Monday 31 January 2011

EasyJet In Row With Servistar

A row has erupted between easyJet and airport agency Servistar after a passenger complained at the way she was treated by two members of the check inn staff at Jersey airport when flying to Liverpool airport. Ms Hannah was told she would have to pay £210 because her baggage weighed over 20kg she challenged the rule by stating she had paid for two bags so was allowed 40kg. The two staff members levied rude and appalling behaviour towards here and demanded the money or she wouldn’t be allowed to fly.

The two members of staff were working for Servistar an airport agency used by easyJet on the check-inn desks, they claim there workers are having to act more like police operatives rather than customer service staff to meet the low budget airlines demands on baggage rules. If they fail to take excess baggage charges or mystery packages go through check-inn the cost is deducted from the operatives salary which Servistar claim has caused a military like operation being carried out of fear of penalty.

easyJet have hit back saying a level of professionalism must be carried out by all workers when representing easyJet and that it doesn’t put excess pressure on its workers nor does it accept their policy is to blame for poor customer service. The airline has since refunded Ms Hannah the £210 and given her vouchers however Ms Hannah says it is the worst form of customer service she has ever received.

Tuesday 25 January 2011

35 Dead In Moscow Airport Bomb

35 people were killed yesterday including two Brits after a suicide bomber walked into Moscow’s busiest airport Domodedovo and detonated a bomb thought to be hidden in a suitcase with the equivalent power of 7kg of TNT.

The bomber originally thought to be male is now widely being reported as a female suicide bomber. A further 168 people were injured as a result of the terror attack, the bomb is thought to have been detonated at 4.32pm local time 45 minutes after British airways flight 872 had landed and just seconds after a BMI plane had touched down. A BA plane bound for Moscow was returned to Heathrow after being half way to its destination.

An investigation is now underway, with endless CCTV being monitored and claims are being made that warnings of bombings had been made a week ago and police were tracking three men. However recent reports are focusing on a female bomber.

Wednesday 19 January 2011

Airbus A320 NEO Orders Grow

The battle for aircraft supremacy between Boeing and Airbus heated up on Monday as Virgin America confirmed they had placed an order for 30 new Airbus A320 NEO’s and 30 of the existing A320’s the new NEO features advanced engines which are 15% more efficient.

The move is significant as Airbus have overtaken Boeing in Net orders, the Boeing 737 is the same size as the A320 and together make up 44% of commercial aircraft in service. Airbus orders for 2010 were 570 with Boeing trailing at 530.

Boeing claim they are not fazed by the order book for the A320 NEO as only existing Airbus customers have ordered them. Analysts will merit the achievement based on whether they can poach traditionally Boeing customers.

Monday 17 January 2011

Tu-154Bs land for the last time…..

Russia's transport safety regulator is investigating the cause of a fatal fire which broke out on the 1st January on a Tu-154B Kolavia aircraft before the flight took off from Surgut to Moscow. This event comes after the emergency landing of a Tu-154 at Domodedovo airport at the start of December. The cause for this tragedy was engine failure and the plane broke up on landing, killing two and injuring more than 80 passengers.

As a result of these tragic events and many others, Russia’s transport safety regulator has banned all Tu-154B planes from taking off until further notice. Aeroflot is Russia’s national airline and it stopped operating its remaining 23 Tu-154 aircraft in January 2010.

Tuesday 11 January 2011

Lufthansa Seeks Compensation From BAA

Europe’s largest airline in terms of revenue and Heathrow airport’s second largest customer has joined forces with Virgin Atlantic following the snow closure debacle 1 week before Christmas.

After Sir Richard Branson announced his airline would not be paying landing and parking fees to the airport until an investigation was carried out and compensation packages were on the table. Now Lufthansa has jumped on the bandwagon along with its subsidiary BMI.

Both of which want BAA to come up with ways to compensate the airlines, which is assumed via relief on landing and parking fees, during that period.

British Airways have estimated the damage caused by the closure close to £50 million while Virgin estimate a £10 million loss. All three airlines will be looking for compensation from BAA who themselves have announced they lost £25 million because of the snow.

A BAA spokesman commented they would not discuss contractual agreements in the public domain and that a enquiry was being carried out to improve its service to the public.

Wednesday 5 January 2011

Airlines vs. Online Travel Agencies

American Airlines’ decision not to continue selling airline tickets on two travel portals may lead to other airline companies following in their footsteps given the airlines’ business ties and importance. Not only does this company have a Joint Business Agreement with Iberia and British Airways, but it is also the third largest airline in the USA in terms of passengers transported.

On the 21st December 2010, American Airlines stopped selling airfares on Orbitz, and since the 2nd January 2011, it no longer offers tickets on Expedia. However, the company continues to operate with Kayak and Priceline.

American Airlines has been criticised by Expedia for this move. Expedia claims that it will make it more difficult for customers to compare airfares. However, other airlines will probably do the same.

Tuesday 4 January 2011

Gloucester And Manx2 In World Record Attempt

Guinness World Record adjudicators will be at Gloucester airport this summer as the airport attempts to set a world record for the fastest transit through an airport, the airport is to team up with Manx2 an Isle of Man based airline.

Manx2 chairmen stated his customers receive a service that is second to none at the Gloucester airport. With passengers having their luggage in their hands within 5 minutes of landing, the airline operates 14 flights a week at the airport.

The attempt will take place this year, the time will start from the second the aircraft lands and finish when all passengers have been re-united with their bags. Hopefully there won’t be any mix ups.