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May 29

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May 29

Flight cancellations: British Airways was again struggling with computer problems

Amely Mizzi 29 May 2023 08:31

Without IT systems and computers, pretty much nothing works in aviation. This was demonstrated by a new IT breakdown at British Airways, which this time mainly affected short-haul flights. On Thursday, the company had to cancel 128 flights, according to official figures. This is not the first time that British Airways has suffered from IT problems. This time the impact is comparatively small, because on Thursday it had to cancel "only" 128 flights without replacement. The carrier and its passengers have been hit harder in the past. In the USA, several carriers have had IT problems independently of one another in recent months, which have even led to temporary groundings. All of these events show how dependent commercial civil aviation is on functioning computer systems and servers. Some passengers are of the opinion that they could then simply check in "manually", i.e. like in the past with a ballpoint pen and possibly seat stickers. But it is not quite that simple, because if you do not even have access to the bookings, even printed booking confirmations are of no use. Regardless of this, all incidents, including the most recent one at British Airways, give rise to the assumption that some companies have done too little to protect themselves from failure in the IT sector or have inadequate fallback measures in place for the worst-case scenario. Days on which the flight schedule is disrupted also have an impact on the time afterward. So it is not surprising that British Airways had to cancel numerous other flights from its London Heathrow hub on Saturday. This is due, for example, to the fact that the aircraft required for the flight are on a very different

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By summer 2026: Bavaria will switch to 3D CT scanners

Amely Mizzi 29 May 2023 08:01

The German state of Bavaria is upgrading the security checks at its airports with new 3D CT scanners. Five devices were already put into operation in Terminals 1 and 2 in Munich at the start of the Whitsun holidays. By the start of the summer holidays in 2026, all other checkpoints will be equipped in ten further construction phases, so that up to 48 lanes and 60 CT devices will be in use at the end. Nuremberg Airport is also to be completely converted during this period; a first device has been in use since the end of February. Bavaria's third airport, Memmingen, will receive the technology during the next structural expansion. The Southern and Northern Bavaria Air Offices at the district governments, which are subordinate to the Bavarian Ministry of Transport, are responsible for the security checks at the three Bavarian commercial airports.

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Ita Airways: Unions are critical of Lufthansa's entry

Jan Gruber 29 May 2023 07:33

Lufthansa has shown particularly long-term staying power with Ita Airways, because despite the fact that it lost out on the first attempt - at the time in cooperation with MSC - it persisted until all other interested parties lost interest. However, the Alitalia successor is certainly not a lucrative source of income, because the Italians are deep in the red. Many companies have already "burned their fingers" on the predecessor airline. Examples include the Italian post office, Air France-KLM and Etihad Airways. Both Alitalia and Ita Airways have already cost taxpayers countless billions of euros. Lufthansa is obviously of the opinion that the Italian carrier can be turned into a profitable aviation company and has already announced new hires and expansion in a press release. However, the "deal" that the Italian government and Lufthansa have agreed still has to be examined under competition law. Whether the EU Commission will approve it or whether a court could later throw everything into disarray is currently pure speculation. The EU court recently declared the state aid that Germany had granted to be unlawful. The ECJ ruled that the aid granted by Italy to carriers with local operating licenses due to the corona pandemic was illegal because it discriminated against the airline's origins. It cannot be completely ruled out that there could be antitrust problems, but the Italian market is considerably more competitive than the German one. The unions Vereinigung Cockpit and Unabhängige Flugbegleiter Organisation see Lufthansa's entry into Ita Airways as two-faced. On the one hand, they hope that the growth of the group of companies will offer opportunities and

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Interhome identifies sustainable holiday accommodation

guest Author 29 May 2023 07:07

On the Interhome Group websites, you can now explicitly search for sustainable accommodation. The Swiss holiday apartment agent is thus responding to the growing demand for sustainable holiday apartments and holiday homes. The demand for sustainable holidays has increased in recent years. As a survey conducted last year by the University of Freiburg for Interhome Group shows, more and more guests are attaching importance to sustainable holiday accommodation. To take this development into account, the Swiss holiday apartment agent's portfolio can now be filtered for sustainable holiday apartments and holiday homes. "Sustainability is important to us. That is why we have subjected all holiday homes and holiday apartments to an appropriate check and marked the accommodations that meet our criteria for sustainability with their own symbol, a green tree," says Jörg Herrmann, Co-CEO of Interhome Group. Holiday homes marked as "sustainable accommodation" meet at least seven of the twelve sustainability criteria that are particularly important to Interhome Group in terms of environmental protection. These criteria include ecological heating, green electricity, solar cells or a photovoltaic system, an e-charging station, water-saving toilets and showers, recycling options, LED lighting, double-glazed windows, proximity to public transport. The most important criteria that the respective sustainable holiday home meets are listed in the description of the accommodation. Interhome Group has set itself the goal of becoming the most sustainable provider of holiday accommodation in Europe. The holiday apartment agent therefore supports owners with structural measures that make accommodation more sustainable - be it the installation of a photovoltaic system or the construction of an e-charging station. "Sustainable accommodation is becoming more and more important and the number of bookings for sustainable accommodation is increasing.

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Delta, United and Volotea with first flights from Berlin

Jan Gruber 29 May 2023 06:31

The management of Berlin Brandenburg Airport was able to attend several maiden flight ceremonies, as Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Volotea have started flights to the German capital airport. United Airlines has been connecting Berlin with Washington DC since May 26, 2023, thus offering a second route in addition to New York-Newark. The new long-haul connection will initially be offered seasonally until the end of the 2023 summer flight schedule period. A final decision has not yet been made on a possible continuation in winter 2023/24. Washington-Berlin will be served by Boeing 767-400s with 240 seats. "With the new nonstop connection from BER to Washington, DC, the two capital regions are now only around 9 hours apart. With this second connection to the east coast of the USA, United Airlines is significantly expanding its commitment to BER. The BER – Washington connection helps to further strengthen cooperation and tourism between Germany and the USA and reinforces the attractiveness of the booming Berlin-Brandenburg region as a business location. I wish all passengers a good flight,” said BER boss Aletta von Massenbach. Delta Air Lines celebrated the comeback, as the US carrier is once again flying from New York-JFK to the German capital after a long absence. This route is served daily. Von Massenbach said: “For many people from the arts, culture and business world, it is a need to be able to travel quickly, directly and at any time between New York and Berlin. I am therefore delighted to be able to welcome Delta Air Lines, a long-standing partner of the airport company in Tegel, to BER with this important connection. The good cooperation with Delta at

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Budapest: Wizz Air has started Antalya flights

Amely Mizzi 29 May 2023 06:08

Last week, the low-cost airline Wizz Air launched a non-stop connection between Budapest and Antalya. This will be operated three times a week with Airbus A321neo. This is the second Turkey route that the carrier will operate from the Hungarian capital. It is in direct competition with two other providers. "Antalya is known for its beautiful coastline and stunning beaches. We are delighted to be able to offer another connection to the city with our long-standing partner Wizz Air. We now offer 50 weekly flights to four destinations in Turkey [Antalya, Istanbul, Izmir and Sabiha Gökçen] and are experiencing high demand for all connections to the popular country," said Balázs Bogáts, CCO, Budapest Airport.

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For Garuda Indonesia: Airhub flies pilgrims to Saudi Arabia

Amely Mizzi 29 May 2023 05:31

The Maltese airline Airhub Airlines will fly the Airbus A330-300, registered 9H-LEON, on behalf of Garuda Indonesia from May 29, 2023. The wet lease agreement is initially limited to August 3, 2023. Airhub Airlines is a Malta-based aviation company that specializes in providing ACMI and charter services. The fleet also includes long-haul aircraft that have been in use for numerous carriers over the years. Garuda Indonesia expects increased demand for flights to Saudi Arabia during the so-called Hajj season. For this reason, reinforcements are being brought in from Europe. According to a press release, the Airbus A330-300 in question will be used from Syamsudin Noor International Airport to Jeddah and Medina. “We are very pleased about the partnership with Garuda Indonesia. Our collaboration with Garuda is a testament to Airhub Airlines' commitment to increasing our global reach, which spans various regions including Africa, South America, Europe and now Southeast Asia. Our team looks forward to welcoming the Indonesian pilgrims on board during the Hajj season and hopefully contributing to an unforgettable pilgrimage experience," said Haris Coloman, CEO of Airhub Airlines. After receiving GACAR Part-129 approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in early March, the carrier has now set its sights on expanding its operations in Asia. The Maltese carrier is poised to further expand its presence in the region as demand for wet-lease capacity on the continent continues to rise.

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Madrid: Iberia has opened a new showroom

Amely Mizzi 29 May 2023 05:02

After a long break, Iberia has reopened a showroom in downtown Madrid. This includes activities such as show cooking, coffee, wine and beer tastings and a flight simulator. In the Espacio Iberia, the cabin of a new generation A350 aircraft has been recreated with two business seats, four premium tourist seats and another four tourist seats, which interested parties can sit on. There is also the opportunity to try on the crew uniforms. The showroom is open until July 1, 2023.

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Finnair introduces Ryanair hand luggage system

Jan Gruber 29 May 2023 04:33

Oneworld member Finnair is now also a traditional network carrier that is reducing the size of the hand luggage included in economy class. For several years now, Ryanair, Wizz Air and Condor have only allowed passengers to take a "small bag". Eurowings and other providers have now followed suit. At least in Europe, hand luggage allowances that are significantly smaller than the IATA standard format were more of a matter for holiday and budget airlines. The budget airline Ryanair was the first to introduce this "trend". Competitor Wizz Air quickly followed suit, Condor followed and, after a delay, the concept was also copied by Eurowings and other providers. The Lufthansa subsidiary claimed in a press release at the time that the introduction of the new rules was being done at the "customer's request". Monetization is probably the main focus for the airlines, because in order to be allowed to take an additional piece of hand luggage in the IATA standard format, either a higher-value and therefore more expensive fare must be booked or so-called "priority packages" must be purchased for a fee. These can sometimes be very expensive, because due to flexible pricing, they can easily charge 50 euros or more. Classic network carriers have so far refrained from copying the "Ryanair hand luggage concept", at least for their main brands. For example, the Lufthansa Group has already introduced this at its subsidiary Eurowings, which is certainly an indication that the experience with the low-cost and holiday airline subsidiary is being collected and then evaluated whether the rules should be introduced at the network carriers as well. Finnair has already gone one step further here and is now offering a so-called "superlight fare". In future, this will be the cheapest booking class within Europe and only includes

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Korean Air employees help out in Nepal

Jan Gruber 29 May 2023 04:02

Between May 15 and 20, 2023, Korean Air employees volunteered to carry out repair work at a daycare center in the Chitwan district of Nepal. They also helped out as educational assistants. The Korean Air team installed water heaters and audio equipment for classrooms at a daycare center for socially disadvantaged children and taught English and Korean. They also handed out vitamin supplements and medical supplies to the residents of the region. Before the pandemic, the airline had already built a playground and invited the children of the Nepalese daycare center on a sightseeing tour to Busan, Korea.

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