November 10, 2021

More articles from the category

November 10, 2021

Gulf Air pushes executive charter

Bahrain's state-owned airline Gulf Air is forging ahead into the charter flight segment. However, the airline is not targeting tour operators who fly holidaymakers to the Gulf state, but wants to be active in the executive charter sector. The Boeing 787-9, Airbus A321LR and A320neo aircraft are intended to entice wealthy customers to charter aircraft. The business is being marketed as boutique charter. The target group is primarily companies and government delegations. Anyone who can afford the necessary cash can also charter the aircraft mentioned in the previous paragraph for group trips, weddings or family outings and fly to a location of their choice. It remains to be seen whether Gulf Air can generate significant additional revenue with the new service.

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Easyjet introduces “Ryanair hand luggage options”

The budget airline Easyjet reduced the size of the permitted hand luggage item some time ago. It copied the model that competitors Ryanair and Wizz Air have been using for some time. However, booking a trolley was previously tied to certain seat reservations. This is now changing, as you can now take an additional piece of hand luggage with the maximum dimensions of 56x45x25 centimeters without reserving specific seats. Of course, this is subject to a charge. According to Easyjet, prices range between 7,99 euros and 42,99 euros. Since "Speedy Boarding" is also included, the product is identical to those of competitors Ryanair, Wizz Air and Eurowings. The latter carrier, which belongs to the Lufthansa Group, has only allowed hand luggage in the IATA standard format for a few weeks in the basic tariff for an additional charge.

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The Greek charm offensive: In the Sky Express A320neo from Athens to Rhodes

When news broke in 2006 that the first Russian low-cost airline, "SkyExpress", would soon begin scheduled flights between Moscow and Sochi, more than a year earlier a completely different airline of the same name had already started its services. Founded on the sunny island of Crete as "The Airline of Crete", Sky Express Greece had already started its services. Over the past 15 years, the airline has remained true to one thing: connecting a large number of Greek islands with propeller aircraft. In between there have been smaller excursions. In 2006, for example, a single Boeing 747-200 freighter was used for a short time and in 2009 it briefly entered the charter business with two MD-83s previously delivered to Austrian Airlines, only to end this excursion again soon afterwards. The airline then concentrated again for several years on the ATR42/72 operation within Greece and on weekends the propeller fleet even made its way to Austria from time to time, including on charter flights from Skiathos. In the midst of the Corona pandemic in autumn 2020, Airbus surprised everyone with an announcement that it had acquired a completely new Airbus operator, Sky Express. Just a few weeks later, the first brand-new A320neo took off for Greece. While airlines from all over the world postponed their orders or canceled them entirely, the private Greek airline chose the opposite path, true to the motto "attack is the best defense". With a completely revised, fresh paint job and corporate identity and a new fare system, the airline now flies to 39 national and international destinations. At the German airports of Hamburg and Dortmund,

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Air Asia interested in Airbus A321F

The AirAsia Group wants to focus more on the cargo business in the future. In this context, the Airbus A321F model has been considered, but is also relying on wet lease capacities, at least temporarily. A Boeing 737-800BCF operated by K-Mile Asia has recently been put into service. It is the HS-KME, which was originally delivered to Ryanair. According to CH-Aviation.com, the Thai operator is 45 percent owned by ASL Airlines Switzerland. The 2023 freighter fleet is to be expanded to at least six units by 737. Air Asia is also very interested in the Airbus A321F, but it wants to purchase it ex works. In concrete terms, this means that if the European manufacturer brings such a model onto the market, the Malaysian airline could convert existing orders into cargo models.

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British Airways: Gatwick subsidiary will not be a low-cost airline

IAG group member British Airways was able to negotiate a deal with the unions for the cabin and cockpit staff at the London Gatwick site. Negotiations are still ongoing only with the ground staff, said IAG boss Luis Gallego. Regardless of this, the company will continue to set up a new subsidiary for Gatwick. The manager stressed to Bloomberg that it will not be a "new low-cost airline" but rather a "more efficient platform". The compromise reached with the employee representatives includes, among other things, the conclusion of new employment contracts. At times, British Airways threatened to withdraw from Gatwick because management claims that it has been making losses on short and medium-haul routes for years. After the closure was announced, an agreement was finally reached with the unions.

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