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United Airlines became the first U.S. carrier last month to offer flat-bed seats in international business cabins. Delta is planning to begin introducing flat-bed seats in business class starting next year. And American is continuing to replace some of its business-class seats with angled lie-flat seats.

The perks of airborne beds go beyond peaceful sleep. Singapore Airlines’ new Airbus A380 has suites with double beds, sliding doors, wardrobes and window blinds. Virgin Atlantic offers its Upper Class, or business class, passengers ground transportation, in-flight massages, and a clubhouse at the airport where they can shower, dine and check email.

A good night’s sleep on an overnight flight can make the difference in how well business executives function the next day, said Buckman. But he said vacationers are taking advantage of the beds as well. While there is no hanky-panky allowed, even with double-bed suites, “‘that honeymoon to Hong Kong is definitely more enjoyable and less stressful ” for the happy couple if they can get there and back a little easier and more comfortably,'” Buckman said.

source: USA today

Details about the new air routes that will be opened up to competition by the “open skies” agreement between the USA and the European Union next year are beginning to emerge.

This week, Northwest Airlines and KLM confirmed that they will provide services from London’s Heathrow airport to a number of major cities in America’s Midwest and on the west coast.

Along with flights to Detroit and Minneapolis, Northwest’s hub airports, the joint venture partners will provide a daily flight from Heathrow to Seattle from June 2008.

British Airways is currently the only operator serving this destination, and is a very expensive, highly lucrative route. Competition is likely to bring considerable benefits for air passengers aiming to get to the north-west USA’s biggest and most economically important city.

source: holidaylettings.co.uk

Icelandair said Monday it will cease operations at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport next month.

The move by the Rekjavik-based airline, effective Jan. 18, is another blow to BWI’s efforts to grow its base of international carriers. Icelandair cited escalating costs and decreasing revenue for the move.

“‘We are fine-tuning the Icelandair route network and our capacity in an effort to increase profitability,'” said Jon Karl Olafsson, CEO of Icelandair, in a statement.

The announcement comes the same day BWI said it set an October record for the number of travelers passing through its gates.

source: Baltimore Business Journal

Lufthansa, the German flag carrier, is to become the first European airline to set up its own fleet of business jets to augment the services offered to its most lucrative premium customers.

The group has been testing the market for executive jet services for the past three years in a co-operation deal with NetJets Europe, the leading operator of business jets in Europe and part of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

However, NetJets, which specialises in fractional ownership and card membership schemes for private jets, has decided to terminate the deal, as the venture has developed differently to that which was first envisaged and there have been disagreements over pricing and aircraft availability.

source: FT.com

Aer Lingus will make history today with the start of its services from Belfast International Airport.

Belfast Internatinal Airport is the airline’s first ever base outside the Republic, and follows the company’s controversial decision to end flights between Shannon and Heathrow and to transfer the slots to the North.

The Houston-based airline was named the best airline for North American travel by Business Traveller magazine’s 2007 Readers’ Choice Best in Business Travel Survey.

Continental also took the top spot for best flight attendants in North America and best in-flight services in North America.

source: Houston Business Journal

Airline passengers in Houston went high-tech Tuesday, boarding planes using cellphones and personal digital assistants, rather than paper boarding passes.

The three-month Continental Airlines test program at Houston’s Intercontinental Airport may expand nationwide if it’s successful, USA Today said. Passengers showed photo identification and codes sent to their cellphones or PDAs to board planes. The two-dimensional bar code contains passenger names and flight information. It is scanned by the Transportation Security Administration to verify authenticity.

source: United Press International

The European Union removed Pakistan International Airlines and Surinam’s Blue Wing airlines from its safety blacklist on Wednesday.

The two carriers were allowed to resume flights to destinations in the 27-nation bloc after meeting European safety and maintenance standards. The decision was made during a regular review of airlines on the list, EU officials said.

source: Business Week

The merger plans of Lufthansa’s Germanwings unit and of TUI’s TUIfly division are set to include Eurowings too, people familiar with the talks told Reuters on Thursday.

The parties plan to build a larger alliance that also involves Eurowings as a third airline, the people said.

Building entrepreneur Albrecht Knauf, who holds a majority stake in Eurowings, may also take a stake in the possible new entity, the people said. Lufthansa owns 49 percent of Eurowings but has all the voting rights and operates the regional airline.

source: Reuters

A Frenchman who weighs 170 kilograms (375 pounds) has won a court case against Air France after it made him buy a second seat on a flight from New Delhi to Paris, he told AFP.

Jean-Jacques Jauffret, a 43-year-old screen-writer, said he was deeply humiliated when airline staff measured his girth with wrapping tape in front of other passengers at New Delhi airport.

source: Forbes