Page 028-032 Flying r 12/03/2013 14:09 Page 4
APRIL 2013 PAGE 31
THE FLYING COLUMN
Aviation with Gerry O’Hare
Lingus 757 plan
Options for Shannon, Toronto and San Francisco
EMIRATES said it will add a second Airbus A380 service on the Dubai – Sydney route from 1 June 2013.
ETIHAD Airways completed their switch to Sabre Airline Solutions ‘SabreSonic’ customer sales and service system successfully, having closed their system down on Saturday last. Etihad Airways and Garuda Indonesia announced new codeshare flights.
SWISS will be offering up to nine flights
a week from Ireland in Summer 2013, Swiss will return to a daily Dublin Zurich service from March 19 with an additional service on a Saturday and Sunday throughout July and August.
ETIHAD is to upgrade Melbourne – Abu Dhabi capacity with a Boeing 777-300er aircraft from December 1.
FRONTIER said it is going to pull
flights from Expedia after failure to ‘reach agreement.’
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has reduced
American based carriers have 100 seats less to sell on their Boeing 757 aircraft than Aer Lingus A330 he leasing of three 757s would to operate year-round at Shannon and be anxious to get the business, the free up Aer Lingus options for free up an A330 for operation to San ANA B787 service to Tokyo, its only North America, including a Francisco area (not necessarily SFO). long-haul service is currently susBelfast is not being considered for pended. year-round presence at Shannon, the trans-Atlantic services, even before The IDA is also believed to be anxintroduction of its first service to Canada since 1976 and the reopening Aer Lingus’ moved from Aldergrove ious that San Jose get the direct servto Belfast City airport last year. ice from Ireland. of a West Coast route. The airline has spoken to San Jose Aer Lingus says it evaluates multiEarly in February Aer Lingus and Oakland airport in the past, with ple business cases and commercial began negotiations with unions on its proposals to wet lease three 757 air- San Jose the favourite to get the new opportunities all of the time and that craft, which led to the proposals being service. San Jose is not renowned for the757 is one of a number of business connections, but the main points of cases currently under review. widely leaked. “The Aer Lingus transatlantic The proposal is just one of several Los Angeles and Las Vegas are schedule for 2014 will not be fioptions being considered by Aer Lin- served. Aer Lingus’ partner Southwest Air- nalised until June of this year, at the gus, with the goal of opening up the lines is currently the main carrier earliest. No decision has been made possibility of a Toronto service. The 757s would enable the airline serving the airport. The airport would at this point in time.”
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BA UNVEILS A380 ROUTE TO LA
ritish Airways have given a preview of its new A380 interior and announced that its first Airbus A380 will fly on the "Red Carpet Route" to Los Angeles. Tickets went on sale immediately for travel from 15 October 2013. There will be five A380 services
weekly. British Airways A380 will offer four cabins and a total of 469 seats. n The First cabin will offer 14 seats on the main deck and will showcase a new product, evolved from First cabin, exclusive to the A380. The new product design utilises the
space available to provide increased privacy and personal space. British Airways say more details will be available before the start of A380 services. n Club World will be situated on both the main deck (44 seats) and on the upper deck (53 seats). The upper deck will feature a
new 2:3:2 configuration in the centre of the cabin. n World Traveller Plus will be situated on the upper deck with 55 seats. n World Traveller cabins will be available on both decks, with 104 seats on the upper deck and 199 seats on the main deck.
BA UNVEILS A380 ROUTE TO LA
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inoan Air has launched its Fokker 50 services from Dublin to Oxford. The service will be twice daily on two days per week plus Sunday evening, expanding to twice daily
when it adds a second aircraft to the Oxford base on 10 May. Minoan Air’s Chief Commercial Officer Marcos Caramalengos points out that Oxford is 40 minutes from London. He says Minoan identi-
fied Edinburgh and Dublin as having some of the highest levels of demand from Oxford and had a good mix of business and leisure. “The market size matched the right level of frequency with our type of aircraft. Convenience was
also a key factor, uncongested facilities, short check-in times and quick access for the passengers to the aircraft to ensure fast turnarounds.” “These are important if you are trying to extract a slightly higher yield than
fares from Ireland by up to 34pc, to flights from Dublin and Cork via Amsterdam to more than 50 European destinations. Aalborg in Denmark is reduced to €229, a 34pc saving. Other savings include routes to Zurich, Vienna and Frankfurt, all reduced by 29pc. Fares to Barcelona, Lisbon, Prague and Venice all have a reduction in price of 26pc.
IAG reported a loss of €997m. The group
plans capacity cut of 1.9pc in 2013, with Iberia capacity down 10p-15pc and BA capacity up 2p. The Centre for Aviation reported that IAG labour productivity fell in 2012.
INDIA It was speculated that the Indian
government is to liberalise air bilateral agreements with key markets.
KINGFISHER Airlines has lost had
its international and domestic flying slots handed to its competitors by the Indian government
ETIHAD Airways has purchased three
pairs of Heathrow slots for US$70m from Jet Airways of India.
DELTA Air Lines has introduced Westin
Heavenly In-Flight bedding in all of its BusinessElite cabins throughout the world.
RYANAIR announced a 9pc capacity cut at Stansted on the day the airport came under new ownership, in protest against a 6pc hike in fees
SHANNON have lost Ryanair Bristol and Rennes routes for summer 2013.
UNITED Airlines have launched flights
from NY to Anchorage and Michigan, the first direct NY-Anchorage service.
VIRGIN said its new domestic AngloScottish airline will be called Little Red.
RYANAIR and Webloyalty teamed up to offer passengers 10pc discounts at online stores