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Aer Lingus is to launch a new low-cost service between London Gatwick and Dublin – taking on rival Ryanair.

The London Gatwick service will operate four times daily at times scheduled to suit both business and leisure travellers.

The schedule – which will include the first morning departure of any carrier from Dublin to London Gatwick – will complement Aer Lingus’ highly successful Dublin to London Heathrow service.

source: irishpost.co.uk

Italian national carrier Alitalia will be shut down unless it finds a buyer, the government said, in an apparent warning to unions that played a central role in deterring suitors.

Italy scrapped its seven-month auction of the loss-making airline on Wednesday after the last bidders pulled out, and now faces dwindling options and growing political embarrassment over the sale’s failure.

source: Reuters

East Star has become China’s first private airline authorized to operate international flights after less than two years in business.

The company is yet to release the timetable for the services, but Hubei Television reported on Tuesday evening that a daily service would be available from early September.

According to Civil Aviation Administration of China regulations, new airlines can qualify to apply to operate international flights only after three years of operations.

East Star, however, beat rivals Okair, Ueair, Juneyao Airlines and Spring Airlines, which analysts say should be attributed to the ongoing reform of China’s civil aviation industry.

source: China Daily

U.S. restrictions on liquids carried aboard airliners will stay in place “for the foreseeable future” as authorities test better bomb-detection gear, the Transportation Security Administration said.

Machines reliable enough to screen 2 million passengers a day for liquid explosives “‘don’t exist today in mass quantities,'” TSA spokesman Christopher White said in an interview.

That means carry-on liquids still must be in containers of 3 ounces (89 milliliters) or less, sealed inside a 1-quart (0.95-liter) plastic bag, as they have been since September. A plot in the U.K. to blow up trans-Atlantic jets with liquid explosives spurred an Aug. 10 ban on carry-on fluids, which was replaced with the current rules about a month later.

source: Chicago Tribune

GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, the parent company of Brazil’s low-cost airlines GOL Transportes Aereos S.A. and VRG Linhas Aereas S.A., has entered into an interline agreement with Aerolineas Argentinas.

Passengers traveling on Aerolineas Argentinas will be able to purchase tickets through the airline or participating travel agencies for all 58 destinations served by GOL in Brazil and South America.

This is the third interline agreement GOL has entered into international carriers in 2007. North American-based Continental and Delta airlines all currently sell GOL tickets through their reservation systems. GOL does not sell tickets for partner airlines’ flights. In addition to these interlines, GOL maintains a code-share agreement with Panamanian-based Copa Airlines since August 2005.

source: PR Newswire

Family pets still have time to collect Air Canada air miles, at least on international flights.

The Canadian Transportation Agency suspended an application filed by Air Canada looking to bar pets from its baggage compartments Wednesday afternoon, effectively delaying the controversial application on international flights for the time being.

The suspension affects flights between Canada and the U.S. as well as other international flights to and from Canada. Pets will still not be allowed on Air Canada domestic flights starting July 15 since the Canadian Transportation Agency does not have jurisdiction to take similar action with regards to domestic routes. Pets will have to travel through its cargo division.

source: TheStar.com

Aer Lingus, the Irish low-cost, low-fares airline today announced that it will commence scheduled services between Dublin and London Gatwick from the end of October 2007.

The London Gatwick service will operate four times daily at times scheduled to suit both business and leisure travellers. This schedule, which will include the first morning departure of any carrier from Dublin to London Gatwick, will complement Aer Lingus’ highly successful Dublin to London Heathrow service.

source: Easier

In the face of increasing competition from international airlines on the profitable India-US route, Air India will introduce direct non-stop flights between Mumbai and New York from August 1.

Two other non-stop flights – between New Delhi and New York and Bangalore and San Francisco – will be launched in February and mid-next year respectively.

The Mumbai-New York flight time will be around 14 hours.

source: chennaionline.com

Lufthansa AG, Germany’s largest airline, said Tuesday that first-half passenger figures rose 5.9 percent to a record as the carrier used up more of its capacity.

About 27 million passengers flew with Lufthansa in the first six months of the year, the company said in a statement.

The seat load factor – or the amount of capacity taken up – improved by 2.1 percentage points to 76.1 percent, Lufthansa said.

source: Forbes

American Airlines is to go head-to-head with Eos and MAXjet at Stansted on the transatlantic route to New York JFK. The airline announced today that it will launch daily services from the Essex airport from 29 October and will add a second daily service from March 2008.

The new services will be operated by two-class Boeing 767-300 aircraft with 221 seats, including 30 in business class. The airline has recently revamped its business class to include lie-flat seats and audio and video on demand.

source: Times Online