Airports & Networks

Qatar Airways has launched scheduled flights to the southern Iranian city of Shiraz, marking the first of three route start-ups this month.

Air Arabia Egypt is to commence direct services to the cities of Riyadh and Dammam, KSA, from the carrier's main hub in Burj Al Arab International Airport, Alexandria.

Cathay Pacific Airways has introduced a Hong Kong to Abu Dhabi four times weekly service.

Spanish national carrier Iberia has raised capacity on its routes between Spain and Russia for the summer period. It resumed a twice-weekly Airbus

Malaysia Airlines is set to become a full member of the oneworld global airline alliance during the second half of 2012 after the Chief Executives of

Orlando-based SST Air is to launch the first direct flights between Orlando Sanford International Airport and the Brazilian cities of Sao Paulo and

UK regional carrier Eastern Airways has today expanded its network from it Dijon base with a new three times weekly summer service to Southampton, its

Asiana Airlines began codeshare flights with EVA Airlines on Seoul Incheon-Taipei service June 1. Asiana has nine weekly flights to Taipei while EVA has seven; these will now operate as codeshare flights. AnadoluJet launched twice-weekly Ankara-Batumi service Astra Airlines will operate nine-times-weekly Boeing 737-800 Thessaloniki-Moscow Domodedovo service this summer.

ARINC announced SITA signed X-Sight Systems won SNC-Lavalin was awarded

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol will maintain Frontier Airlines deployed Ohrid St. Paul the Apostle Airport said

United Continental Holdings started unveiling changes at Chicago O'Hare to "provide a more consistent travel experience for customers on United Airlines and Continental Airlines." The changes, which include more self-service capabilities, new "Premier Access" airport services, new Mileage Plus and OnePass features and benefits, a new onboard menu, aligned policies/procedures and new airport signage, will be introduced at airports across the carriers' global network over the next several months.

European Commission launched two in-depth investigations under EU state aid rules into a Romanian support scheme for investments in regional airports. The EC is seeking to determine whether certain rebates and discounts granted by the airport at Timisoara to some airlines, mainly Wizz Air, distort competition.

Houston Airport System and United Continental Holdings said construction on the first phase of a $1 billion redevelopment project at Houston Intercontinental will start by the end of 2011. Phase One, slated to cost $161 million, involves building a Terminal B south concourse for domestic regional jet operations. In addition, UCH said it extended its lease on IAH's Terminal C to 2027.

Delta Air Lines and US Airways last month unveiled a revamped New York LaGuardia/Washington National slot swap agreement that the carriers believe will mollify US Dept. of Transportation objections to their original proposal put forward in 2009. The new plan was filed with the department.

ICAO said it agreed with industry participants at its first Global Runway Safety Symposium last month on a number of measures intended to reduce runway-related accidents. The UN body's conference brought together a wide range of ICAO member states and industry participants to tackle what it called "the largest single cause of aviation accidents and fatalities."

A UK House of Commons report concluded that London Heathrow was not prepared to cope with last December’s snow and its owner, BAA, failed to invest in sufficient snow equipment despite the fact that winter 2010-11 was the UK’s third coldest and severest winter in succession. The report, prepared by the Transport Select Committee, analyzed the impact of the winter weather in December 2010. Several airports in the country closed for a time following the snowfall, but the “most significant” was the closure of LHR Dec. 18-20.

A European Commission study of the EU’s slot regulations asserts that reviewing rules on allocating slots for landing and takeoff at the EU’s busiest airports could result in more than €5 billion ($7.14 billion) in economic benefits by 2025. The EC in the fall will present a policy package on airports, including a review of the current slot rules.

The Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair have thrown their support behind the building of a third runway at Hong Kong International, saying that looming capacity constraints must be addressed.

Abu Dhabi International Airport is now connected again to its car parks.

EgyptAir said in Singapore today that its operations are back to normal but that the decision to move the 67th AGM from Cairo to Singapore was the right one and based on IATA's full understanding of the situation and EgyptAir's need to have full concentration on restoring operations

Fujairah International Airport has announced that it has selected ALES for the supply of Air Traffic Control System and ERA for the Wide Area Multilateration radar. The announcement was made at the Airport Show in Dubai this week.

Royal Jordanian yesterday inaugurated its direct, regular service between Amman and Berlin, thus introducing a third route between Jordan and Germany.

Emirates is hoping to make Dubai more affordable than ever this summer after announcing its global 'Summer Smiles' campaign. Running until 30th September, the promotion coincides with Dubai's 'Global Kids Go Free in Dubai' campaign and Dubai Summer Surprises, when Dubai stores have summer sales.

Continental Airlines is to reduce capacity on a number of its transatlantic routes this winter, reducing frequencies and introducing smaller aircraft