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Beset by high fuel costs and the uncertainty of European regulatory hurdles, the global profit forecast for the airline industry looks particularly grim next year, the head of the international airline trade association said Wednesday in Washington.

The world’s airlines will make less than a 1 percent profit in 2012, down from a projected 1.2 percent margin this year and 2.9 percent in 2010.

“‘The high price of oil and an anemic economic outlook are the biggest issues,’” Tyler said. “‘If we are right about 2012, it will mean that airlines, since 2001, lost $25 billion on $5.5 trillion in revenues.’”

source: washingtonpost.com

Fares are due to be released next week for a new all premium class service between Gatwick and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Airlines plans daily flights with a dedicated fleet of three new Airbus A330-200s with an all business class seating configuration in two classes – ‘Club Premier’ and ‘Club Classic’.

The arrival of Hong Kong Airlines next year follows Air Asia X switching its Kuala Lumpur service from Stansted to Gatwick and Vietnam Airlines launching a direct service to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on December 9.

source: travelweekly.co.uk

Vueling, Europe’s fourth biggest LCC, and the biggest airline at Barcelona’s main El Prat Airport, has announced plans to start 13 new routes next summer from Spain’s second busiest airport. Last year, the Spanish LCC that is part-owned by Iberia carried over seven million passengers at the airport, accounting for one in four passengers.

In the first nine months of this year, it has carried 5.9 million passengers at the airport, representing 22.2% of the total.

The owners of the Ballymascanlon House Hotel in Co Louth have taken a legal action for damages against internet giant Google, alleging defamation of the hotel’s business and reputation via Google’s web search service.

It is alleged that Google had permitted, since about March 14th 2011, the term “‘receivership’” to automatically appear after the hotel’s trading name when a search is carried out in the autocomplete suggestions in the search bar.

This suggested the hotel was in receivership or financial difficulty when it was not, the plaintiffs claim.

source: irishtimes.com

BA will fly the Olympic Torch to the UK in May next year as a supporting partner of the Olympic Torch Relay.

The Olympic Flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece before travelling to the UK on 18 May.

Its 70-day journey around the UK starts on 19 May in Land’s End, Cornwall. From there it will travel an estimated 8,000 miles around the country.

The Torch Relay is presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung. BA is a tier one sponsor of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

source: marketingmagazine.co.uk

Ultrabudget airline Ryanair is set to develop apps that will allow air travelers to gamble, play games or watch porn.

However, the company doesn’t even have broadband within its planes, and would need at least a year to implement the technology, according to chief executive Michael O’Leary.

“‘I’m not talking about having it on screens on the back of seats for everyone to see’,” O’Leary told the paper. “‘It would be on handheld devices.'”

source: pcmag.com

The head of JetBlue is apologizing for a “‘confluence of events'” that left a plane filled with passengers stranded on the tarmac at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut, over the weekend.

Chief Operating Officer Rob Maruster said in a video posted on the company’s blog and its YouTube Channel that the airline had six flights divert to Hartford during the freak weekend snowstorm “‘due to various runway, congestion and other operational issues at Newark and JFK Airports'” and that the airline “‘did not deplane those aircraft in our target time allotted’.”

One of those flights, JetBlue 504 from Fort Lauderdale spent nearly eight hours stranded on the tarmac before passengers were allowed to deplane.

source: CNN

US airlines were racing this week to demonstrate their clean energy credentials, scheduling a number of flights partially powered by biofuels.

First United Continental announced the departure on Monday morning of Flight 1403 from Houston for Chicago – or the’ Eco Skies’ test flight as the airline called it – using a mix of 60% conventional jet fuel and 40% algae-based fuels.

Then Alaska Airlines announced it would operate 75 flights using a mix of 80% conventional jet fuels and 20% biofuels starting on Wednesday. Instead of algae-base, the airline is using used cooking oil or fast-food restaurant throw-aways, said Robert Ames, vice-president of Dynamic Fuels, which produced the fuel.

These flights could encourage the rest of the industry move towards cleaner fuels.

source: Guardian.co.uk

International Airlines Group (IAG) and Lufthansa Group reached an agreement for the sale of LH’s loss-making British Midland (bmi) to IAG. The purchase of bmi could increase IAG subsidiary British Airways’ share of slots at London Heathrow to 53%, although regulators most likely will require some slot divestments.

The companies did not detail whether the agreement is for the sale of the entirety of bmi or just the carrier’s mainline operation. Recently, bmi confirmed it was “‘in advanced discussion’” to sell bmi regional to a UK-based investor group “‘previously associated with the regional business,’” indicating its owner was negotiating to divest its loss-making UK subsidiary in parts. It is not clear what will happen with the company’s low-cost carrier, bmibaby.

source: atwonline.com

Carolyn McCall, chief executive of EasyJet, does not want to answer many detailed questions about its short or long-term growth strategy, including opportunities to expand into new markets or buy aircraft.

EasyJet is seeking to turn itself into a higher quality brand because it is targeting affluent consumers who fly more than once a year, and also trying to woo more business people. This strategy underlines how EasyJet regards its main competitors as the European flag carriers rather than Ryanair, Europe’s largest budget airline by revenue.

She wants EasyJet to concentrate on securing more revenues in its existing markets “such as the UK, France and Spain” and hopes the airline can raise its dividend over time.