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Continental Europe News

Airberlin and Malev launch codeshare operation

10-Oct-2011
Airberlin and the Hungarian airline Malev will in future be offering their customers selected flights as codeshare services. The codeshare agreement comes into force today and applies to flights from 30th October 2011.

Fly airberlin to snow or sea

06-Sep-2011
1,000,000 additional tickets at bargain prices from 6th to 8th September 2011

Jan Palmer appointed new CEO of Cimber Sterling

01-Sep-2011
Cimber Sterling Group has appointed Jan Palmer new CEO.

airberlin and American Airlines expand codeshare agreement to include Canada

30-Aug-2011
airberlin and American Airlines have added two Canadian destinations to their cooperation agreement. As of today, the codeshare agreement will also include the American Airlines flights from New York-JFK to Montreal and Toronto.

airberlin: Joachim Hunold offers his resignation as CEO

19-Aug-2011
This morning, Joachim Hunold, airberlin's CEO, announced that he intends to offer the Board of Directors his resignation from the office as CEO of the company as per 1 September 2011. Mr. Joachim Hunold would like to remain bound to the company for the future as a Non-Executive Director and recommends that Mr. Hartmut Mehdorn, who is already a member of the Board of Directors of the company, becomes his interim successor as CEO.

More eco-efficiency: airberlin is getting Boeing Next-Generation 737 with new engine

11-Aug-2011
As of today the first Boeing 737-800 with the new engine type CFM56-7BE has been added to the airberlin fleet. At the same time the aircraft with the registration D-ABKW is also one of the first Boeing 737NG with the advanced engine technology delivered to a European airline.

airberlin and S7 extend their codeshare arrangements

11-Aug-2011
airberlin and the Russian airline S7 have extended their codeshare agreement and now operate 47 joint routes. The additional services to numerous destinations within Russia are now available for booking.

airberlin offers great deals on autumn flights

09-Aug-2011
Tickets available for booking from 9 to 11 August 2011

airberlin: More passengers and increased capacity utilization in Jul-2011

08-Aug-2011
In July 2011, airberlin welcomed 3,809,401 guests on board, i.e. 2.9 percent more than in the corresponding month of the previous year (July 2010: 3,700,971 passengers). Fleet capacity utilization for July increased by 3.3 percentage points, i.e. from 81.2 to 84.5 percent. As compared to July 2010, capacity was reduced by 1.1 percent.

Start of the summer holidays in Düsseldorf: airberlin offers extensive choice of flights

25-Jul-2011
This weekend is when schools break up in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. airberlin is expecting around 75,000 passengers at Düsseldorf airport alone.

FL Technics adds Wizz Air with A320 to its list of line maintenance customers

21-Jul-2011
FL Technics, an integrated aircraft maintenance and repair organization further expands its capabilities and signs its first contract with Wizz Air the largest low-cost carrier in Central and Eastern Europe. FL Technics has been entrusted to provide maintenance services for the airline’s Airbus 320 at its newly opened base in Vilnius International Airport.

Pegasus Airlines and IZair cut fuel costs with flight planning IT from Lufthansa Systems

20-Jul-2011
Pegasus Airlines and IZair, a 100 % subsidiary of Pegasus, will optimize their flight planning processes with Lido/Flight from Lufthansa Systems. The airlines and the IT provider recently signed a five-year contract covering the implementation of the solution.

Finnair and Flybe to set up Flybe Nordic and acquire Finnish Commuter Airlines

04-Jul-2011
Finnair and the largest European regional airline Flybe of UK announced today that the companies will jointly acquire Finnish Commuter Airlines (FCA), a Finnish regional carrier owned by Finncomm Oy.

airberlin to fly to Curaçao from November

01-Jul-2011
Only non-stop service from Germany, with weekly flights from Dusseldorf

Riga International Airport welcomes Ryanair’s 5 millionth passenger

30-Jun-2011
On 28-Jun, Riga International Airport welcomed Ryanair’s 5 millionth passenger Mr.Agris Stuklis arriving from Glasgow.

airberlin, Boeing and Berlin Airports welcome first Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Germany

27-Jun-2011
Boeing's 787 Dreamliner made its first landing in Germany on Saturday, 25th June 2011 at 9am, local time. airberlin will be the first airline in Germany to receive the Dreamliner.

airberlin and British Airways: codeshare agreement from July

16-Jun-2011
airberlin and British Airways have reached a codeshare agreement covering selected flights within Europe. Scheduled to start on 5 July 2011, the cooperation agreement applies to flights to 40 over European destinations served by the two airlines.

airberlin expands codeshare agreement with oneworld partners

08-Jun-2011
Hunold at the Annual General Meeting: Becoming a member of oneworld is the most important decision airberlin has made since its public offering 2011 burdened by political unrest in Northern Africa and the air travel tax Regular re-election of certain Board members

Cimber Sterling comments on press coverage

30-May-2011
As stated in announcement no 40 dated 17 May 2011, the Board of Directors of Cimber Sterling has launched a process aiming to ensure a long-term reinforcement of the capital base and strategic market position of the company.

Wizz Air opens new route from Skopje to Venice Treviso

25-May-2011
Wizz Air, the largest low fare low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe has announced that it is launching a new route from Skopje to Venice Treviso. The first flight will take off on the 20th of September 2011 and will, initially, operate twice a week. Tickets are already available from as low as EUR 24,99 (all inclusive, one way) on wizzair.com or by calling the Call Center. Wizz Air announced its entry into the Macedonian market as the first low cost carrier on 16th February by opening the Skopje London Luton route from 19th June 2011. The airline has already sold more than 5.000 tickets, even before the launch of operations.

Iberia Airport Services to supply handling services to airberlin in Canary Island

25-May-2011
Iberia Airport Services (IBAS) and airberlin have signed an agreement under which Iberia’s handling division will provide ramp and passenger services for airberlin at the airports of Gran Canaria and and Tenerife South in the Canary Islands for three years starting in mid-June.

airberlin starts flying to Costa Rica as of Nov-2011

25-May-2011
airberlin starts flying to Costa Rica in Central America every 14 days as of November 2011.

Wizz Air celebrates its 7th anniversary

23-May-2011
Wizz Air, the largest low fare - low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe celebrates its 7th anniversary on 19 May, 2011.

airberlin: 290,000 extra seats on flights to the Canary Islands

13-May-2011
airberlin, Germany's second largest airline, is once again increasing the number of flights it operates to the Canary Islands for winter 2011/12.

airberlin: Increased capacity utilization in Apr-2011

06-May-2011
In April 2011, airberlin transported a total of 2,778,784 passengers, i.e. an increase of 22.5 percent. Fleet capacity for April 2011 increased by 16.3 percent.

airberlin to begin more flights to Dubai

04-May-2011
airberlin is increasing the number of flights to Dubai from Berlin-Tegel, starting with its winter schedule 2011/12.

airberlin: business points on new business travel routes

02-May-2011
Small and medium-sized companies profit from expanded programme

airberlin: new service from Zurich to Skopje

29-Apr-2011
Germany's second largest airline opens new service to Macedonia

airberlin focuses increasingly on Düsseldorf

14-Apr-2011
airberlin, Germany's second-largest airline, is preparing intensively for its membership in the international air travel alliance oneworld® planned for early 2012.

airberlin: Additional connection to Phuket

13-Apr-2011
Germany's second largest airline is expanding its flights between Berlin-Tegel and Phuket from 1 November 2011.

Vueling Airlines optimizes flight planning with IT from Lufthansa Systems

30-Mar-2011
Vueling Airlines extends the cooperation with Lufthansa Systems to further optimize its flight planning. The Spanish airline will use Traffic Flow Restrictions (TFR), an add-on of the proven flight planning solution Lido/Flight.

First ever Boeing 737-700 with Sky Interior delivered to airberlin

14-Mar-2011
On 8 March 2011, airberlin took delivery of the first ever Boeing B737-700 with the new Sky Interior cabin design.

Condor and Lufthansa Systems take off with the next generation of in-flight entertainment

10-Mar-2011
On-board entertainment is an important part of an airline’s service for tourists and business travelers alike. At the ITB, Lufthansa Systems presents BoardConnect, its cost-efficient new in-flight entertainment (IFE) system which opens up a new world of opportunities for on-board communication.

AirAsia X extends contract with Lufthansa Technik Philippines

10-Mar-2011
AirAsia X, the world’s first successful long-haul, low-cost airline, renewed its contract with the Manila-based maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company, Lufthansa Technik Philippines.

airberlin opens exclusive waiting area at Berlin-Tegel airport

10-Mar-2011
From today, airberlin is offering its status customers an exclusive waiting area in Terminal C of Berlin-Tegel airport.

airberlin: Additional connections from Saarbrucken

01-Feb-2011
For summer 2011, Germany's second largest airline is increasing the number of flights running to and from Saarbrucken.

airberlin: Collective labour agreement for LTU pilots accepted

31-Jan-2011
airberlin, LTU and VC (Vereinigung Cockpit), the German pilots’ union, today accepted the collective labour agreement that had already been agreed on 22 December 2010.

AEA welcomes airberlin as new airline member

18-Jan-2011
The Association of European Airlines, representing Europe’s most important network carriers, has expanded its membership to 36 from the beginning of January, with the addition of airberlin. Airberlin is Germany's second largest airline and Europe's sixth largest airline in terms of passengers.

airberlin to expand Executive Board

17-Jan-2011
In view of the airline’s full membership of oneworld that is planned for the start of 2012, airberlin’s Board decided to increase the number of its Executive Board members from the current level of three so that they can all pool their forces in preparation for joining the leading global airline alliance.

Bram Gräber new Managing Director of transavia.com

06-Dec-2010
Effectively immediately, Bram Gräber is appointed managing director of transavia.com, which is part of the KLM Group.

Blue1 cabin crew strike has ended Finnair flight attendant strike continues

03-Dec-2010
The flight attendant and steward strike that started on November 30 concerning Blue1’s flights has ended. The cabin crew strike still involves Finnair.

transavia.com: Change of website for danish and swedish passengers

03-Dec-2010
transavia.com: Change of website for danish and swedish passengers

SmartWings: New flights to Burgas

30-Nov-2010
SmartWings offers a new flights to Burgas in the summer season 2011. Flights will be operated 9x per week, 2x on Friday and Sunday.

airberlin extends codeshare arrangements with Bangkok Airways

12-Nov-2010
airberlin and Bangkok Airways are strengthening their cooperation with immediate effect. In addition to airberlin’s non-stop services to Bangkok and Phuket, airberlin passenger now also have the option of a connecting flight from the Thai capital to Phnom Penh/Cambodia on Bangkok Airways.

airberlin flies to Casablanca

03-Nov-2010
From May 2011 airberlin will be offering two non-stop services a week from Cologne to Casablanca. With up to 10 scheduled flights to North Africa a week, airberlin is the major carrier in Cologne catering for ethnic travel.

airberlin: Dubai now also in summer

28-Oct-2010
One week before the first flight from Berlin to Dubai will take off, airberlin, Berlin Tourism and Berlin Airports introduce themselves in Dubai.

Jersey Airport: Welcome boost for German flights in 2011

21-Oct-2010
Air links between the Island and Germany will be further strengthened next year with the announcement of a scheduled service to Hanover.

airberlin: Direct flights now available from Berlin to Basel

18-Oct-2010
GERMANY : airberlin is starting a new direct service to Switzerland.

Ryanair and Bratislava airport celebrate 5 year co-operation

13-Oct-2010
Ryanair, Europe’s favourite airline, has every reason to celebrate in Bratislava today. Exactly five years ago the first Ryanair plane from Milan (Bergamo) landed in the Slovakian capital.

Change of Chairman of the Board at Air Berlin

12-Oct-2010
GERMANY : Johannes Zurnieden (60), Chairman of the Board of Directors at Air Berlin PLC Holding, will be stepping down on 31.12.2010. Dr. Hans-Joachim Körber (64), a current board member, has been appointed as his successor.

airberlin: Cancellations possible due to general strike

28-Sep-2010
Because of the general strike in Spain announced for September 29th, Air Berlin allows all passengers who have booked flights from or to Spain and from and to Portugal via Spain to cancel their flights without replacement and cost-free rebookings until November 30th, 2010.

Flybe/Air France codeshare routes now on sale

10-Sep-2010
In what is the first of a two-phase release resulting from its recently announced codeshare arrangement with Air France, Flybe is today announcing four significant pieces of news that greatly enhance its services right into the central hub of French aviation at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), namely:

Air Berlin validates noise abatement approaches

07-Sep-2010
Air Berlin, the second largest German airline, is validating new noise abate-ment approach procedures as part of a joint research project conducted by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (DFS) and Fraport AG.

Service with a smile above the clouds: Air Berlin is looking for flight attendants

06-Sep-2010
GERMANY : Germany’s second largest airline is again taking on more cabin crew.

Air Berlin with new GSA for Dubai

19-Aug-2010
GERMANY : Oasis Travels LLc has been nominated Passenger General Sales Agent for the Air Berlin Goup for the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Oasis Travels LLc is a company fully owned by the Sharaf Group of companies.

Air Berlin: New routes for winter

10-Aug-2010
GERMANY : The second largest German airline is offering several new services to attractive destinations in Italy, Spain and Austria this winter.

Air Berlin: Increased number of passengers in Jul-2010

06-Aug-2010
GERMANY : In July 2010, Air Berlin, Germany's second-largest airline company, welcomed 3,700,971 passengers on board, i.e. an increase of 6.4 percent (July 2009: 3,479,401 passengers, including those traveling on the acquired NIKI and TUIfly routes).

Air Berlin Group announces first non-stop service between Zurich and Alicante starting this winter

30-Jul-2010
The Air Berlin Group is increasing its services from Zurich airport in time for the winter season 2010/11 and will be offering direct flights to Alicante starting on 5th November 2010.

EANS-Adhoc: Air Berlin and oneworld

27-Jul-2010
Air Berlin PLC announces, that its 100% subsidiary Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG (Air Berlin) has on 26 July 2010 agreed with oneworld Management Company Ltd. on key aspects of Air Berlin's membership in the oneworld Alliance.

Norwegian Air Shuttle exercises purchase rights for 15 Boeing Next-Generation 737s

20-Jul-2010
The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) and low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA today signed an agreement at the Farnborough International Airshow for 15 Boeing 737-800s.

Flybe and Air France announce landmark tie-up

14-Jul-2010
Flybe and Air France have announced plans to implement an extensive commercial relationship this autumn with a code share agreement which will add value to Cardiff Airport passengers.

Vueling Airlines launches inaugural flight to Queen Alia International Airport

12-Jul-2010
Airport International Group (AIG) the Jordanian company responsible for the rehabilitation, expansion and operation of Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA), announced the arrival of Vueling Airlines, a low cost carrier, based in Barcelona.

Fly Air Berlin to Swedish Lapland

30-Jun-2010
GERMANY : The second largest German airline is offering a new snow destination this winter: Arvidsjaur in Sweden.

Air Berlin: New routes and enchanced frequencies from EuroAirport to Egypt and Canary Islands

24-Jun-2010
Bookings for the upcoming winter season 2010/2011 are open with immediate effect.

Air Berlin holds fast to operating result for 2010

11-Jun-2010
The annual general meeting of Air Berlin, the second largest German airline, was held in London on Thursday. Joachim Hunold, the company’s CEO, made it clear that Air Berlin wants to improve on the operating result for the previous year in 2010.

Blue1 pilots issue a strike warning

07-Jun-2010
On 3 June 2010, the Blue1 Pilots Association has issued a strike warning and related overtime ban. Blue1 is preparing for disruptions in labour and making every effort to ensure normal flight operations through alternative service arrangements.

Norwegian: New routes open today from Stockholm and Oslo to Helsinki

30-Apr-2010
Today Norwegian opened its new direct flights from Stockholm and Oslo to Helsinki, with prices from 27 Euros one way.

MCAP to lease three new Boeing 737-800 to Air Berlin

23-Apr-2010
MC Aviation Partners (MCAP) announced today that MCAP and Air Berlin have signed a purchase and lease-back agreement for three new Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

GE Capital Aviation Services signs deal with Air Berlin for sale leaseback of 4 Airbus A320s

16-Apr-2010
GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) announced today that it has entered into another deal with Air Berlin for the sale leaseback of four Airbus A320-200 aircraft.

Air Berlin has further expanded its services to Israel

15-Apr-2010
Air Berlin, the second largest airline in Germany and fifth largest in Europe, has considerably increased its flights to Israel.

NIKI and Air Berlin two strong partners for Italy

14-Apr-2010
Air Berlin and NIKI are increasing their presence in the Italian market.

Air Berlin improves performance in 2009 and strengthens market position

26-Mar-2010
Slight decrease in revenue together with a significant increase in operational result

Air Berlin is expanding its limousine service in Thailand

22-Mar-2010
Air Berlin, Germany’s second largest airline, is intensifying the cooperation arrangements it began with Bangkok Airways in October 2009.

Virgin Atantic announces the creation of over 200 jobs

18-Mar-2010
UNITED KINGDOM : Virgin Atlantic is pleased to announce that it will be opening a new customer service operation in Swansea in September 2010. The move will create more than 200 jobs in the area over the next two years. The new customer service centre will run in conjunction with Virgin Atlantic’s existing operation in Crawley West Sussex. Julie Southern, Chief Commercial and Financial Officer, Virgin Atlantic commented;

SAS ordered to pay Norwegian close to NOK 175 million for industrial espionage

17-Mar-2010
We are very pleased that the Court of Appeal has ordered SAS to pay Norwegian close to NOK 175 million (approx 22 million EUR) in damages for the industrial espionage that we were exposed to, said CEO of Norwegian, Bjørn Kjos.

SunExpress expanded its fleet to 21 aircraft

11-Mar-2010
SunExpress, the joint venture of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, got delivery of a Boeing 737-800 and expanded its fleet to 21 aircraft.

Air Berlin expands its route network

11-Mar-2010
More frequent flights and direct services to Italy, Spain and Israel. Strengthening of the Berlin hub

Air Berlin starts two times a week from Düsseldorf to Israel’s metropolis Tel Aviv

09-Mar-2010
GERMANY : Air Berlin is adding one more attractive destination in the Middle East to its route network from the airport of Düsseldorf.

Air Berlin goes for major expansion of Tel Aviv flights

08-Mar-2010
GERMANY : Direct flights from Berlin, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf and Munich - Business Class now also available

Virgin Atlantic reaffirms relationship with LSG Sky Chefs

04-Mar-2010
UNITED KINGDOM : LSG Sky Chefs announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Virgin Atlantic Airways for an extensive range of its products and services. The new contracts, which would commence 1 June 2010, cover UK in-flight catering as well as logistics, product supply and operational support services.

Air Berlin is starting its first service to Gdansk this summer

18-Feb-2010
GERMANY : Book winter flights to Krakow and Gdansk now

Sky Express receive IOSA certificate

15-Feb-2010
RUSSIA : Sky Express, Russia’s first Low Cost Carrier, received IOSA Registration Certificate following the successful completion of the IATA Operations Safety Audit (IOSA).

New from summer 2010: Fly Air Berlin from Frankfurt to Sylt

15-Feb-2010
GERMANY : Non-stop flights from eight German cities to Westerland (Sylt)

Wolfgang Kurth is leaving Air Berlin

10-Feb-2010
GERMANY : On account of differences of opinion concerning the future strategic positioning of the technical support companies and their integration in the Air Berlin Group, the Board of Air Berlin and Wolfgang Kurth, Chief Maintenance Officer, have come to a mutual agreement, as a result of which Wolfgang Kurth is leaving the company with immediate effect.

Innovative repair procedure for CFM56 engines of Virgin Blue

05-Feb-2010
AUSTRALIA : Variable Stator Vane bushing repairs for Boeing 737 fleet

Virgin Atlantic announce benefits for Frequent Flyers with V Australia & Virgin Blue

02-Feb-2010
UNITED KINGDOM : Virgin Atlantic Airways, one of the world's leading long haul airlines has today announced that Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Gold and Silver Cardmembers will now be able to receive additional benefits when flying on V Australia and Virgin Blue.

Ryanair Welcomes EC Finding of no State Aid in the Bratislava Investigation

28-Jan-2010
IRELAND : Ryanair, Europe’s favourite airline, today welcomed the European Commission’s confirmation that Ryanair’s agreement with Bratislava airport does not involve any State aid. This decision marks another successful conclusion of a State aid investigation involving Ryanair, in addition to the Charleroi judgment in December 2008.

Air Berlin transports 27.9 million passengers in 2009

12-Jan-2010
GERMANY : In 2009, Air Berlin, Germany's second-largest airline company, transported a total of 27,911,193 passengers (including those traveling on the TUIfly routes acquired on 25 October 2009), thus confirming the company's spring 2009 forecast with respect to the development in the number of passengers traveling with Air Berlin.

Air Berlin and SR Technics enter extensive engine services partnership

07-Jan-2010
GERMANY : SR Technics and Air Berlin have signed a ten-year engine maintenance contract. The contract covers a significant part of the engines on Air Berlin’s fleet of about 55 Airbus A320 Family, 13 Airbus A330 and about 55 Boeing 737 Next-Generation aircraft.

Norwegian to launch new service to Bergen

08-Dec-2009
NORWAY : Norwegian will expand its route network to include a new Copenhagen-Bergen service on 28 March. The route will be served with one flight a day six days a week.

Air Berlin: Getting award flights even faster

08-Dec-2009
GERMANY : The topbonus Winter Special allows members of Air Berlin’s frequent flyer scheme to earn an award flight with the miles they have collected even faster.

Blue1 opens route to Brussels

02-Dec-2009
FINLAND : Blue1 starts operations between Helsinki and Brussels in cooperation with Brussels Airlines on March 29, 2010. The route will be operated twice daily from Monday to Friday and once on Sundays with AvroRJ85 aircraft.

Embraer confirms two E-Jet options for Niki

26-Nov-2009
Embraer and Austria’s second largest airline NIKI Luftfahrt GmbH signed a contract for another two EMBRAER 190 jets, confirming the purchase rights in the original contract, announced in July 2008. The initial deliveries of this new order should take place during the first semester of 2011.

Germanwings flies with Lufthansa Systems’ navigation charts

13-Nov-2009
GERMANY : Germanwings will continue to use Lido/RouteManual from Lufthansa Systems.

Italian low cost carrier signs up for GDS participation

06-Nov-2009
Travelport and Wind Jet sign their first distribution deal.

easyJet takes off from Dusseldorf

06-Nov-2009
From now on twelve times to Basle; Rome and London starting in February.

Wizz Air introduces web check-in

04-Nov-2009
POLAND : Wizz Air, the largest low fare low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, has launched web check-in.

Flybe signs on 16 new pilots

02-Nov-2009
Leading regional airline signs on 16 new pilots fresh from leading flight schools

Finavia: ticket prices on low-cost airlines appeal to increasing number of passengers

30-Oct-2009
The popularity of low-cost air traffic, which started earlier in the rest of Europe, is now also seen in Finland. In Finland, the number of passengers has increased by 25% and traffic by 30% in comparison to previous year. The market share of low-cost airlines has increased to 9% of the total market.

Swissport and easyJet are extending collaboration in Geneva

30-Oct-2009
Swissport International, the world’s leading provider of ground services to the aviation sector, is to extend its existing cooperation agreement with leading European low-cost carrier easyJet for a further four years. The accord, which is of major importance to both partners, covers the provision of ground services at Geneva Airport for some 31 000 movements a year.

Flybe dashes ahead with new pilot recruitment

29-Oct-2009
UNITED KINGDOM : Leading regional airline signs on 16 new pilots fresh from leading flight school.

ELFAA calls for better oversight to prevent airline failure

16-Oct-2009
ELFAA members question need for mandatory airline failure fund.

Low cost airlines ranking on seat comfort 2008-2009

15-Oct-2009
Air Valid broadcasts the 1st independent ranking of low cost airlines departing from France. This ranking is based on opinions and certified ratings from passengers on the feeling of seat comfort during a flight. This ranking has been calculated on the basis of opinions and reviews filed by passengers on a flight route and flight number of an airline.

Cork Airport welcomes new Wizz Air service to Wroclaw, Poland

13-Oct-2009
POLAND : Wizz Air, Central and Eastern Europe’s largest low-fare low-cost airline, has announced plans to introduce a Cork to Wroclaw service from July 18th next year.

Wizz Air rescues JAT Airways passengers

02-Oct-2009
POLAND : Wizz Air announced today that it would provide re-routing alternatives to passengers affected by the grounded flights of Serbia’s JAT Airways at Belgrade airport.

Wizz Air opens its 12th base in Wroclaw

01-Oct-2009
POLAND : 6 new routes to Paris Beauvais, Oslo Torp, Eindhoven, Forli Bologna, Cork and Milan Bergamo, re-opening flights to Dortmund and Doncaster Sheffield, increasing frequency on existing route to London Luton.

Jet2.com to participate in the GDS Channel for the first time

30-Sep-2009
UNITED KINGDOM : Leading low cost carrier signs up for Galileo's direct connect solution.

Flybe Aviation Services makes debut at MRO Europe

28-Sep-2009
UNITED KINGDOM : Flybe Aviation Services joins high fliers at MRO Europe 2009 exhibition debut

Flybe: up to 50% off seat sale starts this weekend

25-Sep-2009
UNITED KINGDOM : Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline and the UK’s number one domestic carrier, is launching a bargain five day seat sale this weekend with up to 50% slashed off the price of selected flights for bookings made between Friday 25-Sep and Wednesday 30-Sep.

Blue1 multiplies flights to Croatia next summer 2010

21-Sep-2009
FINLAND : The launch of Croatia as a new Blue1 destination last summer turned out to be such a success, that Blue1 will multiply next summer’s flights to Croatia starting early spring 2010.

Germanwings to open new low-cost service to Cologne

21-Sep-2009
GERMANY : Low-cost airline Germanwings is setting up at Copenhagen Airport and is goint to launch a new service to Cologne. From Cologne, the airline offers onward connnections to a number of destinations.

Lufthansa Technik: component Support for Wizz Air extended

17-Sep-2009
POLAND : Wizz Air, the largest low fare low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, and Lufthansa Technik AG announced that they will extend their cooperation by renewing the Total Component Support TCS® including wheels and brakes support.

Lufthansa inks codeshare pact with JetBlue

15-Sep-2009
GERMANY : Lufthansa is offering customers extended travel options in the USA and Puerto Rico under a codeshare agreement with the US-airline JetBlue.

Wizz Air increases frequencies from Cluj-Napoca

14-Sep-2009
POLAND : Wizz Air, the largest low fare low cost airline in Romania and Central and Eastern Europe announced today that it would increase frequencies on two routes from Cluj Napoca starting this autumn.

More failures likely for smaller low-cost carriers

09-Sep-2009
Failed Slovakian low-cost carrier SkyEurope could be just the first casualty among the smaller airlines finding it difficult to survive one of the worst slumps on record, analysts said.

Vueling offer special fare to SkyEurope passengers on Barcelona-Vienna route

04-Sep-2009
SPAIN : Vueling to offer special fare to grounded SkyEurope passengers on Barcelona-Vienna route.

SkyEurope suspends all flights

02-Sep-2009
SLOVAKIA : SkyEurope informs with the biggest regret - especially for its passengers and employees but also its business partners - that SkyEurope Airlines A.S., the operative subsidiary of SkyEurope Holding AG, has suspended operations due to filing for bankruptcy by the restructuring trustee today.

SkyEurope Filing for opening of bankruptcy proceedings

01-Sep-2009
SLOVAKIA : EANS-Adhoc: SkyEurope Holding AG: Suspension of all flights, Filing for Opening of Bankruptcy Proceedings of SkyEurope Airlines a.s.

Wizz Air rescues SkyEurope passengers

01-Sep-2009
POLAND : Wizz Air, the largest low fare low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe announced today that it would provide re-routing alternatives to passengers affected by the suspension of SkyEurope’s operations at Prague airport as communicated to the public earlier today.

BAE systems wins EasyJet remarketing mandate for 4 Airbus A321s

27-Aug-2009
UNITED KINGDOM : 26-Aug-2009 BAE Systems has won an exclusive mandate from leading low fares carrier easyJet to remarket four Airbus A321 airliners.

Flughafen Wien AG: services for SkyEurope resumed

12-Aug-2009
Flughafen Wien AG announces that it has resumed the provision of services for SkyEurope Airlines, a.s. effective immediately.

New Vueling carrier joins Iberia plus frequent flyer programme

11-Aug-2009
The Iberia Plus programme now boasts nearly 4 million members and 70 associated companies, Cardholders registered on line can manage their accounts on the www.iberia.com web site.

SunExpress starts to the first nonstop flights between Ýzmir and Athens

06-Aug-2009
SunExpress, the joint venture of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, will start to the first nonstop flights between Ýzmir and Athens by August 15th 2009. The flights will be operated twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays connecting one of Turkey’s biggest industrial zones and tourism destinations on the coast with the Greek capital.

Wizz Air opens new route from Gdansk to Bergen

04-Aug-2009
Wizz Air, the largest low fare - low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe announced today that it would expand its operations from Poland by launching a new route from Gdansk to Bergen in Norway. The new flight will be launched on 18 December and operated twice a week initially.

SkyEurope announces positive financial and operational developments

03-Aug-2009
SkyEurope Holding AG announces that it has signed two separate financing agreements to provide additional liquidity for the business.

Grounded MYair passengers will be able to fly with Vueling this summer

31-Jul-2009
Vueling, the new-generation airline, is coming to the rescue of passengers grounded by the demise of Italian carrier MYair with the offer of special fares from Spain and France (Paris). Vueling will fly them to and from Italy (Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino and Venice) until October 25th.

Suspension of acceptance operations for Myair.com flights

23-Jul-2009
Sacbo announces that, in compliance with the provisions of article 802 of the Code of Navigation, acceptance operations for flights operated by the airline Myair.com from Orio al Serio airport have been suspended.

Wizz Air continues to operate Varna London Luton service

21-Jul-2009
Wizz Air, the largest low fare - low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe announced today that it would continue to operate the Varna - London Luton service all year round.

Wizz Air opens new routes from Katowice to Memmingen/Munich West and Venice Treviso

17-Jul-2009
Wizz Air, the largest low fare - low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe announced today that it would launch new routes from Katowice to Memmingen/Munich West and Venice Treviso two times a week starting from 22 September and 29 September, respectively and 3 times weekly from the winter schedule.The new services will complement the routes already operated from Katowice and bring the total number to 22.

Air Berlin Technik: new station and new customers

15-Jul-2009
Air Berlin Technik, subsidiary of the Air Berlin Group, is upgrading its customer portfolio as it has just succeeded in winning new servicing contracts for three of its maintenance stations. At Munich Airport, Air Berlin Technik will support the Spanish airline Iberia in Line Maintenance; the servicing facilities at Berlin-Tegel will be used by Estonian Air, and the Air Berlin Technik personnel in Nuremberg will provide technical support for Sun Express.

Wizz Air opens new routes from Budapest and Sofia

15-Jul-2009
Wizz Air, the largest low fare - low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe announced today that it would launch new routes from Budapest to Dusseldorf (Weeze) three times a week and from Sofia to Eindhoven twice weekly starting from 21 September and 25 October 2009, respectively. Also, the airline will continue to operate the Varna - London Luton service all year round.

Wizz Air adds third aircraft and opens new routes from Gdansk

10-Jul-2009
Wizz Air, the largest low fare low cost airline in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe announced today that it would expand its base in Gdansk by adding a third aircraft, launching new routes and increasing frequencies on some of the existing services.

SunExpress purchases 6 new 737-800 from Boeing

08-Jul-2009
SunExpress, a joint venture of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, signed a purchase agreement with Boeing for 6 new 737-800s. SunExpress, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2009, had announced intent to purchase for 3 Boeing 737-800s back in May 8th, 2009. With this order, SunExpress not only confirmed that but it also added 3 more a/c to its order book. SunExpress’ new Boeing 737-800s will be delivered in 2010. SunExpress currently operates an all Boeing fleet of 20. By the end of 2010, the company will return its 3 B757-200s; lease 2 more B737-800 thus reaching a fleet of 25 Boeing 737-800s and 4.725 seat capacity.

Ryanair activates new routes at Orio Al Serio Airport

07-Jul-2009
Sacbo is pleased to announce the opening of new routes from Orio al Serio Airport operated by Ryanair. From Friday 03-Jul-2009 its connection with Pescara gets underway, with four weekly flights (on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays), while its connections with Nantes (twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Saturdays) and Tangiers in Morocco (three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays

Air Berlin Group Signs Full Content Agreement with Travelport GDS

07-Jul-2009
Travelport GDS, one of the world’s leading global distribution system (GDS) providers, and the Air Berlin Group have today jointly announced a new, full content agreement for Galileo and Worldspan-connected travel agents worldwide.

Jason Bitter resigns as Chairman of the Board of Directors SkyEurope Airlines

06-Jul-2009
SkyEurope Holding AG announces that Jason Bitter, by mutual agreement, has resigned as chairman of the board of directors of SkyEurope Airlines a.s. as of 3-Jul-2009. Vice chairman, Nick Manoudakis, has been elected the new chairman of the board of directors of SkyEurope Airlines a.s.

SmartWings starts a new regular line from Brno to a Greek island of Lesbos.

06-Jul-2009
SmartWings starts a new regular line from Brno to a Greek island of Lesbos. The flight will be operated twice a week on Monday and Thursday by a moder Airbus A320 aircraft. Do not hesitate and buy your ticket now.

Hartmut Mehdorn strengthens Air Berlin’s board

03-Jul-2009
Hartmut Mehdorn has been appointed as a new Non-Executive Director to the board of Air Berlin PLC. He will be taking over the position vacated by Claus Wülfers, who left at the end of the recent annual general meeting on 10-Jun-2009. Wülfers supported the company since it went public in May 2006 with advice and the benefit of his many years of airline experience.

Wizz Air opens new route from Bratislava to Rome

02-Jul-2009
Wizz Air, the largest low cost low fare airline in Central and Eastern Europe announced today that the Company would be entering Slovakia by operating flights between Bratislava and Rome 4 times a week initially, starting from 20 September 2009. The Slovak customers will now benefit from Wizz Air’s offer of low fares coupled with a great customer experience onboard of its brand new Airbus A320 aircraft. Wizz Air also extends its lowest fare guarantee to the Slovak market to reinforce its commitment to offer the best value for money.

Europcar and easyJet extend their exclusive partnership

02-Jul-2009
Europcar, the number one car rental company in Europe, and easyJet, Europe's leading low-cost airline, has announced the extension of their strategic partnership until the end of 2011. The two companies have been exclusive partners since 2003 and in that time have served more than 1.7 million joint customers.

Sky Express to increase revenues with ProfitLine/Yield Rembrandt from Lufthansa Systems

02-Jul-2009
The Russian low-cost carrier Sky Express will modernize its revenue management with ProfitLine/Yield Rembrandt, Lufthansa Systems’ market leading revenue management solution. The IT solution will enable the airline to match capacity and price much closer to the highly volatile environment and generate additional revenues. Both companies recently signed a five-year contract to this effect.

Panasonic Avionics in-flight entertainment system installed on Boeing 737 for Norwegian Air Shuttle

24-Jun-2009
NORWAY : Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) announced (23-Jun-2009) that its Multiplexed Passenger Entertainment System (MPES) IFE system was installed on the 6,000th Boeing 737 to enter into service. The aircraft was delivered to International Lease Finance Corp and will be leased to Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (Norwegian), the second largest airline in Scandinavia.

Europe’s Low-fares Airlines Condemn Injunction against Brussels Low-Cost Terminal

23-Jun-2009
Europe’s low fares airlines today joined forces to call upon legacy airlines to drop a lawsuit against the opening of a low-cost facility at Brussels Zaventem Airport. In a recently launched court case, some traditional airlines represented by the Belgian Air Transport Association (BATA) as well as two other professional associations (BAR and AOC) claim that they had not been consulted properly and argue that the project should not be realised.

Flybe tie-up with Olympic Air on regional flights

18-Jun-2009
Europe’s largest regional airline to provide up to 4 aircraft with co-operation in multiple fields providing further boost for Flybe brand awareness

Jet2.com network expansion remains strong

17-Jun-2009
UNITED KINGDOM : Jet2.com announced further expansion in 2009, with expanded Summer and Winter schedules, including services from Newcastle to Split and Sharm el Sheikh, and Belfast to Newquay, Jersey and Tenerife. The carrier’s launch of Manchester-Tel Aviv service in May-2009 makes the only service between North England and the Israeli destination.

SmartWing starts a new regular line from Prague to bulgarian Burgas

11-Jun-2009
SmartWing starts a new regular line from Prague to bulgarian Burgas. The flight will be operated every Sunday by a modern Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Use the regular connection from Prague to plan your holiday for attractive prices.

Air Berlin PLC resolves upon further capital increase

11-Jun-2009
Air Berlin PLC resolved to issue 4.5 million new ordinary sharesunder exclusion of the pre-emptive rights of Air Berlin's existing shareholders. ESAS Holding A.S., Air Berlin's largest shareholder, will subscribe for 4m new shares, Johannes Zurnieden, Chairman of Air Berlin's Board of Directors, will subscribe for 350,000 new shares and Joachim Hunold Vermögensverwaltung GmbH, a company wholly owned by Joachim Hunold, CEO of Air Berlin, will subscribe for 150,000 new shares at a subscription price of EUR 3.50 per share.

Blue Air expands Bacau Airport capacity with new routes

04-Jun-2009
Blue Air is continuing its support of Bacau Airport, adding further capacity to the airport with the launch of two new routes from Bacau. Blue Air launched three times weekly Bacau-Valencia service and twice weekly Bacau-London Luton services as part of its Summer Schedule, effective 01-Jun-2009 and 02-Jun-2009, respectively.

easyJet’s 9th based aircraft delivered to JLA for start of summer route expansion

04-Jun-2009
The UK’s largest airline easyJet, have commenced three new services this week from Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) as part of their expansion of routes, following the arrival of their ninth aircraft to be based at the Airport.

Newquay Cornwall Airport welcomes Jet2.com

29-May-2009
UNITED KINGDOM : Newquay Cornwall Airport has welcomed the arrival of Jet2.com and its launch of three times weekly flights to Leeds Bradford Airport in Yorkshire and twice weekly services to Belfast in Northern Ireland. Flights launched on 24-May-2009 at introductory GMP2.99 one way fares (bookable through to 29-May-2009.

Air Berlin increases revenue and average earnings

28-May-2009
GERMANY : Improved management and higher-quality client mix Profit eases by 27.3 percentDespite the impact of the economic and financial crisis, Air Berlin's profit and revenue for the first quarter of 2009 came in according to plan. The number of passengers transported decreased to 5.5 million, i.e. a 6.2 percent drop, a figure that bested the branch average. For the first quarter of 2009, seasonal operating loss (EBIT) reached minus EUR 87.3 million (Q1 2008: minus EUR 68.6 million).

TUI Group: Air Berlin agreement to result in profitability in 2010

21-May-2009
TUI AG CFO, Rainer Feuerhake, stated the carrier expects to report a profit in 2010, due to its cooperation agreement with Air Berlin. The merger integration has already resulted in EUR59.3 million in synergies in the six months ended 31-Mar-09.

clickair/Vueling: shareholders approve merger

21-May-2009
SPAIN : 90% of Vueling and clickair shareholders voted in favour of the LCCs’ merger in May-2009, giving the go ahead for the combined LCC, to remain named Vueling, to commence operations in Jul-2009. The merger was approved by the EU in Jan-2009, while merger covenants were signed by Vueling and clickair’s Board of Directors on 13-Feb-09 and 18-Feb-09 respectively. Final legal and regulatory requirements are to be finalised by late Jun-2009 or early Jul-2009.

Air Berlin new service to Tel Aviv

21-May-2009
GERMANY : Germany's second largest airline is expanding its route network and will be flying from Israel to Berlin for the first time this summer. From 7-Jul-2009 onwards, Air Berlin passengers will have a choice of two non-stop flights a week from Tel Aviv to Berlin.

clickair to move UK routes to London Heathrow airport

20-May-2009
SPAIN : clickair, Spain’s largest low fares airline, has announced (19-May-09) it is moving all its UK routes to London Heathrow. Direct routes to Vigo and Seville, currently operated out of London Gatwick, will switch to London Heathrow, alongside clickair’s Bilbao and La Coruna services, effective 01-Jun-09.

Ryanair’s profits to gain altitude amid recession

19-May-2009
IRELAND : Ryanair Chief Executive, Michael O'Leary, has confirmed he remains “comfortable” with analyst estimates of a EUR60-80 million profit for the 12 months ended 31-Mar-09 (with the results to be released at the beginning of June). Mr O’Leary earlier forecast the carrier’s profits will “jump substantially” over the next 12 months - a comment that has put considerable support under the airline’s share price lately.

CANSO: European ANSPs revenue to drop by EUR1 billion in 2009

18-May-2009
Much has been made of the dire situation that faces airlines and airports given the downturn in traffic linked to the global financial and economic crises. However, the impact on Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) is turning out to be equally severe.

Wizz Air receives Airbus A320

11-May-2009
POLAND : GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) 11-May-09 announced the delivery of a new Airbus A320-200 to Wizz Air to help the carrier’s fleet expansion.

Germanwings chooses Lufthansa Systems IT solutions EFOM and DocSurf

08-May-2009
GERMANY : Low-cost airline Germanwings has opted for the Lufthansa Systems IT solutions EFOM (Electronic Flight Operations Manuals) and DocSurf. These solutions enable Germanwings to access current electronic operations documentation at any time. They also improve the quality of this documentation and save airlines time and money.

La compañía de bajo coste, Germanwings ha elegido Lufthansa Systems IT solutions EFOM (Electronic Flight Operations Manuals) y DocSurf. Estas soluciones permiten a Germanwings tener acceso a la documentación electrónica actual de las operaciones en cualquier momento. También mejoran la calidad de esta documentación y le ahorran a las aerolíneas tiempo y dinero.


Norwegian Air Shuttle: losses narrowed in 1Q09; business slow down forecast for 2009

29-Apr-2009
NORWAY : Scandinavia’s largest LCC, Norwegian Air Shuttle, posted a net loss of EUR12.5 million in 1Q09 (three months ended 31-Mar-09), an improvement from the EUR24 million net loss reported in the previous corresponding period.

Air Berlin to establish Corporate Users Advisory Council

29-Apr-2009
GERMANY : Germany’s second largest airline will be setting up a Corporate Users Advisory Council in May-2009. The declared objective is to be able to offer a more effective and flexible response to immediate market conditions. The Council’s key task consists in monitoring the development of the business travel sector and to ensure further improvement for Air Berlin in terms of how the interests and requirements of the market are realised.

Federal Cartel Office approves ESAS investment in Air Berlin

29-Apr-2009
GERMANY : The Federal Cartel Office in Bonn has notified Air Berlin PLC & Co Luftverkehrs KG that it has no objections to the Turkish company ESAS Holding AS acquiring a stake in the airline.

Las autoridades de la Federal Cartel Office en Bonn, Alemania, acaban de aprobar la adquisición en la participación de la compañía turca ESAS Holding AS por parte de Air Berlin PLC & Co Luftverkehrs KG.


clickair's Lock your fare promotion

28-Apr-2009
SPAIN : Clickair has launched a new initiative, ‘Lock your Fare,’ that guarantees ticket prices for a period of either 24 or 72 hours. This enables travellers to plan their journeys at their own pace without worrying the fare is going to increase. It is a first in the airline sector and is now live on www.clickair.com ready for the peak summer season.

Air Berlin Lands at Oslo Airport for first time

27-Apr-2009
GERMANY : 24-Apr-09 Air Berlin landed at Oslo Airport for its first departure for Berlin-Tegel. The route will have six weekly departures, Monday through Friday and Sunday. Air Berlin will use the A319 aircraft on the route.

El pasado 24 de abril, Air Berlin aterrizó por primera vez al Aeropuerto de Oslo desde Berlin-Tegel. Este servicio, operado con un A319, ofrecerá seis vuelos semanales de lunes a viernes así como los domingos.


ELFAA calls on Government for tax cut

20-Apr-2009
Europe’s low fares airlines joined forces (17-Apr-09) to call upon UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alastair Darling to take decisive action to keep Britain on the move in advance of next week’s crucial UK budget.

SkyEurope announces extension of repayment for EUR15 million loan, announces postponement of financial results

17-Apr-2009
SLOVAKIA : York Global Finance II Sarl has extended the deadline for the repayment of its EUR15 million loan granted in Dec-2007 and its EUR10 million loan granted in Sep-2008 to SkyEurope Airlines to 15-May-09.

York Global Finance II Sarl acaba de prolongarle a SkyEurope, hasta el próximo 15 de mayo de 2009, el pago de los préstamos concedidos. El primero de 15 millones de euros otorgados en diciembre 2007; y el segundo en septiembre de 2008 de 10 millones. El pago de ambos préstamos debía hacerse efectivo el pasado 15 de abril de este año.


SkyEurope appoints Andras Zboray as Chief Commercial Officer

09-Apr-2009
SLOVAKIA : Andras Zboray was appointed the new Chief Commercial Officer of SkyEurope Airlines on 01-Apr-09. Andras is leading SkyEurope's commercial department and is responsible for revenue, marketing, sales, commercial systems and product.

Air Berlin appoints Christoph Debus to join Board of Executive Directors

09-Apr-2009
GERMANY : Christoph Debus, 38 years old, will be joining the Board of Executive Directors of Air Berlin PLC on 01-Jun-09. He will take over responsibility for sales, network and IT. CEO of Air Berlin PLC, Joachim Hunold, said, We are pleased to have gained a proven aviation expert in Christoph Debus.”

SAS Group reports Mar-2009 traffic figures

08-Apr-2009
SAS Group's traffic decreased by 16.7 % during March and seat capacity was down 3.9% vs. 2008. SAS Group carried 2.2 million passengers in March, down 9.3% vs. 2008. Total passenger load factor in February was down by 9.9 p.u. to 64.5%.

Norwegian Air Shuttle reports Mar-2009 traffic

08-Apr-2009
NORWAY : The total number of passengers flown in March was 787 000, an increase of 9%.

Air Berlin reports improved revenue in Mar-2009

08-Apr-2009
GERMANY : In Mar-2009, Air Berlin, Germany's second largest airline company, was able to increase its revenue per available seat kilometer to 5.45 Eurocents, ie an increase of 4.2% (03/2008: 5.23 Eurocents). Although capacity was only reduced by 0.8% in comparison to March of the previous year, the number of passengers transported decreased by 5.6% to 2,053,960 passengers (03/2008: 2,175,427).

Flybe introduces new services and increased frequencies under its Summer schedule

07-Apr-2009
UNITED KINGDOM : Flybe commenced its Summer schedule on 29-Mar-09, operating 187 routes, including 12 new services. In line with its expansion plan, the LCC has increased its Summer capacity by 8% year-on-year. According to the carrier, services have been scheduled to cater for those taking short and weekend breaks.

SkyEurope reports Mar-09 load factor, appoints new Chief Commercial Officer

07-Apr-2009
SLOVAKIA : SkyEurope transported a total of 187,655 passengers in Mar-09 with a load factor of 76.3%, a 2.7 pp improvement from Mar-08.

Turkish ESAS Holding AS acquires 15.3 percent stake in Air Berlin

31-Mar-2009
GERMANY :

Turkish ESAS Holding AS adquiere 15.3% de Air Berlin


Air Berlin PLC has reached its goals for the past business year: Consolidation took place, turnover increased and fleet capacity utilization improved. Furthermore, the airline company announced that the Turkish ESAS Holding AS has acquired 15.3% of the company's shares.

Air Berlin increases revenue to EUR3.4 billion in 2008

31-Mar-2009
GERMANY : Despite the difficult conditions for the aviation industry the Air Berlin PLC has achieved an operational result (EBIT) of EUR14.2 million in the financial year 2008.

ESAS Holding intends to acquire 15.3 percent stake in Air Berlin

30-Mar-2009
GERMANY : Air Berlin PLC has been informed on 29-Mar-09 that ESAS Holding AS which, inter alia, operates the airline Pegasus has executed a share purchase agreement with UBS AG on 28-Mar-09 which provides for the acquisition of around 15.3% of the voting shares in Air Berlin PLC.

ESAS Holding AS acquires 15 percent stake in Air Berlin

30-Mar-2009
GERMANY : On 29-Mar-09, Air Berlin PLC was informed that the Turkish ESAS Holding AS which, inter alia, operates Pegasus Airlines, on 28-Mar-09, concluded a share purchase agreement for the acquisition of approximately 15% of the voting shares of Air Berlin PLC.

TUI Travel and Air Berlin to partner for German flight business

30-Mar-2009
GERMANY : TUI Travel PLC and Air Berlin PLC are to enter into a long-term strategic partnership for their German flight business. A corresponding agreement was signed 28-Mar-09. The agreement is based on a cross ownership in which TUI Travel PLC through a subsidiary, will have an interest of 19.9% in Air Berlin PLC and vice versa Air Berlin PLC will hold 19.9% of Hapag-Lloyd Fluggesellschaft mbH/TUIfly.

Meridiana-Eurofly choose Lufthansa Systems to optimize flight operations

27-Mar-2009
ITALY :

Meridiana-Eurofly elige Lufthansa Systems para optimizar sus operaciones de vuelo


Airline Operations Solutions The Meridiana Group has selected a comprehensive package of aeronautical IT solutions from Lufthansa Systems. The second largest Italian airline group will use Lido RouteManual navigation charts, the Lido FMS navigational database and the Lido OC flight planning solution for Meridiana and Eurofly.

ELFAA welcomes Dutch Government's decision to lift tax

27-Mar-2009
The European Low Fares Airline Association - ELFAA welcomes (26-Mar-09) the enlightened decision of the Dutch Government to lift the discriminatory tax on airline tickets. The tax is discriminatory in that it is only levied on passengers starting their journey in the Netherlands, thus exempting cargo flights and transfer passengers.

EUROCONTROL reports predicted reduction of nearly five percent of flights in 2009

26-Mar-2009
The economic crunch will take a big bite out of European air traffic in 2009, with a predicted reduction of nearly 5% of flights in 2009 according to the latest short-term forecast issued by EUROCONTROL.

ELFAA welcomes Government's vote on Single European Sky II

26-Mar-2009
The European Low Fares Airline Association welcomed (25-Mar-09) the vote in the European Parliament on the second package of Single European Sky (SES II). The vote followed a period of negotiations between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission, which led to the adoption of a compromise draft with a mix of ambitious and conservative measures.

Paris Beauvais Tille Airport to close for one week in June

25-Mar-2009
IRELAND : Ryanair confirmed (24-Mar-09) that it will be unable to operate scheduled flights to/from Paris (Beauvais) between the 03 - 10-Jun (inclusive) as the airport closes for one week to upgrade its landing systems to enable more Ryanair flights to land safely in adverse weather conditions.

Prague Airport announces Summer 2009 flight schedule

24-Mar-2009

El Aeropuerto de Praga anuncia su programa de vuelos para la temporada de verano 2009


On 29-Mar-09, operations at Prague Airport will commence according to the new flight timetable for the 2009 summer season. 50 airlines plan to operate direct flights to 127 destinations in 52 countries during the period from the end of March to 24-Oct. The countries with the greatest number of destinations served from Prague are Great Britain and Italy with eleven, Germany and Russia with nine, and Spain and Greece with seven destinations.

Air Berlin increases services between Southwest Florida and Düsseldorf

24-Mar-2009
GERMANY :

Air Berlin aumenta sus servicios entre el sudoeste de Florida y Dusseldorf


Air Berlin is increasing service between Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) and Düsseldorf (DUS) in time for the busy summer travel season. Germany’s second largest airline will offer four weekly flights to RSW effective 28-Jun-09.

TUI Travel PLC confirms speculation about discussions for strategic cooperation between TUIfly and Air Berlin

18-Mar-2009
GERMANY : TUI Travel PLC notes that 17-Mar-09's press speculation about a potential strategic cooperation between Air Berlin and TUI Travel’s German airline (TUIfly).

Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines offer Belgium-Germany code-share flights

16-Mar-2009
GERMANY : Starting on 29-Mar Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa will offer code share flights between Belgium and Germany. Customers will be able to combine flights of both airlines, which gives them a lot more departure and connection possibilities.

Ryanair criticises CAA policy on airport performance

16-Mar-2009
IRELAND : Ryanair confirmed (13-Mar-09) that the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA’s) proposal to impose fines on poor performing airports is irrelevant after its history of abject failure to properly regulate the BAA monopoly and called once again for the immediate sale of London Stansted Airport in order to improve airport performance and competition.

Alaska calls on DoT to address Virgin America's compliance with foreign ownership laws

13-Mar-2009
U.A.E. - SHARJAH : Alaska Airlines again called (12-Mar-09) on the US Department of Transportation (DoT) to address questions about Virgin America's compliance with US foreign ownership and control restrictions on domestic carriers.

Wizz Air announces expansions to Liverpool operations

13-Mar-2009
Wizz have announced (12-Mar-09) a further expansion of their Liverpool operations.

Vueling reports Feb-09 traffic

13-Mar-2009
SPAIN : Vueling Airlines increased its February load factor by 2.4 percentage points, growing from 64.6% in 2008 to 67.0% in 2009. In keeping with its improvement plan, Vueling operated an average of 16 aircraft in February, down from 23.5 on a year earlier, concentrating them on serving the most profitable routes.

Ryanair condemns EU's proposal to waive ‘use it or lose it’ airport slot rule

13-Mar-2009
IRELAND : Ryanair condemned (12-Mar-09) the EU’s proposal to waive the ‘use it or lose it’ rule in relation to airport slots as high fare airlines continue to reduce capacity at slot controlled airports. The Commission’s proposal would mean that it would no longer be mandatory for these airlines to operate and use their slots in order to retain them and could prevent Ryanair, the only airline increasing its traffic in Europe, from using them.

Ryanair passengers to suggest next discretionary charge

13-Mar-2009
IRELAND : Ryanair invited (12-Mar-09) passengers to suggest the airline’s next ancillary revenue idea after Chief Executive, Michael O’Leary, confirmed that the company is examining the possibility of passengers paying to use the on board toilets in a drive to keep costs down and lower Ryanair’s guaranteed lowest fares even further.

Lufthansa approves USD1.5 billion order of 30 Bombardier CS100 aircraft

12-Mar-2009
GERMANY : Bombardier Aerospace announced (10-Mar-09) that Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the launch customer for the CSeries aircraft program, has signed a firm purchase agreement for 30 CSeries model CS100 (formerly C110) single-aisle aircraft.

Lufthansa Supervisory Board approves order for 30 Bombardier CSeries

12-Mar-2009
GERMANY : The Supervisory Board of the Lufthansa Group approved the order for 30 short-haul aircraft in its meeting on 10-Mar-09. The Bombardier CSeries Aircraft will be used by Lufthansa’s subsidiary, Swiss International Air Lines, and will be ready for the fleet as of 2014. The new aircraft will replace the existing Avro RJ100 short-haul aircraft.

Brussels Airlines and time:matters announce partnership

12-Mar-2009
Brussels Airlines and time:matters, a company of Lufthansa Cargo have announced (11-Mar-09) their cooperation. Thanks to this new partnership, time:matters can now use Brussels Airlines flights departing from Brussels Airport for its “sameday” services, packages that are picked up and delivered throughout Europe on the same day.

Finncomm Airlines announces route expansions

12-Mar-2009
With the start of the summer schedule at the end of March, Finncomm Airlines announced (10-Mar-09) that it will provide more flights to Joensuu and Kemi-Tornio. The company also started flights to Kajaani in February.

Aegean Airlines reports 2008 full-year results

12-Mar-2009
AEGEAN announces (11-Mar-09) financial results for the full year 2008, continuing its healthy and dynamic growth path, amid challenging conditions for the airline sector and a deteriorating economic environment.

Air Berlin announces revised frequent flyer programme

12-Mar-2009
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced (11-Mar-09) it has completely revised its topbonus frequent flyer scheme. From 01-Apr-09 topbonus members will collect up to 300% more status and award miles on flights with Air Berlin and NIKI.

Air Berlin announces expanding route network

12-Mar-2009
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced (11-Mar-09) it is expanding its route network. The three new destinations incorporated in the winter timetable 2008/09, Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Ciudad Real - La Mancha in Central Spain, and Cyprus, will be joined by six further additions: the Channel Island of Jersey, Krakow in Poland, the Norwegian capital Oslo, Rijeka and Split in Croatia, and Venice, the lagoon city.

Click4Sky expands destination network

09-Mar-2009
Click4Sky announced (06-Mar-09) it is expanding its destination network. Starting 06-Mar-09, passengers can newly book tickets to Marseille, Sofia, and Helsinki, and for the seasonal flights to Split, Croatia at Click4Sky’s website.

Air Berlin revises topbonus frequent flyer scheme

09-Mar-2009
GERMANY : Air Berlin has completely revised its topbonus frequent flyer scheme. From 01-Apr-09 topbonus members will collect up to 300% more status and award miles on flights with Air Berlin and NIKI. The entry level to the airline’s frequent flyer scheme is the topbonus Card Classic. The award miles collected can be redeemed for free flights worldwide or for an upgrade to Business Class. The monthly bargain tickets are new. These are special offers that allow topbonus members to book an award flight from just 3,000 miles on ten selected routes.

Ryanair presents Irish tourism rescue plan to Government

06-Mar-2009
IRELAND : Ryanair presented (05-Mar-09) its rescue plan for Irish tourism to the Government appointed Tourism Renewal Group in a briefing at Dublin Castle.

Air Berlin reports revenue increase in Feb-09

06-Mar-2009
GERMANY : Air Berlin was able to increase its revenue per available seat kilometre for Feb-09, with revenue rising by 12% to 5.28 Eurocents. In comparison with the corresponding month of the previous year, the number of passengers transported decreased from 1,874,177 to 1,714,240 (-8.5%), in part due to a capacity reduction of 6.3%.

Blue Air announces flight cancellations

05-Mar-2009
Blue Air released (03-Mar-09) the following statement regarding canceled flights:

Sterling Air and Lufthansa sign five-year contract

05-Mar-2009
The Danish airline Sterling Air has signed (04-Mar-09) a five-year contract with Lufthansa Systems, a German IT services provider, to implement the flight management system database.

clickair adds PayPal to payment options on its website

05-Mar-2009
SPAIN : clickair has added (04-Mar-09) the popular PayPal system to the list of payment options it offers to passengers travelling on any of the airline’s Europe-wide destinations including its services from the UK (London Heathrow and Gatwick).

TUIfly Nordic chooses Panasonic Avionics Corporation's eFX in-flight entertainment system

05-Mar-2009
GERMANY : Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic), the world leader in state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment and communication systems, announced (04-Mar-09) that TUIfly Nordic has chosen the Panasonic eFX in-flight entertainment system for three B767 aircraft. When the aircraft enters service in Apr-09, TUIfly Nordic will be the first charter airline in the Nordic region to equip aircraft with full in seat audio and video on demand (AVOD).

Germanwings applies new charges to excess baggage

04-Mar-2009
GERMANY : Starting from 29-Mar-09 Germanwings will apply new charges for excess baggage. They will also change the weight of a bag on which the mentioned charge is calculated. Passengers flying on Germanwings now pay a charge in the amount of 7EUR on each kilogram over 23kg. From 29-March this year they will pay each kilogram over 20kg.

Vueling and clickair begin cross-selling tickets online

03-Mar-2009
SPAIN : Spanish low fare carriers clickair and Vueling have begun (02-Mar-09) cross-selling seats online on all their domestic and international flights in what is the first step toward a joint marketing initiative of the two merging companies.

Blue1 joins Star Alliance Company Plus programme in the UK

03-Mar-2009
FINLAND : The Finnish carrier Blue1 will join the Star Alliance Company Plus (SACP) programme in the UK and Ireland as of 02-Mar-09. To mark the expansion of the programme, triple points are being offered to customers, by all participating member airlines for all tickets booked on direct routes from the UK in Business Class during the month of March.

Air Berlin recruiting more cabin crew

20-Feb-2009
GERMANY : Air Berlin stated (19-Feb-09) it is recruiting more cabin crew. A total of 300 to 400 flight attendants are sought for several stations in Germany, including Berlin, Düsseldorf, Münster/Osnabrück and Nuremberg, to take up their duties in Summer 2009.

Air Berlin to launch services to Krakow and Oslo

18-Feb-2009
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced (16-Feb-09) plans to operate a new route from Berlin-Tegel to Kracow in Summer 2009. In addition to the route network, Air Berlin will also launch non-stop flights from Berlin-Tegel to Oslo, the capital of Norway. This is the first time that Air Berlin will be serving the Norwegian market.

Air Berlin executives to cut bonus payments

17-Feb-2009
GERMANY : The board of executive directors and top managers of Air Berlin will forgo 50% of their bonus entitlements for the financial year 2008. In doing so, they are making a total contribution of EUR2 million to the Jump package of measures initiated in Spring 2008.

Air Berlin to launch Stockholm Arlanda-Hanover service

16-Feb-2009
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced (13-Feb-09) plans to fly non-stop to Hanover from Stockholm-Arlanda from 20-Apr-09. There will be four flights each way per week using its Airbus 319 aircraft seating 144 passengers.

Air Berlin implements Lufthansa Systems’ electronic navigation charts

13-Feb-2009
GERMANY : Air Berlin and Lufthansa Systems announced (12-Feb-09) that it has expanded its successful cooperation with the Air Berlin Group. Following a three-month implementation phase, the airlines in the Air Berlin Group are now flying with the Lido eRouteManual electronic navigation charts.

Vueling reports Jan-09 traffic

10-Feb-2009
SPAIN : Vueling Airlines increased its January load factor by 5.1 percentage points, growing from 58.9% in 2008 to 64.0% in 2009. Such increase took place in spite of the global economic backdrop. During Jan-09 in keeping with its improvement plan, Vueling operated a fleet of 16 aircraft, 8 aircraft fewer than on a year earlier, concentrating them on serving its profitable routes.

Ryanair reduces Shannon base

06-Feb-2009
Ryanair confirmed (05-Feb-09) that the Government’s new EUR10 travel tax is already having a damaging impact on forward bookings from 30-Mar next. This EUR10 tourist tax, which has already caused traffic declines in the UK and Holland when previously introduced, is devastating forward bookings in Shannon, because in many cases it exceeds the air fare paid by many passengers on Ryanair’s low fares routes from Shannon.

Air Berlin to launch Hanover-Stockholm service

05-Feb-2009
GERMANY : Air Berlin is offering two new routes as soon as its Summer timetable comes into effect. From 01-May-09 the carrier will be flying from Hanover to Stockholm for the first time and re-launching its service between Stuttgart and Nice.

Norwegian Air Shuttle expands London Gatwick route network to Norway

05-Feb-2009
NORWAY : Norwegian Air Shuttle announced plans to launch services from London Gatwick Airport to Oslo, Copenhagen, Bergen, Stravanger, Aalborg and Tromsø. Norwegian Air Shuttle, which already operates a programme from London Gatwick Airport, is set to start operating a three-times daily service to Oslo, twice-daily to Copenhagen and daily services to Bergen, Stavanger and Aalborg.

Air Berlin installs new SafeRoute software

03-Feb-2009
GERMANY : Air Berlin will be using a new software system to optimise approach and landing phases, thereby saving fuel as well as reducing emissions and noise. The new SafeRoute system is based on ADS-B technology (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) and helps to adjust the speed of incoming aircraft during their approach phase to maintain the optimum distance between aircraft even at high density airports.

Air Berlin B773-700 aircraft the German Federal Aviation Offices' 35,000th registered aircraft

28-Jan-2009
Air Berlin stated (27-Jan-09) its new B737-700 aircraft became the 35,000th aircraft registered by the LBA (German Federal Aviation Office). The new Boeing 737-700 with the code D-ABLD has been entered in the official German aviation register.

Wizz Air to move flights to Forli Airport

27-Jan-2009
POLAND : Wizz Air announced (23-Jan-09) that it would move its flights from Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport to Forli Airport. Currently the airline offers flights to Bologna from Katowice, Warsaw and Cluj. The move of the flights will take place on 29-Mar-09.

Air Berlin to reduce fuel surcharge

23-Jan-2009
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced (22-Jan-09) to reduce its fuel surcharge. From 27-Jan-09, Air Berlin will be charging up to EUR15 less in fuel surcharge per flight. On domestic German and European intercity flights the surcharge per flight will be reduced by EUR5 to EUR20.

Norwegian to launch Oslo-Amsterdam service

22-Jan-2009
From 02-Apr-09, Norwegian launches a new service from Oslo to Amsterdam. The route will have daily evening departures, with exception of Saturdays. From Oslo flights depart at 18.55, landing in Amsterdam at 20.45 (local time). Services from Amsterdam depart at 21.15, arriving in Oslo at 23.05 (local time).

Air Berlin receives approval for CAT III-B landings with Boeing 737

19-Jan-2009
GERMANY : Air Berlin is the first airline in Europe that will be carrying out CAT III-B approaches with its Boeing 737NG aircraft. This means that from now on landings will be possible when visibility in fog is down to just 75m.

The European Commission authorises Vueling and Clickair to merge

14-Jan-2009
SPAIN : The European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition has issued (09-Jan-09) the necessary authorisation in order for Vueling and Clickair to continue their merger process. Such authorisation will allow Vueling to immediately progress towards the latest stages of the integration process.

Vueling reports Dec-08 traffic

14-Jan-2009
SPAIN : Vueling increased its December load factor by 7.4 percentage points, from 63.6% in 2007 to 71.0% in 2008. Quarterly load factor improvement was 0.7 points. During Dec-08, Vueling kept on applying its improvement programme, reducing costs and cancelling non-profitable routes, by operating 8 fewer aircraft than on a year earlier a 33.3% reduction.

Air Berlin reports Dec-08 traffic

08-Jan-2009
GERMANY : In 2008, Air Berlin welcomed a total of 28,559,220 passengers on board, 1% more than in the previous year (2007: 28,272,967). Fleet capacity utilisation over the Jan-08 to Dec-08 period improved to 78.4%.

Air Berlin signs agreement to transport Danish public servants

08-Jan-2009
GERMANY : With effect from 01-Jan-09 Air Berlin is the exclusive airline partner for Danish public servants flying from Copenhagen to Berlin and Düsseldorf. Under this co-operation agreement, Air Berlin is offering its fares from EUR 29/DKK 199, as well as a discount on its flex fares. The contracts primarily cover those working for one of the 19 Danish ministries.

Air Berlin appoints new Director Global Traffic Rights & Political Affairs

23-Dec-2008
GERMANY : On 01-Jan-09 Matthias von Randow (49), the former Secretary of State at the Federal Ministry for Transport, Construction and Urban Development, will join Air Berlin as Director Global Traffic Rights & Political Affairs. Joachim Hunold, the airline’s CEO commented, We are pleased to have appointed such an outstanding expert for this responsible task.

Air Berlin and NIKI conclude co-operation agreement with Opera Ro-mana Pellegrinaggi

17-Dec-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin and NIKI have concluded (16-Dec-08) a co-operation agreement with Opera Ro-mana Pellegrinaggi (ORP) to promote the sales of its Rome flights during the Pauline Year.

SkyEurope - Repayment dates for loan granted extended

16-Dec-2008
SLOVAKIA : SkyEurope Holding AG announced (12-Dec-08) that the EUR 15 million loan granted in Dec-07 and the EUR 10 million loan granted in Sep-08 by York Global Finance II to SkyEurope Airlines, have been extended to 15-Jan-09. Both loans were previously due for repayment on 15-Dec-08 in accordance with the loan agreements.

Norwegian to launch services to London Gatwick

15-Dec-2008
NORWAY : The new Summer programme of Norwegian includes a new route from Copenhagen to London Gatwick. The new route brings the total number of Norwegian’s routes out of Copenhagen to 16.

Air Berlin to launch Dusseldorf-St. Petersburg services

11-Dec-2008
Air Berlin and NIKI announced (10-Dec-08) flights to Russia in the Summer of 2009 are available for booking now. The daily non-stop service from Dusseldorf to St. Petersburg is a new addition. Furthermore there will again be a daily flight from Berlin-Tegel to St. Petersburg next summer.

Air Berlin reports traffic for first eleven months

09-Dec-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced (08-Dec-08) over the period from Jan-08 to Nov-08, the carrier transported a total of 26,752,602 passengers, 1.5% more than in the corresponding period of the previous year (2007: 26,363,830).

Monarch Airlines adds Ibiza services for Summer 2009

08-Dec-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : Monarch Airlines announced (05-Nov-08) services have been added to Ibiza to its scheduled Summer flying programme for 2009. The flights, which are available to book and will start flying on 21-May-09 and operate until 05-Oct-09.

Norwegian to expand Copenhagen Airport base

05-Dec-2008
NORWAY : When the summer programme comes into force in the spring, Norwegian announced (04-Dec-08) to expand its base at CPH by 11 new routes, bringing carrier’s Danish routes to a total of 18. The new destinations include Pisa, Split, Krakow, and Heraklion on the Greek island of Crete, all of which are currently not served out of Copenhagen.

Air Berlin named “World’s Leading Budget Airline”

04-Dec-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin won the World Travel Award category of “World’s Leading Budget Airline” for the second year. Other nominees included Easyjet, and JetBlue Airways from the US. Air Berlin’s CEO, Joachim Hunold, commented: The fact that the World Travel Award’s international panel of judges have once again chosen Air Berlin as best in category reflects our full-service offering, efficiency levels and comfort on-board.

Air Berlin reports financials for third quarter

28-Nov-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced (27-Nov-08) increase in operating income by 57% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Net profit increased by 43.2%. This was the first quarter ever, in which turnover exceeded EUR 1 billion.

Air Berlin receives ‘Best Low Cost Airlines’ award

27-Nov-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin picked up the ‘Best Low Cost Airline’ prize in the Telegraph Travel Awards held at The Honourable Artillery Company in London. Results this year were collated from the responses of more than 25,000 readers.

Air Berlin - Sponsor of Winter Wonderland

24-Nov-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced to be the official airline sponsor of Winter Wonderland taking place in London's Hyde Park from 22-Nov-08 to 04-Jan-09. Air Berlin offers routes to the Christmas markets in Germany in Dusseldorf (20-Nov to 27-Dec), Hanover (27-Nov to 22-Dec), Munster/Osnabruck (24-Nov to 23-Dec), Nuremberg (28-Nov to 24-Dec) and Paderborn (26-Nov to 23-Dec).

Vueling Airlines reports Oct-08 passenger traffic

21-Nov-2008
SPAIN : Vueling Airlines carried 400.319 passengers during the month of October, reaching an average seat-load factor of 66.2%. During the period, Vueling continued to implement its improvement plan, which entails the cancellation of non-profitable routes and a focus on capturing higher-yielding passengers, via the expansion of business routes and also distribution through traditional travel agents.

Air Berlin strengthens market position at Palma de Mallorca Airport

21-Nov-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin has further strengthened its market position at the airport of Palma de Mallorca as it was the only airline that continued to achieve growth in the month of Oct-08. In the period from Jan-08 to Oct-08 more than 5.7 million passengers flew Air Berlin from and to Palma.

Air Berlin appoints new communications director

19-Nov-2008
GERMANY : Hans-Christoph Noack (54), previously responsible for the management column in the financial pages of the German newspaper F.A.Z. (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), has been appointed as Communications Director of Air Berlin PLC with effect from 01-Jan-09.

Norwegian Air Shuttle to upgrade in-flight services

19-Nov-2008
NORWAY : Norwegian Air Shuttle announced (18-Nov-08) plans to offer passengers a premium in-flight entertainment system by signing an agreement with Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) to supply Digital MPES (DMPES) on forty-five (45) B737-800 aircraft.

Air Berlin cancels flight contracts for dba

17-Nov-2008
GERMANY : With effect from 15-Nov-08 Air Berlin has cancelled all flight contracts for the scheduled service of its subsidiary, dba. The six aircraft still being operated by dba will only be used on an ad hoc basis. The scheduled service will be carried out by aircraft and crews of Air Berlin, the parent company.

Ryanair to appeal EU's support of Alitalia takeover

14-Nov-2008
IRELAND : Ryanair questioned (13-Nov-08) the European Commission’s objectivity when it comes to enforcing the state aid rules against failed national airlines after it rubber stamped yet another illegal multi-billion euro bailout of Alitalia, and also passed a rescue package for another bankrupt Italian airline, Alpi Eagles.

Air Berlin to launch flights to Hamburg

12-Nov-2008
GERMANY : On 01-May-09, Air Berlin is to expand its flight services out of Finland by starting direct flights from Helsinki to Hamburg. The service will operate six days a week from Monday to Saturday, departing Helsinki-Vantaa at 13.40.

Blue1 opens route to Ivalo

12-Nov-2008
FINLAND : Blue1 announced to open a new route from Helsinki to Ivalo on 10-Feb-09. The route will be operated three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays until 03-May-09. The flights are operated with MD90 aircraft with a seating capacity of 166 seats.

Air Berlin launches long-haul flights from Stansted

12-Nov-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced to offer UK passengers long haul flights from Stansted for the first time. New long haul connections started (07-Nov-08) service from via Dusseldorf, just over one hour flight time from London Stansted.

Blue1 adopts ReadWeb technology

11-Nov-2008
FINLAND : Blue1 is the first airline in the world to adopt the ReadWeb technology, with which it is possible to hear the contents of web pages. The objective is to help those who face difficulties in reading texts from the screen for reasons such as dyslexia, or similar problems.

Air Berlin to launch Dusseldorf-Jersey service

11-Nov-2008
GERMANY : With effect from the next summer flight schedule 2009, Air Berlin will for the first time be flying to Jersey. The flights to Jersey are available in the Internet and at travel agents from 11-Nov-08. The summer flight schedule for Jersey begins on 16-May-09 and ends on 12-Sep-09.

Norwegian Air Shuttle and Lufthansa Technik signs agreement for overhaul services

10-Nov-2008
NORWAY : Lufthansa Technik and Norwegian Air Shuttle have signed an agreement for overhaul services on more than 100 engines. According to the new contract, Lufthansa Technik will take care of the CFM56-7B engines for all 53 aircraft of Norwegian´s 737NG fleet and further seven spare engines.

Blue1 reports Oct-08 traffic

10-Nov-2008
FINLAND : Blue 1 Oy has reported that the total number of passengers was 145,000 in Oct-08, down 15.8% vs last year. The total traffic decreased by 8.8% vs last year and the overall passenger load factor was 64.1%.

Air Berlin reports revenue growth for Oct-08

10-Nov-2008
GERMANY : Over the period from Jan-08 to Oct-08, Air Berlin transported a total of 24,810,294 passengers, 2.1% more than in the corresponding period of the previous year (2007: 24,308,820 passengers). Fleet capacity utilisation for the first ten months of the year rose from 78.1 to 79.3%.

Air Berlin expands services to North America

05-Nov-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin is extending its range of long-haul flights from Dusseldorf to North America. The airline will again be operating daily flights to New York, as well as three flights a week to Los Angeles during the summer schedule 2009. Air Berlin had temporarily suspended these connections in its winter timetable.

Air Berlin to launch services to Venice

04-Nov-2008
GERMANY : On 01-May-09 Air Berlin will start its first service to Venice, thereby further increasing its Italian routes. Air Berlin is the only airline that will be offering one non-stop flight a day to this city in northern Italy from Dusseldorf from Mondays to Saturdays.

Air Berlin to increase Stansted - Dusseldorf services

03-Nov-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin will launch a fourth daily service from Stansted to Dusseldorf. The new flight is already bookable and complements Air Berlin’s existing three daily services between London and the German metropolis on the river Rhine.

Air Berlin - dba flight operations to be discontinued

31-Oct-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin is planning to discontinue dba’s flight operations from 30-Nov-08. The 120 pilots and 175 flight attendants are to be offered comparable jobs within the group and at their current locations. A redundancy scheme is being prepared for those dba employees who do not want to accept such offers.

Sterling Airlines files for bankruptcy

29-Oct-2008
The management, board of directors, and the shareholder of Sterling Airlines A/S have been fighting a battle to keep the company alive. However, this has not had a positive outcome, and therefore Sterling Airlines decided to file for bankruptcy.

S7 Airlines, Air Berlin And NIKI announce new international partnership

17-Oct-2008
S7 Airlines announced a major expansion of its European network through code-share agreements with Air Berlin and NIKI. Air Berlin and NIKI, signed the agreement in Moscow.

Air Berlin to release Spain and Portugal Summer 09 schedule

16-Oct-2008
GERMANY : All Air Berlin and NIKI flights from Germany and Austria to the Spanish mainland, as well as to Portugal, can be booked now for summer 2009. The entire summer services for Spain and Portugal, including all connecting flights to and via Palma de Mallorca, will be available to Air Berlin customers from 29-Oct-08.

Sterling Airlines launches Autumn campaign

16-Oct-2008
Sterling Airlines announced its campaign to celebrate autumn. Sterling Airlines is celebrating the autumn with 100,000 low fares tickets at www.sterling.com.

clickair to switch Bilbao flights from London Gatwick to Heathrow

15-Oct-2008
SPAIN : clickair will switch its Bilbao flights from London Gatwick to Heathrow, effective 28- Oct-08, coinciding with the start of its winter timetable. clickair will continue to offer daily departures to La Coruna in north west Spain, but flights to Valencia will cease.

Sterling Airlines releases Summer 2009 network

09-Oct-2008
Sterling Airlines has released its summer 2009 schedule, which includes a total of 63 routes. Sales started on 08-Sep-08.

Air Berlin improves revenue in September

08-Oct-2008
GERMANY : Over the first nine months of 2008, Air Berlin transported 2.9% more passengers than in the corresponding period of the previous year. From Jan-08 to Sep-08, 22,107,115 passengers flew Air Berlin.

Norwegian Air Shuttle selects Rockwell Collins avionics for Boeing fleet

03-Oct-2008
NORWAY : Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA has selected (02-Oct-08) Rockwell Collins to provide avionics for 42 Boeing 737NG aircraft with an option for an additional 42 aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to commence in 2009.

clickair launches ‘clickair professional’

23-Sep-2008
SPAIN : clickair is investing more in the business traveller. And with a 42% increase in revenue from this sector expected in 2009, the airline announced the launch of a brand new internet portal, clickair professional, pledging to make ticket prices for business fares 16.5% lower than the market average.

Norwegian starts scheduled service to Canaries

19-Sep-2008
NORWAY : Norwegian Air Shuttle is starting direct scheduled service to Spain’s Canary Islands starting on 28-Oct.

clickair launches EUR50 rescue rate for stranded XL and Futura passengers

16-Sep-2008
SPAIN : clickair announced a EUR50 flat fee, per sector fare to help XL and Futura passengers stranded in Spain primarily in the Balearic and Canary Islands get home.

Air Berlin’s Winter flights to Sylt available for booking

12-Sep-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin flights to Sylt during the coming winter season are now available for booking. From 01-Nov-08 there will be one non-stop flight a day from Berlin and Düsseldorf to the North Sea island of Sylt.

Air Berlin improves revenue in August

08-Sep-2008
GERMANY : Over the period from Jan-08 to Aug-08, Air Berlin welcomed 19,252,837 passengers on board, i.e. 3.9% more than in the corresponding period of the previous year (2007: 18,535,693 passengers).

Centralwings Airlines profitable in 2009

01-Sep-2008
POLAND : The management of Centralwings airlines in cooperation with PLL LOT decided to implement reorganisation program which will allow to achieve profitability of Centralwings in 2009.

TUI Travel PLC in discussions with Lufthansa AG and Thomas Cook group PLC

29-Aug-2008
TUI Travel PLC announces that it is in early discussions with Lufthansa AG and Thomas Cook Group PLC in relation to a potential merger of Condor, Germanwings and TUIfly Germany.

Sterling Airlines celebrates launch of new web site sterling.com

28-Aug-2008
Sterling Airlines is delighted to announce the launch of its new and functional web site www.sterling.com.

Jet2.com launches Manchester-Sardinia route

25-Aug-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : Jet2.com is bringing the island of Sardinia within easy reach of Manchester, following an announcement that it will begin direct services there for summer 2009.

Jet2.com announces flights to Croatia for Summer 09

25-Aug-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : Jet2.com announced flights to Croatia for summer 2009. Flights to Croatia start from just GBP56.99 one way including taxes and operate from 03-May-09.

SkyEurope launches Summer 2009 sale

21-Aug-2008
SLOVAKIA : SkyEurope Airlines, recently voted Eastern Europe’s most popular low-cost carrier by Skytrax, is proud to announce the launch of its Summer 2009 schedule for sale.

Air Berlin appoints new sales director

19-Aug-2008
GERMANY : Detlef Altmann (53) will be starting his new job as Air Berlin’s sales director on 19-Aug-08. Originally from the city of Essen, he is taking over from Carsten Kröger (41), who is starting up in business on his own at the end of the year.

Sterling Airlines launches travel campaign

19-Aug-2008
Sterling Airlines is announcing the launch of its fantastic travel campaign at www.sterling.com. Save up to 50% on more than 900.000 tickets, from continental Europe and UK, to Scandinavia.

SkyEurope chooses CabinVu-123 for in flight security

13-Aug-2008
SLOVAKIA : SkyEurope Airlines, has selected CabinVu-123 Cockpit Door Monitoring Systems from AD Aerospace Ltd, to improve safety and security across its young fleet of 15 Boeing 737-700 aircraft.

transavia.com back at Copenhagen Airport next winter

13-Aug-2008
NETHERLANDS : transavia.com will be back at Copenhagen Airport next winter. This year, the airline will offer five weekly frequencies to Innsbruck, Austria.

Air Berlin reports improvements in revenue

07-Aug-2008
GERMANY : Over the first seven months of 2008, Air Berlin transported 5.1% more passengers than in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Air One selects GE Engines to power its Airbus A330 fleet

05-Aug-2008
ITALY : Air One has selected GE's CF6-80E1 engines to power its new 12 firm and eight option Airbus A330 aircraft.

Flybe’s departure board alerts passengers to ‘tailormade’ offers

05-Aug-2008
Flybe announced the launch of Departure Board, an innovative way to keep customers updated in real-time about its latest offers and promotions.

Air Berlin CEO says savings programme starting to bear fruit

04-Aug-2008
GERMANY : (XFN-ASIA) Air Berlin plc chief executive Joachim Hunold said the airline's savings programme is starting to bear fruit and indicated there could be further price increases, according to an interview in Welt am Sonntag.

OnAir expands its management team and regional coverage

29-Jul-2008
OnAir announced key additions to its management team, including the appointment of Luc Cousin as Chief Programmes Officer (CPO), and the establishment of regional presence in Dubai, UAE and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Germanwings expands its network of destinations

28-Jul-2008
Germanwings will start operations on 16-Aug-08 by direct flights Cologne/Bonn - Sarajevo - Cologne/Bonn.

Air Berlin offers business class Summer special

24-Jul-2008
GERMANY : Passengers booking a Business Class flight to Bangkok on Air Berlin by 30-Aug-08 can use the free limousine transfer into the city.

Pratt and Whitney wins USD533 million order for V2500 Engines from Wizz Air

21-Jul-2008
POLAND : Wizz Air has selected the International Aero Engines V2500 to power a new fleet of 50 Airbus A320 aircraft.

Norwegian Air Shuttle and Sterling Airlines announce cooperation

18-Jul-2008
After entering into a new strategic cooperation, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA and Sterling Airlines A/S will cooperate on the routes Oslo - Copenhagen and Stockholm - Copenhagen from the 15-Sept-08.

Sterling Airlines to launch Copenhagen-Lisbon service next Winter

18-Jul-2008
Sterling Airlines will be expanded to include a Copenhage-Lisbon service. The airline will be operating two weekly frequencies to the capital of Portugal from 05-Feb-09.

Air Berlin doubles topbonus miles on flights from Milan Malpensa

16-Jul-2008
GERMANY : Frequent flyers on Air Berlin can earn double miles on their flights to Milan Malpensa between now and 15-Aug-08. Passengers from Berlin-Tegel, Düsseldorf and Vienna will earn twice the regular number of topbonus miles for the booked fare on direct flights to Milan Malpensa.

Embraer signs Niki Airline for five Embraer 190 jets

15-Jul-2008
AUSTRIA : Austria’s low-cost airline will be the first to fly the E-Jets with all-new “slim seats”. Mauro Kern, Embraer Executive Vice President, Airline market said, “NIKI’s decision to select the EMBRAER 190 to complement its existing fleet of narrowbody jets is great news, indeed.

Air Berlin develops its domestic Spanish route network

15-Jul-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin is developing its domestic Spanish route network even further in time for the 2008/09 winter schedule. From Jul-08 Air Berlin passengers have been able to choose from 70 Spanish domestic flights in the coming winter which represents an increase of almost 400% in comparison with the previous year.

Air Berlin test flights with a new navigation system

15-Jul-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin has received consent from the Federal Air Transport Authority to carry out test flights for the satellite-supported approach navigation system GBAS (Ground Based Augmentation System).

TuiFly, Germanwings and Condor in talks to tie up

14-Jul-2008
(XFN-ASIA) - TUI AG.'s TuiFly, Deutsche Lufthansa AG.'s Germanwings and Thomas Cook Group Plc.'s Condor are in advanced talks about a three-way airline tie-up, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported, citing company sources.

Air Berlin Group integrates flight planning with Lufthansa Systems

11-Jul-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin Lufthansa Systems announced that Air Berlin and its subsidiary airline LTU recently standardised their flight planning using the Lido Operations Center.

Sterling Airlines begins in Naples with two new routes

10-Jul-2008
Sterling Airlines is developing strongly in Italy and now flies from 7 cities to Scandinavia. After Trieste and Olbia, Sterling is delighted to announce the success of its two additional routes, Copenhagen and Stockholm, from a new airport in Italy: Naples.

Air One’s new flights to Chicago and Boston have taken off

09-Jul-2008
ITALY : Air One has inaugurated its first intercontinental flights from Milan-Malpensa to Chicago and to Boston.

Iberia and Vueling suspends from trading

08-Jul-2008
SPAIN : (XFN-ASIA) - Trade in shares of Spanish airlines Iberia was suspended pending an announcement from Vueling, the stock market regulator said on Monday.

Air Berlin- increased capacity utilisation

08-Jul-2008
GERMANY : In Jun-08, a total of 2,704,655 passengers travelled on Air Berlin (06/2007: 2,706,088 passengers). At 80.9 %, fleet capacity utilization was 0.7 % points higher than in the corresponding month of the previous year (06/2007: 80.2 %).

Vueling and Clickair agree merger

08-Jul-2008
SPAIN : LONDON (XFN-ASIA) - Vueling Airlines SA and Clickair, in which Iberia Lineas Aereas De Espana SA holds a 20% stake, agreed on to merge.

Air Berlin flies to Cyprus

07-Jul-2008
GERMANY : From 3-Nov-08 Air Berlin will be flying to Cyprus. Every Monday Air Berlin passengers from Germany and Aus-tria will be able to travel via Nuremberg to the destination air-port of Paphos in the south-west of the island

SkyEurope goes all-inclusive certified and cancels fuel surcharge

07-Jul-2008
SLOVAKIA : SkyEurope Airlines is proud to announce it is moving to all-inclusive pricing from the 7-Jul-08. All SkyEurope communication channels networkwide as well as campaigns and the online booking process will now communicate all inclusive pricing only.

Jet2.com launches two new routes from Belfast International Airport

03-Jul-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : Jet2.com is offering holidaymakers in Belfast even more choice for 2009 with the launch of two new routes from Belfast International Airport.

Air One connects Greece to Italy

02-Jul-2008
ITALY : Two Flights Daily from Athens and Thessaloniki to Milan Malpensa Air One, has begun its own direct flights from Athens and Thessaloniki to Milan: from the Greek capital there will be two flights per day, while Thessaloniki will have one daily flight to Milan.

clickair starts new service linking London and Vigo

01-Jul-2008
SPAIN : clickair has commenced its latest route between London Gatwick and Vigo in northern Spain.

Air Berlin to introduce EUR10 online booking fee to offset high fuel prices

30-Jun-2008
(XFN-ASIA) - Air Berlin Plc. will start on 1-Jul charging customers a EUR10 service charge when they book their flights online, as rivals including Deutsche Lufthansa AG. already do, to offset surging fuel prices, Tagesspiegel reported, citing a company spokesman.

Sterling Airlines focuses operations further

30-Jun-2008
In order to concentrate its efforts and make the company more efficient, Sterling Airlines will focus on three staffed bases in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo, from 1-Jan-09. Both the management and the unions of Sterling Airlines are working together to avoid dismissals.

Air One Adds Service to Milan Malpensa from Boston Logan International Airport

30-Jun-2008
ITALY : The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) welcomed Italian newcomer Air One to Boston Logan International Airport.

Air Berlin Sales Director Carsten Kröger is going into business

25-Jun-2008
GERMANY : Carsten Kröger, Sales Director at Air Berlin since 2001, announced he will be leaving the airline on 31-Dec-08 to start his own business. In equal partnership with Peter Merscher, Carsten Kröger will be running International Carrier Consult from his residence in Hanover. The new company will be acting as general sales agent for foreign airlines in the German-speaking area.

Air One launches its first intercontinental flights between the U.S. and Italy

24-Jun-2008
ITALY : Air One will launch its first intercontinental flights between the U.S. and Italy.

TUI Travel announces sale and leaseback agreement covering 19 owned aircraft within the TUI Travel Fleet

24-Jun-2008
TUI Travel PLC is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with AerCap Holdings N.V. (“AerCap”) and Deucalion Aviation Funds (advised and managed by DVB Bank AG) for the sale and leaseback of 19 owned aircraft within the TUI Travel fleet for proceeds of $526 million.

Focus Capital Investment takes 7.24 percent in low-cost carrier SkyEurope

24-Jun-2008
SLOVAKIA : (XFN-ASIA) - Low-cost carrier SkyEurope Holdling AG said Focus Capital Investments B.V. has taken a 7.24 percent stake in the Bratislava-based airline.

Air Berlin releases Winter flights to Canaries and Madeira

20-Jun-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin flights to the Canaries and Madeira in the coming Winter 2008/09 have now been released for booking. Air Berlin passengers can get to Canaries and Madeira either by flying non-stop from Germany (Berlin, Bremen, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Dresden, Erfurt, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne-Bonn, Leipzig-Halle, Munich, Nuremberg, Paderborn-Lippstadt. Münster-Osnabrück) and Austria (Salzburg and Vienna) or via feeder flights using the Nuremberg hub. Air Berlin’s Winter timetable starts on 01-Nov-08 and ends on 30-Apr-09.

TUI buys Moroccan low-cost carrier Jet4You

20-Jun-2008
(XFN Asia) TUI AG has increased its holding in Moroccan low cost carrier Jet4You to 100%.

LSG Sky Chefs opens Europe’s newest, largest catering facility in Frankfurt

20-Jun-2008
With the official opening of the catering facility in the new “Gateway Gardens” complex adjacent to Frankfurt Airport, LSG Sky Chefs now possesses the biggest and most modern plant of this kind in Europe.

Air Berlin launches efficiency programme; fleet to be reduced in Winter

19-Jun-2008
GERMANY : In order to absorb part of the increased fuel cost, Air Berlin Plc has designed a cost reduction package to be implemented at the start of the Winter flight schedule. The programme comprises capacity reductions as well as organisational measures. Instead of having 134 aircraft in service, as originally planned, only 120 are to remain in service at the end of the year.

Budapest Airport to offer more destinations and frequencies this Summer

19-Jun-2008
Budapest Airport’s network is enhanced with new destinations and more frequent flights during the busy Summer period.

Air Berlin shares up pre-bourse after report savings programme to begin soon

18-Jun-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Shares in Air Berlin Plc were 3.73% higher at EUR6.12 per share in pre-bourse trade as dealers pointed to a newswire report that said Air Berlin will soon introduce a new cost-cutting programme.

European Commission investigates potential state aid to Frankfurt Hahn Airport and to Ryanair

18-Jun-2008
The European Commission has decided to launch a formal investigation into public financing which Frankfurt Hahn Airport has received from the Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz regional authorities, as well as from its publicly owned parent company, Fraport AG. The Commission has also decided to scrutinise the airport charges applicable at Frankfurt Hahn as well as individual contracts the airport has concluded with Ryanair. The Commission investigation follows complaints from a competing airline and from an association of airlines.

Air France imposes 16th fuel surcharge as Ryanair guarantees no fuel surcharge

17-Jun-2008
IRELAND : Ryanair renewed its guarantee of ‘no fuel surcharges ever’ as Air France increases its fuel surcharge for the 16th time.

Air Berlin increases its fuel surcharge

16-Jun-2008
GERMANY : Due to the steep rise in the price of oil, Air Berlin will be increasing the fuel surcharge for new bookings from 16-Jun-08. On German domestic routes and flights between European cities, the surcharge will be increased from EUR22 to EUR25 one way, and from EUR32 to EUR35 on medium-haul tourist routes. On flights to Egypt, Madeira and the Canaries, the surcharge will be increased from EUR40 to EUR45, and from EUR85 to EUR95 on long-haul routes. The last increase in the fuel surcharge was implemented on 16-May-08.

Lufthansa's Germanwings head sees higher ticket prices due to rising oil prices

16-Jun-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Thomas Winkelmann, the Head of Deutsche Lufthansa AG's budget airline, Germanwings, reportedly expects passengers on low cost carriers will soon have to pay higher prices due to rising oil prices.

Vueling May 2008 passenger load factor at 70.3%

10-Jun-2008
SPAIN : (XFN Asia) Vueling Airlines SA reported its passenger load factor fell to 70.3% in May 2008 from 76.0% in May 2007, while the number of passengers transported increased 4.5% to 484,531.

Air Berlin reports May 2008 traffic

10-Jun-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin reported May 2008 traffic with a total of 2.7 million passengers transported by the Air Berlin Group, a 4.6% increase year-on-year. Fleet capacity utilisation improved by 3.3 ppts to reach 80.8%. For the first five months of 2008, the accumulated number of passengers travelling on Air Berlin totalled 10,8 million, an increase of 8.3%. For the period from January to May 2008, capacity utilisation improved by 3.8 ppts to reach 76.2%.

Air Berlin to double direct flights to Copenhagen and Helsinki

10-Jun-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced it will be doubling its direct flights to Copenhagen and Helsinki when its new Winter schedule comes into operation. From Nov-08 onwards, there will be a morning and evening flight to Copenhagen and Helsinki from Berlin on weekdays. At weekends there will be one flight a day. While the capacity from Berlin-Tegel to Copenhagen is being increased, the number of flights available from Düsseldorf to Helsinki will be doubled.

Air One Orders A350s And A330s

06-Jun-2008
ITALY : Air One has signed a firm order with Airbus for 12 A350-800s, plus 12 options, and 12 A330-200s, plus eight options. Air One will use these aircraft to develop a comprehensive long-haul route network, which will complement Air One’s domestic and European operations. With this contract, Air One now has a total of 24 widebody aircraft on order with Airbus (plus 20 options), as well a global agreement for 90 A320 aircraft of which 65 A320s are firm orders and the remaining 25 are to be gradually firmed up.

Vueling sees ‘significantly higher’ ticket price hikes in Q2 after 5 pct in Q1

06-Jun-2008
SPAIN : (XFN Asia) Vueling Airlines SA will see significantly higher ticket price increases in the second quarter than the 5% rise seen in the first quarter, according to Vueling CFO, Antonio Grau. Grau said that the price hike on tickets was EUR3 euros per person in the first quarter, due to soaring oil and the euro/dollar exchange impact. Vueling makes 54% of its purchases in dollars, including fuel, fleet rental and maintenance, Grau noted.

Air one transports three million passengers since the beginning of 2008

05-Jun-2008
ITALY : Air One announced it has reached a level of three million passengers carried since the beginning of 2008 on scheduled flights, 15.6% more than the same period last year. In 2007, the airline carried more than 7.5 million passengers; in 2006 the number was 6.3 million and in 2005 5.5 million.

Airbus, Italy's Air One to sign long-range aircraft supply deal

04-Jun-2008
ITALY : (XFN Asia) EADS unit, Airbus, and Italy's Air One announced plans to sign an agreement on 04-Jun-08, for Airbus to supply long-range aircrafts to the expanding Italian carrier. Air One already has a long-term agreement with Airbus for the shorter range A320 aircraft, and previously airline officials said it was deciding on a supplier for its long-range expansion.

Air Berlin improves performance

30-May-2008
GERMANY : Despite the significant rise in fuel prices, Air Berlin announced an increase of its operating income for the 1st quarter of 2008 by 20% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Sterling Airlines confirms its success and Development of 'Sterling Connect'

30-May-2008
Sterling Airlines confirms the success of its brand new service to its customers, 'Sterling Connect', and is pleased to announce its further development by adding 27 new connecting flights.

Air Berlin sells service centre, LTU plus, to LTU's former owners

26-May-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Air Berlin Plc. stated it sold LTU plus, a service centre that was part of its holiday airline LTU, to focus on its core business of operating flights. LTU was sold to MIC GmbH, owned by Juergen Marbach, and to Intro Aviation GmbH, controlled by Rudolf Woehrl. No financial details were disclosed. Both Marbach and Woehrl are former shareholders of LTU, which was taken over by Air Berlin last year. LTU plus will continue to provide services to Air Berlin for at least two years.

EasyJet says Standard Life lifts stake to 9.05 pct in company

23-May-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : (XFN-Asia) easyJet Plc. said Standard Life Investments Ltd. has lifted its stake in the company to about 38.12 million shares or 9.05 percent.

Air Berlin says German cartel office extends review of Condor buy to Aug 11

22-May-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Air Berlin Plc stated that the German cartel office has again extended the deadline for its review of Air Berlin’s planned acquisition of low cost carrier, Condor, from Thomas Cook by two months until 11-Aug-08.

Wizz Air celebrates Fourth Anniversary

21-May-2008
POLAND : Wizz Air celebrated its fourth anniversary on 19-May-08. The carrier has handled more than 12 million passengers since its launch, including 4.2 million in 2007.

Arlanda : Sterling moving all international traffic to Terminal 5

20-May-2008
From 19-May-08, Sterling has gathered all its international traffic in Terminal 5. Until now, Danish-based Sterling’s flights to Copenhagen have used Terminal 2, but they will now move to Terminal 5, which is used by Sterling’s other international traffic.

Ryanair Launches Ryanairvillas.com

16-May-2008
IRELAND : Ryanair announced the launch of Ryanairvillas.com, which will give property owners the chance to advertise holiday rentals on Europe’s largest travel site.

Ryanair Announces Dublin-Kerry Route

16-May-2008
IRELAND : Ryanair announced that it has written to the Department of Transport confirming that it has accepted the offer of the PSO contract on the Kerry Dublin route and will commence operations on the 22-Jul-08.

Ryanair passengers flying to Spain from UK and Ireland to provide 'advance passenger information'

15-May-2008
IRELAND : Since Jun-07, the Spanish government requires that all passengers travelling from the UK/ Ireland to Spain (including the Canaries and Balearic Islands) provide 'advance passenger information' ('API' or 'APIS' data) before their flight departure.

Flybe to add flights to Isle of Man-Manchester route

14-May-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : Flybe announced plans to add “a minimum of two extra return flights” on the Isle of Man-Manchester route to accommodate increased traffic expected for the Isle of Man motorcycle races, held between 24-May-08 and 07-Jun-08.

Flybe adds two extra services to accommodate TT fans

14-May-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : Flybe announced it is adding a minimum of two extra return flights on its popular Isle of Man to Manchester route. These, added to Flybe’s existing schedule of up to five a day, will give TT fans extra opportunities to attend the famous Isle of Man motorcycle races, being held between 24-May-08 and 07-June-08.

New Route to Frankfurt with Ryanair

14-May-2008
IRELAND : Ryanair announced a new route from Manchester to its Frankfurt Hahn base. The new route will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from 26-Oct-08. Ryanair now serves 7 destinations from Manchester including Marseille, Bremen and Shannon.

Norwegian Air Shuttle reports Apr-08 traffic

13-May-2008
NORWAY : Norwegian Air Shuttle reports (13-May-08) the following traffic highlights in Apr-08:

Flybe ceases operations from Galway Airport

13-May-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : Flybe announced it has ceased operations from Galway Airport, leaving Aer Arann as the only carrier operating from the airport (BizWorld, 12-May-08).

Aviapartner Handling awarded handling contract with Air One in Milan-Malpensa

12-May-2008
ITALY : Aviapartner Handling announced it has signed a major contract with Air One for the provision of full handling services at Milan Malpensa. The contract, effective since 30-Mar-08 for ramp handling and as of 01-Jul-08 also for passenger services, covers approximately 130 weekly services (roughly 7,000 services p/a) and will double the volume at the station.

Ryanair Calls on ENAV to Compensate Passengers for Repeated Delays and Cancellations

12-May-2008
IRELAND : Ryanair has called on ENAV, Italy’s Air Traffic Control Authority to compensate passengers affected by the latest ATC strike in Italy. Ryanair stated that, ENAV is on strike for the eighth time in 18 months and continues to inflict cancellations and delays on hundreds of thousands of Italian passengers/visitors without any sanction whatsoever. So far, Ryanair has been forced to cancel 20 flights to/from Italy.

Flybe's Three New Services From Inverness Take Off

09-May-2008
Flybe began operating flights between Inverness and Exeter, Manchester and Southampton in the continued roll-out of its 2008 summer schedule. Flights start from only £24.99 and are available for booking now online.

Flybe Announces Extension of its Birmingham to Isle of Man service

09-May-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : Flybe announced the extension of its double-daily Birmingham Isle of Man service through the 2008/9 Winter Season following the enormous success enjoyed since tickets went on sale at the end of Nov-07.

easyJet reports interim results for the six months ended 31-Mar-08

08-May-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : easyJet reported that for the six months ended 31-Mar-08, total revenue increased by 24%, year-on-year, to GBP892.2 million with underlying pre tax margin in line with expectations. Passenger numbers for the period rose by 15% to 18.9 million while load factor remained stable at 81%. easyJet also reported an increase of 24% in fuel costs.

Air Berlin reports more passengers and increased capacity utilisation in April

08-May-2008
GERMANY : In April 2008, Air Berlin (including LTU, Belair and the airline company Walter) increased the number of passengers transported to 2.2 million, representing a 6.5% increase year-on-year. Fleet capacity utilisation also increased, by 4.5 ppts to 78.8%.

SkyEurope carries 279,816 passengers in April 2008 and takes delivery of its 15th brand new aircraft

08-May-2008
SLOVAKIA : SkyEurope reported it carried a total of 279,816 passengers in April 2008 with a load factor of 70.7%, down from April 2007 due to the seasonal effects of the busy Easter period (Q2 in 2007 vs Q1 in 2008) and a focus on maintaining yields despite a 9% capacity growth.

Gate Gourmet to purchase five airline catering units in Germany from Air Berlin and SCK Sky Catering Kitchen

07-May-2008
GERMANY : Gate Gourmet has agreed to purchase airline catering units in five German cities from Air Berlin and SCK Sky Catering Kitchen. In addition, Air Berlin has agreed to a new long-term catering contract with Gate Gourmet in Germany and the rest of Europe.

Smart Wings to open Budapest Dubai service

07-May-2008
CZECH REPUBLICH : Budapest Airport’s (BA) growing network is expanding with a new destination, as Smart Wings launches a direct air link between Budapest and Dubai from 14 May. The airline will fly once a week between Dubai and Budapest, every Wednesday at 14:15 with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Air Berlin is switching to Malpensa

06-May-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced it is switching its flights from Bergamo Orio al Serio to Milan Malpensa. From 16-Jun-08, 25 flights a week will be taking off from Terminal 1 of Malpensa Airport, heading for Berlin-Tegel and Düsseldorf. These two hubs offer connections to ten other German cities, as well as major European destinations, such as Gothenburg, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Moscow.

Air One in contact with Berlusconi adviser on Alitalia

06-May-2008
ITALY : (XFN Asia) Air One Director, Giovanni Malago, stated that Air One is currently in contact with an adviser to incoming Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, on joining a consortium to acquire Alitalia SpA.

Norwegian and Volareweb Start Flights to MIA

06-May-2008
NORWAY : Norwegian and Volareweb are the latest new airlines to commence operations to Malta with direct flights from Oslo and Milan respectively.

Hed Kandi and Monarch to expand FlyKandi partnership

02-May-2008
Hed Kandi and Monarch are expanding their FlyKandi partnership to include more destinations, including Barcelona, Puerto Banus (Marbella), Tenerife and Mallorca.

Jet2.com announces first of eight new Summer routes

02-May-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : Jet2.com is kicking off the month of May with the announcement of the first of eight new Summer routes operating out from its base at Leeds Bradford International Airport starting with the German city of Hamburg.

Sterling Airlines appoints Fredrik Kinnunen as new Director of Direct Sales

02-May-2008
Sterling Airlines A/S has appointed, Mr Fredrik Kinnunen, as the company’s new Director of Direct Sales. Fredrik and his team are responsible for the daily operations and campaigns at the sterling website, the different versions of the Sterling Airlines Newsletter and other projects related to customer experience and sales.

clickair and Germanwings team to increase destinations - Unique cross-selling agreement is industry first

02-May-2008
SPAIN : clickair and Germanwings will make selected flights between their respective countries available to each other’s passengers following the ratification of an online marketing agreement. The partnership is aimed at increasing the number of destinations offered on their respective websites.

Air Berlin takes off for China

01-May-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin launched its long-haul routes to China on 01-May-08, with five flights a week from Düsseldorf to the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai. Air Berlin will offer connecting flights from Germany - including from Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart, Switzerland from Zurich and Austria from Vienna, to both destinations. Air Berlin will operate the routes with Airbus A330s equipment.

easyJet to carry 450,000 passengers over May Bank Holiday

30-Apr-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : easyJet stated it will welcome 450,000 passengers on its flights over the May Bank Holiday period. According to easyJet, the nation’s favourite destinations over the May Bank Holiday weekend are; Alicante, Faro and Malaga whilst Edinburgh is the most popular city break destination, with Amsterdam, Barcelona and Geneva closely following.

easyJet announces new route from Manchester to Alicante

30-Apr-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : easyJet announced plans to introduce another new route from Manchester to Alicante in Spain. The new route will launch on 29-Sep-08, operating four times weekly throughout the Winter, with fares from GBP27.99 one way including tax. easyJet expects to carry close to 60,000 passengers on this new route in the first 12 months of operation.

Ryanair guarantees no fuel surcharges ever as BA announces GBP79 in fuel surcharge

30-Apr-2008
IRELAND : Ryanair renewed its guarantee of ‘no fuel surcharges ever’ as British Airways (BA) announced that it is to increase its unavoidable fuel surcharge by GBP15 to GBP79 per one-way flight. According to Ryanair, BA is buying fuel at USD40 less than current market rates and is 60% hedged at USD79 per barrel until the end of June.

Sinead Finn Appointed Director of Commercial Revenue at Ryanair

29-Apr-2008
IRELAND : Ryanair announced the appointment of Ms Sinead Finn as Director of Commercial Revenue. In this role, Sinead will be responsible for the management and development of all ancillary revenue streams in Ryanair with the exception of in-flight catering, and will work with Ryanair’s established partners in the areas of car hire, hotels and travel insurance as well as developing new streams.

Ryanair: Baggage Charges Rise to Reduce Checked in Bags

29-Apr-2008
IRELAND : Ryanair announced that it will continue its drive to increase the number of passengers checking in on-line by increasing baggage and airport check-in charges from 05-May-08. From this date Ryanair’s checked in baggage fee will rise from EUR9 to EUR10, while airport check-in fees will increase from EUR4 to EUR5. Ryanair encourages passengers to avoid these charges altogether by travelling with its 10kg hand luggage allowance and checking in on-line.

Air Berlin determined to acquire stake in Condor

28-Apr-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin stated it remains determined to acquire a 75% stake in Condor in February next year and the remaining 25% in the following year. The company also denied a report that Air Berlin was intent on provoking the Federal Cartel Office into rejecting the application currently under scrutiny by its lack of co-operation. Air Berlin added that any rejection of the takeover bid will not be taken lying down.

easyJet launches three new routes from Bristol to Biarritz, Olbia and Split

24-Apr-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : easyJet announced plans to launch three new routes from Bristol to Biarritz, commencing 23-Apr-08, and Olbia and Split, commencing on 26-Apr-08.

clickair is first LCC to fly from the UK to Vigo, Northern Spain

24-Apr-2008
SPAIN : New London Gatwick route starts on 21 June. clickair announced it is launching new flights from London Gatwick to Vigo, its sixth Spanish route from the UK. The three times weekly Airbus A320 flights to Vigo will commence on 21-Jun-08 with seats already on sale starting from EUR35 one way including all taxes.

Ryanair introduces new Summer routes from Stansted to Beziers and Rimini

24-Apr-2008
IRELAND : Ryanair announced plans to introduce two new Summer routes from London Stansted to Beziers (France) and Rimini (Italy). Ryanair will operate the services in Jun-08, Jul-08 and Aug-08.

easyjet launches new route from Glasgow to Faro

23-Apr-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : easyJet announced the launch of its new route from Glasgow to Faro in Portugal. The twice weekly service, which increases to a three weekly service during the Summer period from 26-Jun-08 to 28-Aug-08, has fares from GBP23.99 one way. The airline expects to carry 16,000 passengers on the route in the next 12 months.

ELFAA welcomes Jet2.com as a new airline member

23-Apr-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) announced that Jet2.com will be joining ELFAA, becoming the 12th airline member of the Association.

Wizz Air renew the Budapest-Tirgu Mures service

23-Apr-2008
POLAND : Wizz Air announced that it would move its flights serving the Budapest-Transylvania route from Cluj to Tirgu Mures Airport. The effective move of the flights will take place on 15-May-08, concurrently with Wizz Air's newest operating base opening in Cluj. Wizz Air commenced operating from Tirgu Mures Airport in Jul-06 and decided to move its Transylvanian operation to Cluj in Nov-07.

Flybe to launch year-round Guernsey-Paris route launched

23-Apr-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : Flybe is following up the launch of its 2008 Summer Schedule with a new year-round, four times a week route from Guernsey to the French capital city of Paris, effective 11-Jul-08.

Iceland Express to commence London Gatwick-Reykjavik service

22-Apr-2008
ICELAND : Iceland Express announced plans to commence scheduled service from London Gatwick to Reykjavik in Sep-08 after BA suspended its service during Northern Spring-08.

Expedia and Air Berlin Group sign new multi-year agreement

22-Apr-2008
GERMANY : Expedia announced it has signed a new multi-year agreement with Air Berlin Group, under which all of Air Berlin's fares, schedules and inventory will be available worldwide on Expedia and hotels.com branded points of sale, as well as through Expedia Corporate Travel.

Norwegian Air Shuttle selects EuroCommerce for Payment Processing

18-Apr-2008
NORWAY : Norwegian Air Shuttle has selected EuroCommerce to provide payment processing services for its internet and call centre channels.

ELFAA welcomes EC official statement: all environmental taxes should be dropped upon inclusion of aviation in EU ETS

17-Apr-2008
ELFAA welcomed the statement by Olivier Onidi, EC Head of Unit, Internal Market, Air Transport Agreements and Multilateral Relations, at a recent industry gathering in Malta, that upon the inclusion of aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, all other environmental taxes on aviation should be dropped.

Air One declines comment on any involvement in Berlusconi's Alitalia consortium

17-Apr-2008
ITALY : (XFN Asia) Air One has declined to comment on any involvement in an Italian consortium, supported by incoming Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, to take over Alitalia SpA. Meanwhile, Air One Chairman, Carlo Toto, is reportedly due to hold talks with Bruno Ermolli, a consultant for Berlusconi looking for participants for the consortium, to rival an Air France-KLM bid.

Air Berlin offers mobile check-in and seat reservations

17-Apr-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced it will offer passengers the ability to checkin for their flight or reserve a seat via their mobiles. The MMS check-in facility means that travellers can choose to have their boarding pass sent directly to their mobile. The MMS contains a bar code that is scanned in from the mobile phone at the gate, together with all the important passenger information, such as name and flight number.

Air Berlin launches non-stop from Dortmund and Hanover to Sylt

17-Apr-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin, in conjunction with its co-operation partner, LG Walter, will be offering non-stop flights from Dortmund and Hanover to the island of Sylt for the first time on 01-May-08. Air Berlin will operate twice weekly service from Dortmund and Hanover to Westerland.

Collective salary agreements for Air Berlin, LTU and dba pilots

17-Apr-2008
GERMANY : The management of Air Berlin, LTU and dba, and Cockpit, the pilots’ union, have concluded a collective salary agreement for pilots employed by the three airlines. The agreement contains the terms of employment based on current salary arrangements for Air Berlin.

Flybaboo opens routes from Geneva to St Petersburg, Kiev, Sofia, Vienna and Ibiza

17-Apr-2008
SWITZERLAND : Flybaboo, the Geneva based airline, announced the launch of its new schedule, including four new routes to St Petersburg, Kiev, Sofia, Vienna. The first three destinations will also be available to and from Nice with connection through Geneva. The new routes to St Petersburg, Kiev and Sofia will be operated three times weekly while the Vienna route will be operated with daily weekday services. In addition, Flybaboo will also launch a new route from Geneva to Ibiza throughout the Summer season. The Geneva-Nice route will be strengthened with a third daily flight while another daily flight will operate a direct link between Nice and Venice.

easyJet withholds Gatwick price rise payment from BAA

16-Apr-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : easyJet has informed BAA that it intends to withhold part of the dramatic price increase being imposed on it at Gatwick Airport, pending the outcome of a Judicial Review.

Ryanair to Withhold Stansted Price Increases

16-Apr-2008
IRELAND : Ryanair confirmed it wrote to the BAA Stansted on 07-Apr-08, objecting to the proposed 7% increase in passenger charges at Stansted, which come on the back of a 100% increase in passenger charges imposed by the BAA Stansted monopoly in Apr-07. Ryanair is still awaiting a response to its letter to the management of BAA, but stated that if BAA Stansted continues to impose these maximum allowed price increases, then Ryanair will launch judicial review proceedings and it will withhold these latest increases (putting them in an escrow account) until the outcome of its judicial review proceedings at Stantsed.

easyJet’s launches ‘early bird’ service

16-Apr-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : easyJet has further reinforced its position as first choice for the local business community by launching a new 'early bird' service from Belfast International Airport to London Gatwick on 31-Mar-08. The weekday flight leaves Belfast International at 0630 and arrives at Gatwick at 0755.

Air Berlin downgraded to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’ by ABN Amro

11-Apr-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) ABN Amro has downgraded its stance on Air Berlin Plc to 'sell' from 'hold' and cut its target price to EUR5 from EUR11.50.

Air One expands route network with new flights from Milan-Malpensa and Rome-Fiumicino

11-Apr-2008
ITALY : Air One announced plans to expand its route network with the launch of new flights from Milan-Malpensa to 11 new domestic, international and intercontinental destinations, as well as from Rome-Fiumicino to Naples and Palermo (already operative); to Berlin commencing 02-May-08; to Brussels commencing 02-Jun-08; to Athens commencing 07-Jun-08; to Thessalonica commencing 08-Jun-08; and to Bari and Lamezia Terme commencing 08-Jul-08, and the first intercontinental flights to Boston from 14-Jun-08 and Chicago from 21-Jun-08.

Vueling March load factor rise to 72.4%

09-Apr-2008
SPAIN : (XFN Asia) Vueling Airlines SA stated its load factor rose to 72.4 percent in March 2008 from 70.8%. Vueling transported 539,042 passengers, an increase of 33%. Meanwhile, for 1Q08, Vueling reported its load factor fell to 65.0% from 66.9%, while the number of passengers transported rose by 32.1% to 1.415 million.

SkyEurope reports record number of passengers in Vienna and Prague in Mar-08

09-Apr-2008
SLOVAKIA : SkyEurope reported it transported record number of passengers of 307,540 passengers in Vienna and Prague, in Mar-08, representing an increase of 16.2% year-on-year. SkyEurope recorded a load factor of 73.6% due to a 38.6% increase in seat capacity. SkyEurope stated the increase in seat capacity has been accomplished by better utilisation of its new larger 737-700NG aircraft.

SkyEurope celebrates 10 millionth passengers, expect 15 million by 2009

09-Apr-2008
SLOVAKIA : SkyEurope Airlines celebrated an important milestone on 03-Apr-08, announcing the carrier checked-in its ten millionth passenger at Prague Airport. Just one and half year after marking five million passengers, SkyEurope doubled the volume and stated it expects to carry 15 million passengers by 2009.

SkyEurope first LCC offering IATA compliant e-ticketing

09-Apr-2008
SLOVAKIA : SkyEurope Airlines becomes the first low cost carrier to offer IATA compliant e-ticketing in 100 countries on its more than 70 routes. SkyEurope achieved GDS access via Hahn Air’s e-alliance for reservations and now also for e-ticketing, including the option for Interline E-Ticketing (IET).

Air Berlin carries more than 2.1 million passengers in Mar-08

08-Apr-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced it carried more than 2.1 million passengers in Mar-08. Air Berlin reported that in Mar-08, a total of 2,175,427 passengers travelled on Air Berlin (including its subsidiaries LTU and Belair, and the airline company Walter), representing an increase of 5.5% year-on-year.

easyJet opens 20th base at Lyon Airport

07-Apr-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : easyJet’s Chief Executive, Andy Harrison, officially opened the carrier’s 20th base at Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport. easyJet’s new base at Lyon Airport is part of a EUR600 million investment over a four-year-period that will strengthen easyJet’s in France.

Russian investor Blavatnik to buy Vatas' 18.56% stake in Air Berlin - report

07-Apr-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Russian investor, Leonard Blavatnik, is reportedly intending to buy the 18.56% stake in Air Berlin Plc. that has been sold by investor, Vatas. Air Berlin stated Vatas subsidiary, Haarlem One, sold its stake in Air Berlin after three months.

Iberia to be majority shareholder of Vueling-Clickair

04-Apr-2008
SPAIN : (XFN Asia) Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA will reportedly be a majority shareholder of the merged Vueling Airlines SA-Clickair Group with a stake of about 40%. Iberia will reportedly renounce management of the new Vueling-Clickair Group.

Vueling merger talks with Clickair ongoing; no agreement

01-Apr-2008
(XFN Aais) Vueling Airlines SA shareholder, Grupo Planeta's investment vehicle, Inversiones Hemisferio SL, stated it has held talks with Clickair over a possible merger, as well as with other companies in the sector, but that no agreement has yet been reached.

Norwegian Air Shuttle shares down as Goldman Sachs keeps 'conviction sell'

01-Apr-2008
NORWAY : (XFN Asia) Shares in Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA fell after Goldman Sachs reiterated its 'conviction sell' recommendation on the stock due to rising fuel costs and a full valuation. Shares in Norwegian Air Shuttle were down 2.44% at NOK120.

Air Berlin cuts 2008 EBIT forecast to EUR73-120 million from EUR140-160 million

01-Apr-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Air Berlin PLC has cut its full year 2008 EBIT forecast to EUR73-120 million from the EUR140-160 million range it announced in Nov-07. Air Berlin stated the downward revision is due to the more than EUR10 million it now estimates as start-up costs of its new long-haul services to China.

Air Berlin’s 2007 performance positive, 2008 will be year of profit optimisation - Board

01-Apr-2008
GERMANY : Despite the decline in earnings, the Management Board of Air Berlin PLC rates the company’s 2007 performance as positive. The Management Board of Air Berling stated the carrier has grown considerably, both organically and through acquisitions and partnerships, and that 2008 will be the year of profit optimisation.

Air One accelerates Malpensa launch as Alitalia downscales

28-Mar-2008
ITALY : (XFN Asia) Italy's Air One has accelerated its plan to launch operations at Milan's Malpensa Airport as Alitalia SpA downscales its operations at Malpensa by a reportedly 71%. Air One stated it will launch 138 services from Malpensa.

Bombardier confirms Q400 customer as being Air Berlin

27-Mar-2008
GERMANY : Bombardier Aerospace confirmed that a firm order from a European carrier for ten Q400 turboprop aircraft plus ten options, announced on 23-Oct-007, was placed by Air Berlin PLC. Air Berlin had requested to remain unidentified at the time of the announcement. The value of Air Berlin’s firm order contract is estimated to be USD267 million. If all options are exercised, the contract value could rise to USD540 million.

The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) calls for a radical re-design of ATM in its Airspace Manifesto

27-Mar-2008
The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) launched its Airspace Manifesto, a high-level vision statement for the future of the European Air Traffic Management (ATM) and its regulatory framework, on 26-Mar-08.

Italy Transport Minister wants to open Alitalia data room to Air One

26-Mar-2008
ITALY : (XFN Asia) Italy's Transport Minister, Alessandro Bianchi, stated the government should give AP Holding, which owns Air One and Intesa Sanpaolo, access to a data room to help it prepare a binding offer for Alitalia SpA.

clickair thinks global, acts local with new carbon offset programme

25-Mar-2008
SPAIN : clickair announced its participation in the United Nation’s ‘Plant the Planet’ programme by signing an agreement with the local council and the ‘Mas Arboles Foundation, to introduce a new carbon offset programme allowing passengers to directly contribute to the development of a forest close to clickair’s El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona headquarters.

Air Berlin: Condor acquisition deadline extended by the Federal Cartel Office until 09-Jun-08

19-Mar-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin PLC announced the deadline for its acquisition of Condor Flugdienst GmbH has been further extended by the Federal Cartel Office, the German Bundeskartellamt. The Federal Cartel Office extended the deadline for completion of Air Berlin’s primary evaluation process by two months until 09-Jun-08. Discussions between Air Berlin, Thomas Cook and the Federal Cartel Office regarding the acquisition are continuing.

TUI Travel confident of TUIfly/Germanwings merger in 6-8 weeks

19-Mar-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) TUI Travel PLC's CEO, Peter Long, stated he is confident that a deal to merge the group's TUIfly with Deutsche Lufthansa AG's Germanwings will be finalised in six to eight weeks.

SkyEurope carries 254,609 passengers in Feb-08, up 25.5%

18-Mar-2008
SLOVAKIA : SkyEurope Airlines stated it has carried a total of 254,609 passengers in Feb-08, an increase of 25.5% year-on-year. SkyEurope recorded a lower load factor of 67.2% due to a 59.4% increase in seat capacity compared to Feb-07 and a focus on continuous yield growth.

Gate Gourmet reaches agreement with Norwegian Air Shuttle for onboard catering

18-Mar-2008
NORWAY : Gate Gourmet has reached a long-term agreement with Norwegian Air Shuttle AS to provide onboard catering and provisioning across the carrier's system.

Air Berlin to slash FY guidance on rising fuel prices

14-Mar-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Air Berlin Plc will reportedly announce at the end of Mar-08 it is cutting its full-year 2008 guidance due to rising fuel prices.

Lufthansa not in a hurry to finish talks on merger of Germanwings with TUIfly

13-Mar-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Lufthansa’s Chief Executive, Wolfgang Mayrhuber, has stated Lufthansa is not in a hurry to finish talks over a possible merger of its Germanwings carrier and TUI Travel Plc's TUIfly airline.

Air Berlin’s FY07 net profit declines due to LTU integration costs

13-Mar-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Air Berlin PLC stated its full year 2007 net profit have declined to EUR11 million, compared with EUR50.1 million the year earlier due to one-off costs linked with delays in the LTU integration.

Wizz Air to move operations to Targu-Mures Airport

11-Mar-2008
POLAND : Wizz Air announced that it will be moving its Cluj-Napoca operations to Targu Mures Airport due to runway reconstruction works at Cluj-Napoca International Airport, which will be closed between 22-Mar-08 and 26-Mar-08.

Air Berlin makes changes to Board

11-Mar-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced that Dr. Eckhard Cordes will be relinquishing his seat on the Board of Directors at Air Berlin PLC on account of the dual positions he holds as Chief Executive Officer of both the Haniel and Metro Groups.

Air Berlin continues double-digit growth

07-Mar-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced it has continued its double-digit growth in terms of passenger traffic. In total, Air Berlin, including LTU, Belair and the airline company Walter, transported 1.87 million passengers in Feb-08, an increase of 14.8% from Feb-07. Air Berlin also recorded double-digit growth for the first two months of 2008: the number of passengers flown increased by 14.4%, from 3.19 million to 3,65 million.

Air One to participate in Volare auction

05-Mar-2008
ITALY : (XFN Asia) Italy's Air One will reportedly participate in the auction of the Volare airline, currently in the hands of Alitalia SpA.

Deutsche Bank raises stake in Air Berlin

04-Mar-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Deutsche Bank AG announced it has raised its stake in Air Berlin Plc from 14.25% to 15.12%.

Sterling Airlines expands Italian network

03-Mar-2008
Sterling has expanded its Italian network with the announcement of the launch of its new route to Copenhagen from its new Italian airport base in Trieste. Sterling Airlines now operates from seven cities to Scandinavia.

Sterling Airlines appoints Reza Taleghani as President and CEO

29-Feb-2008
Sterling Airlines announced it has appointed Mr. Reza Taleghani to serve as the carrier’s President and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Mr. Almar rn Hilmarsson.

Air Berlin increases frequency to Sylt over Easter

28-Feb-2008
GERMANY : Air Berlin increased frequency on its services to the North Sea island of Sylt over Easter. Air Berlin will be operating an additional second flight from Düsseldorf and Berlin to Sylt on Good Friday, 21-Mar-08.

Ryanair makes complaint to EU commission over state aid to Air France-KLM

28-Feb-2008
IRELAND : (XFN Asia) Ryanair announced it has filed a complaint with the European Commission against the Dutch government, alleging it granted state aid of over EUR400 million p/a to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and to Air France-KLM.

Vueling FY net loss widens sharply as fares fall, fuel costs rise

26-Feb-2008
SPAIN : (XFN Asia) Vueling Airlines reported its full year net loss widened sharply as strong competition in the sector forced the Spanish low cost carrier to cut fares while its fuel costs rose.

UAF: increase in 2007 passenger traffic thanks to low-cost carriers

26-Feb-2008
(XFN Asia) French airport association, UAF, reported airports in France recorded a 4.9% increase in passenger traffic in 2007, thanks to low-cost carriers and international operations. Meanwhile, low-cost carriers operating at French airports reported a 20% increase in passenger traffic to reach 23 million.

Virgin Atlantic biofuel demonstration flight a success

25-Feb-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : Virgin Atlantic confirmed that its biofuel demonstration flight, which took place on the 25-Feb-08, was a success.

Air One may bid for Alitalia

25-Feb-2008
ITALY : (XFN Asia) Air One owner, Carlo Toto, is reportedly considering a bid for Alitalia, after a court rejected Air One's challenge against exclusive talks to sell the government's 49.9% stake in Alitalia to Air France-KLM.

Sterling Airlines announces four summer routes from Athens to Scandinavia

25-Feb-2008
Sterling Airlines announced the addition of four summer routes from Athens to Scandinavian destinations: Copenhagen in Denmark, Stockholm and Gothenburg in Sweden, and Oslo in Norway.

Orly strikes costs French airlines EUR1 million per day

15-Feb-2008
(XFN Asia) Strikes by French air traffic controllers principally affecting Paris' Orly Airport have cost French airlines operating from the airport over EUR1 million per day, according to Transavia CEO, Lionel Guerin.

Three-way merger of TUIfly, Germanwings, Eurowings may be delayed

11-Feb-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Talks on a three-way merger of TUIfly airline with Germanwings and Eurowings subsidiaries are expected to be delayed.

easyJet opens 19th base at Paris Charles de Gaulle

08-Feb-2008
UNITED KINGDOM : easyJet officially opened the airline’s 19th base at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on 07-Feb-08. The new base at France’s most important airport is part of a EUR600 million investment over a four-year-period that will strengthen easyJet’s position as the second largest airline in France. The investment will enable easyJet to increase its fleet in France from six based aircraft to 20 and to double the number of passengers from 6 million in 2007 to 12 million in 2011.

Vueling passenger numbers increase almost 40% in Jan-08; load factor slips 1.7 ppts

08-Feb-2008
SPAIN : Vueling carried a total of 450,707 passengers in Jan-08, representing a 38.6% year-on-year increase. Vueling’s load factor was 58.9%, a 1.7 ppt reduction.

Vueling to launch first LCC route between Andalusia and the Canaries

08-Feb-2008
SPAIN : Vueling announced plans to launch a four times weekly Seville-Gran Canaria service from 15-Mar-08, becoming the first LCC to operate from Andalusia to the Canaries. The announcement comes three months after the airline opened its Seville base.

14% more passengers for Air Berlin in Jan-08

08-Feb-2008
GERMANY : airberlin group transported a total of 1.8 million passengers in Jan-08, a 14% year-on-year increase. Load factor improved 3.9 ppts to 69.1%, while flight revenue per available seat kilometre (ASK) remained unchanged at EUR 4.06 cents.

London Gatwick-Bilbao next on clickair network

08-Feb-2008
SPAIN : clickair announced plans to expand service from London Gatwick, with the launch of daily service (to Bilbao in Northern Spain, from 30-Mar-08.

Vueling to operate between Madrid and the Canaries

08-Feb-2008
SPAIN : Vueling announced plans to launch service from Madrid to Tenerife Norte and Gran Canaria in the Canaries.

Air One still unsure if it will make binding bid in Alitalia privatisation

08-Feb-2008
ITALY : (XFN Asia) Air One’s Chairman, Carlo Toto, stated he is still not certain the company, together with its financial supporters, will launch a binding offer in the government's privatisation of Alitalia.

New Spanish operator, Universal Airlines, purchases six Embraer 195 jets

08-Feb-2008
Embraer signed a firm order with JJH Capital, owned by Juan José Hidalgo, President of Air Europa and Globalia, for six EMBRAER 195 jets, plus purchase rights for another six aircraft. The aircraft will be used by the newly created carrier, Universal Airlines.

Italy court to hear Air One challenge to Alitalia/Air France talks on 20-Feb-08

06-Feb-2008
ITALY : (XFN Asia) Lazio Regional Administrative Court has set 20-Feb-08 as the date for hearings on Italy's Air One airline's challenge to exclusive tie-up talks between Alitalia and Air France-KLM, according to Court President, Stefano Baccarini.

Sterling Airlines introduces winglets on its B737NG fleet

05-Feb-2008
Sterling Airlines announced plans to introduce winglets on its fleet of B737NG aircraft.

Vueling receives 250,000th passenger at Granada Federico García Lorca Airport

04-Feb-2008
SPAIN : Vueling has surpassed the figure of 250,000 passengers transported in Granada. The company reached this record figure in barely one and a half years of operations at Federico García Lorca Airport following its inaugural service to Barcelona on 29-Jun-06.

Germanwings permanently reduces children fares

04-Feb-2008
GERMANY : Germanwings is permanently reducing fares for children with immediate effect.

France's Union of Autonomous Airlines accuses various European airlines of unfair competition

04-Feb-2008
(XFN ASIA) France's Union of Autonomous Airlines (Scara) has sent a letter to the French Government accusing various European air carriers of sidestepping French employment laws to unfair competitive advantage, a spokesperson for the Transport Ministry confirmed, following a report in Le Journal du Dimanche.

Italy's Air One launches court action against Alitalia/Air France-KLM tie-up talks

01-Feb-2008
ITALY : (XFN Asia) Italy's Air One airline has launched court action to stop the Italy Government-approved exclusive tie-up talks between Alitalia and Air France-KLM.

Finnish carrier, Blue 1, extends RJ85 lease with BAE Systems Regional Aircraft

31-Jan-2008
FINLAND : Finnish regional carrier, Blue1, which is a member of the SAS Group, signed a long-term lease extension with BAE Systems Regional Aircraft on one RJ85. This lease will see the aircraft operating in the Blue1 fleet well into the next decade.

TUI Travel signs MoU with Lufthansa and Albrecht Knauf Industriebeteiligung to merge Germanwings, Eurowings and TUIfly

30-Jan-2008
GERMANY : TUI Travel PLC on 29-Jan-08 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Albrecht Knauf Industriebeteiligung GmbH, allowing the parties to proceed with plans to merge their subsidiaries, Hapag-Lloyd Fluggesellschaft GmbH, Hapag-Lloyd Express GmbH, Germanwings GmbH and Eurowings Luftverkehrs AG under a joint and independent holding company.

Vueling shareholder, Hemisferio, confirms in talks with Clickair

30-Jan-2008
SPAIN : (XFN Asia) Vueling Airlines core shareholder, Inversiones Hemisferio, with approximately 26% shareholding in the LCC, said it is in talks with various companies in the sector, including LCC, Clickair. However, the company stated no agreement or commitment with anyone has been reached.

Lufthansa and TUI to launch talks on establishing joint LCC

29-Jan-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Lufthansa and TUI are reportedly planning to enter into official negotiations concerning the establishment of a joint LCC.

LCCs capture 41.7% Spanish market share in December 2007

23-Jan-2008
(XFN-ASIA): Low-cost airlines captured 41.7% of Spanish market share in December, up 35.4% from a year earlier, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism said.

European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) airlines carry 120.7 million passengers in 2007; average load factor of 82%

17-Jan-2008
The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) released updated statistics for its ten member airlines. The airlines transported over 120 million passengers in 2007, a 19% year-on-year increase.

Norwegian Air Shuttle to launch mobile phone division during Q4

16-Jan-2008
NORWAY : (XFN Asia) Norwegian Air Shuttle stated it is to launch its own mobile phone division, to be known as 'Call Norwegian', and that it expects to start providing telephone services during the fourth quarter.

Saudi Arabian investor acquires 3.1% stake in Air Berlin

16-Jan-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Air Berlin stated Saudi Arabian investor, Kamal Abdullah Bahamdan, acquired a 3.1% stake in the airline via his company Moab Investments Limited.

Alenia Aeronautica and Sukhoi express full satisfaction for the Kremlin’s go-ahead to SCAC’s 25% + one share acquisition by Alenia

16-Jan-2008
Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica Company, and Sukhoi, express full satisfaction for the President Vladimir Putin’s decree which gives the green light to the acquisition by Alenia Aeronautica of 25% + one share of SCAC, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company, the Russian company responsible for the design, development and production of the new regional jet Sukhoi Superjet 100.

clickair carries 4.6 million in passengers in 2007; most punctual airline serving Spain

10-Jan-2008
SPAIN : Spanish LCC, clickair, carried 4.6 million passengers in 2007 and, according to Eurocontrol statistics, achieved top ranking as the most punctual operator at Spanish airports on both international and domestic services.

Another passenger record for Air Berlin: more passengers and improved load factor in Dec-07

10-Jan-2008
GERMANY : The airberlin Group continued on its path to growth in 2007. In total, airberlin (including LTU since 1/2007 and Belair since 11/2007) transported 27.9 passengers, a 10.6% year-on-year increase, thereby marking a new record in its corporate history. Load factor over the Jan-07 to Dec-07 period improved to 77.2%, a 1.6 ppt year-on-year increase.

Sterling Airlines: first in Northern Europe to offer organic food in the air!

10-Jan-2008
Sterling Airlines will become the first international airline in Northern Europe to introduce organic food on all its scheduled flights. The increasing focus on ecology and health is the reason behind this marked alteration of the range.

Vueling Dec-07 load factor falls to 63.6%

09-Jan-2008
SPAIN : (XFN Asia) Vueling Airlines announced its load factor fell to 63.6% in Dec-07, a 6.8 ppt year-on-year reduction, while passenger numbers increased 45.2% to 534,800.

Vueling appoints Machiel Troost Country manager for the Benelux

09-Jan-2008
SPAIN : Vueling has appointed Machiel Troost, as its new Country Manager for the Benelux. Mr Troost will be based in Amsterdam and will report to Juan Carlos Iglesias, Vueling Chief Sales Officer.

Revamped branding for airberlin

08-Jan-2008
GERMANY : (c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation: The airberlin group has revised it brand identity and launched a new advertising campaign. The repositioning of the airberlin group as a global business is associated with the group’s acquisitions, which is to be reflected in the airline’s image.

Air Berlin going long haul in 2008

03-Jan-2008
GERMANY : (c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation: Air Berlin announced plans to commence new long haul services to both Shanghai and Beijing in May-08. The LCC will operate the services from London Stansted via its hub at Dusseldorf.

Deutsche Bank's stake in Air Berlin rises from below to above 15%

02-Jan-2008
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Deutsche Bank's stake in Air Berlin rose from less than 15% to 15.02%, the German airline said in a statement.

New low-cost terminal to open at Turku Airport (Finland)

21-Dec-2007
(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation Premium: Finavia, the governing body of Finnish airports, has introduced a so-called “low cost” concept at Turku Airport in Finland. The previous, for the moment empty, maintenance building will be converted into a passenger terminal as of the beginning of Apr-08. The terminal will have capacity for between ten and 12 flights per day.

Deutsche Bank's stake in Air Berlin reduced from above 15% to 14.25%

20-Dec-2007
GERMANY : (XFN ASIA) Deutsche Bank's stake in Air Berlin was reduced from more than 15% to 14.25%, the German airline said in a statement.

Air Berlin: more than 2 million passengers in Nov-07

07-Dec-2007
GERMANY : (c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation: Air Berlin, for the seventh time in a row, transported more than two million passengers in Nov-07. In Nov-07, Air Berlin (including its subsidiaries, LTU and Belair) welcomed 2.0 million passengers, a 19.2% year-on-year increase. Load factor improved to 72.1%, a 3.5 ppt year-on-year increase. Revenue per available seat kilometre (ASK) increased to EUR 4.41 cents, a 1.4% year-on-year increase.

Air One plans EUR4 billion Alitalia investment; break-even in 2009

07-Dec-2007
ITALY : (XFN Asia) Italy's AP Holding, which owns Italian LCC, Air One, said its proposal to acquire control of Alitalia foresees an investment of more than EUR4 billion over the period of 2008-2012.

Vueling reports Nov-07 load factor and passenger traffic improvements

06-Dec-2007
SPAIN : (c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation: Vueling carried 495,860 passengers during Nov-07, a 78.4% year-on-year increase, while load factor improved 7.3 ppt year-on-year to 63.4%.

Aviation industry needs to tackle looming pilot shortage - IATA

30-Nov-2007
(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation Premium: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned the worlds airlines of a severe pilot shortage unless industry and government work together to change training and qualification practices.

Board and management changes at Vueling Airlines

15-Nov-2007
SPAIN : (CAPA FREE) The Board of Vueling Airlines unanimously decided on 12-Nov-07 to appoint Josep Piqu as the airlines new independent Chairman.

EuroCommerce announces the sale of the company to DataCash Group

09-Nov-2007
(CAPA) EuroCommerce, providers of online and call centre payments, announced the sale of the company to DataCash Group, the AIM listed Payment Service Provider.

2.8 million Air Berlin passengers in Oct-07

08-Nov-2007
GERMANY : (CAPA) Air Berlin and its fully-owned subsidiary, LTU, transported 2.8 million passengers in Oct-07, a 11.3% year-on-year increase. Load factor increased 2.5 percentage points year-on-year to 81.7%. Flight Revenue per available seat kilometre (ASK) amounted to EUR 4.99 cents, a slight decrease of 0.44% year-on-year.

Air Berlin aims to transport freight in passenger aircraft

08-Nov-2007
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Air Berlin CEO, Joachim Hunold, said he aims to transport freight with the carrier's passenger aircraft to take advantage of new long-haul routes to destinations, including China after the company bought LTU.

New faces at the Air Berlin Group

07-Nov-2007
GERMANY : (CAPA) Air Berlins Board of Directors on 06-Nov-07 appointed Helmut Weixler as LTUs Managing Director for Flight Operations and as Accountable Manager.

Sterling launches new routes from Germany, Belgium and England

06-Nov-2007
(CAPA) Danish LCC, Sterling Airlines, launched its first services from Dortmund airport to Scandinavia, with services to Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. The airline expects to carry more than 120,000 passengers on its Dortmund routes in the next 12 months.

Ryanair wins suspension of Rome's Ciampino airport flight curbs - report

01-Nov-2007
IRELAND : (XFN Asia) Italys state council, the country's highest administrative court, has suspended curbs on flights at Rome Ciampino Airport, meeting a demand from Ryanair Holdings, said Radiocor.

Spains clickair inaugurates Barcelona-Athens service

30-Oct-2007
SPAIN : (CAPA) Spains clickair launched its inaugural Barcelona-Athens service on 29-Oct-07. Until Mar-08, the service will be offered three times weekly.

Lufthansa sees 2009 and 2010 investments at EUR2.5 billion p/a

26-Oct-2007
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Lufthansa plans to invest approximately EUR2.5 billion a year in 2009 and 2010, nearly twice as much estimated for this year, to purchase aircraft and make other investments, according to CFO, Stephan Gemkow.

Norwegian Air Shuttle posts Q3 pretax USD19.5 million

25-Oct-2007
NORWAY : (XFN Asia) Norwegian Air Shuttle posted a third-quarter pretax profit of USD19.5 million, up from USD7.1 million in 3Q06, after benefiting from surging demand and an increasing number of routes.

Norwegian Air Shuttle jumps 6% as Goldman Sachs starts with 'buy'

11-Oct-2007
NORWAY : (AFX) Shares in Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA jumped more than 6% in afternoon trade on 10-Oct-07, leading up a rising overall market, after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the stock with a 'buy' recommendation, dealers said.

Sterling Airlines announces its 7th base

11-Oct-2007
(CAPA) Danish LCC, Sterling Airlines, announced further European development with the opening of its seventh base: Malm in Sweden.

Air Berlin scraps domestic UK routes on rising fees

10-Oct-2007
GERMANY : (XFN Asia) Air Berlin will give up its hub in London-Stansted, scrapping all domestic UK routes, in response to increased fees for taking off and landing at British airports, Die Welt reported, citing a company spokeswoman.

Lufthansa will not exercise pre-emption right regarding Condor

02-Oct-2007
GERMANY : (CAPA) Air Berlins CEO, Joachim Hunold, announced that Lufthansa will not exercise its pre-emption right with regard to Condor.

Vueling new Chairwoman to change 'low-cost' profile and increase tariffs

27-Sep-2007
SPAIN : (AFX) Vueling Airlines is seeking to increase tariffs and attract more business clientele in order to become more profitable, Cinco Dias reported, citing comments by new Chairman, Barbara Cassani.

Germanwings selects Omniture to optimise online booking centre

26-Sep-2007
GERMANY : (CAPA) Germanwings has selected Omniture to increase the effectiveness of the its online marketing strategies. The airline hopes to obtain insight into the performance of online marketing campaigns in addition to visitor activity, traffic patterns and behavioural trends associated with the site structure and booking process.

Low cost airlines capture 40.2% of Spanish market share in Aug-07

25-Sep-2007
(XFN Asia) Low-cost airlines transported a total of 2.7 million passengers to Spain in Aug-07, up 42.9% year-on-year and representing 40.2% of the total passenger arrivals by air, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism said.

clickair on course for 4.5 million passengers by year end

25-Sep-2007
SPAIN : (CAPA) Spanish LCC, clickair, will mark its first birthday on 01-Oct-07, on target to carry 4.5 million passengers by year end on 50 domestic and international routes.

ELFAA complains to the European Commission against unjustified traffic restrictions at Rome Ciampino airport

21-Sep-2007
(CAPA) The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) submitted a complaint to the European Commission, requesting an urgent investigation and a formal decision on the recent restrictions imposed on Rome Ciampino airport by the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC).

Thomas Cook merges Condor with Air Berlin

21-Sep-2007
GERMANY : (CAPA) Thomas Cook Group announced plans to merge its stake in Condor Flugdienst with Air Berlin, enabling Air Berlin to enlarge its long-haul business. Both partners expect positive synergies of at least EUR 70 million from the merger.

Air Berlin: new route to Munich

17-Sep-2007
GERMANY : (CAPA) Air Berlin announced plans to open a new route from London Stansted to Munich on 05-Nov-07. The airline will operate twice daily from Monday to Friday and once on Saturday and Sunday.

Deutsche Bank raises stake in Air Berlin to 16.36%

12-Sep-2007
GERMANY : (AFX) Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Air Berlin to 16.36% from below 15% as of 07-Sep-07, the airline said.

Air Berlin/LTU receives approval from Spain

10-Sep-2007
GERMANY : (CAPA) The Spanish Tribunal de defensa de la competencia has approved the take-over of LTU by Air Berlin.

Norwegian Air Shuttle to purchase 42 B737-800 aircraft

31-Aug-2007
NORWAY : (CAPA) Norwegian Air Shuttle has ordered 42 new B737-800 aircraft with Blended Winglets, and has ensured purchase rights for an additional 42 B737-800 aircraft.

Germanwings extends Flex Plus tariff to routes outside Germany

31-Aug-2007
GERMANY : (CAPA) Germanwings has launched new flexible fares across selected European routes. A special Flex Plus tariff, which was previously only available for business travellers on routes within Germany, has been expanded to selected international routes to allow passengers to make alterations at short notice free of charge, or cancel the booking.

Air Berlin cleared for participation in Belair

22-Aug-2007
GERMANY : (CAPA) Both the German Federal Cartel Office and the European Commission negated the obligation to register the Air Berlin participation of 49% in the Swiss airline, Belair Airlines. The same had previously been declared by the Swiss Cartel Office. Based on this, the way has been cleared for a participation of Air Berlin.

Air Berlin creates new engineering company

10-Aug-2007
GERMANY : (CAPA) Air Berlin announced plans to create a new, independent technical division to service the Air Berlin fleet, consisting of 130 aircraft, and to develop further third-party business. Air Berlin is hoping that by merging the technical operations of LTU, Air Berlin and dba, it will achieve better utilisation of the facilities at the individual sites and a reduction in technical costs. The intention is also to separate these activities from seasonal flight operations.

Air Berlin to conclude collective labour agreements for flying staff

09-Aug-2007
GERMANY : (CAPA) Air Berlin, Germanys second largest airline, concluded payment contracts and framework agreements on employment conditions for its flying staff: for the pilots with Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) (the Association for Pilots) and for the flight attendants with ver.di, the trade union for the service sector.

Air Berlins LTU takeover goes ahead

09-Aug-2007
GERMANY : (CAPA) The German Federal Cartel Office agreed to Air Berlins LTU acquisition without any restrictions. Air Berlin announced its intention to purchase LTU in Mar-07 and issued a capital increase and a convertible bond offering. The agreed price for LTU was EUR140 million. Additionally, Air Berlin offered to pay EUR200 million for LTUs existing debts.

Air Berlin's LTU pilots vote in favour of strikes - union

07-Aug-2007
GERMANY : (XFN) Members of Cockpit, a German pilot union, voted to strike at Air Berlin's LTU airline, the union said in a statement. Approximately 96% of Cockpit's members at LTU were in favour of industrial action, which could start at any moment.

Air Berlin down, 1.25 million shares placed at EUR15.95-16.05/share

18-Jul-2007
GERMANY : (AFX) - Shares in Air Berlin fell in morning trade as dealers reported a placing of 1.25 Million, in the range of EUR15.95 to EUR16.05 per share.

Ryanair told to move services from Rome's Ciampino airport

13-Jul-2007
IRELAND : (AFX) Italian authorities are telling Ryanair Holdings PLC to transfer services to Rome's Fiumicino Airport, from its existing Ciampino base, said Transport Minister, Alessandro Bianchi, estimating that 1 million passengers per annum will be affected by the move.

Air Berlin orders up to 50 B787s

09-Jul-2007
GERMANY : (CAPA) Air Berlin CEO, Joachim Hunold, and CFO, Ulf Httmeyer, signed a contract on 07-Jul-07 for the delivery of up to 50 787-8 aircraft. A firm order for 25 aircraft was placed together with options and purchase rights for a further 25 aircraft. Delivery for the 25 firm orders is scheduled for 2013 to 2017. The order is the single largest placed by any European carrier and brings the total number of 787s ordered worldwide to 677.

Air Berlin shares increase amidst talk of Ryanair interest

06-Jul-2007
GERMANY : (AFX) Shares in SDAX-listed Air Berlin were sharply higher in afternoon trade as rumours circulated that discount airline Ryanair Holdings might be interested in buying a stake in the German LCC.

Iceland Express proposes new low-cost airport in Reyjavik

06-Jul-2007
ICELAND : (CAPA) Iceland Express applied for permission from Reykjavik city council, to construct a new 6500sqm airport close to the city centre of capital, Reykjavik. Iceland Express plans to use the airport for both domestic and international services.

Italy's Air One win of Alitalia depends on business plan - Minister

04-Jul-2007
ITALY : (AFX) The possibility of AP Holding SpA, the owner of Italy's Air One airline, winning the privatisation of Alitalia SpA depends on its business plan, said Transport Minister, Alessandro Bianchi.

Finnair wraps up FlyNordic sale to Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA

03-Jul-2007
SWEDEN : (AFX) - Finnair announced it has wrapped up the sale of its Swedish subsidiary FlyNordic to Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, following a memorandum of understanding signed between the two companies last April. The transaction still requires approval by the Norwegian Competition authority.

easyJet launches easyJet Holidays

29-Jun-2007
(CAPA) easyJet launched easyJet Holidays on 28 June 2007, giving travellers the ability to combine easyJets services with accommodation across Europe. The packages, available through easyJets website, allows customers to either specify their exact holiday requirements or select from a number of holiday themes, including Golf, Romance, City, Heatlh and Spa, Boutique and Families.

Air One says adviser working on new partners to join Alitalia bid

28-Jun-2007
ITALY : (AFX) Italy's Air One airline Chairman, Carlo Toto, said the company's adviser is working on adding new partners to its bid to purchase a minimum of 39% of Alitalia SpA in its privatisation.

The Association of European Airlines condemns Dutch ticket tax

15-Jun-2007
The Association of European Airlines (AEA) condemned the Dutch Governments proposal to levy a EUR25 tax on air passengers from the Netherlands. While the tax would be a simple revenue-generator for the exchequer, with an estimated revenue of EUR350 million annually, it is also presented as bringing environmental benefits, by reducing the impact of aviation on climate change.

5% share in Vueling acquired by Atalaya Inversiones

12-Jun-2007
SPAIN : Veuling announced Atalaya Inversiones has acquired 747,615 shares in the carrier, representing a 5% shareholding.

Spanish LCC, Clickair, commences Barcelona-Moscow services.

08-Jun-2007
SPAIN : Clickair, a subsidiary of the Iberia Airlines group, launched regular services from Barcelona to Domodedovo International Airport (Moscow), using A320 aircraft.

Vueling resumes trade sharply lower on weak demand for Apax placement

07-Jun-2007
SPAIN : (CAPA) Shares in Vueling Airlines SA resumed trade sharply lower on fears of weak demand for Apax Partners' placement of its 20.97% stake in the carrier. At 11.00 am, Vueling was down EUR3.01 or 8.9% at EUR 30.81, off a low of EUR30.55 and a high of EUR31.75, on volume of about 339,000 shares. The IBEX-35 index dropped 151.8 points to 15,280.1. It was expected that the final price would be EUR30.50/share.

Wizz Air closes Sale and Lease Back transaction for further four A320 aircraft with GECAS

30-May-2007
POLAND : Wizz Air and GE Commercial Aviation Services' (GECAS) announced the closing of a sale and lease back transaction for four new A320 aircraft, all to be delivered in 2008.

clickair to publish new inflight magazine

28-May-2007
SPAIN : clickair will launch a new inflight magazine, produced by Ink Publishing, a leading provider for the LCC industry. clickair is the new Spanish airline based in Barcelona that combines the price competitiveness of low-cost carriers with many of the features of conventional airlines.

EUROPEAN FARE WAR!: TUIfly

24-May-2007
GERMANY : TUIfly launched (23-May-07) its Winter schedule, announcing a new service between Grenbol, and Cologne and Hamburg. The airline is also giving away free one-way flights in Nov-06, to customers who fly with the airline before the end-Jun-07.

Sterling Airlines: 29 new routes!

24-May-2007
Sterling has announced 6 new routes for its coming winter program, making a total of 29 new routes for the carrier in its next summer and winter programmes.

European Fare War: Germanwings

23-May-2007
GERMANY : Germanwings launched (23-May-07) a 500,000 ticket sale, with fares as low as EUR9.00 one way, for services between 08-Jun-07 and 02-Sep-07, if booked prior to 27-May-07.

Wizz Air gets new aircraft for its third birthday

22-May-2007
POLAND : Wizz Air, the largest LCC in Central and Eastern Europe, is celebrated its third anniversary on 19-May-07. The carrier took delivery of the first of 32 directly purchased A320s last week.

Vueling to launch Athens service.

21-May-2007
SPAIN : Vueling announced plans (21-May-07) to launch three times weekly Barcelona-Athens service on 28-Jun-07. From 29-Jun-07, the carrier will launch Madrid-Athens service with A320 equipment.

Ryanair consolidates its presence at Orio Al Serio

19-May-2007
IRELAND : Ryanair is set to consolidate its presence at Bergamo Orio al Serio Airport, with the opening of nine new routes from Dec-07, along with the stationing of two B737-800 aircraft, in addition to the four it currently has based there.

Budapest Airport welcomes Ryanair to Ferihegy

18-May-2007
IRELAND : Ryanair, one of Europes leading low-cost airlines, announced it would start services from Budapest in the autumn with the launch of its first route from Budapest to the UKs Nottingham East Midlands Airport. The four weekly services (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays) will start as of 31-Oct-07.

Ryanair aims to be leading Spanish carrier in 5 years

17-May-2007
IRELAND : Ryanair intends to be Spain's leading carrier within five years, but not just in the low cost segment, chairman Michael 0'Leary said.

Low-cost long-haul gets another boost with TUI Boeing order

17-May-2007
GERMANY : Boeing today announced orders for 11 787-8 Dreamliners and 50 Next-Generation 737s from TUI Group, Europe's largest integrated-tourism company. The orders were previously recorded on Boeing's Orders and Deliveries Web site as unidentified. TUI Group has not announced an engine supplier for its 787s.

New Sterling services include Copenhagen-Madeira

08-May-2007
Sterlings announcement of new routes include a new service between Copenhagen and Madeira - first ever non-stop service on the route.

Wizz Air launches three new flights from Bucharest

04-May-2007
POLAND : Wizz Air, the largest low fare - low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, continues its expansion from Romania. Barely 4 months after the launch of 7 new flights from Bucharest and Trgu Mures, Wizz Air boosts its Romanian operations by introducing 3 new, long awaited routes. Liverpool (UK), Parma (Italy) and Valencia (Spain) will become available from October for travellers from Bucharest.

Air Berlin to use Amadeus IT platform

04-May-2007
GERMANY : Amadeus announced that Air Berlin, Germanys second-largest airline and Europes third-largest low fare carrier, is now managing its sales, reservations, inventory and route network worldwide, using the Amadeus Alta Customer Management Solution (CMS).

Air Berlin: four new destinations from Berlin

03-May-2007
GERMANY : Air Berlin the largest airline in Berlin with over four million passengers is offering a total of three new destinations: Gteborg, Stockholm and Mnster/Osnabrck.

Germanwings handles more than 600,000 passengers and increases fleet utilisation to 83.3%

13-Apr-2007
GERMANY : 12-Apr-07 Germanwings today announced the following passenger traffic highlights for March 2007:

Blue1 carried 166 000 passengers in March

12-Apr-2007
Finnish low cost carrier Blue1 carried 166 000 passengers in March 2007, an increase of 14% year-on-year. From the beginning of the year 433 000 passengers flew with Blue1, which is 16% more than last year.

Air Berlin continues its expansion

11-Apr-2007
GERMANY : In March 2007, the airline company Air Berlin transported 13.6 per cent more passengers than in the same month of the previous year. In total, the number of passengers welcomed on board on international and domestic flights amounted to 1,656,515 (03/2006: 1,458,751).

European Commission gives airlines and Member States six months to make the air passenger rights regulation work

05-Apr-2007
Brussels, 4th April 2007. Today, the European Commission presented a report which evaluates the results and the application of the air passenger rights Regulation. Although some progress has been made since its introduction two years ago, further important steps should be taken to ensure that airlines apply the rules more consistently and that these rules are better enforced by Member States. This is the main finding of the study which the Commission ordered to complement its Communication on the results of the common rules protecting citizens' rights when travelling by air.

ELFAA welcomes European Commission decision to work in cooperation with airlines on passenger rights

05-Apr-2007
The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) today welcomed the European Commissions announcement that it intends to develop practical, consistent and understandable application of the Regulation that will secure the rights of airline passengers. ELFAA has long argued that the European Commission must correct the obvious errors and inequitable provisions in Regulation 261/2004 and working in cooperation with both the national enforcement bodies and airlines is the most effective way to proceed.

Constructive Dialogue Required to Correct Flawed Passenger Rights Legislation

05-Apr-2007
(Brussels, 4 April 2007) Today's communication by the European Commission on the enforcement of Passenger Rights confirms that the regulation is badly drafted and has led to confusion for both airlines and passengers, IACA believes.

Wizz Air continues to be the largest low cost airline in Poland

30-Mar-2007
POLAND : Wizz Air, the largest low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe has again confirmed its leadership in the largest CEE country.

TUI's TUIfly says it 'will not tolerate' Condor, Air Berlin, LTU monopoly

28-Mar-2007
GERMANY : FRANKFURT (AFX) - TUI AG's TUIfly unit said it will not tolerate a possible monopoly following a code-sharing agreement between Condor, Air Berlin and LTU.

Sterling opens another new international route from London Gatwick to Stockholm from March 19th, 2007

19-Mar-2007
Sterling will offer, from March 19th, 2007 a new destination for English passengers: from London, UK to Stockholm, Sweden.

Sterling opens two new international routes from Spain and Italy to Goteborg.

13-Mar-2007
Sterling will offer a new destination for the Spanish and Italian passengers: from Rome, Italy, and Palma de Mallorca, Spain to Goteborg, Sweden.

Germanwings CEO denies plans for booking alliance with other budget carriers

12-Mar-2007
BERLIN (AFX) - German airlines Germanwings' chief executive Thomas Winkelmann said the company is not considering an alliance with other budget airlines and the Cologne/Bonn airport on a flight reservation system.

Swedish budget airline FlyMe files for bankruptcy

05-Mar-2007
SWEDEN : STOCKHOLM (AFX) - Swedish budget carrier FlyMe said it will file for bankruptcy, ceasing services with immediate effect and leaving some 2,500 travellers facing cancelled flights.

Clickair to operate to 24 destinations from Barcelona

28-Feb-2007
SPAIN : Clickair announced plans to expand to more international destinations from its hub at Barcelona El Prat International Airport.

SkyEurope launches corporate services programme

28-Feb-2007
SLOVAKIA : SkyEurope launched its SkyCorporate initiative in early Feb-07, offering a range of services aimed at encouraging business travellers to use the carrier, as well as extending the service options that the carrier offers to corporate customers.

Air Berlin remains the top airline in Majorca

22-Feb-2007
GERMANY : Air Berlin has improved its market position and is well ahead of all other competitors at the airport of Palma de Mallorca. Already every third passenger embarking or disembarking in Palma de Mallorca uses an Air Berlin aircraft.

Alltours to cut services with TUIfly

20-Feb-2007
FRANKFURT (AFX) - German travel agency Alltours said it will not use TUI AG's newly-created airline TUIfly, Die Welt reported in an article that will be published on Monday.

easyJet starts ops at Madrid's Barajas airport

16-Feb-2007
UNITED KINGDOM : LONDON (AFX) - Low-cost airline airline easyJet PLC said it today opened its 17th European base at Madrid's Barajas airport.

Air One orders ten more A320s

15-Feb-2007
ITALY : Italian carrier, Air One, ordered ten A320s, following contracts signed with Airbus in Nov-06 and Dec-06. The carrier now has firm orders for 40 A320s, as well as an additional 25 options and 25 purchase rights.

Ryanair in talks to establish base in Latvia

14-Feb-2007
IRELAND : Ryanair confirmed it is holding discussions with the Latvian Government regarding the possibility of establishing an operational base at Riga International Airport.

Every Minute Counts - Air Traffic Management Efficiency = Environmental Responsibility

14-Feb-2007
GENEVA) The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called for improvements in air traffic management to further improve aviations good environmental performance in a speech delivered to a Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) conference in Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Vueling Continues International Expansion

13-Feb-2007
SPAIN : Vueling Airlines is launching daily flights between Madrid and Venice as from March 30 as a part of its international expansion.

SkyEurope Jan seat load factor up 10.3 pct pts yr-on-yr

09-Feb-2007
SLOVAKIA : VIENNA (AFX) - Low-cost carrier SkyEurope said today that its seat load factor increased 10.3 pct points to 73.7 pct in January from a year earlier, but was down 3.2 pct points on the month.

TUI CEO Frenzel speaks out against state taking stake in company

17-Jan-2007

FRANKFURT (AFX) - TUI AG chief executive Michael Frenzel said he is opposed to the German state taking a stake in the tourism and shipping firm, but would welcome private investors that agree with his company's strategy.

Ryanair to double Italy traffic in 5 yrs; worries on sector regulation plan

11-Jan-2007
IRELAND : MILAN (AFX) - Ryanair Holdings PLC plans to double its traffic to and from Italy in the next five years, from 12 mln passengers seen in the year to March, said south Europe sales and marketing director Bridget Dowling.

Lufthansa expands 'betterFly' fare scheme to Europe.

12-Dec-2006
GERMANY : Lufthansa announced plans to introduce a new fare scheme, betterFly, with return fares from EUR99, including taxes and charges, effective 03-Apr-06.

AirOne proposes Alitalia merger

28-Nov-2006
AirOne reportedly approached the Italian Government with a proposal to merge with Alitalia, Italys financially troubled flag carrier.

Boeing Statement on Air Berlin 737 Announcement

28-Nov-2006
GERMANY : The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] is delighted that German airline Air Berlin intends to purchase 60 Boeing Next-Generation 737-800s and is also identifying an order placed earlier this year for 15 737-700s.

SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express unite to form Brussels Airlines.

06-Nov-2006
SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express announced (06-Nov-06) they have merged their name and corporate identity to form Brussels Airlines.

clickair launches first advertising campaign.

05-Nov-2006
clickair launched (05-Nov-06) its first advertising campaign, designed for the carrier by Spanish advertising agency, Contrapunto.

Germanwings receives new aircraft and announces Cologne and Berlin hub expansions.

28-Jul-2006
GERMANY : Germanwings took delivery of the first of 18 A319 aircraft on 14-Jul-06 and announced (18-Jul-06) plans to expand its Cologne Bonn hub.

Blue Wings signs agreement for 20 A320s.

28-Jul-2006
Blue Wings signed (28-Jul-06) a Memorandum of Understanding for the purchase of 20 A320 aircraft, with delivery scheduled between 2009-2011.

Air Berlin wins legal victory against Luebeck Airport.

27-Jul-2006
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced (08-Aug-06) it has won the first part of a legal action taken on behalf of the Federation of German Airlines against the subsidies paid by Luebeck Airport to Ryanair.

Norwegian expanding from its new Warsaw base.

23-Jun-2006
NORWAY : Norwegian announced (23-Jun-06) plans to launch eight new routes from Warsaw, becoming the first LCC from outside Eastern Europe to establish a base in the region.

Air Berlin expands presence at Zurich.

19-Jun-2006
GERMANY : Air Berlin announced (19-Jun-06) plans to launch services from Zurich to Las Palmas, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Madeira in Nov-06.

Peanuts! Feature Airline - Virgin Blue