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Lufthansa’s Germanwings airline and TUIfly are in talks about an alliance that could include a merger, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The sources said talks were at an early stage, adding that Germanwings would seek operational control in any alliance with TUIfly.

Lufthansa, TUI and Germanwings declined to comment.

Travel giant TUI Travel , which is 51 percent owned by TUI, said in September it could sell TUIfly. TUI Travel is conducting a strategic review and is to detail its decisions by January.

source: Yahoo!

Tiger Airways joins Yeongnam Air in plans for challenging Asiana/KAL duopoly in 2008

South Korea’s air transport market looks set to undergo a radical shakeup with Singapore-based low-cost carrier Tiger Airways the latest to unveil plans for a new airline there.

Until now South Korea’s market has been dominated by Asiana Airlines and Korean Air, although two small turboprop operators have begun operating limited domestic services in recent years. Real competition should come to the market soon, with start-up Yeongnam Air hoping to begin operating in February. Its plans were unveiled earlier this year and it recently secured a business licence from the ­Transportation ministry.

source: flightglobal.com

Silverjet, the British luxury airline, touched down this morning at the Executive Terminal of Dubai International Airport, marking the first time a commercial carrier has been granted access to the airports private aviation facilities and the first airline of its kind to fly to the Emirate.

source: albawaba.com

Low visibility Tuesday has led to flight delays and cancellations at both Midway and O’Hare airports, according to the City Department of Aviation.

More than 30 flights at O’Hare International Airport had been canceled as of about 8:30 p.m., according to Aviation. Delays are averaging 90 minutes for flights in and out of O’Hare.

At Midway, delays ranged from 15 minutes to an hour, according to Aviation. “No major cancellations have been reported,” according to the city. Earlier in the day, a few flights to and from the East Coast had been delayed more than two hours.

source: Sun Times

Low-cost Irish airline Ryanair can absorb much higher fuel costs than competitors because of its higher profit margins and will never introduce fuel surcharges, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

“‘We’ve guaranteed no fuel surcharges at Ryanair,'” Michael O’Leary told reporters. “‘Ever’.”

O’Leary said if oil prices continue to rise it will benefit Ryanair because it will have fewer competitors.

“‘If Vueling was losing money with oil at $65 a barrel then it’s bankrupt at $95,'” he added, referring to Spanish airline Vueling which announced a 73 percent dive in its third-quarter net profit last month to 1.35 million euros and pre-tax losses rose to 48.6 million.

source: Yahoo!

WestJet Airlines Ltd. is stepping up its turf war with Air Canada by forging a close link with Air France-KLM Group, Europe’s biggest airline, that aims to improve service for travellers from Western Canada to Europe and vice versa.

Calgary-based WestJet confirmed on Monday it is negotiating an “‘interline'” pact with Air France that would smooth baggage transfer and ticketing in both directions.

source: Canada.com

EasyJet, the largest UK low cost airline, on Tuesday reported a sharp increase in full-year profits and forecast a further significant rise in profits in the current year to next September despite record oil prices.

EasyJet forecast a further increase of around 20 per cent in underlying pre-tax profits in the current year excluding the impact of its proposed acquisition of GB Airways, the largely Gatwick-based franchise carrier of British Airways, which is due to be completed by the end of January.

Flyglobespan has announced that it will begin weekly flights from Bristol airport to Toronto from May next year.

The connection will open on May 26th, with services leaving Bristol every Monday to land at Toronto’s Hamilton airport.

In an initial protest against their employment conditions, Israir’s flight attendants declared a labor dispute over the weekend against the management of the company, demanding a collective employment contract in place of the current individual agreement on which they are now signed. The Histadrut will mediate between the workers and the management.

“‘The cabin attendants will not be satisfied with a contract that is worth less than the collective agreement the El Al air workers achieved and as the Arkia workers are about to sign,'” Raz Bahar, an Israir stewardess and the chairwoman of the workers’ committee, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

Air Canada was struggling to contend with a computer problem Friday that caused flight delays at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

It was unclear whether the computer glitch, which apparently affected passenger check-in services, was localized at Pearson or had affected the airline’s operations nationwide, said Angela Mah, a spokeswoman for the airline.

“‘We are currently working on isolating the issue and resolving the issue as soon as possible,'” Mah told The Canadian Press in a telephone interview.

An advisory on the Air Canada website said the airline is experiencing technical difficulties with a computer system which will likely result in some flight delays. The advisory said the airline expects the issue to be fixed shortly.

source: Canadian Press