16 SEPTEMBER 2019
- COMMENT: No winners in this dispute
- Air Antwerp arrives at LCY
- Air Canada Ottawa – Heathrow upgrade
- Airport expansion wins more backing
- Aviation Club ticket deadline
- BA chief to address Air League
- Drone attack falls flat
- Duty free on comeback trail
- EasyJet sets passenger record
- Embraer world first for Azul
- Flights axed ahead of new BA strike
- Grab and Go at Southend
- Heathrow’s busiest day
- Hotel booking sites clampdown
- Loganair keeps up the pace
- London Infrastructure Summit
- Pegasus aims for digital transformation
- Radisson Red heads for London
- Strategy focus for Airlines 2050
- Virgin A350 enters service
- Wow Air comeback plan
- ON TOUR: Across the Everglades
- AND FINALLY: Cathay with a fizz
© 2022 Business Travel News Ltd.
Strategy focus for Airlines 2050
Future strategy for the UK aviation sector will be under the microscope at the Airlines 2050 conference taking place on 17 October at the QEII Centre in Westminster. The event is organised by Flight Global with Airlines UK, the UK Board of Airline Representatives (BAR UK) and IATA.
COMMENT: No winners in this dispute
There can be no clearer indication of the state of affairs between the warring parties in the current British Airways dispute than the contrasting statements issued at the end of the week on what happens next.
Air Antwerp arrives at LCY
The Fokker 50 maybe an old aeroplane. The twin-engined turboprop first flew (as the F27) in 1958. It still offers a very comfortable ride, with a tidy cabin offering good legroom, a firm table and decent size overhead bins for up to 52 passengers.
Airport expansion wins more backing
New polling released last week shows local support for the expansion of Heathrow remains strong with more residents in 16 of the 18 parliamentary constituencies around the airport backing the programme rather than opposing it.
Aviation Club ticket deadline
Today, Monday, is the last day to apply for tickets for this month's Aviation Club lunch. The event is on Thursday (19 September) at the Institute of Directors in London. Guest speaker is Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths, discussing the life and times of one of the world’s aviation hotspots.
BA chief to address Air League
Members and guests of the Air League attending the 2019 Sir Andrew Humphrey Memorial Lecture will have plenty to discuss, with the guest speaker being British Airways chairman and CEO Álex Cruz.
Drone attack falls flat
Authorities at UK airports remained on alert at the weekend for further drone attacks after a much-publicised threat to paralyse Heathrow due to start on Friday failed to take off, with protesters claiming their signals were being jammed.
EasyJet sets passenger record
Rounding off a record period for airports and airlines, easyJet carried more than 332,000 passengers on Friday, making it the busiest single day in its history. It involved more than 1,972 flights across the carrier’s network.
Flights axed ahead of new BA strike
British Airways began cancelling flights on Friday ahead of another strike by pilots due to take place on 27 September. Thousands of passengers received emails offering them a full refund or the option to rebook on an alternative date or airline.
Heathrow’s busiest day
A record 262,000 passengers travelled through Heathrow to give the airport its busiest day to date on 4 August. The figure contributed to the 7.7m total number for the month, 0.1% up on last year.
Loganair keeps up the pace
Six routes starting next year, including new destinations and additional connections linking airports across its route map, have been unveiled by Loganair hard on the heels of launches at Aberdeen and East Midlands (BTN last week).
Virgin A350 enters service
A month and a day after its delivery from Airbus, Virgin Atlantic’s new A350-1000 (below) – named Red Velvet – entered revenue service last week between Heathrow and New York JFK.
Wow Air comeback plan
Moves to revive Icelandic low-cost carrier Wow Air, possibly within a few weeks, were being reported in Iceland last week after a US-based investor came forward. Wow collapsed earlier this year (BTN 1 April), leaving passengers stranded.
ON TOUR: Across the Everglades
Alligators, a river of grass and miles of white-sand beaches – on a tour of "the other Florida", BTN editor Richard Cawthorne crosses the Sunshine State to arrive at the Gulf of Mexico coast.
AND FINALLY: Cathay with a fizz
Does anyone else think the latest reshuffle at Cathay Pacific has a touch of – ahem – froth about it?
Air Canada Ottawa – Heathrow upgrade
Non-stop Ottawa – Heathrow flights operated by Air Canada are being upgraded next spring to a Boeing B787 Dreamliner service featuring the carrier’s Signature cabin, with fully lie-flat suites, plus a new Premium Economy cabin.
Duty free on comeback trail
Travellers between the UK and EU will be able to sample duty-free shopping again if there is a no-deal Brexit in what chancellor Sajid Javid said last week was a response to travel industry requests for the reintroduction.
Embraer world first for Azul
Brazil’s largest carrier Azul has taken delivery of the world’s first Embraer 195-E2 aircraft at its main facility in São José dos Campos. The company is due to receive a further five of the aircraft from Embraer before the end of the year.
Grab and Go at Southend
Hungry passengers travelling through Southend Airport can now pre-order food from The Navigator and Giraffe Stop in the departures lounge to take away ahead of their flights with the arrival of the Grab airport app.
Hotel booking sites clampdown
People booking hotels online can now do so with more confidence following a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) probe of the sector, the government announced on Friday.
London Infrastructure Summit
Commonly known as White Hart Lane, officially the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the new Spurs home was the impressive venue for the London Infrastructure Summit last week. As if to celebrate the event, the rebuilt White Hart Lane London Overground station was open, a gateway to the arena less than 5min away.
Pegasus aims for digital transformation
Details of a “digital transformation” being undertaken to enable his airline to become one of the top three in the world in terms of technology were outlined by Pegasus Airlines’ CEO Mehmet Nane at the 2019 World Aviation Festival.
Radisson Red heads for London
Planned new openings in London next year and Tallinn in 2023 have been announced by the Radisson Hotel Group for its Radisson Red brand as part of a continuing global expansion programme.