26 MARCH 2018
- COMMENT: What now, Flybe?
- Awards for Heathrow and London City
- Belfast's duty-free deal
- Boeing celebrates with Guinness
- Brenda Dean
- CAA wins Emirates case
- Claim chasers
- Cork – Paris all year
- Doncaster aims high
- Loganair joins ERA
- National Planning Policy Statement & GA
- New boss for East Midlands
- Perth non-stop lift-off
- Regions gain in Atlantic battle
- Ryanair buys into Laudamotion
- Stobart drops Flybe bid
- VLM back in Brum
- Waterloo to Heathrow
- WestJet heads for Gatwick
- Wijet goes for Honda
- Wizz Air boost at Luton
- ON TOUR: The 2018 British Business and General Aviation annual conference
- AND FINALLY: Initial reaction
© 2022 Business Travel News Ltd.
Brenda Dean
Former Runways UK chairman Brenda Dean, latterly Baroness Dean of Thornton le Fylde, and a contributor to BTN, has died at the age of 74.
Claim chasers
London’s High Court won praise last week from Ryanair after a ruling upholding the airline’s policy of communicating with, and paying €261 compensation directly to, its consumers.
Loganair joins ERA
Membership of the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) reached 50 last week with the arrival of Loganair. The airline said the move was “a natural progression” in its development.
COMMENT: What now, Flybe?
The history of British domestic air travel has been littered with failures.
Awards for Heathrow and London City
Passengers from around the world handed Heathrow a major vote of confidence last week by voting the airport the best in western Europe and the best in the world for shopping. Two terminals were also garlanded.
Boeing celebrates with Guinness
Thousands of Boeing employees have been celebrating the company’s latest Guinness World Records title after it rolled out the 10,000th B737 to come off the production line.
Cork – Paris all year
The south of Ireland’s latest link to Paris, a new Air France service between Cork and Charles de Galle Airport, which starts on 26 May, is to be year-round after the airline experienced what it says is a rush of positive forward bookings.
National Planning Policy Statement & GA
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on General Aviation (GA) held a briefing last week in the House of Commons to give some thoughts following the publication of the National Planning Policy Statement (NPPF) on 11 March. GA has been described as the “glue that holds the whole aviation sector together”. See also The 2018 British Business and General Aviation annual conference in this issue.
Perth non-stop lift-off
The first scheduled non-stop flight between Heathrow and Perth was in the air this morning, Monday, 26 March, as Qantas neared completion of the second leg of its history-making service between England and Australia. See also BTN 5 March Britain to Australia non-stop by air.
Regions gain in Atlantic battle
Passengers in the regions are being targeted by Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines this summer as the carriers mount an aggressive summer campaign for transatlantic business with a joint programme putting 5m seats on routes between the UK and US.
Stobart drops Flybe bid
Further to “Stobart bid for Flybe” in BTN 26 February, the Stobart Group announced last Thursday it does not plan to make a formal offer for the Exeter-based regional carrier. An airline operator in its own right, and the owner of Southend Airport, Stobart said it was unable to reach agreement “on satisfactory terms” with Flybe. See also COMMENT.
VLM back in Brum
A new service between Antwerp and Birmingham starts today, 26 March, as part of the relaunch of the Belgian carrier VLM Airlines. The company restarted flights between Antwerp and London City in October (BTN 6 November).
Wijet goes for Honda
European taxi airline Wijet is acquiring 16 HondaJets under a contract valued at US$78m at catalogue price. The carrier says the deal will give it the capacity to cover 1,300 destinations throughout Europe and North Africa.
ON TOUR: The 2018 British Business and General Aviation annual conference
With the theme of ‘Tomorrow’s World Today,’ much of the focus at the British Business and General Aviation (BBGA) conference on 8 March was on where business and general aviation will begin seeing increased competition and how companies can innovate to stay relevant, write Stephanie Taylor and Alison Chambers.
AND FINALLY: Initial reaction
With Qantas’ new London – Perth nonstop much in the news, aviation guru Simon Calder has a story to tell.
Belfast's duty-free deal
A new service designed to make duty-free shopping easier has been launched at Belfast International Airport in partnership with Aelia Duty Free.
CAA wins Emirates case
A decision by the UK Supreme Court to refuse Emirates Airlines permission to appeal against a ruling on passenger compensation for missed connections outside the EU was welcomed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) last week.
Doncaster aims high
A long-haul operator is expected to announce new services this week at Doncaster Sheffield (Robin Hood) Airport (DSA) on the heels of the launch of a consultation into a £70m project called Aerotropolis set to transform the facility.
New boss for East Midlands
Continuing the drive to attract new airlines to East Midlands Airport has been identified as a priority by the facility’s new managing director, Karen Smart, currently director of landside operations at Stansted, whose appointment was announced last week.
Ryanair buys into Laudamotion
A 24.9% stake in Niki Lauda’s fledgling Austrian carrier Laudamotion (BTN last week), rising to 75% subject to EU approval, has been announced by Ryanair. The Irish airline is also giving €50m for start-up and first-year operating costs.
Waterloo to Heathrow
Plans for a southern rail access to Heathrow from Kent and Sussex via London’s Waterloo Station and Clapham Junction moved forward last week after transport secretary Chris Grayling invited companies to submit proposals for private sector investment in the project.
WestJet heads for Gatwick
A first foray on to the European mainland is under way from Canadian carrier WestJet with daily direct flights between Halifax Stanfield International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Wizz Air boost at Luton
Two new routes launched yesterday, Sunday, and the arrival of two new Airbus aircraft have consolidated Hungarian airline Wizz Air’s presence at Luton, with the airline promising more developments to come.