Archive for April, 2012
Monday, April 16th, 2012
Virgin Atlantic is to challenge a decision made by the European Union to allow British Airways owner International Airlines Group to take control of loss maker Bmi. Lufthansa recently agreed to hand Bmi over to IAG in a deal worth £172.5 million. The sale has angered rival airline Virgin Atlantic which claims that the takeover will seriously damage competition in the industry.
IAG is interested in the acquisition of Bmi because it will mean the group will be able to increase its dominance at Heathrow, Europe’s busiest hub. In a statement, Sir Richard Branson’s airline said it was concerned that the Commission had not fully appreciated the seriousness of the decision to allow the sale.
The statement said that competition at Heathrow would be harmed because British Airways will be handed almost complete domination at the hub which would mean an end of consumer choice. Virgin is also saying that the EU appears to have ignored the advice of business groups, politicians and other airlines.
IAG was created in 2011 after British Airways joined forces with Spanish flag carrier Iberia. Since then chief executive Willie Walsh has made no secret of the fact he is interested in consolidation through partnerships or takeovers.
Although Walsh said he would try to protect as many jobs as possible after the acquisition of Bmi, BA has admitted that there are likely to be around 1,200 redundancies.
Tags: airline, British Airways, Heathrow, IAG, Lufthansa, virgin atlantic
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Friday, April 13th, 2012
A new survey has revealed that even though they are our closest neighbours, our allies, and linked to us by a tunnel under the channel, Brits rate the French as the rudest nation on earth. The poll was conducted by Skayscanner, the price comparison site, and found that 19 per cent of respondents considered the inhabitants of France to be the most curt and abrupt.
However, the French were closely followed by the Russians. Their perceived level of rudeness garnered them 17 per cent of the vote. One of the reasons given for the Russians coming so high in the poll is the fact that increasing affluence in the country means that compared to just two decades ago far more Russians are travelling beyond their own border.
This means it has become more likely for Brits to come into contact with Russians while they are travelling. Russian Market Manager for Skyscanner Tatiana Danilover explained that what the British perceive to be rudeness is actually more to do with a difference in language and culture.
She said that, when talking, Russians tend to be more direct and that sometimes this can be misconstrued as rudeness. She added that the Russian language was not quite as polite as English and can sound quite abrupt.
She went on to say that most Russians consider Brits to be extremely polite because of the way they speak. Coming in fourth in the poll were the Germans. Surprisingly, third place went to the Brits with 10 per cent of us feeling that we are often poorly behaved and boorish.
Tags: culture, language, price comparison, Skyscanner
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Thursday, April 12th, 2012
Younger children will not be allowed on the upper deck of Malaysia Airlines’ Airbus A380s, the carrier has confirmed. In a bid to allow adults a more peaceful journey on long-haul flights the airline has said that the upper deck of its superjumbos will be reserved for those who are more than 12-years-old.
Although the decision may anger some families it is likely to be welcomed by adults who do not want to spend hours listening to screaming children. In a Tweet, Tengku Azmil, chief executive of Malaysia Airlines, explained that the carrier had received a large number of complaints from adults saying that they had paid for expensive tickets only to be kept awake by crying children.
The airline also pointed out that the economy section on the lower-deck of its A380s will be well equipped for families. Malaysia’s first Airbus A380 service will be between London and Kuala Lumpur. In September it will launch a second service between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney.
Malaysia Airlines has already made it practically impossible for infants to get into first class cabins by redesigning the space to be unable to accommodate carry cots. Some say that the airline is being discriminatory but others have pointed out that if there are quiet carriages on trains there should also be quiet zones on planes.
WeJustGotBack.com’s Suzanne Rowan Kelleher said she would be a little surprised if parents, when travelling without their younger children, didn’t make a beeline for the child free section of the superjumbos.
Tags: A380, airbus, airline, Malaysia Airlines, Tenku Azmil
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Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
Ministers are considering increasing the number of night flights allowed in and out of Heathrow Airport after Emirates argued that it would be a good way to increase capacity at the already over-stretched hub.
Heathrow has very strict rules about airlines landing and taking off at night because of noise. Currently just 16 slots are available with the majority of services coming and going between 04.15 and 06.00. Emirates claims that by landing its Airbus A380s at a steeper angle than normal the amount of noise from the jets is greatly reduced.
The airline would like to receive permission to fly into Heathrow until 01.00 and to be able to resume services after 04.00. Emirates said that this would allow it to increase the number of services between Dubai and London to seven per day.
Opponents of the idea have pointed out that 500,000 people living in the vicinity of the airport would be affected by an increase in the number of aircraft operating at Heathrow during the night. Campaigners claim that a change in landing and take-off angles will make little or no difference to noise volumes.
Tim Clark, president of Emirates, said that if it could be proven that the new manoeuvre reduces noise pollution then increasing the number of night flights at constrained hubs would be a good way of tackling the problem of restrictions on capacity. Emirates claims that steeper descents reduce engine noise by as much as 20 per cent.
Tags: airbus, airlines, airport, Emirates, Heathrow, Tim Clark
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Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
A threat by pilots of Spanish carrier Iberia to carry out 30 one-day strikes has already resulted in 150 flights being grounded. The first of the walk-outs took place on Monday causing frustration for passengers. Iberia estimates the industrial action could cost around €3 million per day.
The pilots union SEPLA has been angered by Iberia’s plans to establish a revenue making, budget offshoot to be known as Iberia Express. It claims that the establishment of the airline will be damaging to jobs and conditions at the full-service carrier.
SEPLA claims that it is still keen to have further talks with Iberia and that it has already offered solutions which will save the airline as much as €90 million a year. A spokeswoman for the union said the savings were three times what Iberia Express would be capable of generating.
On Monday, Iberia’s web page showed cancelations for more than 150 services to Latin America, Europe and destinations within Spain. The union said that strikes could now take place every Monday and Friday. The pilots claim that the establishment of a low-cost sister airline contravenes agreements which were made when British Airways and Iberia merged to create International Airlines Group.
Iberia and IAG claim that setting up the budget offshoot will improve the profitability of Iberia which is currently a loss-maker. As European airlines are struggling with a fragile economy and soaring fuel prices, SEPLA is worried that the moves being made by parent IAG are to enhance BA’s presence at the expense of the Spanish carrier.
Tags: British Airways, IAG, Iberia, Iberia Express, pilots, SEPLA
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Monday, April 9th, 2012
Families jetting off on holiday in the summer are being advised to be wary of the extras they are likely to have to pay if travelling abroad with a budget airline. Later this year, it will be illegal for carriers to make an additional charge to customers booking tickets with a debit card or a credit card. However, at the moment it is not and Ryanair has pushed its booking fee up from £5 last year to £6 this year.
BMI Baby has also increased its booking fee by 50p to £3.50. Easyjet has renamed its booking fee an administration fee and has hiked the cost to £9 from £5.50 for every booking made.
Another area in which the airlines pull in extra cash from passengers is luggage. The cost of taking a suitcase weighing 20kg with Ryanair has increased from £30 to £40, a hike of 33 per cent. Easyjet has also pushed up the price of a 20kg bag by 31 per cent to £14.50 from £11.
The largest increase in baggage charges has come from Aer Lingus. It now costs £18 to travel with a 20kg suitcase compared to £12 which represents a 50 per cent rise in price. The maximum charge of putting luggage in the hold of a Jet2 plane has been pushed up to £24.99 from £15.99.
Travelsupermarket’s Bob Atkinson said it was vital that families understood that airlines were looking to get every penny out of the customers who choose to fly with them and that the add-ons can significantly increase the price of a holiday.
Tags: aer lingus, airline, baggage charges, Bmi Baby, easyjet, holiday, jet2, Ryanair
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Friday, April 6th, 2012
The French Prime Minister has asked the European Commission to resolve a global fight over airline carbon emissions. Francois Fillon wants to see a resolution over the Emissions Trading Scheme that has angered countries including China, India and the United State and which has set off threats of a trade war.
In a letter to Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President, Mr Fillon said all efforts are needed to find an acceptable solution. Mr Barroso has since replied by saying that a global deal was being sought which will justify a modification to EU legislation.
He said that the EU was working closely with its international partners to come to an agreement with the International Civil Aviation Organisation. At present the law, which came into effect on 1 January this year, requires that all airlines flying in and out of a European airport pay a tax on their carbon emissions as a way of combating climate change.
However, the international community has been angered over the move and China has already said it has cancelled orders with European planemaker Airbus to the tune of $14 billion. Companies in France have also warned that the situation could cost as many as 2,000 jobs.
The ICAO is now working hard to find a resolution, but environmental groups are doubtful that a viable resolution will be found. There is currently a small window for a solution as no airlines will receive a bill until emissions are calculated next year.
Tags: airlines, emissions trading scheme, European Commission, Francois Fillon
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Thursday, April 5th, 2012
Job cuts in the UK Border Agency could cause problems at airports over the busy Easter weekend as too few immigration officers are available to deal with the number of people flying in. Airlines have warned the Home Secretary that Heathrow could become swamped and the unions have expressed fears that passengers could end up waiting hours to have their passports checked.
It is unlikely that the problems will only affect incoming travellers. If the UK Border Agency becomes swamped then passengers will have to remain on planes until there is enough room to process them. This means that the window of time in which the airlines have to prepare for scheduled departures will become smaller which will inevitably lead to delays.
The unions are claiming that in order to prepare for the Easter deluge, the UK Border Agency has resorted to asking former workers and retired staff to help out. However, the Home Office has said that this is not the case.
According to an industry insider, some automatic scanning gates are being left unused because there simply isn’t the manpower to operate them. He added that immigration officers were not deployed to match airline landing schedules but after arrivals has filled up.
Because the number of passengers arriving at airports is on the increase, and the number of immigration officers is being cut, it stands to reason that queues are likely to continue to get longer, according to a spokesman for Virgin Atlantic.
Tags: airlines, airports, Easter, Heathrow, Home Office, UK Border Agency, virgin atlantic
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Wednesday, April 4th, 2012
A group of campaigners opposed to the government’s decision to give the go ahead to a high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham is now proposing to take its battle to the courts.
The HS2 Action Alliance says it will seek two judicial reviews into how the authorities handled the consultation on the scheme. It claims that the government failed to carry out a proper assessment of compensation and also failed to assess the environmental impact adequately.
The alliance is being backed by 70 opposition groups and is maintaining that the proper processes were not adhered to in the approval of the project. The group claims that the decision to approve HS2 was made without proper justification by ministers who were ignoring their own criteria and who were also relying on undisclosed material.
The government is claiming that it got the balance right and green-lit the project in January. Justine Greening, the transport secretary, maintains that more trains and a faster travel time between London and the Midlands will create growth, jobs and prosperity. The first phase of HS2 is expected to be up and running by 2025.
The line is then supposed to carry on to the cities of Leeds and Manchester, and consultation on this phase of the scheme is due to begin in two years time. Meanwhile the government has been given 21 days in which to respond to the alliance’s legal claims. If it fails to do so then a judge will take over the matter and decide whether the HS2 Action Alliance has a solid legal case.
Tags: high speed rail, HS2, HS2 Action Alliance, Justine Greening
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Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012
Embattle Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines has promised to start paying members of its staff and crew wages again after the tax authorities agree to grant access to bank accounts. The airline’s boss, Vijay Mallya, said junior staff would be receiving pay on Wednesday this week, and engineers and pilots would start to be paid as of the beginning of next week.
Bank accounts have been frozen since February because Kingfisher was unable to pay its taxes. The cash crisis has caused the airline to close down all of its international operations and reduce flights on short-haul routes.
Mr Mallia has sent a communiqué to all of the carrier’s staff informing them that Kingfisher has paid 640 million rupees to the tax department and that as a result the bank accounts had been reopened. He added that his priority was to see that all staff were paid the long overdue wages that they are owed.
He confirmed that junior members of staff would receive their money before Easter, meaning Wednesday 4 April, and all pilots and engineering staff would have their money by Monday or Tuesday of next week.
It has been a struggle for Kingfisher to maintain daily operations since its funds were cut off and lenders refused to hand over any more cash. The airline, which was set up in 2005, has never turned a profit and currently owes significant sums to staff, airports, banks and the tax authorities.
Tags: airline, airports, banks, kingfisher airlines, taxes, Vijay Mallya
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