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29 Aug  FlyZoom suspends all flights.  Planes held.  Passengers stranded

28 Aug 19.00 - Canadian and UK budget transatlantic airline ZOOM has suspended all flights immediately due to "soaring fuel costs and financial difficulties".  Two aircraft were held on the runways of Cardiff and Glasgow and passengers have beeen advised to contact their credit card companies and arrange for completion of their flights with other carriers.  This leaves hundreds of passengers stranded either side of the Atlantic.  It also illustrates the desirability of paying for such flights by credit card as most CC companies insure such additional flight costs where the original flights were booked with their cards.

Zoom flew to multiple destinations from Nova Scotia to Vancouver from several UK airports including London, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast.  They also flew to European destinations and the Caribbean as well as Florida and New York.  An announcement is at the company's website at www.flyzoom.com including helpful solution links.

27 Aug  Take your own oxygen on budget flights!

Mushroom soup leak and sudden dive has Ryanair passengers gasping for air
On Mon, a passenger on a Ryanair flight from Budapest to Dublin needed medical treatment after a jar of soup leaked in an overhead locker, dripping onto his face.  The man suffered swelling to his neck and struggled to breathe, forcing the aircraft to be diverted to Frankfurt-Hahn, in Germany.   Ryanair said the leaking jar had contained a "vegetable oil/mushroom soup type substance" which had caused an allergic reaction.  The Boeing 737 was delayed for two hours while doctors treated the man.

This bizarre incident followed another emergency landing Monday involving a Ryanair flight FR9336 from Bristol to Gerona, Spain.  The plane had to divert to Limoges, in France, on Monday after it plummeted 26,000ft following a sudden loss of cabin pressure. 16 passengers received medical treatment.

A bad Monday it appears for Ryanair but good that they have the prescence of mind to land.  Probably one of the reasons that they have no crashes to record.

If its not leaking mushroom soup then its a microwave fire
Passengers on a Thomsonfly flight to Gatwick panicked when black smoke filled the cabin minutes after take-off from Pula, western Croatia.  The flight was forced to turn back to the airport where investigating technicians discovered an "installation error" in the plane's galley microwave.

22 Aug Jetstar plane slides in the wet (17.55 AEST AAP)

Jetstar passengers due to fly out of Cambodia were forced to spend another night there after their A320 plane slid to the edge of a runway in wet weather on arrival from Singapore.  The incident occurred on Thursday morning.
Tyres on the left-hand side of the plane were damaged and had to be replaced but none of the 144 passengers flying from Singapore were injured (Jetstar Asia spokesman).  Jetstar put passengers due to fly back to Singapore from Siem Reap-Angkor up in hotels for 24 hours while another flight was organised, the spokesman said.

22 Aug - fm Newsnow.co.uk - other news of the last 24hrs (Quick-link above. Original sources as indicated)

Virgin Atlantic cashes in on flight from BA - This is Croydon Today 13:38 22-Aug-08
Business is booming at Virgin Atlantic as passengers desert British Airways in the wake of the chaotic launch of Terminal 5 at Heathrow. Sir Richard Branson's airline is set to report strong first-quarter results next week despite soaring fuel costs, the slowing economy, and the crisis facing the airline industry.
BA chief executive Willie Walsh described it as "the worst trading environment the industry has ever faced" but Virgin was more bullish and blamed BA's woes at Heathrow.  It said demand to fly Virgin is up sharply at a time when BA is shedding 25,000 passengers a week.
The national flag carrier this month reported an 88% fall in profits for the three months to the end of June.
Sir Richard has turned his fire on plans of BA and rival American Airlines to collaborate more closely on transatlantic routes, claiming it will create a 'monster monopoly'.

Qantas A380 takes off for the first time - The Sydney Morning Herald 07:58 22-Aug-08
The biggest flying kangaroo yet has taken to the skies for the first time with a Qantas liveried A380 conducting flight tests over Germany.  Designed and built by European Aerospace company Airbus, the A380 is capable of carrying up to 600 passengers (if carrying economy passengers only).
Qantas has bought 20 A380s.
"The airline will take delivery of this first aircraft from Airbus in Toulouse, France on 19 September," a Qantas spokesman said.  "It will arrive in Sydney, 21 September before operating its first passenger flight, between Melbourne and Los Angles, on 20 October."

Lufthansa jet collides with runway bus at Frankfurt airport - Mathaba.Net 07:58 22-Aug-08
A Lufthansa Airbus A340, carrying 224 passengers and 12 crew members, collided with a parked bus on a Frankfurt airport runway after arriving from Tehran Thursday morning, according to dpa.  No one was hurt in the incident which caused only minor damage to the airplane.  The bus was not apparently parked at the proper spot, the official added.

Qantas Boss Says Airline Must Ink Merger - Forbes.com 09:27 22-Aug-08
Qantas Airways Ltd. will inevitably merge with another major airline as part of the global restructuring taking place in aviation industry, the company's chief executive officer said Friday.

Homeless chef barred from living at Gatwick Airport - 24dash.com 09:13 22-Aug-08
 A homeless chef who made Gatwick Airport his home for more than three years is to be sentenced for breaching an Asbo banning him from the site.  Anthony Delaney ate, showered and slept at the West Sussex airport in scenes similar to the 2004 Steven Spielberg-directed film The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks.  At a previous hearing, Lewes Crown Court heard how Delaney rarely left the airport's south terminal and only did so to collect his Jobseeker's Allowance.

21 Aug Spanair MD-82 crashes at Madrid killing 153 (Fm Newsnow.co.uk sources)

A Spanair MD-82 crashed at Madrid-Barajas whilst making a second attempt take off following an aborted first attempt due to undisclosed technical problems. Spanair maintenance staff then cleared the aircraft for takeoff.
153 people were killed and 19 injured as fire engulfed the airliner Wednesday. Amongst the dead are two babies.

The Spanair MD-82 jet crashed on takeoff at Madrid airport at 14.32 CEST on Wed and was flight JK5022  (codeshared with Lufthansa, flight LH 2554) destined for Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. The Spanish El Mundo reported that the left engine caught fire as the plane was taking off.   "Before the tragic flight, the captain turned back to the gate...reporting a problem with the heating system in an air intake" located under a window in the cockpit, Spanair's deputy managing director Javier Mendoza said.
Spanair is owned by the Scandinavian airline SAS.
Early article and pics at: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=274028&in_page_id=34&ito=newsnow

[The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series had already experienced a difficult year before this disaster.  Last month, the American Fed Aviation Admin ordered the entire US fleet be inspected for potential cracking on overwing frames and American Airlines grounded its fleet of MD-80s in April after fears of electrical faults.
Even the failure of both engines of a big jet need not necessarily lead to disaster – when both engines failed on a British Airways Boeing 777 coming in at Heathrow in January, the pilots were able to perform an emergency landing with only minor injuries, and most of these were sustained during evacuation of the plane.

The US National Transportation Safety Board lists 16 accidents involving the MD-82 in the past five years, three of which were fatal.
In September last year a Thai Orient MD-82 crashed at the side of the runway at Phuket International Airport in Thailand, killing 89 of the 130 people on board.   In 2005, an MD-82 operated by West Caribbean Airways crashed in a mountainous region in northwest Venezuela killing all 152 passengers and eight crew.  And in 2004, one operated by Lion Air overran the runway in Solo City, Indonesia, killing 25.   Others in the MD-80 series have also suffered problems. Last November an Atlasjet MD-83 crashed coming into Isparta airport in Turkey, leaving 57 dead.]

20 Aug BAA ordered to sell off 2 London airports and 1 Scottish airport

BAA has been ordered to break up monopoly and to sell off two of its London hubs and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airport by the Competition Commission.   Findings on the state of the UK’s airports published today by the Commission also demand that the Civil Aviation Authority reacts to a chorus of disapproval on how airports are run by airlines. 
Read on at TravelMole: http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1130834.php?mpnlog=1

20 Aug AirAsia X announces routes that could offer A$500 London flights  (heraldsun.com.au)

MELBURNIANS could soon be travelling to London for A$500 on low-cost airline AirAsia X, which will start flying within months.  The Malaysian-based airline today announced its latest international route between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur will begin on November 12, with one-way fares starting at A$199.

The company "hopes to extend the service to Europe and the United Kingdom in the near future".
"With the exception of peak periods, I think normally we would be looking at a A$299 fare from Kuala Lumpur to London, so all-in (a return flight) of within A$1000,'' AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani said.   "That would probably be in the first half of next year as soon as we get our UK service going.''

The cheap flights will also help encourage Europeans to visit Australia.  "When we start tapping into some of the growing markets, especially Central and Eastern Europe, there will be a lot of interest to come down here as well.''

The Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur service will begin with four return flights per week but will increase to daily return flights during the peak season of mid-December to mid-January.

AirAsia X, said the Melbourne route was one of the most requested Australian destinations by Malaysian travellers 
and the new service would link Melburnians to AirAsia's other connections in South East Asia.

20 Aug Budget airline denies it is quitting Tees Valley airport

BUDGET airline flyglobespan has denied it is to pull out of Durham Tees Valley Airport and move operations to Newcastle International Airport.  The airline, which created 60 jobs when it began services from Durham Tees Valley in March last year, was said to be considering a move to the larger airport in an attempt to secure a more profitable customer base.

But last night it emphatically denied the reports and said the firm’s chief executive Rick Green had talks at Durham Tees Valley and, according to a spokesman, was discussing “various aspects of the airline’s programme, including Durham Tees Valley”. The spokesman said: “We have yet to finalise our full programme for next summer and are in talks at a senior level with Durham Tees Valley Airport as we look to plan ahead for 2009. When our final plans are agreed, we will make a full announcement.

“Flyglobespan is not planning a move to Newcastle.”

Flyglobespan is a major carrier at Durham Tees Valley and operates flights to Tenerife, Faro, Malaga, Alicante, Palma and Jersey. Earlier this year, it highlighted its “strong sales” from the North-East with winter sun destinations popular.

Flyglobespan began life in 2002 with its first flight from Edinburgh to Nice. It now operates flights to 23 destinations worldwide, employing 1,300 staff.   (Newsnow.co.uk - NorthernEcho.co.uk)

19 Aug Kent International Airport - Jersey route confirmed for 2009

The company offering flights to Jersey from Kent International Airport has confirmed that it will be operating the route again next year.  C.I. Travel Holdings Ltd has been delighted with the response from Kent residents with interest in the route extremely high and sales ahead of projections.  "Sales have shown there is a strong demand for the flights from Kent to Jersey and customers have also been opting for holiday packages.”

Jersey. Located just 12 miles from the Normandy coast of France and enjoying more sunshine than anywhere in the UK (to which the island does not belong), the island is also particularly attractive to Brits as its currency is the Channel Islands Pound rather than the rocketing Euro which is eroding holidaymakers’ spending money elsewhere in Europe.
Kent residents interested in finding out more about holidays on Jersey can book online at www.jerseytravel.com or www.discoverjersey.com or call 01534 496600 or 0844 415 6651. (Newsnow.co.uk - Yourcounty.co.uk)

16 Aug British Airways and American Airlines pursue alliance

15 Aug BA and AA announced plans yesterday to reshape the airline industry with a deal that could herald the creation of a supercarrier.   The companies applied to regulators in the US and Europe for antitrust immunity that would permit them to combine their route networks, pricing, sales, marketing and purchasing power. Iberia, the Spanish airline; Finnair and Royal Jordanian are included in the submission but are secondary players.

All five carriers are members of oneworld, a marketing group that allows airlines to sell connecting flights offered by other members. The new alliance would go much further as BA and AA would no longer compete with each other on key routes / Passengers would be offered both BA and AA fares / Frequent-Flyer miles would be honoured throughout the alliance / There would be cost-saving opportunities through the bulk purchase of fuel, aircraft and ground services / Ownership of the airlines would not change, although the proposed alliance is regarded as a forerunner to a  merger. 
Should the US Government amend its rules on the foreign ownership of domestic airlines. BA and Iberia are already engaged in talks on a full merger.

Willie Walsh, CE of BA, said: "The previous efforts [in this direction], in 1997 and 2001, failed because regulators insisted on the pair giving up Heathrow landing slots to reduce their dominance at the world’s busiest international airport. This would no longer be an issue because of the US-EU open-skies agreement that began this year, whereby any airline, in theory, can operate from Heathrow.

Virgin Atlantic has said that it will challenge the alliance on antimonopoly grounds because the proposal would make BA even more powerful over the North Atlantic. Sir Richard Branson said: “If this monster monopoly is approved it will be third time unlucky for consumers. Bad for passengers, Bad for competition and Bad for the UK and US aviation industry.”

BA noted that antitrust immunity had been granted to other airline alliances, such as Air France and Delta and United and Lufthansa, so there was no reason why its own should be blocked.

The proposed tie-up emerged on the day Washington recommended that AMR, the parent of AA, be fined U$7.1 million (£3.8 million) for allegedly flying aircraft it knew needed repairs. Aviation authorities accused AMR of flying two aircraft without attending to necessary maintenance throughout last year and of having poor alcohol and drug-testing procedures. (Fm Newsnow.co.uk - timesonline.co.uk)

15 Aug Oh Joy!  This time it is Heathrow T3

Heathrow returning to normal   (fm BBC.co.uk)
 
Passenger were unable to board flights because of computer problems.  Services at Heathrow's Terminal 3 are returning to normal after a computer glitch left up to 6,000 passengers unable to enter the building.
The airport's operator BAA said passengers were being checked-in but the process was "slower than normal".
Two flights were cancelled and several others were delayed on Thursday afternoon as the fault caused problems with the baggage and check-in system.
About 2,000 bags which failed to reach their destinations will be flown out.
Long-haul flights operate from the west London airport's Terminal 3.
The fault with the computers resulted in the check-in system being suspended from 1630 BST on Thursday and BAA warned that some baggage could have been loaded on the wrong flights.
BAA apologised for the inconvenience.

07 Aug From Newsnow.co.uk  (full stories via Quick Link button above)

The latest includes:
Expansion for Darwin and Alice Springs Passenger Terminal Today - News 15:47
Groundbreaking at St. Vincent and the Grenadines Passenger Terminal Today - News 15:47
JetBlue Seeks Volunteers To Test New Terminal NPR - Business 15:44
EU Clears Delta, Northwest Merger Air Cargo World 15:34
Four charged in British Airways price fixing The Toronto Star - Investing 15:33
New Smyrna airline shuts down, lays off 40 Orlando Business Journal 15:11
Lion Air to begin regular flights to Saudi in 2009 Middle East Online - Business 15:03
JetBlue to start its first intra-Caribbean flight Orlando Sentinel, Florida - Tourism (Weblog) 14:45
Maryland approves $45M shuttle contract at BWI/Marshall Airport Washington Business Journal 14:41
Transaero becomes Russia's largest international airline Aircraft Economics 14:27
$299 American Airlines Fares to Caribbean This Fall in Conjunction With Elite Island Resorts' Caribbean... U.S. Newswire - Todays News 14:11

Top Stories (Last 24hrs)
United Airlines to Charge for Water, Coffee and Bathroom Use - Unconfirmed Sources (Satire) 15:18 6-Aug-08
British Airways worst in Europe - News.com.au 00:38 7-Aug-08
New flights from Birmingham airport - travelbite.co.uk 10:43 7-Aug-08
Alitalia to be restructured end-Aug; new company created - report - interactive investor 08:23 7-Aug-08
Grounded Qantas jet had 95 defects - The Courier-Mail 11:47 7-Aug-08
You Think Oil's Going Down? Think Again - TheStreet.com 22:03 6-Aug-08
Actor jailed in Memphis after altercation on airplane - Mercury News, California 01:47 7-Aug-08
BA bosses in price-fixing charge - BBC 10:09 7-Aug-08

Previous Top Stories
Leeds-based airline apologises for flight from hell - Yorkshire Evening Post 08:39 6-Aug-08
-Jet2 Passengers were left sweating for 3 hrs in temps of 31C (88F) on plane waiting to take off from
  Rome's  Fiumicino Airport on Saturday.  [British people melt at over 25c!]
Planes collide on airport runway - Metro.co.uk 15:56 5-Aug-08
American Airlines flights make emergency landings at LAX, JFK - USA Today 19:04 5-Aug-08
Delta expected to join airline amendment fray ahead of merger with Northwest - FT.com 15:58 5-Aug-08
Ryanair boosts Luton services - TravelMole 11:17 6-Aug-08
Ryanair may 'buy up to 400 aircraft' - report - The Irish Times 09:11 6-Aug-08
Private jet service to begin flights to Hawaii - The Honolulu Advertiser, Hawaii 12:06 6-Aug-08
 

07 Aug   'Noisy' Qantas jet aborts take-off

Qantas fault number 5!
A Qantas jet grounded in Melbourne because of noise from an air-conditioning fault was the same plane that returned from routine maintenance in Malaysia two months ago with 95 defects.
The Canberra-bound Boeing 737 jet returned to the terminal and passengers were transferred to another plane, finally leaving Melbourne 90 minutes later, just before 13.00 AEST.

A Qantas spokeswoman said QF850 had problems with an air-conditioning duct unit while taxiing towards the runway. "It was a routine return to the terminal due to an air-conditioning fault," she said.

The 737, registered as VH-TJU, is the same aircraft on which Qantas engineers found 95 defects that had been missed during contract maintenance work by Malaysian Airlines in Kuala Lumpur.  News Limited newspapers at the time said the faults included a galley that was so badly installed it was a fire risk and gave a flight attendant an electric shock.

The 737 had been back in service for seven weeks after the defects were repaired.

When asked if Qantas ' overseas maintenance schedule would be reviewed following the incident, she said: "It is not relevant, because it was unrelated to that maintenance check."!?!

The incident was the latest in a recent run of setbacks for Australia's national airline:

1. The spate of problems started last month when an explosion ripped a hole in the fuselage of a Qantas jet en route from Hong Kong to Melbourne , forcing an emergency landing at Manila.
2. Last week, a domestic flight was forced to return to Adelaide after a wheel bay door failed to close.
3. A Qantas Boeing 767 flight turned back to make an emergency landing at Sydney airport on August 2 after a hydraulic fluid leak was discovered.
4. On Monday, a jet was grounded for almost three hours after a technical fault was discovered in a pre-flight inspection at Sydney airport.
   

01 Aug Smoking Flybe flight makes emergency landing at Isle of Man Airport

A FLYBE flight between Manchester and Belfast had to make an emergency landing at Isle of Man Airport after the crew thought they could smell smoke.  There were 89 passengers on board, who had to escape via the emergency chutes. 
The aircraft, an Embraer 195, made an emergency descent into the Isle of Man Airport as a precautionary measure at 13.17 today Aug 1.  The likely cause of the incident seems to be a failure of the air conditioning and circulation system.
Flybe arranged for all passengers to complete their journey to Belfast as quickly as possible.  The company has had no other similar incidents with any of its E195 fleet.  An emergency services spokesman said: 'There were 4 minor casualties treated on scene and 1 female taken to hospital.  Story at: http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/Emergency-incident-at-Isle-of.4350199.jp

It was quite a closing to an eventful week on Mann: Isle of Man News
-Steam Packet's 'Viking' collides with pontoon in Liverpool
-Flybe flight makes emergency landing at Isle of Man Airport
-Electricity bills to rise by 16.32 per cent
-Hazardous waste to be stored near school
-Gas price hike takes effect from today
-Children warned of dangers posed by rivers
-Fishing boat rescued after hitting stabits

As long as you didn't fly, sail, heat or cook then you should have be OK Friday unless you drive and the road is closed due to one of the above.  See http://www.iomtoday.co.im/sectionhome.aspx?sectionid=870

29 Jul Manx2.com Dornier 228 burst a tyre on landing from a flight GLO-IOM.

MANX2 said the incident was the first ever incident of a burst tyre on landing involving the Dornier 228 aircraft.
It happened as the plane en-route from Gloucester touched down on the main Isle of Man runway shortly after 10am on Tue – provoking a full emergency turn out. None, however, of the 16 passengers and two crew on board were injured. ....
See http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/Burst-aircraft-tyre-was-a.4334959.jp

28 Jul Ryanair shares slump after profit drop

DUBLIN, Ireland – Ryanair Holdings PLC, Europe's leading budget airline, reported a surprising 85 percent drop in first-quarter profit on Monday, citing the high cost of fuel and recessionary fears.
Chief Executive Michael O'Leary warned that Ryanair could be headed for its first full-year loss since entering the Irish and British stock exchanges in 1997. He said the outlook was poor because of high oil prices and tightening consumer spending.
“The emerging economic recession in the United Kingdom and Ireland caused by the global credit crisis and high oil prices means that consumer confidence is plummeting, and we believe this will have an adverse impact on fares for the rest of the year,” O'Leary said. “We will respond as always with lower fares and aggressive pricing to keep people flying and maintain our high load factors.”
Ryanair was obliged to record a formal loss on its Aer Lingus investment because shares in the Irish airline have fallen for three straight quarters.
O'Leary says Ryanair remains committed to an eventual takeover of Aer Lingus even though European Union competition authorities, the Irish government and Aer Lingus employees oppose the effort.
“We continue to believe that oil prices remain subject to irrational exuberance. ... We will continue to absorb higher oil costs, even if it means short-term losses,” O'Leary said in a statement.
He said Ryanair was on course to record no net profits in fiscal 2009 and could lose as much as 60 million euros ($95 million). He based that forecast on a scenario where oil prices remain near $130 through March 2009 and average Ryanair fares fall 5 percent over the traditionally lean winter months.

But he said Ryanair would keep expanding its route network and planned to carry 58 million passengers in fiscal 2009, a 14 percent gain. Ryanair previously forecast 16 percent growth.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20080728-0428-earns-ryanair.html Shawn Pogatchnik

25 Jul Blast tears hole in corroded Qantas jet.  Safe landing for QF30 LON-MEL Boeing 747-400

AAP 25 Jul 17.40 AEST - Australian passengers have told of a terrifying mid-air emergency that left a gaping hole in the side of a Qantas plane, forcing an emergency landing in Manila.  The Qantas Boeing 747, en route from London to Melbourne , via Hong Kong , landed safely on Friday and a "gigantic" hole was discovered in the belly of the plane, near the wing.
Some of the 346 passengers on board told of debris flying through the depressurised cabin, and oxygen masks dropping from the ceiling. Some said the plane had plunged about 20,000 feet after a door "popped". read on at:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/4824299/qantas-plane-makes-emergency-landing

AAP 26 Jul 00.01 AEST - The Qantas plane forced to make an emergency landing in the Philippines after a massive hole opened up in its fuselage had been plagued by a history of corrosion.  News Limited reports that engineers discovered a large amount of corrosion in the Qantas jumbo during a major refurbishment earlier this year.
The 17-year-old Boeing 747-400, registration VH-OJK, received a new interior at Victoria's Avalon Airport in March.  Aviation sources said aircraft engineers had noted a "lot" of corrosion during the refit, the report said.
QF Flight 30 from London to Melbourne had left Hong Kong airport on Friday after a stopover at 09.00 local time, (11.00 AEST), when an explosion ripped through the plane's underside...More at ..http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/4825597/qantas-plane-corroded-blast

22 Jul CH-Aviation 19th - 20th Jul

20.07.2008

VolaSalerno (Salerno) will launch scheduled services out of Salerno near Naples using a BAe 146-300 wet-leased from OrionAir (Spain) (ORI/Valencia):
Salerno-Barcelona: 2x weekly and Salerno-Milan Malpensa: 2x daily starting Aug 2.
Salerno-Bucharest Baneasa: 2x weekly starting Aug 4

Air Berlin (AB/Berlin Tegel) has announced plans to significantly increase capacity on its domestic routes in Spain from the Palma de Mallorca hub this winter season. It will launch weekly B737-700 from Saarbrücken to Zurich on Nov 1.

Skyways Express (JZ/Stockholm Arlanda) has already ceased its Stockholm Arlanda-Luxembourg route.

Flybe. (BE/Exeter) will give up its Exeter-Norwich route on Sep 22.

Blue 1 (KF/Helsinki) will wet-lease two Fokker 50 from Skyways Express (JZ/Stockholm Arlanda) for some of its services from Stockholm Arlanda to Tampere and Vaasa.

Robin Hood Aviation (RH/Graz) has temporarily suspended its Linz-Zurich route until Sep 1 and has wet-leased one of its two Saab 340s to Cirrus Airlines (C9/Saarbruecken) in the meantime.

Rossiya (FV/St. Petersburg) is reportedly considering taking a stake in Vladivostok Air (XF/Vladivostok).

Air Europa (UX/Palma de Mallorca) will lease the EMB-195s originally ordered for the failed Universal Airlines (Spain) (Palma de Mallorca) project.

Ryanair (FR/Dublin) has announced its plans to cut capacity at London Stansted by 14% and in Dublin by 18% this winter season. It has also announced that it will temporarily stop all services to Basle/Mulhouse, Budapest, Krakow, Palma de Mallorca, Rzeszow, Salzburg and Valencia between Nov 4 and Dec 18 unless the airports grant the reductions in landing and handling fees Ryanair has demanded. It has announced other new services instead:
Alicante-Leeds/Bradford: 3x weekly starting Oct 28 / -Palma de Mallorca: 3x weekly starting Dec 20 / -Zaragoza: daily (already launched).
Girona-Ibiza: 3x weekly starting Nov 4 / -Leeds/Bradford: 4x weekly starting Oct 1 / -Palma de Mallorca: 4x weekly starting Dec 19 / -Turin: 3x weekly resuming on Oct 28.
London Luton-Biarritz: 3x weekly starting Nov 4.
London Stansted-Katowice: daily starting Oct 27 / -Fuerteventura: 3x weekly / -Ibiza: 3x weekly / -Malaga: 3x weekly and -Tenerife Sur: 3x weekly starting Oct 28.
-Basle/Mulhouse: 3x weekly starting Dec 21
Stockholm Skavsta-Prague: 4x weekly starting Oct 27 / -Wroclaw: 3x weekly starting Oct 28 / -Lodz: 2x weekly starting Oct 29 / -Krakow: 3x weekly starting Dec 20.

It will suspend its services from Bournemouth to Nantes and Palma de Mallorca, from Dusseldorf Weeze to Trapani and Valencia as well as from Stockholm Skavsta to Basel/Mulhouse, Marseilles, Trapani and Valencia for the winter season.

Sky Airlines (SHY/Antalya) has added another ex-ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH/Tokyo Haneda) A320-200.

Air Southwest (WO/Plymouth) has wet-leased an ATR 42-300 from Atlantic Express (UK) (7M/Coventry).

Pronair (Albacete) has added a second MD-87.

Norwegian (DY/Oslo Gardermoen) has given up its Stockholm Arlanda-Dusseldorf route on Jul 20 and will terminate its Stockholm Arlanda-Östersund on Aug 15.

Alis Aerolinee Italiane (Milan Malpensa) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus and is planning to order five A330-200F freighters to launch longhaul cargo operations out of Milan Malpensa in early 2010. The carrier has been founded by Alcide Leali, the original founder of Air Dolomiti (EN/Trieste).

DanubeWings (Bratislava) is planning to launch charter operations with a single ATR 72-200.

Elitaliana (Lamezia Terme) is planning to launch scheduled helicopter flights between Lamezia Terme and Panarea island later this summer season.

Swiss Private Aviation (Zurich) is the new name of Servair that has recently been acquired by Swiss (LX/Zurich). It will operate the fleet of Lufthansa Private Jet (Frankfurt) as of spring 2009.

Quality Lineas Aéreas (Madrid) is planning to launch charter operations with a single B767-200ER in Oct.

Gubernskie Airlines (Chelyabinsk) is planning to start regional operations with five recently ordered An-140 turboprops. The start-up is back russian jet fuel supplier TOAP.

Andalus Lineas Aéreas (Malaga) is planning to launch operations later this year with B767s offering scheduled charter services from Malaga to the Caribbean and Latin America.

OrionAir (Spain) (ORI/Valencia) has returned its single BAe 146-200 to the lessor.

Air One (AP/Rome Fiumicino) has wet-leased two Fokker 50s from Denim Air (3D/Amsterdam) for its services from Catania and Palermo to Lampedusa and Pantelleria. It will terminate its Turin-Paris CDG services on Jul 31.

Aeroflot (SU/Moscow Sheremetyevo) has placed an order for additional five A321-200s.

Futura Intl Airways (FH/Palma de Mallorca) has wet-leased a B737-400 to Air Algérie (AH/Algiers).

Robin Hood Aviation (RH/Graz) is planning to lease a first Saab 340 freighter later this year.

Aeroflot-Don (D9/Rostov) is planning to order several Superjet 100s and either A320s or B737NGs to replace its B737-500s and to double its fleet during the next decade.

Amerer Air (AMK/Linz) will lease an ex-Flybe. (BE/Exeter) BAe 146-200QT freighter.

JetX (GX/Reykjavik Keflavik) has wet-leased a B737-800 from Futura Intl Airways (FH/Palma de Mallorca).

Sprint Air (SXP/Warsaw) has acquired two additional ex-Golden Air (DC/Trollhattan) Saab 340s.

Adria Airways (JP/Ljubljana) has leased a CRJ-200 from Air Nostrum (YW/Valencia) for the summer season.

BA CityFlyer (CJ/London City) has wet-leased a BAe 146-200 from Flightline (UK) (B5/Southend).

Baboo (F7/Geneva) has been forced to give up plans for a Geneva-St. Petersburg route as it was unable to gain traffic rights from the Russian authorities.

New Axis Airways (9X/Marseilles) will launch twice weekly B737-400 from Marseille to Casablanca on Oct 28.

Malev (MA/Budapest) might possibly be included in the AirUnion merger process after its owner Boris Abramovich has offered to trade his majority stake in Malev for a larger stake in AirUnion that is now mainly controlled by the Russian government. It will lease four ex-SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK/Copenhagen Kastrup) Dash 8-400s this fall and has placed an order for four new Dash 8-400s. Malev has entered into a codeshare agreement with Rossiya (FV/St. Petersburg) for the four weekly Budapest-St. Petersburg services Rossiya operates.

SATA International (S4/Lisbon) will lease a fourth new A320-200.

MNG Airlines (MB/Istanbul Ataturk) has purchased an A300-600F from Air Atlanta Icelandic (CC/Reykjavik Keflavik).

KD Avia (KD/Kaliningrad) has placed an order for 25 A319-100s to replace its B737-300 fleet as of 2014. It has added a 19th ex-US Airways (US/Phoenix) B737-300.

Trans Avia Export (AL/Minsk Machulishchy) will lease a single new Il-114-100T freighter.

Jetalliance (JAG/Vienna) has ordered two additional A318-100(Elite) aircraft.

Titan Airways (ZT/London Stansted) is planning to lease a first B767-300ER for charter services.

Highland Airways (8H/Inverness) has added two ex-Coast Air Jetstream 32s.

Albanian Airlines (LV/Tirana) has wet-leased a MD-82 from Global Aviation Operations (Johannesburg Intl).

Jat Airways (JU/Belgrade) is expected to be finally privatized this year. The Serbian government has issued a new tender inviting bidders to submit offers for a 51-75% stake in Jat Airways. Aegean Airlines (A3/Athens), Aeroflot (SU/Moscow Sheremetyevo), Air Berlin (AB/Berlin Tegel), Air One (AP/Rome Fiumicino) and Icelandair (FI/Reykjavik Keflavik) are reportedly planning to submit bids.

Wideroe (WF/Bodo) will give up its Rygge-Copenhagen route on Aug 31.

Aeroflot-Cargo (SU/Moscow Sheremetyevo) has now been able to launch operations with its MD-11F fleet in early Jun.

flynordic (LF/Stockholm Arlanda) has leased two ex-Pegasus Airlines (H9/Istanbul Ataturk) B737-800s.

Rossiya (FV/St. Petersburg) will lease an ex-Skybus Airlines A319-100 and an ex-USA 3000 Airlines (U5/Philadelphia) A320-200.

Iberia (IB/Madrid) will operate a twice weekly seasonal from Valencia to Vienna operated by Air Nostrum (YW/Valencia) CRJ-900s between Jul 26 and Sep 6.

Eurowings (EW/Dortmund) will operate the 15 additional CRJ-900s parent Lufthansa (LH/Frankfurt Intl) has ordered in 2007.

Farnair Hungary (FAH/Budapest) has added two Beech 1900 for cargo services on behalf of FedEx Express (FX/Memphis) within the United Kingdom.

SkyEurope Airlines (NE/Bratislava) will give up its Prague-Sofia route on Oct 3.

Air One (AP/Rome Fiumicino) has finalized an order for five A320-200s, 12 A330-200s (and 8 options) and 12 A350s (and 12 options). It has given up plans for a new Milan Malpensa-Bari route.

Volareweb.com (VE/Milan Linate) has been put up for sale again by the Italian authorities after the state council court has ruled that the sale process in 2006 did not follow with legally binding procedures. Air One (AP/Rome Fiumicino) had taken legal action back then against the decision to sell Volare to Alitalia (AZ/Rome Fiumicino) and has only now won the case.

VLM (VG/Antwerp) has given up its Groningen-Amsterdam(-London City) route on Jul 1.

Montenegro Airlines (YM/Podgorica) has taken delivery of its first EMB-195s.

VIM Airlines (NN/Moscow Domodedovo) has added a first ex-Aviaprad Tu-154M to its fleet. It will launch weekly Yak-42D between Ufa and Dushanbe on Sep 19.

Transavia Airlines (HV/Amsterdam) has leased two B737-800s from parent KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL/Amsterdam). It will operate several new seasonal services in its next winter timetable:
Berlin Tegel-Innsbruck: 4x weekly starting Dec 18
Brussels-Innsbruck: 3x weekly starting Dec 19 and -Salzburg: 2x weekly starting Dec 20.
Hamburg-Innsbruck: 5x weekly starting Dec 18
Rotterdam-Friedrichshafen: 2x weekly starting Dec 20
~> In other news, it is reportedly planning to base up to three B737s in Lelystad.

Aviogenex (JJ/Belgrade) has wet-leased its single B737-200 to Jat Airways (JU/Belgrade) for the summer season.

MAT Macedonian Airlines (IN/Skopje) has temporarily wet-leased a B737-300 from Hola Airlines (HOA/Palma de Mallorca). It will soon lease an ex-Nationwide Airlines B737-500 to replace the Hola aircraft.

Jet Time (JTG/Copenhagen Kastrup) has added two more ex-Air Asia (AK/Kuala Lumpur Intl) B737-300s.

Sun Express (XQ/Antalya) has wet-leased a B737-800 from Futura Intl Airways (FH/Palma de Mallorca) for the summer season. It will launch weekly B737-800 from Dusseldorf Weeze to Antalya in early Nov.

Jetairfly (TB/Brussels) has announced several new routes for the upcoming winter season:
Brussels-Boa Vista-Sal: weekly starting Oct 26.  Brussels Charleroi-Nador: 2x weekly starting Oct 23 / -Oujda: 2x weekly starting Oct 24 and -Tenerife Sur-Las Palmas: 2x weekly starting Oct 25

Thomsonfly (BY/London Luton) has retired its last B737-500 in Jun. It will be rebranded as Thomson Airways (BY/London Luton) in May 2009 when it will also stop using the First Choice Airways for some of its services.

Belavia (B2/Minsk Intl 2) has leased a first ex-China Eastern Airlines (MU/Shanghai Hongqiao) B737-300.

Helvetic Airways (2L/Zurich) will give up scheduled services by the end of Oct. It will continue to operate a fleet of four Fokker 100s on charter services and on behalf of Swiss (LX/Zurich).

Air Arabia (G9/Sharjah) has announced plans to set-up a new subsidiary in Ukraine to operate domestic low-cost services with up to five A320-200s. It has already set its first market entry date as Oct 2008 when it is planning to launch a Sharjah-Kiev Borispol service.

Sun-Air (EZ/Billund) has announced two new regional services in Scandinavia:
Aarhus-Stord: weekly Do328-110 starting Aug 17
Oslo Gardermoen-Stord: 3x daily Do328-110 starting Aug 11
Hamburg International (4R/Hamburg) has wet-leased a B737-700 to Sterling Airlines (NB/Copenhagen Kastrup).

Monarch Airlines (ZB/London Luton) is planning to lease between four and six additional A330s or B767s to cover for late B787 deliveries.

Aigle Azur (ZI/Paris Orly) has leased two additional ex-Skybus Airlines A319-100s.

Yamal Airlines (YL/Salekhard) has leased two more ex-Aviaprad B737-500s.

Aurela (LSK/Vilnius) has leased a second ex-VIM Airlines (NN/Moscow Domodedovo) B757-200.

Blue Panorama Airlines (BV/Rome Fiumicino) is planning to lease two more B737s for its Blu Express (BV/Rome Fiumicino) low-cost subsidiary. It will add a fourth ex-VRG Linhas Aéreas (RG/Rio de Janeiro Intl) B767-300 in fall.

Brussels Airlines (SN/Brussels) has signed a codeshare agreement with Ethiopian Airlines (ET/Addis Ababa) for the daily Ethiopian services linking Addis Ababa and Brussels.

Aer Lingus (EI/Dublin) will launch twice weekly A320-200 between Dublin and Sofia on Oct 28 but give up its Dublin-Los Angeles route on Nov 2.

Flybe. (BE/Exeter) will give up its Belfast City-Paris CDG route on Jul 31. It has wet-leased two ATR 72-200s from Aer Arann (RE/Dublin) for the remainder of the summer season but has retired its last BAe 146-300.

DAT - Danish Air Transport (DX/Vamdrup) has terminated its Copenhagen-Ronne route.

Luxair (LG/Luxembourg) will give up its Luxembourg-London Heathrow route on Oct 25. It will continue to operate four daily servives to London City. Luxair will lease its slots at Heathrow to Etihad Airways (EY/Abu Dhabi) for five years.

Bulgaria Air (FB/Sofia) has launched weekly seasonal B737-300 from both Bourgas and Varna to Moscow Vnukovo.

PrivatAir (PTI/Geneva) has leased a new B737-800 that had not been taken up by Sun Country Airlines (SY/Minneapolis/St. Paul).

KLM cityhopper (WA/Amsterdam) has added an ex-Mandarin Airlines (AE/Taichung) Fokker 100 to its fleet.

Zoom UK (ZX/Glasgow Intl) has streamlined its flight schedules and now operates both of its twice weekly London Gatwick-Fort Lauderdale services via Bermuda and all of its London Gatwick-New York JFK services non-stop.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL/Amsterdam) will give up its Rotterdam-London Heathrow route on Oct 25. Air France KLM subsidiary VLM Airlines (VG/Antwerp) will continue to operate up to eight daily roundtrips between Rotterdam and London City.

Tbilaviamsheni (L6/Tbilisi) has also resumed scheduled services between Georgia and Russia:
Batumi-Adler/Sochi: 2x weekly AN-24 (already operating)
Tbilisi-Adler/Sochi: 2x weekly An-24 launched on Jun 30
Tbilisi-Mineralnye Vody: 2x weekly An-24 launched on Jun 15
Tbilisi-Rostov: 2x weekly An-24 launched on Jul 7

Armavia (U8/Yerevan) is reportedly considering adding a single A340-500 to its fleet to launch longhaul services from Yerevan to Beijing and Los Angeles. It has launched daily A319-100 from Yerevan to Moscow Sheremetyevo on Jun 16 and weekly A319-100 between Yerevan and Marseilles on Jul 5. Armavia has started codesharing with Air Baltic (BT/Riga) on the twice daily Air Baltic 737-500 linking Riga and Yerevan.

Sky Express (Russia) (XW/Moscow Vnukovo) has launched new daily services from Moscow Vnukovo to Chelyabinsk, Perm and Samara. It has however given up plans for previously announced new routes from Moscow Vnukovo to Krasnodar and Volgograd.

Cirrus Airlines (C9/Munich) will move its Mannheim-Berlin route from Tempelhof to Tegel on Oct 26.

FlySmaland (Växjö) will move its Växjö-Berlin route from Tempelhof to Tegel airport on Oct 26.

InterSky (3L/Friedrichshafen) will move its Friedrichshafen-Berlin and Graz-Berlin routes from Tempelhof to Tegel airport on Oct 26.

Aeroflot-Nord (5N/Arkhangelsk) has added an ex-Thomsonfly (BY/London Luton) B737-500. It will add two more B737-500s and three B737-300s currently operated by British Airways (BA/London Heathrow) over the next two years.

Moskovia Airlines (3R/Moscow Zhukovsky) has announced plans to lease ten An-148s.

Arke Fly (OR/Amsterdam) has wet-leased an A320-200 from Spanair (JK/Palma de Mallorca) for the summer season.

Sky Airlines (SHY/Antalya) has leased a first ex-ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH/Tokyo Haneda) A321-200.

Elite Airlines (Athens) will add a first ex-NCA - Nippon Cargo Airlines (KZ/Tokyo Narita) B747SR freighter to its fleet.

European Coastal Airlines (ECB/Split) has launched scheduled seaplane in Croatia using two Twin Otters and a Grumman Goose:
Mali Losinj-Rab: 2x daily Twin Otter service
Pula-Mali Losinj: 4x daily and -Rab: 2x daily Twin Otter service
Pula-Rijeka: 2x daily Goose/Twin Otter service
Rijeka-Mali Losinj: 4x daily and -Rab: 4x daily Twin Otter service
Zagreb-Mali Losinj: 2x daily / -Rab: 2x daily / -Rijeka: daily Goose service.

AnadoluJet (Ankara) has launched three times weekly B737-800 between Ankara Esenboga and Denizli on Jun 23.

Lagunair (N7/Leon) has launched two new routes out of recently opened Burgos airport:
Burgos-Barcelona: 6x weekly / -Palma de Mallorca: 2x weekly seasonal until Aug 31. Both ERJ-145

Astraeus (5W/London Gatwick) has terminated all scheduled routes and now concentrates on charter and ACMI services. It has wet-leased a B757-200 to Ghana Intl Airlines (G0/Accra).

TAP Portugal (TP/Lisbon) has retired its last A310-300 on Jul 12. TAP has added new services to its network:
Lisbon-Bissau: 3x weekly A320-200 (already launched)
Lisbon-Casablanca: 6x weekly ERJ-145 starting Oct 27 operated by PGA Portugalia Airlines (NI/Lisbon)
Lisbon-Zagreb: 2x weekly seasonal non-stop A320-200 between Jul 22 and Sep 12 (in addition to one-stops via Bologna)

Cimber Air (QI/Sonderborg) has given up its Copenhagen-Prague route.

Martinair (MP/Amsterdam) will give up its Amsterdam-Paramaribo route on Aug 30. It is considering moving some of its operations from Amsterdam to Brussels to avoid new taxes in the Netherlands.

Volga-Dnepr Airlines (VI/Ulyanovsk) has launched three times weekly Yak-40 between Moscow Domodedovo and Cheboksary on Jul 1. It is considering setting up an air cargo hub in Havana.

19.07.2008

germanwings (4U/Cologne/Bonn) will reduce its fleet by four A319-100s as of the end of Oct. It is planning to add Kiev Borispol to its network from Berlin Schoenefeld and Cologne/Bonn as soon as it receives approval from the Ukrainian government.

LTE Intl Airways (XO/Palma de Mallorca) has wet-leased an A320-200 to TACV - Cabo Verde Airlines (VR/Praia).

Turkish Airlines (TK/Istanbul Ataturk) has given up its Adana-Jeddah route in early Jun. It has announced plans to add Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to its network later this year extending its Bangkok services.

Austrojet (AUJ/Salzburg) has extended its three times weekly Dash 8-100 between Salzburg and Banja Luka to Tivat as of Jul 16. It will launch five times weekly Dash 8-100 from Salzburg to Stuttgart on Aug 6.

FlyLAL (TE/Vilnius) is planning to add Budapest to its network from Vilnius later this year.

Ukraine Intl Airlines (PS/Kiev Borispol) has added its first ex-Kitty Hawk Air Cargo B737-300SF freighter for its Kiev Borispol-Vienna cargo services. It has also launched several new seasonal services:
Kiev Borispol-Dubrovnik: weekly B737 operating until Sep 20 / -Monastir: 2x weekly B737 operating until Nov 2 / -Nice: weekly B737 operating until Sep 20 / -Pula: weekly B737 operating until Sep 27.
Lviv-Naples: weekly B737 already launched on Jun 1 and -Rome Fiumicino: weekly B737 already launched on Jun 1.
Simferopol-Berlin Tegel: weekly B737 operating until Sep 27

bmibaby (WW/Nottingham) will lease an ex-Aegean Airlines (A3/Athens) B737-300. It has announced possible cuts from its Cardiff base but has not finalized plans yet.

Air Southwest (WO/Plymouth) has announced that it will operate a weekly Plymouth-Newquay-Grenoble as of Dec 20 instead of a similar flight to Chambery as previously announced.

Alitalia (AZ/Rome Fiumicino) has converted the 300 million EUR government loan into equity in early Jun to avoid bankruptcy. The European Commission has ruled that the loan is considered as illegimate state aid. Its financial advisor Intesa Saopaulo is still working on a new business plan that could include up to 7000 job cuts and trying to secure new financing from Italian investors for the ailing carrier. It has reportedly also seen interest from several Italian investment groups to acquire its cargo division that currently operates five MD-11F freighters. Alitalia Express (XM/Rome Fiumicino) is operating new seasonal four times weekly ERJ-145 services from Olbia to Parma and Pisa between Jun 20 and Sep 15.

Carpatair (V3/Timisoara) will launch weekdaily Saab 2000 from Timisoara to Vienna on Sep 15. It has however already suspended its Timisoara-Satu Mare route on Jun 14.

Niki (HG/Vienna) has placed an order for five EMB-190 and has also secured options for another five aircraft of the same type. It will launch three times daily A319-100/A320-200 between Vienna and Innsbruck on Nov 2.

Cyprus Airways (CY/Larnaca) has wet-leased an A320-200 from Hellas Jet (HJ/Athens) for the summer season.

Icelandair (FI/Reykjavik Keflavik) has announced plans to cut capacity by 14% and staff by 190 by the end of the summer timetable. It will give up its Reykjavik Keflavik-Halifax route on Oct 20 and will also not operate to Berlin Schoenefeld, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Toronto Pearson during the winter timetable period but will resume these routes next spring.

UTair (UT/Khanty-Mansiysk) has added new routes to its growing network:
Moscow Vnukovo-Palanga: 2x weekly ATR 42-300 launched on Jun 30 operated by UTair-Express (8J/Syktyvkar)
Moscow Vnukovo-Volgograd: daily Tu-134 launched on Jun 30
Surgut-Nizhnekamsk: 2x weekly ATR 72-200 launched on Jun 12 operated by UTair-Express

Georgian Airways (A9/Tbilisi) has added an ex-Thomsonfly (BY/London Luton) B737-500. It has started to operate two of its CRJ-200s on behalf of the United Nations. It will launch weekly B737 between Batumi and Moscow Vnukovo on Jul 27. Georgian has entered into a codeshare agreement with Rossiya (FV/St. Petersburg) for the Tbilisi-St. Petersburg route on which both carriers operate a weekly each.

Vueling Airlines (VY/Barcelona) will most likely be the surviving name for the new carrier that will emerge as a result of the merger with Clickair (XG/Barcelona). The merger is expected to be completed in Mar 2009 and Iberia (IB/Madrid) will become the largest shareholder holding approximately 45% in the new carrier. The two LCCs have however already started coordinating schedules and Vueling will give up its Granada-Rome Fiumicino route on Sep 6 and its Valencia-Milan Malpensa route on Sep 14. Vueling has already given up its Valencia-Paris CDG route.

Clickair (XG/Barcelona) and has announced new services:
Barcelona-Ljubljana: 2x weekly A320-200 (already launched)
Bilbao-Paris Orly: daily A320-200 starting Sep 1 (replacing CDG service)

CCM Airlines (XK/Ajaccio) has launched weekly seasonal ATR 72-500 between Ajaccio and Montpellier. The last on the route will operate on Sep 6.

Georgian National Airlines (QB/Tbilisi) has added an ex-Khors Aircompany (KHO/Kiev Borispol) DC-9-30 to resume scheduled operations:
Batumi-Moscow Vnukovo: weekly starting Jul 18
Kutaisi-Moscow Vnukovo: 2x weekly launched on Jun 28
Tbilisi-Batumi: weekly starting Jul 18
Tbilisi-Moscow Vnukovo: 3x weekly launched on Jun 19

Red Wings (WZ/Moscow Bykovo) is reportedly planning to launch a first scheduled route between Moscow Vnukovo and Adler/Sochi.

dba (DI/Munich) will be fully integrated into Air Berlin at the end of the summer timetable in Oct.

Lufthansa (LH/Frankfurt) has signed a Letter of Interest for 30 aircraft (and 30 options) to become the launch customer of the new Bombardier CSeries aicraft program, it has not made a decsion on the split between the 110- and 130-seat version of the aircraft yet. Deliveries will start in 2013. It will transfer two A330-200s back from Swiss (LX/Zurich) to Lufthansa that it plans to replace later with two new A330-300 it has ordered. I has announced plans to transfer some new A320-200s on order to Swiss instead and to retire its B737-500 fleet by 2009 and its remaining B737-300s by 2012. Lufthansa has launched six times weekly between Stuttgart and Warsaw on Jun 2 using Lufthansa CityLine (CL/Cologne/Bonn) CRJ-200s but will give up its Stuttgart-London City route on Jul 25. In other news, Lufthansa and bmi british midland (BD/Nottingham) have reportedly shown interest in taking a stake in Star Alliance partner South African Airways (SA/Johannesburg).

LOT Polish Airlines (LO/Warsaw) has appointed JPMorgan and Unicredit as advisors for its initial public offering. The Polish government wants to sell its 68% majority stake in the carrier. It has launched twice weekly EMB-170 between Warsaw and Beirut. It has however given up its Gdansk-Hamburg route.

Sterling Airlines (NB/Copenhagen Kastrup) and Norwegian have announced that they will also cooperate on routes from Oslo Gardermoen to Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Malaga, Nice and Tenerife Sur and from Stockholm Arlanda to Alicante, Las Palmas, Malaga and Nice as of Nov. While schedules have not been finalized yet, it is expected that Sterling will operate the majority of the routes from Stockholm while Norwegian will operate the Oslo routes. The two carriers currently compete on all of these citypairs. Sterling will launch three weekly flights between Stockholm Arlanda and Milan Malpensa on Oct 30 and twice weekly flights between Copenhagen and Lisbon on Feb 5, 2009.

Air France (AF/Paris CDG) has placed an order for four additional B777-300ERs, nine more A320-200s and five A321-200s. It has entered into a codeshare agreement with Kenya Airways (KQ/Nairobi Intl) for the Paris CDG-Nairobi Intl and Nairobi Intl-Dzaoudzi routes. It has also resumed codesharing on Royal Air Maroc (AT/Casablanca) services from Lyon, Marseilles and Toulouse to Casablanca. Air France is considering launching own highspeed rail services in 2010 and has reportedly entered into talks with Veolia Transport and SNCF about possible joint ventures. In other news, it will stop serving St. Maarten on its Miami-Port au Prince-St. Maarten-Pointe à Pitre-Cayenne services as of Sep 6. Air France (AF/Paris CDG), British Airways (BA/London Heathrow), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL/Amsterdam), Martinair (MP/Amsterdam) and SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK/Copenhagen Kastrup) have all pleaded guilty and agreed to pay fines to the US authorities for price fixing cargo rates.

AviTrans Nordic (2Q/Stockholm Bromma) will add three ex-Avion Express (N9/Vilnius) Saab 340s in Aug. Two of the aircraft are currently operating on behalf of Air Aland (Mariehamn) and the third one for Wingo (Tampere). It will continue to operate the aircraft on the same wet-lease contracts. Avitrans has also wet-leased a Saab 340 to Nextjet (2N/Stockholm Arlanda).

Air A!ps (A6/Innsbruck) has launched twice weekly seasonal Do328-110 between Ancona and Olbia.

Swiftair (W3/Madrid) has leased two more ex-Kitty Hawk Air Cargo B737-300F freighters.

Orenburg Airlines (R2/Orenburg) has added a first ex-Ryanair (FR/Dublin) B737-800 last month. It will also lease two more ex-ATA Airlines B737-800s.

Wind Rose Aviation (7W/Kiev Borispol) has wet-leased a B737-400 from Centralwings (C0/Warsaw) and a MD-83 from PMT Air (U4/Phnom Penh). It has also added another ex-Alaska Airlines (AS/Seattle/Tacoma) MD-83.

Euroline Airlines (4L/Batumi) has leased an ex-Falcon Air Express (6F/Miami) B727-200 for VIP charters. It has launched several scheduled services:
Batumi-Adler/Sochi: weekly An-24 (already launched)
Kutaisi-Adler/Sochi: weekly An-24 (already launched) / -Kharkov: weekly Tu-134  Jul 29 / -Kiev Borispol: weekly Tu-134  Jul 27
Kutaisi-Minsk Intl 1: weekly Tu-134 starting Jul 30 / -Moscow Domodedovo: 2x weekly Tu-134 starting Jul 29
Tbilisi-Adler/Sochi: 2x weekly An-24 / -Mineralnye Vody: weekly An-24  / -Rostov: weekly Tu-134  / -Samara: weekly Tu-134   (all already launched)
It has also announced plans to lease an ex-Onur Air (8Q/Istanbul Ataturk) A320-200 for new services to Cologne/Bonn, London, Omsk and Tehran.

Nextjet (2N/Stockholm Arlanda) will add at least three BAe ATPs for new domestic public obligation routes in Sweden as of Oct 26:
Östersund-Umea (replacing Nordic Regional (6N/Umea))
Stockholm Arlanda-Gallivare (replacing Nordic Regional) / -Lycksele-Arvidsjaur (replacing Skyways Express (JZ/Stockholm Arlanda)) / -Vilhelmina-Hemavan (replacing Skyways Express)

German Sky Airlines (GHY/Dusseldorf) has finally launched operations with a single ex-ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH/Tokyo Haneda) A320-200 operated by its parent Sky Airlines (SHY/Antalya).

EuroAtlantic Airways (MM/Lisbon) will add two ex-VRG Linhas Aéreas (RG/Rio de Janeiro Intl) B767-300ERs. It has wet-leased one of its B767-300ERs to LOT Polish Airlines (LO/Warsaw) for the summer season.

Blue 1 (KF/Helsinki) will operate a twice weekly seasonal MD-90-30 between Helsinki and Kuusamo between Feb 11 and Apr 26, 2008. It will give up its Helsinki-Hamburg route on Sep 15.

Tarom (RO/Bucharest Otopeni) has already given up its Bucharest Otopeni-Tulcea services again.

Centralwings (C0/Warsaw) will add 3 ex-Aegean Airlines (A3/Athens) later this year.

Silverjet (Y7/London Luton) has ceased all operations on May 30 after a planned investment from a UAE based investor has not materialized. It had operated B767-200ERs on Business Class services from Luton to Dubai and New York Newark. Several attempts to acquire the carrier in Jun have fallen through.

OLT - Ostfriesische Lufttransport (OL/Emden) has given up its Hamburg-Erfurt route by the end of Jun.

Aerosvit Airlines (VV/Kiev Borispol) has leased an ex-Corendon Airlines (CAI/Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen) B737-300 and has wet-leased a B767-300ER from Neos (NO/Milan Malpensa). It has launched new routes recently:
Kiev Borispol-Almaty: 3x weekly A320-200 operated by Donbassaero (7D/Donetsk)
Lviv-Naples: 2x weekly B737-300/-400 service

Air Caraïbes Atlantique (TX/Paris Orly) will launch three times weekly A330-300 between Paris Orly and Cayenne on Dec 15.

Ural Airlines (U6/Ekaterinburg) has entered into a codeshare agreement with Finnair (AY/Helsinki) for the new Finnair services between Ekaterinburg and Helsinki starting in Sep. It has announced plans to retire its Il-86 and Tu-154B fleet by the end of the year. It will replace the aircraft by additional leased A320-200s and a first A321-200.

British Airways (BA/London Heathrow) , Iberia (IB/Madrid) and American Airlines (AA/Dallas/Fort Worth) are planning to apply for antitrust immunity to launch a joint venture on transatlantic services between Europe and the US. BA is reportedly planning to lease several B777-300ERs from Boeing as of 2010 to cover for B787 delivery delays. It will retire its remaining 5 B737-300s until mid-2009 and its 9 B737-500s until 2010. It has acquired LAvion (A0/Paris Orly) for 68 million EUR and is planning to integrate the French premium carrier into its Open Skies (EC/London Heathrow) subsidiary. British Airways has however sold its 10.5% minority stake in Air Mauritius (MK/Mauritius) to the Mauritian government.

Domodedovo Airlines (E3/Moscow Domodedovo) has filed for bankruptcy protection but the AirUnion alliance member plans to continue operations until further notice.

Dniproavia (Z6/Dnepropetrovsk) will lease three more ex-Flybe. (BE/Exeter) ERJ-145s. It has launched daily ERJ-145 between Ivano-Frankovsk and Moscow Domodedovo on May 15. Dniproavia has entered into a codeshare relationship with Ukraine Intl Airlines (PS/Kiev Borispol) on several domestic routes in Ukraine.

Jet2 (LS/Leeds/Bradford) has announced new services:
Belfast Intl-Jersey: 2x weekly B737-300 starting May 23, 2009 / -Menorca: 2x weekly seasonal B737-300 between Jun 19 and Sep 4, 2009
Leeds/Bradford-Sharm el Sheikh: weekly B757-200 starting Feb 13, 2009
Manchester-Sharm el Sheikh: weekly B757-200 starting Oct 26
It will however give up its Leeds/Bradford-Hamburg Luebeck route on Aug 31.

B&H Airlines (JA/Sarajevo) will be privatized later this or early next year if government plans go ahead. The privatization agency of Bosnia-Herzegovina is planning to sell 49% of the carrier to an international airline partner.

S7 Airlines (S7/Novosibirsk) will add four leased ex-ATA Airlines B737-800s and a first ex-Malev (MA/Budapest) B767-300ER. It will launch daily A319-100 from Moscow Domodedovo to Ekaterinburg on Sep 16 and has already entered into a codeshare agreement with VIM Airlines (NN/Moscow Domodedovo) on the route. VIM operates a daily Yak-42D between the two airports. In other news, S7 has already launched four times weekly A320-200/A319-100 between Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk.

Globus (Novosibirsk) is planning to lease four B737-500s later this summer season.

TUIfly (Germany) (X3/Hanover) will launch new services in the upcoming winter timetable:
Basle/Mulhouse-Hurghada: weekly B737-800 starting Nov 2 / -Luxor-Hurghada: weekly B737-800 starting Nov 6 / -Marsa Alam-Sharm el Sheikh: weekly B737-800 starting Nov 7.   It will give up its Cologne/Bonn-Linz route on Oct 24.

Transaero Airlines (UN/Moscow Domodedovo) will lease a total of three ex-Varig B777-200ERs. It has launched four times weekly B767-300ER from Moscow Domodedovo to Vladivostok. It has however given up its Moscow Domodedovo-Basle/Mulhouse route.

Saga Airlines (SGX/Istanbul Ataturk) has leased two ex-ATA Airlines B737-800s that it operates on a wet-lease for Air Algérie (AH/Algiers). It has also wet-leased one of its two A310-300s to Ariana Afghan Airlines (FG/Kabul) replacing an A321-100 from Best Airlines (Turkey) (T1/Istanbul Ataturk).

GainJet Aviation (GNJ/Athens) has added two ex-MAP Jet (MPJ/Vienna) MD-83s that it will operate on behalf of new Jordanian charter operator Meelad Air (MEL/Amman Queen Alia). It will also lease an ex-VIM Airlines (NN/Moscow Domodedovo) B757-200 for VIP charters.

Spanair (JK/Palma de Mallorca) has leased another ex-Iberia (IB/Madrid) MD-87.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK/Copenhagen Kastrup) will give up its routes from Copenhagen Kastrup and Stockholm Arlanda to Prague by the end of Oct. It has already suspended its own services from Stockholm Arlanda to Riga and Tallinn but its two subsidiaries Air Baltic (BT/Riga) and Estonian Air (OV/Tallinn) continue to operate on both routes. SAS has temporarily suspended services between Stockholm Arlanda and Örnsköldsvik but will resume up to three times daily on Aug 4 using a Fokker 100 wet-leased from Air Express Sweden (AEQ/Stockholm Arlanda).

Finnair (AY/Helsinki) has announced plans to slash 500 jobs later in the year. It will give up its Helsinki-Guangzhou route on Oct 25. It is considering entering into a codeshare and cooperation agreement with Korean Air (KE/Seoul Incheon).

Austrian Airlines (OS/Vienna) is now actively looking for a new partner that will take a large stake in the carrier and has entered into multiple legal fights with Sheikh Al Jaber about the failed transaction earlier in the year. Air China (CA/Beijing), Emirates (EK/Dubai), Lufthansa (LH/Frankfurt Intl) and Royal Jordanian (RJ/Amman Queen Alia) have reportedly shown interest so far. AUA will give up its Vienna-London City route on Aug 18 and its Vienna-Chicago route on Oct 25 and has delayed the launch of new routes to Jeddah and Riyadh to early Oct. It has also announced plans to ground 3 or 4 aircraft by the end of the summer season. In other news, it will however resume weekly B767-300ER from Vienna to Malé on Nov 5.

AeroFan (Madrid) has leased a first ex-Iberia (IB/Madrid) MD-87 for charter services.

Spanair (JK/Palma de Mallorca) has announced it is planning to implement a major restructuring plan after its parent SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK/Copenhagen Kastrup) has decided that it will retain its majority stake in Spanair. It will ground 15 MD-80s as of Sep or Oct and cut several routes including its services from Barcelona to Zurich, from Bilbao to Jerez de la Frontera and Malaga and from Madrid to Asturias, Girona, Granada, Munich, San Sebastian and Vienna.

MyAir (8I/Milan Orio al Serio) has given up its Venice Marco Polo-Lamezia Terme route. It has also postponed the launch of its new routes from Milan Orio al Serio and Venice Marco Polo to Timisoara to Sep 22. It will operate four weekly A320-200 services from both airports.

19 Jul CH-Aviation 13th-18th Jul

18.07.2008

Austrian arrows (VO/Innsbruck) has leased an ex-Slovak Airlines Fokker 100.

Jetran Intl Airways (WZ/Bucharest Baneasa) has added an ex-Independence Air Do328-300 and an ex-Aerorepublica (P5/Bogota) MD-83 to its fleet.

Blue Wings (QW/Dusseldorf) is reportedly planning to lease an A310-300 for longhaul charters to the Caribbean.

Hemus Air (DU/Sofia) has taken delivery of a first of two leased A319-100s that it operates for partner carrier Bulgaria Air (FB/Sofia).

Blue Air (Romania) (0B/Bucharest Baneasa) has placed an order for three new B737-900ER aircraft. Meanwhile, it has wet-leased a B737-400 from Futura Intl Airways (FH/Palma de Mallorca) and added an ex-GOL Transportes Aéreos (G3/Sao Paulo Congonhas) B737-300. Blue Air has launched twice weekly Bucharest Baneasa-Sibiu-Madrid in addition to its five weekly non-stops.

Iberia (IB/Madrid) has given up plans to pursue an acquisition of competitor Spanair (JK/Palma de Mallorca). It has launched two new routes:
Palma de Mallorca-Burgos: 2x weekly Dash 8-300 operated by Air Nostrum (YW/Valencia)
Valencia-Nice: 2x weekly CRJ-200 operated by Air Nostrum

XL Airways France (SE/Paris CDG) has taken delivery of its first B737-800. The aircraft is currently operated by partner XL Airways UK (JN/London Gatwick) on behalf of the French carrier. It has also wet-leased an A320-200 from Iberworld Airlines (TY/Palma de Mallorca). It has started operating longhaul charters out of Brussels to Cancun, Phuket, Puerto Plata and Punta Cana on behalf of Belgian tour operators.

Ankair (Istanbul Ataturk) is planning to lease both of its MD-83s to Fars Air (QFZ/Qeshm). It has been accused of violating the US embargo against Iran by leasing an ex-Midex Airlines

(Al Ain) B747-200F freighter that has then immediately been subleased to Iran Air (IR/Tehran).

Air Slovakia (GM/Bratislava) has suspended all of its scheduled operations with the exception of a weekly B737-300 between Bratislava and Tel Aviv Ben Gurion and now mainly concentrates on charter and ACMI services. It will lease a fourth ex-KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL/Amsterdam) B737-300. It has wet-leased one of its B757-200s to RAK Airways (RT/Ras al Khaimah).

Swiss (LX/Zurich) has announced two new routes for the upcoming winter timetable:

Geneva-Budapest: 4x weekly A319-100 starting Oct 26

Zurich-Valencia: 4x weekly A319-100 starting Oct 27 (replacing existing from Geneva)

Swiss has announced plans to start codesharing with TAM Linhas Aéreas (JJ/Sao Paulo Congonhas).

Norwegian (DY/Oslo Gardermoen) and Sterling Airlines (NB/Copenhagen Kastrup) have signed a comprehensive codeshare agreement. The two carriers will start codesharing on Sep 15 on their routes from Copenhagen Kastrup to Oslo Gardermoen and Stockholm Arlanda. As of Oct, the codeshare relationship will be extended to several other routes out of Oslo Gardermoen and Stockholm Arlanda. Norwegian will launch new routes later this year:
Bergen-Krakow: 2x weekly B737-300 starting Sep 13
Oslo Gardermoen-Aalesund: 3x daily B737-300 starting Sep 10
Oslo Gardermoen-Kirkenes: 6x weekly already launched on Jun 1
Rygge-Las Palmas: weekly B737-800 starting Oct 28
Stavanger-Las Palmas: weekly B737-800 starting Oct 26
Stockholm Arlanda-Aleppo: weekly MD-82 already launched on Jun 9 operated by flynordic (LF/Stockholm Arlanda)
Trondheim-Bodo-Tromso: 6x weekly already launched on Jun 1
Norwegian will however cease its Rygge-London Stansted route on Aug 31.

easyJet (U2/London Luton) has announced several new services for this winter season:
Geneva-Stockholm Arlanda: 5x weekly A319-100 starting Oct 28
Lisbon-Funchal: 2x daily A319-100 starting Oct 28
London Gatwick-Basle/Mulhouse: 2x daily A319-100 starting Oct 27 / -Helsinki: daily A319-100 starting Nov 3
London Gatwick-Lyon: 2x daily A319-100 starting Oct 3
Madrid-Sofia: 3x weekly A319-100 starting Oct 28
Manchester-Geneva: 9x weekly A320-200 starting Dec 12 / -Sofia: 3x weekly A320-200 starting Dec 11
Milan Malpensa-Brindisi: daily A319-100 starting Oct 1 / -Copenhagen: daily A319-100 starting Oct 1 / -Lamezia Terme: daily A319-100 starting Oct 13 / -Sofia: 3x weekly A319-100 starting Oct 2
It will however give up its routes from Dortmund to Alicante, Edinburgh, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Prague and Rome Ciampino by the end of Oct.

Nordflyg (NEF/Eskilstuna) has announced plans to lease additional three Dash 8-400s and convert them to freighters.

Blue Islands (AX/Alderney) has given up its Jersey-Paris Beauvais route early this month.

Aer Arann (RE/Dublin) will give up its Cork-Leeds/Bradford route on Aug 31 and its Dublin-Inverness route on Sep 25. It has also announced that it has stopped its growth strategy and is considering further capacity cuts.

Eastern Airways (T3/Humberside) has given up its routes from Inverness to Leeds/Bradford and Manchester at the end of Jun.

Meridiana (IG/Olbia) is reportedly planning to replace its MD-82 fleet by A320-200s and A319-100s until 2012. Meanwhile, it has leased a MD-82 from Alitalia (AZ/Rome Fiumicino). Meridiana will give up its Turin-Krakow route on Sep 3 and its services between Trapani and Pantelleria on Oct 25.

17.07.2008

Air Italy (I9/Milan Malpensa) is considering setting up another charter subsidiary in Sweden.

XL Airways Germany (G1/Frankfurt) has wet-leased two of its B737-800s to Jet4you (8J/Casablanca) and XL Airways France (SE/Paris CDG).

Air Bee (OB/Rome Fiumicino) has added several additional domestic routes in Italy and now wet-leases all three ItAli Airlines (9X/Pescara) MD-82s:
Milan Linate-Crotone: daily MD-82 service launched on July 8
Trapani-Bari: daily MD-82 service launched on July 8 / -Brescia: 3x weekly MD-82 service launched on July 10 / -Milan Linate: daily MD-82 service launched on July 8 / -Rome Fiumicino: 2x daily MD-82 service launched on July 8

Fly Globespan (Y2/Edinburgh) has wet-leased one of its B737-800s to Oman Air (WY/Muscat).

Windjet (IV/Catania) has launched a weekly seasonal A320-200 service between Catania and Bucharest Otopeni.

Kirov Air Enterprise (KTA/Kirovsk) has agreed to lease three new Il-114-100 turboprops that it plans to use to increase scheduled services out of its homebase in Kirovsk.

14.07.2008

Air Berlin (AB/Berlin Tegel) will launch several new routes this winter season:
Berlin Tegel-Paris Orly: 2x daily A320-200/A321-200/B737-800 service starting on Nov 1
Nuremberg-Bremen: 2x weekly B737-800 starting on Nov 4 / -Milan Malpensa: 6x weekly B737-700 starting on Nov 2 / -Paphos: weekly B737-800 starting on Nov 3 / -Ponta Delgada: weekly B737-800 starting on Nov 3
As part of a cost cutting plan it will however park up to 14 aircraft and give up its Dusseldorf-Beijing, Dusseldorf-New York JFK, Dusseldorf-Shanghai Pu Dong, Munich-London Stansted and Munich-Mauritius routes by the end of October. It will use the three LTU Intl Airways (LT/Dusseldorf) A330-300 on shorthaul services from its Nuremberg hub this winter season. It is also planning to close down its dba (DI/Munich) subsidiary.

Iceland Express (Reykjavik Keflavik) has returned its wet-leased B757-200 to sister carrier Astraeus (5W/London Gatwick) and has postponed the launch date of its planned new Reykjavik Keflavik-London Gatwick route from September 2008 to spring 2009. It will start using two B737-700s later this year replacing the MD-90-30s wet-leased from Hello (FHE/Basle/Mulhouse).

Turkish Airlines (TK/Istanbul Ataturk) has entered into a codeshare agreement with Air Malta (KM/Malta) and will place its code on Air Malta services between Istanbul Ataturk and Malta. It has launched three times weekly B737-800 service from Istanbul Ataturk to Amasya. It is also planning to add Abuja to its network later this year. In other news, THY has wet-leased an A319-100 from Atlasjet Airlines (KK/Antalya).

MK Airlines (7G/London Gatwick) had temporarily suspended operations for several days in June because of financial difficulties. It has now resumed cargo services with its B747-200F fleet after it has received new funding from investment group Transatlantic Aviation. It has also signed a letter of intent with Freight Feeder Aircraft to order 10 FF5000 aircraft making MK the launch customer for the new cargo turboprop.

Gadair (Madrid) has temporarily wet-leased a third B757-200 from Icelandair (FI/Reykjavik Keflavik).

Khors Aircompany (KHO/Kiev Borispol) now already operates three MD-82 and two MD-83s on behalf of Kish Air (Y9/Tehran).

Vyborg (VBG/St. Petersburg) has resumed scheduled operations with its fleet of two Il-114s.

Air Baltic (BT/Riga) will launch twice daily Fokker 50 service between Riga and Tampere on October 1.

Alpi Eagles (E8/Venice Marco Polo) is considering resuming limited scheduled operations later this year.

Air Vallee (DO/Aosta) has recently been acquired by Europam Black Oils, a consortium of several oil trading companies.

Air Dolomiti (EN/Trieste) has given up plans for a Venice Marco Polo-Nice service.

Denim Air (3D/Amsterdam) has wet-leased two Fokker 50s to Air One (AP/Rome Fiumicino).

Wizz Air (W6/Budapest) has announced several new routes:
Budapest-Dortmund: 3x weekly A320-200 service starting on Oct 28.
Kiev Borispol-Kharkov: 3x weekly A320-200 service starting on Sep 16 / -Zaporozhye: 3x weekly A320-200 service starting on Sep 16.
Sofia-Girona: 2x weekly A320-200 service starting on Sep 15 (replacing service to Barcelona).
Warsaw-Rome Ciampino: 3x weekly A320-200 service starting on Sep 16.
It has however not launched its planned Sofia-Izmir route.

Condor (DE/Frankfurt) will not be taken over by Air Berlin (AB/Berlin Tegel). Its parent Thomas Cook and Air Berlin have announced that the takeover plans have fallen through because of concerns of the German cartel office. Thomas Cook is now reportedly considering joining the germanwings (4U/Cologne/Bonn) and TUIfly (Germany) (X3/Cologne/Bonn) merger talks with its Condor subsidiary instead.

Club Air (6P/Verona) has been forced to cease operations on May 28 when the Italian civil aviation authority ENAC had again revoked its air operator certificate. Italian tourism group Gruppo Soglia is reportedly considering taking over the carrier and to use it for charter services.

Cargoitalia (2G/Milan Malpensa) is planning to lease B747-400F freighters if it is able to get enough additional funding to continue operations. Cargolux (CV/Luxmbourg) has entered into negotiations with Cargoitalia about a possible take-over of the Italian cargo operator.

Vladivostok Air (XF/Vladivostok) has launched six times weekly services from Moscow Vnukovo to Ekaterinburg and Novokuznetsk in early June using A320-200s and Tu-154Ms.

13.07.2008

Ryanair (FR/Dublin) has taken legal action against Vladivostok Air (XF/Vladivostok) that had been selling Ryanair services from/to Frankfurt Hahn using its own XF code. Ryanair has converted three more B737-800 options into firm orders for 2010 and has announced a variety of new routes:
Bari-Malta: 3x weekly starting Oct 28
Birmingham to -Alicante: 4x weekly / -Krakow: 4x weekly / -Londonderry: daily and -Malaga: daily / -Prague: 5x weekly - all starting Oct 26 / -Katowice: 4x weekly starting Oct 27 / -Fuerteventura: 3x weekly / -Murcia: 3x weekly and -Palma de Mallorca: 3x weekly starting Oct 28 /-Kaunas: 2x weekly starting Nov 2.
Bournemouth-Paris Beauvais: 3x weekly starting Oct 28
Bremen-Marrakech: 2x weekly and -Tenerife Sur: 2x weekly starting Oct 28 / -Gothenburg City: 2x weekly Oct 29 / -Fuerteventura: 2x weekly starting Oct 30.
Bristol-Marrakech: 2x weekly and -Szczecin: 2x weekly starting Oct 28 / -Gdansk: 2x weekly starting Oct 29
Brussels Charleroi-Riga: 2x weekly, -Manchester: 4x weekly, -Wroclaw: 3x weekly starting Oct 27. -Marrakech: 2x weekly / -Montpellier: 3x weekly and -Gdansk: 3x weekly starting Oct 28. -Tangiers: 2x weekly starting Oct 28 / -Fez: 2x weekly starting Oct 29
Frankfurt Hahn-Birmingham: 4x weekly / -Klagenfurt: 4x weekly / -Prague: 2x weekly resuming on Oct 27.
Girona-Perugia: 3x weekly already launched on Jul 2
Glasgow Prestwick-Faro: 2x weekly starting Oct 29 / -Malaga: 3x weekly starting Oct 27 / -Tenerife Sur: 2x weekly starting Oct 27.
Liverpool-Faro: 3x weekly starting Oct 28. -Gdansk: 3x weekly and -Knock: daily starting Oct 27. -Szczecin: 2x weekly starting Oct 29.
London Luton-Beziers: 2x weekly starting Oct 27 / -Kaunas: 3x weekly, -Londonderry: 3x weekly, -Szczecin: 3x weekly and -Trapani: 3x weekly starting Oct 28. -Rzeszow: 2x weekly starting Oct 29.
London Stansted-Madrid: 2x daily starting Oct 26 / -Zweibruecken: daily starting Oct 28.
Marseilles-Brest: 4x weekly starting Oct 27. -Agadir: 3x weekly -Lille: daily and -Nador: 3x weekly starting Oct 28. Marseilles-Tangiers: 4x weekly starting Oct 29.
Milan Orio al Serio-Berlin Schoenefeld: 3x weekly starting Aug 2 / -Madrid: 2x daily starting Oct 26 / -Palermo: daily and -Fez: 2x weekly starting Oct 27. / -Ibiza: 3x weekly and -Bournemouth: 3x weekly starting Oct 28. / -Brindisi: 3x weekly starting Oct 29
Nottingham-Prague: 4x weekly starting Oct 26 / -Faro: 3x weekly and -Fuerteventura: 3x weekly starting Oct 28.
Pisa-Palermo: daily starting Oct 27
Shannon-Lodz: 2x weekly starting Nov 3 / -Gdansk: 2x weekly starting Nov 4 / -Katowice: 2x weekly starting Nov 5
Ryanair has however given up its Bremen-Paris Beauvais and Stockholm Skavsta-Porto routes and will give up its Milan Orio al Serio-Arad route on Jul 31.
It will also suspend its routes from Alghero to Dusseldorf Weeze, Liverpool, Nottingham and Stockholm Skavsta, from Bremen to Alghero, Malta and Verona, from Frankfurt Hahn to Verona, from Pisa to Alicante, Billund, Bournemouth, Oslo and Stockholm Skavsta by the end of Oct.
In other news, Ryanair has increased its stake in Aer Lingus (EI/Dublin) to 29.82%.

Aeroflot (SU/Moscow Sheremetyevo) has launched a new Aeroflot Shuttle branded on its most important domestic route between Moscow Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg offering improved services to premium passengers. Aeroflot will lease four ex-Skymark Airlines (BC/Tokyo Haneda) B767-300ERs. It will also wet-lease several B737-300s and B737-500s from Aeroflot-Don (D9/Rostov) and Aeroflot-Nord (5N/Arkhangelsk) to cover for the one year delivery delays of its Sukhoi Superjet 100s that are now expected to be delivered as of fall 2009. Aeroflot has announced its interest in bidding for a stake in Austrian Airlines (OS/Vienna) and is also reportedly considering setting up a joint venture with Cubana (CU/Havana).

11 Jul Newsnow.co.uk latest (click button above to access full stories)

Recently (Times in BST):
EU bans penny flight adverts - Passenger Terminal Today 07:48 11-Jul-08
Emirates set to launch A380 - AME Info (Press Release) 08:08 10-Jul-08
Heathrow Terminal 5 still losing 1,000 bags a day - Telegraph.co.uk 08:34 10-Jul-08
BA says IT system not at fault for T5 bag losses - Computerworld UK's News 11:46 10-Jul-08
Austrian Airlines to cancel routes - AFX News Ltd. London : Financial News Products 11:24 10-Jul-08
Airbus’s giant phoenix set to rise out of ashes - FT.com 19:14 10-Jul-08
BA Takes Over Last...- Aviation International News 21:27 10-Jul-08
Dublin Airport calmer after 'pandemonium' - The Irish Times 13:33 10-Jul-08
-Delays because of the backlog created by yesterday's malfunction of the radar system.
American Airlines eyes ‘fuel smart’ fleet - MSNBC 00:19 11-Jul-08

Previously:
Ryanair 'could easily' enter further 3 German airports - ADVFN 11:09 9-Jul-08
Air France says Dundee ‘a top priority’ - Passenger Terminal Today 11:37 9-Jul-08
V Australia launches Los Angeles service - Passenger Terminal Today 11:37 9-Jul-08
-Australia’s newest international airline, V Australia, has announced it will launch non-stop
-flights between Los Angeles and Brisbane in Queensland, Australia, from early next year
-giving American travellers direct access to Australia’s renowned ‘Sunshine State’.
EU court rules against Alitalia - BBC 11:06 9-Jul-08
British Airways and BAA were warned of Heathrow Terminal 5 chaos - Telegraph.co.uk 16:54 9-Jul-08
Ryanair begins screen-scraping lawsuit - The Register 15:32 9-Jul-08
Qatar To Make Airbus Order At UK Air Show - Airwise 23:37 9-Jul-08

09 Jul XL Jet forced to land

An XL Airways Boeing 737-900 with 200 passengers and crew and en route from Sharm el Sheikh (EG) to Manchester was forced to land at Larnaca, Cyprus after vibration events in one of the engines which had to be shut down.  Aircraft landed safely.  PAX flew on later with a 737-800 and arrived at MAN at 11.00  Eighteen passengers who had been unable to board the slightly-smaller replacement plane were flown back to Manchester later

04 Jul Australian regional airline declared unsafe

A FAR north Queensland airline cleared to fly by the Federal Court has been likened to the operator involved in the Lockhart River crash that claimed 15 lives.  Civil Aviation Safety Authority deputy chief executive Shane Carmody told a Senate inquiry LipAir had "horrifying" parallels with Transair, which operated the plane that crashed into a hillside, near Lockhart River, in 2005.  (via newsnow.co.uk Full story at news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,23967193-5014090,00.html )

04 Jul "Cross strait charters" restrictions lifted (between China and Taiwan)

Under an agreement reached on 13th June, charter flights will begin on weekends starting 4th July.  A total of 18 flights per weekend (Friday to Monday) are to be allowed and, unlike previous charters, anyone with legal travelling documents, regardless of nationality, is allowed to travel on these (charter) flights. Mainland China will permit flights from Beijing, Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou, Xiamen and Nanjing airports. For Taiwan, they permit flights from Taiwan Taoyuan (=garden of peaches), Taipei Songshan,  Kaohsiung, Taichung, Makung, Hualien, Kinmen and Taitung.
Today, the first China Sousthern Airlines flight carrying 230 passengers arrived at  Taoyuan Intl., Taiwan.
 China Southern Airlines is based in Guangzhou in the People's Republic of China operating domestic, regional and international services. It is Asia's largest airline in terms of fleet size and the largest in Asia in passengers carried,

Hitherto, the Cross Strait Charters had been limited to holiday periods such as Chinese New Year.
(See also via newsnow.co.uk Xinhua Online - China 3-Jul-08 and People's Daily - China 3-Jul-08)

03 Jul Flyglobespan in double trouble after flying with defect plane

FLYGLOBESPAN faces an unlimited fine for operating a flight with 20 passengers from Liverpool to New York via Knocke in Ireland without a valid safety certificate.

The Edinburgh-based budget airline admitted two summonses under the Air Navigation Order 2005 at City of Westminster Magistrates Court and was sent to Southwark Crown Court for sentence.
The company admitted the plane was flown without a valid certificate of airworthiness. A summons accusing the company of failing to report an occurrence to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was withdrawn.
District Judge Timothy Daber said in sending the case to the Crown Court: "Although the offences arose out of one incident and there was no suggestion of passengers being endangered, there is a heavy duty on operators of compliance with the certificate."

The court was told that lightning struck at New York's JFK Airport on June 27 last year and shortly after taking off for Liverpool the next day a pressure gauge on the Boeing 757-28A aircraft failed.
Engineers at Liverpool were unable to correct the problem but the return flight took off with 20 passengers, stopping off en route at Knocke. The plane then flew on to New York, where the necessary work was carried out.

In October [???], US officials reported the matter to the CAA and Alison Slater, prosecuting for the CAA, told the court that the company's managing director was interviewed and admitted its systems had not been "robust" enough.

Stephen Spence, defending, said the firm had been previously voted Airline of the Year and Best Holiday Airline in Scotland, and there was no suggestion of any danger to passengers.

"Some people would say the pilot had to work for his living," said Mr Spence. But he added that the company had not "turned a blind eye" to the incident.  [In unfortunate conditions, manual calculation of the power of thrust during a landing could take longer than the landing]

Two senior officials with the company have since been replaced and the court was told that the company has co-operated with the CAA.  Judge Daber said the regulations were for the "health, safety and well-being of fare-paying passengers".  He added that a message had to be given that breaches such as this cannot be tolerated. No date for sentencing has yet been scheduled.  (Evening News Edinburgh via newsnow.co.uk)