American's $2.6 Billion Engine Deal

CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric Aviation and Safran of France, said on Sunday that it had been picked by American Airlines Group to provide engines for 100 Airbus A320neo jets the airline has on order.

CFM said the order is worth $2.6 billion at list prices.

The deal confirms what sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this month and marks a loss for United Technologies Corp's Pratt and Whitney unit, which makes the other engine offered on the Airbus A320neo.

Source Reuters

Virgin Pay £47,600 Compensation For One Delayed Flight

Virgin Atlantic has had to fork out £47,600 compensation to 101 passengers who had been delayed on one of their flights from the US in 2012.  The flight had been delayed by around 26 hours and the airline was forced to make the payout following last month’s Huzar ruling at the Court of Appeal, which stated that airlines cannot reject claims for delays caused by technical defects.

Star Alliance Membership for Air India

Air India is adding 400 daily flights and more than 40 new destinations in India to the Star Alliance network.

The far reaching Indian flag carrier now offers through check-in to the final destination for connecting flights operated by any alliance member airline, this is for both passengers and their baggage.  Air India's membership brings the Star Alliance network up to 27 member airlines, offering over  18,500 daily flights to amazing 1,316 destinations in 192 countries.

Passengers will benefit from a wider choice on routes connecting North America, Europe, Asia and Australia via the Indian sub-continent.  Star Alliance chief executive Mark Schwab said: “This is an important day for us. We have said for many years that we needed a strong home carrier in the Indian market and by welcoming Air India to our Star Alliance family, we have achieved this goal.  We know that the ‘new’ Air India is looking forward to providing the Star Alliance customer benefits to many more travellers.”

The airline’s chairman and managing director Rohit Nandan said: “From today, we open up a completely different world for our passengers, who can now travel to over 1,300 destinations right across the network and enjoy world-class service, better connectivity and seamless travel wherever they go.”

Gulf Air

In February, Kamal Ahmed, the transport minister of the tiny Gulf state of Bahrain, told Arabian Business that “no-one wants” the top job at Gulf Air, the country’s flag-carrier. It was a candid admission for a company that, long before the rise of super-connectors Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, had once been considered the Middle East’s pre-eminent airline. Several foreign candidates had been offered the job, Mr Ahmed explained, but all turned it down over fears of political interference. Given that Gulf Air’s nine-strong board includes four serving ministers plus an advisor to the Crown Prince, they may have had a point. Two decades of near-consistent financial losses will also have dampened their enthusiasm. But someone had to hold the fort, and under the stewardship of acting CEO Maher Al Musallam–who has been in charge for 18 months–Gulf Air appears to be making headway. Reports the Gulliver blog in The Economist.

Whizz Air New Routes to Poland

It has been annouced this week that three new routes to Poland are to be introduced by low cost outfit Wizz Air this winter.

The Eastern European super low-cost carrier is going to commence flights from Glasgow to Katowice and Poznan on October 26 and October 28 respectively.

From London Luton the airline plans to launch a link to Szczecin on October 27 as the airline seeks to greatly expand its Polish network.   Flights to Groningen in Holland from Gdansk and flights to Maastricht from Katowice will also start on October 28. A Bergen-Warsaw link is also being added.

These six new routes take the total Wizz Air routes to 90 in 17 countries from Poland.

Air France - KLM Profits Dive

The future is not looking rosy for the  Air France-KLM dire conglomerate as profits are set to dive by as much as 12% in the face of increasing competition in the long-haul airline sector.  The Franco-Dutch airline profit warning sent its shares crashing down by 5%. 

This weeks unexpected profit warning sent shares at British Airways and Iberia parent International Airlines Group down almost 7% to 336¼p. IAG shares were changing hands at 420p prior to Lufthansa’s warning.  

UK punctuality Best Ever

Airline punctuality at UK airports achieved the best performance in the first quarter of this year since records began in 1992.

A total of 84% of scheduled flights landing ‘on-time’ in the January to March period - a six percentage point improvement on the same period in 2013.  The average delay was nine minutes, a reduction of four minutes year on year. The overall on-time performance for charter flights was 76% - an increase of seven percentage points, with the average delay falling by five minutes.

ANZ Pulls Sexist Safety Video

The words “Fasten your seatbelt” have never been so alluring, at least for some that happened to view the new flight safety video from Air New Zealand,  however not everyone was impressed with the kiwi carrier's latest in-flight video, which puts scantily clad Sports Illustrated models front and center.

The video, titled “Safety in Paradise,” featured Australia’s Jessica Gomes along with Christie Brinkley, Chrissy Teigen, Hannah Davis and Ariel Meredith all running through the routine of aeroplane safety pointers while looking glamorous in their bikinis on the shores of the Cook Islands.

The four-minute clip, which has been viewed more than 5 million times on YouTube, sparked an online backlash, with a petition attracting 10,000 signatures on change.org.

Led by Melbourne woman Natasha Young, the petition says the safety video is sexist and “should not be an excuse to objectify the sexualized female body.”

“This video completely disregards passengers who find it offensive for religious reasons, who have body image struggles, who are parents concerned about their children’s impressionable nature, who believe women deserve more respect, and who have teenage daughters who deserve more respect,” the petition reads.

“This video is culturally insensitive; it disregards those who are conservative by nature and are uncomfortable with its imagery and disregards passengers who have been exposed to sexual assault.

“Air NZ appears determined to insist that skies are sexy regardless of who they offend.”

Some people (well, men) loved the video, others found it sexist, and more couldn’t see what the fuss was about. An Air New Zealand spokesperson said the video was not pulled due to the online backlash and it was always intended to be removed after it had completed its run. Proving once again the airline doesn't listen to its passengers and customers.

New Security Checks at UK Airports

Security screening changes continue to cause confusion for UK travellers.  First eight days ago passengers booked on US bound flights were warned to make sure electronic items were fully charged before they boarded or they wouldn't be allowed to take them onboard.   The British Airways issued a travel advice that stated if the device did not turn on then on the flight you would not go.  

Yesterday, the UK's Department for Transport (DfT) says the rules apply to any flights into or out of the UK, although not every flight will be affected.  The rules apply to all portable electronic devices, including cameras, tablets, ebook readers, laptops, MP3 players and phones. Previously the warning had been about two makes of phone and laptops.

The DfT says that in the event a passenger arrives at an airport gate with a device that does not switch on, it will be at the discretion of the airline what happens next. Its potluck whether passengers will ever see their electronic gadgetry again,  some may have it posted to a home address,  others may be able to collect it up on their return, whilst others may have halt or alter travel plans completely.   

Pilot Pays For Pizza

A big hearted Frontier Airlines pilot helped take some of the pain out of a delayed flight on Monday for his passengers,  he ordered pizza for all 160 of them!  

The unusual event started on Frontier Airlines Flight 719 around 7:40 p.m. US Eastern Time on Monday  7th July when the plane departed Ronald Reagan airport in Washington, heading for Denver an hour behind schedule. 

However, bad weather in the Denver area forced the plane to circle over western Nebraska before low fuel levels necessitated a landing at Cheyenne Regional Airport in Wyoming. It was at that point that the pilot, whose name has not been released, took command of the situation. 'Ladies and gentleman, Frontier Airlines is known for being one of the cheapest airlines in the US, but your captain is not cheap,' the pilot said over the PA according to passenger Logan Marie Torres   'I just ordered pizza for the entire plane.'"

Long Haul Budget Plans for Lufthansa

Germany's Lufthansa says it plans to expand its budget airline operation to offer long-haul flights, possibly in cooperation with Turkish Airlines.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Germany's biggest airline, has been trying to cut costs amid tough competition from European budget carriers and aggressively expanding government-owned Gulf airlines.

Emirates Massive 777x Order

Dubai's Emirates Airlines confirmed an order for 150 777X on Wednesday in a deal valued at $56 billion at list prices.

The deal for two types of the 777X was first announced at the Dubai air show in November and helped launch the jet, making it the largest product launch in commercial aircraft history. Emirates has ordered 115 777-9X and 35 777-8X. It also holds purchase rights for an additional 50 versions of the jet, which could increase the total deal size to $75 billion at list prices.

Emirates chief Tim Clark said his airline now operates 138 777 aircraft and has 208 Boeing 777s, either the current or revamped versions, pending delivery. "The 777X will offer us operational flexibility in terms of range, more passenger capacity and fuel efficiency," Mr. Clark said in a statement issued by Boeing.

The more fuel-efficient 777X is expected to begin production in 2017 for delivery in 2020. To date, the aircraft has won 300 orders and commitments from six customers worldwide, including Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, Emirates' rivals in the Persian Gulf.

Hate Spirit's Latest Gimmick.

Apparently there are few airlines in the world that are as misunderstood as much as the US low cost carrier Spirit Airlines. This much hated airline uses the normal low-cost model of charging for everything it can -  including carry-on bags, pre-assigned seating, food and beverage, credit card handling charges and so on.  It also has one of the tightest seat pitches of any airline in the world, just 28″ of space, to which the American traveller have to squeeze themselves. (United, by comparison, has between 30-36″ in economy). 

Spirit's marketing campaigns have often left a lot to be desired, many  are seen as tasteless. However,  the management care little about the product or the service,  they are just in the business to make money, so passenger satisfaction isn't something they even consider - As Spirit’s CEO, Ben Baldaza is famously quoted, “Let [the customer] tell the world how bad we are. He’s never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny.”

The airline doesn't care about its reputation, indeed its turning all that hate into yet another marketing gimmick -  A new campaign launched this week called Hate Thousand Miles invites passengers to voice their “hate” over the airline and the industry at large in a light-hearted effort to let out some steam. In return, passengers will receive 8,000 miles gratis, almost enough for a free one way trip on the airline.   Only thing is -  in order to get enough miles to take a free flight, you've got to buy one first, earning the 2,000 or so required.  

Near Miss at Barcelona?

A plane spotter has captured footage of an apparent "near miss" between two planes at Barcelona airport,

The footage shows a Boeing 767 from the Russian airline UTair coming in to land on a runway at El Prat airport.

But as the plane prepares to touch down, an Aerolineas Argentineas Airbus A340 is seen taxiing across the runway, while the Russian jet pulls up.

However, officials were quoted as saying the manoeuvre was normal and passengers were not in danger.

None of the passengers on either plane were hurt.

Sources at Spanish airport authority AENA told La Vanguardia newspaper that the planes were more than 1km ( 0.6 miles) apart at all times, and that the angle of the shot makes the planes appear closer to each other than they actually were.

Both planes were in the correct position and the Russian jet could have landed safely, the sources said. Neither of the two airlines had lodged a complaint, they added.

However, it is not clear why the pilot of the Russian plane took the decision to abort the landing.

Financial Trouble for Malaysian Airlines

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - As scores of small-time investors gathered in the utilitarian surrounds of Malaysia Airlines training centre on June 25 for the company’s annual shareholders meeting, the mood in the room was one of anger and frustration.

Investor after investor questioned the directors on why, after so many years of restructuring, the airline still could not create a sustained profit.

"I listen patiently year after year and the same things are said," said retired researcher Rahim Bidin to enthusiastic applause. "And every year nothing happens. I'm very disappointed with the performance. If you cannot solve the problems then let someone else (try)."