The European Union has given Lufthansa, the German national carrier, the green light to purchase SN Brussels, after it was agreed the merger would not create a monopoly over some of Europe’s most lucrative routes. It is not clear how much money Lufthansa is offering, although it is expected to take up a 45% stake in SN Brussels in a month. Lufthansa will also have an option of buying the remaining 55% shares in 2011.
source: The Observer
Signals from the flight data recorders, or “‘black boxes”,’ of the Air France airliner that crashed into the Atlantic killing all 228 people on board have been located.
French naval vessels detected a weak signal from the flight data recorders. A mini submarine has been dispatched on Monday to try and find the “‘black boxes'” on the bottom of the ocean floor.
The “‘black boxes'” may contain vital information that could help explain what happened when the Airbus A330 aircraft crashed into the sea en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1.
source: telegraph.co.uk
The Air France crash that killed 228 people may be the most costly airline disaster since 2001 as insurers led by Axa SA compensate victims’ families and pay for the loss of the plane.
The families are entitled to the equivalent of at least $150,000 for each of the passengers.
The cost to Air France-KLM’s pool of insurers, which includes Allianz SE and American International Group Inc., will depend on estimates of the travelers’ nullified lifetime earnings and any negligence demonstrated by the airline.
source: Bloomberg
Aer Lingus has announced it is to suspend flights from Dublin to some of its US destinations over the winter.
The airline’s direct services between Dublin and Washington and Dublin and San Francisco will stop from 25 October.
Services between Shannon and Chicago will also be suspended over the winter period, from 1 September.
Aer Lingus said the four times a week Shannon to New York JFK remained under review.
source: BBC
The Airbus A330 ploughed into thunderstorms and heavy turbulence four hours into an overnight flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris earlytoday . Fifteen minutes later, the aircraft reported electrical faults through an automated message. Then nothing.
In total 61 French people and 58 Brazilians were among the passengers on board AF flight 447, as well as 18 Germans and at least a dozen other nationalities. Seven children and a baby were aboard, as well as 12 French crew. There were slim hopes of survivors.
“‘It’s a tragic accident. The chances of finding survivors are tiny,”‘ said a sombre French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport.
source: Guardian.co.uk
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.’â€
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
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.’â€
source: Bloomberg
Europe’s biggest travel firm, TUI Travel, is to take a stake in German airline Air Berlin.
The firm will pay 28.5m euros (£26.5m) for a 19.9% holding in Air Berlin as part of a cross-shareholding agreement.
The deal aims to lower TUI’s running costs and reduce the number of flights they run to European destinations, which has been one of its aims since the merger.
source: BBC
The Ufo trade union that represents staff at German airline Lufthansa voted Monday in favour of a possible open-ended strike to press demands for a 15-percent pay increase.
The vote was approved by a 96 percent majority according to a statement posted on the union’s Internet site but only backed the principle of a strike, not immediate action.
Ufo repeated recently that it favoured talks with Lufthansa to a walk-out.
source: The Associated Press
At their annual Board Meeting, the CEO’s of the Star Alliance member airlines have voted to accept the application of Brussels Airlines to become a future member of the alliance.
Brussels Airlines is the Belgian airline offering the widest choice of flights to and from the “capital†of Europe. With a fleet of 45 aircraft the airline operates some 300 daily flights to 55 European airports and also serves 15 African destinations.
source: finchannel.com
