Austrian Airlines Group unveiled a new fare concept for short- and medium-haul flights permitting passengers to combine different fares and booking classes on the same itinerary, booking economy for an outbound flight and business class for the return, for example. Austrian also restructured economy fares to narrow the range of prices and is offering a "red-ticket" fare with an "all-in" price ranging from €159 ($196.2) to €299 depending on destination. It introduced a new business class fare, Business Holiday, for leisure travel on routes with high tourist potential.
Venezuela's threat to restrict flights by US airlines into the country appears to have been successful, as the US FAA raised the nation's safety rating to Category 1, meaning it complies with ICAO standards. US aviation officials conducted a safety audit and inspections last month after the South American country agreed to postpone until April 25 its ban on all operations conducted by Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines and some American Airlines flights ( ATWOnline, March 31).
ARINC will unveil a new airport IT systems support program today at the annual conference of the American Assn. of Airport Executives. The program includes "integrated systems support, operations, maintenance support and technical staffing." Separately, ARINC said Sun Country Airlines signed a long-term extension of its datalink communications contract.
Aer Lingus said Friday it will add a fuel surcharge to flights to and from the US and Middle East of €35 ($43.20)/$40 each way effective May 15. It said it is the first time it has imposed a fuel surcharge on any of its routes and that the move is "regrettable but necessary." The airline said it is 51% hedged in 2006 and that fares on transatlantic flights fell nearly 5% last year while fuel costs increased by €33.1 million.
Wizz Air took delivery of a new IAE V2500-powered A320, which the low-fare airline plans to operate to Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia as part its expansion of Eastern European services. The aircraft is leased from ILFC. Wizz also plans to launch thrice-weekly flights on July 14 between Cork and Katowice, the first direct service on the route.
Air Canada said it welcomed "the successful conclusion of an Open Skies Agreement for Canada and the UK." AC said the deal will allow it to introduce "more flexible simplified pricing" and enable it to expand its popular multitrip flight passes. London Heathrow is the carrier's most important international gateway.
Singapore Airlines now offers interline e-tickets for connections to American Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Varig, bringing to 17 the number of carriers with whom SIA has partnered for interline e-ticketing.
Austrian Airlines reduced frequencies from Vienna to Tehran from five to three weekly flights owing to lower demand attributed to the worsening political climate. Meanwhile, in order to be more competitive against carriers such as Emirates, Austrian plans to install intercontinental business class seats in several 737-800s for flights to the Middle East. Currently it operates one 737-800 outfitted with 16 C class and 142 Y seats for flights to Dubai.
US Airways announced that ACE Aviation Holdings Chairman, President and CEO Robert Milton resigned from the US board of directors, as previously announced ( ATWOnline, April 12). Also, US named MD-Revenue Management Brad Beakley as VP-reservations and inventory services and Tom Trenga as VP-revenue management.
British Airways announced a "radical shakeup" in its short-haul fare structure in an apparent attempt to stay competitive with LCCs such as Ryanair and easyJet. One-way fares for flights within the UK and Europe were reduced by up to 50% to more than 65 destinations. Prices start at £29 ($51.76) and BA will allow travelers to change their flights up to midnight on the day prior to departure for £30. "This is not a short-term gimmick but a long-term commitment to our millions of customers to offer irresistible low fares every day of the year.
Galileo International announced the signing of a five-year, full-content enterprise agreement with US Airways. Inventory includes services operated by America West Airlines.
Latin American Airline Assn. (AITAL) has changed its name to ALTA (Asociacion Latinoamericana de Transport Aereo) to reflect its expanding role in representing all of the region's carriers, not simply those that fly internationally, according to Executive Director Alex de Gunten, who met with ATWOnline yesterday in Washington. ALTA's mission also is changing, he explained. In the past, the association was "very focused" on regulatory and governmental issues. These are still important, but ALTA is moving aggressively to help members with commercial concerns.
Olympic Airlines Chairman Petros Papageorgiou resigned and will be replaced by Elias Karatzalis, an attorney and Olympic board member, according to a statement from the Greek Transport Ministry cited by Reuters. Papageorgiou was appointed in March 2004 but opted to leave because he opposed the Greek government's plans for Olympic, according to the report.
Connexion by Boeing said that an independent survey conducted by Burke Research on behalf of the broadand Internet provider showed that "83% of those surveyed said that the availability of Connexion by Boeing service will have an impact on future travel plans and their choice of airline carrier while 92% said they plan to use the service on a future flight and would recommend Connexion to others." The study included responses from more than 3,200 participants. Connexion currently is available on 10 airlines operating 180 routes daily.
Precision Conversions signed a deal with Cygnus Air of Spain for one 757-200 freighter conversion plus one option. The aircraft will enter the conversion process in July. Cygnus provides cargo services to Iberia with three DC-8s. Precision also will convert two 757s to freighters under an agreement with Babcock & Brown Aircraft Management. The contract calls for "multiple options" on future 757-200 conversions, Precision said. Operators for the aircraft were not disclosed.
American Eagle will operate six-times-weekly New York LaGuardia-Des Moines service from June 15 aboard an Embraer 135. The carrier flew 749.4 million RPMs in March, a 15.7% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 9% to 1.01 billion ASMs and load factor improved 4.3 points to 74.1%.
Japan Airlines, which has been subject to scrutiny following several safety-related issues, announced the establishment of a 622-sq.-m., ¥180 million ($1.5 million) Safety Development Center at Tokyo Haneda. The center will open April 24 and feature exhibits, items and documentation related to past incidents and accidents. Separately, JAL and Hainan Airlines will expand their codeshare agreement to include Hainan's daily flights from Beijing to Kunming and Xian.
Iberia Cargo signed a contract to be handled by Worldwide Flight Services in Building 550 at London Heathrow, which WFS took over from United Airlines in 2005. WFS also acquired UA's third-party handling contracts. This marks the first time Iberia Cargo awarded a contract to WFS directly at Heathrow.
AirTran flew 1.21 billion RPMs in March, a 23.6% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 22.4% to 1.55 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 0.7 point to 78.1%. Austrian Airlines Group said March RPKs grew 12.2% to 1.8 billion. ASKs rose 11.4% to 2.4 billion, resulting in a 0.5-point gain in load factor to 72.0%.
CAAC and the National Development and Reform Commission announced an increase in fuel surcharges on domestic routes of less than 800 km. to CNY30 ($3.74) from CNY20 and on routes greater than 800 km. to CNY60 from CNY40. Increases went into effect April 10 and will last until Oct. 10.
Starman Bros. Auctions was awarded the exclusive right to liquidate all of Independence Air's inventory. The auction is set for April 21-22 and 27-28 at Washington Dulles.
