NIKI reincarnated as Laudamotion - taking to the skies soon

Niki Lauda's reincarnation of his 'NIKI' airline will take to the skies over Europe this spring under the banner of 'Laudamotion'

The airline will offer flights to a range of destinations including many Mediterranean holiday destinations like Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Malaga, Santorini, Kalamata, Crete and many more. Lauda plans for the airline to operate a fleet of 14 aircraft, flying from Austria, Germany and Switzerland in a two-class configuration.

Laudamotion is the next step, the latest development and evolution of his airline NIKI, which was an extremely successful holiday airline that Mr Lauda started in 2003. It had a great reputation and built a strong route network and phenomenal client base. Lauda sold his shares in NIKI to airberlin in 2011 and although it was part of the airberlin group, it also remained an independent company with its own management board.  After airberlin filed for insolvency in 2017, Niki Lauda purchased the airline again and soon Laudamotion will be taking to the air. 

Laudamotion is starting at the right time to take advantage of the peak travel season and tickets are already on sale, starting at just €59.99 for Spain and to Greece from € 79.99.

Kaya Jones books the wrong date but blames American Airlines for the screw up!

A former Pussycat Dolls singer is ranting on social media at American Airlines claiming never to fly with the airline again after she said they messed up her flights.

Kaya Jones whose real name is Chrystal Neria acted like a real diva blaming the airline for trying to swindle her out of money for extra fees. However, despite her feet stamping and blaming the US Carrier, it transpires that Neria booked the wrong date and airport and the airline has repeatedly tried to help her, with a spokesperson saying it was trying to assist with the “upcoming reservation,”

The Donald Trump supporting singer turned actress who once claimed being a member of the Pussycat Dolls was like being in a prostitution ring and is against any form of gun control has been approached for a comment.  

Delta adds 50th destination from Boston with new Las Vegas service starting 1st Oct

A milestone is coming to Delta's service in Boston this October: Las Vegas service will mark the global airline's 50th nonstop destination from Boston Logan International Airport and Delta and partners will serve 33 domestic destinations and 17 international destinations from Boston.

Delta connects El Paso, Texas to the West with new nonstop service to Salt Lake City

Delta customers will have a new, convenient way to access El Paso, Texas with new nonstop service from the airline's hub at Salt Lake City International Airport beginning October 1.

"Transportation is essential to a growing community such as ours, we welcome the investments that our airline partners are making in El Paso to improve the connectivity of our great city," Mayor Dee Margo said.

Delta's Salt Lake City hub offers customers more than 250 daily departures to 90 destinations across the Intermountain West, West Coast, Hawaii, Mexico, Canada and Europe, bringing the world to El Paso International Airport with easy, one-stop connections.

Take A Chance or fly Air France.

Air France have launched a new advertising campaign attacking other airlines this week "Take a Chance or Fly Air France" they proudly say in the campaign, which is supposed to promote the Air France flights that include in-flight entertainment, warm meals, and champagne.

The campaign seeks to remind travellers that these amenities are critical to an enjoyable flight and takes a shot at the budget and low-cost carriers that don't include meals or entertainment. 

"Take a Chance & Fly Air France"

"At Air France, we believe that each flight should be a pleasant precursor to your travels and that no matter which cabin you fly in, all passengers have a right to a great meal, entertainment, and—for those of age—champagne," said Stephane Ormand, Vice President & General Manager USA of Air France. "Low-cost carrier fares can be deceptive because they charge substantial fees for basic services at every step along the journey. At the end of the day, the cost of an Air France Economy ticket, with all its included luxuries, is competitive."

We selected and outbound (04 April) and return date (09 April) at random for a trip from London to Paris to check the cost of flights.

Nine things to see or do in Los Angeles......

More than just the global home of the movies, Los Angeles has so much to offer the visitor, from great fine dining restaurants, world-class museums, hip and happening clubs, bars and nightlife venues to great attractions, sports hotspots and interesting attractions.  Some come with us and explore some of the fun things to do in LA.

OUE Skyspace LA

Take time to view the surroundings....OUE Skyspace LA is California’s tallest open-air observation deck and really is one of the best 'must-see' destinations for visitors to the city. Panoramic 360-degree views of Los Angeles at almost 1,000 feet above the city, you'll find this attraction at the iconic U.S. Bank Tower in Downtown L.A.

The highlight of OUE Skyspace LA is Skyslide, we're told this is the first-of-its-kind outdoor glass slide that’s attached to the exterior of the U.S. Bank Tower.  The Skyslide is about 45 feet long and about 4 feet wide and made entirely of glass. You can slide or glide between the 70th and the 69th floor of the tower and see Los Angeles in a way that few will ever experience.  There are also two observation decks and 360-degree views of Los Angeles.  This really is a great way to experience the city and is something for everyone, although the Skyslide might give the old ticker a flutter!

633 WEST FIFTH STREET LOS ANGELES, CA 90071

Historic Downtown Walking Tour

If you're here on a Saturday, then one of the absolute best experiences for visitors and locals alike is the weekly Historic Downtown Walking Tours run by Los Angles Conservancy.  It is $15 and takes around two and a half hours and gives you a slower way to explore some of LA’s most loved landmarks, including the amazing Bradbury Building, Central Library, the U.S. Bank Tower where SkySpace is located.  

Discovering downtowns unique character has never been easier, visit Pershing Square, the heart of downtown and learn more about the founding of LA, its growth, its architecture and its life.

CENTRE OF PARK IN PERSHING SQUARE LOS ANGELES CA 90071

Finnair to lease an A320 LY FOX from GetJet between June 2018 and January 2019

Finnair had advised they will lease an Airbus A320 aircraft and flight deck crew from the Lithuanian airline GetJet to support Finnair’s growing traffic from summer 2018 to early 2019.

The leased GetJet aircraft will operate some of Finnair’s flights from Helsinki to Budapest, Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Krakow and Pafos between 8.6.2018 and 7.1.2019. The pilots will be from GetJet while the cabin crew and service concept will be from Finnair. The aircraft, registration LY-FOX, is slightly over 18 years old and has previously flown with Iberia, Eritrean Airlines, Balkan Holidays and VietJet before joining the GetJet fleet after a period of storage.  

“We have a record number of flights next summer to both Asia and Europe. The leased aircraft will for its part ensure that we are able to operate all the flights in our traffic plan,” says Juha Järvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Finnair.

Customers are able to see the operating carrier when they are making their bookings on Finnair.com. Customers who already have a reservation on one of the flights that will be operated with the leased aircraft will be informed of the change in an operating carrier through a text message or email.  Customers can change their travel date due to this change in operating carrier if they so wish.

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Norwegian launches St Patrick’s Day sale with long-haul flights from £119.90 one-way

Sale flights available from 16th to 19th March

Ahead of this weekend’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations, Norwegian has today launched a special 4-day sale offering passengers savvy savings on selected flights from the UK and Ireland.

Based on departures from 15th April – 31st May and 5th Sep – 31st Oct, holidaymakers can now book a long-haul flight from London Gatwick from £144.90 one-way or a transatlantic flight from Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland from £119.90/€124.90 one-way.

Read on for more on some great savings to be made - but hurry, this offer isn't on for long and when its gone - it's gone!

Next stop, Phoenix: New Delta Sky Club coming in late 2018

On the heels of February's announcement that Delta Sky Club is expanding to Austin, Delta will also open a new Delta Sky Club at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) in late 2018.

Conveniently located near the Delta gates on the new South Concourse — Terminal 3, the Delta Sky Club will be 7,500 square feet, offering guests a new space to catch up on work or relax during their travels.

Virgin reports loss

Virgin Atlantic reported a loss for 2017 compared with a year-ago profit on Thursday. The British carrier blamed the loss on an industry-wide engine supply issue, the weaker pound and a number of weather-related operational disruptions.

Virgin say the loss before tax is £28.4 million for the year up to 31st December as revenue fell by 1 percent and reported it flew 5.3 million passengers in 2017, some 0.1 million fewer than in 2016. The carriers load factor also dipped, down to 78.3 percent.

Craig Kreeger, the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic believes the deal from Air France-KLM to buy the bulk of Richard Branson’s Virgin Group shares in the airline to be completed during the early part of 2019.

The Virgin Group are reducing its stake in the British airline by 31 percent, retaining just 20 percent making Delta the largest shareholder with 49 percent.  The deal to buy Virgin Groups 31 percent by Air France-KLM is about to go before the US approvals authorities.  “Our expectation is this is an early 2019 launch of the expanded joint venture,” Kreeger said.

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FlyersRights.org to FAA: Ground All Helicopters without Crashworthy Safety Features Now

FlyersRights.org to FAA: Ground All Helicopters without Crashworthy Safety Features Now

FlyersRights.org, the largest aviation passenger organization and member of the FAA Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee, has called on the FAA to ground all helicopters not compliant with crashworthy standards.

Paul Hudson, president of FlyersRights.org stated, "Helicopter air crash fatalities involve dozens of horrible and mostly preventable passenger deaths annually due to fire, drowning and impact trauma.  The recent fatal tourist helicopter crashes in Hawaii, the Grand Canyon and the New York City East River make further delay by the FAA in enforcing 24-year-old safety standards intolerable."

Hainan Airlines to Launch First Ever Direct Flights from Beijing to Dublin and Edinburgh in June

Today. Hainan Airlines, mainland China's only Skytrax Five-Star airline, held a press conference at the Irish Embassy in Beijing, announcing the launch of new direct flight services between Beijing, Dublin and Edinburgh, scheduled to start on June 12. The routes, which are the first direct flights offered from Beijing to Dublin and Edinburgh, will be serviced by an Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft on every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.

At a ceremony at the Irish Embassy in Beijing, Hainan Airlines signed cooperation agreements with the Dublin Airport, the Edinburgh Airport, Tourism Ireland and VisitScotland, seeking to play a leading role in deepening economic and cultural ties between China, Ireland and Scotland.

Ryanair to offer direct contracts to German pilots soon.

The Irish low-cost high-fee airline, Ryanair is about to offer direct employment contracts to German pilots within the next few weeks it said.

The contracts will be offered to all the German pilots currently hired on contracts via third party agencies such as McGinley Aviation. 

“McGinley Aviation have decided to withdraw from supplying contractor pilots for Ryanair in the German market, and Ryanair has now begun the process of offering these contractors direct employment,” A Ryanair spokesperson offered.  There are current vacancies listed on the McGinley website for positions with Ryanair in Germany. 

Ryanair is hoping that the direct contracts will ease the current discord between the company and the flight crews in the country, which are, according to one first officer "Extremely strained" at the moment.

According to local media, the Vereinigung Cockpit union said it would first have to see the terms of the new direct contracts before commenting.  

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Juneyao Airlines and ANA Launch Codeshare and Frequent Flyer Partnership

Juneyao Airlines, one of the leading private-owned airlines in mainland China and the first "Connecting Partner" of Star Alliance, will launch codeshare cooperation starting from March 25, 2018 with ANA, one of the premier airlines in Japan focused on delivering excellent customer service. The codeshare cooperation mainly involves Sino-Japan trunk routes as well as beyond flights. Therefore Juneyao Airlines will benefit from the fruitful cooperation and is likely to further perfect its network in Asia, receiving opportunities to expand Japanese market and boost its internationalization, and passengers will have more choices travelling between the two neighbouring countries

WestJet launches inaugural flights to Mexico City from Calgary and Vancouver

WestJet's inaugural flight, WS2200 from Calgary International Airport (YYC) to Mexico City International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez, MEX) departed this morning, marking the airline's newest flight to Mexico. Flights between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Mexico City start March 15, solidifying WestJet's position as the Canadian airline with the most flights to Mexico.