AIRLINE NEWS
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Virgin says sales are up thanks to T5 troubles
Virgin Atlantic claimed yesterday it was still boosting sales in the aftermath of the troubled Terminal 5 opening, with passenger numbers rising 6% last month.
The airline will announce today that it is hiring 100 extra cabin crew as it adds an extra flight to its daily London to Hong Kong service.
Virgin Atlantic said it was seeing strong sales on services to the Caribbean and the US despite a downturn in consumer confidence and rising fuel surcharges, driven by the high oil price.
"We have definitely taken market share post-T5," said Paul Charles, Virgin Atlantic's director of communications. "There is still massive demand to fly long haul to countries where the pound is strong and the dollar is weak, such as the Caribbean and the US."
British Airways, the only tenant at T5, reported a 0.7% drop in traffic last month.
However, it said its most profitable customers were still flying in large numbers, with premium sales on long-haul routes ahead of the same period last year.
Virgin Atlantic said premium sales in May were up 10% for the second successive month.
Analysts believe the airline founded by Sir Richard Branson is in a weaker financial position than its close rival as high fuel costs threaten profits across the industry.
BA achieved a profit margin of 10% last year and record pre-tax profits of £883m. Virgin Atlantic has yet to publish its results for the 2007-08 financial year.
The carrier is expected to avoid a loss despite achieving a profit of just £6.6m in the year to February 2007, when the airline market was approaching its peak.
BA and Ryanair have admitted recently that they will struggle to make a profit in the financial year as a result of a combination of high fuel costs and weakening demand. Both hope to capitalise on the collapse of weaker rivals, with the global industry expected to make a collective loss of $6bn (£3bn) if the oil price stays at record levels.
The future of another BA rival, Silverjet, was still in the balance last night as its administrators held rescue talks with three parties.
The business class carrier's administrator, Begbies Traynor, confirmed that an investment vehicle managed by Swiss management company Heritage had tabled an offer to buy and relaunch the airline.
Heritage is working with Lawrence Hunt, Silverjet's founder and chief executive, who has blamed the grounding of his airline on negative comments from financial analysts rather than the crippling surge in fuel costs.
Source: guardian.co.uk
The airline will announce today that it is hiring 100 extra cabin crew as it adds an extra flight to its daily London to Hong Kong service.
Virgin Atlantic said it was seeing strong sales on services to the Caribbean and the US despite a downturn in consumer confidence and rising fuel surcharges, driven by the high oil price.
"We have definitely taken market share post-T5," said Paul Charles, Virgin Atlantic's director of communications. "There is still massive demand to fly long haul to countries where the pound is strong and the dollar is weak, such as the Caribbean and the US."
British Airways, the only tenant at T5, reported a 0.7% drop in traffic last month.
However, it said its most profitable customers were still flying in large numbers, with premium sales on long-haul routes ahead of the same period last year.
Virgin Atlantic said premium sales in May were up 10% for the second successive month.
Analysts believe the airline founded by Sir Richard Branson is in a weaker financial position than its close rival as high fuel costs threaten profits across the industry.
BA achieved a profit margin of 10% last year and record pre-tax profits of £883m. Virgin Atlantic has yet to publish its results for the 2007-08 financial year.
The carrier is expected to avoid a loss despite achieving a profit of just £6.6m in the year to February 2007, when the airline market was approaching its peak.
BA and Ryanair have admitted recently that they will struggle to make a profit in the financial year as a result of a combination of high fuel costs and weakening demand. Both hope to capitalise on the collapse of weaker rivals, with the global industry expected to make a collective loss of $6bn (£3bn) if the oil price stays at record levels.
The future of another BA rival, Silverjet, was still in the balance last night as its administrators held rescue talks with three parties.
The business class carrier's administrator, Begbies Traynor, confirmed that an investment vehicle managed by Swiss management company Heritage had tabled an offer to buy and relaunch the airline.
Heritage is working with Lawrence Hunt, Silverjet's founder and chief executive, who has blamed the grounding of his airline on negative comments from financial analysts rather than the crippling surge in fuel costs.
Source: guardian.co.uk
Labels: Heathrow, Virgin Atlantic
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Airlines fly off the handle at BA's T5 delay
Anger is growing among airlines whose Heathrow relocation plans have been thrown into doubt by British Airways' decision to delay transferring its transatlantic operation to Terminal 5.
telegraph.co.uk
telegraph.co.uk
Labels: British Airways, Heathrow
Thursday, April 03, 2008
British Airways gets Italy's help in returning misplaced luggage
British Airways canceled more flights at its new terminal at London Heathrow Airport on Wednesday and sought help from Italy in returning misplaced luggage to its customers.
iht.com
iht.com
Labels: British Airways, Heathrow
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
28,000 bags caught in T5 foul-up
It will take up to a week to return 28,000 bags placed in temporary storage after troubles at Heathrow's Terminal 5, a government minister has said.
news.bbc.co.uk
news.bbc.co.uk
Labels: Heathrow
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Technical glitches hit T5 opening
Cancelled flights, baggage delays and a temporary suspension in check-in have blighted the opening day of Heathrow's new £:4.3bn Terminal 5.
news.bbc.co.uk
news.bbc.co.uk
Labels: cancellations, Heathrow
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Debut A380 flight lands in London
The Airbus A380 super-jumbo has completed its first European commercial flight after a plane from Singapore landed at London's Heathrow airport.
news.bbc.co.uk
news.bbc.co.uk
Labels: A380, Heathrow, Singapore Airlines
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Airlines faces 23.5 pct rise in Heathrow charges
Britain's aviation industry regulator said on Tuesday that London's crowded Heathrow airport would be allowed to charge airlines 23.5 percent more in the year starting April 1, more than it had originally envisaged.
reuters.com
reuters.com
Labels: Heathrow
Friday, January 18, 2008
Airliner crash-lands at Heathrow
A passenger plane has crash-landed short of a runway at Heathrow Airport, ripping off part of its undercarriage.
All 136 passengers and 16 crew escaped from the British Airways flight BA038 from Beijing. Eighteen people have been taken to hospital with minor injuries.
news.bbc.co.uk
All 136 passengers and 16 crew escaped from the British Airways flight BA038 from Beijing. Eighteen people have been taken to hospital with minor injuries.
news.bbc.co.uk
Labels: British Airways, crash, Heathrow
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Open skies ends a closed shop
Passengers will soon have more choice over which airline to fly with from Heathrow to the US.
business.timesonline.co.uk
business.timesonline.co.uk
Labels: Heathrow, open skies deal, US
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Air France, Delta to target Heathrow-U.S. routes
Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines will team up on routes linking major U.S. cities and London's Heathrow airport in a direct challenge to rival British Airways.
uk.reuters.com
uk.reuters.com
Labels: Air France-KLM, British Airways, Delta, Heathrow, US
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Two aircraft collide at Heathrow
Two airliners have been involved in a collision while taxiing at Heathrow airport. One was a British Airways Boeing 747 departing for Singapore and the other was a Sri Lankan Airlines Airbus A340.
news.bbc.co.uk
news.bbc.co.uk
Labels: British Airways, collide, Heathrow, srilankan airlines
Friday, September 14, 2007
Alitalia planning to sell slots at Heathrow to raise cash
Alitalia SpA is planning to sell take-off and landing slots at Heathrow airport to help raise cash to fund operations, the daily Il Sole 24 Ore said without citing sources.
uk.biz.yahoo.com
uk.biz.yahoo.com
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Airlines urge end of BAA's Heathrow grip
Britain's largest airlines want BAA's control of Heathrow to be broken by a sale of individual terminals to rival companies, The Times has learnt.
business.timesonline.co.uk
business.timesonline.co.uk
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Probe after BA planes collide at Heathrow
British Airways said Tuesday it had launched an investigation after two planes clipped each other while taxiing at London's Heathrow airport, causing some damage but no one was injured.
uk.news.yahoo.com (page not found)
uk.news.yahoo.com (page not found)
Labels: British Airways, collide, Heathrow
Monday, March 12, 2007
Phantom flight service grounded
BMI is to cancel a 'phantom' service after confirmation that the airline is flying an empty 124-seat plane between Cardiff and London six times a week in order to retain landing slots at Heathrow.
guardian.co.uk
guardian.co.uk
Labels: BMI, Heathrow, phantom
Thursday, January 25, 2007
BA strike shuts down Heathrow Gatwick
No British Airways passengers will be able to fly out of Heathrow from 12.01am Tuesday January 30 to 11.59pm Wednesday January 31, with BA canceling 1300 flights after talks to avert strike action failed.
timesonline.co.uk (page not found)
timesonline.co.uk (page not found)
Labels: British Airways, Heathrow, strike
