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Iberia is looking to slash pilots’ pay by a fifth as it takes a hard line in its battle with their union over cost cuts and the launch of a budget carrier to compete with the likes of Ryanair and EasyJet.

Alongside the pay cut, which includes an across-the-board reduction in pay scales and changes to perks for pilots with 15 years’ seniority, the airline is proposing to increase the number of hours pilots are expected to fly every year and eliminate extra holidays for senior staff.

source: FT.com

The Indian government has approved a debt restructuring plan to save Air India, the country’s national airline.

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said 30bn rupees ($5.9bn; £3.7bn) would be injected into the airline by 2020.

But there will be many checks and targets that the company will need to achieve, the minister said.

source: BBC.co.uk

A European Union law that charges airlines for carbon emissions is “‘a deal-breaker'” for global climate change talks, India’s environment minister said, hardening her stance on a scheme that has drawn fierce opposition from non-EU governments.

India on Wednesday formally forbad its airlines from participating having earlier said it would boycott the scheme.

A European Commission spokesman said the European Union was willing to cut emissions faster and more deeply than emerging nations, such as India — the third biggest carbon emitter after China and the United States.

EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard has repeatedly said the only reason for the European Union to modify its law would be if the U.N.’s ICAO could come up with a global plan to curb airline emissions.

source: Reuters

The president of Uefa has hit out at “‘bandits and crooks'” for the escalation of Ukrainian hotel prices ahead of the Euro 2012 football championships.

Speaking in Lviv, one of the venues, Michel Platini said the rising cost of accommodation worried him, and called on the authorities to prevent it.

He added that some hotels were not respecting room contracts which had already been agreed.

In response, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister pledged to take action.

source: BBC.co.uk

Britain’s biggest airport has hit a new milestone with more than 70 million passengers filing through in the space of 12 months – although Heathrow’s owner admits the increase in its record-breaking year is largely down to Easter.

While BAA has pointed to fuller planes and the airport’s “‘resilience'”, the variation in the Christian calendar means that the Easter bulge in traffic has occurred twice in the last 12 months, this March and in April 2011.

The Easter factor generated almost 7% more passengers in March 2012 compared with the previous year, with 5.7 million people passing through Heathrow’s terminals last month. The load factor, or proportion of plane seats filled by passengers, was also up by 4.2% for the month, which BAA says continues an upward trend.

source: Guardian.co.uk

Airlines, led by low-cost carrier AirTran Airways, are doing a better job of getting passengers to their destinations on time, with their bags, and with fewer complaints, private researchers who have analyzed federal data on airline performance said this week.

It was the second year in a row that AirTran topped the rankings of the nation’s 15 largest airlines included in the annual report.

Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue Airways also repeated their performance from the previous year, ranking second and third, respectively.

source: Dailymail.co.uk

Welcome to the much improved London Southend Airport, where upgrades over just the past year have launched the quiet airfield squarely into the competitive ranks of airports serving the greater London area.

Located a less than one-hour train ride east of London, the airport has an illustrious past, having served as a military airfield in both World Wars. Until the late 1970s it was the third busiest airport in the UK, when it was overtaken by London Stansted Airport and thereafter drifted into something of an aviation afterthought. Then in 2008, multi-modal logistics juggernaut Stobart Group acquired the property and launched a $158 million upgrade program.

source: ainonline.com

Hundreds of passengers walked into the UK without having their passports checked after immigration systems failed at a major airport.

Witnesses told how police and border officials stood back and watched as up to 200 travellers – angered at being delayed for three hours – decided to walk straight through immigration control.

The delays were caused by a computer power failure which prevented all new arrivals from having their passports electronically scanned.

source: dailymail.co.uk

India’s Kingfisher airline has said it will resume paying its staff beginning this week after tax authorities unfroze its bank accounts.

Chairman and managing director Vijay Mallya said all junior staff would be paid by Wednesday and engineers and pilots would be paid early next week.

source: BBC.co.uk

Pinnacle Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection this week, as the U.S. regional airline fell victim to high fuel prices and dampened travel demand that has negatively impacted some of the major players in the industry.

In the past, upon facing financial trouble, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have taken the Chapter 11 route to cut costs and later found merger partners. AMR Corp, the parent of American Airlines, had also filed for bankruptcy late last year.

source: Reuters