Airline News - Europe.The European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community has banned 92 airlines from using its air space. It is a headline grabbing statement but from a practical point of view most of the carriers concerned have never flown into Europe and never likely to. In a sincere move to bolster air safety the European Commission European Commission, branch of the governing body of the European Union (EU) invested with executive and some legislative powers. Located in Brussels, Belgium, it was founded in 1967 when the three treaty organizations comprising what was then the European Community has approved a blacklist (1) A list of e-mail addresses of known spammers. See spam, spam filter, Blacklist of Internet Advertisers, greylisting and blackholing. Contrast with white list. (2) A list of Web sites that are considered off limits or dangerous. , which includes some 50 (yes - fifty) airlines from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 13 from Sierra Leone Sierra Leone (sēĕr`ə lēō`nē, lēōn`; sēr`ə lēōn), officially Republic of Sierra Leone, republic (2005 est. pop. 6,018,000), 27,699 sq mi (71,740 sq km), W Africa. , 11 from Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea (gĭn`ē), officially Republic of Equatorial Guinea, republic (2005 est. pop. 536,000), 10,830 sq mi (28,051 sq km), W central Africa. , six from Swaziland and three from Liberia. Thailand's Phuket Airlines (seen here at Gatwick) is also on the list as are carriers from Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and North Korea. The suggestion is that you don't fly on any of them when actually in their country of origin. http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do? Mar 26, 2006 European Regions Airline Association The European Regions Airline Association (ERA) is the principal body representing air transport in Europe's regions. Founded in 1980 with just 5 members, ERA has grown since 1987, under the Director General, Mike Ambrose, to represent over 230 companies and is the only body members saw their passenger traffic increase 6.3% during 2005. Load factors averaged a record 61.5%. Eurocontrol's program to minimize en route delays appears to be working, delegates heard, reflected in airlines' average sector time increasing in line with average sector distance (74 minutes from 72 minutes in 2004, on distances of 550km, up 19kms from last year). Many members are in the throes throe n. 1. A severe pang or spasm of pain, as in childbirth. See Synonyms at pain. 2. throes A condition of agonizing struggle or trouble: a country in the throes of economic collapse. of fleet expansion and there was a general mood of optimism as they gathered in Copenhagen last week. Mar 26, 2006 EU bans 92 carriers from European airports. The European Union on Wednesday said 92 airlines are not safe by international standards and banned the carriers from European airports. Most of the banned airlines are based in Africa. Mar 23, 2006 European Regional airlines reported a 6.3% increase in scheduled traffic in 2005, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the European Regions Airline Assn. Average passenger load factor was 61.5%, the highest year-end figure since ERA began collecting data in 1987, a result of "continued prudence among operators in increasing capacity." A high of 67.3% was reached in July. Mar 23, 2006 ELFAA ELFAA European Low Fares Airline Association calls for emissions trading Emissions trading (or cap and trade) is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. restraint. In conjunction with a study it commissioned to quantify the effect of the inclusion of air transport in the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme, the European Low Fares Airline Assn. yesterday declared its support of the "principles" behind the policy but demanded an end to the "sloppy thinking and hysterical persecution" that finger aircraft as a leading emissions contributor. Mar 21, 2006 Adria Airways Adria Airways is an airline based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Europe. It is the national airline of Slovenia and a regional member of the Star Alliance. It operates international scheduled services throughout Europe and charter services to destinations in Europe and the Middle East. Adria Airways will begin four-times-weekly service from Ljubljana to Rome via code share with Air One. Twice-weekly A320 service to Barcelona also will be added, along with a six-times-weekly service to Tirana using CRJ CRJ Canadair Regional Jet CRJ Chiropractic Research Journal CRJ Commission for Racial Justice CRJ Cylinder Reduction Jumper 200LRs. Mar 24, 2006 Aeroflot, Air Baltic Aeroflot and Air Baltic announced a code share deal covering Moscow-Riga services. Aeroflot operates five weekly flights and Air Baltic flies six-times-weekly. Mar 23, 2006 Air Berlin Air Berlin, which now claims to be Europe's third-largest budget airline, is focusing on London's Standsted. After introducing services to Manchester and Glasgow late last year, the German carrier will launch twice daily flights from Belfast City to the Essex airport Essex Airport, (TC LID: CNE9), is located 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) southwest of Essex, Ontario, Canada. References
Noun, pl Brit points awarded on buying flight tickets and certain other products which can be used to pay for other flights and baggage transfer for connecting passengers. It also differs from competitors in that flights can be booked via the Internet, by phone and via travel agents. http://www.airberlin.com Mar 26, 2006 Air Wales Air Wales was an airline based in Cardiff, Wales. It operated scheduled regional services throughout the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and France. On 23 April 2006, Air Wales ceased all operations. Air Wales from April 24 although the operator will continue as a charter and executive carrier. In the meanwhile, other airlines are preparing to announce scheduled operations from Cardiff International on routes that Air Wales will be giving up. Aer Arann Aer Arann is a regional airline based in Dublin, Ireland. It operates scheduled and charter services to eight destinations in Ireland, two in France and ten in the United Kingdom, as well as Jersey. , which had earlier announced services between Cardiff and Brittany, plans to announce fares and schedules for six flights a week between Cardiff and Cork, starting on 24 April. Details will appear on their web site very shortly. Eastern Airlines is to take over Cardiff to Brussels, Aberdeen and Newcastle services on the same date. Also positive Air Southwest begins its twice-daily Cardiff to Manchester and Newquay flights on 10 April. Craftily easyJet is offering Air Wales customers a [pounds sterling]25 rebate to transfer to their Bristol services. This should cover surface transport costs. http://www.airwales.co.uk http://www.cwlfly.com Mar 26, 2006 AirBaltic AirBaltic sees strong growth in 2005 but special charges result in loss. AirBaltic reported a net loss of [euro]1.9 million ($2.3 million) for 2005 owing to owing to prep. Because of; on account of: I couldn't attend, owing to illness. owing to prep → debido a, por causa de a [euro]4 million charge related to the return of Avro RJ70s. Mar 22, 2006 Alpha One Alpha One has been grounded. The embryo airline founded by would-be pilot and aviation boss Martin Halstead (19), has finally joined the great hangar in the sky, but not before upsetting potential passengers and hurting others in their pockets. Never a proper airline, when it did fly it was officially under someone else's license, Alpha One finally got into the air out of Edinburgh in February, after announcing several other airport locations. The 'airline' seems to have operated for about six weeks to The Isle of Man Noun 1. Isle of Man - one of the British Isles in the Irish Sea Man British Isles - Great Britain and Ireland and adjacent islands in the north Atlantic , but no longer. It's website is still functioning, "under construction". http://www.flyalpha1.com Mar 26, 2006 British Airways British Airways in full British Airways PLC International passenger airline based in London. In 1936 British Airways Ltd. was founded through the merger of three smaller airlines. British Airways customers on domestic flights will have no choice from 25 April. From this date, the only way for travelers to check-in will be on ba.com or at an airport kiosk. Conventional check-in desks will be converted to 'fast bag drop' desks, for customers with luggage to check-in, and dedicated staff will be on hand to help passengers at the kiosks. Customers who check-in on ba.com can print their boarding pass from their home or office printer, up to 24 hours before their flight, allowing them to proceed immediately to the boarding gate on arrival at the airport. BA expects that more than 80% of its customers will use self-service check-in by the time it moves into Terminal 5. http://www.ba.com Mar 26, 2006 British Airways wants employees to work longer to reduce pension costs. British Airways yesterday said it wants to raise the retirement age for staff as one of a series of measures aimed at easing its pension obligations. Mar 24, 2006 British Airways will introduce "across-the-board" self-service check-in for customers traveling on intra-UK flights from April 25. Elimination of desk check-in for domestic travel is part of BA's strategy to streamline operations ahead of its spring 2008 move into London Heathrow's new Terminal 5. It hopes to have more than 80% of its customers using self-serve check-in by that time. "Making the airport experience simpler and speedier for our customers is the cornerstone of our vision for Terminal 5 and we want to introduce many of these improvements now, ahead of our move," Commercial Director Martin George said. Conventional check-in desks will be converted to "fast bag drop" desks and dedicated staff will be on hand to help customers at the self-service kiosks. Passengers checking in on BA's website can print their boarding pass up to 24 hr. before departure. Check-in at an assistance desk will remain an option for those traveling with children, those traveling on code share services, groups of more than six and unaccompanied un·ac·com·pa·nied adj. 1. Going or acting without companions or a companion: unaccompanied children on a flight. 2. Music Performed or scored without accompaniment. minors. Mar 22, 2006 Cyprus Airways Cyprus Airways (Greek: Κυπριακές Αερογραμμές, Kipriakes Aerogrammes) is the national airline of Cyprus, based in Nicosia. Cyprus Airways contracted Mercator to handle its passenger revenue accounting operation. Mercator is part of Emirates Group. Mar 21, 2006 Finnair Finnair will boost Asian service earlier than planned to five flights a week to Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. and six to Osaka between July and October. Mar 23, 2006 Finnair, Pulkovo Finnair and Pulkovo signed a code share agreement for joint flights between Helsinki and St. Petersburg from March 26 Mar 23, 2006 Lufthansa Lufthansa says profits rose 12% in 2005, foresees strong 2006. Lufthansa Group overcame the effect of soaring fuel prices that added [euro]843 million to expenses, along with tough competition from European low-fare airlines, as it reported net earnings for 2005 of [euro]453 million ($547 million), up 12.1% over earnings of [euro]404 million in 2004. Mar 24, 2006 Lufthansa Lufthansa beginning April 3 will expand its betterFly [euro]99 return fares being offered from Hamburg to the rest of Germany for travel within Europe. The offer applies to all LH nonstop flights from any German airport to any destination in the EU, Switzerland, Norway and Turkey, a total of 181 routes to 76 points in 25 countries. "After our successful experience on domestic routes in Germany and the launch of our betterFly fares in Hamburg, we have seen that an attractive starting price starting price n (COMM) → precio inicial starting price n → prix initial starting price start n (at auction can have a very positive effect on the market," Executive Board Chairman Wolfgang Mayrhuber said in a statement. The carrier guaranteed it will offer an average monthly total of 350,000 seats at that price. The fares are nonrefundable and carry a change fee but have no minimum stay or advance booking requirements. Mar 24, 2006 Malev Hungarian Malev Hungarian Airlines is increasing weekly service to Romania. From March 26 it will operate up to four daily flights between Budapest and Bucharest, raising weekly frequencies from 15 to 26. It will add one weekly flight to its Tirgu Mures Mu·re·  or Mu·reul and Constanta services and offer three more flights to Timisoara. Mar 20, 2006 Norwegian Air Norwegian Air Service will commence thrice-weekly flights from Oslo to Tallinn and Vilnius from May 2. Mar 23, 2006 Sky Commuter Sky Commuter have been grounded after less than six weeks. The inaugural service on 1 February restored a link which flourished before World War 2, and was once used by the author Graham Greene to visit his sweetheart. The two university cities are only 65 miles apart but there is no direct road or rail connection. The new service began badly when the first flight, from Oxford, started 20 minutes late. The service was rarely more than a third full. Sky Commuter said advance bookings would be refunded and the Coventry Airport based operator continues with its charter and executive operations. http://www.skycommuter.com Mar 26, 2006 Styrian Spirit Styrian Spirit suddenly failed last Friday. The Austrian regional carrier flew four times per week from Klagenfurt to Luton. Swiss has quickly stepped in and is operating its own services on the Zurich - Graz and Zurich - Krakow routes. The flights were previously performed by Styrian Spirit under a code share agreement. Swiss will initially take over these services until the end of March. Whether they will continue to be offered from April onwards remains to be decided. A creditors' meeting for Styrian Spirit has been called for today (27 March) when more details are likely to emerge. All other Styrian services have been grounded. http://www.styrianspirit.com Mar 26, 2006 Swiss International Swiss International Air Lines' fourth-quarter loss narrowed to CHF CHF In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Swiss Franc. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 97 million ($74 million) compared with CHF123 million a year earlier, Bloomberg reported. Mar 24, 2006 Swiss International Air Lines Swiss International Air Lines (short: Swiss) is the principal airline of Switzerland operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Its main hub is Zurich Kloten Airport (ZRH). , which joins Star Alliance next month, will code share with Star member SAS (1) (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, www.sas.com) A software company that specializes in data warehousing and decision support software based on the SAS System. Founded in 1976, SAS is one of the world's largest privately held software companies. See SAS System. between Switzerland and Scandinavia as well as with Blue1 from Zurich to Helsinki. Swiss-Spanair cooperation will be offered between Zurich and Barcelona and Madrid. Code sharing will be initiated with Croatia Airlines between Zurich and Zagreb and with Darwin Airline on the Bern-London City sector. The code sharing is set to begin March 26, at which time agreements with Malev, Finnair and Qantas will be terminated. Mar 23, 2006 VIRGIN ATLANTIC ATLANTIC Cardiology A clinical trial–Angina Treatments–Lasers And Normal Therapies In Comparison AIRWAYS Sir Richard Branson will open the new Virgin Clubhouse at Heathrow T3 today as part of the celebrations introducing VS Dubai Airbus A340 service, which initially will operate four times per week. The Clubhouse is massive, covering 27,000 square feet, the equivalent of ten tennis courts. In effect it is a private members' club with all the services free, courtesy of Virgin. There is a cocktail bar of course, a brasserie bras·se·rie n. A restaurant serving alcoholic beverages, especially beer, as well as food. [French, from brasser, to malt, brew, from Old French bracier, from Vulgar Latin and deli, plus what Virgin calls "The Cowshed at the Clubhouse" with a range of treatments available for both men and women in addition to spa pool, sauna, steam rooms and showers. For the business traveler who insists on working "The Office and Library" is a private room with eight business stations, fax machines, telephones, printers, photocopiers and library with antique refectory table (which has been retained from the previous Clubhouse and originally came from Sir Richard's house). There is a Skylounge and observation deck and for children a dedicated playground. The brightly decorated room has a wide selection of toys and games for children of all ages as well as a TV with dedicated kids channels showing through the day. Also making a first time appearance today is Paul Charles, Virgin's new director of corporate communications, poached poach 1 tr.v. poached, poach·ing, poach·es To cook in a boiling or simmering liquid: Poach the fish in wine. from Eurostar. Rumor has it that Branson wore his long established predecessor out! Mar 26, 2006 VLM 1. (architecture) VLM - Very Large Memory. 2. (networking) VLM - Virtual Loadable Module. VLM, the largest carrier in terms of flights at London City Airport London City Airport (IATA: LCY, ICAO: EGLC) is a single-runway airport, intended for use by STOL (Short Take Off and Landing) airliners, and principally serving the financial districts of London. This airport could also be considered a STOLport. , is to add a dedicated business section on its six daily return services from London City to Brussels. Business class passengers traveling to and from the Belgian capital can now enjoy a host of new benefits which include dedicated seating at the front of the aircraft with distinct headrest covers, complimentary newspapers and a welcome drink of orange juice on morning flights, champagne on flights from lunchtime onwards and a full meal is served. VLM's business class passengers also have access to an executive lounge at Brussels Airport, along with increased hand and hold luggage allowances of 15kgs and 30kgs respectively. Business class tickets are fully flexible, and bookings can both be changed and canceled with a refund. The new service follows the successful introduction of business class in 2005 on the Amsterdam and Luxembourg routes. The airline is introducing a sixth service to Amsterdam each weekday from 31 March, and offers a choice of three services each weekday to Luxembourg. http://www.flyvlm.com Mar 26, 2006 |
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