New Air France-KLM ceo meets French minister

The newly named CEO of Air France-KLM, Ben Smith has held crisis talks with the French Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne as unions prepare to decide on further strike action over pay and conditions. 

A French government spokesperson confirmed that Mr Smith met the Minister on Tuesday for a “a first discussion of the main issues” that affect the Air France-KLM group. It is not known if union anger over Smiths new €3.25 million ($3.72 million) salary and other perks was one of the subjects discussed.

This is a long time before Mr Smith is due to take up the role in September and some aviation analysts in France say the government making public that a meeting had taken place was a blatant attempt dissuade the unions from taking action until Smith takes up his role during the next month.

Ryanair cheques bounce

The European low-fare-high-fee airline Ryanair seems to be continuing in its campaign of contempt to passengers who try and claim compensation from the airline when things go wrong, either by strike action or mechanical problems. First, as is the case with the most recent strikes by cabin crew and pilots, Ryanair staff were telling passengers they are not entitled to compensation, yet all legal opinion insists passengers do have a legal right to compensation.  

Secondly, if passengers are successful in getting to the next stage there is a chance Ryanair will send th

em a cheque that will bounce after they've paid it into the bank!

Many passengers are complaining because the airline sent them compensation cheques that have bounced, mainly because they weren't signed.  The airline claims up to 190 customers were sent unsigned cheques, out of a batch of 20,000 in what it supposed was an administrative error. However, indications from passenger rights groups are that the true number of those affected is more than treble the 190 Ryanair reports. 

 A Ryanair spokesperson said “These cheques were re-issued last week and we apologise sincerely for this inconvenience,” but only apologised after media involvement.

Virgin Atlantic to set up a new Virgin-Wide loyalty programme

Virgin Atlantic is going to launch a loyalty programme across the group the airline announced this week. They say the new programme will have unique and differentiated reward opportunities, to reward customer loyalty across Virgin-branded companies. 

Apparently, the new loyalty programme will give members the opportunity to earn and spend ‘miles’, across a range of products and services via a new company, Virgin Group Loyalty Company that is being established to own and manage the new offering. The airline tells us the new programme will be up and running in 2019. It will be owned jointly by Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines, which owns half of Virgin Atlantic. 

Confusingly, Virgin Atlantic will continue its own Flying Club frequent flyer programme, but its members will also be able to spend miles with the new programme.  Andrew Swaffield, CEO of VGLC, said: “Virgin is one of the most admired brands in the UK and across the world, serving 53 million customers each year across 60 companies. Customers expect to be rewarded for their loyalty to Virgin and we want to ensure Virgin customers get the very best rewards possible. Our ambition is to bring the Virgin companies together and combine their appeal to customers, working together to create a truly outstanding offer”

Primera's US expansion from Brussels

The low-cost carrier Primera Air is growing its American network, but not from the UK, where it is slowly pulling out services, but from Belgium.

The latest raft of routes will see the carrier fly from Brussels to three top US destinations, starting in spring next year;  The airline is going to be using brand new Boeing 737 Max 9 jets to go to Boston, Newark and Washington from Brussels. 

Primera says fares will start at $149 one way from Boston and Newark, while the Washington flights are a little more at $199 one way for the most basic of flight only tickets and 30 inches of leg room.

Ryanair to sell Air Malta tickets......

From today Air Malta tickets will be available on Ryanair's website in a tie-up between the two carriers.

The press release from Ryanair proudly boasted that the deal will allow Ryanair’s 139m customers to book Air Malta flights on the Ryanair.com website. From today, Maltese customers can browse and book Air Malta flights on 21 new routes from Malta to 8 different countries across Africa, Asia and Europe, including Russia and Tunisia.

However, we tried to book flights from London Gatwick to Malta and flights from Malta to the London Heathrow on Air Malta on the Ryanair websites and were greeted with "Sorry we don't fly between" those cities. We also had colleagues check in both France and Norway and they were also unable to find Air Malta flights on the Ryanair website. 

More European flights for American Airlines

Next summer will see a massive expansion for American Airlines route network to Europe to meet phenomenal passenger demand. 

The airline will start a daily service to Munich from Charlotte, North Carolina, from 31st Match next year operated on an Airbus A330-200.

Athens will get a summer seasonal service from the American Airlines hub of Chicago, the daily flight will run between 3rd May and 28th September on a Boeing 787-8 aircraft.

Four new Delta winter warmers from New York

Whilst we may still be in the grips of a hot sunny and summery August, Delta Air Lines has its eyes set on winter and in particular its winter schedules from New York to the Caribbean.

The airline has a new second daily frequency connecting New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Nassau starting this October, plus the Trump supporting carrier also has some other great routes from New York to the Caribbean to shout about. 

“No one better connects the world than Delta, and the stunning destinations represented in Nassau, Kingston and Antigua,” said Agustin Durand, Delta’s General Manager for Central America and the Caribbean.  This winter, Delta will operate over 100 flights per week to 15 Caribbean destinations from JFK. The new schedules are as follows:

Two new direct European routes from DFW from June 2019

Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport, in Dallas, Texas will get two new nonstop international flights next year thanks to American Airlines.  The new routes will be to Dublin, Ireland and Munich, in Germany, starting June 6th, 2019 and with these flights, DFW Airport will get its first-ever nonstop service to Ireland, while Munich will be the airports third daily nonstop flight to Germany.

"These new flights will advance DFW Airport's mission to bring more international passenger and cargo service to the Dallas Fort Worth region," said Sean Donohue, chief executive officer at DFW Airport. "DFW anticipates tremendous growth in the year ahead, and with nonstop service to Dublin and Munich we're offering two great new destinations, more travel choices, business connections and opportunities for tourism.".

The launch of Dublin and Munich service in June 2019 will give DFW a total of 59 international destinations and 235 unique destinations. The new destinations will be DFW's eighth and ninth European cities served.

Finnair to fly to Los Angeles with new A350 in 2019

Finnair has announced the next step in its continuous growth strategy will see the popular Scandinavian carrier begin a service to Los Angeles, California, from of next spring. 

The airline has said it will fly three weekly frequencies to Los Angeles from its Helsinki home base starting 31st March 2019. The airline will deploy its new Airbus A350 aircraft to the route to ensure a superior service and excellent in-flight comfort level for all passengers. 

The introduction of LA to the Finnair route network will mean the carrier flies to five US destinations, along with New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Miami. The approximate flight times are expected to be 11 hours to LAX and 10 hours and 30 minutes to Helsinki.  

Finnair is also making some changes to its summer operation for the San Francisco and Chicago routes. Both routes will begin in April, and a fourth frequency will be added for San Francisco as of May. With these changes, Finnair will now offer a daily flight to California during the summer season with the new three-weekly flight to Los Angeles and the new fourth weekly service to San Francisco. 

“We are very happy to expand our North American network and fly a new route to Los Angeles with our Airbus A350,” says Juha Järvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Finnair. “We opened our route to San Francisco two years ago with tremendous success, proving that California and the West Coast are very popular with our customers. We are confident that this new route to Los Angeles will garner the same level of interest moving forward.”   

Hahn Air agrees interline deal with Myanmar's Air KBZ

Booking domestic travel in Myanmar just got a whole lot easier, thanks to a new interline agreement between Air KBZ of Myanmar and Hahn Air.  This new interline deal allows more than 100,000 travel agents, in 190 countries, to book Air KBZ's domestic flights in Myanmar. The interline agreement has been enabled by the Zenith® PSS (Passenger Service System), provided by TTI.

Mr Oakkar Tun, Executive Director, Air KBZ said, ‘This Interline with Hahn Air is an important step for the growth of the international sales channel for Air KBZ, the immediate access to a vast number of travel agents in so many countries will quickly show good business results in passenger numbers’. He added, ‘We have been able to quickly manage the interline set-up through the TTI Zenith® PSS, as there are already many airlines using HR-169 through Zenith®. So now, travel consultants around the world can book on Air KBZ to connect from Yangon to major Myanmar attractions in Bagan, Heho, Thandwe, and Mandalay, through the Hahn Air distribution channel. We very much look forward to significant and meaningful contributions from our travel consultants abroad’..

Air Canada, TD, Visa and CIBC reach agreement with Aimia over buying Aeroplan

The consortium of leading Canadian airline, Air Canada, The Toronto-Dominion Bank,  Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Visa Canada have announced they've reached an agreement with Aimia, at least in principle, to buy the loyalty business Aeroplan. 

"We are pleased to see that an agreement in principle has been reached as Aeroplan members can continue to earn and redeem with confidence. This transaction, if completed, should produce the best outcome for all stakeholders, including Aeroplan Members, as it would allow for a smooth transition to Air Canada's new loyalty program launching in 2020, safeguarding their miles and providing convenience and value for millions of Canadians," said Calin Rovinescu, President and CEO of Air Canada, on behalf of the consortium.

Ethiopian Airlines to relaunch Zambia Airways

Zambia to get a new airline, or at least a relaunch of its former national carrier, thanks to an initial investment of $30 million from Ethiopian Airlines its been reported today.

The airline has signed a shareholding agreement with Zambia’s main development agency to relaunch the southern African country’s flag carrier,  after more than 20 years of dormancy. The plan would see the new Zambia Airways, operating 12 aircraft by 2028, Ethiopian Airlines will own 45 percent of the revamped Zambian airline, and Zambia 55 percent.

Ethiopian Airlines issued a joint statement with Zambia’s state-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which said,  "The initial investment as we start up the national carrier will be $30 million. Obviously, as we operate the airline, we will facilitate the financing necessary to support its growth,”

According to the plans, the new Zambia Airways will launch local and regional routes later this year while intercontinental routes, including those to Europe, the Middle East and Asia, should be introduced within the first three years. 

Spirit looking at future aircraft orders

Negotiation with both Boeing and Airbus are ongoing says the boss of Spirit Airlines regarding the ultra-low-cost-carriers future fleet plans. 

Chief Executive Bob Fornaro said on Monday they were talking with all planemakers “We are pretty well set for the next three years, but we are talking to all the manufacturers about the next order,” Adding, “There is a fleet order in Spirit’s future,” The airline boss was speaking at the Boyd Group International Aviation Forecast Summit in Denver, but didn't specify a time frame. 

Many aviation analysts believe the airline is looking predominantly at the Airbus A320 family of aircraft, yet opening up the possibility of negotiating with other manufacturers in order to drive down the core unit cost of each aircraft. 

Its the 60th anniversary of flights on Moscow- Delhi route for Aeroflot

The Russian airline Aeroflot has just marked 60 years of scheduled flights to Delhi, the capital of India. It was on 18th August 1958 that the first regular flight between Moscow and Delhi took place with a Tu-104. 

India was Aeroflot’s first country in Southeast Asia, at the end of 1950s Aeroflot offered only one weekly flight to India. Today, the Russian flag carrier operates two daily flights between Moscow and Delhi using modern and comfortable Airbus A330 aircraft. It has been operating the Moscow-Delhi route without a break. 

In Spring 2016, passenger traffic increased sharply following the launch of the second daily flight. 2017 was a record-setting year for the Moscow-Delhi route: Aeroflot carried almost 290 thousand passengers, a 50% year-on-year increase.  

Aeroflot’s 243-strong fleet is the youngest of any airline worldwide that operates more than 100 aircraft. In 2017, serving 146 destinations in 52 countries. More than 32 million passengers travelled with the Russian airline last year alone. 

Blank information screens at London Gatwick leaves passengers confused

A technical problem with fiber optic cables left the passenger information screens at London Gatwick airport blank for most of the day!

Members of staff at the UK's second busiest international airport had to resort to using felt-tipped marker pens and whiteboards to update passengers on boarding gates and departure times. The TV screens stopped working early this morning with teams of Vodaphone engineers, the airports IT providers, working furiously to rectify the situation.

Staff at the airport had to listen to radio communications to continuously update the whiteboards with gate information, so passengers knew where to go.  An airport spokesperson apologised to customers for the inconvenience and said the airport's "manual contingency plan", which included having extra staff on hand to help direct passengers, had worked reasonably well. Although it is believed that a small number of passengers had missed their flights due to the problems, but, no flights were cancelled. 

The fault was rectified at around 5pm this evening and all screens were back online and normal operations were resumed. Many passengers used social media to criticise the airport, whilst others remained positive saying a lot of people were "scurrying around with markers and erasers" and it was "surprisingly calm and ordered".