29-Apr-2008 IRELAND :
Ryanair announced that it will continue its drive to increase the number of passengers checking in on-line by increasing baggage and airport check-in charges from 05-May-08. From this date Ryanair’s checked in baggage fee will rise from EUR9 to EUR10, while airport check-in fees will increase from EUR4 to EUR5. Ryanair encourages passengers to avoid these charges altogether by travelling with its 10kg hand luggage allowance and checking in on-line.
29-Apr-2008 GERMANY :
Lufthansa announced plans to expand its route network from Milan to more European destinations. In a first step, from the beginning of 2009, six new Embraer 195 jets will be stationed at Milan Malpensa Airport. The aircraft will be operated by the Italian Lufthansa subsidiary, Air Dolomiti, and will be deployed on intra-European routes.
29-Apr-2008 GERMANY :
Lufthansa has introduced a new mobile boarding pass service on its services from Hamburg to Munich and Frankfurt. With the new service service, passengers who have an Internet-enabled phone can be sent an electronic boarding pass by email or SMS link. The mobile boarding pass contains the relevant flight data, such as the name of the traveller, flight number and departure time, plus a 2-D barcode. Passengers travelling with hand luggage only can then proceed straight to the security checkpoint and to the gate, where the barcode on their mobile boarding pass will be read by a scanner. This means they can then board the aircraft without a printed paper document.
29-Apr-2008
Czech Airlines announced plans to boost its regular flight operations on the Prague-Brno route. From 05-May-08, in addition to the noon and evening flights from Prague to Brno, passengers will be offered the morning service five times a week. The coach service between Prague and Brno will remain, with two services daily. The new service will be available to passengers on business days. Czech Airlines will operate the service with ATR 42 aircraft.
28-Apr-2008 GERMANY :
From 1 July 2008, Lufthansa will introduce new non-stop flights between Pune and Frankfurt. The new six weekly flights are operated by an Airbus A319, offering a total of 48 seats in an all-business class configuration.This new Lufthansa Business Jet service will be the first to link Pune non-stop to Europe, and will offer significant convenience for passengers.
28-Apr-2008 FINLAND :
Finnair will begin codeshare cooperation with the Icelandic airline, Icelandair, from the beginning of May-08. The agreement covers the Helsinki-Reykjavik route operated by Icelandair, which will be operated four times per week from Jun-08. In May, there will be two flights per week from Helsinki to Reykjavik.
28-Apr-2008 GERMANY :
Air Berlin stated it remains determined to acquire a 75% stake in Condor in February next year and the remaining 25% in the following year. The company also denied a report that Air Berlin was intent on provoking the Federal Cartel Office into rejecting the application currently under scrutiny by its lack of co-operation. Air Berlin added that any rejection of the takeover bid will not be taken lying down.
28-Apr-2008 POLAND :
Wizz Air Ukraine announced that it would start operating an initial network of seven Ukrainian domestic routes from its operating base at Kiev Boryspil Airport on 11-Jul-08. Wizz Air Ukraine will operate services from Kiev Boryspil Airport to Lviv, Odessa, Simferopol, Kharkov and Zaporozhye. Flights from Lviv and Kharkov to Simferopol will also be available to the Ukrainian travellers.
28-Apr-2008 IRELAND :
Ryanair called on the European Commission to stop a further EUR300m state aid for Alitalia. According to Ryanair, Alitalia has already received over EUR5 billion in unlawful state aid, but the European Commission, as always in the case of flag carriers, turns a blind eye and does nothing. Ryanair stated that without such illegal state aid, Alitalia, which loses almost EUR1 million a day would have gone bankrupt years ago.
28-Apr-2008
SAS has sold Facility Management to Coor Service Management, thereby making Coor the general service supplier to SAS in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The total value of the agreement, which will take effect on 02-Jun-08, is SEK1,750 million.
