Airline News

A strike over wages by ground crew and cabin staff at Deutsche Lufthansa is expected to cause disruptions at Germany's 10 largest airports on Monday after a key union voted overwhelmingly to walk off the job.

The Verdi union, which represents 52,000 air industry workers, planned to start the strikes at midnight (2200 GMT) - but would not reveal in advance where the walkouts would happen to prevent the airline from making plans to thwart the impact.

Union officials said that the unlimited strike, the first in 13 years at Lufthansa, would affect all areas - from catering and cargo to maintenance and repair staff. Some 91 percent of union members voted to strike, Verdi said on Friday.

"The starting times will be staggered," said Verdi's chief negotiator Erhard Ott. Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Duesseldorf, Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Hanover, Leipzig and Bremen airports would be affected, the union said.

Verdi, which has lost influence since the last Lufthansa strike in 1994, wants a 9.8-percent pay increase for one year. Lufthansa, Europe's second biggest airline by passenger numbers, is offering 6.7 percent over 21 months and a one-off payment.

Lufthansa has said it will have to see where the strikes happen before deciding how many domestic and international flights will be cancelled. It has said it hopes to juggle non-striking staff to limit the impact of the strike.

In view of heavy criticism from political and industry leaders, the union is expected to stop well short of an all-out walk out on Monday and instead opt for targeted strikes.

Verdi would be ready to restart talks if Lufthansa improved its offer, Ott said. Their wage talks broke down on July 10.

"We've got to do everything we can to prevent this strike," said Klaus Lippold, a member of parliament and transport expert for the Christian Democrats. "Not only to save the holiday season but to prevent damage to Germany's air travel industry."

Rainer Wend, an economy expert in parliament for the Social Democrats, also spoke out against the strike.

"Even though one must accept a strike being a tool in a labour dispute, it's still unfortunate that innocent bystanders and holiday travellers will be hurt by the strike more than the union's opponents," Wend told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

Earlier this week, Lufthansa cancelled almost 1,000 regional flights at its Eurowings and CityLine subsidiaries after pilots walked out in a separate pay dispute.

At a time when Europe's biggest economy is seeing a spike in inflation, several labour unions are seeking bigger wage deals after restraint in recent years.

Source: uk.reuters.com

Labels: lufthansa, strike

Australian passengers have told of a terrifying mid-air emergency that left a gaping hole in the side of a Qantas plane, forcing an emergency landing in Manila.

The Qantas Boeing 747, en route from London to Melbourne, via Hong Kong, landed safely on Friday and a "gigantic" hole was discovered in the belly of the plane, near the wing.

Some of the 346 passengers on board told of debris flying through the depressurised cabin, and oxygen masks dropping from the ceiling. Some said the plane had plunged about 20,000 feet after a door "popped".

"There was a terrific boom and bits of wood and debris just flew forward into first (class) and the oxygen masks dropped down," Melbourne woman Dr June Kane told ABC Radio.

"I'm looking at the plane now and ... just forward of the wing, there's a gaping hole from the wing to the underbody," she said, adding that baggage was hanging out.

"It was absolutely terrifying, but I have to say everyone was very calm."

Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said the flight had "a hole in its fuselage" and was being inspected. None of the passengers nor the plane's 19 crew were hurt, he said.

The Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB) and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) had been notified of the incident, Dixon said.

CASA spokesman Peter Gibson told the ABC that initial reports indicated a problem with air pressure in the cabin.

Manila airport operations officer Ding Lima told local radio the plane lost cabin pressure shortly after takeoff from Hong Kong and the pilot radioed for an emergency landing.

"Upon disembarkation, there were some passengers who vomited. You can see in their faces that they were really scared," he said.

During the emergency part of the plane's flooring gave way, exposing some of the cargo in the hold, he said. Part of the ceiling also collapsed.

Another passenger Brendan McClements, the chief executive of the Victorian Major Events Company, described hearing a big bang as the plane flew out of Hong Kong .

"There was a sort of rapid expulsion of wind. It went out of the plane, the air got sucked out, the oxygen masks dropped down and we put them on," he told AAP from Manila.

"Where I was sitting wasn't ideal, by no means ideal.

"We landed about an hour or so ago, and there was a very large hole that wasn't there when we took off in Hong Kong ."

McClements praised Qantas staff for keeping passengers calm.

"The crew were terrific, they did a great job," he said.

"Everyone gave them a round of applause as we landed."

British man Phil Rescall said he and other passengers realised how lucky they were when they saw the size of the hole in the plane's underbelly just in front of the right wing.

"You see the hole and you realise we were very lucky," he told AFP.

"Some people were crying, some people were pretty shaken when they saw the hole."

Another English passenger, Robin McGeechan, 42, said that despite the bang there was little panic.

"We were told a door had popped. We only realised that there was a great big hole in the plane after we landed," McGeechan said.

McClements said he was glad he didn't see the hole in the plane until after they landed.

"Landing was a good thing," he said.

"The captain flagged that we were going to take a very long, slow landing, so we used the whole runway, the emergency crews were out there to meet us and then they towed us in.

"When we walked out we were able to see the plane from the outside and there was a very large hole.

"I was very happy I saw that when I was on the ground and not when I was in the air."

McClements said the passengers were calm when it happened.

"It was probably an hour out of Hong Kong, it all went bang and whoosh.

"And the oxygen masks dropped down and we tootled off to Manila as quickly as we could.

"It was back behind me, big, loud and noisy and very windy when the cabin presser depressed.

"Obviously when the initial bang happened there were a few looks cast across the aisles and backwards and forwards.

"But once people put their oxygen masks on, and crew did a terrific job of making sure people were calm around us, everyone was very even, everyone was very relaxed, that I saw."

McClements said the plane descended after the bang.

"Someone else used the word plunged, but it was a very even decent to a level, as I understand it, where the cabin pressure was equalised.

"It didn't worry me particularly, it never felt like it was out of control."

He said he thought it had taken another hour or two to reach Manila after that.

"Qantas handled it brilliantly and all in all, I will be on the next plane as soon as they can get one to take me home.

"I don't want to catch a cargo ship or anything like that."

Source: au.news.yahoo.com

Labels: emergency landing, Qantas

Northwest Airlines Corp., the U.S. carrier being acquired by Delta Air Lines Inc., posted a second- quarter net loss of $377 million as it wrote down the value of its assets and spent more on fuel.

The deficit was narrower than analysts estimated when some costs are excluded, and the shares rose in early trading. With the costs, the net loss was $1.43 a share, compared with a year earlier profit of $2.15 billion because of a one-time gain tied to exiting bankruptcy, the Eagan, Minnesota-based airline said.

U.S. airlines are parking more than 465 planes and cutting 26,000 jobs to cope with a 77 percent fuel price surge over the past year. Delta, which agreed in April to buy Northwest to form the world's largest carrier, last week doubled its target for new revenue and savings from the merger to $2 billion.

"Given the current fuel environment, the merger makes even more sense," Chief Executive Officer Doug Steenland said today in a statement. New revenue and savings "will better allow the combined carrier to manage through these challenges."

Northwest, the sixth-largest U.S. carrier, recorded a writedown of goodwill of $547 million in the quarter to reduce the value of its assets, and had a gain of $250 million on its fuel hedges.

Excluding those costs and benefits, the loss was $80 million, or 30 cents a share, based on Bloomberg data. On that basis, analysts expected a loss of 50 cents a share, the average of 9 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Northwest rose 44 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $9.52 at 9:21 a.m. before regular New York Stock Exchange trading.

Revenue rose 12 percent to $3.58 billion, exceeding the $3.46 billion average estimate of 6 analysts surveyed.

Northwest ended the second-quarter with $3.3 billion in free cash and $424 million in restricted cash, little changed from the first quarter. On July 15, Northwest added $180 million more from financing some aircraft and engines.

The average cost of Northwest's jet fuel jumped 69 percent from a year earlier. Jet fuel has surpassed labor as the industry's largest expense.

Source: bloomberg.com

Labels: loss, Northwest Airlines

UAL's United Airlines, one of the world's largest carriers, said Tuesday that it would cut more than 7,000 jobs by the end of 2009 to stem losses from record fuel bills.

The reductions consist of 5,500 aircraft and airport workers and 1,500 previously announced salaried positions, UAL said in a statement. The Chicago-based carrier disclosed the cuts as it reported a second-quarter net loss of $2.73 billion to write down the value of assets.

UAL's deficit pushed the collective loss among the three biggest U.S. carriers to $5.22 billion, following last week's reports by AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Jet fuel averaged 80 percent more than a year earlier, outpacing fare increases and new fees.

"Our industry is challenged as never before by the unrelenting price of oil," Glenn Tilton, the chief executive, said in the statement.

Excluding $2.6 billion in charges for the writedown and severance, the loss was $151 million, or $1.19 a share, UAL said. Year-earlier earnings were $274 million, or $1.83 a share.

Source: nytimes.com

Labels: jobs, United Airlines

An American Airlines flight has been diverted in mid-flight after a disturbed passenger stripped naked then tried to open an emergency exit.

Passengers on the Boston to Los Angeles flight today said the unidentified man had undressed in one of the plane's bathrooms before emerging naked in the cabin.

Other passengers told the man to return to the bathroom and get dressed, which he did.

But shortly after returning to his seat the man got up again and lunged for the emergency exit before being restrained by passengers and tied up.

The flight was diverted to Oklahoma City, where the man was taken into custody and placed under psychiatric evaluation, FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said.

The Boeing 757 was back in the air an hour later and landed without further incident in Los Angeles, said American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith.

As passengers left the plane in Los Angeles, several indicated they had taken the incident in stride.

Gillian Callaghan, who was travelling with her 12 year old son, said she never panicked because the flight crew seemed to keep things well under control. She said she felt sorry for the man.

"He was just having some troubles, confused, not a scary guy," she said.

Source: news.com.au

Labels: american airlines, diverted flight

A bomb threat against a Qantas flight bound for Australia at Los Angeles International Airport overnight was a hoax, the airline says.

Qantas spokesman Lloyd Quartermaine said QF 12 with more than 350 passengers and crew was grounded but after an inspection it had been cleared to continue its journey to Sydney on Saturday night.

"It has been assessed as a hoax, but as a precaution Qantas worked with US authorities to inspect the aircraft so it can resume operation," Mr Quartermaine said.

The flight was supposed to depart Los Angeles at 10am (0300 AEST). The 347 passengers and 20 crew members were boarding at the time of the threat and had to get off, according to an LAX spokeswoman.

Passengers were taken to hotels.

Mr Quartermaine said a new flight had been organised for passengers and would leave Los Angeles at 11pm (1600 AEST) on Saturday.

He said Qantas had been told of the threat by US authorities but refused to comment on the nature of the threat.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said agents searched the plane and the luggage for about six hours but found no explosives.

Detectives are now investigating who made the bomb threat.

Source: au.news.yahoo.com

Labels: bomb threat, Qantas

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Passengers of go! airlines in Hawaii will soon be charged a $10 fee to check a bag for inter-island trips.

Phoenix based Mesa Air Group Inc., go!'s parent company, said Tuesday it is joining several other carriers charging for checked bags. Officials say the airline needs to find other sources of revenue to deal with a spike in fuel prices.

The bag fee will start Aug. 10. Passengers who bought tickets before July 10 will not be charged the new fee.

The carrier says it is also reducing fees for checking a second bag, to $17 from a previously announced $25. That fee applies to passengers who purchased tickets on or after June 25 for travel on or after July 15.

Source: money.cnn.com

Labels: go air

In-flight movies are the latest casualty in a long list of discontinued passenger perks that airlines have leveraged as a way to offset soaring jet fuel prices.

Late Wednesday, US Airways Group said it would remove in-flight entertainment systems on domestic flights starting in November. The systems eat into aircraft fuel supply since they weigh a whopping 500 pounds each, saving the airline some $10.0 million, annually. Shares of the Tempe, Ariz.-based airline operator lost 13 cents, or 5.0%, at $2.48 during mid-morning trading on Thursday.

US Airways said that while systems will remain on international flights and Hawaii-bound planes, roughly 200 aircraft will lose their systems. Spokesman Phil Gee said the company will test lighter, seat-back entertainment sets later in the year.

The surging price of jet fuel has forced airlines to eke profits out of passengers by charging for previously complementary services like baggage checks and in-flight meals and drinks.

Passengers aren't the only ones bearing the brunt the industry's budget woes. Airlines are aggressively slashing costs by cutting jobs and diluting employee benefits.

Northwest Airlines blamed high fuel prices for its decision to cut 2,500 jobs, charge $15 to check luggage, and enact fees ranging from $25 to $100 for travelers redeeming frequent-flier award tickets. American Airlines was the first to announce checked bag fees, which have since been employed by US Airways and United Air Lines. Both American and Delta Air Lines charge for frequent flier award redemption. US Airways is the first to eliminate in-flight entertainment systems.

Source: forbes.com

Labels: inflight entertainment, US Airways

Southwest Airlines Co., the largest U.S. discounter, and Canada's WestJet Airlines Ltd. agreed to form an alliance by late 2009, giving the carriers access to routes outside their home markets.

Southwest, which only flies in the lower 48 states, would be able to book customers on WestJet flights to Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean and for ski trips in Canada through Calgary or Vancouver. The deal also advances WestJet's goal of expanding in the U.S. WestJet rose the most in more than three years in Toronto trading.

"This gives WestJet exactly what they need in terms of growing their trans-border flights," said Chris Murray, an analyst at CIBC World Markets in Toronto, who rates WestJet "market outperform." "The deal would make sense for Southwest to build its service into Canada, too."

The airlines aren't yet ready to announce routes, schedules or fares, Dallas-based Southwest said. Certain details of the agreement must be approved by the U.S. and Canadian governments, the airlines said.

Travelers will be able to purchase seats on WestJet flights through Southwest's Web site before the codeshare agreement takes effect.

Updating Computers

Southwest has said it should finish updating its computer systems next year to allow for international travel. The company has been searching for an alliance partner to replace the defunct ATA Airlines Inc., which had given Southwest passengers access to Hawaii.

"We are quickly moving forward with our plans to enter the international markets with WestJet," Southwest Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said in the statement.

WestJet flies to holiday destinations in the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Hawaii, Jamaica, Mexico and St. Lucia. Its continental U.S. routes include Newark, New Jersey, and vacation cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Orlando, Florida.

"This is a defining moment for WestJet," CEO Sean Durfy said in the company's statement "We are delivering on our strategic plan with this announcement today."

WestJet, which began flying in 1996 and was founded on Southwest's no-frills model, offers a single economy-class cabin on all its flights.

Source: bloomberg.com

Labels: alliance, southwest airlines, westjet

Singapore Airlines, in a submission to the government's National Aviation Policy Green Paper, said it believes the international air services policies of past governments have "not adequately balanced competing interests and that this has come at a cost to the tourism industry and consumer generally, through missed opportunities to capitalise on growth".

It singled out the so-called transpacific route between Australia and the US for particular criticism, saying that Australia's regulatory approach "maintains protection for Australian carriers, which is counter to its position of supporting open and free trade elsewhere."

The route is currently dominated by national carrier Qantas Airways and UAL Corp's United Airlines, due to a policy of only allowing Australian and US carriers to fly the route.

The Australian and US governments signed an open-skies agreement, allowing Australian or US-owned airlines to fly freely between the two countries, earlier this year. But the route is still closed to outside players such as Singapore Airlines.

"There is simply not enough competition on the transpacific route, with only Qantas and United Airlines servicing the route directly from Australia and fares are very high and uncompetitive as a result," Singapore Airlines said.

A third carrier, Virgin Blue, is finalising plans to fly between Australia and the US, via its V Australia unit, by the end of the year.

Protecting Qantas' interests is "serving only the interests of Qantas, not Australia's national interest, which depends on tourism growth," Singapore Airlines said.

Qantas operates around 50 services per week between Australia and Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. United Airlines has around 14 weekly services, while Hawaiian Airlines flies three times per week between Honolulu and Sydney.

Singapore Airlines said it is a "long-term player in the Australian market" and has a "keen interest" in developing a strong relationship with the new Australian government.

The airline has long coveted access to the lucrative transpacific route and had hoped a change in government in Australia last November would see a softening of opposition to its ambitions.

Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said in February that his government has no immediate plans to grant foreign carriers access to the Australia to US route and would only consider it if it was deemed in the interests of Australian travellers and the economy.

The Victorian government, in a separate submission, also called on the federal government to grant Singapore Airlines and other "third country" airlines access to the Australia to US route.

It said that, despite the recent open skies agreement with the US, establishing new services to Australia is not a high priority for US airlines. It wants the government to set a timetable for allowing Singapore Airlines and other international carriers access to the route.

Source: www.theaustralian.news.com.au

Labels: australia, open skies deal, Singapore Airlines

Air France-KLM Monday responded to soaring fuel costs by scaling back its capacity growth expectations for this winter and next summer, although it's still faring better than many of its U.S. and European rivals.

In a press release, the world's biggest airline by revenue said it now expects capacity for both this winter and next summer to be 2% up on the year. It didn't say what its previous expectations were, but a spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires it had cut back on its planned capacity expansion in response to higher fuel bills.

The move came amid speculation that Air France-KLM would have to follow the lead of many of its rivals and cut capacity from this fall in response to record fuel prices and weakening economies. In Europe, several airlines, including big rival British Airways, have said they will cut capacity. U.S. airlines have been even more drastic. American Airlines plans to cut 12% of capacity in the fourth quarter.

On the back of soaring oil prices, jet fuel prices have shot up to over $1,300 a metric ton from $850 a ton at the start of the year. Fuel is now typically either the top or second-highest single cost item for network airlines, representing some 34% of the cost base, according to the International Air Transport Association.

The trade body last month warned that airlines could turn in a combined net loss of $6.1 billion this year if the oil price remained at $135 for the rest of the year or a loss of $2.1 billion at an average 2008 price of $107.

Despite the planned capacity cuts starting this fall, many airlines are still enjoying passenger growth this summer. U.S. airlines last week reported passenger growth in June as travelers made good on their summer vacation plans, and several of Europe's big carriers Monday also reported growth.

Air France-KLM said traffic in June, measured in revenue passenger kilometers, was up 2.6% on the year. The number of passengers carried rose 1.3% to 6.8 million, from 6.7 million, although its load factor, a measure of how full seats were, fell to 81.5%, from 82.7%, because capacity was up 4.1%.

The Franco-Dutch airline said last year's figures had been boosted by two important trade shows in Paris, while this year's figures were hit by an air traffic control strike at Paris Orly airport.

Its cargo operations fared less well, with traffic down 1.5% and capacity up 1.8%.

One of Europe's major short haul budget airlines, easyJet, said it carried just over 4.1 million passengers in June, compared with 3.4 million a year earlier. The 19.5% rise is due mainly to the acquisition of GB Airways from British Airways, but analysts said the figures were solid.

The carrier's load factor rose slightly to 86.9%, from 86.8% a year earlier. It said that total revenue per seat continues to improve and nearly 70% of seats for the second half of this year have already been sold.

Irish airline Aer Lingus, meanwhile, said it carried 7.6% more passengers on the year in June, with short haul numbers up 7.8% and long haul numbers up 6.7%. Load factors fell slightly, to 81.% on short haul and 82.1% on long long haul, but the airline had increased capacity 13.8% and 12.8% on the year, respectively.

Source: money.cnn.com

Labels: Air France-KLM

British Airways is said to be close to seeking clearance from competition authorities for a three-way operational merger with American Airlines (AA) and Iberia.

The deal would allow the companies to combine nearly all aspects of their operations, including sales, purchasing and marketing, leading to lower costs and greater economies of scale. Legal sources in the United States said that a submission to the US Department of Transport was expected as soon as next week.

The operational partnership may also provide a foundation for a full merger of the carriers should foreign ownership rules in the United States and Spain change. BA said two months ago that it was in talks with AA and Continental, another American carrier, about creating an alliance, but Continental has since walked away.

BA and AA have continued their discussions and are believed to have invited Iberia - in which BA has a 13 per cent stake - to be the third member. BA said last night that its talks with AA were continuing but a decision had yet to be made.

If BA and AA do seek regulatory approval to merge their operations, it would be their third attempt, having been blocked by regulators in 1998 and 2001. The authorities in Britain and America were concerned that the

two carriers would have a dominant position on many North Atlantic routes and demanded that the airlines sell Heathrow slots to reduce their traffic.

However, sources familiar with BA's discussions said that the airline was more optimistic of gaining approval this time because of the liberalisation of air travel rules between Europe and the US. In addition, the dire state of the airline sector, which is striving to cope with high fuel prices, may force regulators to accept the deal.

AA lost $328 million (£164.7 million)and Iberia €28.3 million (£22.5 million) in the first quarter of this year. BA has given warning that it may struggle to stay profitable this year.

An analyst said: "There is a lot of pressure on BA and AA to do this deal and cut costs. It's inevitable." Another added: "Including Iberia makes sense, as it would give the alliance a strong position across both the North and South Atlantic."

Meanwhile, BA said yesterday that it had bought L'Avion, a French business-class only airline, for £54 million. L'Avion is the last of the survivors of the rush two years ago to launch all-business-class transatlantic services. Silverjet, MaxJet and Eos have all gone out of business.

L'Avion will be merged with BA's new OpenSkies service, which flies from Paris to New York. The purchase price includes L'Avion's £26million in cash and two Boeing 757 aircraft.

Source: timesonline.co.uk

Labels: american airlines, British Airways, Iberia, merger

Small-sized airlines are dropping out of the skies as record oil prices take their toll, giving British Airways a choice opportunity to boost its own tiny transatlantic venture.

The British carrier said on Wednesday it had bought a two-plane airline from France, called L'Avion, for a total cost of $107.6 million. The small deal will bolster British Airways' OpenSkies subsidiary, which launched last month with only one plane; once regulatory authorities clear the purchase, the carrier will run three daily flights between Newark and Paris Orly.

Shares in British Airways fell 1.7%, to 204 pence ($4.06), during afternoon trading in London, in line with the sector.

"The driver behind this is that the long-term survival of L'Avion is doubtful," said Geoff van Klaveren, analyst with Exane BNP Paribas. The privately-held business-class airline is reportedly unprofitable, which would not be surprising given the record price of fuel and the decline in demand for air travel.

The chief executive of L'Avion, Marc Rochet, said that the financial health of L'Avion was excellent; he told Forbes.com that the airline's cash position prior to the buy-out was 33 million euros ($52.4 million). His airline certainly has met a better fate than some: British business-class carrier Silverjet collapsed into bankruptcy last month, sacking all 420 staff. American equivalents like MAXjet Airways and EOS had filed for bankruptcy before then. (See "No Silver Lining For Silverjet")

A spokesperson for British Airways said that its OpenSkies venture hoped to reach profitability within the first three years of operation, and that the new acquisition did not change the time-frame.

Although there are almost no airlines similar to L'Avion available to whet British Airways' appetite going forward, the difficult business environment will likely see more carriers collapse into the arms of larger rivals.

"It's certainly an example of consolidation in the European industry," said Douglas McNeill, analyst with Blue Oar Securities. "My view would be that there will lots more to come."

Source: forbes.com

Labels: British Airways, l'avion, takeover