CommercialPilots Keep Lufthansa Grounded For Second DayLufthansa pilots were on strike for a second day on Thursday, grounding Germany's largest airline in a row over retirement conditions. The pilots announced a three-day stoppage earlier this week, leading Lufthansa to cancel 3,800 flights, or around nine out of ten flights planned for the period. The action is expected to cost the airline tens of millions of euros and disrupt the travel plans of around 425,000 passengers. About 700 flights were cancelled for the day in Frankfurt and a couple of hundred flights were affected in Munich, airport representatives said.
Link"Irresponsible" Lufthansa Pilots Vilified In GermanyPilots on strike at Lufthansa faced withering criticism across Germany for demanding higher pay and early retirement terms even though they rank among the country's best-paid. Political leaders joined newspaper editorials and TV commentators in lambasting the 5,400 pilots who have all but shut down Germany's largest airline and disrupted 425,000 passengers during their three-day walk-out until midnight Friday. The pilots, whose average annual pay of EUR€181,000 (USD$248,000) is nearly four times the average wage in Germany of EUR€45,523, are seeking a 10 percent pay rise over two years and fighting plans by Lufthansa to scrap a scheme allowing them to retire at 55 and keep up to 60 percent of their salary.
LinkQatar raises the bar with A380 loungeAhead of the delivery of Qatar Airways' first three Airbus A380s, currently scheduled for June, Flightglobal has obtained an exclusive sneak-peek of the lounge area installed on the upper deck of the superjumbo. Situated towards the rear of the business-class cabin, the lounge features a pair of large sofas, striking ceiling lights and a specially designed bar area. Fellow Gulf carrier Emirates is famed for the Aim Aviation-designed horseshoe-shaped bar on its A380s, but Qatar believes its offering can match that of its rival.
LinkSilk Way’s 747-8 Freighter poised for deliveryThe first of four Boeing 747-8 Freighters for Silk Way Airlines is being readied for delivery at the manufacturer’s Everett plant near Seattle. The Azerbaijani cargo carrier has firm orders for two 747-8Fs and will take two more from GECAS, Flightglobal's Ascend Online database shows. Delivery of the first aircraft is due this month.
LinkMH370 search grinds on 1,700km northwest of PerthWith the search for the lost Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER set to enter its fourth week, a diverse range of assets are searching an immense area of sea northwest of Perth. On 4 April, 10 military aircraft, four civilian aircraft, and nine ships will search for lost flight MH370, says Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC). The search area for the day covers an area of 217,000km², located 1,700km northwest of Perth. Within this area, the searchers will focus on three zones.
LinkDelta seeks up to 50 widebody aircraftDelta Air Lines has released a request for proposals for up to 50 widebody aircraft to Airbus and Boeing. The Atlanta-based carrier will evaluate the Airbus A330-200 and -300, Airbus A350-900 and -1000, Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 787-8, -9 and -10 to replace some or all of its Boeing 747-400s and Boeing 767-300ERs, according to an employee newsletter on 1 April. Delta operates 16 747-400s and 74 767-300s, Flightglobal’s Ascend Online database shows. With an average age of 21 years and 20 years, respectively, the types are among the oldest in its widebody fleet.
LinkDelta targets transpacific markets to power Seattle hubDelta Air Lines' launch of its third European route from Seattle - to London Heathrow - forms part of a concerted drive to establish the Washington state airport as a major US West Coast hub over the next three years. The Seattle-Heathrow route joins existing Delta services to Paris and Amsterdam, and the hub will be bolstered this summer when new flights to Seoul and Hong Kong join the network starting on 2 June. Delta already serves Tokyo (both Narita and Haneda), Beijing and Shanghai from Seattle. “We are making Seattle our West Coast hub to serve the Pacific,” says Delta’s vice president for Seattle, Mike Medeiros. “Our focus is on the transpacific. We are looking at the top business markets with a focus on Asia.”
LinkAlaska Air Group posts 4.7% increase in traffic for MarchAlaska Air Group reported a 4.7% increase in traffic for March on a year-over-year basis, while its capacity rose by 5.4% for the month. Alaska Air Group is the parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air.
LinkSouthwest CEO: "We are still a point-to-point airline"Southwest Airlines has been expanding its route network since 2009, but has cut service to some smaller markets. Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said "we are still a point-to-point airline." Kelly said 70% of Southwest passengers fly direct to their intended destination.
LinkAerospace industry takes off in southern statesBetween 2007 and 2012, four states in the South made a top 10 list of states with the largest job growth in aviation. "The South has been turning itself upside down to create effective systems to attract these companies," said Mark Muro, a senior fellow and policy director at the Brookings Institution. Boeing opened a facility in South Carolina, while Airbus has opened a facility in Alabama.
LinkAlaska Air to reduce fuel consumption per passenger-mile flown by 20% by 2020Alaska Air Group has pledged to reduce fuel consumption per passenger-mile flown by 20% by 2020 for its Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air subsidiaries. Alaska Air Group also announced plans to use aviation biofuel at one or more airports by 2020. "We believe running our business sustainably -- with an eye on the long run -- is simply the right thing to do," said CEO Brad Tilden.
LinkDelta pushes digital content in magazine overhaulDelta is remaking its in-flight magazine, "Sky," to increase digital content and provide helpful articles that can become a source for travelers planning their trips. "Wouldn't it be great if a reader in Paris could call up a dining feature from a few months prior on her phone?" says Jayne Haugen Olson, editor-in-chief. The magazine is crafting a system that would include videos that dovetail with print articles and let readers pull up all the stories published on particular locations.
LinkTechnology companies show off luggage tracking systems at Passenger Terminal ExpoAccording to airport information and technology company SITA, reports of mishandled luggage have been cut in half over the last decade, even as the number of airline passengers has increased by 65.6%. Vendors at the Passenger Terminal Expo in Barcelona showed off some of the technological advances they are looking to deploy in an effort to build on that improvement. Better software, luggage tags and luggage system upgrades were among the displayed solutions.
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what a contrast with what it looks now !
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