AirGuide - Airport News - 1/4/10

Aer Lingus
Irish flag-carrier Aer Lingus is to axe more routes, reduce the number of aircraft in operation, and shed further jobs after failing to reach a crucial cost-savings agreement with flight crew. The airline is blaming intransigence by pilots and, to a degree, cabin crew for its decision after a week of talks with unions.

Aeroflot
Aeroflot launched the following A320 services Wednesday: from Vladivostok to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (thrice-weekly), Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (twice-weekly) and Khabarovsk (twice-weekly) and from KHV to UUS (thrice-weekly) and PKC (twice-weekly).

AeroLogic, Lufthansa Cargo, DHL Express, Boeing
AeroLogic, the joint venture between DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo, will add two more 777-200Fs this month, an LHC spokesperson said. It already operates two of the freighters. The additional planes will be used to boost frequencies on current routes to Asia from Leipzig/Halle. Load factor is around 75 percent-80 percent. Two more 777-200Fs are expected in the spring and another two in the fall.

Air Canada
Air Canada said on Thursday it is planning more flights between China and the two busiest Canadian hubs, Toronto and Vancouver, after Canada received "approved destination status," clearing the way for Chinese group tours to the country.
Canada's biggest airline said it will add daily, non-stop service from Toronto and Vancouver to Beijing and Shanghai on a year-round basis. Those routes operate only a few days each week outside the peak four-month summer travel season.
"We've been waiting for this for 10 years," said Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Duncan Dee in an interview. "The potential for this is really tremendous because of the size of the Chinese market." The new tourism status represents a bright spot for Canada's airline industry, which has been bruised by the recession and slumping demand in travel.
Last month, the Montreal-based carrier said the worst was behind it and it was seeing green shoots. "We're still seeing green shots emerge and I would... say this is more potential green shoots, because we need to go out and earn this traffic," Dee said.
The Canadian government said tourism could get a 50 percent boost from the new status. In 2008, 159,000 Chinese visitors came to Canada, up 5 percent from the previous year.
"We are the new kid on the block and our aim is to make Canada the new, hot destination for Chinese tourists," Dee said.
Excluding routes it acquired through acquisitions, Air Canada has flown to China for about 10 years.

Air Canada
Air Canada will begin charging economy passengers C30/USD30 to check a second bag on flights to/from the US and C50/USD50 on flights to/from Europe and Israel on Jan. 19. A second piece of checked luggage will continue to be free on flights within Canada and to/from Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and Australia. Premium loyalty program members will be exempt.

Air Canada
Air Canada will expand its network in Newfoundland and Labrador with the start up of daily non-stop flights between Happy Valley-Goose Bay and St. John's, effective May 1, 2010. Flights will be operated by Air Canada's commercial partner Jazz using 50-seat Bombardier CRJ regional aircraft. Flights have been timed to offer travelers convenient connections in St. John's to /from Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Gander and Deer Lake. For more information, visit www.aircanada.com.

Air China
The arrival of Air China flight CA 912 from Stockholm to Beijing Capital Airport on Nov. 30 took the number of passengers who have traveled through Beijing Airport past 60 million. With more flights arriving in and departing from Beijing than any other international or domestic airline, Air China celebrated the milestone with Beijing Capital Airport. Since March 2008, when Air China established itself in Beijing Capital Airport's Terminal 3, journeys have become more convenient for Air China's passengers. In Terminal 3, Air China has optimized its baggage handling system and its departure control system, making collecting luggage much quicker and easier for passengers. Furthermore, Air China has improved the efficiency of airport transfers, enhanced check-in procedures and developed several new services for its passengers.

Air France, Airbus
France has secured an agreement in principle with Russian authorities to allow Airbus A380 intercontinental flights over Siberia, after introduction of the type by Air France. French prime minister Francois Fillon raised the issue of trans-Siberian A380 operation when he met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Paris on 27 November. After their talks, Russian transport minister Igor Levitin said the two sides had agreed to resolve the matter on a mutually beneficial basis. In return for letting A380 operators use airspace over Siberia, Russia wants the European Union to allow Ilyushin Il-96-400 freighters to fly in European skies - which would benefit the type's sole operator, Polet.

Air India
Air India expects to join Star Alliance by June 2010, and is in the process of adjusting its computer systems to ensure compatibility with its future network partners.

Air India
Air India and pilots represented by the Indian Commercial Pilots' Assn. reached an agreement Sunday that allowed the carrier to avoid a strike scheduled to begin today.

Air Pacific
Fiji has signed an air services agreement with Hong Kong, which is expected to be a catalyst for boosting tourism and economic development. According to the Hong Kong government news website, Secretary for Transport & Housing Eva Cheng signed an air services agreement with Fijian Foreign Affairs Minister Inoke Kubuabola in Hong Kong today. It said the agreement is the 61st of the kind to provide a legal framework for establishing air links between the two places. Fiji's flag carrier Air Pacific is expected to make its maiden flight to Hong Kong on the 17th of this month with Government officials on board.

AirAsia
AirAsia will add a third daily Kuala Lumpur-Hong Kong flight on Jan. 21.

Allegiant Air
Allegiant Air will relocate 10 routes from Florida's Orlando-Sanford International airport to Orlando International airport between February and March of next year as Orlando International MCO becomes the leisure carrier's eighth base overall and fourth Florida base. However, the airline will maintain existing service to 21 other cities from Orlando-Sanford, which will continue to function as a base as it has since May 2005. Orlando International is roughly 33.6 miles (54.07km) south of Orlando-Sanford, and is closer to the vacation attraction of Walt Disney World than the Orlando-Sanford facility.

Allegiant Air
Allegiant Air, in February, will begin flying from Orlando MCO to Knoxville, Lexington, (both from Feb. 1), Allentown, Greenville-Spartanburg (both Feb. 8), Grand Rapids (Feb. 12), Springfield, Mo., Tri-Cities, Tenn. (both Feb. 15), Huntington (Feb. 16), Youngstown (March 4) and Des Moines (March 5). By the first week of March it will base five MD-80s at MCO, which will become its eighth base.

American Airlines
American Airlines brought forward the start of its daily Chicago O'Hare-Beijing 777 service to April 26 from May 1.

American Airlines, IndiGo
What's crazier than one passenger calling in a bomb threat to delay a flight? Having two different passengers calling in bomb threats to delay two separate flights a world away from each other. The first one involves Claudia De La Rosa who didn't want her boss to miss his American Airlines flight from Miami to Honduras last Wednesday. Instead of having to pay a ticket change fee or deal with a grumpy boss, she decided to email a bomb threat to delay the flight. It worked and the flight was delayed while police searched the aircraft. De La Rosa made it easy for police to track her down, since she sent the incriminating email using her work computer and was quickly arrested. That is going the extra mile for the boss, but I expect she won't have her job for much longer. No word if her boss even made that flight. All the way around the world in Delhi, a man called in a bomb threat last Sunday to delay his relative's flight. Mubarak Ali's relative got to the airport at 9pm, but his 8:55pm IndiGo flight was already pushed back from the gate. Not willing to accept his relative arriving late, Ali called the airline's flight center and reported the plane had a bomb. The IndiGo flight, with 164 passengers, was sent to an isolated area of the airport and was searched. Of course no bomb was found and Ali was tracked down and arrested for making a fake bomb threat. As before, no idea if Ali's relative was able to make it in time to pay for bail.

Avient Aviation, Boeing
Investigators have recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from a Boeing MD-11 freighter that crashed on take-off from Shanghai Pudong airport on 28 November."Both recorders have reached Beijing, and they are being analysed," says an official in the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The exterior of the recorders has some damage, he adds. Cargo carrier Avient Aviation was operating the aircraft, which had seven crew members on board. Three died and the remaining four were hospitalised. It is still not clear if the aircraft, local registration Z-BAV, was airborne before it crashed. The CAAC had previously only said it skidded off the runway. The aircraft was operating a charter freight flight and was carrying consumer products such as electrical goods and clothing, says Avient. Chinese media reports say the aircraft was bound for Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Avient Aviation, Boeing
US National Transportation Safety Board will dispatch a team to assist China's investigation into Saturday's crash of an MD-11F owned by Avient Aviation. The aircraft crashed on takeoff at Shanghai Pudong, killing three crewmembers and injuring four others. Indications are that it may have lifted off before the tail struck the runway. It was built in 1990 and subsequently converted. It was delivered recently to Avient and was en route to Bishkek.

Batavia Air, Boeing
Nine passengers were injured at Bali Denpasar airport when they jumped out of a Batavia Air aircraft after they saw smoke spewing from the engine. The incident happened at 11:45 on 3 December when the Boeing 737-400, registration PK-YVR, was about to move off, says a Batavia Air spokesman.

Blue1
Blue1 will operate a seasonal weekly Kittila-Dusseldorf flight Jan. 14 - March 25.

British Airways
Audio and video air traffic recordings have emerged of the moment last year when a British Airways Boeing 777-200 crashed short of runway 27L at London Heathrow last year. The recording, which has been published on several Internet sites but verified as authentic, depicts the Heathrow runway incursion monitoring and conflict alert system (RIMCAS), and shows flight BA038 approaching the runway, and being cleared to land, before its identifying signal abruptly stops. Accompanying audio shows that the BA038 crew acknowledged the landing clearance, and that air traffic controllers then instructed a taxiing flight, BA229, to wait for the 777 to pass before crossing the runway. But the routine transmissions end, replaced by an orderly emergency response, as the inbound BA crew declares "mayday, mayday" and a tower controller tells BA229 to hold its position. "Aircraft accident, aircraft accident," the controller states. "The position is the threshold runway 27L, aircraft type is a triple-seven." The RIMCAS display shows the 777's final position marker, in white, to the lower right.

Cathay Pacific
Milan will gain a direct flight link with Hong Kong when Cathay Pacific launches a non-stop service on March 28. Flights will operate four times a week (daily except Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) with Boeing 777-300ERs. No other carrier plies between these two cities so Cathay Pacific will have the route all to itself. Flight schedules will be: CX235 departing Hong Kong 0005 and arriving into Milan Malpensa at 0735 CX216 departing Milan Malpensa 1325 and arriving into Hong Hong at 0700 the following day. www.cathaypacific.com

Cathay Pacific
Be honest. Is there a more beautiful urban view on Earth than looking across Victoria Harbour at night towards the vibrant skyline of Hong Kong? Cathay Pacific offers an opportunity for you to share that view, and all Hong Kong has to offer - exquisite dining, eclectic shopping, exciting nightlife, with someone you love starting with a luxurious trip across the Pacific in Business Class for just USD4065.65 per person. The USD4,065.65 fare includes all associated taxes and fees and is only valid from New York JFK to Hong Kong roundtrip. Tickets require a 14-day advance purchase. There is a 3-day minimum and a 30-day maximum stay. Travel outbound from New York JFK must occur by Jan. 1, 2010. Seats may not be available on all flights. Other restrictions may apply.
This fare may be purchased through your local travel agent or by visiting www.cathaypacific.com/us.

Central Holidays
Central Holidays is extending its eight-day air/hotel inclusive City Duet Hot Deals, a series of packages for travel to Rome paired with a choice of Paris, Nice, London or Athens. Priced from USD999 per person, the packages are offered for new bookings made by Jan. 15, 2010, for travel from New York to Europe through March 25, 2010. The City Duet Hot Deals include round-trip international air travel on Alitalia from New York (fuel surcharge is included in price), domestic flights in Europe between Rome and the second city, breakfast daily, eight nights' hotel accommodations (four nights in each city), city tours in Rome and second city (except Nice), hotel taxes and service charges. Clients can choose among Paris, Nice, London or Athens to pair with Rome, or just stay in Rome for another four nights. Rome with Paris is priced from USD999. Rome with Nice is priced from USD1,029. Rome with London is priced from USD1,169. Rome with Athens is priced from USD1,399. Prices listed are per person, based on double occupancy. Founded in 1972, Central Holidays offers travel programs throughout Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Greece and Turkey, plus dozens of Mediterranean and European River Cruise itineraries and worldwide ski programs. For more information, call 800-935-5000 or visit www.centralholidays.com.

China Airlines
Taiwan's China Airlines has started a non-stop service on the Delhi-Rome route, making it the first carrier to operate a non-stop service on the route. Instead of stopping at Bangkok on its three-times-weekly Taipei-Rome service, from 1 December the carrier will stop at Delhi instead, saving one hour of travel time, says CAL. The carrier will operate an Airbus A330-300 aircraft on the route, it says, adding that it is the only carrier to serve Delhi-Rome.

China Cargo Airlines
China Cargo Airlines has applied to start a daily Shanghai-Anchorage-Los Angeles-Vancouver-Shanghai freighter service. The service will begin in February, says the Civil Aviation Administration of China and will use either a Boeing MD-11, Boeing 747 or Boeing 777 freighter, it adds.

China Southern
China Southern Airlines plans to resume its service between the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang and Daegu in South Korea from 3 January. The service was suspended in September due to low demand, says an official from the Guangzhou-based airline. He adds that the service will be operated twice weekly on Boeing MD 90.

Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines announced new service between Orange County and Maui to begin March 7, 2010. In addition, the company increased to daily previously announced service between Orange County and Honolulu, also starting March 7, 2010. The new Orange County-Maui flight will operate four times weekly. In addition, Continental will increase from four times weekly to daily previously announced service between John Wayne Airport and the Honolulu International Airport (HNL). For more information, visit www.continental.com.

Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines is adopting a cashless cabin for onboard purchases (except duty free) from today utilizing hand-held credit card readers on all mainline flights except to/from China. Continental said it is working with China on accepting The China Union Pay card. It expects to go cashless on Continental Express, Continental Connection and Continental Micronesia flights in the 2010 first quarter.

Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines will trim more flights at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in February, eliminating direct service to five more cities. Delta officials confirmed this morning that cities to be dropped starting Feb. 10 include Montreal; Oklahoma City; Des Moines, Iowa; Providence, R.I.; and Tri-Cities, Tenn. The Atlanta-based carrier previously had announced an overall 10 percent cut in departures in early January. Those cuts, and the additional cuts in February, will leave CVG - once Delta's second-largest hub - with just 70 direct destinations and between 180 and 190 total daily departures. That's down from a peak of more than 120 destinations and more than 400 daily departures four years ago.

Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines will introduce nonstop flights connecting Honolulu with Detroit and San Diego, beginning in June. The company said the routes restore flights that were cut from San Diego roughly 20 years ago and from Detroit in 2004. The flight from San Diego will run daily, while the Detroit flight runs three days a week. Delta currently offers passengers 106 weekly flights between Hawaii and nine worldwide destinations. Delta operates its largest gateway to Hawaii at Los Angeles International Airport with an average of five daily round-trip departures to four Hawaiian destinations -- Honolulu, Maui, Lihue and Kona. In addition to new local nonstop service beginning in June 2010, Detroit and San Diego customers will continue to have convenient connecting access to additional Hawaiian destinations via Los Angeles. Delta offers five daily round-trip flights between Detroit and Los Angeles and will add five daily round-trip flights between San Diego and Los Angeles, effective Feb. 11. For more information, visit www.delta.com.

EasyJet
EasyJet has extended its online check-in facility to customers with hold luggage. Previously the low cost carrier had allowed only travellers with hand baggage to check-in online. But the facility has new been extended to include passengers with luggage for the hold. After checking in, such passengers will now be required to leave their luggage at a bag drop desk. The facility will be available at 94 of the airports at which the airline operates, including all major hubs. The remaining 18 airports will follow "over time", easyJet said. www.easyjet.com

Finnair
Finnair is expected to cancel more flights today as ground staff represented by the Finnish Aviation Union continue to walk off the job at Helsinki Vantaa in protest of the outsourcing moves announced Monday. Around 20 flights were cancelled yesterday. Talks between the carrier and the IAU were scheduled for today.

Garuda Indonesia
Garuda Indonesia has temporarily suspended its daily Singapore-Ho Chi Minh City flight due to weak demand. "Garuda would like to relocate its resources and aircraft to other routes that are more profitable," says an airline spokesman, adding that Garuda plans to codeshare with Vietnam Airlines on a non-stop Jakarta-Ho Chi Minh City service. Vietnam Airlines has yet to launch its service, according to Innovata.

Hainan Airlines
China's Hainan Airlines plans to start new passenger services between Shanghai and Brussels and Shanghai and Vienna. The carrier has applied to begin a Shanghai-Brussels service from March 2010, says the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The new route will be operated five times a week, it adds.

Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express, which runs service from London to Heathrow, has made Paddington station the first U.K. railway station to offer Flight Information Display Screens and Common User Self Service Customer Check-In Services. These facilities have been designed to make travelling to the airport more convenient and efficient for customers. Heathrow Express Managing Director Richard Robinson said: People do not always get the opportunity to print their boarding pass before getting to the airport. By introducing this service at Paddington, customers have the opportunity to print their boarding pass and avoid the hassle of queuing for check in at the airport. Customers can then proceed direct to their airline's designated bag-drop if they have hold luggage. Customers can rest assured on the train because they already know where they are sitting on the plane.

Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express, the fastest way from London to Heathrow, has made Paddington station the first UK railway station to offer Flight Information Display Screens and Common User Self Service Customer Check In Services. These facilities have been designed to make travelling to the airport more convenient and efficient for customers.
Heathrow Express Managing Director Richard Robinson stated: At Heathrow Express we never underestimate the stress of travelling and continually strive to enhance our service through leading innovations. People do not always get the opportunity to print their boarding pass before getting to the airport. By introducing this service at Paddington, customers have the opportunity to print their boarding pass and avoid the hassle of queuing for check in at the airport. Customers can then proceed direct to their airline's designated bag-drop if they have hold luggage. Customers can rest assured on the train because they already know where they are sitting on the plane.
Heathrow Express trained staff have been answering the same questions from customers for over ten years: Which terminal? and Where do I check-in? With an average of 40,000 flights a year leaving Heathrow, the launch of these new enhanced information services will help reduce confusion with passengers trying to find their way to check in.
The Customer Check In Services consist of three machines located below the screens and next to the Heathrow Express ticket office. The machines are easy to use with touch screen facilities. Customers can print their boarding pass and view their flight information before they even arrive at the airport, helping them to feel more at ease on their way to Heathrow. The machines are initially available for passengers travelling on four airlines: Delta Air Lines, Finnair, Iberia and United Airlines.
The Flight Information Display Screens show the day's flights, the airlines, the terminal and departure times. They are placed by the Paddington Station Heathrow Express ticket office and half way down platforms 6 and 7, which are also dedicated solely to Heathrow Express. For more information about Heathrow Express visit www.heathrowexpress.com

Iceland Air
Iceland Air released its first 2010 rates. Round-trip fares from Boston (valid Jan. 15 to March 20) to Reykjavik are priced from USD325; Copenhagen from USD419; Stockholm from USD419; Oslo from USD469;London from USD499; Amsterdam from USD509; Frankfurt from USD499; Paris from USD529; Glasgow from USD499 and Manchester from USD499. Round-trip fares from New York (valid Jan. 18 to Feb. 5) to Reykjavik from USD324; Copenhagen from USD419; Stockholm from USD419; Oslo from USD419; London from USD399; Amsterdam from USD509; Frankfurt from USD469; Paris from USD499; Glasgow from USD409 and Manchester from USD409. Round-trip fares from Seattle (valid Jan. 16 to March 20) to Reykjavik from USD399; Copenhagen from USD619; Stockholm from USD579; Oslo from USD539; London from USD559; Amsterdam from USD499; Frankfurt from USD469; Paris from USD499; Glasgow from USD659; and Manchester from USD609. To secure these rates they must be booked by Dec. 11. The above prices are exclusive of applicable taxes and official charges by destination of approximately USD100-USD210 per person, including the Sept. 11th Security Fee of USD2.50 per U.S. enplanement. Call 877-I-FLY-ICE or visit www.icelandair.us.

Jagson Airlines, MDLR Airlines
Indian carrier Jagson Airlines plans to use BAe Avro RJ85 aircraft and is moving into scheduled operations with the help of personnel from rival Indian carrier MDLR Airlines which is grounded. Koustav Dhar has joined Jagson as CEO and was previously chief operating officer of MDLR which has been grounded since 8 October. MDLR had three BAe Avro RJ70s, two are still in India and one is Romania where heavy maintenance on MDLR's aircraft is handled, says Dhar.

Jamaica Air Shuttle
Jamaica Air Shuttle will become the latest carrier to enter the domestic airline services market when it starts commercial passenger service on the Tinson Pen Kingston to Montego Bay route on Friday. The introduction of Jamaica Air Shuttle will come just four months after another carrier -Skylan Airways - began offering domestic airline services between Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston and Montego Bay's Sangster International Airport. However, the development of Jamaica Air Shuttle will mark the reintroduction of regular passenger air services at the Tinson Pen Aerodrome, which has been without such service for the past several years. Jamaica Air Shuttle will operate three 14-seater twin turbo-prop Beechcraft 99 aircraft. The company said in a press release on Friday that "The airline will operate at least 31 'on demand' round-trip services per week between Tinson Pen and Montego Bay in the initial phase of its operations," adding that "Increases in frequency on that route and expansion to Boscobel, Negril and Port Antonio are planned." The flight time from Tinson Pen to Montego Bay in the Beech 99 will be 23 minutes, the company added.

JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airways announced its latest round of expansion plans for its Boston focus city. Effective May 3, 2010, JetBlue will give a substantial boost to its Caribbean flight schedule, offering Boston travelers 25 percent more departures to cities including Aruba; Cancun, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. JetBlue's expanded service to the Caribbean comes on top of its previously announced plans to grow departures from Boston by 30 percent in 2010. With its expanded schedule, JetBlue and its growing base of 1,300 Boston crewmembers will offer travelers more than 70 daily flights to 33 destinations. It will offer three additional weekly flights to Aruba for a total of five, two additional weekly flights to Cancun for a total of three, one additional weekly flight to San Juan for a total of 11 and one additional weekly flight to Montego Bay for a total of two. It will also offer daily flights to Bermuda and to Santo Domingo. For more information, visit www.jetblue.com.

Jetstar
Australia's Jetstar will commence a four-times-weekly non-stop service on the Cairns-Osaka route, after securing an agreement with Cairns International airport. The carrier will operate Airbus A330-200 aircraft on the route, says Jetstar. Qantas' low-cost unit formerly operated non-stop service on the Cairns-Osaka route, but eliminated the service in December 2008 owing to high fuel costs, which made the route unprofitable. The carrier originally wanted to reintroduce the service in December 2009, but negotiations with Cairns Airport and Osaka-Kansai delayed this.

Kayak
Kayak has released its analysis of travel search data for this past Thanksgiving holiday and trends for the upcoming 2010 winter break. A review of Kayak travel search data showed that most people searched for their Thanksgiving flights well in advance. Seventy-seven percent of people on Kayak sites searched for flights at least 30 days before Thanksgiving, and less than 3 percent of people waited until the last week before the holiday. While we received a number of inquiries before Thanksgiving regarding last minute travel, only a small percentage of people waited until the last minute, said Giorgos Zacharia, Kayak's chief scientist. Since most people seem to book far in advance, we began looking at trends for travel this winter, and there seem to be some good deals. Among popular beach destinations, airfare is down 2 percent and hotels are down 19 percent in Hawaii. In Cancun, fares are down 31 percent and hotels are down 13 percent. In ski destinations, fares are down 21 percent to Aspen and hotels are down 35 percent. Fares to London are down 3 percent and hotels are down 28 percent. Fares to Paris are up 1 percent and hotels are down 26 percent. For more information, visit www.kayak.com/trends.

Lufthansa
Lufthansa will charge economy passengers EUR40/USD50 for a second piece of checked luggage on flights between Europe and North America beginning Jan. 1, a spokesperson was quoted as saying in German press reports. The first bag weighing up to 23 kg. and ski transport will remain free. Premium loyalty program members and passengers whose North Atlantic itineraries do not originate in Europe will be exempt.

MDLR Airlines
Grounded Indian carrier MDLR Airlines plans to resume operations later this month. MDLR has been grounded since 8 October but Harsh Vardhan, whose company Starair Consulting is a consultant to the airline, says MDLR is aiming to resume in the third week of December. It will use its BAe Avro RJ70 aircraft, two of which are in India and one is in Romania, he says. The third aircraft is returning to India in a week to 10 days, he adds.

Merpati Nusantara, Fokker
A Fokker 100 operated by Indonesia's Merpati Nusantara made an emergency landing on west Timor after its left main landing failed to deploy properly. The aircraft's 88 passengers and six crew were uninjured, and the aircraft suffered no serious damage, says a Merpati spokesman, referring to last night's incident at El Tari airport which serves the west Timor capital Kupang.

Nigerian Eagle Airlines, Delta Air Lines
Nigerian Eagle Airlines, formerly Virgin Nigeria, signed an MOU with Delta Air Lines. The agreement opens the door for loyalty program linkage and a codeshare on Delta's New York JFK-Dakar-Abuja service. Nigerian Eagle also announced a "network-wide" codeshare and interline deal with Ethiopian Airlines.

Niki
Niki plans to increase capacity by more than 30 percentnext year as it endeavors to fill the void left by SkyEurope Airlines and a restructuring Austrian Airlines. On Feb. 1 the LCC will begin daily flights from Vienna to Belgrade, Sofia and Bucharest Otopeni and on March 26 it will launch daily services to Barcelona and Nice and a six-times-weekly flight to Copenhagen.Its fleet will grow from the current 11 aircraft to 17 A320 family jets and E-190s next year.

Qantas Airways
Australia's Qantas Airways has deployed Required Navigational Performance (RNP) technology on all its Boeing 737-800 aircraft that fly to and from Melbourne, helping it to achieve fuel savings. RNP uses GPS to help pilots optimise flight approach and departure tracks, says Qantas's group executive government and corporate affairs David Epstein

Regional Express, QantasLink
The Queensland state government has decided to award contracts to Regional Express (Rex) and QantasLink for provision of essential air services in the state. Rex says it will be serving routes linking the Queensland city of Townsville to the smaller communities of: Winton, Longreach, Hughenden, Richmond, Julia Creek and Mount Isa, The airline says it plans to launch the services on 1 February 2010 and that it will base a fourth Saab 340 in Townsville. The frequency of the two services is not firmed up yet, says an airline spokeswoman. QantasLink, meanwhile, says it has won a three-year contract to operate flights from Townsville to Cloncurry. It will operate on the Townsville-Cloncurry-Mount Isa route five times a week using mostly Bombardier Q400s, says the carrier.

Ryanair
Ryanair will base a third and fourth 737-800 at Trapani from March and launch new service to Billund, Bratislava, Cagliari, Eindhoven, Genoa, Gothenburg, Ibiza, Baden-Baden, Krakow, Maastricht, Memmingen, Trieste and Valencia. It will increase flights to Brussels South Charleroi, Frankfurt Hahn and Dusseldorf Weeze and plans to operate to 34 destinations from TPS next summer. The LCC also plans to add a third -800 at Bologna and March, supporting a new thrice-weekly service to Malaga and additional frequencies to London Stansted and Ibiza.

Safi Airways
Safi Airways is looking beyond the complicated domestic operating environment and hopes to enhance its international profile with the addition of a 285-seat A340-300 it plans to use on its thrice-weekly Kabul-Frankfurt service. The aircraft, formerly with Air Comet and Virgin Atlantic Airways, will provide a 30 percentcapacity increase on a route Safi used to operate with a 767-200ER. Interline agreements with Emirates and Lufthansa will go into effect this month, offering easier onward connections. Safi's twice-daily Kabul-Dubai service enjoys load factors close to 100 percentand a third daily flight is expected to be added soon. Delhi will join the network in February, followed by Beijing in March or April and an unidentified destination in Saudi Arabia soon thereafter. Fischer told this website that Safi already has secured traffic rights to both China and Saudi Arabia. Frankfurt service will increase to four- or five-times-weekly in the summer. Safi now operates the A340, 767 and two 737-300s. It plans to make a decision about the future of its 737s and their potential replacement in the spring. The infrastructure at Kabul [International] Airport has to be improved urgently. Fuel is twice as expensive as in Dubai and we have to deal with a curfew between 21:00 and 06:00." On the bright side, Safi expects its passenger traffic in 2010 to nearly double to 750,000 from the 400,000 it will carry this year.

South African Express
South African Express has unveiled its rebranded operation at Johannesburg, which includes the adoption of an amended colour scheme and the formal identification 'SA Express'. The regional carrier had stated last week that it would change its branding to help distinguish itself from South African Airways. Its scheme still reflects the colors of the South African flag, but the airline is aiming to increase awareness of its operation in domestic and regional markets.

Southwest Airlines, FedEx
Planes belonging to Southwest Airlines Co. and FedEx Corp. suffered minor damage when they bumped wings while on the ground in Salt Lake City. A spokesman for Dallas-based Southwest said the airline's jet was beginning to pull back from the gate when it was clipped by a FedEx cargo plane Sunday morning. Paul Flaningan said Monday no passengers were hurt, and they were put on another plane for the trip to Albuquerque. The plane was fixed and put back in duty, he said. He says, "The pilots were about to fire up the engines ... when they felt a jolt." A spokesman for Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx said the FedEx plane was taxiing out to the runway when the accident occurred. Jim McCluskey said the cargo plane suffered "minimal" damage and was being repaired. Salt Lake City International Airport spokeswoman Barbara Gann said collisions between planes near the gate are unusual.

Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International announces today new long-haul service between San Francisco and Zurich six times a week offering Bay Area passengers the opportunity to enjoy Swiss hospitality and feel right at home when flying to Switzerland and beyond to any of its 76 worldwide destinations. The new service will begin on June 2, 2010 with an Airbus 340-300 aircraft. The schedule is as follows:
San Francisco-Zurich (SFO-ZRH) LX 39 dep. 7:25 p.m. arr 3:40 p.m.+
Zurich-San Francisco (ZRH-SFO) LX 38 dep. 1:15 p.m. arr 4:30 p.m.
The new service includes new Swiss Business and offers passengers innovative air seat cushions that can be individually adjusted for comfort levels. The new seat is fully reclinable, with a seat pitch of 45", seat length of 79" and a seat width of 20.5".

Thai Airways, Boeing
Thai Airways International has set financial targets for next year and is hoping that improvements to its Boeing 747s will help it capture market share. The airline board has approved a plan to refurbish 12 of the Star Alliance carrier's Boeing 747s and this involves refurbishing the seats and providing inflight entertainment systems, says Thai. These aircraft are mostly used on routes to Europe. Thai wants to be one of the top three carriers in Asia, it says. The national carrier has posted losses in recent times but is now embarking on a financial turnaround plan led by its new president Piyasvasti Amranand. For 2010, the goal is to achieve 21 percent increase in revenues to 193 billion baht (USD5.8 billion), a 10.7 percent rise in ASKs and a 13.2 percent increase in RPKs, it says.

Trafalgar Tours
Trafalgar Tours is offering Last Minute Deals with reduced prices on select Europe and North America packages. Departures are all definite. Bookings must be made by Dec. 15 using the promo code to receive the savings. Promo Code LMD112, Tour Code WPWO, Spanish Wonder, (Jan. 1) reduced from USD1,399 to USD1,259. Promo Code LMD113, Tour Code WHIL, European Highlights Jan. 1 reduced from USD1,350 to USD1,215. Promo Code LMD114, Tour Code WRIH, Irish Highlights Jan. 2 reduced from USD1,050 to USD945. Promo Code LMD115, Tour Code WTDI, Italian Discovery Jan. 7 reduced from USD1,725 to USD1,549. Promo Code LMD116, Tour Code WEOX, Imperial Europe Jan. 14 reduced from USD1,499 to USD1,349. Promo Code LMD117, Tour Code WSMP, Spain, Morocco & Portugal Jan. 15 reduced from USD2,175 to USD1,949. Promo Code LMDUSA112, Tour Code DCLN, The Californian Dec. 19 reduced from USD1,725 to USD1,555. Promo Code LMDUSA113, Tour Code DWED, Western Discoverer Dec. 19 reduced from USD2,499 to USD2,249. For more information and reservations, call 800-854-0103 or visit www.trafalgartours.com.

Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines
European Commission released its updated list of airlines banned from EU airspace and cited progress with carriers from Ukraine and Angola. From the former, Motor Sich was removed from the list entirely and Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines now is allowed to operate into the EU with one aircraft while TAAG Angola Airlines was permitted to increase the number of planes it flies to Portugal owing to "significant progress" made by the carrier and civil aviation authority "to resolve progressively any safety deficiencies," the EC said. Conversely, all airlines from Djibouti, Republic of Congo and Sao Tome and Principe are newly banned, along with Air Koryo, Air West, Ariana Afghan Airlines, Siem Reap Airways and Silverback Cargo Freighters.

US Airways
US Airways plans to introduce daily nonstop flights from its Charlotte hub to Rome beginning 13 May. The carrier is operating Airbus A330-300s on the year-round flights, featuring 29 seats in its Envoy business class and 259 in the main cabin. US Airways recently announced a network realignment that includes placing more emphasis on its Phoenix, Charlotte and Philadelphia hubs and its focus city of Washington, DC. The carrier next year is cutting five transatlantic markets from its Philadelphia hub - Birmingham, London Gatwick, Milan, Shannon and Stockholm.

US Airways
US Airways will begin daily, year-round nonstop service to Rome from Charlotte, N.C., on May 13, 2010. The new flight will complement US Airways daily nonstop service to Rome from Philadelphia, the airline's international gateway. It will be operated with Airbus A330-300 aircraft with seating for 29 in Envoy, US Airways trans-Atlantic business class, and 259 in the main cabin. US Airways currently offers nonstop service from its Charlotte hub to London's Gatwick Airport, Frankfurt International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and also code shares with Star Alliance carrier Lufthansa on Munich service from Charlotte. On Dec. 15, the airline will begin its first-ever service to South America from Charlotte with daily nonstop flights to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Customers may book their flight beginning Dec. 12. For more information, visit www.usairways.com.

V Australia, Virgin Blue
V Australia launched twice-weekly Melbourne-Los Angeles service on Sunday and will begin weekly MEL-Phuket on Dec. 3 aboard a 777-300.

Wizz Air
Wizz Air will begin serving Latvia next spring with flights from Riga to London Luton (thrice-weekly), Oslo Torp (thrice-weekly) and Turku (twice-weekly) launching on March 28. Twice-weekly Prague-Bari and Budapest-Turku flights will begin at the same time.

Yangtze River Express
Chinese cargo carrier Yangtze River Express plans to start a daily cargo service between Xiamen and Osaka this month. It will operate a Boeing 737 freighter on the route, says the Civil Aviation Administration of China, which has to approve the service. Yangtze will compete on the route with Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways and China Cargo, according to Innovata.

ZZ AirGuide 091216

Copyright © 2009 AirGuide / Pyramid Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.