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March 7, 2025

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March 7, 2025

Corendon Airlines celebrates 20 years of flight operations

Amely Mizzi March 7, 2025 14:01

The Turkish holiday airline Corendon Airlines celebrated its 20th anniversary at the ITB in Berlin. Having started in 2005 with just two aircraft, Corendon is now one of the major players in the European holiday flight market. The company was proud of its success and continuous growth over the past two decades. Corendon CEO Yildiray Karaer, who founded the airline in 2004, thanked the approximately 2.000 employees as well as the numerous partners and customers who have contributed to this success. The first Corendon aircraft took off from Eindhoven in the Netherlands to Istanbul's Sabiha Gökcen Airport on April 12, 2005, and just one year later the airline began its first flights in Germany. Since then, Corendon has had a strong presence, especially in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). According to Sales and Marketing Director Christian Hein, Corendon will be flying from more than 2025 airports in these countries by summer 20, making the airline the leading operator in this region. This year, the company expects to carry a total of up to ten million passengers. Corendon Airlines is part of the multinational Corendon Group, which also includes Corendon Europe Airlines and Corendon Dutch Airlines. In addition, the group includes a number of hotels and resorts that complement the airline's offering. The company is not only active in the DACH region, but also in Great Britain, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

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Croatia Airlines expects losses due to switch to Airbus A220 fleet

Belinda Borg March 7, 2025 13:35

Croatian airline Croatia Airlines expects continued losses in the short term due to its switch to a fleet equipped exclusively with Airbus A220s. In 2024, the airline had to record a net loss of almost 20 million euros. The switch to the new aircraft fleet has already led to an increase in operating costs. Nevertheless, the company is confident that this investment will lead to savings in the long term. The difficulties began with the repeated delays in the delivery of the first two A220 aircraft. These were originally supposed to be delivered before the start of the 2024 summer season, but the date was repeatedly postponed. As a result, additional, significantly more expensive aircraft had to be wet-leased at short notice in order to maintain the planned flight schedule. Further challenges arose from the longer training times for pilots and additional costs for accommodation and daily allowances resulting from the more intensive training. Adapting the IT systems and training mechanics for the new aircraft type also caused additional expenses. In addition, significant investments were made in spare parts and engines for the new fleet in 2024. As part of these financial burdens, the airline submitted a €10,9 million wet lease agreement for Airbus A320 aircraft to secure its capacity in the meantime. However, the airline hopes that the financial situation will improve with the full integration of the A220 fleet in the coming years.

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Change at the top of Virgin Australia: Dave Emerson takes over as CEO

Amely Mizzi March 7, 2025 13:31

Virgin Australia has announced a significant change in leadership: current Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Dave Emerson will take on the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He succeeds Jayne Hrdlicka, who is stepping down after four years at the helm of the company. The appointment marks a new chapter for the airline, which has undergone a comprehensive transformation in recent years. Dave Emerson brings decades of experience in the aviation industry. He began his career in 1990 as a customer service representative at America West Airlines, a company that later merged with US Airways and eventually became part of American Airlines. Emerson has been part of Virgin Australia since June 2021 and played a key role in the airline's strategic realignment. "I am honoured to take the helm of this great company and to shape the next chapter of the Virgin Australia story together with our 8.000 employees," he said on the occasion of his appointment. Virgin Australia's CEO Ryan Cotton emphasised Emerson's central role in the company's transformation: "He was instrumental in developing our growth strategy and will consistently continue on the path we have chosen." Hrdlicka's legacy: From bankruptcy to market leadership Jayne Hrdlicka took over the leadership of Virgin Australia in 2020 when the airline had to file for bankruptcy due to the economic impact of the global crisis. Under her leadership, the company managed to successfully restructure itself and return to profitability. A notable success under Hrdlicka's leadership was the positioning of Virgin Australia as the leading airline in Australian domestic business. In 2024, the airline overtook long-time market leader Qantas in

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Nesma Airlines announces regular charter flights from Hurghada to Ljubljana

Stephen Steiner March 7, 2025 13:08

Egyptian airline Nesma Airlines has introduced a regular charter flight service between Hurghada and Ljubljana for the upcoming summer season. Starting April 6, 2024, the airline will initially operate the route once a week, every Sunday. From April 23, Nesma Airlines will increase the frequency to two flights per week, with an additional flight on Wednesdays. The flights are scheduled to operate until the end of October 2025, at the end of the summer season. A 320-seat Airbus A179 will be used for the route. The planned schedule marks the Egyptian airline's return to Ljubljana after not serving this route last year. If the flights operate as planned, Nesma Airlines will provide approximately 20.227 additional seats at Ljubljana Airport, both for the outbound and return journeys. Although the schedule is regular, charter flights such as these remain subject to change due to market-specific factors. Nesma Airlines was founded in 2010 and started its first commercial flights between Hurghada and Ljubljana, now offering this route again on a regular basis. Further details on the flight connections are available.

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Maribor Airport: Slovenian government is once again looking for a solution

Jan Gruber March 7, 2025 12:38

The Slovenian government is trying to find a solution for Maribor Airport, which remains one of the least frequented airports in the former Yugoslavia. In 2024, the airport recorded just 2.330 passengers. Although Maribor has no regular scheduled flights, Portorož Airport on the country's coast was also only able to welcome 22.782 travelers - despite a smaller catchment area. The majority of Maribor's passenger traffic comes from charter flights, which mainly transport sports teams. Despite some efforts to find an operator for the airport, attempts in 2023 were unsuccessful. A promising joint proposal from the SIDrone aviation school and the Ključavničarstvo Kunc metalworking company could not find approval. SIDrone is now trying again to take over the management of the airport and recently presented a strategy to the National Council. This includes, among other things, the construction of a maintenance center for passenger and cargo aircraft and cooperation with neighboring airports. SIDrone is aiming for a long-term partnership lasting at least ten years. In recent years, talks have also taken place with representatives of the leisure conglomerate Tui Group, who expressed interest in establishing a maintenance base in Maribor. The airport has been managed by DRI, a state-owned consulting and engineering company, since 2019, after the early withdrawal of Chinese investors in 2017 ended the previous 15-year lease agreement. However, a major obstacle for potential investors remains the lack of a spatial plan that would allow for expansion of the airport.

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Revision of the Package Travel Directive: Travel industry warns of bureaucratic monster

Jan Gruber March 7, 2025 12:37

At the end of 2023, the European Commission initiated a reform process to revise the Package Travel Directive. The aim of the amendment should be to improve the protection of package travelers and at the same time simplify the existing regulations. But the draft now presented has met with fierce criticism from the travel and hotel industry. Representatives of these economic sectors warn against a massive expansion of the package tour definition, which could lead to a significant increase in the bureaucratic burden for companies. New definition of package tour causes uncertainty The planned new definition of package tour is particularly controversial. According to the European Parliament's draft, in future a package tour should already exist if two travel services are booked within 72 hours. The industry sees this as a serious problem. Gregor Kadanka, chairman of the Association of Travel Agents in the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ), warns: "This regulation makes it extremely difficult for consumers and companies to determine what exactly has been booked and what rights and obligations arise from it." Such a definition could lead to services booked independently of one another being subsequently declared to be a package holiday – with all the legal consequences that this entails. Johann Spreitzhofer, chairman of the Hotel Industry Association in the Austrian Economic Chamber, also voices sharp criticism. In future, hoteliers would have to monitor all bookings within a 72-hour period to determine whether individual services constitute a package holiday. This would be difficult to implement in practice and would lead to considerable additional administrative work without offering guests any discernible benefit. Threat to the competitiveness of package holidays A key concern for the industry is the competitiveness of package holidays. The share of package holidays in all travel bookings within the EU

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Ajet: Challenges of the transition

Stephen Steiner March 7, 2025 12:03

At the end of March 2024, Turkish Airlines subsidiary Ajet began independent operations after the airline had previously operated under a brand as Anadolujet. However, the transition to independent operations proved challenging, particularly due to delayed aircraft deliveries and technical problems with the leased aircraft. At the beginning of the year, Ajet had leased 26 aircraft on a wet lease basis, meaning that both the aircraft and the staff and maintenance were provided by external providers. Turkish Airlines CFO Murat Şeker stated that this transition was anything but smooth, as there were numerous technical difficulties and maintenance problems with the wet leased aircraft. Therefore, the decision was made to stop wet leasing for the most part and to switch to operational leasing in the future, where only the aircraft are leased, while crew and maintenance are organized by Ajet itself. The airline had already announced in January that it would significantly reduce wet leasing of Smart Lynx aircraft. These changes mark an important step in Ajet's restructuring, which aims to achieve a more stable and independent operating model.

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New dining offer at London Luton Airport: Sanfords opens largest restaurant area

Amely Mizzi March 7, 2025 11:47

The new Sanfords restaurant has opened at London Luton Airport (LTN) and, with 480 seats and an area of ​​12.810 square feet, is setting new standards for catering in British airports. The restaurant, operated by TRGC, offers travelers a shared dining area in the airport's departure area, with a varied culinary offering in typical American style. On the ground floor there is a traditional American diner that serves classic US dishes as well as British favorites with an American twist. These include cheeseburger pizza and the Philly Cheesesteak Po' Boy. The upper floor, the Mezzanine Loft Bar, is a lounge area designed primarily for drinks and small snacks such as buttermilk fried chicken or loaded potato skins. There is also the opportunity to play a game of shuffleboard. The opening of Sanfords is being celebrated by LTN as a significant step in the expansion of airport catering. The airport was recently recognized for its outstanding gastronomic offerings at the FAB Awards 2024.

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Greece will remain one of the most popular travel destinations for German holidaymakers in 2025

Stephen Steiner March 7, 2025 11:35

Greece once again maintains its position among the three most popular holiday destinations for German travellers in summer 2025, according to recent data from the German Travel Association (DRV) at this year's ITB Berlin. Alongside Turkey and Spain, Greece continues to attract strong demand, confirming its continued attractiveness to the German travel market. According to DRV President Norbert Fiebig, Greece ranks third in the top 10 package holiday destinations for summer 2025, based on the latest sales figures. The full list includes: These figures illustrate Greece's continued popularity among German holidaymakers. Greece also a popular destination at Easter Greece is one of the top 2025 travel destinations not only in summer, but also for the 5 Easter holidays. The most popular destinations for tour operators during the Easter holidays, which fall in April this year, are: These rankings underline Greece's cross-seasonal appeal to German holidaymakers. Trend towards early bookings continues A notable trend for 2025 is the shift towards early bookings. This behavior is partly influenced by the desire for low prices and securing availability in popular destinations. Fiebig emphasized that early bookings for Mediterranean destinations are significantly higher compared to the same period last year. "Germans are booking their summer vacations even earlier than before - early bookers are the new last-minute travelers," he noted. By the end of January, summer vacation bookings were 11 percent higher overall than at the same time in 2024, indicating a clear shift away from traditional last-minute booking behavior. High demand for Mediterranean vacations Current demand shows a clear preference for Mediterranean beach destinations among German travelers. According to DRV data for the 2025 summer season, flight package tours are

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Flydubai adds three new Iran connections to its flight schedule

Belinda Borg March 7, 2025 11:00

The airline Flydubai is expanding its route network and adding three new direct connections to Iran. From March 13 and 14, 2025, the cities of Bushehr, Qeshm and Tabriz will be served directly from Terminal 2 of Dubai International Airport (DXB). The airline is thus further expanding its offering in the Middle East. With the new connections, the number of destinations served by Flydubai increases to over 130 in a total of 55 countries. The airline is focusing on increased networking between the United Arab Emirates and important cities in Iran that play an important economic and cultural role. The new routes could be of particular interest to business travelers and passengers involved in trade. Flydubai, which began operations in 2009, is pursuing an expansion strategy in regions with growing demand. In addition to the new Iran connections, the company has continuously expanded its route network in Central Asia, Africa and South Asia in recent years.

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