Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways and Latvia-based airBaltic have signed a codeshare agreement and will launch 4X-weekly Riga-Abu Dhabi services from Dec. 16, using an Etihad Airbus A319.
The European Commission has allowed Aegean Airlines to acquire the loss-making Olympic Air following a six-month investigation into the competition ramifications of the proposed acquisition.
Plans by South African low-cost carrier FlySafair—which was scheduled to begin Boeing 737-400 operations between Johannesburg and Cape Town Oct. 17—have been stymied by a legal challenge from its two competitors.
The two Sukhoi Superjet 100s placed into domestic Mexican service by Interjet last month have operated at a high level of efficiency and are being embraced by passengers, according to a senior Interjet official.
Etihad Airways has announced plans to start daily Boeing 777-200LR flights between Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) from June 1, 2014, giving LAX’s new international terminal another high-profile global connection.
Virgin Atlantic will continue to lobby for the London-Moscow route, Virgin Atlantic director-airline planning Edmond Rose told the Wings of Russia International Aviation Forum Oct. 8, adding the airline’s top management is still confident in that destination.
Japan Airlines (JAL) has placed its first ever order with Airbus, signing a purchase agreement for 31 A350 XWBs with options for a further 25 aircraft.
Etihad Airways has continued to report record growth rates in the third quarter, as passenger services revenue broke through the $1-billion barrier for the first time.
Opposition parties and trade unions have criticized India’s minister for civil aviation Ajit Singh for saying the government could consider privatizing Air India.
Southwest Airlines has no official stance on the American Airlines-US Airways merger, but the low-cost carrier (LCC) wants to have a stronger presence at Washington National Airport (DCA) and is opposed to a merged American-US Airways controlling two-thirds of DCA’s slots.
Airbus booked 170 orders in September, exceeding the company’s 2013 sales target and bringing its total net orders for 2013 to 1,062, creating a backlog of almost 5,300 aircraft—nearly eight years of production, according to an Airbus statement.
Scandinavian low-cost carrier (LCC) Norwegian Air Shuttle has applied for a new air operator’s certificate (AOC), but declined to give details about the reason.
Gulf Air has announced the next step in its restructuring process into a regionally focused carrier, with a major expansion of its services to Pakistan. From Dec. 16 the Bahraini national carrier will increase its weekly flights to Pakistan from 14 to 21 in the face of growing demand.
