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UK airline Flybe bought British Airways’ struggling regional unit on Friday as part of plans to double the size of the airline and cut costs ahead of a stockmarket flotation in two years.

Flybe, a regional carrier based in southwest England, said it had agreed to buy BA Connect, a loss-making unit of British Airways, which it would use to expand its network in Europe.

The airline declined to give details of the deal but British Airways said it had taken a GBP106 million (USD$201.5 million) impairment charge on the sale and would take a 15 percent stake in Flybe under the deal.

source: Airwise

Even as Lufthansa Airlines is focused on establishing itself as the global leader in premier and business travel segment, the world’s biggest carrier ” in terms of the scheduled passengers carried ” is not ready to give up the battle with low-cost carriers for attractive short-haul routes.

“A strong brand needs growth and as the foremost part of our strategy we believe in full assortment of services,” Holger Hatty, member of the board of Lufthansa passenger airlines, said.

source: Financial Express

Bankrupt Delta Airlines raised its fares in some markets by $5 each way, making it the third time in recent weeks that airlines have tried to push through fare increases.

source: Reuters

Austrian Airlines AG said Thursday it will eliminate its fleet of four Airbus A330 long-haul jetliners in 2007, a move the national carrier said will save it about $40 million (US$51 million) a year.

The airline’s board held a special meeting Wednesday to approve the plan to phase out the A330s, along with both of its Airbus A340-300 aircraft.

The reduction of the long-haul fleet means scheduled service to Shanghai will end on Jan. 7, flights to Phuket, Thailand, Mauritius and Colombo/Male, Sri Lanka, will stop at the end of April, and service to Katmandu, Nepal, will cease in May, Austrian Airlines said in a statement.

source: International Herald Tribune

Aer Lingus is to operate an additional 86 flights per week from Dublin and Cork airports – totalling an additional 15,000 extra seats in and out of Ireland. New flights include routes from Dublin to Athens, Newcastle and Milan-Malpensa for next summer and from Cork to Manchester, Madrid and Prague. The airline will also increase the frequency of flights to a range of current European destinations.

source: Ireland OnLine

US Airways Group Inc., formed last year from the merger of US Airways and American West Airlines, on Thursday posted a net loss for the third quarter after fuel hedging and merger-related costs.

The airline said the loss amounted to $78 million, or 88 cents per share, compared with a loss of $99 million, or $5.74 per share, for American West a year earlier. For accounting purposes, America West was treated as the acquiring company.

source: Reuters

The load factor improved by 2.8 points compared to 2005, reaching 83.3%, a record level for this month. Traffic -measured in RPK (revenue passenger kilometre)- grew by 5.7%, while capacity -measured in  ASK (available seat kilometre)- increased by 2.1%. The traffic growth in international flights (+8.9%), accompanied by a mix improvement; the load factor improved in all sectors. The average stage length increased by 5.9% due to the growing weight of long haul traffic.

source: Travel Daily News

Air China is due to start a flight between Beijing and Sao Paulo with a stop off in Madrid, Spain, as of December 10, according to a local press report.

According to the Beijing Youth Daily, this would be the first time a Chinese company had a route from China to Latin America and will also be the first time Air China flies to Brazil.

source: MacauHub

United Airlines has announced that it will offer new daily passenger and cargo services between Rome and Washington DC, pending Italian Government approval. United will begin service from Rome Fiumicino Airport on 2 April 2007 and service from Washington-Dulles on 1 April 2007 as part of its international expansion at its Washington-Dulles hub. Flights are open for sale.

source: Easier

A strike by Finnair cabin crews ended Friday after the Finnish flight attendants’ union and airline managers accepted a mediation proposal by the state-appointed labor conciliator.

The two-day strike, launched to protest the national carrier’s hiring policy, grounded Finnair’s international flights, forcing thousands of passengers to find alternative forms of transport.

Cabin crews will begin to return to work immediately, union representatives said, but it was not clear how soon the airline would resume regular traffic.

source: Business Week