August 4, 2023

More articles from the category

August 4, 2023

Comeback: Nuremberg Airport is again offering guided tours on Sundays

After a long break, Nuremberg Airport is now offering tours of the airport grounds again on Sundays. These are offered every second and fourth Sunday of the month and last about an hour. The Sunday tours can be booked online at any time for every second and fourth Sunday. The first tour will take place on Sunday, August 13, 2023, at 15:00 p.m. Family and individual tickets can be booked at airport-nuernberg.de/sonntagsfuehrungen (Please note: the ticket quota is limited!).  

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Cologne/Bonn: Bio-diesel is now also used on the apron

In the future, so-called HVO diesel will be used in apron vehicles at Cologne/Bonn Airport. This is fuel that is made from hydrogenated vegetable oils that come from residual and waste materials. The aim is to save around 3.000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. "The use of renewable fuel is another important building block and a very useful addition to our concept for climate-friendly mobility," says Thilo Schmid, CEO of Cologne/Bonn Airport GmbH. "For years now, we have been increasingly relying on vehicles and equipment with electric drives and replacing older models. At the beginning of the year, for example, we put fully electric articulated buses into operation. In some areas, diesel drive is still essential and necessary, for example in the very large and heavy vehicles of the airport fire brigade. In these cases, HVO diesel is a very good solution." 

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Klagenfurt: The public sector has received Lilihill's lawsuit against a call option

It was just a casual remark during a press conference, but it could be quite explosive, as it could be the start of a legal dispute that will last for years. The former majority owner Lilihill has filed a lawsuit against the public sector against the exercise of the call option. According to KBV board member Martin Payer, the lawsuit has already been served by the responsible court. The timing of the handover of the lawsuit is quite interesting, as it is scheduled to be served on August 3, 2023, just one day before the press conference in which the cash flow crash and thus the dire financial situation of Klagenfurt Airport were reported. It is therefore not surprising that Payer and the politicians from the city of Klagenfurt and the state of Carinthia who were present made serious allegations against Lilihill. For example, they suggested that the airport had incurred high costs by outsourcing the accounting to a Lilihill company. The airport company had also transferred a lot of money to agencies for external communication services. The success of the measures is doubtful from the perspective of the public sector, which is now the sole owner of the airport again. It is also alleged that the airport incurred considerable costs in connection with Liliair, which never took off. The airport management is now to examine whether various expenses can be reclaimed from the former majority owner through legal means. In general, Payer, Deputy Governor Gruber (ÖVP) and Klagenfurt's Mayor Scheider (Team Kärnten) have nothing good to say about Lilihill. The company was publicly accused of mismanagement and it was suggested that the airport had been run down. The financial review

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Westbahn has joined the VOR

The private train company Westbahn has joined the Eastern Region Transport Association with effect from August 1, 2023. This means that VOR tickets between Vienna and Amstetten are now also accepted. Previously, the relationship between Westbahn and the Eastern Region Transport Association was quite tense for several years. Now an agreement seems to have been reached. The VOR offer is to be expanded by around 21.000 train journeys per year. We are pleased that by joining the VOR we can now also offer people in the Eastern Region a pleasant travel experience in our modern double-decker trains. In the interests of ecological sustainability, we hope that this will also create an incentive for everyone who does not travel by train every day to switch from car to rail on as many occasions as possible," said Westbahn managing directors Thomas Posch and Florian Kazalek. 

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Expensive ticket prices make Eurowings and Discover Airlines profitable

For many years, the Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings was deep in the red. The former long-haul activities in particular dragged the operating result deep into the basement. After an extremely long dry spell, the airline returned to profit in the first half of 2023. Officially, the initial success is justified by the fact that the strategy has been adjusted and that this is now bearing fruit. However, the reason behind this is more likely to be that the Lufthansa Group has massively increased prices on almost all routes where it has no competitors. There are many routes, especially from Germany, where it has no competitors. Since demand is very high this year, the group, to which Eurowings also belongs, has managed to sell tickets at significantly higher prices. The general inflation alone cannot justify the exorbitantly increased airfares on many routes, but if passengers are willing to pay for it, it is called a free market economy or completely legal profit optimization. In general, this would also be a favour to the green camp in politics, which has been demanding for several years that airline tickets must become more expensive. However, if the planes are filled despite higher prices, the environment does not benefit, but rather the owners and shareholders enjoy higher dividends through legal detours. Eurowings Discover also flies profitably Eurowings was once a regional airline that initially operated on its own account and later as an ACMI provider for Lufthansa and, for a short time, Germanwings. The carrier was later converted into a low-cost airline for the Kranich Group and has been making high losses ever since. Only

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Cash register crash: Klagenfurt Airport has a financial deficit worth millions

The financial situation of Klagenfurt Airport is even more strained than previously feared by the public sector. The announced cash audit has shown that the deficit is 6,6 million euros, twice as high as previously communicated by Lilihill to the state of Carinthia and the city of Klagenfurt. But that is not all, because in order to ensure the continued existence of the Carinthian airport, around 15 million euros must be invested in the next few years. The figures mentioned were announced at a joint press conference by airport manager Maximilian Wildt, deputy governor Martin Gruber (ÖVP), Klagenfurt's mayor Christian Scheider (Team Carinthia) and KBV board member Martin Payer. The state vice-president emphasized that the primary goal in the next few months will be to save the airport, which has been fully owned by the public sector again for a few weeks. Within the next five years, according to Mayor Scheider, millions of euros in investments in the security-relevant infrastructure will be necessary. The building structure in the terminal area also needs to be renovated. Between the lines, it was also possible to hear that only the most necessary work had supposedly been carried out under the majority ownership of Lilihill. It is also interesting to note that during the press conference, the airport's high expenses in connection with Liliair, which never took off, were mentioned. Wildt said that they are currently examining whether they can claim money back from Lilihill. However, no further details were given. In view of the disastrous financial situation, which has already led to the airport not being able to pay wages and salaries on time twice this year, which ultimately led to

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Zurich: Swiss has launched free chat internet

Since August 2, 2023, the Swiss airline has been offering free WiFi internet on long-haul flights. However, this is a basic version in which only chat services such as WhatsApp are to be possible. For some time now, there has been a trend for airlines to increasingly offer WiFi services free of charge. This is probably also due to the fact that many passengers, especially on short-haul flights, are not prepared to pay the sometimes horrendous prices. Anyone who wants to use more than just chat functions with Swiss will still have to dig deep into their pockets on long-haul flights. Four hours costs 25 francs and a flat rate costs 35 euros per flight. First Class and HON Circle members continue to get the unlimited version free of charge.

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Southwest converts more Max 7 orders to Max 8s

The budget airline Southwest Airlines does not seem to be happy about the recent delay in the delivery of the Boeing 737 Max 7. It has reached an agreement with Boeing that 24 orders will be converted into those for the larger Max 8 model. In return, Southwest Airlines announced in an ad hoc announcement that it has exercised 30 options for the Boeing 737 Max 7. It hopes that the aircraft can be delivered next year. Last year, the carrier already converted firmly ordered B737 Max 7s into Max 8s.

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Avion Express wants to double its fleet by the end of 2027

The Avia Solutions subsidiary Avion Express has now expanded its fleet, which is registered at the AOCs in Lithuania and Malta, to 50 aircraft from the Airbus A320 series. They want even more and are already talking about 100 aircraft. They also want to set up a branch in South America. Avion Express does not offer its own scheduled flights. It flies exclusively for other airlines in so-called wet leases and also operates charter flights for one or two tour operators. In the current summer flight schedule period of 2023, the company will be operating on a larger scale for Eurowings and AIr Malta, among others. In 2021, the fleet still consisted of 16 aircraft. There are now over 50 aircraft from the Airbus A320 series registered at the AOCs in Lithuania and Malta. This means that the company has grown by 212 percent within a short period of time. "ACMI offers airlines many benefits, such as efficient capacity management, operational optimization, cost savings and flexibility, especially in times of fluctuating demand. In response to the growing demand for these services, we have consistently expanded our fleet so that we can better serve our current customers, including Eurowings, SunExpress, Transavia Netherlands, TUI UK, Flynas, Air Baltic, British Airways Euroflyer, Air Malta, Pegasus and many others," said Darius Kajokas, CEO of Avion Express. Ten more aircraft are to be added to the fleet by the end of next year. The airline boss predicts that at least 2027 aircraft will be registered on the AOCs by the end of 100. A new subsidiary that is currently being set up in Brazil is also expected to make a significant contribution. The new carrier will offer ACMI and charter services there with A320 aircraft.

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Summer 2024: Ita Airways increases Munich and Frankfurt

The Italian airline Ita Airways plans to fly to the Lufthansa hubs in Frankfurt and Munich much more frequently from the start of the 2024 summer flight schedule period. The frequencies on both routes are to be doubled. Ita currently connects Rome Fiumicino Airport with Frankfurt am Main and Munich seven times a week. From April 1, 2024, there will be 14 flights a week to the former city. Ita Airways will also serve Munich from April 2, 2024.

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