Another Quarter of Losses for El Al

.The Israeli airline El Al reported a massive 53 percent drop in quarterly profit this week, citing higher salary and jet fuel expenditure ahead of its fleet modernization programme.

The national carrier of Israel announced on Wednesday it had earned $16.4 million, thats £12.7 million, in the second quarter of the year, down from 35 million a year earlier.

The airline says overall expenses rose by 5 percent, due mainly because of higher wages, while jet fuel costs grew by 6.2 percent.  In December the carrier signed a deal with its pilots to end a year of protests that led to flight cancellations, delays, higher costs and angry passengers. Which cost the airline dear and they have reported losses in the two previous quarters. 

Will Lufthansa Buy 100 Air Berlin Aircraft? Ryanair's Not Happy. Could IAG be Interested? The Air Berlin Gossip Bubble

Lufthansa is in negotiations to buy a majority of Air Berlin's aircraft, with the backing of the German Government, which is, according to local media, looking for an aviation 'champion' to come to the rescue.   The German flag carrier may take upto 100 of the 140 Air Berlin fleet some analysts are predicting.  No comment on that theory yet from the German airline, although it is a possibility - with nothing being ruled out at this stage.   

Air Berlin's collapse may be a god send for Lufthansa and the other airlines in its group, if they takes up the chance to acquire slots at busy airports such as Berlin Tegel and Duesseldorf. The German national carrier is keen to defend its domestic position against the expansion of the low-cost carriers like Ryanair.  

Manila - Auckland Non-Stop For Philippine Airlines

Philippine Airlines will be making a major change on flights to New Zealand's 'City of Sails from December this year.  The airline is to start a direct non-stop flight to Auckland from Manila from 6th December on on of its Airbus A340 aircraft. 

The non-stop service will operate three times a week - Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday - departing Manila at 11.15pm, arriving Auckland at 2.05pm local time the following day.  The return leaves Auckland every Friday, Saturday and Tuesday at 12.30 local time and touches down in Manila at 5.45am.

955 More Jobs to go at Iberia

The Spanish airline Iberia, aims to cut up to 955 jobs as part of a fresh round of redundancies outlined to unions, a spokesperson for the company said on Thursday.

The Spanish carrier, which is  part of International Consolidated Airlines Group who also own British Airways, Vueling and Aer Lingus, has already been through two major rounds of redundancies in times. So far they have axed around 4,500 employees and its hoped this latest round of 955 would mostly come from voluntary redundancies and some early retirement plans.

Iberia are also planning more job cuts next year to further streamline the Spanish operation despite huge profits for IAG, it is expected they will be announced in February or March.

Has MH370 Been Found?

Could the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have been found at last?  After years of searching, the  Australian authorities believe they have finally found the crash site of the missing jet.

Photo: Byrne Guy/Geoscience Australia

Australia has released satellite images it claims show 12 “probably man-made” objects floating in the sea near the suspected crash site of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane. The images were taken two weeks after MH370 disappeared on 8 March 2014, these images have been analysed by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and enabled their researchers to suggest a new potential location for the impact site, an area of 1930 sq miles just north of the former search zone.

In a report issued this week, the Australian's state the detected objects appeared to be in clusters, rather than being  scattered randomly across the sea.  Researchers have a “high degree of confidence” that their in depth and complex drift models of the items indicated a probable impact site within that area, which is in a section of the Indian Ocean that has not yet been searched.

Big Half Year Losses For Cathay Pacific

The Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific has reported a net loss of over 2 billion Hong Kong dollars, that over $268 US dollars for the first half of this year alone. 

For the first six months of last year the airline made a profit of HKD$353, compared to this years loss and the airline has confirmed it expects the losses to continue for the full year.  

The Hong Kong flag carrier cites issues such as the price of fuel, hedging losses and greatly increased competition on a number of markets for the steep losses.  Also a number of other 'one off' item affected the half year figures including a fine from the European Commission over a cargo price collusions case and a dilution of shares in Air China from 20.1% to 18.1%. 

Air Force Two Forces United Flight Diversion

A United Airlines flight was forced to divert after running low on fuel waiting for US Vice President Mike Pence to take off. 

The US Secret Service often throw up temporary flight restrictions when the President aircraft - Air Force One is arriving or departing an airport, however last Friday evening they did the same at Indianapolis for Air Force Two, that's the code name for any aircraft carrying the VP. 

United Express 3633 was heading to Indianapolis International Airport  from Chicago when they were told of the TFR, which meant they couldn't land at the airport, not until Mike Pence the US VP had departed.  

Traffic up for JetBlue

JetBlue Airways  has just reported its preliminary traffic results for July 2017.  The popular airline saw traffic in July increased by 5.1 percent over July 2016, on a capacity increase of 5.9 percent.

Load factor for July 2017 was 87.1 percent, a decrease of 0.7 points from July 2016. JetBlue’s preliminary completion factor was 97.5 percent and its on-time (1) performance was 63.5 percent. JetBlue continues to expect third quarter revenue per available seat mile to range between (0.5) percent and 2.5 percent compared to the third quarter of 2016.

New Summer Routes For AirBaltic As More CS300's Arrive

The Latvian airline Air Baltic announces its first destinations for the summer season of 2018, starting on March 27, 2018. Next summer airBaltic will have more than five new destinations added to its route map.

Wolfgang Reuss, Senior Vice President Network Management of airBaltic: “So far 2017 has been an excellent year for airBaltic – already seven brand new Bombardier CS300 aircraft have successfully joined our fleet as we are serving a growing family of customers. We are delighted to share the first glimpse of forecast how our 2018 is going to look, by announcing a wider selection of destinations that our customers have demanded for the next summer. Network expansion is a key part of our Horizon 2021 business plan that enables us to further improve connections between the Baltic region and the rest of the world.”

See the new routes and more - 

Codeshare for Avianca and Singapore Airlines Plus More Euro Expansion.

Avianca and Singapore Airlines  have signed a codeshare agreement which will allow both airlines to codeshare their flights from and to Barcelona and London Heathrow from next month.

The new agreement will offer Avianca’s passengers many more options to connect to the vibrant gateway to Southern Asia - Singapore.  And from there, passengers will be able to fly to dozens of destinations from the impressive Changi International Airport, with Singapore Airlines.

Avianca will include its ‘AV’ code on flights operated by Singapore Airlines on the London – Singapore – London and Barcelona – Singapore – Barcelona. Likewise, the Asian airline will add its ‘SQ’ code to flights operated by Avianca on the London – Bogota – London and Barcelona – Bogota

Upto Six a day for Loganair Glasgow to Manchester.

The Scottish Airline - Loganair has announced an increase on the number of scheduled flights the local carrier operates between Glasgow and Manchester.

From 04 September 2017 Loganair is all set to double the number of flights between the two cities it operates, making a total of six each day.

The new flight schedule is aimed to offer passengers better flexibility with greater choice and is in response to strong and growing customer demand for the route - 42,548 people traveled between Glasgow and Manchester last year, both business and pleasure.

More details and book direct at  Loganair. 




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Southend Airport Fire

Firefighters were called to a major incident at London Southend Airport this morning that caused alarm among local residents.  Plumes of dark smoke could be seen from miles around the airport and some fearing a crash or explosion.

When firefighters arrived at the scene they found a large hangar, which is used to paint aircraft, was well alight. Six fire engines were requested to help tackle the fire. Luckily the hangar did not have any aeroplanes inside at the time of the fire.

Southend Airport remained open during the fire - "Essex County Fire and Rescue Service is currently dealing with an incident at the Air Livery hanger on the north side of the airfield. London Southend Airport is still open and operating as normal". They said in a statement.

By 1240 the firefighters have almost completely extinguished the fire. Firefighters are using thermal imaging cameras to find remaining hot spots which they will then dampening down to ensure they are completely cooled and extinguished.

A full investigation will be carried out to find the cause of the fire, however at this stage the fire service believe the fire started accidentally.

All photos courtesy of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.

Ryanair Booze Hypocrisy

Budget low cost airline Ryanair is calling on UK airports to enforce a two-drink limit after recent research revealed the number of passengers arrested for drunken behaviour has increased by around 50percent in the last year alone.

The Irish airline has already banned customers from drinking duty-free alcohol on flights, and barred passengers flying from Glasgow Prestwick and Manchester to Alicante and Ibiza from taking alcohol on board. 

Now the carrier is seeking help from airports to ban the sale of alcohol before 10am and to limit the number of drinks per boarding pass / passenger to a maximum of two.    "This is an issue which the airports must now address, and we are calling for significant changes to prohibit the sale of alcohol at airports, particularly with early morning flights and when flights are delayed," said Ryanair's Kenny Jacobs.

Azul and JetBlue Agree Codeshare Deal.

Photo JetBlue

 Brazilian carrier Azul announced yesterday a brand new tie up with JetBlue Airways through a unilateral codeshare agreement. Azul will place its "AD" code on JetBlue flights between several destinations and JetBlue’s focus cities in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL) and Orlando (MCO). From both Florida gateways Azul operates nonstop service to the airline’s hub at São Paulo, Brazil’s Viracopos International Airport (VCP) and Recife (REC).

Customers purchasing a codeshare itinerary will benefit from having a single ticket issued by Azul that includes flights operated by both Azul and JetBlue and the customer friendly convenience of thru check-in and baggage transfer.

WestJet to launch Dever service.

WestJet's Ed Sims

Canadian carrier WestJet announced this week that it will introduce a daily flight from Calgary to Denver International Airport from 8th March 2018.

"Calgarians have enjoyed WestJet's low fares and great guest experience since our inception and we are proud to bring our trusted brand to the Mile-High City, Denver," said Ed Sims, WestJet Executive Vice-President, Commercial. 

"With its sophisticated business economy and stunning mountain scenery, Denver is a natural for the WestJet network. Connecting through Calgary will also allow Denver's business and leisure travellers year round access to the broader Canadian WestJet network."

Delta's A350 to head to Seoul

Delta has confirmed it will utilize its new Airbus A350 aircraft, featuring the Delta One and Delta Premium Select cabins on its route between its home base of Atlanta and the capital of South Korea, Seoul, beginning 24th March '18.

The route, which debuted in June, links Delta’s Atlanta hub, the world’s busiest airport hub operation, to Seoul-Incheon, home of Delta’s trans-Pacific joint venture partner Korean Air.

A fond farewell - Bye Bye Avro RJ's

Swiss said a fond farewell on Tuesday to a stalwart of their fleet that had served them well for many years - the Avro RJ

Yes, for the last time a Swiss International Air Lines Avro RJ100 flew a commercial flight, departing from Geneva and heading the relatively short distance to Zurich.  

Immediately after landing in Zurich, the aircraft HB-IYZ received the traditional water fountain farewell salute by the airport fire brigade before being officially taken out of service to loud applause from a crowd of employees and aviation fans. 

Air Berlin Files For Bankruptcy

Air Berlin, the second largest airline in German has filed for bankruptcy protection after its main shareholder investor Etihad, confirmed it would no longer prop up the troubled carrier after trying unsuccessfully for years to turnaround the loss-making enterprise.

Air Berlin transports roughly 80,000 people every day on it's mainly short-haul routes around Europe and employs over 7000 staff.  

Etihad Airways who own just over 29% of  Air Berlin, stated the bankruptcy filing was "extremely disappointing for all parties," especially Abu Dhabi based company had supported Air Berlin for over six years, but revealed it could no longer continue subsidising the German carrier.  "As a minority shareholder, Etihad cannot offer funding that would further increase our financial exposure. We remain open to helping find a commercially viable solution for all parties," Etihad said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Norwegian New York Expansion

On the 10th August, the long-haul low cost airline, Norwegian, launched a new second daily service to New York City.  As it is the carrier's second daily flight to the big apple it means there passengers can now fly to New York and back in the same day!  That might sound unrealistic, but with fares as a low as £149 it is distinctly possible

The new flight departs London Gatwick in the morning and arrives into John F Kennedy airport for 9am. Those trans-atlantic day trippers can spend the whole day exploring the city before returning on the 11pm over night or ‘red eye’ flight from JFK airport which arrives back at London Gatwick the following day. 

Revamp For Ethiopian Airlines 767's

Ethiopian Airlines, the largest airline of Africa has retrofitted the first of its B767-300ER aircraft with a complete refurbishment that includes lie flat seats, super in inflight entertainment system and wifi.

The Cloud Nine business class seats feature 17-inch TV screens and in-seat power sockets. The aircraft’s economy cabin has also been refurbished, with new seats offering wifi IFE accessible on passengers’ personal devices.

Loganair and British Airways Deal?

Loganair has confirmed that it is in discussion with British Airways on an expanded code share agreement, with a view to its introduction in the near future.

The two airlines have a business relationship stretching back almost a quarter of a century, indeed for a period of 14 years Loganair flew in the BA Livery under a franchise deal that ran from 1994 until 2008. 

ATR & Stobart Renew Deal

After ten years of cooperation, ATR, the world’s leading turboprop manufacturer, and the Irish regional airline Stobart Air announce the extension of their Global Maintenance Agreement (GMA). This new six-year contract covers the repair, overhaul and pooling services of Line Replaceable Units, along with Propellers’ availability and maintenance.

 

PenAir Files Chapter 11 in US

The Small regional Alaskan Airline PenAir filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week after its major expansion to hub airports beyond its home in Alaska failed to generate as many passengers as expected.

Peninsula Airways Inc, which advertises the PenAir brand as the "Spirit of Alaska" mainly flies government-subsidized routes to small towns such as Boston to Presque Isle, Maine and Anchorage to King Salmon in Alaska.

Green light for Virgin Australia China and Hong Kong

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has authorised Virgin Australia to coordinate airline services for five years with the HNA Aviation Group, Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express Airways.

“The Alliance Framework Agreement may see additional airline services operate between Australia and mainland China, and Australia and Hong Kong,” the ACCC stated.

“The ACCC considers the alliance will likely realise significant public benefits, primarily through supporting the introduction of new services between Australia and mainland China and Hong Kong including by Virgin,” ACCC Commissioner Roger Featherston said.

Hong Kong Airlines A350 Takes First Flight

The first A350-900 for Hong Kong Airlines has completed its maiden flight in Toulouse, France last week.  Now the modern aircraft will enter the its final phase of production, followed by further ground checks and test flights. Then the aircraft will be prepared for delivery towards the end of August.

Minsters Consider Laser Pen Licensing

Sales of laser pointers could be licensed in an attempt to protect pilots and train drivers from attacks that could cause fatal crashes.

The devices are more commonly used in meetings and conferences to highlight items in presentations. However, airline pilots are increasingly concerned that pointing laser pointers at planes could cause aircraft to crash.

There were 1,258 laser attacks on planes landing or taking off from UK airports last year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.

Gatwick celebrates strong Chinese route growth on 1st anniversary of Tianjin route

Photo Gatwick

Gatwick Airport recorded a 6.1% year-on-year rise in passengers travelling to China in July marking the first anniversary of the airport’s routes to Chinese destinations Tianjin and Chongqing. The growth comes as Gatwick continues to focus on developing the airport’s connectivity with Asia, with flights to Taipei and Singapore also set to launch later this year.

Overall passenger numbers rose for a 53rd consecutive month in July as 4.7 million passengers travelled through the airport – up 2.4% – making it the busiest July in Gatwick’s history. Gatwick’s growth has also been recognised by the Airports Council International Europe, who today announced Gatwick as a top five airport in Europe for passenger growth, with passenger numbers +9.4% in the first half of 2017.

Easyjet Passenger's Woes After Being Sent 200km To Collect Lost Bag That Wasn't There

The super low cost budget airline EasyJet is facing a media and passenger backlash this week after it emerged they sent a passenger on a 200 kilometer wild goose chase to find a missing bag.

Many see this as indicative of the worsening customer service as the budget airline slowly moves away from being a UK based airline. 

“The worst customer service I have ever experienced” exclaims Fi Taylor, an Easyjet passenger who had to endure the wasted journey. The whole incident started when Easyjet left her bag behind in the UK on the first day of her vacation in Essaouira, Morocco. Then the airline told her they had sent her case to Marrakech, nearly 200km away – but guess what?  Easyjet were not going to pay any courier to get the bag to her,  she'd have to go and get it herself. 

New Routes For Loganair

The Scottish local airline Loganair has announced new services linking Aberdeen with Durham Tees Valley Airport and Norwich. 

The Scottish airline believes the flights, from 15th October, will attract passengers working in the offshore energy industries. Aberdeen is a key departure point for numerous helicopter departures to the North Sea oil and gas platforms.

The routes will be operated by 33-seat Saab 340 aircraft painted in the new tartan livery, now that the airline flies under its own brand and not that of ex-franchise partner Flybe. 

Durham Tees Valley chief executive Steve Gill said it was a "real shot in the arm for the airport" and good news for the business community.

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British Airways Strike Continues.

British Airways staff members that walked out over pay and conditions are all set to continue the industrial action for the rest of August.  

The union Unite has again renewed its call to the airline to get back to the negotiating table after a meeting on Friday. "It would cost British Airways mere pennies compared to its soaring profits to solve this dispute," said Unite national officer Oliver Richardson. 

"Yet still the airline insists on spending millions on wet leasing aircraft and the prospect of mounting legal costs to defend low pay and punishing workers on poverty pay. 

BA to Las Vegas or not

Armed police have been called to Heathrow airport after passengers became angry that a British Airways flight was delayed for two days.

People were left stranded when technical problems grounded the Boeing 747 due to fly from Heathrow to Las Vegas on Sunday. They thought they would be on their way the following day but a problem with their baggage meant the rescheduled flight was also held.

Cabin crew reportedly informed the cockpit that tensions were mounting and, after a lengthy wait, the passengers were taken off and armed Met police officers were called to meet the plane.

Full report  The Guardian 

Jet Airways to end First Class service?

Jet Airways was one of the first airlines to introduce a first class suite on some of its aircraft, but a decade on things have changed. A downturn in popularity has seen the airline to consider a complete cabin reconfiguration without first class on its 777-300ER aircraft.

According to local media, Jet Airways may completely remove the eight first-class seats it has on its 10 Boeing 777 aircraft. Instead it may add more economy and business class seats to the twin engined jet hoping to boost revenues.

Panic over the Pacific

There was panic over the Pacific on Friday night when a Hawaiian Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing at Hilo.

Over 250 passengers were deplaned Friday night in Hilo after their Hawaiian Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing.

Flight 64 departed from Lihue just after 3.30pm Friday afternoon with over 250 passengers and crew onboard, the flight to Los Angeles was scheduled to be about 5 hours.er.

A mechanical issue in the cockpit of the Boeing 767 caused smoke cockpit some two hours into their flight and the crew decided to take necessary precautions and return to the islands. The local fire services had been called and were at Hilo International Airport to meet the aircraft upon its arrival at 8.30pm Friday night.

No cause for the smoke has yet been released and an investigation is ongoing, there were no reports of any injuries



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Gatwick - UK's Worst Airport For Delays

Photo J Milstein  Gatwick Airport

THE World's busiest single runway airport and the second busiest in the UK, Gatwick, has been named as the worst for delays in the country. 

Passengers departing from the Sussex/Surrey airport suffered the longest average delays of 27 minutes, during summer getaways, according to a BBC analysis of figures collated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

These figures were collected during the last two summers (June to August) and combined to reveal the typical delays. It is perhaps no surprise that the airline with the longest delay was the budget carrier EasyJet. On average their passengers experience delays of 24 minutes when taking all summer flights into consideration, whether delayed or not. An EasyJet spokeswoman claimed "EasyJet operates the largest number of flights of any UK airline, flying over 78 million passengers per year. In 2017, EasyJet will operate 33% more flights than in 2011, with less than 0.8% delayed by more than three hours."

Airlines And Wheelchairs - They Keep Breaking Them

The stress of air travel has increased this summer, with long queues reported across Europe because of tighter security and immigration checks.

But for one group of passengers - those who use wheelchairs - flying often turns into an upsetting and nerve-wracking experience, whatever the time of year.

Philippine Airlines To Fly 777's To London

Philippine Airlines confirmed this week that it will boost their service into London from Manila with the introduction of between a state-of-the-art Boeing 777-300s on the route. The 370 passenger carrying aircraft will make its debut on the route on 19th September this year and will enhance the customer experience. 

Philippine want to be a 5 star airline....

Lufthansa's A350-900 Heading for Hong Kong

The German airline Lufthansa will be offering flights to Hong Kong on their brand new Airbus A350-900 aircraft from September. “Our passengers can now experience the world’s most advanced long-haul aircraft for the first time on a flight to the Far East. The flight to Hong Kong is one of the longest routes in the Lufthansa flight schedule. Flying on the A350-900 gives passengers an extraordinary experience. An optimized level of cabin pressure ensures that they arrive feeling more rested” says Wilken Bormann, CEO of the Munich hub. 

You Must Cover Up To Fly Saudia

The national carrier of Saudi Arabia has issued a very strict dress code for passengers who want to fly on one of their aircraft.  If passengers deviate from the new demanding  new rules Saudia Airlines will deny them boarding.  

On the new code of conduct for passengers on their website, Saudia tells travellers not to be “clothed in a manner that would cause discomfort or offence to other passengers. Women exposing legs or arms, or wearing too thin or too tight clothes and men wearing shorts exposing legs."

Busy Month For Lufthansa With Record Numbers

Photo Lufthansa

July has proved to be a very busy month for the airlines in the Lufthansa Group figures released this week indicate.  A total of 13.1 million people travelled on a Lufthansa Group flight in July that's up an amazing 16.9% on last years total. 

According to the figures, 2017 was shaping up to be a very good year for the German based group  with an overall load factor of 80.2 percent - a historic high - they've carried 73 million passengers so far this this year (up until end of July) 

Delays Due To Loo

Thousands of passengers were delayed at Orlando International Airport last week, but not because of bad weather, or aircraft technical difficulties, it wasn't even due to a strike. No the reason for the massive delay was a single flush of a toilet that caused a major incident and resulted in a hazard materials team having to come to the airport to clean up raw sewage that flowed into a customs area. Local TV station WFTV reports.

Celebs Feature in British Airways New Safety Video

A team of top celebrities including Gordon Ramsay, Rob Brydon, Sir Ian McKellen and Thandie Newton make appearances in British Airways’ entertaining new pre-flight safety video, which launches in September.

The new film features some of Britain’s best-loved personalities and has been designed to help customers absorb important safety messages, while boosting fund-raising for ‘Flying Start’, the global charity partnership between British Airways and Comic Relief.

Air Astana Goes For E190 Replacement

Air Astana have announced they will be welcoming five Embraer E190-E2s on long-term lease deals from AerCap. Deliveres of the second-generation E-Jets will start in the autumn of next year and will replace the airline's existing E190 fleet.

A350-1000 To Arrive This Year For Qatar

European aircraft manufacturer have confirmed today that Qatar Airways will receive its first A350-1000 aircraft before the end of the year.

Doha based Qatar Airways is the launch customer of of the A350-1000's which will be Europe's largest twin-engined passenger jet and has an order for 37 of the aircraft.

"Airbus has assured us we would receive our airplanes, though late, but we will receive it before the end of the year," Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker told the media in Doha this week.