Nearly all scheduled departures from Will Rogers World Airport through noon today have been canceled, the airport’s Web site show.
Through noon, seven flights are still scheduled to leave.
Eight arrivals to the airport through noon have been canceled.
At Tulsa International Airport, all but six departures and all but five arrivals through 10:30 a.m. have been canceled, according to the airport’s Web site.
Filed under: airlines news, cheap flights, main | Tags: Business, flights, news
AUSTRALIA’S competition regulator on Tuesday rejected a proposal for Air New Zealand to enter a cooperative agreement with Air Canada, saying it would reduce competitiveness.
Under the pact the two airlines would jointly promote and sell direct flights between Sydney and Vancouver, operated by Air Canada, and Auckland and Vancouver, provided by Air New Zealand.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission rejected the bid, saying it was concerned the agreement would hurt competition for flights between Australia and Canada. Air New Zealand and Air Canada are two of the route’s four main carriers.
‘The ACCC can authorise such an agreement where it meets a public benefit test but the ACCC considers that the test has not been met here,’ said ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel.
‘The ACCC considers it is important to ensure effective competition in aviation markets to continue delivering choice and lower fares to consumers.’
Air New Zealand expressed disappointment and said it would consider an appeal.
‘The continuation of many services operated by airlines is increasingly under threat as demand falls, and this stance by the ACCC is of concern,’ the airline said.
‘While we have yet to carefully analyse the decision, the outcome is in stark contrast to trends in Europe, the US and Asia, where airlines are increasingly consolidating in response to toughening economic conditions dramatically affecting the industry.’
Filed under: airlines news, cheap flights, main, perfect flights | Tags: flights, news, travel
Japan Airlines (JAL) has announced that it will be cancelling or reducing the number of flights on 12 unprofitable domestic and international routes in fiscal 2009.
To be cancelled are the domestic routes from Kansai International Airport to Memanbetsu, Asahikawa, Aomori, Obihiro and Kushiro, as is the Kansai to London Heathrow international route.
Routes with the number of flights reduced will be from Haneda Airport to Kansai, and from Narita International Airport to New York, Bangkok and Seoul.
Also to be cancelled are cargo flights from Narita to Manila, and Kansai to Taipei.
Efficiency reviews by the company put the utilization rate of flights on these routes at between 50 and 60 percent.
Over the second half of fiscal 2008, JAL has reduced or cancelled flights on 26 routes in total. However, a large drop in the number of passengers and volume of cargo being transported due to the global recession means that the company is expected to take a heavy hit this year.
All Nippon Airways is also planning to reduce or cancel flights on 10 routes, including those from Kansai to local airports, in the coming fiscal year, and is considering further flight reductions.
New search engine data has revealed that the number of UK people using the internet to find flights to Morocco rose significantly during 2008.
According to figures from online research firm Hitwise, Morocco was one of the only countries to display an increase in search engine activity last year, with many destinations experiencing a dip in search numbers.
Flight searches for Morocco went up by 2.1% over the last 12 months, while Brazil experienced an even bigger rise, with 19.5% more searches recorded for the South American country.
Robin Goad, director of research at Hitwise, commented: “In terms of warmer destinations, the weak pound is encouraging people to look further afield for bargains, with places such as Brazil, Morocco, Cuba, Kenya and India all moving up the rankings over the last 12 months.”
Atlas Blue has launched a new direct route between Gatwick Airport and the Moroccan city of Fez this year, with an increase in visitor numbers expected as a result.
Filed under: airlines news, cheap flights, main | Tags: flights, news, travel
Getting bumped from a flight will be less painful for consumers, and even potentially profitable, if Winnipeg MP Jim Maloway gets his way with a private member’s bill for an airline passenger bill of rights.
Mr. Maloway said yesterday he plans to unveil his proposal on Feb. 10 in Ottawa, advocating for new Canadian rules to be modelled after the European Union’s legislation.
For instance, passengers who are forced to give up their seat on an overbooked flight could be compensated $500 by an airline, if the route is less than 1,500 kilometres, according to the NDP MP’s early draft of rights. For flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres, the compensation for being “denied boarding involuntarily” would rise to $800 and flights longer than 3,500 kilometres would yield $1,200 for bumped travellers.
Mr. Maloway, who is optimistic that his bill will beat tough odds for approval, believes that scheduled and charter carriers should be fined for leaving customers stuck on planes on the tarmac for more than an hour – or airlines could avoid penalties by letting passengers off the aircraft after an hour to get fresh air.
As well, he said hotel rooms and/or meal vouchers should be provided in certain late-night cases when there are flight delays less than five hours due to mechanical problems or other issues within the control of the airline, but unrelated to weather. For delays of five hours or greater, carriers should reimburse fares, including for weather-related problems, he added.
The National Airlines Council of Canada said it’s awaiting details. “We have not yet seen the bill, so it is difficult for us to comment on it at this time,” said council spokeswoman Brigitte Hébert, whose group represents Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz, Air Transat and WestJet Airlines Ltd.
