AirlinesIndia’s Air Costa expands nationwide networkIndian regional low-cost carrier (LCC) Air Costa has outlined expansion plans to offer a nationwide network by the end of October. The Vijaywada-based carrier is currently limited to India’s southern region services. Air Costa CEO KN Babu said the carrier has applied to the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to upgrade its air operator’s certificate (AOC) to national carrier status and “expects [permission] to come through by the end of October.”
LinkAlaska Airlines is awarded IATA Fast Travel Platinum StatusAlaska Airlines was awarded Fast Travel Platinum status from the International Air Transport Association. "Our mission is to be the easiest airline to fly, and we're honored to receive this recognition, which tells us we're on track towards meeting that goal," said Ben Minicucci, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the carrier. "Flying should be convenient and simple. At Alaska, we’re working hard to pioneer the use of technology that will reduce wait times and let our customers speed through check-in and security."
LinkAmerican Working To Recover From Flight DelaysAmerican Airlines said it is working to get customers in the air after technical problems caused it to halt flights to three of its hub airports. American experienced hundreds of delays as it stopped takeoffs to Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago O'Hare and Miami airports for nearly two hours. The carrier has fixed the technical problems, which it said were caused by "connectivity issues," that started at noon Eastern, a company spokesman said. International flights and service on US Airways were not affected.
LinkAmerican exec: Carrier is committed to Charlotte hubTracy Montross, local director of government affairs for American Airlines, said the carrier is committed to its hub at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. "Charlotte is an important asset for American Airlines," Montross said. "We don't anticipate any change to our hub structure here."
LinkCebu Pacific boosts international networkPhilippines low-cost carrier (LCC) Cebu Pacific will introduce three new international schedules to its Asian network in December 2015, flying to Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. The LCC will introduce 3X-weekly Airbus A320 service from Ninoy Aquino International, Manila to Fukuoka on the Japanese route, currently only served by Philippine Airlines. The Cebu-Mactan International-Taoyuan (Taipei) service will also use the A320 on a 3X-weekly service, and will be the first regularly scheduled service between the two cities.
LinkDelta Raises Pay for Flight Attendants and Ground Workers by 14.5%Delta Air Lines Inc. said Wednesday it will raise pay for flight attendants and ground workers by 14.5 percent in December and increase matches of employee contributions to retirement accounts. The airline also will change the profit-sharing formula in a way that could boost payouts after lean years but might reduce them after highly profitable years such as 2014. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which is trying organize Delta flight attendants, said raises were overdue and left Delta employees below industry-leading pay.
LinkEtihad bond issue raises $500 million for group partnersThe Etihad group of partners has raised $500 million on the international markets through a new funding vehicle, EA Partners IBV. The partners include Etihad Airways, Etihad Airport Services, airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia and Jet Airways. The funds will be used largely for capital expenditure, fleet investment and refinancing as necessary. Etihad Airways, Etihad Airport Services, airberlin and Alitalia will receive 20% each, with 16% going to Jet Airways; and the remainder to Air Serbia and Air Seychelles.
LinkFinnair A350 XWB completes first flightThe first Airbus A350 XWB for Finnair has completed its first flight in Toulouse. The aircraft will now enter the final production phase, including further ground checks and flight tests.
LinkGol Eyes Adding Boeing 737-900s To FleetBrazilian airline Gol said it is in advanced talks with Boeing regarding the possible addition of 737-900s to its fleet. Last month chief executive Paulo Kakinoff said Gol could trim its fleet of smaller 737-700 and 737-800 aircraft as it cuts capacity in Brazil, where a deepening recession and a weaker currency have triggered heavy losses.
LinkIntro Aviation confirms it will sell Austrian regional InterskyGerman investor Intro Aviation wants to sell Austria-based regional Intersky this month, the company confirmed in a statement. “We are in close talks with an investor that wants to acquire 100% of Intersky,” a company shareholder said recently, declining to name the interested buyer.
LinkJetBlue's Mint experience is named as a finalist in design awards With over 1,500 projects from across the globe to choose from, you can imagine our exciteMINT when Fast Company tapped Mint as one of their finalists within the Experience category. Of the 14 categories within Fast Company’s Innovation By Design Awards, the Experience category is one we’re particularly proud to be a part of, because for JetBlue, it’s always been about showing more than just a pretty face.
LinkLufthansa completes cabin upgradesLufthansa has completed a cabin modernization program of its short- and long-haul aircraft. Over the past three years, 106 Lufthansa long-haul aircraft have been fitted with new business and economy class cabins. Seventy-six aircraft (out of 106) have been upgraded with a new first-class cabin.
LinkRyanair Targeting Quarter Of European TrafficRyanair expects to be operating one in every four European short-haul flights within the next eight to 10 years, driven by expansion in countries such as Germany as some of its rivals retreat. The Irish carrier, which has around 380 planes on order, has a market share of about 14 percent in Europe, serving about 100 million passengers a year and aims to increase that to 160 million passengers by about 2024.
LinkSAS Scandinavian Airlines closes Stavanger-Houston oil routeSAS Scandinavian Airlines will close its Stavanger-Houston, aka oil route, on Oct. 23 due to decreased demand and passenger loads resulting from reduced activity in the oil industry. “The oil route came out of creative and constructive product development between SAS and our core clients in the oil industry; however, we have had to accept that the downturn in the industry unfortunately is also impacting us. Hence our decision to switch the aircraft to Copenhagen-New York Newark, where the market offers far more potential right now,” EVP-commercial Eivind Roald said in a statement.
LinkSingapore Airlines delays introducing premium economy classDue to delays in the retrofit process, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has postponed the planned launch of its new premium economy class on some major international routes. These include Paris, Frankfurt, New York, Mumbai, Shanghai and Tokyo, and are all served with Airbus A380. SIA said the new seat class, originally due to launch fleetwide on Aug. 9, has been delayed because A380 modifications are still incomplete. The upgrade process delay has also made the aircraft unavailable.
LinkTransaero narrows first-half net losses to $57.6 millionRussia’s Transaero Airlines reported a 2015 first-half net loss of RUB3.2 billion ($57.6 million), narrowed from a RUB10.4 billion net loss in a year-ago period. First-half revenue grew 5.1% to RUB50.7 billion. Passengers carried in the first half remained flat year-over-year—5.8 million. RPKs decreased 11% to 19.3 billion.
LinkUnited CEO is dedicated to customer serviceOscar Munoz, United Airlines CEO, has pledged to improve the airline in an e-mail to MileagePlus loyalty members. "We can do better, and will keep listening to our customers to become the top-performing airline," he wrote.
LinkUnited to offer more weekend flights to Ecuador Ecuador’s Ministry of Tourism is celebrating United Airlines’ recently announced plan to increase flight frequencies between Houston and Quito, Ecuador’s capital, beginning in December. The increased flights come as the destination enters the second phase of a program designed to highlight opportunities for non-traditional travel across the South American nation.
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