British Airways expands flights to Rio de Janeiro

British Airways is increasing its services to Brazil by doubling its weekly frequency to Rio de Janeiro from three to six flights. Flights to Rio de Janeiro will now depart Heathrow for Rio every day, except Mondays. The departure time remains at 12.15pm, landing in Rio at 9.55pm local time. The flight will continue to be served by a three class B777, enabling customers to choose from 3- classes mentioned below:

1. World traveller-Economy class
2. World Traveller Plus-Premier Economy class
3. Airline's fully flat beds in club world- business class

Neil Cottrell, British Airways’ head of network planning, said: “We are experiencing a real increase in demand for Rio and by doubling the number of frequencies, we are able to offer our customers more choice and greater availability. Brazil is also experiencing strong economic growth and this capacity increase is a great opportunity for British Airways to be part of that growth.”

Holidays in Rio de Janeiro offer visitors white sandy beaches, rainforest clad mountains and cultural must-sees including the famous Christ the Redeemer statue. British Airways offers a choice of hotels including the 3 star Center for a comfortable stay or the 5 star InterContinental Rio next to the Gvea Golf Club and the Fashion Mall shopping centre. The 5 star Porto Bay Rio Internacional has a rooftop swimming pool and views of the beach while the 5 star Copacabana Palace offers luxurious accommodation opposite the famous Copacabana Beach.

Flybe adding fuel surcharge

Regional airline Flybe is adding a £3 surcharge to bookings for flights departing from the autumn due to increasing fuel costs. The surcharge will apply for bookings made from today for flights departing on or after September 1, but added that the charge would be removed if the price of crude oil dropped below $75 per barrel for a period of 28 consecutive days.

The airline is set to maintain profit levels despite higher fuel costs and a fall in the number of UK leisure travellers in recent months. Flybe admitted that the UK market “remained challenging” with a 4.4 percentage point fall in load factors for the final three months of its financial year which ended in March.

Despite this fall, the airline increased the total number of seats flown by 4.5% to 2.6 million in the three-month period while revenue per seat went up by 2.2% to £46.14 compared to same quarter last year.

Losses cross Rs 100-cr mark

The strike by Air India pilots entered into its 8th day today, with losses incurred crossing the Rs 100 crore mark. "We haven't received exact figures of losses incurred due to the strike, but the average calculated loss points to approximately Rs 105 crore," a top official in the Civil Aviation Ministry told MiD DAY.

Repeating their demands, ICPA members yesterday wrote a letter to the prime minister asking him to intervene in the deadlock. The letter, written by Rishabh Kapur, the general secretary of ICPA, highlighted the role played by Arvind Jadhav, the Air India CMD, for the present dismal scenario. "We apologise for the inconvenience caused to the general public because of our industrial action in Air India, but it is of extreme importance for the people to understand the circumstances under which the pilots have been forced to take this drastic step. It is open knowledge that Air India is being plundered under the leadership of Mr Arvind Jadhav.

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Second Air France Black Box Found

Brazil's northeast coast have recovered the second of two flight data recorders from the Air France aircraft that crashed into the Atlantic in 2009, investigators said on Tuesday.

The discovery of the audio recorder, two days after the flight data recorder was fished up, brings investigators even closer to the reason for the crash as it should hold recordings of cockpit conversations during the flight's final moments.

"The investigation team localised and identified the Cockpit Voice Recorder at (2150 GMT) on Monday 2 May, 2011," France's BEA air accident inquiry office said. The device was hauled up to the team's ship at 0240 GMT on Tuesday.

A photograph of the recorder on BEA's website shows a bright orange cylindrical device that looks scuffed and battered but otherwise intact. So-called black boxes are painted orange so that they can be spotted more easily in wreckage.

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United Begins Nonstop Service Between Los Angeles and Guadalajara, Mexico

United tomorrow begins daily nonstop service between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Guadalajara, Mexico (GDL). This service will be operated by Continental Airlines. "We're delighted to add this nonstop Los Angeles – Guadalajara flight, which connects the second-largest cities of two nations and demonstrates our commitment to Mexico," said John Slater, United's vice president Sales – Americas. "United serves 30 destinations in Mexico, more than any other airline from the U.S., and we offer more departures from the U.S. to Mexico than any other airline."

Flight CO672 departs Los Angeles at 8:20 a.m. daily, arriving in Guadalajara at 1:15 p.m. The return flight (CO673) departs Guadalajara at 2:10 p.m. daily, arriving in Los Angeles at 3:30 p.m. The Los Angeles – Guadalajara service is operated with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with seating for 160 customers.

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Strike enters 4th day; Air India to operate 39 flights

Air India on Saturday further reduced its operations to 39 domestic flights out of its regular 320 as the strike by its pilots entered the fourth day inconveniencing passengers. “We have curtailed more than 52 per cent of our domestic flights and operating on only trunk routes that is too metro cities,” an AI spokesperson said.

“Under the contingency plan, we have reduced the number of flights as we do not have any pilots,” he said. While 21 flights will be operated from the national capital, Air India’s Mumbai operations have almost come to a standstill as the airline may operate just five flights between 9 and 11 30 am, an AI spokeswoman said in Mumbai. The national carrier did not undertake any operations from Mumbai before 9 am.

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Air India strike update April 28

Air India’s scheduled normal operations, on a daily basis, includes 320 flights. In view of the experience yesterday, the Operations Department drew a contingency schedule for 28th April 2011 wherein operations were reduced by 18% - which amounts to a total of 45 flights. Accordingly, the number of flights as per its contingency schedule will be 45 flights less than normal. Till 1200 hrs, the contingency plan has worked as scheduled and Air India has operated 58 flights. The number of flights cancelled since 0001 hrs today is 16.

Meanwhile Air India has strengthened its Call Centre operations with a view to keep its passengers informed and to ensure that minimum inconvenience is caused to them. The numbers of ‘floor walkers’ have also been increased at major airports to assist the passengers being accommodated on other airlines or in revalidation / refund of tickets, as desired by the passengers.

Southwest plane skids off runway

A Southwest Airlines plane slid off a runway Tuesday during heavy rain at Chicago Midway International Airport. Southwest Flight 1919 had just landed in route from Denver when the Boeing 737-700 ran off the runway, the airline said in a statement. There were no immediate reports of injuries, it said.

The report is the latest in a series of embarrassing incidents for Southwest Airlines, which came under scrutiny earlier this month when a ruptured fuselage ripped a hole in one of its B-737s at 34,000 feet and then again when reports surfaced that one of its planes came within 176 yards of a small aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement it was investigating Tuesday's incident. There were 134 passengers and five crew members on board at the time of the incident, the NTSB said.

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JetBlue to add fast-track security option

JetBlue plans to add a "fast-track" security option that will give top-fare customers access to elite security lanes at airports where such an option exists. To lure more travelers to buy the airline's "Even More Legroom" seats, JetBlue said Thursday it will offer a fast-track security option for those who buy the roomier seats. That benefit, which will let passengers jump to the front of the security line at certain airports, will begin in a few months. Other airlines including American and United Continental offer similar incentives for first and business class passengers and some coach passengers who pay extra. JetBlue doesn't have first or business class.

Southwest, the largest low-cost carrier in the U.S., also offer a similar options. Customers who by its most-expensive "Business Select" fares get access to priority security lanes at airports where they exist.As for JetBlue, its move comes as it -- like other airlines -- tries to increase the amount of revenue it extracts from each of its passengers. Such "ancillary" fees can add as much as $20 or more to the amount an airline collects from passengers above the fares they paid to board the flight.

Flybe reports passenger increase on sun routes

Flybe, Europe’s leading regional airline and the UK’s Number One Domestic carrier, gives a snapshot on the travel trends emerging within the UK as a result of the Easter break.

Family friendly destinations key for British holidaymakers

Flybe’s seven routes into Paris Charles de Gaulle are particularly busy with passenger numbers up by 19% over Easter 2010, with travellers using them for convenient access to Disneyland Paris and the rest of the world through Flybe’s codeshare with Air France.

Sun routes soaring

Across its extensive network, Flybe’s sun routes, including its service between Exeter and Alicante, are up by 9% over the Easter period last year. In particular, Flybe’s passenger numbers to regional France have also been boosted 72%, enhanced by new routes to Nantes from London Gatwick and Manchester.

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TAM reports domestic demand grows 25% in March

Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) disclosed today the operational data for the month of March 2011.

Domestic market
In the domestic market, which includes Pantanal’s data, we achieved a demand growth (in RPK) of 25.2%, combined with an increase of 14.6% in the supply (in ASKs), compared with March 2010, which led to an increase in the load factor of 5.8 p.p. to 68.7%. Our market share in the domestic market was 41.8%. In March we had high concentration of leisure passengers mainly due to the carnival holiday that, this year, happened in March, which led to an increase in load factor and a consequent mid single digit reduction in yield, since those passengers buy their tickets in advance and use reward tickets from the loyalty program.

International market
In the international market, compared to the same month last year, we saw a rise of 26.7% in demand with a 12.1% increase in supply resulting in an increase of 9.3 p.p. in load factor reaching 80.3%. Our market share among Brazilian carriers in March was 86.1%. In the international market, the demand of passengers traveling between Brazil and abroad remained strong. The international yield in dollars remained stable compared with the previous month.

JetBlue to ease booking flights to Europe, Cape Cod

JetBlue will make it easier for customers trying to book flights on some of its partner airlines to Europe, Asia, and South America and places in the Northeast, like Cape Cod. The New York carrier, the largest at Logan, says that its website will now offer connections to flights run by American Airlines, Aer Lingus and Cape Air.

In the past couple of years, JetBlue has cut agreements with various airlines to offer customers the convenience of arranging for connecting flights to destinations the airline doesn't serve. For instance a pact with American lets JetBlue customers connect to American flights to Europe, Asia and South America; one with Aer Lingus gives travelers access through Boston or New York's JFK to Ireland; and a third with Cape Air links passengers to Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Provincetown and Hyannis, Mass.

Qatar Airways Cargo adds three new routes

Qatar Airways Cargo has announced an expansion of its dedicated freighter routes with new services to Hanoi, Kozhikode and Bengaluru. Freighter operations to Kozhikode and onto Bengaluru, formerly known as Bangalore, are served with an Airbus A300 freighter on the route boosting Qatar Airways Cargo freighter capacity in India by an additional 40 metric tonnes a week.

Cargo flights from Doha to Hanoi begin on April 15, stopping in Hong Kong on the return sector. The weekly service is operated with one of the airline’s dedicated Boeing 777 freighters and follows the successful launch of passenger flights to the Vietnamese capital in November 2010. Qatar Airways also operates scheduled services to Ho Chi Minh City and is the only Gulf carrier flying to Vietnam.

Cargo flights from Doha to Hanoi begin on April 15, stopping in Hong Kong on the return sector. The weekly service is operated with one of the airline’s dedicated Boeing 777 freighters and follows the successful launch of passenger flights to the Vietnamese capital in November 2010. Qatar Airways also operates scheduled services to Ho Chi Minh City and is the only Gulf carrier flying to Vietnam.

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East Coast reveals surge in passengers

East Coast is welcoming latest statistics which show how its trains are winning the battle for custom against the airlines on its key Edinburgh and Newcastle to London routes. Figures published today by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) show that in the last five years, East Coast’s market share on the routes linking Edinburgh and Newcastle with London, has risen significantly.

East Coast’s market share on the Edinburgh to London route grew from 21% in 2008 to 27% last year; while its share on the Newcastle to London route grew from 59% in 2008 to 64% last year.

Over the last 18 months, East Coast’s market share on both the Edinburgh and Newcastle to London routes has seen a growing surge, as challenging economic conditions led to increasingnumbers of passengers taking advantage of its value for money advance purchase tickets.

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United reinstates fee for last-minute award tickets

United Airlines announced on Thursday that it will reinstate a fee for frequent-flier tickets booked at the last minute. Beginning June 15, the carrier will charge $75 to customers without elite frequent-flier status when they book an award ticket within 21 days of their departure date. Premier-level frequent fliers will be charged $50 while Premier Executive members will face a $25 fee. United's top-level Global Services and 1K members will still be able to book last-minute award tickets at no charge.

United currently does not charge a fee for close-in award-ticket bookings, though the new fee structure mirrors what merger partner Continental currently charges."As we continue the changes under way at United Airlines and Continental Airlines, we're revising certain Mileage Plus and OnePass award fees to make them consistent across both programs," United said in an e-mail to its frequent-flier members on Thursday.

Elsewhere, United says that "for General members, most award fees are going down or staying the same."For example, the fee will drop to $75 from $150 for non-elite fliers changing their origin or destination cities on award tickets that are issued before June 15. The same change applies to non-elite customers who add, change or remove a connecting city from an award ticket issued prior to June 15. Global Services and 1K members will not be charged.

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Sendai: Airport's remarkable reopening aided by U.S. military

A Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo Haneda landed at Japan's once-battered Sendai Airport on Wednesday, marking the return of commercial passenger flights there for the first time since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.While passenger airline schedules remain limited at Sendai, the service resumption is a striking turnaround for an airport that was seen on video being swallowed up by a tsunami wave just over 30 days ago.

"I didn't think we would be able to restart operations so soon," Shinichiro Ito, All Nippon's CEO, is quoted by Bloomberg News as saying at the airport's reopening ceremony on Wednesday. "The airport was a mountain of debris." Still, Air Transport World writes that Sendai Airport "President Katsuhiko Ito cautioned that the airport isn't likely to fully re-open for at least a year, noting that some facilities are still mud-covered and more debris needs to be cleared."

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Air France A380 Collides On JFK Taxiway

US investigators have impounded an Air France A380 which collided with a smaller jet at New York's John F. Kennedy airport on Monday but the airline says transatlantic A380 flights will be unaffected. The Airbus superjumbo, the world's largest airliner with a wingspan of almost 80 metres (yards), hit the tail section of a Bombardier CRJ regional jet which spun in a quarter turn on the taxiway, according to amateur video. A CNN correspondent on the Air France flight to Paris reported that he felt a "slight rumble akin to hitting a patch of rough pavement" as the plane with over 500 people on board was moving on the ground at about 8.15pm local time on Tuesday.

The correspondent said about a foot of the Air France superjumbo's left wing appeared to be damaged. Air France confirmed the incident and said both aircraft had been "immobilised" pending an investigation. A spokeswoman declined to estimate the time and cost of repairs to the wing. Air France, which flies five times a day to New York including one flight using the Airbus double-decker, will operate its daily A380 flight on Tuesday as normal, she said.

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United Airlines Offers Bonus Award Miles When Booking Cruise Travel

United Airlines is giving customers many reasons to book cruises through the airline's new United Cruises service. Depending on the length of thehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifir stay, customers can earn up to 10,000 miles. When customers book a room using their Mileage Plus Visa Card before April 30, 2011, United Cruises will double the amount of miles earned. Mileage Plus members can also earn up to 20,000 total Mileage Plus award miles when they book a balcony or suite stateroom before the same date, and can earn up to 40,000 award miles if they book a balcony or suite stateroom with their Mileage Plus Visa card for a stay of at least 13 nights.

United launched United Cruises on Jan. 20, 2011, offering customers a convenient way to book travel on 19 different cruise lines to destinations worldwide, including the Caribbean, Bahamas, Alaska, Europe, Mexico and Bermuda. Cruise lines available through United Cruises include name brands like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Celebrity and Disney. Customers receive a 110 percent best price guarantee and savings of up to 75 percent off of the brochure rate on sailings when booking on United Cruises.

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Airlines raise fares, offer some deals

Airlines again are seeking to boost round-trip ticket prices $10 on many domestic routes, while quietly offering huge limited-time discounts between other U.S cities. US Airways on Thursday raised most of its domestic round-trip fares by $10, and three competing airlines — Delta, American and Continental — matched the increase Thursday and Friday. It was the 10th attempted rise in fares this year by airlines, which have been raising prices to meet escalating jet-fuel prices says Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com. On March 1, American Airlines successfully raised most domestic round-trip fares $10 — the sixth successful attempt to raise fares $4 to $10 this year, Seaney says. If the current increase sticks, it would be the seventh since Jan 1.

American, United Airlines and Continental Airlines made three subsequent attempts in March to raise fares $10, but the increases didn’t stick, because other airlines didn’t match the prices, he says. While fares on many routes went up $10 last week, there were huge price reductions on others. Some price drops lasted less than a day, and the number of tickets sold at bargain prices was limited.

Emirates boosts South American services

Emirates Airlines is set to boost its service to South America with the launch of a new service to Rio de Janeiro and extension to Buenos Aires. Launching early next year, the iconic cities will now offer a faster link to Dubai and over 100 destinations worldwide. Last year Emirates Airlines was recognised by the World Travel Awards Middle East’s Leading Airline Website. His highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman Emirates Airline, said: “Both Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro are rightly renowned as world-class leisure destinations as well as important business and trading centres.

“Our research has shown that there is a high demand for these cities from across our network.”The Dubai-Rio de Janeiro-Buenos Aires service will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft offering eight First Class Private Suites, 42 lie-flat seats in Business and 304 seats in Economy. “Brazil has been part of the Emirates network since 2007 when we began flights from Dubai to Sao Paulo,” added Sheikh Ahmed. “With the country playing host to both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics, Brazil will be further catapulted into the world’s spotlight, and we will be in a prime position to transport sports enthusiasts to these renowned events.