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American Airlines is to become the first major US carrier to charge passengers to check in a first bag.

The new fee of $15 (£7.50) comes as US airlines struggle with soaring fuel costs and a slumping economy.

The airline says it will also cut a number of its domestic flights and get rid of older, fuel-guzzling jets.

International travellers will be exempt from the fee. American joined other US carriers last month in charging $25 for a second checked bag.

source: BBC News

Customer satisfaction with airlines in the United States has fallen to its lowest level since 2001, according to a survey published on Tuesday.

The University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index found that the airline industry scored a mere 62 on a 100-point scale for the first quarter of 2008.

Thousands of flight cancellations for safety checks have battered some airlines’ reputations with customers this year.

US Airways Group Inc and United Airlines, which have recently been in merger talks, received the lowest scores in the poll: 54 and 56, respectively.

Continental Airlines fell 10 percent to 62 in the poll, a score that matches its all-time low, and Northwest Airlines, which has agreed to be acquired by Delta Air Lines Inc, fell 7 percent to 57, its lowest score since 2001.

source: Reuters

Norwegian air shuttle said on Tuesday that a court ruled that Scandinavian airline SAS should pay it 132 million Norwegian crowns ($26.33 million) in compensation in an industrial espionage case.

It also ruled that SAS should pay Norwegian Air’s legal costs of about 6.8 million crowns, said Norwegian – a low-cost rival to SAS.

source: Reuters

British Airways will raise fares, slash flights and consider cutting its order of new aeroplanes as the flag carrier prepares to follow a year of record profits with its toughest 12 months since 2001.

BA staff secured a £35m windfall today after the airline hit its 10% profit margin target for 2008, but analysts warned that the coming years could be bonus-free as a high oil price and a weak global economy pose a fundamental threat to the industry.

source: Guardian.co.uk

iPhone is about to hit Singapore and the country’s airline announced iPod and iPhone connectivity on its newly reconfigured, all-Business Class Airbus A340-500 flights between New York and Singapore, and between Los Angeles and Singapore. According to the official release, passengers are able to enjoy their personal audio and video content from their iPod or iPhone on Singapore Airlines’ KrisWorld in-flight entertainment system. Each seat features a 15.4-inch wide LCD screen as well as active noise-cancellation headphones.

source: Intomobile

Italy is seeking solutions for Alitalia that would keep it both Italian and privately owned, the government said Saturday, responding to EU warnings against renationalising the ailing air carrier.

Economics Minister Giulio Tremonti said the new government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was “seeking a solution which is Italian and fundamentally private“.

Tremonti said Berlusconi’s new government was committed to attracting Italian investors to Alitalia.

source: Yahoo!

The chaotic opening of Heathrow’s Terminal 5 last month led to British Airways’ worst April since the start of the Iraq war. Yesterday the airline said that passenger numbers had fallen by 7.9 per cent, or 221,000 people, to 2.5 million after the problematic opening of the £4.3 billion terminal.

The British flag carrier was forced to cancel more than 430 flights and lost about 20,000 pieces of luggage as it moved into its new home at T5. The negative publicity and cancelled flights are thought to have contributed substantially to the fall in passenger numbers during the month.

This particularly affected BA’s UK and European operations, which were the first to move into T5. Short-haul passenger numbers fell 8.5 per cent last month and BA’s aircraft were operating at only 70 per cent of capacity.

source: Times onLine

As of May 1, passengers can fly direct between Toronto and Dusseldorf, Germany. Lufthansa, one of the world’s largest air carriers, is offering service to Dusseldorf six times a week, allowing passengers the convenience of 35-minute connections to more than 50 popular European destinations including Barcelona, Budapest, Moscow, Munich, Paris and many others.

source: Aviation.ca

With flights to India driving its growth, Nordic carrier Finnair is adding one more flight to India in June, even as it awaits permission from the government to add more destinations in addition to Mumbai and Delhi.

“‘Currently we have 12 flights a week between India and Helsinki. By June, we will fly daily from New Delhi and six times a week from Mumbai,'” Taina Tornstrom, the director for Indian subcontinent for the airline, told reporters.

Bangalore and Chennai are some of the Indian cities that Finnair is keen on starting new services to. The airline is also tapping the traffic to Europe from India, with Helsinki as the base.

source: The Economic Times

The first ever direct flights between Edinburgh and New York were launched today.

Delta Air Lines will start the year-round service connecting the Capital to John F Kennedy airport from tomorrow.

UK commercial director Armin Venencie said: “‘We are delighted to offer our customers from Scotland the opportunity to fly nonstop to New York, the world’s largest travel market and leading financial centre.'”

source: Scotsman