American to launch flights to Buenos Aires

American Airlines will launch daily Chicago O’Hare-Buenos Aires service on Dec. 13 aboard a 221-seat 767-300. This is part of ints strategy for International expansion apart from Europe which is starting its open skies policies with North America come 2008. These new routes are expected to shore up the profit margins of the big 4 American and Canadian carriers.

Pacific Blue to launch NZ domestic flights

Pacific Blue, the international arm of Australia’s Virgin Blue, will launch domestic services in New Zealand on November 15. The carrier will dedicate two 737-800s to flights between Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. It announced promotional fares from NZ$39 ($27.17), while normal fares will be equal to or above those of Air New Zealand.

Here comes competition to Air New Zealand(ANZ) on its home turf

Loose bolt said to have led to China Airlines 737 fire, explosion

A small hole in a fuel tank caused by a loose wing slat bolt was the likely cause of the Aug. 20 China Airlines 737-800 post-landing fire and explosion at Naha Airport in Okinawa, Japan’s Aircraft and Railways Accidents Investigation Commission said yesterday.

Kazushige Daiki, the commission’s chief investigator, said a 0.8-1.2-in. hole was found in a fuel tank. Investigators believe the hole was caused by a bolt from a right wing slat. “The bolt pierced through the fuel tank and we believe that caused fuel to leak out,” he said at a news conference in Okinawa. The fuel subsequently ignited, although the source of the ignition was not discussed. The commission released a photograph that showed the punctured fuel tank, which appeared to have a hole with a bolt protruding from it.

Daiki added that it is unknown how the bolt came loose and made its way to the tank. All 165 passengers and crew were able to escape the fiery aircraft before an explosion destroyed it. At a separate news conference in Taipei, Taiwan Aviation Safety Council Executive Director Yang Hung-chih confirmed that investigators believe “a several-cm.-long bolt came off from its position and pierced the tank, resulting in the leak.”

 This news is very grave indeed in light of the fact the airline declared that a detailed C Check was carried out very recently and no issues were found. Is this a end to the airline’s credibility? This could well push the airline towards losses this fiscal.

Ryanair to introduce check-in charge

 Ryanair has announced plans to introduce a Euro 3 charge for passengers who use its airport check-in desks. The airline is also scrapping fees for its online service in a move aimed at reducing airport queues. Ryanair claims this move is aimed at discouraging passengers from checking in bags and adding to queues at its airport desks. Currently, Ryanair passengers with hand luggage only can check in online and choose their seat for a fee of €3.Slightly cheap for an airline to do this. But knowing Ryanair, as the king of European Low cost travel, this was coming. But finally with Ryanair, what you pay is what you get. While you can almost fly free on most flights where you dont have check in bags etc… the costs add on for all ancilliary sevices. No wonder Ryanair is able to turnaround a plane in 25 minutes or less. Amazing stuff indeed!

Emirates wins the 2007 Best Airline Inflight Entertainment Award

Emirates won the 2007 Skytrax Best Airline Inflight Entertainment Award. Coming in a close second was Singapore Airlines. Reacting to Emirates continued success in winning the world’s Best Airline Inflight Entertainment Award, Mike Simon, Emirates Divisional SVP Corporate Communications, said “This is indeed a proud moment for us at Emirates – topping one of the most fiercely-contested of all categories three times in a row. It validates our insistence on inflight innovation and investments to ensure our passengers can relax with an incredible choice of entertainment, communicate with their businesses and loved ones, and have a thoroughly engaging time while flying Emirates.

Very well done Emirates Congratulations. Other airlines have a standard to look up to !

JetBlue to add flights from Vermont to Florida

JetBlue Airways will begin offering daily nonstop service between Burlington and Orlando, Fla., early next year. Beginning Jan. 10, 2008, one daily flight in each direction will link Burlington International Airport and Orlando International Airport, with one-way regular fares at $99. It will be Vermont’s only nonstop link to Florida.

JetBlue announces Fort Lauderdale-Richmond flight

JetBlue today announced it plans to add nonstop service between Richmond and Fort Lauderdale, Florida  The budget airline will operate one daily flight starting Nov. 1, with a 1:30 departure time from Richmond, arriving at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport at 3:40 p.m. Flights also are scheduled to depart Fort Lauderdale at 4:15 p.m., arriving in Richmond at 6:25 p.m.

Nonstop flights to and from Fort Lauderdale also are being added for Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham.

Delta to offer direct flights from Salt Lake City to Paris

Delta Air Lines is about to embark on a new transatlantic flight.  The flight, operated with Delta’s SkyTeam partner Air France, will be the first trans-Atlantic service ever offered by a U.S. carrier to Paris from the west coast, marking the start of Delta’s plan to expand international service across the Atlantic.

RYANAIR announces 6 new routes from Dublin

Ryanair, announced its intention to base two  new aircraft at Dublin from November 2007 (making a total of 22 Dublin based aircraft), to launch 6 new European routes, to increase frequencies on a further 12 routes to the UK and Europe, all of which will deliver an extra 1 million passengers annually for tourism and the Irish economy. The new routes are Basel, Budapest, Katowice, Nice, Prague and Szczecin. Ryanair is also increasing its frequencies on multiple routes from Dublin to UK and continental Europe.

Ryanair suspends all bookings to/from Brussels Charleroi

Ryanair has suspended all bookings to/from Brussels Charleroi airport from 12th November next, pending the resolution of a number of issues which remain outstanding since a wildcat strike by security staff closed Charleroi airport over the weekend of the 15-17 June last, forcing the cancellation of over 22,500 of Ryanair’s passenger flights.

Charleroi Airport has assured Ryanair that these outstanding problems will be addressed shortly, and if they are then we would be hopeful that these flights can be put back on sale shortly. However Ryanair is determined to ensure that its flights and passengers at Charleroi will not be cancelled again and so there must be an effective contingency plan in place to keep this international airport open and operational even if some staff wish to engage in wildcat strikes in the future. Ryanair’s flights to/from Charleroi in August, September and October will not be affected by this action.

Viva Macau to start Sydney flights today

Viva Macau is to start Sydney service following receipt of approval from Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in Australia. The airline will commence flying directly from Macau to Sydney three times a week. The  first return service from Sydney to Macau will start August 23, 2007
With the commencement of the service, Viva Macau is Macau’s first airline offering transcontinental route which marks a significant milestone in Macau’s aviation.

Emirates doubles its flight frequency to Shanghai

Emirates will be doubling its flight frequency to Shanghai with an addition of a second daily flight to the city. The new flight is expected to start February 1, 2008. The airline’s second daily flight to Shanghai will be served by the wide-bodied Airbus A340-300s with 267 seats in a three-class configuration, offering 13 tons of cargo capacity. On Tuesdays, the service will be operated by an Airbus A330-200 with 237 seats.
The airline also serves Beijing with a double daily service, and Hong Kong with 17 weekly passenger flights and 13 weekly freighter services.

Spicejet expands its network in South India

SpiceJet is strengthening its presence in the South India market with the establishment of Hyderabad as its hub. Even as the low cost carrier adds new stations in the South over the next three months, plans are to make Kochi the main city to tap the lucrative Gulf market, as and when the airline is allowed to fly international.
SpiceJet plans to add Port Blair and Coimbatore to its network over the next couple of months. This month SpiceJet launched direct flights connecting Delhi with Kochi. The airline plans to take the number of its daily flights out of South from around 29 to 40 over the next six months. SpiceJet is slated to take delivery of four Boeing 737-800 ER (extended reach) over the next six months that would have the capacity to fly short haul from India. The airline has a fleet of 14 aircraft that connects to 15 destinations around the country. It plans to have fleet of 20 aircraft by May 2008.

Kingfisher plans US flights by April 2008

Kingfisher Airlines plans to expand its operations to the US with flights to San Fansisco and New York by April next year and has filed an application with American Department of Transportation two weeks ago.

Under the current Indian norms, an airline needs a minimum of five years of domestic flying experience before it is allowed to fly abroad. Kingfisher, though a two-year old airline, had recently acquired a 26 per cent stake in low-cost carrier Air Deccan for Rs 550 crore which would complete five years of operations next year. Kingfisher is presently the single largest shareholder in Air Deccan and would soon make an open offer to acquire an additional 20 per cent stake in the low-cost carrier. Mallya said Kingfisher would increase its shareholding in Air Deccan by virtue of an open offer after that “we’ll decide on what shape it will take.”

Jet Airways to begin Chennai-Brussels-Newark flight

Jet Airways will introduce Chennai-Brussels-Newark flight from November 5 with an initial schedule of four flights a week and would increase the frequency to daily flights by December 2007. Recently, the airline built Brussels as a hub to connect cities in India with that of North America. At Brussels, flights will be synchronised in order to provide passengers seamless transfer access between Delhi, Newark, Mumbai and Toronto. Jet is also starting its Delhi-Brussels-Toronto Service on September 5.  As deliveries of the 20 wide body aircraft begin to gather pace, Jet Airways expects to introduce flights to Shanghai, San Francisco and Johannesburg.

Jet is on a roll!

Jet Airways to fly Madrid, Birmingham, Geneva

Jet Airways is all set to spread its wings to three new foreign destinations—Birmingham, Madrid and Geneva.  Jet Airways has received rights to fly from India to Birmingham, Madrid and Geneva via Brussels on their code share partner SN Brussels Airlines. International routes are lucrative for domestic airlines as the sector is experiencing a 16% growth with better profit margin. Total allocations are 14 flights per week to Birmingham, and 7 per week to Geneva and Madrid.

Jet Airways established its international hub in Brussels in May to increase its connectivity in Europe and North America. The airlines recently launched daily flights from Mumbai to New York via Brussels. Jet would soon begin operation on Delhi-Brussels-Toronto route.

Air Canada Adds Flights To London, Caribbean, Mexico

Air Canada is bolstering its presence in the West this winter by adding new routes and increasing its frequency of flights in the region. That includes making its service between Edmonton and London’s Heathrow Airport a direct daily flight.  The airline also said it would add another daily flight between Calgary and Halifax, and new seasonal service from Vancouver to Ixtapa and Los Cabos, Mexico. The announcement follows Air Canada’s decision last week to add 40 of its winter-sun destinations in the United States, Caribbean and Mexico.

China Southern orders 55 Boeing 737

China Southern Airlines Co has announced plans to buy 55 Boeing B737 aircraft to meet growing demand and renew its fleet.

The airline, the largest by fleet size on the Chinese mainland, said in a statement late yesterday that it could not disclose how much it was paying for the planes due to confidentiality requirements. The announcement of the purchase came hours after a China Airlines B737-800 exploded into flames after arriving on Japan’s Okinawa island from Taiwan. All 165 people aboard escaped unhurt, including the pilot.

China Southern earlier bought 37 B737-800s, six Boeing B777F freighters and 20 Airbus A320s.

Life comes a full circle for Ryanair

Life has come a full circle in the fiercely competitive avition market in Ireland. In the early 90s Ryanair was the fledgeling airline who was struggling to survive on its Ireland-UK Routes fighting with both Aer Lingus and the Irish airport operator Aer Rianta. Ryanair has since become the Low cost giant in Europe having multiple bases across the continent and working on its same initial strategy of flying to cheap airports near to city centers to keep cost of operations down. Now the hunter becomes hunted and Aer Lingus is struggling to maintain marketshare, profitability amidst fierce competiton, lawsuits and other issues in the aviation market.

Ryanair has raised its stake in Aer Lingus, its smaller Irish rival, to more than 29 per cent, making it the biggest shareholder ahead of the Irish government. Europe’s leading low-cost carrier is prohibited from making another full takeover bid for Aer Lingus, however, following the decision by the European competition authorities in late June to block its original offer made last year. Ryanair is expected to file an appeal shortly to the European Court of First Instance against the competition authorities’ decision.

Virgin Blue set to spread wings

Virgin Blue is planning to expand its New Zealand operations. Virgin Blue has just announced a profit of $216 million for the year, which is almost double that of last year. Virgin says its increased profit is partly due to its success in attracting corporate travellers to off-set higher fuel prices.

 

At the same time it has announced it plans to set up new services in New Zealand. The new route announcements are expected on Thursday.