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Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010
Cathay Pacific is close to settling a pay deal with its pilots after the union representing their interests reached a tentative deal with the airline. The news will be welcomed by passengers wishing to travel over Christmas and the New Year as possible industrial action has all but been avoided.
Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association head, John Findlay, confirmed that a deal had been reached which would now be put to the vote. Although he could not say when the results of the ballot would be in he pointed out that nobody wanted the issue hanging around forever. A vote will therefore probably take place some time in the next few weeks, he added.
According to a Cathay Pacific spokeswoman, talks between the carrier and union representatives had been courteous and professional. She added that although there had been differences in opinion; the end result was that there was a deal on the table which was agreeable to both parties.
Local media have already suggested that the agreement reached is below the amount originally called for by the airline’s pilots. Both the union and Cathay Pacific have refused to give out any information on the details of the deal.
According to sources, the pilots had originally asked for a salary increase of 30 per cent to be delivered over the coming four years. If members of the union decide to reject the proposed pay offer, then flights could be disrupted as pilots decide that they will only man the services they have already been scheduled to fly.
Tags: airline, cathay pacific, Christmas, passengers, pay deal, pilots, union
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Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
As of Thursday, passengers flying on a long haul journey with British Airways will be charged an additional surcharge of £10 for each sector of travel as the price of jet fuel rises. The charge will not apply to those travelling on short haul journeys, but will mean the price of many return journeys with the carrier will go up by £20.
BA has not introduced a rise in fuel surcharges since 2008. Since that time, the airline has actually made two reductions. Depending on the class of travel a passenger chooses to fly and the destination of the aircraft, the fuel surcharge on a long haul ticket will now be somewhere between £63 and £108.
Airlines first began introducing jet fuel surcharges to the price of their tickets as a way of coping with the fluctuating price of oil. Since it became common practice, the fuel charge has become a substantial portion of the ticket price for many carriers.
The International Air Transport Association said this week that a major challenge next year for all airlines was going to be how to manage the rising cost of jet fuel. The organisation predicts that the average price of a barrel of oil will go up from $79 to $84. Already in the last month airlines have seen the cost of their fuel go up by just under 5 per cent.
Jet fuel is now 17.6 per cent more expensive than it was at this time last year. Since August a barrel of oil has increased in price from $72 to around $90.
Tags: aircraft, BA, British Airways, fuel, fuel surcharge, oil, passenger, ticket price
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Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
Emirates, Dubai’s flag carrier, has announced it intends to increase services to Switzerland by adding Geneva to its roster of European destinations. As of 1 June next year, passengers will be able to fly non-stop between the two cities. Emirates has been flying services to Zurich since 1992 and the latest route will be the carrier’s 26th to Europe.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, the airline’s chairman and CEO said adding the route to Emirate’s list of destinations was in response, not only to demand from business customers working in the financial sector, but also those wishing to take advantage of Switzerland as a holiday destination in the winter and the summer.
As well as being one of the world’s premier centres for the banking industry, Geneva is the home to the United Nations and a range of non-governmental and governmental organisations including the World Health- and World Trade Organisations.
As of next summer passengers will be able to catch a flight departing Geneva at 3.40 in the afternoon arriving in Dubai at a minute to midnight. Coming from the Emirate, passengers will be able to board a flight which departs at 08.55am and touch down in Geneva at 2.10pm.
As well as being served world class cuisine, customers will have the opportunity to enjoy Emirates’ award winning in-flight entertainment system which features music, television shows and films from around the globe. Emirates also expects to utilise its full capacity for cargo; flying goods such as electronics, relief shipments and fashion items.
Tags: airline, Dubai, Emirates, Geneva, holiday, United Nations
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Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
OpenSkies, the luxury arm of British airways based out of Paris, claims when the market is right it would like to grow its fleet. Bloomberg has reported that the carrier currently has four Boeing 757s, each with the capacity for 84 passengers travelling in either flat beds or business berths. The airline currently offers two daily New York flights as well as a service to Washington. A third route is planned for next year.
Currently, destinations being considered by the carrier include Boston, Montreal, Milan and Geneva. There is also talk of adding a service to Dubai. Dale Moss, the airline’s chief executive, said he would be keen to introduce up to 20 more aircraft to the fleet, but pointed out that he was in no hurry and prepared to wait until premium travel hit the levels it was at before the global banking crisis.
According to Moss, OpenSkies is responsible for around 30 per cent of all the first- and business-class travel between Paris and New York. He said that the airline was now regularly flying at 80 per cent capacity and aimed to increase this through BA’s affiliations with US carrier American Airlines and Spanish based Iberia.
Analyst Doug McNeill, based at London’s Charles Stanley Securities, said the BA upper-class model was full of potential. He added that it was worth it for BA to bet on the venture because if it all went wrong, the British flag carrier could afford to pay the bill.
OpenSkies’ main competitor, Air France, has just announced that it will be placing an Airbus A380 on it Washington route in the middle of next year.
Tags: air france, airline, american airlines, BA, boeing, British Airways, Iberia, OpenSkies
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Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
Loss-making Spanish airline Spanair has confirmed that it is seeking investment from one or more of its partners in the Star Alliance in return for a stake in the Barcelona based carrier. The airline recently angered other European budget competitors after it received investment from the regional government of Catalonia.
Last month, Spanair received €10 million from a company controlled by the Catalonian government. This month, the airline received a similar injection of €20 million from another company also run by the government. According to the European Low Fares Airline Association such payments are a breach of competition regulations as well as the rules surrounding the donation of government aid.
The association has asked the European Commission to launch an investigation into the subsidies. Spanair is expected to announce a loss of €10 million for the second half of this year. For the same period a year earlier it announced losses of €60 million. So far, the airline and the Catalonian government have not commented on the illegal investment allegations.
Last Year, Scandinavian giant SAS sold Spanair to Catalan investment groups for €1. The regional government holds a 28 per cent stake and SAS retained 11.9 per cent of the carrier. According to a spokesman for Spanair, the airline is unlikely to declare a profit before 2012. Among the Star Alliance members being approached for investment are US carrier Continental Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, German giant Deutsche Lufthansa and Columbian based Avianca.
Spanair currently flies to 18 domestic destinations and 59 international airports.
Tags: airline, Avianca., Continental Airlines, Deutsche Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Spanair, Star Alliance, Turkish Airlines
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Thursday, November 11th, 2010
John Borghetti, boss of Australian budget airline Virgin Blue, plans to use the contacts he made while overseeing sponsorship of sporting events at Qantas to do the same at his new home. According to reports, Mr Borghetti wants to challenge his former employee at the Australian Tennis Open, NFL fixtures and at Australian soccer stadiums.
The move is all part of a raft of changes Mr Borghetti has implemented at Virgin since he took the top job earlier in the year. The strategy is to wrestle more of the business market away from Qantas, which currently dominates the sector.
As well as attracting new customers in the sporting arena, Mr Borghetti is refitting Virgin’s fleet of Boeing 737s with business class seats, introducing a new menu and giving new uniforms to the airline’s cabin crew. Although he has said Virgin will retain its roots in providing customers with cheap travel, Mr Borghetti claims there is a huge opportunity to wrestle premium class travellers from arch rivals Qantas.
The Virgin boss has also announced retraining programs for ground staff and cabin crew to equip them with the skills needed to offer a better class of service to the carrier’s customers.
Soon after joining the airline, Mr Borghetti announced a massive drop in profit forecasts for the year. Ending 30 June, the carrier expected to announce profits of $20 million, rather than a previous forecast of $80 million. Mr Borghetti has also been entering into talks with a number of other carriers to join forces on international services.
Tags: boeing, cabin crew, cheap travel, John Borghetti, NFL, Qantas, soccer, sports, Virgin Blue
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Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
The US Department of Justice has fined hotel group Hilton Worldwide $50,000 for not providing the necessary requirements in its establishments for guests with disabilities. The hotel giant has also agreed to make some 900 hotels across the US compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. Hilton will now review facilities in all hotels built after 26 January, 1993, in order to bring them into line with regulations.
Head of the civil rights division of the Justice Department, Thomas Perez, said a major chain like Hilton should be providing guests with any amenities they require. He added that this included giving disabled guests who have made a room reservation the guarantee that they will be given access to that room.
The hotel group has been accused of not having enough rooms which cater to those with disabilities and also of failing to provide rooms with adequate disabled access, even after such rooms have been reserved. Guests wishing to reserve accessible rooms have also found themselves having problems doing so when booking over the telephone or online.
Hilton has said it will make sure that accessible rooms have amenities such as roll in showers. It will also provide facilities for those who are hearing impaired. The hotelier has also agreed to make sure that hotels which are franchised comply with the Disabilities Act when the agreements come up for renewal.
President and chief executive officer of Hilton Worldwide, Christopher Nassetta, said the group was pleased to be able to provide even better access and facilities for its disabled guests.
Tags: Christopher Nassetta, civil rights, Department of Justice, disabled, guests, hilton, Hilton Worldwide, hotels
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Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
Budget car hire brand Dollar Thrifty says that because of better performance in the vehicle rental market, it expects revenues in the fourth quarter to be up by between two and four per cent. A spokesman for the company said that even though the travel market will probably come back at a slow pace, it will remain positive for some time to come.
Dollar Thrifty’s business model helped it post a profit in 2009 as cheaper car rentals became more attractive to leisure and business travellers. The market swing to budget rentals saw Dollar Thrifty the subject of a bidding war between Hertz and Avis this year. Hertz has since pulled out of the race after Dollar Thrifty shareholders voted to block a takeover already approved by its board.
Hertz said it would now be concentrating on growing its own budget brand, Advantage. According to executives at the company, Advantage is now a direct challenge to Dollar Thrifty in 62 per cent of the markets it currently operates in. This is compared to 54 per cent last year.
Although Dollar Thrifty is not saying much about the progress of merger talks with Avis, it has said that a deal has not yet been agreed and the pair are working on getting approval from anti-trust regulators first.
The vehicle rental industry has been helped as a whole by lower fleet costs and a strong second-hand car market. As with the hotel business and airline industry, rental firms are hoping that improving fundamentals will continue to improve.
Tags: Advantage, airline, Avis, car hire, dollar thrifty, Hertz, hotels, travel
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Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
Virgin is playing down rumours that it plans to take on Eurostar by operating high speed trains from London to cities on the continent. The suggestion that it might be, allegedly came from Eurotunnel last week. However, a spokesman for Virgin has denied that there is any interest in expansion to Europe as the market is not yet large enough to sustain both Eurostar and the Virgin brand.
The spokesman added that the investment needed to operate such a service would involve purchasing new rolling stock which complied with rules stipulated by the Channel Tunnel’s safety committee; setting up the infrastructure to deal with immigration and employing staff who spoke a number of languages.
He added that although Virgin never liked to say never; at the moment such an operation was not a priority. Deutsch Bahn, Germany’s state railway, has said it plans to start competing with Eurostar by 2013; running services between London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
In response to Deutsche Bahn’s plans, Eurostar has announced a deal for 10 brand new trains from Siemens, the German manufacturer. It has also committed to a complete overhaul of its current rolling stock.
French manufacturer Alstom built the trains Eurostar is currently running under the channel. It lost out in the bidding process to rivals Siemens and is claiming the German trains do not meet safety standards set out for the Channel Tunnel. Alstom has approached the High Court over the matter, but Eurostar is claiming the Siemens trains meet all European safety requirements.
Tags: Alstom, Eurostar, Eurotunnel, Geutsche Bahn, High Court, Siemens, Virgin
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Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
Argentina’s flag-carrier, Aerolineas Argentinas, is to become a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. The announcement was made on Tuesday, and the airline, when fully incorporated, will become the alliance’s first South American member. Full integration is expected to be completed by 2012. Strong performance by Latin American carriers has meant SkyTeam has been looking to expand its reach into the territory.
SkyTeam is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary. It was established in 2000 by Korean Air, Delta Airlines, Air France and Aeromexico. The incorporation of Aerolineas Argentinas into the group will now give customers flying under the SkyTeam banner better access to South American destinations.
Since 2009, Aerolineas Argentinas has been restructuring in order to better compete in the American market. A five-year plan is in place to look at improving its business model. The carrier is currently concentrating on rationalizing and renewing its fleet; improving its product and working out which international and regional destinations would be viable additions to its schedule.
The SkyTeam alliance is continuing to grow. It is actively investigating other potential members from South America, South East Asia and the Indian subcontinent. In 2011, China Airlines and China Eastern are due to become SkyTeam members. Earlier this year, TAROM and Vietnam Airlines were welcomed into the fold.
Currently, the 385 million passengers flying with SkyTeam members every year benefit from staying connected to nearly 900 destinations in 169 countries. Every day, more than 12,500 flights take off and land throughout the SkyTeam global network.
Tags: Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, air france, airline, China Airlines, China Eastern, delta airlines, Korean Air, SkyTeam, Vietnam Airlines
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