IATA, CANSO AND EUROCONTROL AGREEMENT
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) and Euroconrol have signed a Flight Efficiency Plan which will put into practice measures to reduce annual fuel consumption in Europe’s airspace by 470,000 tonnes. For airlines, this means that they could reduce their fuel costs by around 390 million Euros.
ASPIRE 1 TAKES OFF
ASPIRE 1, Air New Zealand’s flight from Auckland to San Francisco on 12th September was the first test flight under fully optimised flight planning and operating conditions free of any constraints from pushback to the arrival of the B777 aircraft at the gate in San Francisco. This flight resulted in saving 4,400 litres of fuel and emitting 11 fewer tonnes of CO2.
EMIRATES FLEET GROWS FURTHER
Emirates has added two further Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to its fleet, bringing the airline’s wide-bodied fleet to 111 aircraft. There are a further thirty nine 777s on order worth £10 billion. Last month saw the delivery of the first of Emirates fifty eight Airbus A380s. It is anticipated that Emirates will soon have the largest wide body fleet of aircraft of any operator in the world.
BEST AIR LAUNCHES FLIGHTS TO DUBAI
Best Air, a privately owned Bangladeshi airline, will start regular services this month between Dhaka and Dubai, to service the 800,000 Bangladeshi workers based in the UAE.
The airline was formed in 2007 by Best Aviation in Bangladesh and Aqeeq Aviation Holding in Kuwait. It started operations in January 2008 as a domestic carrier with a Boeing 737 but quickly expanded routes offered to include Bangkok, Colombo and now Dubai. It is now planning to expand to India, China and Singapore. The flight to Dubai will be serviced with an MD-83 aircraft.
BIDS FOR FREIGHTERS
NACIL of India had decided to lease out two of its A310-300 freighters and it is planning to invite global bids. This decision was taken following the lack of profitable routes for the use of these aircraft.
NEW AIRLNES IN IRAN
Iran is considering launching three new international airlines by March 2009. It has been reported that rls 2,900 has been budgeted for the project. Furthermore, 8 airports will be renovated.
INDIGO THE LARGEST LCC IN INDIA
India’s low-cost carrier, IndiGo has become the country’s dominant airline in this market. After 5 years of Air Deccan’s dominance, which is now called Kingfisher Red, the Civil Aviation Ministry of India announced that IndiGo has overtaken its main competitor in this emerging market.
PANTHEON AIRWAYS TO REPLACE OLYMPIC
The European Commission has given the green light to the Greek government for the launch of Pantheon Airways which will replace the troubled Olympic Airlines. The privatisation of the new carrier must be completed by April 2009. Pantheon was created about two years ago with a capital of 60 million Euros and it is considered as the only possible solution to Olympic’s inevitable collapse.
ALITALIA IS RUNNING OUT OF FUEL AND TIME
Alitalia, Italy's national airline is running out of fuel and it is now entering a critical phase for its future operations. The carrier has warned that it may have to start cancelling flights as it may be unable to cover the cost of fuel. Its operating license is at risk as the Italian Civil Aviation Authority has pointed out and 20,000 jobs are also at stake.
Last April, the proposal of Air France-KLM for a takeover collapsed due to the union's opposition to the deal and necessary job cuts.
XL AIRWAYS GROUNDED
XL Leisure Group Plc which operates XL Airways has gone into administration and all its aircraft have been grounded. The company blames the high fuel prices and the economic downturn for the collapse of the group. It had already announced that its routes to the Caribbean would cease on November 8 because of the rising cost of fuel.
The airline was based in Crawley, West Sussex in the UK and it was part of a group of travel companies. It operated 21 aircraft from UK airports to 50 destinations and had 1,700 employees worldwide. It carried 2.3 million passengers in 2007.
BELFAST CITY AIRPORT SOLD
Belfast City Airport has been sold to the ABN AMRO Global Infrastructure Fund for £132.5 million. The Spanish company Ferrovial Group bought the airport in 2003 for £35 million. It is expected to service 2.7 million passengers this year.
PRESTIGE JET EXPANSION
Prestige Jet has acquired a Cessna Citation Sovereign, a Challenger 604 and an Embraer Legacy 600 in order to meet the increased demand for private charter flights. The company now owns 11 aircraft.
MIWOK AIRWAYS NEW AIR TAXI SERVICE
Miwok Airways is preparing to launch next month a new air taxi service based on the "per seat" model. The company claims to be the first air taxi operator to offer on demand air travel at economy class fares. Based in Burlingame, California, it will operate four Cirrus SR-22 aircraft along the coast from Los Angeles to San Diego.
Forthcoming Events
Very Light Jets – Europe
25-26 September 2008
Barcelona, Spain
www.miuevents.com/vlj-eu-08
Very Light Jets – Latin America & The Caribbean
10-11 November 2008
Miami, USA
www.miuevents.com/vlj-lac-08
Indian Business Aviation Expo (IBAE)
1-2 December 2008
Mumbai, India
www.miuevents.com/ibae2008 |
