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May 6

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May 6

Comment: BER - is there a risk of chaos like last year?

Stephen Lorenz 6 Maj 2022 11:08

Long waiting times, missed flights, complaining passengers – where is the learning effect at the capital airport? It is Thursday evening, a completely normal May evening, it is not the holidays in Berlin, nothing special, when my phone lights up. "You won't believe it, I've been standing at the security checkpoint for ages and they are still closing checkpoints here." The "end of the story" came less than 20 minutes later, "boarding is over, I'm not coming." 14 hours later, Friday morning, 9 a.m., a completely normal Friday in May. The terminal is packed, the check-in desks too, but I'm more concerned with what all the people are queuing across Terminal 1 for. A quick look around the corner, and I'm in shock. It's the fellow travelers waiting in line, passengers queuing before the boarding pass check before security check 4. There is a seamless transition to "Priority" checkpoint 3. A quick glance at the monitors reveals that all checkpoints are at maximum capacity. I look at the BER airport homepage - they make it easy there. The waiting time is only given in 3 categories: approx. <10 minutes approx. 10-20 minutes approx. > 20 minutes All checkpoints are of course >20 minutes. I have a suitcase with me and actually still have to queue to check in. For a brief moment I consider walking back to the parking garage and flying without my suitcase. But the shock persists, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE??? - AS A REMINDER: It is a completely normal Friday morning IN MAY, no public holiday, no bridge day, no vacation - nothing.

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Travel industry for immediate lifting of 3G entry rules

Granite Pireci 6 Maj 2022 11:04

Adhering to the 3G rule creates competitive disadvantages for travel agencies and the hotel industry. In addition, there would be no objective justification for such a harsh measure. "After 2 years of massive restrictions, tourism must finally be given some breathing room. The 3G rule is no longer acceptable in the current situation for foreign guests who want to vacation in Austria or for Austrian travelers returning from abroad," criticizes Gregor Kadanka, chairman of the Association of Travel Agencies in the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ). The pandemic situation has not only eased in Austria. Most countries of origin and travel destinations currently have even lower incidence rates than Austria, and the trend is clearly downward everywhere. "So what is the objective justification for this restriction? We hope that the Minister of Health will give in here, otherwise our only option is to consider a legal review of the proportionality of the regulation," Kadanka continued. Susanne Kraus-Winkler, chairwoman of the Hotel Industry Association, takes the same line. "The entry restriction through the 3G rule actively creates a competitive disadvantage for incoming tourism and thus also for all Austrian hotels. Such a harsh, far-reaching restriction requires an objective justification - there is none in this case," says Kraus-Winkler, urgently appealing to the Minister of Health to abolish the 3G rule in time before the summer in order to prevent incoming tourism and the Austrian hotel industry from suffering the next, avoidable damage. 

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Airbus A350 D-AIVB is being prepared in Luqa for use by Lufthansa

Amely Mizzi 6 Maj 2022 10:34

Last Friday, Lufthansa transferred the Airbus A350-900 with the registration D-AIVB from Munich to Luqa. Maintenance work will be carried out there at Lufthansa Technik. The long-haul aircraft will also receive the carrier's livery. The aircraft currently still bears the design of the previous operator, Philippine Airlines, on the tail unit. The company took over the leased aircraft in September 2018 as brand new and has used it as RP-C3504 to date. The seating, which Lufthansa describes as "new", will remain on board. This is the cabin interior that was previously used by Philippine Airlines. The owner of the D-AIVB is the leasing company Avolon.

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Australia: Qantas takes over Alliance Airlines completely

Jan Gruber 6 Maj 2022 10:04

Oneworld member Qantas wants to take over the regional airline Alliance Airlines in full. A corresponding agreement has already been concluded between the two companies. The approval of the shareholders and the competition authority is still pending. Alliance Airlines operates both on its own account and as a wet lease partner for Qantas. The fleet currently consists of 62 aircraft and is made up as follows: 16 Embraer 190-100AR, two E190-100LR, 25 Fokker 100, 14 Fokker 70 and five Fokker 50. The carrier is the world's largest operator of commercial aircraft from the former Dutch manufacturer. Many Fokker 70/100s that were previously used by Austrian Airlines and Helvetic Airways have found a new home with Alliance Airlines down under. However, these will be phased out in the next few years. It is planned to purchase replacement regional jets from the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. The Airbus A220, which was recently ordered by Qantas, could also possibly be included. The regional airline is to be integrated into the buyer's group after the transaction has been closed. It is still unclear whether the brand will be retained. At present, the Embraer fleet is mainly used by Qantas under a wet lease agreement. The group only acquired a 2019 percent stake in Alliance Airlines in February 20. With the complete takeover, Australia's largest airline wants to improve its market position in domestic traffic.

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Airbus: A321XLR first delivery delayed

Jan Gruber 6 Maj 2022 09:31

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus is postponing the expected first delivery of the A321XLR to 2024. The reason for this is that EASA's safety concerns regarding the fuel tanks must be addressed. Main competitor Boeing submitted a written statement to EASA some time ago. In it, it was emphasized that it sees a potential danger with regard to the positioning of the additional tanks. It also made suggestions as to how this could be remedied. This is a common practice, as aviation authorities ask external participants for their expertise as part of approval procedures. Airbus also makes use of this option in Boeing approval procedures, for example. The European aircraft manufacturer assumes that its long-awaited A321XLR narrow-body aircraft cannot enter service before 2024. Airbus confirmed the delay when presenting its results for the first quarter of 2022 on Wednesday. It was originally announced that the first A321XLR could enter scheduled service at the end of 2023. Additional structural work is now necessary in connection with the additional tanks. Airbus expects that this will take between six months and a year. EASA did not want to comment further on this, but said the manufacturer must prove that the insulation plan is safe. The aim is to ensure that the insulation between the cabin floor and the fuel tanks is safe and prevents burnout.

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Cunard starts ticket sales for new arrival “Queen Anne”

Amely Mizzi 6 Maj 2022 09:07

In 2024, Cunard plans to launch the new ship "Queen Anne". The maiden voyage is scheduled to depart from Southampton on January 4, 2024 and head to Lisbon. The journey will last seven days. Initially, participants in the customer loyalty program can buy tickets for the first trips of the future fleet member. The shipping company has announced an event in Southampton for January 11, 2024. The Queen Victoria and the Queen Mary 2 are also scheduled to take part. For the time being, the Queen Anne will operate various cruises from the British port to the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Northern Europe. For bookings made by February 28, 2023, Cunard plans to offer a discount of up to 15 percent. Holders of customer loyalty cards will be rewarded with additional on-board credit depending on their status.

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Bern: FlyBair is repositioning itself as an intermediary

Jan Gruber 6 Maj 2022 08:34

The Bern-Belp Airport's own brand, FlyBair, will not be offering its own charter flights this year. The decision is justified, among other things, by the fact that there would continue to be a lack of predictability due to the corona pandemic. FlyBair also wants to conserve the funds it raised through a crowdfunding campaign. However, the booking platform will continue to exist. The company also wants to continue its cooperation with Lübeck Air and continue to broker its offers. Another new development is a collaboration with the tour operator Belpmoos Reisen. The company has been commissioned to operate the booking platform. This means that some of the tour operator's charter flights will also be offered via FlyBair's homepage. Air Alsie and German Airways are operating flights under the Lübeck Air brand this year, with Belpmoos Reisen being the client in some cases. The following charter connections are therefore available: Heringsdorf (Germany) - once a week on Saturdays, from May 28 to October 22, 2022; Lübeck (Germany) - twice a week - Thursdays and Sundays from May 2 to October 12, 20, with an ATR2002-72 being replaced by an E500 on Sundays; Olbia (Sardinia, Italy) - once a week on Fridays, from May 190 to October 13, 14; and Jerez de la Frontera (Spain) - once a week on Sundays, from September 2022 to October 18, 23. Helvetic Airways and Swiss Flight Services will also operate flights from Bern-Belp in the 2022 summer flight schedule. FlyBair was to launch as a so-called virtual airline. In summer 2022, the company launched with an Embraer 2020 chartered from Helvetic Airways. After a few flights, the Palma flights were discontinued due to lack of demand.

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Special state parliament deals with Klagenfurt Airport

Jan Gruber 6 Maj 2022 08:03

Next week, the Carinthian state parliament will deal with the Klagenfurt Airport case. The FPÖ has requested a special session, but has not yet requested a committee of inquiry. Within the state government, views on the call option on Lilihill's shares in the airport are very divided. The supervisory board of the Carinthian investment administration has decided that it wants to buy back the shares. However, a resolution from the state government and the state parliament is still required for this. The meeting was also marked by the fact that the supervisory board members nominated by the SPÖ and FPÖ demonstratively left the room before the vote. Lilihill does not want to simply let Klagenfurt Airport be taken away from them, but has already announced that it will exhaust every possible legal remedy and also assert claims for damages amounting to 100 million euros. The political chaos surrounding Klagenfurt Airport began many years ago and should actually have ended with privatization. Nevertheless, politics continues to interfere. While the ÖVP, especially State Councillor Martin Gruber, is in favour of exercising the call option, the SPÖ, which provides the state governor, is strictly against it. Next week, Gruber wants to bring the issue of buyback to the coalition committee. During the special session of the state parliament, the FPÖ wants to know from State Governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) and Martin Gruber, among other things, what legal and financial consequences the state faces if it exercises the call option and what future plans there are. Austrian Airlines is issuing special offer tickets Completely independent of this, Austrian Airlines has reacted to the announcement by competitor Ryanair that it wants to fly from Klagenfurt from the 2022/23 winter flight schedule. The Lufthansa subsidiary

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Ita Airways has opened the data room for interested parties

Amely Mizzi 6 Maj 2022 07:33

Potential buyers of the Italian airline Ita Airways can now view the books. The data room was opened at the beginning of the week. Formal expressions of interest had to be submitted beforehand. According to official information, in addition to the MSC/Lufthansa consortium, Certares with Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM and Indigo Partners are also interested in buying the Alitalia successor. After the books have been inspected, formal purchase offers can be submitted. The Italian Ministry of Finance plans to start sales negotiations from around June 2022. Ita Airways is planned to be privatized by the end of this year. However, it is also planned that the state should remain on board with a minority stake. The management of Ita Airways makes no secret of the fact that it prefers the MSC/Lufthansa consortium, but the Ministry of Finance wants an open sales process and has not yet "committed" itself in any way.

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Frankfurt: warning strike at Lufthansa Cargo subsidiary

Amely Mizzi 6 Maj 2022 07:06

The Frankfurt employees of the Lufthansa Cargo subsidiary Handling Counts have been called to a three-day warning strike by the Verdi union since Wednesday morning. The employee representatives want to increase the pressure on management. The company on strike is a cargo service provider, so there will be no impact on passenger flights. However, there will be delays in freight. Around 80 percent of the workforce is said to have taken part in the last warning strike. The background to the industrial action is that negotiations on a collective wage agreement have stalled. Verdi is demanding, among other things, higher pay for the approximately 200 employees.

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