Tag Archives: Oneworld

LAN Argentina is evicted from its hangar in Buenos Aires, can it survive?

LAN Argentina (Buenos Aires) has been served notice to terminate its maintenance hangar lease at the downtown Aeroparque Jorge Newbery Airport in Buenos Aires. The Argentine airline of the LATAM Group is being evicted from the Aeroparque hangar although it has been faithfully paying its rent and has a contract through 2023. The carrier needs the hangar to maintain operations in Argentina. LAN Argentina has stated it will take the forced eviction to court in Argentina.

The airline competes against state-run Aerolineas Argentinas (Buenos Aires). According to this report by the BBC, the current government of Argentina, headed by Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, has been accused of protecting state-run companies in the past.

Meanwhile the government of Argentina has accused LAN Airlines and LAN Argentina of stirring up worker sentiment against Argentina.

Read the full report from the BBC: CLICK HERE

Read the full report from Reuters: CLICK HERE

Read analysis by Argentina Airline News: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Bernardo Andrade/AirlinersGallery.com. LAN Argentina’s Airbus A320-233 LV-BFO (msn 1877) in the Oneworld scheme, taxies at Aeroparque. The government wants to reportedly reserve the convenient downtown airport for the exclusive use of Aerolineas Argentinas and its subsidiary Austral.

Video: Arriving over Buenos Aires and landing at AEP:

LAN Argentina:

Airberlin and Jat Airways begin code sharing on August 1

Airberlin (airberlin.com) (Berlin) and Jat Airways (Belgrade), the national airline of the Republic of Serbia, will offer their passengers selected flights under shared flight numbers, subject to government approvals. The codeshare agreement is valid for flights from August 1, 2013.

Under the agreement, Airberlin will offer the nonstop Jat Airways flights between Belgrade and Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Stuttgart under an AB flight number, thereby expanding their route range in South East Europe.

In return, Jat Airways passengers will be able to connect from Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Stuttgart to numerous Airberlin German domestic flights. From Airberlin’s hub in Berlin there will be further codeshare flights to prime destinations in Northern Europe to cities such as Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm.

Top Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Airberlin’s Boeing 737-86J D-ABMC (msn 37752) in the Oneworld color scheme taxies to the gate at Palma de Mallorca.

Airberlin:

Jat Airways:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. Jat Airways’ Boeing 737-3H9 YU-AND (msn 23329) prepares to land at London (Heathrow).

Virgin Australia starts its new code share agreement with Airberlin

Virgin Australia Airlines (Brisbane) has announced a reciprocal code share and frequent flyer agreement with Airberlin (Berlin), Germany’s second largest airline.

The code share flights commence on August 1, 2013, subject to government approval, Virgin Australia will code share on Airberlin’s daily direct services from Abu Dhabi to Dusseldorf and Berlin. Airberlin will also code share on Virgin Australia’s Abu Dhabi to Sydney service, its Phuket to Perth service and on nine of its domestic services within Australia.

As part of the new agreement, members of Virgin Australia’s loyalty program Velocity Frequent Flyer and Airberlin’s top bonus program will receive reciprocal benefits, with the ability to earn and redeem Points or miles, regardless of which airline is operating the flight.

Airberlin operates daily direct services between Abu Dhabi and Berlin and between Abu Dhabi and Dusseldorf. The Airbus A330-200 operated services offer Full Flat seats with a massage function and 15 inch LED monitors in Business Class ensuring a superior level of comfort. In Economy Class, Airberlin offer new seats with anti-thrombosis cushions, a complimentary drinks service and a new in-seat entertainment system.

Top Copyright Photo: John Adlard/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 VH-XFC (msn 1293) arrives at the Sydney hub.

Virgin Australia:

Airberlin:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-223 D-ABXA (msn 288) in the Oneworld scheme taxies to the runway at Palma de Mallorca.

American Airlines restores nonstop New York-Dublin flights

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) today relaunched daily nonstop service between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Dublin Airport (DUB). The new flight is in addition to American’s existing nonstop service from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Dublin and complements its 12 other daily nonstop flights from JFK to Europe. The route will be operated with a two-class Boeing 757-200 with 181 seats.

Copyright Photo: Dave Glendinning/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 757-223 WL N174AA (msn 31308) in the Oneworld scheme taxies at London (Heathrow).

American Airlines:

Finnair uses Facebook for passengers to see who sitting near them

Finnair (Helsinki) has introduced a new social check-in service, which allows its passengers to link their Facebook profile with the seat map. When doing so, other passengers can see the passenger’s Facebook profile and the passenger can see who else has checked in on the same flight and where they are seated.

After completing check-in, the customer can tell his friends in his or her social networks where they are heading and their estimated time of arrival.

“Many people like telling their friends on Facebook where they are traveling. We wanted to make this a little bit easier and also add some value in the check-in process for those who want to see who they are traveling with and who are open to meeting new people,” says Aku Varamäki, Social media manager for Finnair.

“We want to make air travel more social and find new ways to utilize social media during customer journey in ways that delight our customers,” says Jarkko Konttinen, Vice President, Marketing, “We’re proud to be front-runners in utilizing social media and making air travel more social.”

The service only shows the customer’s public Facebook profile and is only visible to the passengers on the same flight. Using the social check-in service is voluntary, and customers can choose to travel “incognito” just like before. Also, it is possible to disable the social check-in at any time, thus preventing other passengers from seeing the social network profile in conjunction with the seat map.

In the first phase the service only includes Facebook but more social networks will be added later. The service was developed in partnership with Amadeus IT Group.

Finnair:

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Malaysia Airlines joins the oneworld alliance on February 1

Malaysia Airlines (Kuala Lumpur) tonight at midnight (February 1) became a part of oneworld^® at midnight Kuala Lumpur time, adding one of Asia’s leading airlines to the global airline alliance that aims to be the first choice for frequent international travelers the world over.

The first flight in the new alliance is MH 386, which departed Kuala Lumpur at 1.40 am (0140) for Shanghai (Pudong). The national airline of Malaysia will be offering oneworld’s full range of services and benefits. Another key focus flight for the airline is the first departure by the first of its aircraft featuring the full oneworld livery – an Airbus A330-300 (see above) operating flight MH 129 to Melbourne from Kuala Lumpur at 10.15 am.

For Malaysia Airlines, joining oneworld completes the latest phase of its repositioning plan. Becoming part of the world’s premier global airline alliance will strengthen its competitiveness, enabling it to offer customers an unrivalled alliance global network served by partners including some of the best and biggest airlines in the world.

Malaysia Airlines, which serves more than 60 destinations in almost 30 countries, will substantially expand the alliance’s network in one of the world’s fastest growing economic powerhouses, South East Asia.

Its addition to oneworld makes Malaysia – which has one of the world’s 30 biggest national economies and with a population of almost 30 million – a home market for the alliance. Its capital Kuala Lumpur, the world’s 10^thmost visited city by international visitors according to the latest annual Mastercard survey, is now a oneworld hub.

Malaysia Airlines connects new 16 destinations and one country – Brunei – to the oneworld map. More significantly, it will strengthen the alliance’s connectivity between many key business cities in Asia and other parts of the world.

Its addition expands oneworld’s global coverage to 842 destinations in 156 countries, served by some 9,000 departures a day operated by a combined fleet of some 2,500 aircraft, carrying nearly 340 million passengers a year, with annual revenues of US$ 110 billion. Add oneworld’s other members elect – Qatar Airways and Sri Lankan Airlines – and the alliance network will reach 860 destinations in 159 countries.

Currently three of oneworld’s active member airlines serve three points in Malaysia, with Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and Royal Jordanian flying to Kuala Lumpur, Cathay Pacific operating to Penang and its Dragonair regional affiliate to Kota Kinabalu.

Copyright Photo: T. K. Ali. It is a new dawn for Malaysia Airlines. The pictured Airbus A330-323X 9M-MTE (msn 1243) at Kuala Lumpur is the first aircraft in the company to wear the Oneworld livery.

Malaysia Airlines:

Video:

QANTAS to deploy wide-body Airbus A330 on all weekday Sydney-Perth and Melbourne-Perth services

QANTAS Airways (Sydney) has announced it will deploy wide-body Airbus A330s on all weekday Sydney-Perth and Melbourne-Perth services as it continues to meet demand for business and premium travel on the routes.

QANTAS has added a ninth A330 flying on the domestic network. Airbus A330-202 VH-EBV (msn 1365) was accepted on November 23.

The airline has 30 wide-body aircraft operating on domestic routes in Australia, made up of Airbus A330s and Boeing 767-300s.

The new QANTAS A330-202 is configured with 36 seats in Business and 268 seats in Economy. Airbus has installed the latest Panasonic on-demand in-flight entertainment and laptop power in every seat.

By March, QANTAS will have refurbished 16 Boeing 767-300 aircraft with new interiors and individual inflight entertainment streamed direct to iPads in every seat.

In the past 12 months QANTAS has resumed services from Sydney to the Gold Coast, built new lounges at Gold Coast, Gladstone, Mackay, Emerald, Davenport and Rockhampton airport, commenced services to a number of new regional and Fly-In-Fly-Out destinations and introduced a number of new initiatives to improve customer experiences including free Wi-Fi at airports and dedicated premium boarding.

Copyright Photo: Olivier Gregoire. Airbus A330-202 F-WWKN (msn 1365) in the Oneworld motif at Toulouse became VH-EBV on the handover.

QANTAS Airways:

AMR and the Allied Pilot Association (APA) agree on a new contract

AMR Corporation (Dallas/Fort Worth) (American Airlines) and the Allied Pilots Association (APA) (Dallas/Fort Worth) have agreed on a new contract, still subject to the approval of the members.

Read the full report from Reuters: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough. Members of the Oneworld alliance a sighing in relief with this agreement, if approved, it will allow AA to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Boeing 767-323 ER N395AN (msn 29432) approaches the runway for landing at Miami.

American Airlines:

American’s pilots are talking with the US Airways’ pilots about a transitional labor agreement

American Airlines‘ (Dallas/Fort Worth) pilots, represented by the Allied Pilots Association (APA), have been meeting with the pilots of US Airways (Phoenix) and CEO Doug Parker about a transitional labor agreement and also about possible airline consolidation between the two carriers according to this article by the Tulsa World. The APA pilots are united in their opposition against American CEO Tom Horton. The pilots of American are the last labor group holding out against a new labor agreement and are threatening to strike if their current contract is voided by the bankruptcy court. The judge is due to rule on September 4.

Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing. Boeing 777-223 ER N791AN (msn 30254) of American Airlines in the Oneworld motif climbs away from the runway at Los Angeles International Airport.

American Slide Show:

US Airways Slide Show:

AMR Corporation posts a net loss of $241 million in the second quarter due to special items

AMR Corporation (Dallas/Fort Worth), the parent company of American Airlines, Inc., today reported second quarter revenue of $6.5 billion, an increase of 5.5 percent year-over-year and the highest quarterly revenue in company history.

In the second quarter of 2012, the company reported a net profit of $95 million, excluding reorganization and special items – a $381 million improvement over the second quarter of 2011. AMR incurred a net loss of $241 million compared to a net loss of $286 million in the same period of 2011.

Consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (unit revenue) grew 9.1 percent compared to the second quarter of 2011, and mainline passenger unit revenue increased 8.7 percent.

Consolidated passenger yield, representing average fares paid, increased 7.1 percent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2012, and mainline passenger yield increased 6.8 percent.
Mainline capacity, or total available seat miles, in the second quarter of 2012 decreased 2.4 percent compared to the same period in 2011.
American’s second quarter 2012 mainline load factor, or the percentage of total seats filled, was 85.1 percent – a record for any quarter.

The company’s revenue performance was driven by year-over-year yield improvement and a higher consolidated load factor of 84.5 percent – a record for any quarter as well. Domestic unit revenue improved 8.6 percent in the second quarter versus the same period last year and, for the second consecutive quarter, the company experienced unit revenue increases across all five of its hubs. These results were supported by strong corporate revenue growth.

International unit revenue increased 9.0 percent in the second quarter, driven by increased load factors across all entities, and strong yield performance. Premium cabin demand improved significantly in both the Atlantic and Pacific entities, generating unit revenue increases of 8.5 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively. American and its joint-business partners, British Airways and Iberia over the Atlantic, and Japan Airlines over the Pacific, have gained momentum in attracting high-value customers to the airlines’ enhanced networks. The Latin American entity posted a 6.7 percent unit revenue increase in the second quarter of 2012, including yield improvements in Mexico and Central and South America.

The second quarter 2012 results include $336 million in special charges and reorganization items.

Of that amount, $106 million is related to a special charge, primarily associated with employee severance-related costs.
The company recognized $230 million in reorganization items resulting from its and certain of its direct and indirect U.S. subsidiaries’ voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 on Nov. 29, 2011. These items are primarily from estimated claims associated with restructuring the financing arrangements for certain aircraft and rejecting certain special facility revenue bonds, as well as professional fees.

Taking into account the impact of fuel hedging, AMR paid approximately $3.24 per gallon for jet fuel in the second quarter of 2012 versus approximately $3.12 per gallon in the second quarter of 2011, a 3.8 percent increase. As a result, the company paid $81 million more for fuel in the second quarter of 2012 than it would have paid at prevailing prices from the prior-year period.

AMR ended the second quarter with approximately $5.8 billion in cash and short-term investments, including a restricted cash balance of $772 million, compared to a balance of approximately $5.6 billion in cash and short-term investments, including a restricted balance of approximately $457 million, at the end of the second quarter of 2011.

At November 30, 2011, the company had approximately $4.8 billion in cash and short-term investments, including a restricted cash balance of $693 million.

Later this year, the company will start placing into service the newest addition to its fleet, the Boeing 777-300 ER, which will showcase a number of special features, including fully lie-flat First and Business Class seating, with direct aisle access from every seat; specially designed Main Cabin Extra seating with more legroom and comfort; international Wi-Fi and in-seat entertainment throughout all cabins.

In addition, the company recently unveiled plans for upgrading its international widebody fleet of Boeing 777-200 ERs and Boeing 767-300 ERs, which will also offer industry-leading interiors and amenities as well as fully lie-flat Business Class seats with aisle access for every seat.

Copyright Photo: Andi Hiltl. Boeing 767-323 ER N395AN dressed in the Oneworld motif prepares to touch down at Zurich. Meanwhile Willie Walsh, chief executive of the International Airlines Group (IAG), told a meeting of aviation industry representatives he supports any merger that will strengthen its oneworld alliance partner American Airlines according to this report by Reuters.

Read the full story: CLICK HERE

American Airlines: