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December 17, 2020

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December 17, 2020

Air Baltic says goodbye: the last Boeing 737 was phased out

Granite Pireci 17 December 2020 15:58

Air Baltic says goodbye: The Latvian airline is today handing over its last Boeing 737 to the new owner Magnetic MRO, which ordered three 737s a few months ago. The last aircraft to be retired bore the registration YL-BBX and was flown to Ostrava in the Czech Republic. Air Baltic introduced the first Boeing 737 in 2003. Over the years, a total of 20 different 737s have carried more than 22 million passengers and operated more than 280.000 flights across Europe and beyond. "Since May 2020, Air Baltic has operated all flights with a single aircraft type - the Airbus A220-300. This minimizes complexity and utilizes the aircraft's additional efficiency. Nevertheless, Boeing 737 aircraft have been an important part of our fleet for 17 years. They were our breakthrough and helped establish us as a strong regional airline," said Air Baltic CEO Martin Gauss.

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November: Overnight stays in Vienna go down by 93,3 percent

Granite Pireci 17 December 2020 15:22

Vienna's overnight stays in November were 92.000, 93,3 percent below the comparable figure from the previous year, not least due to the lockdown. From January to November, 4,5 million overnight stays were counted, which corresponds to a decrease of 71,6 percent. The net overnight stay turnover of the accommodation establishments is currently fixed for the months January to October: 223,4 million euros, a decrease of 73 percent. Most overnight stays were again recorded domestically (47.000, -84 percent). The November results from the other source markets are 12.000 overnight stays for Germany (-95 percent), followed by Italy (2.000, -97 percent) and Great Britain (2.000, -97 percent).

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Bodensee-Airport Friedrichshafen invests in LED runway

Granite Pireci 17 December 2020 14:56

An energy saving of around 65 percent in operating mode, calculated for the entire lighting, is the result of the complete conversion of halogen lights to energy-saving LED lights at Friedrichshafen Lake Constance Airport. The halogen lights installed in the past, for example on the runway center line, consumed around 100 watts per light, while LED lights with the same function and intensity consume around 25 watts. This is because LED lamps are more efficient, it is reported. Unlike halogen lamps, they do not get warm and thus use the energy with less loss. At the official start of construction in May of this year, the first of a total of 857 underfloor lights embedded in the ground were replaced with LEDs in night shifts. Of these, 366 were replaced on the taxiways and 491 on the runway. The runway lighting was replaced exclusively during night work, the taxiways mostly during the day in cordoned-off construction areas. "After converting the apron lighting to LED, purchasing electrically powered baggage tractors and changing hall lighting to LED, I am pleased that we have been able to complete another project that serves climate protection. The installation of a total of 857 underfloor lights went according to plan thanks to good coordination with the service providers and construction companies. The lower traffic due to Corona made implementation easier. It was a mammoth task, because a total of 1.229 lights were removed. The higher light intensity of the new lights meant that duplicate lights could be dispensed with in certain areas without any loss of intensity. This and, above all, the lower power consumption of the LED lights lead to significant energy savings at the airport," said airport managing director Claus-Dieter Wehr. 

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From Friday: Tenerife closes for vacationers

Granite Pireci 17 December 2020 14:32

So shortly before the Christmas holidays, tour operators have to accept bad news: Tenerife is closing. Travel to and from the Canary Island is to be largely restricted from Friday. The holiday destination would therefore be closed for at least 15 days, and entry and exit into Tenerife would only be permitted for important reasons. This means that tourists are allowed to leave, but no new ones are allowed to enter. Travel between Tenerife and the other Canary Islands is also only possible in exceptional cases, reports the travel portal Reisevor9. The authorities are apparently sacrificing Tenerife to avoid a travel warning for all islands. Because while the seven-day incidence for Tenerife is over 110 new infections per 100.000 inhabitants, on the other islands it is only around 20.

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Lufthansa Group reaches an agreement with Saber

Granite Pireci 17 December 2020 13:55

The Lufthansa Group and technology service provider Sabre have entered into a new distribution agreement. The contract allows "mutual flexibility and technological innovation through the introduction of NDC," according to a Lufthansa statement. Under the contract, Sabre will continue to distribute the offers of the Lufthansa Group Airlines via its global distribution system. In addition, the contract regulates the distribution of the offers of the Lufthansa Group Airlines via the industry standard NDC, as the travel portal Reisevor9 reports. After the planned launch next year, the diversified NDC program will give travel agencies affiliated with Sabre worldwide the opportunity to access the offers of the Lufthansa Group Airlines, Lufthansa announced. Access will be via the Sabre travel marketplace and by registering with one of the two available commercial models for NDC. The tech company Sabre had terminated its cooperation with the airlines of the Lufthansa Group at the end of June 2020. According to industry experts, the background to this was differences over the availability of NDC and "full content" in the GDS and the fees incurred. By incorporating NDC offers into existing booking systems, Sabre has apparently been able to prevail. The Lufthansa airlines have given in.

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The EU is setting the course for the revival of slots

Granite Pireci 17 December 2020 13:27

A draft from the EU Commission would rule out a further extension of the slot exemption rule beyond March 2021. Instead, work is being done to slowly stimulate competition again. As part of this, a new rule is to come into force which provides for at least 40 percent slot utilization. "The proposed rules offer a certain degree of security for the 2021 summer season and ensure that the Commission can decide on further slot relief according to clear rules," said EU Transport Commissioner Adina Valean. The proposal still has to be adopted by the EU Parliament and the 27 EU member states. This would put the EU even below the IATA recommendation. The umbrella organization has recommended setting a limit of 50 percent in order to avoid a penalty and the loss of slots, as the aviation portal Aero reports. The airlines are not expected to return to the normal slot regulation until the 2022 summer flight schedule. An allocated slot at an airport must be effectively used for flights at least 80 percent of the time, otherwise the slot will be withdrawn. Currently, airline managers do not have to worry about losing their airport slot if they do not fully use it due to a lack of demand, because the exemption rule still applies.

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Transat AT shareholders wave to Air Canada takeover

Granite Pireci 17 December 2020 12:57

The shareholders of the Canadian group have decided: They give their consent to the takeover by Air Canada. An extraordinary general meeting was held for this occasion. Ultimately, they agreed on five dollars per share. The airline had originally offered 18 dollars, but the Corona crisis pushed down not only sales but also the market value. A higher offer from a private investor, which the company says came in at the end of November, was instead ignored. After all, the price is only one of many key factors that are taken into account in the valuation, according to a company spokesperson. Transat AT is the parent company of the holiday airline Air Transat. The takeover will most likely take place in early 2021, as the news portal CBC reports.

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No show clause: AUA only gave in after being summoned to court

Jan Gruber 17 December 2020 12:02

Austrian Airlines turned a trip into an odyssey for two consumers by pointing out a controversial clause in the conditions of carriage, which ultimately even led to a lawsuit by the Association for Consumer Information on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Once again, it was about a "no-show clause" that is prohibited by law in some European countries. Austrian Airlines was of the opinion that a return flight can be cancelled without replacement if the passengers do not use the outbound flight. Naturally, alternative transport and compensation in accordance with EU Regulation 261/2004 were then refused. This anti-customer behavior not only angered the two passengers, but also the Ministry of Social Affairs and the VKI. Since AUA did not give in, a lawsuit was filed. The Lufthansa subsidiary had barely received the summons to the court date when the claim was fully met. In other words: AUA paid and thus acknowledged the financial claim in order to avoid a court hearing. According to the VKI, the background was as follows: Two consumers had booked flights from Vienna to Split and back with AUA. The passengers had missed the outbound flight due to a traffic jam. They then travelled to Split by other means. When they arrived at the airport in Split on the day of their planned return journey, they found out that AUA had cancelled the return flight. The travellers had to book a flight with another airline. The consumers then turned to the VKI for help. The VKI initially tried to find an out-of-court solution. However, AUA refused to pay any money. The reason given was that the return flight had been cancelled by AUA due to the consumers' failure to show up.

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Ilyushin Il-114-300 completed first flight

Amely Mizzi 17 December 2020 11:30

The Ilyushin Il-114-300 turboprop aircraft is now in the air. The first test flight was actually announced for December 18, 2020, but the UAC launched the prototype on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Irkut MS-21 took off for the first time with Russian-made engines, meaning the country was able to celebrate two premieres in one week. The Il-114-300 is a modernized version of the Il-114-100, which was anything but a best-seller. The model was offered from the mid-1980s until 2012, but only 20 units were produced. There are several large orders for the successor, which come exclusively from state leasing companies. The first flight was carried out from Zhukovsi Airport. On board were the two pilots and a senior engineer from the manufacturer. The Il-114-300 is powered by two Klimov TW7-117SM turboprop engines. The premiere was unspectacular, as the prototype landed safely back at the airport after the tests were carried out. The Il-114-300 and the MS-21, along with the SSJ-100, are of particular importance to the Russian Federation. The aim is to make domestically produced aircraft attractive for regional transport as a replacement for some of the outdated Soviet-era aircraft. The government also wants to reduce dependence on Western manufacturers. It is also envisaged that the Russian UAC will become a major player on the global market. But there is still a long, rocky road ahead. The current plan is for series production of the Il-114-300 to begin in 2022. The first aircraft is to be handed over to a customer by 2023 at the latest. At least

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Flixbus cancels comeback at short notice

Jan Gruber 17 December 2020 10:05

The long-distance bus operator actually wanted to offer limited service during the Christmas period. But that won't happen because the company canceled the comeback at short notice due to the German lockdown. According to Flixbus, passengers who bought a ticket for the period from December 17, 2020 to January 11, 2021 will be contacted and receive a refund. In a statement, the bus operator wrote that the decision to cancel the resumption of some routes was made "with a heavy heart." They are now hoping for a comeback in 2021.

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