Flightontime.info, the online flight data specialists, analysed official CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) flight data and 12-months statistics confirmed that Jet2.com had beaten the likes of Ryanair, easyJet and BMIbaby to claim the crown of most punctual low cost airline in the UK.
source: traveldailynews.com
After decades of being known by air travelers for serving peanuts and little else, has Southwest Airlines Co. become the frills carrier?
The Dallas-based discounter hasn’t added amenities. But legacy carriers are taking freebies away, cutting costs by eliminating pillows, selling snacks and even experimenting with charging for soft drinks.
Southwest has started to poke fun at its traditional rivals in national television ads. In one spot, a customer is asked to insert coins to use an overhead bin, open a window shade and even recline his seat. In another, a flight attendant ticks off a list of charges for such basics as visiting the restroom and pushing the call button.
source: post-gazette.com
Spain’s Iberia is a takeover target from Germany’s Lufthansa according to a report in the French economic daily newspaper La Tribune.
It said Lufthansa has opened discussions – but not negotiations – on possibly buying a key stake. Iberia has denied the report and Lufthansa refused to comment.
Such a tie up would create an airline carrying carry 100 million passengers annually, bigger than the current European number one – Air France-KLM with 70 million.
source: Euronews.net
Low cost fares, quirky blue potato chips and even a mea culpa from JetBlue Airways’ founder may not be enough to ease passenger anxiety Monday as the airline braces for another day of disrupted flights.
The company said it would be canceling almost a quarter of the day’s flights but hopes to be fully operational on Tuesday, almost a week after a Valentine’s Day snowstorm created a meltdown for the airline.
David G. Neeleman, the company’s founder and chief executive, said he was “humiliated and mortified” by the breakdown in the airline’s operations. He promised in an interview with The New York Times for its Monday editions that in the future the company would pay penalties to customers should they be stranded on a plane for too long.
fuente: ABC Actions News
Ryanair posted a 30 percent jump in third-quarter net profit on Monday, confounding analyst expectations for a fall, and ramped up its full-year profit goal while predicting big fuel-cost savings for the following year.
Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier said profit after tax rose to 47.7 million euros (31.4 million pounds) in the three months to end December from 36.8 million in the same period of 2005, against analyst expectations that they would fall by over 60 percent.
source: Reuters
American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp., four of the five largest U.S. carriers, raised round-trip fares by as much as $10 in the industry’s first major boost this year.
United increased fares across its network, a change matched today by Delta. AMR Corp.’s American changed prices only in markets where it competes with low-fare airlines, adding $6 to tickets for flights of 1,000 miles or less, and $10 on longer routes. Northwest adopted American’s change.
Sterling offers good discounts in January and February that allow you to save up to 50%. However, special offers will be available until mid June. Note that the offers only apply to selected departures and not, for example, during Easter, Whitsun and other holidays.
Virgin Group has re-entered talks with AirAsia about taking a stake in the Malaysia-based low-cost airline, in a move that would give the British company a wider foothold in the Asian market.
It is understood that AirAsia has approached Virgin in the hope that its Virgin Atlantic subsidiary would invest in the Malaysian airline. It is the second time that the two companies have spoken after Virgin Blue, the group’s Asian unit, and AirAsia discussed investment in 2003.
source: Times On Line
