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MARCH 2013 PAge 29
THE FLYING COLUMN
Aviation with Gerry O’Hare VIRGIN’s new A330s could be flying your customers to Barbados this summer with new Upper Class Suites, brand new seats and our new Vera Touch entertainment system. Their new onboard bar is the longest in the sky. SRI LANKAN fares to Sri Lanka and the Maldives have an Aer Lingus feed over Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt.
VIRGIN have announced a strategic alliance with Delta Airlines as a result of Delta purchasing a 49pc stake in Virgin.
BRITISH AIRWAYS have intro-
duced the facility to enable customers to watch their in-flight entertainment screens during take-offs and landings, up to an hour more sampling inflight entertainment as part of a £5bn investment programme which includes new aircraft, refurbished cabins and better lounges.
IBERIA unions plan 15 days of strikes from March 4 to 8, and March 18 to 22.
BOEING has increased the production
rate of its 737 Next Generation family to 38 aircraft a month.
BRITISH Airways will open a new route
to Chengdu in Western China from Heathrow airport, 3w B777-200ER flight from Sept. Sean Brogan, interim CEO of Aer Arann
Arann ambition
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Airline to double passenger numbers by 2015
er Arann has announced widely publicised plans to ”join Europe's top tier” of regional airlines by 2015. In his first statement since a December restructuring of the company, Sean Brogan, Interim Chief Executive of Aer Arann has outlined a four-point plan to grow its customer base and route network. The airline will be taking delivery of eight new ATR 72-600s at €16m each, replacing the older existing fleet of ATR72-200s and ATR42s. The first new aircraft will com-
mence service this May, with the remaining aircraft expected for delivery over the next 11 months. The new fleet will be fully operational in time for the Summer 2014 programme. In addition to the new aircraft, Aer Arann said they will be increasing frequencies on Dublin-Birmingham, Dublin-Manchester, Dublin Edinburgh and Dublin Glasgow routes and signed a 10-year agreement with Aer Lingus to continue to operate its regional services on a franchise basis. Aer Lingus has also taken a 33pc investment in a new leasing vehicle that will acquire the eight new ATR
aircraft for Aer Arann. This will involve an initial equity investment of $14.2m, rising to a maximum $17.7m. Ryanair’s takeover bid for Aer Lingus has serious implications for Aer Arann which could see Flybe take over its feeder services to Dublin. The Stobart Group is also advancing plans to add routes at London Southend airport. Sean Brogan said: "Just over two years ago, we stared closure in the face. Now, we have the fundamentals in place to join Europe's top tier of regional airlines.
AER LINGUS T/A OFFERS FINE DINING
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er Lingus has launched premium three course meal choices, Sky Dine, available to pre-order up to 90 days in advance of travel for trans-Atlantic customers in economy class. This follows the successful launch of the Sky Deli Pre-Order Meal Service on
flights to Britain and Europe. The first meals were delivered on board on February 14. Head Chef, James Keaveney has created a number of three course meals of €17.50 complemented by a choice of wine. n Steak House consists of fillet of beef, sautéed pota-
toes with onion, spinach, mushrooms, topped with tomato tartar and served with peppercorn sauce, with chocolate mousse or cheesecake by Lily O’Brien for dessert. n Cod with Salsa Verde, served with baby potatoes and steamed fresh vegetables with a seasonal fruit
salad for dessert. n Chicken stuffed with black pudding, wrapped in bacon, served with colcannon mash potato and steamed root vegetables, with chocolate mousse or cheesecake by Lily O’Brien for dessert. Meals can be pre-ordered on www.aerlingus.com
KINGFISHER Airlines bank lenders
could begin calling in 85bn rupees of loans, declaring Vijay Mallya had been “given enough time to repay.”
CAPA’s annual European airline staff pro-
ductivity comparisons shows the four the 4 airlines with the high operating profit per employee were Ryanair €81,000, easyJet €49,000, Norwegian €22,000 and Aer Lingus €19,400 dropping to €8,000 for Lufthansa.
BRITISH AIRWAYS new service to Seoul began December 2, 2012 using a four-class Boeing 777, with First class, Club World (business class), World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and World Traveller (economy) cabins, 6w departing London Heathrow at 13.00 every day except Weds, and arrives back into Heathrow at 14.00, which allows convenient connections to and from Dublin, Cork and Shannon. Return fares from Ireland start at €461 excluding taxes.
CORK Airport has announced a €2.4m investment to upgrade its baggage security screening system to latest EU standards.
VIRGIN Atlantic is returning to Vancou-
ver on the back of a successful first season, operating flights direct to Vancouver five times a week over the summer period.
BELFAST City Airport has won the
Gold Star from Centre for Competitiveness.
QANTAS Frequent Flyer points and Emirates Skywards Miles can now be earned on both Emirates and Qantas flights.
IAA Irish air traffic control-attributable delays were extremely low in 2012 just 00.01pc of flights affected.