Isle of Man airline EuroManx has ceased trading today, blaming rising fuel prices and falling passenger numbers.
The airline has become the latest airline casualty following the recent collapses of carriers Eos, Oasis, Nationwide and MAXJet.
Euromanx has provided services dedicated to the Isle of Man for the past five years.
source: Travelweekly.co.uk
EasyJet, bmibaby and a number of other airlines should no longer be considered as low-cost carriers (LCCs), according to travel technology provider Sabre Airline Solutions.
A survey of 540 airlines by the company revealed that of the 123 which said they were low-cost carriers, more than half offered services which were more in keeping with traditional airlines, such as codesharing and multiple classes of service.
source: Times On Line
Budget airline easyJet said Wednesday that its losses in the first half more than tripled as rising fuel costs outweighed a 24 percent jump in revenues.
The company reported a loss of 43.3 million pounds ($85.4 million) in the six months ending March 31, compared with a loss of 12.7 million pounds in the same period a year earlier.
source: Forbes
Air Berlin PLC, Germany’s second-largest airline, said Wednesday the number of passengers who traveled with it in April rose 6.5 percent to 2.24 million passengers, compared with 2.1 million passengers a year earlier.The airline’s capacity utilization rose by 4.5 percentage points to 78.8 percent, compared with 74.3 percent in April a year ago. Capacity utilization is a measure of how full airplanes are.
source: iht.com
Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus has become the latest airline to hike charges in the face of surging fuel costs, raising bag check-in fees as the global oil price hit a new record today of $120.93 a barrel.
Aer Lingus announced the increase this morning in the wake of similar moves last week by British Airways, which raised fuel surcharges, and easyJet, which also increased bag check-in charges. From Thursday, online bag check-in at Aer Lingus will cost £8 while checking in luggage at the airport will cost £12 an item.
source: guardian.co.uk
clickair and Germanwings will make selected flights between their respective countries available to each other’s passengers following the ratification of an online marketing agreement. The partnership is aimed at increasing the number of destinations offered on their respective websites.
Effective immediately, passengers browsing clickair’s website for flights from Barcelona to Germany can select clickair’s own destinations (Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich) but also Stuttgart and Cologne, whereupon they are redirected to Germanwings’ website to complete the transaction.
source: Peanuts!
British travellers already thinking twice about flying to Europe this summer as the falling value of the pound cuts into their travel budget received more bad news yesterday with indications that the era of cheap flights may be drawing to an end.
Soaring fuel costs have put airlines under financial pressure which, analysts say, will inevitably be passed on to passengers through increased ticket prices, fuel surcharges and baggage check-in fees. The warnings follow a wave of airline bankruptcies in the UK and the US, and crippling oil price rises which have seen the cost of fuelling a transatlantic flight quadruple since 2000 to $44,000 (£22,100). The pressure on the airlines has been most acute this year as the global oil price rose from $80 a barrel to nearly $120.
source: Guardian.co.uk
Ryanair today raised the cost of putting bags in the hold and checking in at airports as the high cost of oil forced airlines to scrabble for extra revenues.
Passengers on Europe’s largest budget carrier will have to pay £16 per bag for a return trip and £8 to use a check-in desk per return journey from next Monday, amid widespread fears for the financial health of the aviation industry.
The cost of fuelling aircraft has soared this year as the global oil price has climbed from around $80 a barrel to nearly $120. Fuel accounts for a quarter of airline budgets and the resulting financial squeeze has triggered a wave of bankruptcies on both sides of the Atlantic, amid warnings from some analysts that major carriers could go to the wall or be forced to merge with rivals in order to survive.
source: guardian.co.uk
Budget airline flybe, formerly known as British European, today signed an order for £520 million worth of new planes, some of which will be based at Edinburgh.
The contract, with Bombardier Aerospace of Canada, involves 17 firm orders for Q400 turboprops and an option to take a further 20, making it the largest aircraft deal signed so far this year. The first of the planes will arrive in June this year, with the other 16 over the next three years.
source: Evening News
When Eos Airlines Inc. launched its first flights in 2005, the startup carrier named for a Greek goddess came with enthusiastic business travelers looking for more space who didn’t mind hefty fares for premium service across the Atlantic.
The airline reconfigured Boeing 757s meant for 220 passengers with 48 seats that could extend into a fully flat bed. Flights served wine, champagne, cocktails and gourmet foods. There were individual DVD players, and helicopter rides to the airport were offered to some travelers.
source: Associated Press
