Français »
German "
Search
February 1, 2023

More articles from the category

February 1, 2023

Because of 25 euros: parents wanted to leave the baby in Tel Aviv

Jan Gruber February 1, 2023 17:12

On January 31, 2023, a very unusual incident occurred at Tel Aviv Airport, where parents simply left their baby, who was in a baby carrier, at the check-in counter. The couple wanted to fly to Charleroi on Ryanair flight 4710. Most airlines charge a fee for taking small children with them. Depending on the provider, this must at least be registered or a special baby ticket must be purchased. In this specific case, the parents would have had to pay around 25 euros to Ryanair. But they did not want to do that and simply left their child, who was in a baby carrier, at the check-in counter and went to passport control. The behavior annoyed the ground staff, so the police and security service were immediately called. The couple was temporarily banned from continuing their journey. Instead of flying home to Charleroi, they were now interrogated by the Israeli executive. Tel Aviv Airport in particular is extremely sensitive to security and prepared for pretty much every eventuality, but it has never happened that a couple simply left their baby son behind and wanted to fly home without him because they were too stingy to pay 25 euros for the child's transport. A spokesman for Ben Gurion Airport explained, among other things: "A couple with a baby who had a Belgian passport arrived at Terminal 1 for a Ryanair flight without a ticket for the baby. The couple arrived late for the flight after the check-in counters for the flight had already closed. They left the child seat with the baby behind and wanted to

Continue reading "

Oslo: Flyr has to file for bankruptcy

Jan Gruber February 1, 2023 16:46

The Norwegian low-cost airline Flyr ran out of money just 19 months after its first commercial flight. The carrier had to file for bankruptcy with the responsible Oslo City Court on February 1, 2023. Flight operations were suspended on Monday evening. For several months now, there have been clear signs that Flyr is having acute financial problems. A capital market bond failed to convince investors because far too few investors subscribed to it. The airline then wanted to set up alternative financing with a financier, but this failed. Due to a lack of capital, the 2022/23 winter flight schedule had to be drastically cut. On Monday, the low-cost airline then announced that it would have to cancel the flights planned for Tuesday, January 31, 2023. It would inform customers promptly about how to proceed. This has also happened, in the form of information that it would have to file for bankruptcy. The board of directors made the decision unanimously because it sees no realistic chance of being able to solve the liquidity problems in the short term. Flight operations remain suspended. A court-appointed insolvency administrator will soon take stock of the situation. If necessary, he will seek to sell the company to a potential investor. It is considered unlikely that Flyr will ever take off commercially again. Trading in the company's shares has already been suspended on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Continue reading "

Brussels Airlines: Belgian union threatens pilot strike

Amely Mizzi February 1, 2023 16:36

Brussels Airlines is facing another pilot strike. The responsible union is threatening that work will be stopped every Sunday between February 26 and March 26, 2023. However, there is still hope that the measure can be averted, as negotiations with the employer are still ongoing. February 20, 2023 was agreed as the deadline for an agreement. So far, there has been no breakthrough. The point of contention is the so-called "Cafeteria Plan", through which employees can put together a package of additional benefits such as additional vacation, pension insurance or a smartphone. In 2020, it was agreed that pilots should receive around 30 percent of their monthly salary through this. Employee representatives criticize the fact that the "Cafeteria Plan" is not adjusted to the high inflation and therefore leads to a loss of real wages. Now it is being proposed to the pilots that there should be a strike on four Sundays between February 26 and March 26, 2023. This is subject to some agreement being reached with Brussels Airlines beforehand.

Continue reading "

Air Baltic has returned last de Havilland Dash 8-400

Amely Mizzi February 1, 2023 16:22

For many years, the de Havilland Dash 8-400 was the backbone of the Air Baltic fleet. Shortly after the start of the corona pandemic, the carrier, led by Martin Gauss, decided not to return this model to scheduled service. On February 1, 2023, the last unit was returned to lessor Nordic Aviation Capital. "The last return flight marks the official end of our development phase to date. The de Havilland Dash 8-400 was undoubtedly an aircraft with outstanding performance that helped us get to where we are today - operating the most efficient and environmentally friendly fleet in Europe," said Air Baltic CEO Martin Gauss. "Although a smaller aircraft occasionally allows more flexibility, a single-type fleet still has significant advantages - both economically and technically (maintenance), as well as in terms of sustainability and training. We are grateful to Bombardier for the service; it was a journey that has gone down in our history. Now we look forward and are happy about how the Airbus A220-300 has transformed our airline and become one of the company's most important and valuable assets." In 2010, Air Baltic took delivery of the first de Havilland Dash 8-400 NextGen. The fleet was subsequently expanded to 12 units. According to the company, the aircraft type has operated 222.000 flights and carried 11 million passengers. The slideshow below shows some photos from the return flight:

Continue reading "

Peter Gerber becomes the new Condor boss

Jan Gruber February 1, 2023 16:13

The holiday airline Condor will be under the management of the current Brussels Airlines boss Peter Gerber with effect from February 1, 2024. He succeeds the long-standing managing director Ralf Teckentrup. "We are delighted to have found Peter Gerber, the CEO for Condor, whom we sought in a comprehensive selection process: He is not only an extremely experienced aviation manager, but also the leader who will lead Condor successfully into the future," said Friedrich Andreae, Chairman of the Condor Supervisory Board. "Peter Gerber will take on the major task of further driving forward the transformation of Condor, for example by modernizing the entire fleet, a large number of digitization projects and innovations for the customer experience, and thus setting the next course for growth. This will make Condor Europe's most successful holiday airline." Gerber will be at the helm of Condor as Chief Executive Officer. Christian Schmitt will hold the position of Chief Operating Officer and Björn Walther will be responsible for finances. The designated Condor boss worked for the Lufthansa Group for around 30 years. Among other things, he was managing director of Lufthansa Cargo and is currently CEO of Brussels Airlines.

Continue reading "

Qatar Airways is increasing frequencies to Phuket

Granite Pireci February 1, 2023 16:05

Qatar Airways will offer additional flights to Thailand from February 1, 2023, namely a third flight to the holiday island of Phuket. With this additional frequency to Phuket, the number of flights from Thailand will increase to seven per day, in addition to the four daily flights to Bangkok. The expansion of flights to Thailand will offer travelers more comfort and better connections to more than 150 destinations in Qatar Airways' global route network, including London, Manchester, Frankfurt, Paris, Zurich and New York. Meanwhile, according to insiders, there is a rapprochement in the bitter dispute over allegedly defective A350 aircraft between aircraft manufacturer Airbus and its customer Qatar Airways. After a meeting between the two opponents and the Qatari and European regulators last week in Doha, momentum has been gained in the tough negotiations on a settlement and the tone has become more encouraging, two people familiar with the proceedings told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday.

Continue reading "

UPS expects lower revenues in the new year

Granite Pireci February 1, 2023 15:04

UPS expects a further decline in sales in the new year after a surprise decline in the fourth quarter. Although UPS CEO Carol Thomé forecast sales of $97 billion to $99,4 billion for 2023, this assessment is more pessimistic than analysts' estimates. Adjusted operating profit before special items will also fall, ranging between 12,8 and 13,6 percent, compared to 13,8 percent last year. In the fourth quarter, sales fell 3 percent to $27 billion, but analysts had expected an increase. There was a decline in shipments in both the US market and international business. Adjusted operating profit also fell by almost 3 percent. The bottom line is that UPS earned almost 3,5 billion dollars, almost twelve percent more than in the same period last year. However, this was mainly due to a positive effect on employee pensions. This is reported by the German aviation portal Aero. Nevertheless, shareholders will receive an adjusted dividend from the first quarter of 2023, which has been increased to $1,62 per share. In addition, the company plans to invest money again in buying back its own shares. The board of directors has allocated $5 billion for this purpose, of which $3 billion will flow in the current year.

Continue reading "

Lufthansa crew copes with engine failure over Greenland - return to Frankfurt

Granite Pireci February 1, 2023 14:05

A Lufthansa crew was faced with a difficult situation on Saturday when an engine failed during a transatlantic flight over Greenland. During a transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Seattle (flight number: LH490) on board an Airbus A340-300, the Lufthansa crew reported a fault in one of the four engines. Halfway through the flight, the pilots decided to return to Frankfurt to repair the aircraft. Alternatively, they would have had to hold on to a nearby emergency airport for longer, as was the case in 2017 with an Air France Airbus A380 that had to be repaired after an engine failure and an emergency landing in Goose Bay, Canada. At that time, a replacement engine was finally brought in with an An-124, as the German aviation portal Aero reports.

Continue reading "

Management change at Brussels Airlines

Granite Pireci February 1, 2023 13:04

Peter Gerber, current CEO of Brussels Airlines, is stepping down from his position and will leave the Lufthansa Group. Christina Foerster, member of the Executive Board of the Lufthansa Group, will lead the airline on an interim basis. A long-term successor for Peter Gerber is to be found as soon as possible. Peter Gerber had led the Belgian airline since March 1, 2021 and also held the role of General Representative for European Affairs. Now he is stepping down. Christina Foerster is only following in his footsteps for a short time, as another managing director is to pull the strings at Brussels in the long term. She knows the Lufthansa subsidiary well, having worked there as CCO and CEO from 2016 to 2020. Peter Gerber started his career at the Lufthansa Group in 1992 and was responsible for areas such as group accounting, fees and charges, as well as the group-wide earnings assurance program "D-Check". He was also a member of the Executive Board at Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa Passage Airlines, where he was responsible for Finance and Human Resources, as well as Human Resources, IT & Services. From May 2014 to March 2021, he was Chairman of the Executive Board at Lufthansa Cargo.

Continue reading "

D-AIMK: Lufthansa transfers A380 to Manila for C-Check

Jan Gruber February 1, 2023 10:07

In the summer of 2023, Lufthansa will return some Airbus A380 aircraft to scheduled service. For this purpose, the D-AIMK was transferred from Frankfurt am Main to Manila at the weekend. Background: A necessary C-check will be carried out at the Lufthansa Technik site there. The work will take around two months so that this superjumbo can be put into scheduled service in time for the peak season. The transfer took place on Sunday, January 29, 2022 under the flight number LH9922. Another aircraft of this type, the D-AIMM, is expected to be "released" from long-term storage on February 3, 2023. The long-haul aircraft is to be transferred from Teruel to Frankfurt am Main. There are now concrete considerations at management level to bring all eight remaining A380s back into scheduled service.

Continue reading "