Thursday 16 December 2010

Fresh Strike Ballot Dates Announced

Unite have announced their latest ballot dates for strike action of BA workers, the ballot will take place between 21st December and 21st January. The long running feud between BA and Unite appeared to be over in October when talks looked to be nearing a conclusion.

But a deal that BA say Unite have reneged on now looks to be lost, BA stated that Unites’s behaviour was dysfunctional and if a strike does take place its services at Gatwick and London airports will be unaffected and all long haul services at Heathrow would remain in place.

Unite claim there are 5 issues it has with BA, the first is the travel concessions removed from striking workers, second is binding arbitration on disciplinary cases for striking members, the third is repayment of docked wages from crew members who were genuinely off sick during previous strikes, fourth on the list full and proper discussion of the trade union facilities agreement at the company and finally they want to prevent BA from imposing wage reductions.

Monday 13 December 2010

Flybe door panel fell


A report by Air Accidents Investigation Branch has revealed that the engine door panel which fell off during take off from Southampton Airport on the 22 April 2010 had not been secured properly.

The Flybe aircraft had been inspected by the captain prior to departure.

The incident was noted and reported by a pilot who was sitting in a plane and saw the panel detach from the aircraft. Air traffic control was informed and the information was then passed on to the flight crew, who were unaware of the incident.

Thankfully the flight landed safely and no passengers onboard were injured.

Friday 10 December 2010

Oil Fires Blamed For Airbus Explosion

The first detailed report following a mid-air explosion on board a Qantas Airbus A380 has revealed the most likely cause was a crack in an oil pipe that ignited and caused an explosion. The resulting blast caused pieces of the engine casing and other shrapnel to penetrate the wing of the plane causing structural and system damage.

The report was carried out by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau who have issued a safety recommendation to Qantas and other operators of the Airbus A380 Singapore airlines and Lufthansa, while other airlines do have A380’s in their fleet only these three have the Trent 900 engines which are made by Rolls Royce.

The ATSB also stated the damage was caused by fatigue and even extreme maintenance would have failed to spot the potential danger.

Qantas has made steps to take Rolls Royce to court over damages including the cost of grounded its Airbus fleet while tests were carried out, this is estimated at over $100m.

Thursday 9 December 2010

Transport comes to a standstill

Severe winter conditions affecting transport in Northern and Central Europe have caused problems for many travellers. Snow and ice have brought both road and air traffic to a standstill.

International and low cost flights at Paris' main airport Roissy Charles de Gaulle were cancelled last night and people were advised not to drive after 11cm of snow fell on the French capital. Stranded motorists were sheltered in Municipal halls and sports halls around Paris. As snow turned to slush the conditions got worse.

Fresh snow fell in the German capital Berlin and growing concern mounted as de-icing fluid at airports became scarce. Transport was also affected in Frankfurt with about 3,000 passengers' flights rescheduled.

Things are hoped to improve.

Monday 6 December 2010

Shark Attack Women Dies

Holidaymakers planning a trip to Sharm el-Sheikh have are being warned of potential shark infested waters, after a 70 year old women was killed by shark attack over the weekend and several others injured.

The 70 year old German woman who died after being bitten by an Oceanic white tip reef shark was snorkelling near a reef when the shark struck. The woman cried for help but when rescued by a lifeguard she was past resuscitation. The lifeguard confirmed her leg and arm was severed.

Other attacks include two Russian women and a man from the Ukraine one of which is critical though not yet confirmed which one. This has prompted the Egyptian tourism ministry to close the beach until the shark is killed.

Two sharks were caught and killed on Friday, however the description of the shark didn’t match the two that were slaughtered. Divers have called for the killing of any further sharks to stop.

Friday 3 December 2010

Gatwick Re-Opens This Morning

All UK airports are open this morning after the snow eased yesterday allowing the likes of Gatwick and Edinburgh airport to open this morning. Staff worked through the night to clear the snow from the runways and taxi ranks at Gatwick allowing it to open.

However travellers have been warned it will take 2-3 days to clear the backlog from the previous 2 days of closure. Heathrow airport which has stayed open throughout also warned its customers of potential delays.

Overnight temperatures saw Aberdeen drop to -20°C while London and the midlands was still a chilly -7°C. Train services across the county continued to be hampered by the treacherous conditions with Euro Star announcing reduced services and Southern rail firms cancelling its service.

Police are still advising motorists not to travel unless absolutely necessary.

Thursday 2 December 2010

Gatwick Shut For A Second Day

Further lashings of snow throughout yesterday and last night have left Gatwick airport closed until tomorrow morning at the earliest and Edinburgh airport closed until 4pm. Southampton airport is also closed due to health and safety fears.

The weather has also caused delays at the majority of the other surrounding UK airports. Heathrow, Newcastle, Glasgow, Robin Hood, Aberdeen and London City airport are all operating this morning but have advised travellers to expect delays after a knock on effect will be felt from other closed airports.

Gatwick bosses described how they drafted in extra workers to clear the runways but the snow was settling faster than they could clear it. The decision was made as it became clear the runway was unsafe for aircraft to land or take off.

Tuesday 30 November 2010

Gatwick Parking Price Hike

Gatwick airport has been slammed for the massive price hike in its airport parking prices. The criticism comes just a week after it received much praise in improving customer relations via reducing queuing times and providing a much more efficient service.

However the prices for a week’s parking have nearly doubled which has enraged travellers and brought bad press to the airport. BAA was forced to sell Gatwick last year to break up the monopoly it had in the UK.

This was meant to mean cheaper prices for customers, unlike other Uk airports such as Manchester airport and East Midlands airport, which have both reduced their prices for airport car parking, Gatwick have raised theirs by 70%.

This was defended by a Gatwick spokeswoman, who went on to admit they had raised their prices to ensure there was space for their customers and put off people who had no intention of using the airport from using the car parks. She also said savings could be made if customers booked in advance.

Monday 29 November 2010

Torrid Weather Causes Havoc In Scotland

Torrid weather conditions have caused havoc in Scotland and Northern parts of England. Glasgow airport cancelled a number of flights this morning whilst Edinburgh airport was closed all together. Aberdeen airport is also expecting cancellations and delays this morning.

Other airports suffering from delays this morning include Durham Tees Valley airport and Newcastle airport. Temperatures are expected to drop to -20 later in the week. Train services in Scotland have also been affected, resulting in 2 services per hour.

The Met Office has delivered severe weather warnings for the entire eastern coast including London and Scotland. Police have called for motorists not to travel unless absolutely necessary.

Friday 26 November 2010

Plane Slides Off The Runway At Newcastle Airport

Last night a Thomson’s Airways plane slid off the runway at Newcastle airport, the aircraft which was bound for Lanzarote skidded in the icy conditions which have gripped the North of the UK.

Rescuers were charged with rescuing 196 passengers and crew members, the plane was still on the tarmac but rescue attempts were hampered by the dangerous conditions.

No damage was recorded to the plane or any of the passengers, the aircraft will be inspected however before it is allowed to return to the air.

More hazards weather is on its way with the worst set to reach London by the weekend.

Tuesday 23 November 2010

New Leader For Unite

Unite the biggest union in the UK with some 1.4million members will announce on Wednesday it has a new leader in Len McCluskey aptly knick named Red Len due to his involvement with the Labour government.

It will be the first General Secretary to lead the Union as a sole leader since the Union began in 2007. Standing down will be Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson who have become household names after the BA strike chaos that affected travellers this summer.

Mr McClukey stated there would be no more blank cheques for New Labour and he would seek to reclaim the Labour party for their views. He went on to talk about his plan to unite the union and focus on combating the devastation the new government is unleashing on the UK workplaces.

Monday 22 November 2010

Organ Success After Crash At Birmingham Airport

Remarkable events unfolded at Birmingham airport on Friday morning as a private aircraft crashed into the instrument landing system glide path antennae, which resulted in the plane turning into a huge fireball. The pilot was believed to be in his 50s was seriously hurt along with his passenger believed to b in his 30s who suffered flash burns.

The private aircraft was carrying a live human organ from Belfast which was due to be used in a liver transplant later that day. Thankfully the organ was unharmed and the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham announced later in the day the operation had gone ahead and been a success.

Fire fighters and ambulance workers were praised for their work in rescuing the two men aboard the plane along with the organ. Around 80 flights were cancelled and diverted to Manchester and East Midlands airport.

Friday 19 November 2010

Qantas Passengers Lucky To Survive

Details are coming to light just how lucky the passengers on the Qantas A80 that had to make an emergency landing at Singapore airport really were. Research into the investigation has revealed that shards of shrapnel had actually punctured the fuel tank.

Experts say it was a miracle the huge super jumbo didn’t explode in the sky and had the fuel leaking from the punctured tank ignited this would have been the outcome. Fairfax media an Australian media company claim they have seen reports showing metal parts of the engine shot through the fuel line and caused major tears in the wing and punctured the fuel tank.

If that wasn’t enough amid this chaos the pilots were faced with multiple system error messages in the cockpit which took an hour to work through. Vice-president of the Australian and International Pilots Association Richard Woodward said the crew had faced an unprecedented number of failures that they wouldn’t have been trained for.

Wednesday 17 November 2010

Manchester airport to test new eye scanner

Manchester airport is once again leading the way in technology as it becomes the first the first Uk airport to trial new eye scanners that read passengers iris as they are walking around the terminal.

Bosses hope the trial will prove successful and be implemented on a permanent basis, the hope is that criminals will be unable to swap boarding passes before take off as the eyes are scanned instead of the ticket.

The trials are only being used on volunteers and no security is being stepped down as a result. Manchester airport was the first airport to test the highly controversial body scanners, which have now been extended to more UK airports.

Tuesday 16 November 2010

easyJet To Pay First Dividend

easyJet shareholders are due to receive their first dividend since the company was founded by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou. While Sir Stelios has no involvement in the day to day running of the airline he is still the biggest shareholder.

easyJet have seen its profits triple as it leads the way in the resurgence for the aviation industry after a pretty terrible last two years. The move will also please Sir Stelios after a court order was recently settled regarding branding rights issues.

The annual payment would be based on a dividend cover of five times, unlike Ryanair who chose to pay their dividend in a one off payment instead of annual payments.

Monday 15 November 2010

Boeing Dreamliner In Another Setback

Iconic airline manufacturer has seen its flagship aircraft the Dreamliner suffer yet another setback. The luxury aircraft which is yet to enter commercial operation has been dogged by problems and is massively over its original deadline by three years.

The latest problem was an electrical fire started in the fuselage, which resulted in an emergency landing taking place. Boeing confirmed that all other supporting systems worked as they should in the situation.

The incident has resulted in Boeing grounding all their Dreamliners while tests are carried out. The long awaited Dreamliner is still due to be delivered on March 2011 with All Nippon Airways to be the first airline to take delivery.

The news comes after main rival Airbus experienced major problems with its Trent 900 engines on the Qantas fleet of A380’s.

Wednesday 10 November 2010

Drunk Woman Cause Havoc On Thomsons Flight

A 45 year old woman had to be escorted off a Thomson’s Airways flight after she got drunk and started attacking staff. The UK woman had allegedly sneaked alcohol on board and starting attacking cabin crew about 4 hours into the journey.

The plane bound for Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, was re-routed by the captain and landed at Bermuda airport, where the woman was met by police and removed from the plane. How the woman smuggled the alcohol on board is still unknown but will no doubt draw more focus on security standards.

The plane eventually reached its destination 28 hours behind schedule, some of the 260 passengers on board commented how one of the cabin crew workers was sporting a black eye as a result of the intoxicated woman.

Tuesday 9 November 2010

App Success For BA

British Airways mobile application has been hailed as a huge success after the 250,000 download was made before they announced there will be updates made to the hugely popular service. The apps were rolled out back in July across the iPhone, blackberry and android markets.

The iPhone has been the market leader with 200,000 downloads on its own, the blackberry version saw 50,000 while the Google backed android slumped to 7,000. The iPhone is the only device that is currently equipped to serve as an online boarding pass.

This will be rolled out to the other two devices later in the year, said Chris Davies the BA head of digital global marketing.

Monday 8 November 2010

More Problems For Qantas

Further problems have been found on Qantas’s fleet of Airbus A380’s after a major engine failure led to an Airbus having to make an emergency landing last week at Singapore airport. Since the incident Qantas has grounded all of its Airbus planes while an investigation takes place.

That investigation has led to more discoveries of faults such as traces of oil where there shouldn’t be after such a short time of service. The CEO of Qantas confirmed that all six Airbus A380’s in his fleet had been inspected and that three engines had been found to be leaking oil.

Other airlines including Singapore airways and Lufthansa also use the same Trent 900 engines in their Airbus’s had originally grounded their planes but after they performed their own checks have now put them back in the sky, despite Qantas’s findings.

Friday 5 November 2010

Ryanair departs Belfast City Airport - Flybe takes over

Flybe has announced three new routes to Bristol, East Midlands and Liverpool from Belfast. This news comes following Ryanair’s decision to pull out of George Best Belfast City Airport back in August of this year. Air links between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK are very important for the NI economy and tourism, and so Flybe is playing a key role in the country’s growth and development by providing connectivity.

The new routes started on Sunday and Flybe has reported positive feedback from customers who are pleased that they can continue to fly direct from Belfast to these destinations.

These routes are very important for business and tourism customers, with four flights a day from Belfast to Liverpool and two a day to Bristol and East Midlands.

Thursday 4 November 2010

Suspicious Bag Shuts Glasgow Airport

A suspect bag left at Glasgow airport last night caused a part closure of the airport, the package found around 8pm by a member of staff was treated with high concern following the incident at East Midlands airport earlier in the week. When a bomb was discovered inside an ink cartridge.

The Royal Navy’s bomb disposal unit were called in to inspect the suspicious bag left at the airport, which was revealed to be a false alarm. The bag was reunited with its owner and the airport was re-opened.

Only a few planes leaving Glasgow were delayed in the incident and a small delay in getting passengers off planes that had arrived.

Wednesday 3 November 2010

Ryanair Airfares on the Rise

The cost of travelling is continually on the rise and so the latest announcement from Ryanair comes at a time when customers thought that the cost of flights could not get any more expensive.

Europe's largest low cost airline, Ryanair, announced that it expects to increase the price of airfares by around 10% over the next six months, which will have a knock-on effect on profit forecasts. This statement follows the 12% rise in the price of airline tickets over the last six months.

According to Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's chief executive, other airlines such as Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa are also expected to increase the cost of airfares. He also states that add-on fees for baggage check-in, priority boarding etc. will also increase.

Tuesday 2 November 2010

Car Bomb Found At Q-Park Belfast

A car bomb which failed to detonate has been found at a Belfast airport parking compound, unbelievably it has been there for almost a year until recently discovered. A faulty timing device was the reason the device didn’t detonate.

The car identified as a Toyota Carina was discovered by staff to have a pipe bomb attached to several cans of petrol, returning passengers were holed up in hotels while police were called in to remove the hazard.

It is believed to be the work of dissident republicans opposed to the peace process, officials are shocked the bomb went undetected for so long at Q-Park car park.Police checkpoints were removed from Aldergrove after the Good Friday peace treaty was signed in 1998.

Monday 1 November 2010

Explosive Devices Found On Cargo Planes

Two explosive devices have been found on US bound aircrafts as terrorist once again rock the aviation industry. Disaster was avoided when security were tipped off by an al-quaed member who had turned himself in 2 weeks earlier.

The devices were aboard cargo planes and had both passed security checks before a second screening found them. The first device was sent from Yemen and was found at East Midlands airport, the second was discovered in Dubai, where it had already travelled on two passenger planes, both devices had been hidden in an ink refill cartridge inside a printer.

David Cameron the UK Prime Minister confirmed the device had been designed to go off in mid-air but it was unclear as to when. All packages have been banned from Yemen and a woman has been arrested on suspicion of posting the packages.

Yemen authorities have also shut down the local shipping offices of the US cargo firms FedEx and UPS, both companies have pledged full cooperation while an investigation takes place.

It is a major blow to the UK travel industry as airline bosses were only last week saying security should be toned down a bit. But security will now be on full alert.

Friday 29 October 2010

BA Announce Half Year Profit

BA has announced a half year profit of £158m the first for 2 years, the company was expected to make a profit of just half that figure by top analysts. These figures also include the losses caused by striking cabin crew workers and the ash cloud catastrophe.

The figures will be pleasing news for Iberia who are set to merge with BA, the merger will also see BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh receive a 12% pay rise earning him £825,000 a year.

The same period last year saw a £292m loss for BA so it is quite a turnaround, BA put this down to cost cutting measures of 1.5% and a rise of 39% in cargo revenues.

Wednesday 27 October 2010

BA Chairman Vents His Anger

BA Chairman Martin Broughton has waged war on airline security checks calling them redundant and unnecessary. He also criticised the way the UK is under the thumb of the US and should stop adhering to their safety rules such as asking passengers to remove their shoes and screening laptops.

Us officials were also in the firing line on their insistence planes bound for the US undergo strict security checks yet US domestic flights are not subject to this intense security level. BAA agreed with Mr Broughton saying security checks were layered on them from UK rules, European rules and US rules, stating one universal ruling would be much easier to adhere to.

Security has been on a high alert ever since the 9/11 attacks along with other attacks since, airports will always be a target for terrorists, however Mr Broughton feels enough is enough.

Transport Minister Philip Hammond said the Government would look at new measures but insisted security was paramount not the time it takes to carry out the measures

Tuesday 26 October 2010

Space Way Opens In New Mexico


Spaceport America has opened its long awaited runway that will allow the paying public to travel to space at a cost of $200,000 each via Virgin Galactic's Spaceship two. The runway which has been aptly named a Space way is 2 miles long stretching across the spaceport in New Mexico.

Sir Richard Branson and other high profile astronaughts were present at the unveiling, where Mr Branson said it had been a perfect end to a great month. Spaceship two performed numerous fly pasts, along with its Mothership the White Knight two.

The order book for the historic flights is already over 300, clients will have three days of space training before their flight, where they will experience outer space. The first flights are expected to take off in the next 18 months.

Friday 22 October 2010

Willie Walsh Relents On Travel Perks


Willie Walsh has amazingly reversed his decision not to restore travel perks to his striking work force by announcing the travel concessions will be restored as of the 26th October. This has been a major stumbling block in the feud between BA and Unite over pay and conditions which resulted in a total of 22 days of strike action which cost BA £150 million.

Though it is still not clear who will receive the perks which give the benefactor 90% off travel costs as BA has not restored seniority in its ranks after many workers went to the back of the queue after taking part in the industrial action.

BA stated that seniority would be re-instated on a good behaviour basis over the next three years. This latest move by BA has left many feeling that an agreement will soon be reached between both parties and put to bed the long running argument.

Thursday 21 October 2010

Airparks In Trouble Again

More bad news for Airparks as BBC programme watchdog will tonight focus on more horror stories about its airport parking services. Again the Luton depot is featured as it was on Tuesday on this blog, this time a customer has reported how after returning home from his holiday in Cyprus, he found his car had been hired out to paying customers.

He only found out his car had been rented out after an Australian tourist in Britain rang his number after finding paperwork in the car and realised it was a private car and not a hire car. The owner of the car was offered £500 compensation but later received £2500.

Airparks said a serious of unlikely events had taken place resulting in the car being mistaken for a hire car, they went on to say the vehicle was not the original one when the booking was made and it had been parked in the car hire car park by accident.

Another disgruntled customer will reveal how they booked Gatwick meet and greet parking then got a phone call from the police whilst on holiday to find their car which was meant to be parked at a secure Gatwick compound had been involved in an accident on the M23, an 18 year old employee with no insurance was responsible.

The programme features tonight 8pm on BBC 1

Wednesday 20 October 2010

BMI Future In Doubt

BMI is still warning it may not be able to carry on as viable business after reporting losses of £200m in the year ending December 2009, this added with the loss of £181m in 2008 gives an idea of the mess the Lufthansa owned airline is in.

Back in 2008 the airline made the same announcement on the previous findings, cost cutting measures were put in place, which chief Executive Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said were starting to pay dividends.

Lufthansa has stated it will provide a further £60m to cover operational costs until 2011, however they are not obliged to do so.

Tuesday 19 October 2010

Airparks Go The Extra Mile

A Leading UK supplier of airport parking had some explaining to do when Darren Shuster arrived back at Luton Airparks from his two week holiday to find his beloved 5 series BMW had been smashed into a lamp post, causing an estimated £5000 of damage.

But rather than offer to put right the damage he was offered a paltry £600, instead of bending over backwards to accommodate Mr Shuster, he is still without a car and was looking at taking the company to a small claims court to get a better payout.

Mr Shuster said even though the car was 14 years old it was very cherished and had been looked after extremely well. The member of staff who crashed the car was sent home and the operator was very apologetic.

He didn’t start to make any headway until Guardian money raised the issue with Airparks head office and he eventually got a payout of £1400. Airparks also offered Mr Shuster a free parking for 15 days on his next trip. Mr Shuster stated it would be unlikely he would be returning

Wednesday 13 October 2010

On the Road to Recovery

September saw more than 6.2 million passengers travel through the busiest airport in the world, Heathrow. This figure equates to 7.6% more travellers this year compared to September 2009. What does this mean for the air industry? Is it finally on the road to recovery?

The recession was a dark time for everyone and all business sectors, in particular the travel industry. People stopped booking airline tickets; airlines cut the number of routes and travellers flew less. However, it would appear that we are finally starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.

According to BAA there are a number of explanations for the growth. Perhaps some of the main reasons are the sudden increase in business travel and low cost airlines restarting routes and flight schedules which had been stopped because of the recession. It also indicates a rise in the number of long-haul flights, especially to China and Brazil. However, it will be some time before leisure travel returns to normality.

Tuesday 12 October 2010

Strikes in France

Strikes in France

The French are known for striking and the government's pension reforms are just the latest reason for taking to the Parisian streets to protest. On Tuesday 12th October 2010, around 3.5 million people took part in the protests against the French President's proposals to raise the age of retirement from 60 to 62 and the state pension age from 65 to 67 years.

These strikes affected the transport system with half of all flights to and from Paris Orly airport, and one third of all flights to and from Charles de Gaulle and Paris Beauvais airports being cancelled. Sixteen Ryanair flights to and from East Midlands Airport and 37 flights in total departing from the UK were also cancelled.

Three national strikes in one month - things are expected to normalise, but hopefully the French will get what they want to avoid further disruptions to the transport system.

Monday 11 October 2010

BA And Unite Continue Talks

The long running fued between BA and Unite could soon be over after reports suggest a new peace deal being offered by Unite could be accepted by BA meaning a proposed strike by cabin crew workers will be cancelled.

Unite is currently preparing to ballot its members on further industrial action over the 6700 staff who lost their travel perks due to strikes earlier in the year along with the 14 who were sacked.

But ACAS has overseen more talks carried out by Willie Walsh and Tony Woodley which could yet see an agreement. The 14 sackings BA carried out stated they followed guidelines agreed with by Unite, as for the travel perks, Willie Walsh said they were for staff who remained loyal to the company.

Thursday 30 September 2010

Air France-KLM In Lawsuit

Air France-KLM and sister cargo airline Martinair are being sued by a host of European companies with the main claimants being Ericsson and Phillips. The lawsuit is based on price fixing which the companies claim Air France and Martinair were guilty of during the period 2000-2007. They claim they were overcharged 10% due to the illegal price fixing.

Air France has already paid a fine of $350 million after a US lawsuit found them guilty of the same accusation in 2008. They also agreed to an $87 million settlement of its civil liabilities.

CFI is representing the cheated companies and paying their legal costs, plus only charging a commission if their claim is successful. There main argument being, that it would be unfair to pay out to the US firms who were ripped off and not pay out the European firms.

A host of companies are involved such as pharmaceutical, automotive, electronics, food and fashion industries. If the claim is successful Air France-KLM could be looking at a payout of £430 million.

Wednesday 29 September 2010

Spanish Air Strikes To Cause Problems

Strikes at Spanish airports will cause major problems today for any inbound travellers to the country, British airways has confirmed it has cancelled several flights to spain as a result of the strike. Whilst Ryanair has cancelled all domestic flights and many International flights in and out of Spain. Among the casualties will be Manchester United fans travelling to Valencia for tonight’s Champions League clash.

Easyjet has also been forced to cancel many of its flights but stressed they had written to customers in advance advising them to change their travel plans. All travellers should check their airlines website to see the status of their flight before travelling to the airport.

The strike is being carried out by Unions UGT and CCOO who are protesting at proposed wage cuts, new labour laws making it much easier for the airport to hire and fire workers and a raise in the retirement age from 65 to 67.

Monday 27 September 2010

BA Merger With Iberia To Go Ahead

British Airways and Iberia moved a step closer to sealing their merger after the Spanish airline backed plans by BA to tackle its pension deficit which was a stumbling block and holding up the deal.

The new company will be called IAG International Airlines Group of which Willie Walsh will be the boss and the Iberia chief Antonio Vazquez the chairman.

BA shareholders will own 56% of the company while Iberia shareholders will retain 44%. The merger will make IAG the second largest airline in the world behind Lufthansa airlines.

BA agreed a deal with the New Airways Pension Scheme to clear the deficit by 2026, BA will contribute £330 million rising with inflation rising at 3% a year.

Friday 24 September 2010

easyJet Introduces New Winter Route At Liverpool Airport


easyJet has announced a new winter route from Liverpool John Lennon Airport flying to Grenoble twice a week in addition to the twice weekly service it is to start providing to Lyon. The budget airline announced it would start a service to Lyon earlier in the year with the first flight due to take off on the 18th December 2020.

Now the announcement of another route to Grenoble further extends its service to the popular ski destination. The first flight to Grenoble is scheduled for the 8th January 2011

easyJet now offers a total of 29 routes from Liverpool airport something which Ali Gayward easyJets’s UK Commercial Manager puts down to offering the cheapest prices at the right time of the year.

Peel the airports PR Head Robin Tudor also commented at his approval of airlines taking note of the seasonal change of needs for the UK travellers.

Wednesday 22 September 2010

Flybe reveals Impressive Figures

Regional budget airline Flybe has revealed profits of £5.7m for the year ending March 2010, which means that the company that only just broke even the year before remained in profit throughout the recession and the ash cloud problems.

The privately owned Exeter firm is the largest domestic carrier in the UK and intends to extend its service as it is currently sourcing deals with Air France, Olympic Air Of Greece and Finnair in an attempt to roll out its regional business model.

Tuesday 21 September 2010

Laser Pen Nuisance At Bristol Airport

Police are getting tough on people shining laser pens at pilots taking off and landing at Bristol airport. The problem was reported by pilots earlier in the year when it was hoped they were isolated incidents, however the number of reported cases has gone up through the year.

One home in Weston Super Mare was visited by police where a laser pen was confiscated and stern words given to the offender. Police are upping there campaign and stated offenders could face a fine of £2500 and face a 5 year jail sentence.

Pilots describe the light to much like driving a car at night and a car comes the other way with full beam on, you are momentarily dazzled. This could be disastrous on a plane with hundreds of lives at stake.

Police will be carrying out searches at hotspot areas where incidents have been reported, 37 cases have been reported since January 1.

Monday 20 September 2010

Staycation still popular

Holidaymakers are spurning the lures of overseas holidays and staying at home, as the staycation is still popular among travellers. The slump in foreign holidays is being blamed on increased caution being shown when selecting a holiday.

Travellers are more conscious after the ash cloud debacle which left thousands of holidaymakers stranded abroad and also ruined many holidays. Another reason is there seems to be a travel firm going bust literally every month, again ruining countless holidays.

Holidaymakers are seeing staying in the UK as a safe bet, at least until going abroad seems less traumatic. Figure released by the Office of National Statistics showed an 8% drop in holidaymakers travelling abroad in the 7 months leading up to August.

Vacationers coming to the UK have also dropped while business trips have increased slightly, trips to see relatives and pleasure trips have decreased to give the overall figure a 2% drop.

Friday 17 September 2010

More Demand For Short Haul Aircraft

Boeing has announced it will improve production of its 737 single isle aircraft, this comes after it announced a rise in the number of planes produced earlier in the year. Boeing currently makes 31.5 737’s a month, then it announced that number would increase to 35 next year. Now they intend to make 38 of the aircraft after 2013.

The increase comes after demand from airlines, who are operating short haul flights, Boeing currently has a backlog of over 2000 orders and that number is set to increase as demand increases.

Boeing have been besieged with problems on its long awaited Dreamliner 787 which is 3 years behind schedule and already has a long list of orders.

Thursday 16 September 2010

More Problems For Boeing's Dreamliner


Boeing’s long awaited Dreamliner 787 has had yet another setback, the incident described as aan engine surge occurred during a test flight of the first plane off the production line. Testing is taking place at Roswell, New Mexico. Boeing said they didn’t know if the latest problem would delay the delivery dates of the dreamliner, which is already 3 years behind schedule.

The Rolls-Royce engine experienced air flow problems causing it to backfire, a new engine will be transported to Roswell to get the plane back in the sky, whilst tests are carried out by Boeing and Rolls-Royce on the faulty engine.

Even with all the problems the Dreamliner has had to overcome it is still the company’s best selling plane at this stage of development with 847 planes already ordered from various airlines. The Dreamliner is expected to be running scheduled flights by March 2010.

Wednesday 15 September 2010

Jet2.com Sets Up Shop At Glasgow Airport

Budget airline Jet2.com has announced it will start a new service out of Glasgow airport from next year. The service will include flights to 9 destinations including Alicante, Dalaman, Nice, Faro, Tunisia, Majorca, Paphos, Sharm el Sheikh and Tenerife. Glasgow airport will become the 8th base Jet2 has set up.

The schedule will create 150 new jobs which was warmly received by the transport minister Stewart Stevenson, who was especially pleased that some of the 150 jobs created will be funded by the Scottish Enterprise’s Regional Selective Assistance fund.

The jobs in question are 9 maintenance jobs funded by the RSA, this was achieved by work by the Scottish Development International, and the job funding help was a factor in persuading Jet2.com to set up at the Scottish airport.

Tuesday 14 September 2010

Mixed Mode At Heathrow For 6 Weeks

Residents living under Heathrow flight paths will be subjected to additional aircraft noise as of today as the airport runs on a mixed mode basis. This is due to essential repair works being carried out on the Northern runway, that will take an estimated 6 weeks.

Mixed mode is when aircraft lands and takes off on the same runway, normally Heathrow operates an alternate policy where one runway is use for take-off and one used for landing, they switch at 1500 to give residents a break from aircraft noise pollution.

The idea of using mixed-mode on a permanent basis was thrown out recently by the Government as the airport pushed for it to become a permanent feature, however Teresa Villiers the Minister of State for Transport said the benefits of mixed mode were outweighed by the negative effect on the surrounding communities.

Monday 13 September 2010

Ryanair To Change Image


Ryanair boss Michael O’ Leary has announced his airline will move away from its cheap as chips image over the next few years and start to operate at the larger airports in the city centres. The average cost of a Ryanair ticket is currently £33 a fee which Mr O’Leary says is unsustainable as growth begins to slow.

The airline will move to more of a brand image rather than obsessing they have the cheapest fares on the market. Future attributes to be championed will be the low age of their aircraft and the excellent in flight service, rather than rock bottom prices.

Mr O’ Leary also went on to say the airline would need a new Chief Executive as the airline moves to a more mature business venture and his controversial style of management would not be what the company needs.

Ryanair is now the largest short haul aircraft carrier in the UK and carries some 73.5 million passengers a year with 250 planes at their disposal, O’ Leary claims he will step down once the airline has doubled the number of passengers and has 400 aircraft under their control.

Friday 10 September 2010

EasyJet Pulls Out Of Doncaster Airport


Easyjet has announced it will cease to operate at Doncaster Sheffield Robin Hood airport only five months after launching it services at the airport. The budget airline operated 23 flights a week to destinations such as Majorca, Amsterdam, Prague and Barcelona.

The airport owned by Peel airports said the decision was based on the fact that easyJet didn’t have a base at the airport and some flight times had been unattractive to customers. They also stated that it was without a doubt a setback for the airport.

When the easyJet initially set up at Doncaster they said they were aiming to tap into the Yorkshire catchment area and promote Yorkshire as a destination, which seems a little adventurous to say the least.

However Peel airports stressed that aircrafts were 99% full on more favourable timings and it felt it would have no trouble in finding new airlines to fill the void left by easyJets’s departure.

An easyJet statement claimed no jobs would be lost and the sole aircraft operating at Doncaster would be absorbed back into Liverpool airport schedule.

Thursday 9 September 2010

Car Bomb At Somalia Airport

Two people have been killed at Somalia airport after a suicide bomber drove into the main entrance and explosion ensued. Early reports suggest two people have been killed but locals claim the number is as high as 8.

The airport in Mogadishu is normally under the guard of the African Union peacekeepers and some reports suggest some of the dead are AU soldiers.

One local resident said the car powerfully rammed past the AU control point soon after there were 2 explosions killing 8 people. However AU Military have only confirmed two women begging outside the airport are the only fatalities.

Al-Qaeda group al-Shabab are being blamed for the attack and are currently battling the AU backed Government for control of Mogadishu.

Wednesday 8 September 2010

Flybe fills the void at Belfast

Flybe has announced it will start flying new routes from Belfast airport, the news comes less than a week after Ryanair decided they had waited long enough for a new runway and pulled their service from the airport.

The new routes will cater for Liverpool, Bristol and East Midland airport, all three of which were on the Ryanair routes. The new service will begin on October 31st with 2 flights daily to Bristol and East Midlands and four flights daily to Liverpool airport.

Tuesday 7 September 2010

Fresh Strike Fears For BA

Fresh strikes could be on the way from British Airways cabin crew workers unless the long running feud is sorted out. Brendan Gold a national officer said it would ballot its members when the time was right because many issues remain unresolved.

Around 1000 cabin crew workers gathered at Kempton Park racecourse to discuss the next step in their battle with Willie Walsh. Members wore yellow ribbons out of respect to its punished co-workers, some of which have lost their jobs through the stand-off.

Unite is still calling for the travel concessions removed by BA from striking workers to be re-instated. Which it says is victimisation of its workers, out of the 65 cabin crew workers who were subject to disciplinary hearings 49 returned to work and 16 were sacked.

But BA have hit back by saying the cabin crew union Bassa has been talking for months about holding a ballot for the last three months, but doesn’t have the authority to hold such a ballot.

Friday 3 September 2010

Crowds Gather To Greet Airbus A380 At Manchester Airport

Thousands of people gathered at Manchester airport on Wednesday to greet the world’s largest commercial airliner the Airbus A380. The plane which carries 517 passengers in a double-decker style was making its first arrival at Manchester airport.

The Emirates plane set off from Dubai and arrived at Manchester at 12.25pm, crowds commented on a special day and one to remember as the plane made its monumental touchdown.

The airport had spent £10 million on upgrading its airfield to accommodate the huge aircraft and becomes the first regional airport to have a daily A380 service in operation.

Heathrow started taking the arrival of the Airbus back in 2008

Tuesday 31 August 2010

Ryanair Pulls Out Of Belfast

Ryanair has announced it will be removing its service from the George Best Belfast International airport due to the failure of the promised new runway. The Irish base firm were promised the new runway would be up and running but after 3 years it is still to start construction.

The airline operated routes to 5 UK destinations including East Midlands, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London.

The airport owners were disappointed with Ryanair’s decision but stressed the passenger numbers proved there was enough demand for another airline to fill the void left by the departing Ryanair.

Around 50 staff will lose their jobs or be re-allocated around the UK and Europe.

Monday 30 August 2010

Mexican Stops Flying

Faltering airline Mexicana has ceased trading after a group of investors failed to agree a cost cutting deal with union bosses. The largest airline in Mexico terminated its service from Gatwick to Mexico earlier in the month and although it was temporarily re-instated the company has now stopped flying altogether.

The company’s website read “Financial deterioration and lack of agreements force Grupo Mexicana to stop flying” the closure also affects Mexicana Link and Mexicana Click all stopped trading on midnight last Friday.

It is just the latest casualty in a growing list of travel firms that have gone bust in 2010

Friday 27 August 2010

Boeing Delays Dreamliner Delivery


Boeing has announced the first delivery of its long awaited 787 Dreamliner will be delayed, All Nippon Airways were due to take delivery of the first of its kind at the end of the year but that date has now been put back to the end of May 2011.

The 787 is already 2 years behind schedule due to a series of technical hitches, but ANA has been promised the first 8 of the aircraft in late May, they have ordered 55 of the planes in total.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the most advanced plane the company has built and Boeing claim it will be faster, lighter and more CO2 efficient than some smaller aircraft flying today.

The delay is due to demand for the Rolls-Royce engine that is needed for the final stages of flight testing. It is unclear at this time if other airlines delivery dates will be affected by the delay.

Thursday 26 August 2010

Sydney Airport Blasted

Sydney airport in Australia has been blasted by the International Air Transport Association director Giovanni Bisignani for being one of the top 10 most expensive airports in the world and demanded the new incoming government rain them in and make a decision on the proposed plans to be build a second airport in the city.

Mr Bisignami pointed out that in the year 2000 Sydney was ranked 34th in the world for expensive airports, now they have climbed to 9th position. Toronto airport is ranked number 1.

Sydney has also been voted the worst airport in Australia for 4 years running, which Mr Bisignami said was an embarrassing situation considering the airport owner is reporting high earnings yet the airport seems to be going downhill.

Airport parking was also criticised with the short stay having nearly doubled in the last year. Also a report found that rates were well higher than other airports.

However the airport hot back by claiming if it wasn’t for a strong exchange rate the airport would be in 22nd position.

Tuesday 24 August 2010

Man Wins Case Against BA Seating Policy

British Airways has changed its policy about refraining lone male passengers from sitting next to unaccompanied children on its planes. It comes after Mirko Fischer sued BA after being forced to move seats after he innocently sat next to a child on one of their planes.

The incident took place last year when his pregnant wife asked to switch seats with him so she could sit next to the window, which he did and sat in his wife’s middle seat, in doing so he was then sat next to a boy.

Air stewards thought Mirko was travelling alone and asked him to move as he was sitting next to a boy he didn’t know. Mirko said he had never been so humiliated and made to feel like child molester.

He took the case to court and won £2,161 in costs and £750 in damages. BA have since changed their decade old policy, lone flying children will now be seated in a special section of the plane.

Monday 23 August 2010

Stelios Not Happy With easyJet

The founder of easyJet and owner of company Easygroup Stelios Haji-Ioannou has stepped up his battle with his former company after it emerged that the airline had been using leased planes from airline Titan during the summer peak.

Stelios fumed that any customer who books a flight with easyJet should be greeted at the airport by an easyJet plane and not some leased plane with little recognition from the public.

Stelios who owns 38% of easyJet and is the largest shareholder said he would terminate the brand agreement between his company easyGroup and easyJet if such breaches of agreement did not cease by the end of the day.

The brand agreement also states the carrier can continue to use the brand name only if 25% of its earnings are created from non core activities. Which Stelios feels is not the case as they have branched into car hire and hotels, which conflicts with easyCar and easyHotel.

New easyJet chief Carolyn McCall hopes to patch up differences with Stelios

Friday 20 August 2010

Security Alert At San Francisco Airport

A security alert at San Francisco International airport forced all passengers to vacate American Airlines Flight 24 bound for New York yesterday and passengers were forced to go through security a second time, while 2 individuals were removed from the plane altogether.

The flight which was due to takeoff at 0730 hours was delayed already when it was grounded at 1000 and uniformed police boarded the plane and handcuffed a man and a woman. They were then escorted from the plane along with all 163 passengers and 11 crew.

They were taken back to the terminal for a second security check, while the man and woman were detained for questioning. It is unclear what the threat entailed as no details have been released.

Thursday 19 August 2010

Unite Hypocrites?

The Union Unite has stunned its workers after it announced it would freeze its 1000+ workers pay, it comes after it has fought tooth and nail all summer with British airways, BAA and Fujitsu.

Unite caused havoc for UK travellers this summer by persuading British airways cabin crew workers to go on a series of strikes during summer and then nearly making BAA shut all six of its airports due to pay and conditions.

The move smacks of hypocrisy, with workers furious that after securing better pay for its 1.6 million members, they have been left with their own pay frozen.

Unite Chiefs Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson’s pay will also be frozen at £135,330 and £197,497 respectively, one worker commented “Woodley can afford to have his pay frozen, but what about the workers who are struggling to make ends meet”

Wednesday 18 August 2010

Kiss Flights Goes Bust!

The ash cloud and ongoing recession has claimed yet another holiday company as Flight options announced yesterday at 5pm it had ceased trading. The main trading name of this company is Kiss Flights which specialises in flights mainly to Spain.

Kiss Flights has some 13,000 customers abroad and has left an estimated 60,000 customers travel plans in ruin. The Civil Aviation Authority has been notified and have announced that all customers who have flown out with Kiss Flights will be able to fly home as normal. The CAA also stated people who had booked with Kiss would get refunds.

The collapse of Flight Options has also meant the closure of the rest of its trading names including Africa Options, America Options, Canada Options, Caribbean Options, Dubai Options, Elgouna Options, Elgouna Villas and Apartments, Florida Options, Florida Owners Club, Golf Options, Holidayops.com, Orlando Villas Direct, Sportops.com, Travel Options Direct and Travelplus.

Kiss Flights is the 3rd Uk travel firm this year to fall victim to the credit crunch after Goldtrail and Sun4you

Tuesday 17 August 2010

Strike Fear Averted At BAA

The strike threat has been lifted at all six BAA airports after talks that went on for nine hours deep into the night resulted in a new offer being presented by BAA. The offer will be balloted to the union members, but in the meantime there will be no strike action.

As reported yesterday it was predicted that an improved offer would be made as the alternative was to shut down all six BAA airports including Heathrow the busiest airport in Europe in terms of passenger numbers.

The result of the ballot will be announced in 3 weeks, although no details have been revealed about the improved offer it is though that it will be accepted as both parties want to avert further unrest for the travel industry.

Monday 16 August 2010

Fresh Talks To Take Place

Fresh talks are due to take place today to try and avert strike action at all six BAA airports, a ballot was returned last Friday voting in favour of a strike. Of the 50% of workers who voted strike action was voted 3 to 1 in favour.

The airports would be forced to close as the workers in question are firefighters, medic workers and security staff, leaving the airport unable to operate because of safety issues. The workers have been offered 1% pay rise which was called measly by the union.

BAA says it will move quickly to avert the strikes and an improved offer is expected today, but still claim that 1% is a fair offer considering the drop in passengers due to the recession and the ash cloud.

The August bank holiday has been mentioned as a potential strike date causing chaos for families flying from Heathrow, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen or Southampton airport.

Thursday 12 August 2010

Ballot Result Expected

The result of the BAA strike action is due to be revealed later, in what could cause mass heartache for UK travellers throughout September. The ballot was put to 6,185 members to decide whether to strike or not over a pay dispute.

BAA has offered its workers at all six airports a 1% rise which the Unite Union described as paltry, but BAA insist it is fair considering the current climate. Even worse BAA has confirmed that its airports would shut on strike days causing chaos for the UK.

Other arguments include bonus target that BAA said if reached would be paid, it was missed by 3% but Unite feel that was harsh and the workers should have been rewarded. Both bosses for Unite and BAA said talks were ongoing.

New Maritius Terminal To Improve Tourism

The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (SSR) international airport of Mauritius, was originally built around WWII to serve as an RAF airfield/base on the island. With time and the island's development, it changed its purpose and became a passenger airport, serving as the national carrier's, Air Mauritius hub.

In the mid 80s, with tourists arrivals on the rise and in order to better prepare for the future, the airport had its first renovation and expansion works with a new passenger terminal and the extension of the current runway so as larger jets be able to land and take off.

In the past couple of years, it has known several small renovations in order to ease passenger traffic.

In the 1980s, nobody thought that the Mauritian airport would see huge amounts of traffic as it has been the case for the past 8-10 years. In 2008 only, over 2.6 million passengers went through its gates! As so and in view of offering a quality service to airlines and passengers, the management company, AML (Airports of Mauritius Ltd) teamed with an subsidiary company of ADPG (Aeroports De Paris Group) to build the new passenger terminal in December 2009.

The project, valued at over 300M US$, is expected to be delivered about 3 years later (late 2012-early 2013).

The new terminal will have a passenger capacity of nearly 4 million per year (1640/hour at peak), a larger surface area of around 57 000 square meters (3400 M2 for commercial use, 2200 M2 for lounges), 8 contact stands (Airbus A380 compatible!), 52 check-in desks, 9 telescopic bridges, 6 baggage carrousels, tour operator counters, modern parking lot, closer and larger taxi parking zone and many more facilities.

The new terminal is also expected to help the national carrier Air Mauritius become an important force in the region and improve transits for both airlines and tourists visiting the paradise island of Mauritius.

Wednesday 11 August 2010

Air Steward In Emergency Exit

Air steward Steven Slater has become an internet phenomenon by exiting a Jetblue via the emergency chute with beer in tow after falling out with a passenger.

The dispute started before take off at Pittsburgh airport. When 2 women were arguing about the storage of their bags, Mr Slater stepped in only to be cursed by the woman
When the aircraft landed at JFK International airport another altercation took place which resulted in Mr Slater being hit on the head by the women’s bag.

After she refused to apologise and once again swore at the steward, he flipped out. Taking to the passenger announcement system he thanked customers for their dignity and respect, grabbed some beer from the galley and opened the emergency chute and slid down to the ground. He then proceeded to his car and drove home.

He was later arrested at home and now faces a jail sentence, though he has become a sensation on the internet with facebook pages attracting over 90,000 fans already. T-shirts have been printed picturing him sliding down the chute drinking beer. He is being described as a hero for working people.

Tuesday 10 August 2010

Heathrow Increases Passengers For July 2010

BAA celebrated a record number of passengers passing through its Heathrow terminals last month. The airport owner which owns Heathrow, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Southampton, Aberdeen and until recently Gatwick saw some 10.9 million passengers across all its airports for July.

Heathrow also recorded its busiest ever day on the 18 July as the airport catered for 232,000 passengers and was up by 3.5% to 6.7 million for the month. Its other airports had mixed results as Glasgow, Stansted and Aberdeen’s traffic fell. Whilst Edinburgh and Heathrow increased.

Travel firm Tui confirmed they had taken more bookings for their holiday packages but admitted their profits were down due to the low prices they were charging to try to entice Uk holiday makers abroad. The news was welcoming at Heathrow but there is still a long way to go before the travel industry returns to normal.

Thursday 5 August 2010

Ryanair Break Traffic Record


Ryanair have announced their passenger numbers have grown by 13% for July when compared to 2009 whilst BA has declined by 2.6%. The Irish based airline carried over 7.5 million passengers last month a record high, which was previously 6.8 million held in August 2009.

British Airways enjoyed a strike free month, yet only managed 3.1 million passengers a decline from 3.2 million the previous year.

Ryanair also announced they had carried 70 million passengers in the 12 months leading to the end of July, which was far better than expected, in light of the ash cloud debacle. The airline had to cancel 10,000 flights during the airspace lockdown.

A company spokesmen said Ryanair’s low air fares, no fuel surcharges and good customer service was the key to attracting so many passengers. In a dig aimed at a certain airline he also went on to say customers were switching from strike ridden flag carriers.

Philippines In Bomb Scare

A suicide bomb attack has taken place in the Philippines at Zamboanga airport, reports suggest there was one fatality and numerous injured. Though not claimed by ant terrorist groups it is thought to be the work of terrorists.

The attack took place hours before the United States ambassador to the Philippines Henry Thomas was due to arrive. That trip has now been cancelled with Mr Thomas citing extra security issues and giving the authorities time to investigate the incident as the reason.

The only fatality of the bomb scare was indeed the bomber himself, early suggestions are linking the attack to the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic organisation which was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people in a 2004 bombing.

Tuesday 3 August 2010

Talks Prove Fruitless

Further talks between British Airways and Union Unite have taken place and failed, the talks took place under the supervision of the mediation service Acas but were adjourned for a later date in an effort to prevent further strikes.

A new pay deal had been offered to the Union, a 2.9% pay rise next year and 3% the year after, but that was rejected in a recent ballot. BA insist that any new deal would be formed from that basis.

The Union is threatening more strikes in September and stated there was no point in BA carrying on with the dispute. But BA boss Willie Walsh hit back by saying flights including all long haul would be unaffected by future strikes. Volunteer workers have been trained and will be on stand-by if needed claimed Mr Walsh.

Both sides claim to want an end to the long running feud, yet both seem unlikely to change their stance.

Wednesday 28 July 2010

Unite In Human Rights Claim


Union bosses are claiming that BA’s refusal to re-instate travel perks is against their workers human rights. The travel perks were removed earlier this year after cabin crew went on strike for a total of 22 days, even after being warned that by doing so they would lose their travel perks.

It is also common knowledge that this is a major stumbling block in the on-going row between Unite and BA. The human rights claim by Unite could end up at the high court, where both parties have met before, with both sides claiming victories in the past.

More talks between Unite and BA are set to take place next week at the conciliation service Acas, but Willie Walsh insists if more strikes do take place, flights will operate as normal. Future strikes do look unlikely as the latest ballot had over 6000 boycott the vote and BA seem to operate better and better with every strike to obtain minimal effect.

Tuesday 27 July 2010

Easyjet To Pre Cancel Flights


Easyjet has announced that its customers face pre-planned cancellations during the summer holidays. As part of cost cutting measures carried out by outgoing chief executive Andy Harrison. The airline is massively understaffed and unable to honour the 1,200 flights a day, it has to carry out for its busy schedule.

They plan to borrow planes from rival airlines to help accommodate its workload, whilst some passengers who have already booked, will have had their flights cancelled already, they just don’t know it yet. New chief Carolyn McCall said the passengers affected would be contacted and that it would be better than arriving at the airport to find their flights cancelled.

Reports suggest that Easyjet doesn’t have enough pilots to carry out its hectic schedule that was introduced by Harrison. Safety laws also prevent staff from being in the air too long, which further enhances the staffing problems.

Only half of Easyjet planes left Gatwick airport on time July a record which has recently been mocked by rival airline owner Michael O’Leary.

Mrs McCall commented “We have made some decisions which may have been penny wise and pound foolish - saving a little money to spend a great deal more.”

Easyjet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou has warned he may ban Easyjet from using his name as it is damaging the reputation if his Easy-group empire

Monday 26 July 2010

Jail Term For Hoax Bomb Threat

A 61 year old man has been handed a 4 year jail term for sending Heathrow airport fake e-mails about bomb threat. Adam Busby from Ballmun close to Dublin airport sent the hoax emails from a Library in Dublin in 2006.

The emails claimed there were explosive devices on planes from Heathrow bound for New York. The judge told him he had caused unessercery anxiety and fear. He was charged with two counts of sending hoax messages for the purpose of causing annoyance and panic.

The man was traced after his computer IP address was tracked to Dublin City Libraries then onto Charleville Mall Public Library.

The judge suspended the final two years of the sentance and told the man he could not ignore the fact that he had been convicted twice for similar crimes.

Wednesday 21 July 2010

Gatwick Plans For 2012 Olympics

Plans of how Gatwick is preparing for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are expected to be discussed at the airport next week. The Gatwick Airport Consultative Committee (GATCOM) will be meeting in the Ascot Suite in the Hilton Hotel on Thursday 22nd July at 2pm.

The public are welcome and there will be a varied agenda, including a discussion on pollution levels, which are reportedly coming down, and the air traffic over Horley. A spokesman for the committee stated that there would almost probably discussions concerning the Airports' investment programme.

Travellers passing through Gatwick can now enjoy its new state-of-the-art inter-terminal shuttle - two months ahead of schedule and in time for the four million passengers that are expected to travel through the summer months.

GATCOM is also expected to hear more about the new coalition Government’s stance on the industry, after ruling out the possibility of extra runways. A Task Force to look at airports in the South East was recently announced and GATCOM is waiting to see its terms of reference.

GATCOM is made up of 28 appointed representatives who collectively have a wide knowledge of relevant subjects including local authorities, civil aviation, community and environmental groups.

A Government representative is also present at the main GATCOM meetings, together with Gatwick Airport’s managing director and the senior management team.

The role of GATCOM includes building interest, communication and understanding between the airport and everyone who uses it.

BA Claim Victory Over Unite

Willie Walsh and his airline British Airways have declared victory over the union Unite after a ballot for the latest pay offer was boycotted by some 6000 cabin crew workers. Unite are still claiming a 67% victory after 3,400 did vote against the offer with 1,686 voting in favour.

BA claim that support for the Unite is falling every day, whilst Unite claim the result of the vote raises threats of more strikes. Though that threat looks unlikely with such a weak turnout.

Campaigners are now calling for the Union to accept it has lost the battle and turn its attentions to workers who have lost their jobs and travel perks because of the long running feud.

Monday 19 July 2010

Hotel Staff Aggresive Towards Goldtrail Customers

Goldtrail customers are being forced to leave their hotels or pay twice after the Uk tour operator went bust last Friday, other hotels have taken passports from travellers with assurances they would be returned only to be told they would have to pay to get them back.

The collapse of the company last Friday has left some 16,000+ travellers stranded abroad and many more with their summer holiday plans in ruins. The CAA has stepped in to arrange flights home for the holidaymakers while flights to the UK are unaffected in Turkey, holidaymakers in Greece are not so lucky.

With many thousand customers now in accommodation that hasn’t been paid for, more and more reports of the hotels aggressive response are coming to light. Such as the fear of leaving their hotel rooms in case the locks are changed so they can’t get back in. Or customers returning to their rooms to find their belongings thrown out on the street.

The CAA hopes to have 8,000 Brits back at home by the end of the day.

Friday 16 July 2010

Easyjet Win Court Ruling Over Ryanair

Michael O’ Leary has been forced to say sorry to his budget airline rival boss Stelios Haji-loanou, the Easyjet owner won a high court battle yesterday over damages caused by Ryanair adverts depicting the Easyjet owner as Pinocchio implying that Stelios was hiding the truth over its punctuality figures.

Stelios also stated that it wasn’t just a victory for Easyjet but a victory for everyone who has been bullied by the Ryanair chief or hit with their hidden extras.

Last February when O’ Leary was served with the court papers he challenged Stelios to a race around Trafalgar square to settle the dispute.

Stelios hos vowed to get his own back for the advertising feud by paying for adverts showing Mr O’Leary going to confession

Tuesday 13 July 2010

Ireland West Airport Knock Announces 300 New Jobs

The Minster for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation of Ireland, Batt O'Keefe has announced that the Ireland West Airport Knock is soon going to open its doors for 300 new people searching for jobs.

The airport, opened all the way back in 1986, is supposed to be quite successful and it serves the surrounding areas perfectly. Various world-famous airlines operate there, including Ryanair, EasyJet, MyTravelLite, Aer Arann and so on.

The top traveling destinations of the airport are usually the nearest aiports in the UK, where afterwards the passengers can switch flights, but lately, it has also started to perform transatlantic services, with travelling destinations to Boston and New York.

As mentioned previously, the airport is going to offer 300 more jobs to the people of the area. This is seen as a big advantage for both, the people on the surrounding areas as well as the airport.

On the one hand, the people who live nearby can get a steady job on the airport and this is a very good news for them, as in the area there is a high percentage of unemployment. On the other hand, the airport badly needed the extra 300 people in order to offer its services in a more convenient way.

Monday 12 July 2010

Wi-Fi Not High

According to a recent report carried out by USA today less than 10% of air travel passengers have taken advantage of Wi-Fi technology which is used to access the internet wirelessly. Airlines and service providers had hoped it would take off, but so far passengers seem reluctant to pay another premium for their flight.

Michael Planey a consultant for What’s more, said the figure for passengers paying for their Wi-Fi could be even lower due to the many free coupons and trial offers currently in circulation.

Other reasons being cited for the technology shun is the reluctance of businesses to reimburse its workers for Wi-Fi expenses. Wi-Fi is currently in operation in less than a third of US commercial flights though that figure is set to rise by the end of the year. As airlines and service providers try to bring Wi-Fi to a wider audience.

Friday 9 July 2010

Fans Miss Semi-Final After Airport Problems


Problems at Durban’s King Shaka International airport meant approximately 700 football fans missed the World Cup semi-final match between Germany and Spain on Wednesday night due to congestion.

The Local Organising Committee and Fifa were quick to pass the blame on to the airport after they said they could not be held accountable for planes not landing in Durban. Fifa secretary Jerome Valcke expressed his sorrow for the disappointed fans but stated no compensation would be paid for un-used tickets.

The problems occurred because approximately 200 private aircraft arrived at the airport then refused to move on the ground for commercial aircraft carrying the excited fans. This caused a knock on delay meaning the fans missed the game.

An investigation has been launched by the Civil Aviation Authority into why the private jets carrying wealthy businessmen refused to move.

Tuesday 6 July 2010

Aer Lingus Regional Increases Cork Schedule

Aer Lingus Regional has announced an increased service at Cork airport after recent additions at Shannon airport. Since last Thursday flights have been arriving at Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham from Shannon airport.

Now it is Cork’s turn to receive a fuller flight schedule with flights bound for Manchester and Birmingham airport to be put in place as of the 31st October, fares for the new service will start at €29.99 one way.

Aer Lingus Regional was formed after Aer Lingus and Aer Arann launched the franchise earlier this year with the main focus being to introduce more flights between the UK and Ireland.

Something they are certainly achieving, Andrew Kelly the corporate affairs director for Aer Arann stated that the latest move would give its passengers more choice and flexibility when needing to get to the UK

Friday 2 July 2010

Passenger Numbers Increase

May 2010 was the first time airport passenger numbers topped pre-recession levels, which was confirmed by the International Air Traffic Association. The freight planes also saw a 34% increase in traffic.

IATA claimed it was a partly a rebound effect from the devastating ash cloud that created havoc throughout May and April. May saw a rise of 11.7% increase on May 2009 figures bringing it 1% above pre-recession levels.

The 11.7% figure represented the global figure, the European countries recovery was not as good as its global counterparts with only an 8.3% increase.

Wednesday 30 June 2010

Pound rises against the euro

Holidaymakers will be in for a nice surprise this summer as the pound has reached a high of 1.24 euro’s a height that has not been reached since November 2008. Added with the fact that most euro zone countries are struggling with the world wide recession prices are much cheaper than they were 12 months ago, meaning UK travellers will get much more for their money.

Numerous travel companies are reporting a rush of bookings since England were dumped out of the World Cup 4-1 by Germany as many travellers were waiting to see how far England would progress before taking their holidays.

At least the good news about the rising pound will give the UK travellers something to cheer about. The pound is also doing well against Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria and Croatia.

Major Tour operator Thomas Cook claimed the recent rise in the pound could save holidaymakers an average of £700 on meals, drinks, cigarettes, taxis, ice cream and newspapers.

Thursday 24 June 2010

Business Travel Revival

BA CEO Willie Walsh has predicted that Business travel will play a key role in reviving the economy and airline industry, as companies start to come out of their shells and try to build up again due to the recession. Mr Walsh says that face to face meetings with business owners and there oversees customers will be essential.

Mr Walsh also quoted that a recent survey carried out, found that 79% of business owners rated a face to face meeting as the most productive form of choice. The news was also backed by Clive Wratten who manages the UK branch of Etihad, who stated the airline had seen a big increase in business travel for its Manchester and London routes.

Mr Walsh also went on to thank the travel management community for its support during the recent strikes by cabin crew workers and proclaimed that if more strikes were to come then BA’s long haul service would be totally unaffected with flights at Gatwick and London City Airport again running at 100%.

Wednesday 23 June 2010

British Airlines Trailing

A recent survey carried out by consumer magazine has found the British airlines to be trailing behind its overseas competition. Out of 18 airlines Thomas Cook found itself rooted at the bottom of the list, whilst Virgin Atlantic finished 6th Britain’s highest entry.

British Airways finished 11th but were praised for their cleanliness and cabin crew, Thomas Cook took the heaviest criticism about legroom and comfort, whilst Ryanair was criticised over baggage charges.

The best long haul operator was awarded to Air New Zealand which recently launched a lie-flat layout for its economy class.

Which magazine head of research Rochelle Turner stated that price wasn’t the only factor customers were thinking of and that a friendly and comfortable experience had a lasting impression on travellers.

Tuesday 22 June 2010

BA To Expand US Services

British Airways has announced it is considering extending its services from London City Airport by introducing new routes, to three North American Cities.

Chicago, Washington DC and Boston will be part of the expansion plans after BA CEO announced after finding a recently introduced route from London City airport and Ney York City was very profitable. The popular route was expected to take a full year until it became profitable but this was achieved in just 10 weeks.

Mr Walsh stated if the success of the route continues then additional services would be introduced along with more capacity to the existing New York route.

The news comes as a nice surprise for Willie Walsh whose airline has had to endure countless setbacks this year, posting record losses due to striking cabin crew workers, the recession and the Volcanic ash cloud which grounded all flights during parts of April and March costing the airline industry billions.

Thursday 17 June 2010

BA & Unite still at loggerheads

BA & Unite are still to reach an agreement in the long and drawn out battle regarding pay and conditions. A battle that has so far resulted in 22 days of strike action carried out by the Unite Union that has cost BA in excess of £150m.

Reconciliation service ACAS has stated that it had given both sides new proposals last week but no agreement had been reached as the fear of another strike during July looked increasingly likely.

The original strikes were over changes to staffing levels and pay disputes but now are clearly over the travel concessions removed by BA for striking cabin crew workers.

Tuesday 15 June 2010

Planes With No Pilots

New Jersey airport is set to try out a series of tests to see if it’s possible to carry out flights without a pilot. It is hoped in future years even as close as 2030 it could be possible that cargo planes used by the likes of UPS could be flown via UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle).

The technology has been used by the armed forces for gathering intelligence flying over war torn country’s safely.It is also hoped that eventually unmanned commercial flights will be a possibility.

What the flying public might think about that remains to be seen. The test will be carried out by the Federal Aviation Administration and Insitu Inc a UAV company owned by Boeing. The Boeing sky eagle has been used by the military, which is launched into the air and uses a hook in the ground when landing to slow it down.

Monday 14 June 2010

Balloon flights from Lucca airport

In last May the Agreement of cooperation between the “Vincent Lunardi Balloon Club” and Lucca-Tassignano Airport was firmed in order to promote the activities of the provincial airport.

Balloon flights have not only a sportif value but also tourist/attractive one.

This represents a way for discovering and admiring the whole territory with all its beauties and increase the number of those who spend holidays in Tuscany.

If we think to the history of Balloon flights it is really very ancient. The first experiments took place in XVIII century and inspired both poetry and literature. Science had made man almost a god, because it demonstrated the ability of his reason to understand and to command the laws of nature. Science had opened limitless vistas of human progress.

The first flights were accompanied by women in tears, common people raising their hands toward the sky in deep silence, the passengers waving and crying out in joy.

Now those moments are only sweet memories but even today balloon flights represent a moment of freedom, a way to fly like birds in the sky.

Enjoy your vacation with a balloon flight! It will be a great and unforgettable experience!

Friday 11 June 2010

Wiliie Walsh refuses bonus

Willie Walsh the CEO of British Airways has shown his striking cabin crew workers that everyone must take pay cuts after refusing a £334,000 bonus which is the second time the airline boss has turned down his annual bonus.

Although Mr Walsh does earn a handsome £735,000 a year he has shown he is ready to take a pay cut to help his company come through the other side of the deep recession, he also missed his July salary as part of his cost-cutting plans. The Unite union claim had he taken the massive bonus there would have been uproar.

Mr Walsh is currently locked in a battle with the union regarding pay and conditions. The pay committee have set him three tasks if he is to be eligible for bonus next year.

One of these tasks includes resolving the pay dispute with cabin crew workers which has so far resulted in 21 days of strike action. The dispute is still not solved with talk of more stikes on the way so if Mr Walsh wants his bonus next year he will have to resolve this issue in the near future.

Walsh stated that if BA failed to change then the company would shrink and shrink eventually into non existence.

Tuesday 8 June 2010

BA Stand firm

BA cabin crew workers are set to meet MPs later today as the last of the 5 day strikes draws to a close. They will tell the MPs that BA is gripped by a climate of fear, however Willie Walsh CEO of BA has stated his company would hold out for as long as it takes instead of giving in to Union.

Mr Walsh went on to say flight numbers would continue to rise amid plans for more strikes, which the union has said will take place if an agreement can not be reached. Today is the 21st day BA has operated with a depleted work force.

But it is obvious that they are adapting well to the strikes as they run more flights each time they are in operation and with Willie Walsh claiming he will not back down. You wonder what the unions will try next as more workers are now feeling the pinch of having huge holes in their wage packets.

Friday 4 June 2010

Easyjet to (AVOID) ash clouds


Easyjet has unveiled an ash detection system in light of the recent ash cloud chaos. The company lost £75m, due to the UK airspace closure in large parts of April and May, when it had 1600 flights grounded by the volcanic ash cloud.

The system called (Avoid) Airborne Volcanic Object Identifier and Detector will help pilots to identify ash in the air up to 60 miles away and then fly around the potential hazard.

The (CAA) Civil Aviation Authority said it was pleased an airline had found a technical solution to the issue and although it could not endorse the technology it would help as much as possible to get certification.

The Easyjet chief executive Andy Harrison stated the technology that uses infra red would be tested by Airbus on Easyjet’s behalf in the next two months and insisted there was no intention for Easyjet to keep the technology for themselves. Stating it was happy to share the knowledge and not give themselves an advantage in the aviation market.

Despite the ash cloud problems during May Easyjet announced an increase in passenger numbers for May, jumping another 7.9% for the same period last year.

Thursday 3 June 2010

Fog problems at Melbourne

Thick fog has caused chaos at Melbourne airport this morning as airlines with planes bound for the Australian airport were forced to keep its planes grounded or divert the ones already on route.

The fog was only causing problems for planes wishing to land but still had a knock on effect for departing planes, it started to clear at around 11 am but a spokesman said it would be the afternoon before the backlog was cleared.

Several planes were forced to turn around mid-air and return to their departing airports or were diverted to Sydney and Adelaide. A weather expert stated that as Australia moved towards its summer more foggy mornings would be common

Wednesday 2 June 2010

Good news for football fans


As the BA cabin crew strike enters its fourth day, some good news for football fans has been announced by BA. As they stated that all football fans booked on BA planes bound for the World Cup in South Africa would be unaffected by the 3rd walkout by BA staff which is due to start on the 5th June ending on the 9th June 2 days shy of the start of the tournament.

Talks were carried out yesterday between BA and Unite but again a solution looks a way off. The welcome news for football fans is part of the 80% of flights that BA say will operate at Heathrow airport. BA seem confident that every time Unite orders its members to strike they can operate at higher level to the previous strikes.

Unite say they will ballot its members for more strikes in July but BA don’t seem to be to bothered and you have to think that BA are starting to get the upper hand now as the long battle rages on.

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Ryanair raise baggage fees despite massive profits


Budget airline Ryanair are to raise baggage fees despite announcing an increase in profit of 200% from last year. The airline is also planning to pay its first dividend to its shareholders totalling €500 million.

Passengers numbers were up by 14% with revenue up by 2%, the airline said cheaper oil prices had meant a 29% cut in fuel costs which had greatly contributed to this. But despite of the massive profits announced Ryanair are planning on raising baggage charges from £15 per bag to £20 per bag during July and August.

Mr O’ Leary CEO of Ryanair said his plan was not to raise more money but bring the volume of baggage inline with the rest of year and encourage passengers to bring less luggage. O’Leary is still upset over the ash cloud chaos and his airline would be suing a number of European governments and demanded a change to the regulations on compensating passengers.

He also went on to say that the regulations were out of date and that they were designed to facilitate an isolated incident at 1 airport not 18 days of UK airport closure affecting thousands of flights and airlines.

Thursday 27 May 2010

Strike Enters 4th Day

Talks between Unite and BA are expected to resume tomorrow as the strike will enter its fifth and final day of the first in the series of strikes being carried out over pay and conditions. Talks had lasted for over 6 hours yesterday with an agreement still to be reached.

Heathrow saw 241 flights cancelled out of 678 for Thursday due to the industrial action, a figure which BA say is in keeping with their pledge to keep 70% of their passengers in the air. They also aim to increase that figure for the next planned strike which is due to start Sunday.

Willie Walsh told of his frustration at reaching an agreement with the Unite leaders only for it to be rejected by Bassa. Which directly represents the BA cabin crew, Mr Walsh also stated if the debate can’t be solved before the next planned strike his company would be seeking a full hearing to once again challenge the legality of the strikes. Which has already been overturned before

Tuesday 25 May 2010

Protest At Manchester airport


A protest took place at Manchester airport yesterday where angry protestors from the Plane Stupid group gained access to a non public area and chained themselves to the undercarriage of an aircraft.

The dispute is over plans by Manchester airport to expand its freight services and the impact it may cause to the environment due to additional emissions, reports from Manchester airport indicated that six people were involved in the fracas, which stopped planes from landing or taking off for 20 minutes.

Access to the aircraft was gained after the group cut a hole through the security fence that surrounds the airport, but the airport stated that disruptions were minimal and was soon operating at full pace once the intruders had been removed by the police.

They also protested at the airports freight center simultaneously with the aircraft chaining, there argument is that Manchester airport currently sees 170,000 tonnes of freight each year pass through its terminal that figure is set to rocket to 250,000 tonnes after the expansion.

Annie McLaughlin a Plane Stupid spokesmen said the impact to the environment would be a disaster

Monday 24 May 2010

BA Strikes Begin

The Union Unite has started its first 5 day walkout on BA today as last ditch attempts to avert the strikes failed yesterday. Passengers have had thousands of flights cancelled in and out of Heathrow as the argument over pay and conditions continues to harm BA’s reputation and future.

The last stumbling block remains the travel perks for BA cabin crew which were removed as punishment for the first wave of strikes, although BA claim they would be re-instated after Unite had agreed to the whole of BA’s offer.

But talks were halted on Saturday night as the location of the talks was gate-crashed by left wing protesters, the following day another location was set up in secret but BA are accusing Unite of failing to accept their offer of more negotiations.

BA have accused Tony Woodley of carry out his negotiations through the media claiming they had agreed to re-instate travel perks only for Woodley to start returning to other done deals of the agreement and trying to alter them again.

Gatwick and London City should be unaffected by the strike but Heathrow is being seriously hampered with 40% of long haul and 50% of short haul being affected, passengers are advised to visit the BA website for information on there flights