Airline News - Europe.Dec 18, 2006 Air Madrid Air Madrid Líneas Aéreas S.A. was a private airline based in Madrid in Spain operating services to Spain, Tenerife, Mexico, South America, Central America, Europe and Israel. Air Madrid suspended operations Friday, saying on its website that a row with Spanish civil aviation authorities over the publicly threatened suspension of the LCC's operating certificate Operating certificate is a category of license issued by a government agency allowing an individual or company to provide a controlled type of service. These certificates are generally issued for a limited time period. has "destroyed, completely, the commercial image of Air Madrid," harmed ticket sales, caused problems with suppliers and made it impossible to continue flying. The airline reportedly incurred authorities' ire over repeated and lengthy flight delays. Founded in 2004, it operates nine Airbus aircraft and has a significant Latin American presence. Spanish media were reporting that the decision left tens of thousands of passengers stranded. Dec 18, 2006 Air Madrid Air Madrid Suspends All Flights. Air Madrid suspended all its flights on Friday, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded, a move the privately owned airline blamed on Spain's threat to suspend its flying license. Around 120,000 people have been left stranded having flown only one leg of their return tickets the budget airline said, but pinned the blame squarely on Spain after its threat to suspend Air Madrid's operating license for a spate of flight delays. Passengers waited for hours and complained of hearing nothing from Air Madrid, which mainly flies between Spain and Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. and is heavily used by South American migrants heading for Europe. Spanish transport civil servant Fernando Palao said the government was chartering between four and six jumbo-sized planes to repatriate repatriate To bring home assets that are currently held in a foreign country. Domestic corporations are frequently taxed on the profits that they repatriate, a factor inducing the firms to leave overseas the profits earned there. the most needy stranded passengers. Dec 15, 2006 Air Madrid Air Madrid's proposal to cut delays and keep its license by scrapping a fifth of its schedule, did not go far enough. Spanish media said Palao's statement indicated the airline would lose its license as early as Saturday morning. The government said it would take legal action against the airline for its "unilateral and irresponsible" action and to recoup EUR EUR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Euro. 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. 5 million (USD USD In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the U.S. Dollar. 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. $6.5 million) it was spending on emergency flights. Dec 15, 2006 Alitalia Alitalia Hit By Day Of Strikes. Italian airline Alitalia was set for severe disruption on Friday as workers staged a strike to protest against its imminent privatization privatization: see nationalization. privatization Transfer of government services or assets to the private sector. State-owned assets may be sold to private owners, or statutory restrictions on competition between privately and publicly owned . Dec 15, 2006 Austrian Airlines Austrian Airlines launched Vienna-Erbil service Monday with an A319. The flight will operate twice-weekly. Dec 14, 2006 British Airways British Airways began non stop service this month to Calgary, Alberta, with five flights a week aimed at taking advantage of Alberta's booming oil-driven economy as well as the popularity of the Rocky Mountains as a tourist destination. Robin Hayes, British Airways' vice-president for the Americas, said many customers already book their own connecting flights with Calgary-based WestJet. Dec 14, 2006 Finnair Finnair November Passenger Demand Mixed. Finnish national carrier Finnair said on Monday it saw strong demand for Asian flights in November, but passenger traffic was down on North Atlantic routes. Dec 11, 2006 KLM KLM Kaiserliche Marine (Enigma: Rising Tide game) KLM Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (Royal Dutch Airlines) KLM Klub Langer Menschen (German: Tall Person Club) KLM will launch a second daily Amsterdam-Moscow Sheremetyevo service March 25 aboard a 737. Flights are in codeshare with Aeroflot. Dec 13, 2006 Silverjet Silverjet, a UK startup that will offer all-business-class flights between London Luton and Newark beginning next month, said it reached agreement with Luton Airport to build a separate terminal that will be modeled after a private jet facility and enable it to check in and board passengers in just 30 min. The airline said there will be "no check-in desks" in the new terminal. It explained in a statement that passengers will "drop their luggage with a concierge on arrival" and then go to the "Silver Lounge," where check-in will take place "if customers have not already checked in via Internet or telephone." CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Lawrence Hunt said the "truly fast" check-in process will be "calming, relaxing and purges all the stress boarding the aircraft." He added that major airports like London Heathrow and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of JFK "have become too big and too congested con·gest·ed adj. Affected with or characterized by congestion. congested ENT adjective Referring to a boggy blood-filled tissue. See Nasal congestion. to cope with passenger volumes." Dec 12, 2006 Swiss International 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). CEO Christoph Franz said at the Star Alliance meeting in Istanbul earlier this month that the carrier no longer is in a crisis situation but that it will have to add liquidity to be safely positioned for the future. It will stay cautious in 2007 and not open any new long-haul destinations until 2008, he said. "We are not satisfied," he added. "It is not our goal to just maintain our position. We have to increase our liquidity in this more competitive environment." He said that on the cost side most improvements already have been implemented, but that "there are many things to make better" in terms of cost efficiency around the company. He cited a reduction in aircraft check turnaround times from 27 to 23 days as an example. Dec 18, 2006 TUI tui: see honeyeater. (Telephone User Interface) The combination of Touch-tone input from the telephone keypad coupled with speech output from the connected voicemail or IVR application. , Hapag-Lloyd Express TUI confirmed speculation that Hapagfly and Hapag-Lloyd Express will combine under the new name "in order to secure access to the low-cost, Internet and modular tour growth markets," with the remaining five TUI airlines (Thomsonfly, TUIfly Nordic, Arkefly, Corsair corsair: see Barbary States; piracy. and Jetair) joining the fold in 2008. The strategy will have an earnings impact of [euro]60 million by that time, the company said. "With TUIfly.com, a European brand, it will be easier to address customers. At the same time, the new brand...will be an essential element of TUI's new Internet strategy," it said. Dec 18, 2006 Z Editor: Aram Gesar, eMail: edit@AirGuideOnline.com For more global news, reviews, features and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/onlinenews.htm To Subscribe to our Newsletters: http://www.airguideonline.com/order_formsubs.htm#news To Advertise: advert@AirGuideOnline.com Dec 11, 2006 |
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