Filed under: air travel, airlines news, cheap flights, flights, main, news, perfect flights, travel | Tags: Breaking News, Business
Spring Airlines (Private Chinese carrier) has obtained approval to operate international flights and aims to list in Shanghai next year, state media reports said Thursday.
The carrier is set to launch its first trips to neighbouring countries and regions, including Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macao and Russia, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing chairman Wang Zhenghua.
“We just got the approval. It still takes time to design specific routes, flight schedules and pricing,” Wang was quoted as saying.
But it filed for bankruptcy protection last month after aviation authorities grounded it in March due to prolonged financial problems.
Spring Airlines plans to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in the second half of next year, the official China Daily said.
Shanghai-based Spring Airlines is the second private Chinese carrier to obtain permission to fly overseas.
The carrier aims to expand its fleet by 2015 to 100 planes from the current 13, mostly with Airbus A320s, the newspaper quoted Wang as saying.
Spring Airlines posted a net profit of 41.2 million yuan in the first half of the year, almost double its full-year earnings of 21 million yuan for 2008, according to the report.
Filed under: air travel, cheap flights, flights, main, news, perfect flights, travel
For millennia, man dreamt of taking to the skies that dream has been realized, and some would say the novelty of soaring like a bird has kinda worn off.
Hot August Flights will prove it. Between 30 and 50 airplanes and up to 300 cars are expected at the annual event Saturday at the Salem airport.
“We’re going to have live music.
We’re going to have an outdoor barbecue. We’re having a car show,” said Natalie Frajola, a co-owner of The Flight Deck restaurant, which is sponsoring the festivities.
There also will be a breakfast on the patio of the restaurant from 8 to 10 a.m. that benefits Angel Flight, which arranges transportation for ill patients to and from their medical appointments.
“It’s a much bigger event than it has been in the past,” Frajola said.
Admission is free, but helicopter or plane rides will cost around $40.
Salem Mayor Janet Taylor is slated to show up around 11:30 a.m. and stay until 2:30 p.m., Frajola said.
Filed under: air travel, airlines news, cheap flights, flights, main, news, perfect flights, travel | Tags: Breaking News, Business, business flights
The Institute of Travel and Meetings (ITM), which represents corporate travel buyers at more than half the FTSE 100 companies, confirmed it has members considering joining the campaign to cut flights launched by nature charity WWF UK last week.
ITM chief executive Paul Tilstone told Travel Weekly: “We are aware of ITM members looking at this.”
The WWF UK One in Five Challenge could be bad news for carriers that base their business model on corporate traffic. British Airways has been badly hit by the downturn in premium traffic, while easyJet and Flybe have increasingly targeted business travellers in recent years.
Marks and Spencer, Vodafone UK and global technology companies Capgemini and Premiere Global signed up to the WWF campaign ahead of last week’s launch.
Tilstone said: “WWF should be praised for its campaign. This is a new frontier and people are not sure of the ramifications for business, but some of the biggest companies are involved.” He added: “It is good news for the ITM if the one in five campaign is a success.”
The ITM has licensed its own carbon-reduction accreditation scheme Project Icarus to One in Five participants. The 13 companies already involved with Project Icarus – including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Barclays, E.ON UK, Accenture, the BBC and BP – will be among those considering joining the WWF scheme.
Companies completing the challenge by cutting 20% of business flights within five years will be able to display the WWF panda logo. Tilstone said: “Everyone knows the [logo]. The WWF has a great reputation.”
