23 MAY 2022
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- COMMENT: Crossrail - the final word
- BTN Editor-in-Chief to step down *
- LETTER OF THE WEEK
- Airline for sale *
- Boeing chief at Aviation Club
- Business jet configurator
- China Eastern - no real news or suicide
- EasyJet boost
- EBACE starts today
- Elizabeth line summary
- IAG and Boeing
- Jet Airways returns
- KLM’s Elbers for India
- London to Oz non-stop restarts
- More London transport news
- New ATR ‘Made for Plymouth’
- Routes at Bergen
- Russian sanctions
- Shapps a busy fellow
- Slots at Heathrow
- Virgin Atlantic chops flights
- Wizz Air expands – again
- ON TOUR: In retrospect – Carnival Pride
- AND FINALLY: The Elizabeth line & the lost page!
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LETTER OF THE WEEK
No special Letter of the Week as Jeff Mills, BTN's Editor-at-Large, COMMENT: Disappearing First Class has stirred up nostalgia. All the contributors have made valid points.
COMMENT: Crossrail - the final word
On Tuesday the Elizabeth line (Crossrail) officially opens, London’s first major public transport improvement since the opening of the Victoria line in 1969, 53 years ago.
China Eastern - no real news or suicide
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) an unnamed source familiar with the investigation has claimed that the crash of the China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 on 21 March was possibly caused by a pilot deliberately.
EasyJet boost
Luton Airport based easyJet says that capacity will be "near 2019 flying levels" this summer, while annual easyJet holidays passenger numbers are on course to exceed a million for the first time.
EBACE starts today
EBACE 2022 (European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition) kicked off yesterday (Sunday 22 May) at Palexpo Geneva with prime Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) highlighting their commitment to sustainability and becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Major annoucements are expected later today.
Elizabeth line summary
In spite of her limited public appearances, and always of an enquiring mind, Her Majesty the Queen visited the Paddington Elizabeth line station last Tuesday (17 May) to mark the completion of the transformational new railway ahead of its opening to passengers.
IAG and Boeing
Boeing has formalised a commitment made by International Airlines Group (IAG) for the 737 MAX 800 at the 2019 Paris Air Show with a firm order for 50.
London to Oz non-stop restarts
From today (Monday 23 May) there are once again daily direct services between Western Australia and London.
More London transport news
Whilst the long-awaited opening of the Elizabeth line is the current Transport for London (TfL) news event other important actions have been undertaken by the capital’s public service provider over the last week or so.
Slots at Heathrow
The UK government has blocked Russian airlines from selling off their landing slots at UK airports and in particular Heathrow. It says the lucrative slots are worth up to £50m.
Wizz Air expands – again
Listed on the London Stock Exchange Wizz Air is expanding again.
ON TOUR: In retrospect – Carnival Pride
ON TOUR: Carnival Pride was covered last week. This is a reassessment of the Carnival voyage.
AND FINALLY: The Elizabeth line & the lost page!
This was to be the final page of London City Airport – 30 Years Serving the Capital (by Malcolm Ginsberg), the official and definitive history of LCY published 5 November 2017 exactly 30 years after its the official opening by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. At the very last moment the Airport Director asked for it to be removed. Monday 23 May 2022 it is published for the first time.
BTN Editor-in-Chief to step down *
Malcolm Ginsberg, owner and Editor-in-Chief of Business Travel News (Business Travel News Ltd), is to step down at his 80th birthday in October.
Boeing chief at Aviation Club
With Farnborough coming up (begins Monday 18 July) The Aviation Club of the United Kingdom has invited Stan Deal, Executive VP of The Boeing Company and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, to the RAC London for its next lunch, Thursday 16 June.
Business jet configurator
Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) chose the opening day of European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) to announce the opening of an ACJ TwoTwenty creative studio at Toulouse.
Jet Airways returns
Once only second to Air India on the subcontinent Jet Airways has secured all permissions to begin operations once again. The country’s aviation regulator, DGCA, has granted an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to the airline that was grounded over financial woes.
KLM’s Elbers for India
Pieter Elbers (52), who surprisingly stepped down as KLM’s Chief Executive in January of this year, is to replace retiring IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta from 1 October.
New ATR ‘Made for Plymouth’
French/Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR has made the first flight of the ATR 42-600S Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) variant of its ATR 42-600 aircraft.
Routes at Bergen
Routes Online reports that buoyed by strong domestic demand and an appetite for international leisure travel, the latest figures published by Eurocontrol show that traffic within Europe has now recovered to about 85% of 2019 levels with Greece, Norway, Spain and Turkey exceeding 90%.
Russian sanctions
The British government has put out a statement emphasising the steps being taken in the aviation and transport industries backing up the slots at Heathrow issues highlighted in this week's BTN.
Shapps a busy fellow
UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps has proved to be a busy fellow over the last few weeks.