Filed under: air travel, airlines news, cheap flights, flights, main, news, perfect flights, travel | Tags: Breaking News, Business, india, Mumbai
Air India has officially opened its European hub at the Frankfurt International Airport from where it will operate its west-bound flights.
The airline had launched two new daily US-bound flights from Mumbai and Delhi and back last Sunday.
The Deputy Chairman of the Frankfurt International Airport Stefan Schulte has said that Air India’s chances of joining the Star Alliance, the consortium of 21 global carriers, have been improved by the opening of the Frankfurt hub. “It is a good preparation for joining the alliance,” he said.
He hailed it as a milestone in more than 50 years of cooperation between the airport and India’s national carrier and said it could lead to closer tie-ups in the coming years.
Air India and its passengers can now benefit from the airports’ excellent connectivity, modern infrastructure and opportunities for operating new flights to many destinations, he told PTI in an interview.
The Frankfurt Airport is ready to offer Air India more such facilities to expand its operations, he said.
Air India has good prospects to start new flights to and from Frankfurt when the airport’s third runway becomes operational by the year 2011.
China Airlines Ltd., which posted a record loss in 2008, will retire 30.7 percent of its shares to boost shareholder value.
The airline, Taiwan’s largest carrier, said its board approved the plan to cancel 1.49 billion shares and reduce capital to NT$33.7 billion ($1 billion), according to a statement to the stock exchange last night. It didn’t say if the equity to be canceled is treasury stock or if the airline plans to buy back shares. 
China Airlines also plans to sell as much as NT$10 billion of bonds in a private placement, it said in a separate statement. The sale will include 3-year bonds paying 3.4 percent interest and 5-year bonds with a coupon of 3.6 percent. Chinatrust Commercial Bank will manage the sale.
Both plans are subject to shareholder approval at a meeting to be held May 18, the company said.
China Airlines reported a 2008 net loss of NT$32.4 billion, or NT$7.11 a share, compared with a loss of NT$2.52 billion a year earlier.
China Airlines joins carriers, including Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and China Eastern Airlines Corp., in reporting hedging losses after fuel prices dropped. The economic recession have also discouraged business and leisure travel, prompting airlines to reduce flights.
China Airlines had a loss of NT$21.1 billion because of wrong bets on fuel prices. Prices slumped 51 percent in the fourth quarter.
Filed under: air travel, airlines news, cheap flights, flights, main, news, perfect flights, travel | Tags: Breaking News, Business, Technology
A YEAR after the European Commission put in place common rules for safe use of mobile phones on aircrafts, the European airlines started offering in-flight use of mobile phones. More and more European air passengers are being offered the choice to use their normal mobile phone to send text messages, browse the web or even make calls on board airplanes.
One year after the European Commission put in place common rules for safe use of mobile phones on aircrafts and for simple and non-bureaucratic authorisations of this essentially cross border service, 27 European aircraft have been equipped to allow the secure use of standard GSM handsets onboard aircraft while flying in European airspace. The number of aircrafts enabled for in-flight use of mobile phones is expected to double by the end of the year.
’The possibility to use a mobile phone onboard an aircraft is particularly sought after by business travellers and younger passengers. In addition, in-flight GSM offers are an interesting business model for European companies. This is why a year ago, the European Commission created a legal framework for companies who want to offer mobile communications on-board aircrafts in a safe and simple way in European skies without having to go through 27 different national authorisation procedures,’ said Viviane Reding, the EU’s Telecoms Commissioner.
’I welcome the fact that the first airlines in Europe are now offering in-flight mobile phone use. There are two conditions for a further successful take-up of this new service: first of all, in-flight mobile phone use should not disturb other passengers, for example by leaving ample room for quiet zones during air travel, just like in trains. Secondly, attention should be paid by the operators that prices for these services remain at a reasonable level. If these two conditions are met, then offering on-board mobile phone services can be a bonus for European companies in the competitive global air travel market,’ he added.
In April 2008, the Commission introduced rules to harmonise conditions for mobile phone services on aircraft across the EU (IP/08/537). One year later, these enabling rules have allowed two providers of mobile communications services on-board airplanes (MCA), OnAir (Geneva) and AeroMobile (London) to start business in Europe. They associate themselves with airlines interested in making such services available to their passengers.
Presently, three European airlines – Ryanair (Ireland), TAP (Portugal) and bmi (United Kingdom) – are building up the service in their fleets: 27 aircraft have already been equipped and the number of MCA-enabled aircraft is expected to double by end of this year. This constitutes a promising start, while technical trials are taking place in other airlines.
Meanwhile, the airlines are fine-tuning the conditions under which passengers can use their phone on-board aircraft to ensure wider consumer acceptance of the new service, and are analysing the service take-up on those aircraft that are already equipped. Current indications are that the price of on-board phone services so far start from approx. Euro 1.60 per minute for a voice call and approx. Euro 0.43 for a text message, depending on the terrestrial mobile service provider whose subscription the passenger is using.
The Commission took regulatory action in 2008 to allow for the safe and EU-wide operation of mobile communications on-board aircraft, and create the conditions for businesses to offer these services on flights that often cross several borders. This required three steps:
- to ensure that the use of equipment on board
- including the passengers’ handsets
- does not cause interference with the aircraft’s equipment and systems.
- to ensure that mobile equipment does not interfere with terrestrial mobile communications networks but connects exclusively to the on-board base station linked to the ground via satellite;
- to offer common rules and standards so that on-board base stations are authorised to operate as a plane flies over different EU Member States.
A model for other continents
The European approach has served as a model for use in other regions. Several airlines outside Europe (including Qantas, Emirates, Malaysian Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Wataniya, Virgin Australia) have been testing the service or are offering it, with some 40 aircraft already equipped. Other airlines have announced similar intentions. The prevalence worldwide of the GSM standard (currently used by almost 3 billion people) makes the business model attractive, as passengers can use their normal mobile phone.
Mobile communication services on aircraft (MCA) are pan-European telecoms services. Two measures were adopted by the Commission in April 2008 (IP/08/537):
- A Commission Decision setting out harmonised technical parameters for onboard equipment for in-flight mobile phone use throughout the EU. These technical specifications ensure that equipment does not generate interference and forms the basis for the certification of airworthiness of equipment for different airplane types by the competent authority (EASA). The Decision is legally binding, ensuring the same type of equipment is used on all aircrafts.
- A Commission Recommendation for a harmonised approach on licensing which will promote mutual recognition between national authorisations for mobile communications services on aircraft. The ’airline roaming’, or mobile calls and text messages on-board aircraft is treated as international roaming similar to terrestrial roaming services. The first examples show that the tariffs are significantly lower than the in-flight fixed telephone services via satellite links offered in the past. The in-flight mobile communications fall outside the scope of the Commission’s regulatory actions targeted to reduce international roaming tariffs for voice and data, as they are considered an innovative service on an emerging market. The cost of mobile communications on-board aircraft is therefore fixed by the service provider. The European Commission is, however, closely monitoring the levels and transparency of prices charged to consumers.
Filed under: air travel, airlines news, cheap flights, flights, main, news, perfect flights, travel | Tags: Breaking News, Business, Economy
Germany’s largest airline, Lufthansa, is suspending its flight service between Bristol Airport and Frankfurt from May 1.
The decision came after passenger figures had been dropping over the last few months, a result of the current economic climate. 
Commenting on the decision, Marianne Sammann Lufthansa General Manager UK & Ireland said: “We have had huge support from Bristol Airport but the economic situation means we are suspending services from Bristol.
“Passenger figures for the four months from November to February have dropped around 12 per cent compared with the previous four months and this downward trend is not expected to change in the near future.
“I would be very surprised if we will see a change in demand for Bristol services in 2010.”
Additional services recently suspended by the airline include Bordeaux, Yerevan, and Bratislava.
Filed under: air travel, airlines news, cheap flights, flights, main, news, perfect flights, travel | Tags: Breaking News, Business, Technology
Qatar Airways and OnAir today announced agreement to install Mobile OnAir inflight passenger communications services on the airline’s entire single-aisle Airbus fleet. They will operate in the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and across Europe.
Passengers will be able to stay connected inflight using their own mobile phones or BlackBerry-type devices to send and receive text messages and emails, and access the Internet. They will also be able to access the Internet using their own laptops fitted with GSM data cards. Airlines equipped with OnAir services can choose to provide voice and data or data services only, depending on time of day and passenger preferences.
Akbar Al Baker, CEO, Qatar Airways, said “Our commitment is to provide travellers with the very highest quality of service in the air and on the ground. The latest technology provided by Mobile OnAir is absolutely in line with Qatar Airways’ Five Star ranking for service and excellence.” “OnAir is proud to have been selected after a thorough evaluation by one of the most demanding airlines in terms of passenger service and comfort,” said Benoit Debains, CEO of OnAir. “Mobile OnAir provides global coverage, a full range of service and the highest levels of performance.” Mobile OnAir uses the industry’s most advanced and extensive infrastructure for mobile communications, along with Inmarsat SwiftBroadband, high capacity services from Inmarsat 4th generation satellites. This gives passengers and airlines the best reach and performance available today.
Passenger can use Mobile OnAir to stay in touch as they fly on over 6,000 flights each month, to over 160 cities in over 30 countries across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
The Qatar Airways announcement, which is subject to signing a service agreement, comes amidst mounting demand for inflight passenger communications. A growing number of commercial airlines and private aviation companies either currently offer OnAir inflight communications services or will offer them in the near future. OnAir is negotiating agreements with a number of major airlines which will be announced during the course of 2009.
OnAir also serves private VIP and Governmental customers through partnerships with Airbus Corporate Jets, Aviation Centre Cologne and Jet Aviation.
According to a recent passenger survey, 80% of passengers who have used Mobile OnAir services on selected flights would like these services to be available on every flight.
