June 29

More articles from the category

June 29

VC again appeals against aviation agreements with Qatar

On Monday, the Council of the European Union decided to sign the aviation agreement with Qatar. This will, among other things, grant Qatar Airways improved market access. European employee representatives criticize this and would prefer to prevent the agreement. The Cockpit Association, together with "Europeans for Fair Competition" (E4FC), reminds the Cockpit Association (VC), as the representative of German cockpit staff, that the comprehensive provisions of the agreement on fair competition must be observed. "The agreement with Qatar is neither in the interests of European employees nor of the European aviation industry," says Maria-Pascaline Murtha, VC Board Member for International Relations. "It is therefore all the more important that the EU Commission closely monitors fair competition within the framework of this agreement and takes the necessary measures in the event of violations. The agreement should also be improved in terms of climate protection. We need binding environmental requirements that correspond to the goals of the European Green Deal." Although the agreement contains obligations to transparency and protective measures in the event of violations, the Cockpit Association has doubts that these will actually take effect. “The EU Commission is called upon to take the necessary steps from the outset to ensure the proper and effective implementation of these provisions and thus fair competition,” said the VC.

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Comeback: Lufthansa is back in Leipzig / Halle

On Monday, Leipzig/Halle Airport welcomed a Lufthansa Cityline Bombardier CRJ-900 again after a long break. The crane will once again connect the eastern German airport to the Frankfurt am Main hub up to eight times a week. Lufthansa plans to continuously expand its service to the Frankfurt hub to 14 weekly flights over the course of the summer. As a result of the pandemic, the Leipzig/Halle – Frankfurt connection has been suspended since March 18, 2020. Offers from Dresden Lufthansa has already been serving the Dresden – Frankfurt route for a year now – after only a seven-week interruption as a result of the pandemic. Flights are offered daily. From July, up to three connections per day between Dresden and Frankfurt are planned. Lufthansa will fly to the Munich hub on Wednesdays to Sundays and Mondays. From August, the connection will be served daily. Götz Ahmelmann, CEO of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG: We are pleased that Lufthansa is again represented at both airports. This is an optimistic signal and an important step to connect the Central Germany region to the airline's global route network in line with demand.

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Out for the operating company of Tempelhof and Tegel

A piece of aviation history ended in Berlin on Monday, as the operating company of Tempelhof and Tegel airports held its last supervisory board meeting and decided to merge the Berliner Flughafen-Gesellschaft with Flughafen Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH. With regret and sadness, the BFG supervisory board also noted that the long-time head of Tegel airport, Prof. Robert Grosch, died on June 23, 2021 at the age of 90. The Berliner Flughafen-Gesellschaft was founded in 1924 and, according to its first statutes, was intended to serve the "expansion and operation of the airport on Tempelhofer Feld and other air traffic facilities in Berlin". It operated Tempelhof Airport until 2008 and Tegel Airport until 2020. The BFG had been a wholly owned subsidiary of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH (FBB) since 2003. Gerry Woop, State Secretary for Europe in the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe, was chairman of the supervisory board since 2017. He represented the BFG on the FBB supervisory board. On November 8, 2020, the last aircraft took off from Tegel, an Air France plane, after which the airport was put into slumber mode and the BFG was released from its obligation to operate. On May 4, 2021, the operating license expired permanently. The Berlin Airport Company has thus lost its purpose. The airport site with its 130 buildings and facilities will be completely returned to the owners, the State of Berlin and the Federal Government, by the beginning of August 2021. Gerry Woop, Chairman of the BFG Supervisory Board: "With the upcoming merger of the Berliner Flughafen-Gesellschaft mbH, a corporate history of aviation in Berlin comes to an end after almost 100 years. The history of the Berliner Flughafen-Gesellschaft ranges from the beginnings of civil aviation

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This is the new premium economy class from Swiss

From the fourth quarter of 2021, twelve Swiss Boeing 777-300ERs will be gradually equipped with the new Premium Economy Class. This product is to be offered across the entire long-haul fleet by the start of the 2022 summer flight schedule. The new class will cost around 250 to 350 francs more than Economy Class. "We are delighted to be able to meet the growing need for more privacy, comfort and individuality with the introduction of Premium Economy Class. In addition, we are strengthening our premium positioning in the growing leisure travel sector with this new offering," explains Swiss CEO Dieter Vranckx. Swiss will offer 777 Premium Economy seats from the new generation of seats from the manufacturer ZIM per Boeing 300-24ER. The seat is integrated into a hard shell and can be easily adjusted without affecting fellow passengers in the row behind. Compared to Economy Class, the seat is wider: instead of 43,4 cm, the width is between 46 and 48 cm. The seat pitch is 99 cm instead of 78,7 cm, which significantly increases legroom. The new Premium Economy seat can also be reclined further. It is also equipped with a fold-out leg rest. The seat covers are produced by the Bern-based company Lantal. For more comfort, Premium Economy Class passengers also receive a travel toiletry bag made of sustainable materials. They also receive high-quality, noise-reducing headphones that further enhance the film or music experience on the 15,6-inch monitor. Personal reading lamps provide light on night flights, and electronic devices can be charged at the seat using their own USB-A port. "Premium Economy Class is ideal for current Economy Class passengers who want to upgrade their travel experience and benefit from amenities such as

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Salzburg celebrates Lufthansa comeback

After a long "Corona break", Lufthansa is back at Salzburg Airport. On Monday, the crane landed in the city of Mozart again at 10:25 a.m. This means that the connection to the Star Alliance hub in Frankfurt am Main has been restored. "After many weeks and months of waiting, hoping and fearing, we can finally be happy again! Europe is flying again and we are right in the middle of it! Lufthansa is our long-standing premium partner when it comes to hub connections from Salzburg. We can finally participate in the global Star Alliance route network via Frankfurt again, which will please not only tourist passengers but also our business passengers in particular," says airport managing director Bettina Ganghofer. "There are many business centers in and around Salzburg that urgently need this springboard into the world." Flights to/from Frankfurt and further into the Lufthansa network can already be booked and will be offered up to 10 times a week in July. If the positive booking trend continues, flights will be further increased over the course of the summer and offered twice a day again, thus achieving even better connectivity via the Frankfurt hub.

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Delays: Airlines are falling back into old patterns

Delays and cancellations are probably the biggest annoyance that airlines can inflict on their passengers. The passenger rights portal Airhelp found that many airlines are falling back into old patterns despite reduced flight operations. In May 2019, more than 2,8 million passengers were affected by flight cancellations or delays. AirHelp has investigated whether the situation will be similar this year despite Corona and the associated restrictions. To do this, the passenger rights organization analyzed the current flight data from May 2021 and compared it with the statistics from 2019. As the analysis shows, travelers must expect problems again this year. In one key figure, the airlines are even at the same level as in 2019. A look at the number of flights shows that the travel industry is only just picking up speed again. With around 16.000 flights, five times fewer planes are currently taking off worldwide than two years ago. This is subsequently reflected in the total number of passengers affected by delays and cancellations. While in May 2019 more than 2,8 million passengers were unable to reach their destination as planned, last month around 151.000 people were. However, compared to the total number of passengers, this is 12,6 percent. This means that in May 2021 more than one in eight passengers was affected by delays or cancellations. “As travel operations resume, flight problems are also returning. At first one might assume that an improvement is in sight here, because in 2019 28 percent of all passengers were affected by problems. With a share of currently

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Photo gallery: DFB team started with Klasjet in Nuremberg

The German national football team took off from Nuremberg on Monday for London on a Boeing 737-500 from Klasjet. The team will face England at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday. The footballers use the airport in the Nuremberg metropolitan region to travel to and from matches abroad. Their European Championship quarters "home ground" are around 20 kilometers away at Adidas in Herzogenaurach.

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