Archive for May, 2009
Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport is giving airlines bonuses to make more use of the airport. In an interview with newspaper AD, Schiphol chief Jos Nijhuis says bonuses can reach 4,500 euros per flight.
AMSTERDAM - Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport is giving airlines bonuses to make more use of the airport. In an interview with newspaper AD, Schiphol chief Jos Nijhuis says bonuses can reach 4,500 euros per flight. The bonuses will go to airlines which open new, long-distance routes or increase the frequency of existing flights in Europe.
A number of airlines are currently avoiding Schiphol, which they say is expensive. Among them are Easyjet and Jet2.com. Travellers have also been going to other airports because of high taxes, though these are set to disappear on 1 July.
Nijhuis, who replaced Gerlach Cerfontaine in October, stresses that Schiphol does not strive to become Europe’s cheapest or biggest airport but its best. The airport therefore wants to focus on customer services, baggage handling and fast stopovers.
The Schiphol boss acknowledged that the airport has been seeing fewer passengers as a result of the global economic crisis. Last year the airport registered 428,000 flights. He expects the airport will not reach its target of 580,000 annual flights before 2025.
But Nijhuis stressed that the airport keeps investing. Robots are increasingly replacing people to handle luggage. The airport is also studying plans to add a new runway and several piers.
Radio Netherlands / Expatica
ST. JOHNS, Antigua, May 29, 2009 - Regional airline LIAT is looking at introducing a cargo service as a new way to generate revenue.
Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brian Challenger said this is among plans intended to move the carrier to a new level as it marks 53 years of service to the region this year.
“We are hoping that by the beginning of summer we will be able to offer to our LIAT network a cargo schedule which would satisfy the demands of shippers and producers in the region and we also believe that it will contribute to our bottom line,” Challenger said in a release yesterday.
The plan calls for the conversion of one of the company’s three Dash-8 100 aircraft into a full freighter.
Challenger, who was appointed Officer in Charge of the company last month, following the departure of former CEO Mark Darby, also committed the airline to continue servicing routes even when they are not very economically viable.
“On a strictly commercial basis there might not be any justification for them but as a company committed to serving the Caribbean over the last 50 years we view it as our responsibility that we continue to provide services where necessary, working with regional governments to ensure these services,” he said.
“This is a very important aspect of the commitment that we have to the region. Our shareholder governments have indicated to us that they expect LIAT to operate as a viable entity. It’s not a situation where they expect to be putting any money into the company. They’ve done this in the past and our perspective is that we must earn our keep as we go through.”
He pointed out that it was not about LIAT making super profits, “but so that we can see a return on our investments; provide a safe, efficient and punctual service; satisfy the demands and requirements of our staff while meeting the demands of the region”.
The acting CEO also promised the airline would work with its aviation partners, governments and private sector, recognizing that “in this difficult economic climate, everybody has to work together to achieve the aims of enhancing profitability and growth”. CARIBBEAN360
Thursday, 28/05/2009– Following the A/H1N1 Influenza outbreak, the China National Tourism Administration has issued travel warnings regarding travel to H1N1-affected areas including North America and Europe, although it has not yet (officially) suspended any of the tours affected. However, some travel agencies have suspended tours to the US out of careful consideration.
Since the end of April, Beijing Shenzhou International Travel Service Group has received a succession of cancellation requests from tour groups. It has currently halted most of its tour groups to the US. Kanghui Travel Service has cancelled 80 percent of its overseas tour plans.
Flights from Beijing to the US to continue as normal. By 5 pm on May 11, flights scheduled to the US were taking off and landing as normal at Beijing Capital International Airport. People came and left via the dining area of the airport and the operation went smoothly.
The media and publicity department at Beijing Capital International Airport said that the airport has not received any instruction for coping with the increased-level epidemic. At present, epidemic prevention and quarantine work at the airport is being carried out as before.
Thursday, 28/05/2009
The Tourism Corporation Bonaire on Tuesday announced that Insel Air will be commencing a new weekly nonstop flight from Miami, Florida to Bonaire effective July 4, 2009. The flight will operate weekly on Saturdays throughout the year.
Insel Air flight 7I 907 will depart Bonaire at 11:55 am arriving into Miami at 3:05 pm. The return flight 7I 908 will depart Miami at 4:25 pm arriving into Bonaire at 7:35 pm. Insel Air will use either an MD 82 or MD 83 aircraft configured with 152 economy seats.
“We are pleased to have Insel Air contributing to Bonaire’s air portfolio. The Miami flight will compliment our already nonstop Houston and NY flights, making this summer the perfect time to visit Bonaire,” said Marion Wilson, Association Executive of the Bonaire Hotel And Tourism Association.
Thursday, 28/05/2009–AirTran Airways has announced that it will be the first major airline to offer passengers wireless, broadband Internet access on every flight. AirTran Airways is partnering with Aircell, the leader in airborne communications for business and commercial aviation, to offer passengers full in-flight Internet service across its entire fleet of Boeing 737 and 717 aircraft.
All 136 AirTran Airways jets will be fully outfitted with Gogo In-flight Internet service by mid-summer. Installing Wi-Fi on every AirTran aircraft is the latest in a series of features the company makes available to all passengers.
Other features on every AirTran fight include assigned seating, Business Class, XM Satellite Radio and more than 22 varieties of Coca-Cola products on North America’s newest all-Boeing fleet.
A new low-cost airline will begin serving mid-sized U.S. cities that it thinks larger carriers have left behind. Clearwater, Fla.-based JetAmerica said 34 nonstop passenger flights a week will start July 13 at Toledo, Ohio; South Bend, Ind.; Melbourne, Fla.; Newark, N.J.; Minneapolis and Lansing, Mich. Twenty-eight flights start or end at Newark Liberty International Airport. The carrier will add six more flights –from Toledo to Minneapolis- starting Aug. 14.
May 28, 2009
The drop in air travel caused by the economic crisis has begun to tail off in recent weeks, the head of one of the world’s largest engine makers said on Thursday.
“The last few weeks indicate that the drop in passenger traffic is slowing down,” Safran chief executive Jean-Paul Herteman told shareholders.
The French company is co-owner with General Electric of CFM International, the largest supplier of civil jet engines.
At a shareholder meeting, Herteman reaffirmed 2009 targets of a 5-6 percent operating margin and stable revenue at Safran.
(Reuters)
Thursday, May 28 2009–Trinidad Newsday –British Airways is set to increase the number of flights from the United Kingdom to Trinidad from three to five times a week during the upcoming winter season. The Tourism Development Company (TDC) made this announcement yesterday via press release and TDC Public Affairs Manager, Nicole du Boulet said this augurs well for the country. “Several airlines are cutting back on flights because of the economic crisis. In destinations where they fly to, if the planes are not as filled as they should be, they are reducing the number of flights there or cutting back. British Airways increasing their flights to Trinidad means that the airline is noting the demand for flights to Trinidad from the UK,” du Boulet explained in a telephone interview yesterday.
According to the TDC release, the airline currently operates a Boeing 777 to Port-of-Spain three times a week which could transport 280 passengers.
“Following negotiations with the TDC, the airline has added two flights, which will boost monthly passenger capacity from 3360 persons to 5600 persons, an increase of 67 percent. British Airways has already started selling the new service which will depart London’s Gatwick Airport,” the release stated.
May 27, 2009
Boeing’s delayed 787 Dreamliner is on track for its first test flight next month, Boeing chief executive Jim McNerney said on Wednesday.
“I think the airplane will fly in June. We will embark on a flight test programme as we described it,” McNerney said.
The company pushed back the 787 delivery schedule for a fourth time in December, making its plane almost two years late and risking cancellations from angry airlines. The plane has been plagued by repeated production delays.
McNerney said demand for the 787 is strong despite what he called “market churn.” McNerney was referring to order cancellations this year, including 57 cancelled 787 orders.
Boeing and rival Airbus are suffering as airlines and cargo operators defer plane deliveries amid weak demand in the economic recession.
After 60 orders and 60 cancellations, Boeing now has zero net orders for 2009.
McNerney said he expects the the first 787 deliveries in the first quarter of 2010. But he said there is always the chance that the schedule could be disrupted by a mechanical issue coming to light during the test flight.
(Reuters)
CaribWorldNews, ST. JOHNS, Antigua, Thurs. May 28, 2009: Preliminary figures released by regional airline LIAT on Wednesday show that the carrier lost hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result of sickout action by some flight crews on Friday, May 22.
`The reports are still coming in, however, the data compiled so far show losses totaling close to EC$350,000.00,` Corporate Communications Manager Desmond Brown said Wednesday.
`The costs are related to accommodation, transport, meals, airport overtime, staff overtime, charters, positioning costs (aircraft and crew), passenger claims and flight interruption manifests (FIMs) or requests to carry passengers on other airlines,` he added.
Scores of passengers were inconvenienced after crews in Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent and Trinidad called in sick, grounding seven of LIAT`s aircraft, disrupting the airline`s flight schedule for 24 hours.
Among the affected passengers were a large number of travellers making international connections to North America, Europe and elsewhere, as well as heads of government from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States who were in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, for a meeting of the OECS Authority and were due to travel back to their respective countries on Friday.
The disruption occurred as LIAT and nine Trade Unions representing its employees continued negotiations for new Collective Agreements.
As a result of the disruption, LIAT sought; and the Antigua and Barbuda Industrial Court granted an injunction to restrain pilots from further disrupting the airline`s services.
The injunction restrains the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association [and its members] from taking any industrial action or continue any form of industrial action whether by means of strike, go slow, sickout or any other related action, until the determination of the current negotiations, between LIAT and LIALPA.
Since the commencement of negotiations on 11th March, 10 meetings have been held with LIALPA – all of which were initiated by LIAT.
To date 19 meetings have been held with the other eight Trade Unions and those negotiations are proceeding amicably.
In responding to allegations that LIAT had failed to meet the demands of pilots for a wage increase over the years, Brown noted that `wages paid to pilots amount to 34 per cent of total wages paid by LIAT on a monthly basis, while pilots employed by LIAT amount to only 17 per cent of the company`s workforce`.
The LIAT Corporate Communications Manager explained that between 1998 and 2007 Pilots have enjoyed, in addition to an annual increment, several salary increases which amount to approximately 22.5 per cent. The periodic increases ranged from between 2.75 per cent and 6 per cent.