NETHERLANDS: KLM Declines To Accommodate Its Stranded Passengers

Dutch airline, KLM, is ignoring its legal obligations to stranded passengers and telling them that it is unable to book hotel rooms.

The false assertion is contained in a letter handed to travellers at the airline’s main base, Amsterdam Schiphol, which claims that hotels do not allow KLM to make reservations.

KLM emphasises that: Only individual travellers are allowed to book rooms.

In fact KLM, like any airline, is perfectly capable of booking rooms for stranded travellers. Indeed, it is obliged to do so under European air passengers’ rights rules for passengers who are stuck overnight.

Initially the flight was delayed. But then the airline apparently told passengers that due to a shortage of cabin crew the flight was cancelled.

At this stage the airline is obliged to provide them with a flight booking for the following day, a hotel and transport to get there as well as meals until they are due to leave.

Instead, staff handed passengers a bottle of water, a bar of chocolate and a letter containing a series of misleading statements, starting with: “Hotels do not allow us, an airline, to book rooms for our passengers.”

British Airways, easyJet and the Netherlands Board of Tourism have confirmed that there is no restriction on airlines booking hotel rooms around Amsterdam airport.

The letter goes on to say: We are left with no other option but to inform you of ways to book accommodation yourself. It suggests a number of websites, and recommends that passengers unable to find accommodation in the airport area should try Rotterdam, The Hague or Utrecht.

The rail journey to Utrecht late at night takes over an hour and involves a change of trains at Amsterdam Centraal.

Some passengers had no money and were very upset at the idea of spending the night in the airport.

They ended up flying on Aer Lingus from Amsterdam via Dublin to Manchester, where they arrived 22 hours late.

Under European air passengers’ rights rules, they asked for compensation of €250 each. But KLM rejected the claim, saying the cancellation was due to gusty wind from an unfavourable direction.

The passengers say that at the time of the delay they were simply told no cabin crew were available.

KLM insists that it is compliant with our obligations under the passengers’ rights rules.

KLM said that it has contracts with hotels for a certain amount of accommodation: Once the quota of rooms as per contract has been reached, hotels will not accept airline bookings as they require direct payment.

But there is no reason why the airline should not make payments via company credit cards or even cash.

KLM said: In the interest of good customer service, KLM offers its passengers information on ways to book accommodation. This is a genuine effort to be helpful to passengers.

Rather than having its passengers staying in lengthy queues, KLM prefers to give its passengers an opportunity to book hotels themselves.

There is nothing wrong with offering travellers choice, but they must always be provided with rooms if they prefer or unable to pay.


Tourism Observer

NORWAY: Norwegian Boeing 737 Sustains Hydraulic Failure, Lufthansa In Talks With Norwegian

A Norwegian Air International Boeing 737-800, performing flight D8-6241 from Keflavik - Iceland to Madrid - Spain with 152 people on board, was enroute at FL350 about 20nm north of Belfast International - Northern Ireland when the crew reported a hydraulic failure and decided to divert to Birmingham,EN (UK).

The aircraft landed safely in Birmingham about one hour later.

The aircraft stopped on the runway, emergency services foamed the aircraft when a hydraulic leak was seen from the left main gear.

The airport reported the aircraft diverted due to hydraulic failure. Flights were suspended for about 4 hours as result.

The airline reported a techncial issue.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa’s CEO Carsten Spohr told German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung: "There's a new wave of consolidation approaching. That means we are also in contact with Norwegian.

International Consolidated Airlines Group PLC could face a tough battle if it were to bid for Norwegian Air Shuttle after the boss of Deutsche Lufthansa said the German airline was interested in making a bid for the low-cost airline.

Lufthansa’s CEO Carsten Spohr said In Europe, everyone is talking to everyone. There's a new wave of consolidation approaching. That means we are also in contact with Norwegian.

He added: Takeovers are always a question of strategic value, the price and anti-trust. There are no easy answers.

IAG - the owner of British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus - bought a 4.6% stake in Norwegian in April and has made two offers for the airline, both of which were rejected.

The spokesperson for Norwegian said: Norwegian confirms that it has received enquiries from several parties following IAG’s acquisition of shares in the company.

These parties have expressed indicative and preliminary interest in share acquisitions, mergers, structured transactions, financing of the group and various forms of operational and financial cooperation, the spokesman said.

Norwegian believes that interest from several parties demonstrates the attractiveness of our business, he added.

Norwegian carries more than 30mln passengers a year, including 5.2mln from the UK following a rapid expansion with flights costing as little as £99 one-way to New York.


Tourism Observer

USA: Allegiant Acquires First Airbus A320ceo

American ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant has taken delivery of its first Alabama-made Airbus A320ceo, joining a fleet of 31 A319s, 40 A320s, and 29 McDonnell-Douglas MD-80s.

The airline is on its way to becoming an all-Airbus carrier, progressively replacing its older MD-80s with brand-new planes.

We are proud to deliver Allegiant their first Airbus aircraft manufactured in Mobile, said Bob Lekites, Executive Vice President of Customers for Airbus Americas.

According to Airbus, this is the 69th aircraft that the Mobile assembly line has delivered since it opened in 2015.

Back in 2016, Allegiant placed an order for 12 Airbus A320ceo planes. The airline took delivery of its first A320 in May 2016, unveiling it at an event at Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB).

This delivery is also an important step in our transition to an all-Airbus fleet, increasing efficiencies across our entire operation, remarked Maury Gallagher, CEO, and chairman, Allegiant.

According to the CEO, these planes will bring economic advantages in fuel savings and higher seat capacity.

Allegiant’s overall fleet age averages at 17.0 years.

The airline’s A319/A320 fleet averages 12.9 years, as most of these planes come from airlines like easyJet, Vueling, Aer Lingus, and CEBU Pacific Air.

Commercial aircraft company officials gathered in Alabama to celebrate the delivery of the first U.S.-produced Allegiant aircraft.

The Airbus Final Assembly was the 69th jet delivered but the first one built in the country, Al.com reported. The low-fare carrier is based in Las Vegas that has routes connecting to cities including New Orleans, Jacksonville, Savannah, San Diego, Orlando, New York, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Austin.


The company described its newest jet as “the 11th of 13 new A320 aircraft scheduled for purchase directly from Airbus, to be inducted into Allegiant’s fleet this year.”

The new jets had previously been built in Toulouse, France and Hamburg, Germany.

Allegiant has 99 Airbus jets in service or on order and plans to be flying an all-Airbus fleet by the end of the year.

“Today’s delivery is an exciting milestone for Allegiant and our ongoing commitment to providing access to affordable, safe and reliable air travel for many people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to fly,” said Maury Gallagher, CEO and chairman of Allegiant. “This delivery is also an important step in our transition to an all-Airbus fleet, increasing efficiencies across our entire operation, and bringing economic advantages in fuel savings, higher seat capacity and more.”

More than 380 Airbus representatives, executives from Airbus and Allegiant Air, a team of Allegiant employees gathered at the Airbus production facility in Mobile.

Bob Lekites, Executive Vice President of Customers for Airbus Americas, said the relationship between the two companies “has allowed Allegiant to expand their ultra-low cost consumer flight options. “

Lekites added: “We are proud to deliver Allegiant their first Airbus aircraft manufactured in Mobile, and we look forward to providing them more aircraft that exceed customer expectations.”

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Allegiant Travel Company ALGT . Shares have added about 5% in that time frame.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is ALGT due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

First-quarter results

Allegiant's first-quarter earnings of $3.42 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.00. Also, the bottom line improved significantly on a year-over-year basis. Results were aided by the strong demand for air travel.

Quarterly revenues increased in double-digits year over year to $425.4 million, marginally above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $425.1 million. Moreover, the top line was boosted primarily by a significant increase (14.1%) in passenger revenues.

Systemwide air traffic (measured in revenue passenger miles) in the reported quarter rose 14.3% and capacity (measured in available seat miles) expanded 10.4% year over year. Load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) was 83%, up 280 basis points as capacity expansion was outweighed by traffic growth.

Cost per available seat miles (CASM) excluding fuel, decreased 2%. Total scheduled service revenue per available seat miles (TRASM) also inched up 1.4% to 11.30 cents.

TRASM in the quarter is expected to decrease by two percentage points driven by Easter, falling partly in the first quarter this time. High demand for air travel during Easter generates more passenger revenues and in turn, boosts unit revenues. Additionally, scheduled and system ASMs are anticipated to increase between 10% and 14%.

The company expects fuel cost per gallon of $$2.20 for the full year. The previous forecast for the metric was $2.17 per gallon. Additionally, effective tax rate is now anticipated between 21% and 22%. Earlier, the metric was estimated at 24-25%. This upside is owing to dissolution of foreign subsidiaries leading to adjustment of deferred tax balance. Capital expenditures are now projected at $300 million, higher than the earlier predicted $290 million.

The company continues to expect earnings per share in the band of $10-$12 for the current year. System capacity is likely to increase between 11% and 15%, unchanged from its past guidance.

It turns out, fresh estimates have trended downward during the past month. There have been five revisions lower for the current quarter. Last month, the consensus estimate has shifted downward by 12.2% due to these changes.

At this time, ALGT has a nice Growth Score of B, however its Momentum is doing a bit better with an A. Following the exact same course, the stock was also allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Based on our scores, the stock is equally suitable for value and momentum investors than growth investors.

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, ALGT has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.


Tourism Observer

GERMANY: Ryanair Boeing 737-800 Flight From Barcelona To Hamburg Overrun Runway

Ryanair Boeing 737-800, performing flight from Barcelona to Hamburg, landed on Hamburg’s runway 05 following a non-precision approach but overran the displaced end of the runway.

The aircraft vacated the runway via taxiway E6 instead of last usable exit A6 and taxied to the apron.

The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground in Hamburg for 7 hours before returning to service.

On May 17th 2018 Germany’s DFS (ATC Provider) reported the aircraft was unable to stop before the last exit A6 and vacated via the next exit immediately before the begining of the reconstruction works.

The area between A6 and E6 was kept clear as a safety buffer zone, hence no machinery, men or other obstacles were on the runway in this area and no critical situation arose.

Like all runway excursions this occurrence is being investigated internally by the DFS.

Airport and the works permitting authorities (LBA) have been informed about the runway excursion.

Meanwhile, Ryanair passengers will soon have less time to check-in unless they pay extra to reserve their seat.

The budget airline said its check-in window for passengers who have not paid for reserved seating will shrink from four days to 48 hours starting June 13.

But if customers pay for a reserved seat, which costs from £4 about $5.50 each way but rises to £15 about $20 for seats with more leg room, they will be allowed to check in up to 60 days before flying.

Passengers who turn up at the airport and have not already checked in online will be charged an extra £55 about $74.

The latest rule change comes just months after a controversial baggage policy change.

Passengers now have to pay £5 about $6.75 for priority boarding to avoid having their main cabin bag checked in to the hold at their departure gate.

The new check-in policy could encourage travellers on weekend breaks to pay for reserved seating or be forced to find ways to check in online while they are on holiday.

In 2016, passengers could check in for free up to a week before departure, but this was cut to four days and will now move to 48 hours.

The airline has also faced widespread criticism for its seat allocation policy when passengers haven't paid to reserve a seat.

Many couples travelling together have reported finding themselves seated at opposite ends of the aircraft despite Ryanair claiming that the allocation policy is random.

A Ryanair spokesman said Online check-in for those customers who don’t choose reserved seats will be available from 48 hours to 2 hours pre-departure for all flights from Wednesday, 13th June.

This is double the 24 hour check-in period operated by Aer Lingus, British Airways, Lufthansa, Norwegian and Iberia.

This will give reserve seat customers more time to select their preferred seats prior to departure.


Tourism Observer

UNITED KINGDOM: IAG Buys New Aircraft For Its Low Cost Long-haul Airline Level

International Airlines Group is converting three Airbus A330-200 long-haul aircraft options into firm orders for Level, its new low cost long-haul airline brand which started operations in early June.

The aircraft will be delivered in summer 2018 and will facilitate Level’s expansion.

Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive, said: “Level has already been incredibly successful and these aircraft will enable it to expand.

“Long-haul flights are now available to many people for the first time and we’re extremely pleased with the customer response in all of Level’s markets.

“It will continue to stimulate demand by providing people with more choice.”

These modern, fuel efficient aircraft will bring both cost efficiencies and environmental benefits to Level.

International Consolidated Airlines Group, S.A., often shortened to IAG, is an Anglo-Spanish multinational airline holding company with its operational headquarters in London, England and its registered office in Madrid, Spain.

It was formed in January 2011 after a merger agreement between British Airways and Iberia, the flag carrier airlines of the United Kingdom and Spain respectively.

As British Airways was the larger company, those holding shares in British Airways at the time of the merger were given 55% of the shares in the new, merged company. British Airways and Iberia ceased to be independent companies and instead became 100% owned subsidiaries of IAG.

It is the sixth-largest airline company in the world, producing €22.567 billion revenue in 2016.The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Madrid Stock Exchange. It is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index and IBEX 35 Index.

British Airways and Iberia signed a preliminary merger agreement in November 2009.In April 2010, British Airways and Iberia signed a full merger agreement, with an intended completion date of late 2010, subject to securing the necessary regulatory approvals.

The merger between British Airways and Iberia was completed on 21 January 2011, and shares in the new holding company IAG and began trading in London and Madrid on 24 January.

In March 2011, IAG agreed to purchase eight Airbus A330-300 aircraft and to take options on eight more, to be used for Iberia's longhaul fleet.

On 6 October 2011, IAG created Iberia Express, a new low-cost airline to operate short and medium-haul routes from IAG's Madrid hub and provide transfer feed onto Iberia's longhaul network.

Iberia Express began operations on 25 March 2012.

On 4 November 2011, IAG agreed in principle to acquire British Midland International (BMI) from Lufthansa for an undisclosed sum, in a deal which would increase IAG's share of slots at Heathrow airport from 45% to 54%.

On 22 December 2011, IAG agreed a binding deal with Lufthansa to acquire BMI for £172.5 million.On 30 March 2012, the purchase of BMI was approved, subject to the condition that the combined group divest itself of 12 daily slots and lease two daily slots at Heathrow airport.

The acquisition was completed on 20 April 2012, and the BMI fleet and routes were integrated into the British Airways schedule throughout 2012.

On 8 November 2012 International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) made a cash tender offer to buy Vueling, the Spanish low-cost airline based in Barcelona.

The offer, was €7 per ordinary share of Vueling with the total cost of acquiring the shares anticipated to be €113m. It was funded from internal IAG resources.

The reported total assets of Vueling as of 30 September 2012 were €805m and in the nine months to 30 September 2012 it generated profits before tax of €59m.

An increased offer of €9.25 was accepted by the Vueling board on 9 April 2013 and received majority shareholder approval on 23 April 2013. IAG took control of Vueling on 26 April 2013.In December 2012, IAG completed the merger of the cargo operations of British Airways, BMI and Iberia into a single business unit, IAG Cargo.

In April 2013, IAG confirmed the conversion of options to acquire 18 Boeing 787 Dreamliners into firm orders, in a deal worth around US$4.5 billion.

The aircraft are planned to replace some of the British Airways fleet of Boeing 747s between 2017 and 2021. On 16 October 2013, Iberia unveiled a new livery used from the end of November 2013.

At the Farnborough Airshow 2014, IAG converted the options for 20 Airbus A320neo aircraft into firm orders which are currently intended to replace 21 shorthaul British Airways aircraft.

In January 2015, IAG made an bid of £1 billion for Aer Lingus. This was expected to be accepted, after the rejection of two prior bids. In May 2015, the Irish government agreed to sell its stake in Aer Lingus to IAG, as did the Aer Lingus board in late January 2015.The takeover became irreversible on the 18 August 2015.

On 1 March 2015 Stephen Kavanagh was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Aer Lingus, and executive director of the Aer Lingus Board.

In October 2015 Rachel Izzard was appointed chief financial officer of Aer Lingus, and also appointed to the Aer Lingus Board of Directors,prior to joining Aer Lingus, Rachel Izzard was Chief Financial Officer at IAG Cargo.

In November, 2015 Alex Cruz was named Executive Chairman of British Airways. Steve Gunning was appointed chief financial officer of British Airways.

In April 2016, it was announced that Qatar Airways increased its shareholding of IAG from 9.99% to close to 12%.In May 2016, Qatar Airways increased its shareholding to 15.01%.

In March 2017 it was announced that a new low cost longhaul airline named LEVEL was to start operating from Barcelona in June 2017.

IAG's operational headquarters, which controls the management of both its British and Spanish subsidiaries, are at the Waterside building in Harmondsworth, London.

IAG is incorporated in Spain as a Sociedad Anonima, where the company board meetings are held, and is domiciled in Spain for tax purposes.

IAG has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and has been a FTSE 100 constituent since 24 January 2011.It has secondary listings on the Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia stock exchanges, and has been a constituent of the IBEX 35 index since 1 April 2011.

Qatar Airways is a minority shareholder, and held 20.01% of the shares on 29 July 2016.

Divisions, subsidiaries and franchises

The structure of the main operating companies is:

- Republic of Ireland Aer Lingus

- Republic of Ireland Aer Lingus Regional (franchise)

- United Kingdom British Airways

- United Kingdom BA CityFlyer

- France OpenSkies

- South Africa Comair (18% stake)

- Denmark SUN-AIR (franchise)

- Spain United Kingdom IAG Cargo (merger between Iberia Cargo and British Airways World Cargo)

- Spain Iberia

- Spain Air Nostrum (franchise, trading as Iberia Regional)

- Spain Iberia Express

- Spain LEVEL

- Spain Vueling

- Avios Group (operates the IAG frequent-flyer programme)

By 2012 it was reported that British Airways profits had been wiped out by Iberia losses, placing the Spanish airline in a fight for its survival. IAG workers in Madrid reported they believed Iberia to be the junior partner in IAG citing deep concern for the airline.

By 2013 Iberia had lost a billion euros leaving IAG chief executive, Willie Walsh to defend the British Airways-Iberia merger.

In May of the same year, Iberia had suffered further losses and IAG's balance sheet was now in deep deficit as Iberia fought low-cost competition and a deep recession.

Willie Walsh admitted that perhaps British Airways should have postponed the IAG merger, saying, If I’d known the Spanish economy was going to deteriorate to the scale that it did, we may have delayed the decision but ultimately I believe the merger is the right thing

Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Vueling and LEVEL operate under their separate brand names.

As of 17 January 2014, IAG had a total of 464 aircraft with 150 aircraft on order and in excess of 110 options.

The most popular type operated is the Airbus A320 series, with a combined fleet of 226 aircraft.

For details of the current aircraft operated by the group, see the fleet details for each of the main operating subsidiaries - Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Vueling.

The entire company serves around 200 destinations. For a list of destinations, refer to the respective lists of destinations of different IAG subsidiaries.

IAG operates the Avios frequent-flyer programme, which was known as Air Miles until 16 November 2011. Avios points are the frequent flyer currency of Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, LEVEL and Flybe,and can also be used for travel within the Oneworld alliance.

A restructure in 2015 meant that all of IAG's affiliated loyalty programmes which use Avios, including Avios Travel Reward Programme, Iberia Plus and British Airways Executive Club were transferred to Avios Group, an IAG subsidiary.

Reducing Airline Leg Room And Seats

The thing about having everything Irish in one room is that sooner rather than later aviation talk will come up. The Irish consider themselves the godfathers of aviation. And who can hold that against them?

Whether by coincidence or suitable geo-location, Shannon Airport in Ireland was the key entry and exit point for all transatlantic flights back in the day.

The world’s first duty free shop was established at the same airport in 1947, and Ireland boasts of some of the oldest, largest and most successful airlines in Europe, like Aer Lingus, Ryanair, Norwegian Air International (yes, Norwegian Air is Irish).

One of the guests quipped that the Irish make some of the best airline executives in the world — I did not argue since I was outnumbered.

As the evening progressed and the Irish brews kicked in, I found myself in conversation about the evolution of aircraft cabins with two Dublin based executives who were in town for non-aviation business. Their knowledge on the subject was A class.

An aspect of aircraft cabin that was part of the discussion was the shrinking of the aircraft seat and legroom space over the years as airlines try to squeeze more rows into the same size of cabin.

For the frequent flyer who is not primarily motivated by fare factors, cabin comfort aspects like seat pitch and legroom are key considerations in selecting which airline to fly.

Seat pitch is the distance between one seat and the same point on another seat directly in front or behind, and legroom is the space available for passengers to stretch their legs while seated.

Normally, the first variable when it comes to seat pitch and legroom will be the class of travel, which is first, business, premium economy or economy.

Since airlines generally focus more on their first and business class seats and how far they can recline, let us talk about seats in economy class or if you prefer cattle class.

During acquisition of an aircraft, airlines will usually provide details to the manufacturer on their expectations on seating for each class.

The standard seat pitch for economy class will range from 71cm to a maximum of 86cm, with low cost carriers closer to the minimum while full service airlines keep it at an average of 78cm.

The second variable would be the route to be flown; on short haul and regional flights, airlines will usually deploy narrow body (single aisle) aircraft, often with less legroom and minimum recline in economy class. On long-haul flights airlines will use wide body (twin aisle) aircraft with more seat pitch and width.

In the past 20 years, the average distance between seat rows has shrunk by at least 10cms while the average seat size is down 5cm.

The net effect has been that airlines are packing more passengers in the cabin, especially in economy class, with adverse effects on their health. Statistics show that Deep Vein Thrombosis is affecting one in 5,000 travellers on long flights.

Consequently, legislators in the US are seeking to put an end to this shrinkage by introducing a bill dubbed the “Seat Egress in Air Travel (SEAT) Act of 2017,” which would task regulatory authorities to set limits and compel airlines to display their seat size and legroom prominently on their websites.

Under the prevailing circumstances, travellers could be left wondering if there are any remedies as far as seating goes.

Well, exit row seats and bulkhead certainly have more legroom than other seats on the aircraft. Some airlines charge more for these seats.

However, if travelling with children and infants you may not be allowed an exit row seat for safety reasons.

Seeing as most passengers do not like to sit in the middle, a sure way to guarantee a window or an aisle seat is to select it at the time of ticketing, preferably early.

Online check-in, which is enabled at least 24 hours in advance, is another way of securing your preferred seat, but the chances of getting it are narrow.

You can compare in advance the aircraft various airlines deploy on specific city pairs, mainly for long-haul flights, as seat pitch and legroom go a long way towards your health and comfort.

IRELAND: Visiting Your Grand Mother Is Not Tourism !

RYANAIR’S marketer says that Irish tourism chiefs should spend more advertising money on growing European markets – and focus less on US and UK travellers.

Speaking at the Annual Tourism Policy Workshop in Dromoland Castle, Kenny Jacobs, chief marketing officer at the budget carrier, said there is a “massive over-dependence on visitors from the US and the UK”.

“There’s an incredible lack of Germans and Spanish and Italians,” he said.

Jacobs argued that tourism bigwigs have a “very Anglo way of looking at things”, and they assume travellers come here because “they love the smell of turf and wonderful places like Bunratty”.

“We will always say people come here because they love mystical Ireland and it’s absolutely wonderful,” he said.

“If you graph the visitors from the US to the exchange rate to the dollar, it’s purely driven by Ireland being cheap to come to when the dollar is strong.”

He noted that the bulk of UK visitors coming into the country are the likes of “Noel and Liam Gallagher coming from Manchester to visit family and friends”.

Jacobs suggested that Ireland should focus on developing its tourist products and attractions for travellers from mainland Europe, particularly Germany, and warned that Scotland is currently siphoning off those visitors.

Ryanair is currently looking to ramp up its share in the German market and earlier this month announced that it will base two aircraft in Frankfurt, a traditional stronghold for carrier Lufthansa, to serve flights around the continent.

On Dublin’s hotel crunch, Jacobs urged Minister for Tourism Shane Ross to bring “25% more hotel beds” into the capital over the next three years.

Ryanair “will do its bit” to get tourists to the island, he said, “but if they can’t get decent places to stay, the whole thing isn’t going to work”.

Jacobs said Irish tourism bigwigs should stop “talking the hind legs off the donkey” and do a “never-done-before deal with Airbnb” for travellers that want to stay with an Irish family.

Unsurprisingly, given his boss Michael O’Leary’s outspoken stance on pay claims, among many other things, Jacobs called public sector pay increases “absolute lunacy” and warned that if the government “caves in” to demands, “a smaller cheque will be given to Tourism Ireland every single year”.

He told Fora that the airline expects to have a long haul transfer deal with Aer Lingus in place by the end of 2017.

American Airlines Stops Flights From New York JFK To Birmingham Airport

A spokesperson for the Airport said: "Birmingham Airport is disappointed by American Airlines’ decision to suspend its daily New York JFK - Birmingham service"

American Airlines have announced that they will cease operating their daily service from New York JFK to Birmingham Airport on Friday 6 January 2017

"We appreciate that transatlantic air services are particularly competitive, however we are optimistic that another carrier will fill this gap shortly. There remains a strong demand from both the Midlands and North American market wanting to access these
important regions and cities"

"Birmingham Airport reminds travellers that a daily non-stop New York Newark service continues to serve Birmingham with United Airlines, and regular connections to North America are also available with several other carriers, including Aer Lingus,Air France,KLM,Lufthansa and Icelandair"

"Passengers booked on American - "AA" - flights after the 6 January 2017 will be contacted by American Airlines to make alternative arrangements or arrange a refund"

American began operations from Birmingham to New York on the Friday 8 May 2015

IRELAND: Aer Lingus Regional Improve Ireland To UK Flights

Around 14 million annual seats are available between Ireland and the UK with this year’s offering the largest this decade and up 4.8 per cent on last year. Ryanair is the dominant carrier with a 53.7 per cent capacity share, ahead of Aer Lingus (including its Aer Lingus Regional operation) with a 32.4 per cent share.

Irish regional carrier, Stobart Air is to further expand its Aer Lingus Regional franchise offer for the Irish national carrier with additional routes between Ireland and the United Kingdom. The airline has this week announced a new link between Cork and Southampton, the resumption of flights between Cork and Leeds Bradford and the return of Aer Lingus flights between Shannon and Edinburgh.

Stobart Air currently offers flights under the Aer Lingus Regional brand to 12 destinations across England and Scotland, comprising Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster/Sheffield, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle and Newquay. It already has flights to both Edinburgh and Leeds Bradford from Dublin and to Edinburgh from Cork, but Southampton will be brand new destination.

Aer Lingus Regional will offer an up to five times weekly link to Southampton from Cork from March 2016. It will add to the existing flights of UK carrier Flybe between Southampton and Dublin as well as to Belfast in Northern Ireland.

“This new air link will open important connections for our region, which will be useful for business, the cruise industry, yachting, the universities and those visiting friends and relatives,” said David Lees, Managing Director, Southampton Airport.

The new link to Leeds Bradford from Cork in south west Ireland will commence from March 15, 2016 and will operate on an up to three times weekly basis using an ATR 72 turboprop. The route was previously served by Stobart Air under its former Aer Arran guise between October 2006 and August 2008 having previously been flown by bmi british midland.

Tony Hallwood, Leeds Bradford Airport’s Aviation Development Director, described the new route launch as yet another positive indicator of the airport’s continued development as Yorkshire’s gateway airport as it looks forward to another year of growth in 2016.

“Leeds Bradford has been working closely with both Aer Lingus Regional and Cork Airport over the last 12 months to see the reintroduction of this important service to SW Ireland. We are confident that the Cork route will see strong two way traffic flows and it is especially pleasing to see the growth of Aer Lingus services after the launch of their Dublin services only last winter,” he said.

The Irish Republic is the fourth largest export market for Yorkshire companies and this new route between Leeds Bradford and Cork will provide increased opportunities for bilateral trade. Alongside the new routes to Leeds Bradford and Southampton, Stobart Air will also increase frequencies from Cork to Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow, adding nine extra flights a week across the three destinations. This will all be facilitated by the arrival of an additional ATR 72 at the Irish airport from next year.

“Choice in regional connectivity is paramount for our business and leisure customers and key to our growth,” added Martin Saxton, Chief Commercial Officer Stobart Air.

Just weeks later, from March 28, 2016, Stobart Air will introduce an up to six times weekly link between Shannon and Edinburgh, boosting annual seats from the Irish airport by 35,000 in 2016, with the promise of growing further to 45,000 per annum from 2017.

“Edinburgh has been one of the services at the top of our list and Aer Lingus Regional’s announcement that it is to restore the service next year is really good news for Shannon and our passengers,” said Neil Pakey, Chief Executive Officer, Shannon Group.

“Edinburgh has proven a hugely popular service here in the past and in terms of feedback from the public, it is one of the routes we had most requests for over the past number of months,” he added.

The route was previously launched by Aer Lingus Regional in March 2011 and was flown on an up to daily basis until it was suspended in January this year. Before the Aer Lingus brand entered this city pair, low-cost carrier Ryanair had operated flights on the route for a four year period between October 2006 and October 2010.

“The new route is a direct response to the strong demand amongst business people and holidays makers in the west of Ireland looking for easy access to Edinburgh, one of Europe’s most popular weekend destinations,” said Stobart Air’s Martin Saxton.

According to UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data more than ten million passengers per annum are flying between Ireland and the UK, just under 30,000 a day. This means it is the sixth largest country market from the UK after Spain, USA, Germany, Italy and France.

Around 14 million annual seats are available between the two countries, according to OAG schedule data, with this year’s offering the largest this decade and up 4.8 per cent on last year. Ryanair is the dominant carrier with a 53.7 per cent capacity share, ahead of Aer Lingus including its Aer Lingus Regional operation with a 32.4 per cent share.

TURKEY: Pegasus Airlines of Turkey Turns Ten

Pegasus Airlines, the independent Turkish carrier which started life as a charter subsidiary controlled by Aer Lingus, will celebrate 10 years of flying scheduled flights on 1 November 2015.

Pegasus currently flies to over 100 destinations in 40 countries including six times a week between London Gatwick and Istanbul, which started earlier this year, twice daily between London Stansted and Istanbul and three times a week to Izmir.

Pegasus have also recently added international flights to Baghdad, Erbil, Kutaisi, Nice, Oslo, Eilat (Ovda Airport) and domestic flights to Kars, Kastamonu and Ordu.

IAG Converts Four A330s And 15 A320neo Aircraft Into Firm Orders

Efficient aircraft to bring operational and environmental benefits to IAG

The Board of the International Airlines Group (IAG) has firmed up orders for 19 additional widebody and single aisle aircraft (2 A330-200s, 2 A330-300s and 15 A320neos). This latest agreement with IAG and its airlines takes their cumulative Airbus orders to a total of nearly 470 aircraft.

The two A330-200s will be assigned to Iberia and the two A330-300s will be operated by Aer Lingus. The 15 A320neos will be assigned within the group.

“Between them, the airlines in IAG operate or have on order our full range of Airbus aircraft. IAG is one of our most prestigious customers and these new repeat orders for A330s and A320neos confirm again the high added value and superior productivity of our widebody and single aisle aircraft.” Said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer – Customers.

The A330 is one of the most popular widebody aircraft ever and has to date won over 1,500 orders, with over 1,200 flying with more than 100 operators worldwide. Airbus is investing hundreds of millions of Euros per year in the A330 Family to maintain the aircraft at the leading edge of innovation. The A330 Family is part of the world’s most modern and comprehensive widebody product line, which also includes the larger A350 XWB and double deck A380.

Incorporating new engines and the latest technologies, the A320neo Family will bring a step-change reduction in fuel consumption of over 15 per cent, longer range capability and reduced maintenance costs, as well significantly reduced carbon emissions. Since its launch in 2010 the A320neo Family has won 60 per cent of all new orders for single aisle aircraft with over 100 seats and has been selected by over 75 airlines worldwide.

MOROCCO: Agadir Airport Passenger Traffic Down 4.4%, Casablanca Still #1 Route

Miss France 2015, Camille Cerf, was on hand at Lille Airport on 25 April when XL Airways France commenced services to Agadir, along with another seven destinations. For October 2015, Lille is the 13th most popular route in terms of seat capacity. However, according to OAG, it has witnessed a decrease in seat capacity of nearly 11% as a result of Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium no longer serving the route.


Agadir is Morocco’s premier destination for sun, sand, pubs and pizza according to Lonely Plant. The resort’s main type of foreign visitor is the package-tour holidaymaker, with the destination having less of an appeal to independent travellers with an interest in Moroccan culture.

This comes as no surprise as an analysis of Agadir Airport shows that six of the top 12 airlines have or have had a majority of their flight programmes made up of charter flights in the not too distant past, focusing on package holidays. Nonetheless, Agadir is most certainly not a seasonal airport with no fluctuations between winter and summer as its SVID score demonstrates further below.

Passenger traffic down 4.4%
An analysis of passenger traffic at Agadir confirms that for the first six months of 2015, it is down 4.4% when compared to the same time period of the year previous. Of the six months, the worst performing was June, which was down nearly 12%.

It is interesting to note however that during this period, May reported its best performance over the past four years with a growth of 3.3%. Nonetheless, if the downward trend of 4.4% continues for the remainder of the summer months and into the winter season, Agadir Airport should expect to see passenger levels remain just above 1.4 million for 2015.

SVID score says ‘Excellent’ for Agadir
Entering Agadir’s monthly passenger data for 2014 into anna.aero’s Seasonal Variation in Demand (SVID) calculator, the airport performs well, generating a score of 1.31 ‒ an ‘excellent’ rating. The airport’s seasonality performance has improved marginally when compared to the result achieved in 2013, when it attained a score of 1.79. Evaluating Agadir alongside the most significant competing Moroccan airports, our data elves also ran SVID calculations on Marrakech (1.63 – ‘excellent’) and Casablanca (2.64 – ‘good’).

Casablanca remains #1 route
After witnessing an increase in seat capacity of 8.4% when compared to the same time period of last year, the domestic link with Casablanca remains the number one route from Agadir. Agadir has a net increase in destinations served of two in October 2015 when compared with October 2014. This means that the Moroccan facility is now connected to 32 destinations.

Along with increases in seat capacity to destinations such as Düsseldorf (72%), Marseille (15%) and Dublin (20%, 23rd most popular route), Agadir is reporting an increase in seat capacity of 13%.

This is despite the airport witnessing a decrease in passengers for the first half of this year. In the top 12, the number one route in terms of performance growth is Toulouse, which has leapfrogged from being the 25th most popular route in 2014 to 12th in 2015, helped by an increase in seat capacity of 85%.

Condor records the biggest capacity growth
With seat capacity growth of nearly 40% when compared to the same time period of last year, Condor is the fastest growing airline from Agadir, resulting in the carrier overtaking Thomson Airways and Transavia.com France to become the fifth largest airline from the Moroccan facility. Coincidentally Transavia.com France is reporting growth when compared to October 2014 of 1.2%, helped by the launch of services to Lille in April.

However, Thomson Airways is reporting a decline in capacity of nearly 28%. The British carrier however may reverse its decreasing seat availability when it introduces services to Birmingham. Ryanair and easyJet have both increased capacity from Agadir, with the Irish airline reporting a growth in seats of 30%, while the Orange LCC is showing a rise of 29%. Outside of the top 12, the number one carrier for growth is Aer Lingus, which has seen its services to Dublin grow by 20%.

Royal Air Maroc remains the number one airline from Agadir, with the Moroccan national carrier reporting a 5.0% growth in seats when compared to last year.

NORWAY: Norwegian To Launch Transatlantic 737 Flights From Cork

Pictured this week in Durban picking up its ‘Highly Commended’ trophy in the Under Four Million Passengers category at the World Routes Marketing Awards from Katie Bland, Director, Routes (left) were: Cork Airport’s Head of Aviation Marketing Anita Gackowska; MD Niall MacCarthy; and Head of Finance and Commercial, Clive Power. The question is, would they have beaten category winner Halifax Airport in Canada if Norwegian’s news had broken a little earlier?

Twin US routes. Cork Airport has landed a pair of US routes – namely to Boston (launching next May) and New York (launching in 2017) – making the battle for US to Ireland passengers a three-airport competition with Dublin and Shannon. Listen up Cork Airport and Norwegian ‒ whatever ludicrously cheap rate Jedward offers you to attend the launch of the services, please, please, please don’t book them.

Norwegian has today announced plans to launch new direct low-cost transatlantic services from Cork to Boston (next May) and New York (in 2017). The new routes will be the only transatlantic flights to operate from Cork, in an Irish-US market that has been traditionally dominated by Dublin and Shannon. In addition, a new Cork to Barcelona route, to be operated up to five times weekly, will also be launched by Norwegian next summer. Rather than utilise Europe’s third largest LCC’s fleet of 787s for the job, Norwegian will seek to extract the benefit of Ireland’s most-westerly location on the fringes of Europe, and use 737 equipment for its US services.

Only two airports in Ireland currently have direct non-stop services to the US ‒ Dublin and Shannon ‒ with the former commanding 83% of weekly seats, using OAG Schedules Analyser data.

For S15, Shannon has 1,239 weekly seats to Boston, while over at Dublin, the Irish capital has 4,123 weekly seats to the US city. All 21 weekly services are flown by Aer Lingus across both airports. If Norwegian flies five weekly flights using its 189-seat 737-800s, it will command 15% of all weekly seats between Ireland and Boston, assuming Aer Lingus does not alter its operations between now and next summer. The extra 945 weekly seats added by Norwegian will see Dublin’s share of the Ireland to Boston market drop from 77% this summer to 65% in S16, with Shannon falling from 23% to 20% next year.

Again looking at this summer, Shannon has 2,590 weekly seats to New York JFK and 1,183 to New York Newark; Dublin has 7,097 weekly seats to JFK and 1,690 weekly seats to Newark. From Shannon, its 31 weekly flights to New York are split between Aer Lingus (six, JFK), Delta Air Lines (seven, JFK), British Airways (11, JFK) and United Airlines (seven, Newark). From Dublin, its 38 weekly flights to New York are split between Aer Lingus (14, JFK), American Airlines (seven, JFK), Delta (seven, JFK) and United (10, Newark). If Norwegian flies five weekly flights using its 189-seat 737-800s, it will command only 6.9% of all weekly seats between Ireland and New York, assuming the incumbents do not alter their respective capacities over the next two years from what they have flown this summer. The extra 945 weekly seats added to the New York market by the LCC, will see Dublin’s share of the Ireland market drop from 70% this summer to 65% in S17, with Shannon falling from 30% to 28% in two years’ time.
What they said…

Commenting on the LCC’s decision, Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos said: “Norwegian is leading the way in offering affordable transatlantic travel and with the new generation aircraft we have on order, we now have exciting plans to offer low-cost flights from Cork to Boston in 2016 and Cork to New York in 2017.

“We are delighted to offer a long-awaited service from the US to Cork and the southern parts of Ireland which will create huge business, leisure and tourism opportunities. Our new Cork to Barcelona route is also an exciting addition to our growing network.”

Cork Airport boss Niall MacCarthy added: “We’re delighted that Norwegian will operate Cork Airport’s first transatlantic service. Cork Airport has a robust hinterland with a well-developed industrial base and a fantastic tourism product. We’re sure there will be strong demand for these new transatlantic services from both business and leisure passengers. We look forward to working closely with Norwegian and our local partners to promote these new services and to grow passenger traffic at Cork.”