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Singapore Airlines today said it plans to prune its operations from this month by withdrawing some flights as part of its capacity redeployment move.
The airline has plans to reduce its operations by one flight on the Delhi- Singapore route and two flights on the Mumbai – Singapore route, a Singapore Airlines spokesperson said in a statement to PTI here today.
” There will be a temporary reduction of one flight per week from Delhi between January 22 and March 25 and two flights per week from Mumbai between January 27 and March 26,”he said.
The airline, however, termed the move as part of the overall network-wide review undertaken by the management to adjust capacity in the short-term to current demand, including flights to east Asia, Australia and Europe.
China will abolish fuel surcharges on tickets for domestic flights because of falling fuel prices, effective Jan. 15, the country’s top economic planner said on Wednesday.
The surcharges may be reinstated, depending on fluctuations in the cost of jet fuel, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement posted on its website (www.ndrc.gov.cn).
“According to recent fluctuations in the domestic price of kerosene… (we) have decided to temporarily stop collecting the fuel surcharge on domestic flights,” it said.
Together with the country’s civil aviation authorities, it also called on government price departments to step up checks on ticket costs.
The government also said on Wednesday that it would trim diesel and gasoline prices across the country by a few percent. [ID:nPEK174393] [ID:nPEK191238]
China’s aviation industry has been hit hard by the global financial crisis and earlier this week the government offered a support package including tax exemptions and for the top plane maker, $26 billion in loans from state banks.
Previously, airlines including giants China Eastern (CEA.N) (600115.SS) (0670.HK) and China Southern (600029.SS)(1055.HK) (ZNH.N), had said the government is injecting a total of more than 10 billion yuan cash into the companies. (Reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison; editing by Simon Jessop)
Filed under: airlines news, cheap flights, main | Tags: air travel, flights, news, travel
Laura McCormack from Ryanair said the first flight to Alicante from City of Derry Airport will leave on 4th June. From June, Ryanair will operate six from City of Derry. The airline hopes the flight to the popular Spanish holiday resort will take their passenger numbers at the airport to 480,000.
Ms McCormack said; “Ryanair’s passengers will sustain 480 local jobs and provide more than 50 million euro in tourism revenue for Derry and its surrounding regions next year,” she said.
The announcement of the first international flight was widely welcomed by the mayor and local councillors.
The Mayor,Councillor Gerard Diver said; “This is an important day for Derry. We have always talked about having international flights and this Alicante route is the start of that process. While this is certainly a positive development for the airport and the city, we need to see more. We need to see passenger numbers rising at the airport and hopefully this will help that goal,” he said.
The chairman of the airport committee, Alderman Joe Miller said; “This is a positive new service and it’s great to offer more value and choice for everyone in the region.”
Sinn Féin Councillor Gerry MacLochlainn said; “This route will be popular with holiday makers heading to the South of Spain but we also hope that it will attract visitors to our region to enhance the tourist industry here. I hope that this first European holiday route is the first of many.”
AUSTRALIANS stuck in storm-ravaged Fiji have accused the Federal Government of failing to do enough to help them, as rain and strong winds continued to lash the country’s west and north coasts.
Ten people, including at least four children, have died and more than 9000 are sleeping in emergency shelters set up in schools and churches. Locals are watching as their houses and businesses are destroyed.
Fiji’s Disaster Management Office puts the bill at $20 million, and authorities are bracing for more damage. Tourism, one of the country’s main industries, is also likely to suffer.
Most Australian tourists who could reach the airport have left, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said. A Qantas relief flight arrived in Sydney from Nadi yesterday afternoon with about 230 passengers.
A Pacific Blue flight from Port Moresby to Australia was also diverted to Fiji last night to pick up about 98 Australians. The airline was considering sending another flight this evening if any Australians remained stranded.
But yesterday hundreds of tourists were still sheltering in hotels on Denarau Island, off the coast from Nadi, and were calling for more emergency flights.
DFAT said consular assistance was being provided for travellers trapped in popular destinations. But many said they felt ignored.
“We just want to get out of here but, from what we can see, absolutely nothing is being done from back home to help us,” said a Brisbane woman, Jane Bullock, who was holidaying at the Sheraton Fiji when the storm struck.
Most resort guests had no idea an extra flight had been put on by Qantas, she said. “We had no knowledge of it, so what’s the use of that? Frankly, it leaves a lot to be desired.”
Scheduled flights are fully booked, and tourists speaking to airlines were told there was no opportunity to fly home sooner.
Kate Holden, a guest from Melbourne, echoed Ms Bullock’s frustrations, saying her children had been going “stir crazy” in their hotel room because there was absolutely nothing to do.
“We were allowed in and now can’t do anything to get out,” Ms Holden said. “We feel like we’ve been talking to ourselves because all efforts to get help have been ignored.”
Hotels have been holding daily briefings for the hundreds of Australian and New Zealand tourists stranded in Nadi and on outlying islands, and disaster relief officials have been warning them to stay put and remain calm.
“The best thing travellers can do right now is be patient and wait for this to blow over,” said the head of Fiji’s National Disaster Centre, Pajiliai Dobui.
“Unfortunately from the forecast, that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen any time soon.”
Some travel-weary Australians landed in Sydney yesterday afternoon on an Air Pacific flight, with many describing their holiday destination as “devastated” by the natural disaster.
Pietra Gardner said her holiday had been “pretty frightening”, particularly travelling with three children.
“I think we’ll go back in the dry season.”
Filed under: airlines news, cheap flights, main | Tags: flights, news, travel
Budget airline Ryanair defied the credit crunch today to launch 12 new European routes from Bristol International Airport – creating 100 new jobs.
The Irish airline now has 33 routes from Bristol – just seven fewer than arch-rival easyjet, which flies to 40 destinations from Lulsgate.
Ryanair has spent £180 million on two new Boeing 737 aircraft to service the routes, bringing its total of Bristol-based aircraft to four.
The 12 new scheduled Ryanair routes from Bristol Airport include Limoges, Toulon, Montpellier and Perpignan in France; Trieste, Rimini and Cagliari in Italy; Malta, and Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
The routes also include Spanish flights to Alicante, Barcelona Reus and Seville, where Filton plane giant Airbus has a major plant.
All new flights will begin in July, except Eindhoven, whose flights begin on March 31.
The new routes mean Bristol Airport now flies to 132 destinations across Europe and worldwide.
Lesley Kane, Ryanair’s head of sales and marketing, said: “We hope the new routes will help create 100 new Ryanair jobs at Bristol Airport, in addition to our current staff of 100, as well as sustain 1,600 local jobs in associated airport services such as engineering and ground crews.
“We estimate the new routes will help generate 180 million euros of inbound tourist revenues to Bristol and its surrounding regions next year.
“We were in contact with Airbus and knew it wanted a permanent Seville flight to take staff to its base there – the alternative was going to Gatwick.
“The new flights are part of a long-term plan we have in the South West – we see this as a huge growth area for us and you may see some more new Ryanair flights announced from Bristol this year.”
Shaun Browne, aviation director at Bristol Airport said: “The launch of 12 new routes shows the strength of the market in the South West.
“Routes such as Cagliari and Rimini provide exciting new possibilities for leisure passengers, whicle the new service to Seville will be well used by the local aerospace industry.”
In September, Ryanair faced criticism after it suspended five of its flights over the winter, including Porto in Portugal, the French city of Pau, Salzburg in Austria, Rzeszow in Poland and Budapest in Hungary.
It blamed rising fuel costs and excessive airport taxes for the move, although yesterday Ms Kane insisted the new routes were not seasonal and would operate year-round.
