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September 24, 2021

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September 24, 2021

Fiji Islands before tourism comeback

Amely Mizzi September 24, 2021 12:16

The Fiji Islands plan to reopen to fully vaccinated tourists towards the end of the year. The Ministry of Tourism is currently working with hoteliers on a concept for the comeback of this economic sector that is so important for the small state. "To date, almost 100% of Fiji's vaccinable adult population have received the first vaccination with a COVID-19 vaccine and over 60% of Fiji's residents are fully vaccinated, which is a very positive sign that Fiji is ready and prepared," explains Brent Hill, head of Tourism Fiji. Preparations for the restart of tourism are currently in full swing. An official announcement from the government is expected in the next few weeks. Behind the scenes, negotiations are taking place over the entry conditions for holidaymakers. It is certain that only fully vaccinated people will be allowed to enter without quarantine. Whether additional PCR tests will be necessary is still an open question. In any case, Tourism Fiji is committed to making entry as easy as possible.

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No slots: AUA has to move to Malpensa in Milan

Jan Gruber September 24, 2021 11:08

In the spring of this year, Austrian Airlines changed airports in the Milan region. It is currently flying to the inner-city Linate airport. Previously, the program had the remote Malpensa airport. Now this change is being reversed. According to current information, Austrian Airlines will move its Linate flights back to Malpensa at the start of the winter flight schedule period, and not entirely voluntarily. The background to this is that the carrier only has take-off and landing rights at Milan's inner-city airport for the summer period. It does not have any for the winter. Therefore, unless there are any changes in the slot allocation, there is no other option than to fly from another airport. Bergamo and Malpensa are available to choose from, with AUA opting for the latter airport. An Austrian Airlines spokeswoman confirmed to Aviation Direct as follows: "Due to the current slot allocation, we can currently only offer flights to Linate until the end of the 2021 summer flight schedule (October 30th)." However, AUA hopes that it will still be able to obtain take-off and landing rights for Linate, as it is striving to offer this destination permanently. "We already had Malpensa Airport in our program for the 2021 winter flight schedule before the change in June and currently do not have any slots for Linate. However, we are trying to get the appropriate slots for the 2021 winter flight schedule and beyond in order to be able to offer the popular Linate airport in the long term," explains an AUA media officer.

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Michael Schöllhorn becomes the new BDLI President

Granite Pireci September 24, 2021 10:02

The German Aerospace Industry Association (BDLI) has a new president. Michael Schöllhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence & Space, was unanimously elected to the office at today's meeting of the BDLI Executive Board. Michael Schöllhorn succeeds Dirk Hoke, who has headed the BDLI since 2019. "There has never been a more challenging time to lead the BDLI, the leading voice of the German aerospace industry. After the deepest crisis in our industry, the more than 100.000 employees in our high-tech sector are determined to shape the future. We want Germany and Europe to remain at the forefront of our strategic industry - in the air and in space," said Schöllhorn on taking office.

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Bees Airlines challenges engine itself: Boeing 737 vs. Antonov An-24

Jan Gruber September 24, 2021 09:38

An unusual competition is brewing within Ukraine on the Kyiv (Shuljany)-Odessa route, as the low-cost airline Bees Airlines wants to take on the vintage airline operator Motor Sich Airlines. The two players are competing with very different aircraft, as market leader Motor Sich usually flies the aging Antonov An-24 model. The challenger relies on Boeing 737-800s. Indirectly, both providers are in competition with other airlines such as Windrose and SkyUp, but these fly to the remote Borispil Airport. Motor Sich Airlines does not want to hand over the Kyiv (Shuljany)-Odessa route without a fight, but is already reducing frequencies before Bees Airlines enters the market. The Antonov operator announced that it will only offer single day flights from Odessa to Kyiv on weekdays. Up to and including September 23, 2021, it offered double day flights. A few weeks ago, Aviation Direct published a detailed portrait of Motor Sich Airlines and the Antonov An-24 model. Domestic flights are just a means to an end Bees Airlines plans to start the domestic route on October 14, 2021 and initially fly on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. This is not entirely coincidental, as the airline has announced the addition of several new routes from Odessa: Prague (from October 21, 2021), Ganja (from November 1, 2021) and Tbilisi (from October 21, 2021). The Yerevan route will be continued. No base will be set up in the Ukrainian city on the Black Sea, but the Boeing 737-800 aircraft will be flown in from Kyiv-Zhulyany. Passengers will also be transported on these “transfer planes”, thereby making a significant contribution to competitor Motor Sich.

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Easyjet maintenance hangar: construction work started at BER

Granite Pireci September 24, 2021 09:01

Construction work has begun on a new maintenance hangar for the airline Easyjet at the capital's BER airport. Next year, Easyjet's first maintenance hangar outside Great Britain will be built on the building site in the new maintenance area of ​​BER, south-west of Terminal 1. From the beginning of 19.600, more extensive maintenance and repair work as part of light base maintenance will be carried out on an area of ​​2023 m² on the hangar area, and the approximately 10.000 m² hangar hall will provide space for work on four aircraft up to the size of the Airbus A321neo at the same time. The construction will cost around 20 million euros. "We would like to thank Easyjet for the good partnership, even during the pandemic, and for their trust in the future of BER. An investment of 20 million euros and the creation of high-quality jobs at BER is a clear statement for the region as an economic area and as an airport location. In an international market, many locations would be happy about such an investment, especially in times of pandemic. We see this as a compliment for BER and an incentive for the future,” said outgoing airport boss Engelbert Lütke Daldrup.

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Winter: Austrian Airlines plans Innsbruck-Vienna twice a day

Jan Gruber September 24, 2021 08:37

The Austrian flight route from Innsbruck to Vienna not only plays an important role as a hub connection, but is also an important point-to-point route for business and politics. Day trips by land are rather complicated due to the geographical conditions. The demand is most comparable with Altenrhein-Vienna. Although the small airport is located in Switzerland, it is mainly used by people from Vorarlberg. The Peoples planes mainly carry business people who have appointments in Vienna or Vorarlberg. Austrian Airlines knows this business only too well, because the takeover of Rheintalflug gave it this route and a base in Altenrhein, which was only recently formally closed. AUA has not served the route for some time. The point-to-point customer segment on Innsbruck-Vienna-Innsbruck is absolutely comparable. However, there are also many transfer passengers and Tyrol can benefit to a certain extent from winter sports enthusiasts changing in Vienna. Lufthansa will no longer operate the Frankfurt connection and will switch to a shuttle bus to Munich. This could cost the group numerous customers, as IAG, for example, offers transfer options in London and Air France-KLM in Amsterdam. The Lufthansa Group only has the Vienna hub left. Innsbruck-Vienna-Innsbruck is currently the only route within Austria that most likely cannot be shifted to rail for geographical reasons. The connection on the Graz-Vienna route is already being tested through a cooperation with the Austrian Federal Railways. There are no longer any domestic flights from Salzburg and Linz, only cooperation with the railway. The Klagenfurt route was in

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Summer months: passenger numbers in MUC with a clear increase

Granite Pireci September 24, 2021 08:01

While in the first quarter of the year a total of only 19 passengers were registered at Munich Airport as a result of the global Covid-570.000 pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions, in August alone there were more than three times as many, with over 1,8 million passengers. As the CEO of Munich Airport GmbH, Jost Lammers, emphasized during his visit to the Munich Press Club, the increased passenger demand continues even after the end of the summer holidays. In the first week after the holidays, a total of 440.000 passengers were recorded, the highest weekly figure since the beginning of the pandemic. Jost Lammers: "This also means that the current traffic volume is not only due to the increased tourist travel activity, but that there is again permanently stable demand, at least in the short and medium-haul sector." Despite the positive trend, the current traffic volume is still well below the pre-crisis level. Munich Airport is currently seeing around 40 percent of the passenger numbers and around 50 percent of the take-offs and landings from the pre-crisis year of 2019. Many connections, particularly in long-haul traffic, have not yet been able to resume due to the travel restrictions that are still in place. "We were therefore very pleased to note that the travel ban that is currently in place, i.e. the entry ban imposed by the USA for travelers from Germany and numerous other European countries, is to be lifted at the beginning of November. This opening will undoubtedly lead to a massive revival of transatlantic traffic, especially since there is likely to be a significant catch-up effect here after the long pandemic-related break," Lammers continued.

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Transavia boss rumbles against Schiphol fees and toying with Brussels base

Jan Gruber September 24, 2021 07:34

The Dutch low-cost airline Transavia has been toying with the idea of ​​a base at Brussels Airport for some time. Company boss Marcel de Nooijer has reiterated this and is suggesting summer 2022 as a possible date. Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport was considered chronically overloaded before the Corona pandemic. In order to provide relief, Lelystad Airport is to be expanded and low-cost and charter flights in particular are to start from here. The project is massively controversial and has stalled due to numerous lawsuits. It is currently completely unclear whether the expanded Lelystad Airport will ever be able to fulfil its intended purpose. Transavia would very much like to start from the latter airport, but this is not possible at the moment. This uncertain situation is now prompting the carrier to pull out the old Brussels plan. Speaking to Financieel Dagblad, CEO de Nooijer said of Belgium: "We will see if we can start an operation there. We want to be able to continue to grow in the coming years." However, the manager rules out a connection with the comparatively high airport fees at Schiphol. Schiphol is “home base, but not at any price.” Nevertheless, he puts the route in the window: “Schiphol is our home base, but not at any price.” The background to this is that the fees will increase by around 40 percent. The Transavia boss describes this as “unfair” and calculates: “We will pay almost 20 million euros more than in 2019. You won’t see that at any other airport.” Furthermore, the KLM subsidiary also has to make a contribution in connection with the state aid that the Dutch government granted to the parent company. The

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Gatwick: British Airways gives up short haul

Jan Gruber September 24, 2021 07:11

British Airways actually wanted to outsource the short and medium-haul services in London-Gatwick to a new subsidiary. This will not happen because the carrier will be withdrawing from this segment, apart from a few domestic flights. In concrete terms, this means that British Airways will no longer offer international short and medium-haul flights from Gatwick Airport. The company justifies the move with, among other things, the tough competition and the resistance of the unions to outsourcing to a new low-cost subsidiary. This means that the medium-haul base in Gatwick is being pulled. Long-haul flights are not affected by this measure. In order to have at least a few feeder flights, selected domestic flights to/from Gatwick are being retained. The union Balpa stated in a statement, among other things, that it could not accept the conditions set by British Airways. A BA spokeswoman said when asked: "After losing money on European flights from the airport for many years, we knew we needed a plan to make Gatwick profitable and competitive after the pandemic. It is with regret that we will now be ceasing our short-haul operations at Gatwick." It will be interesting to see what the International Airlines Group will do with the many slots it holds at Gatwick, but will no longer use as British Airways in the future. It is considered extremely unlikely that these will be returned to the regulator. Possible scenarios are that group member Vueling will take on some routes. It is not clear whether this brand or Level will be used. Alternatively, the youngest subsidiary, Aer Lingus UK, could also be used. The latter is attracting

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