November 22, 2023

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November 22, 2023

Summer 2024: Norwegian announces 40 new routes

The low-cost airline Norwegian plans to add a total of 2024 additional routes in the 40 summer schedule. It is currently expected that the fleet will grow to 90 aircraft. The new announcements also include routes such as Munich-Malaga and Munich-Alicante as well as Riga-Tivat and Riga-Corfu. "With the addition of these new routes, we are expanding our network and offering our customers more choice. We are also adding new point-to-point connections from our bases in Europe. We are looking forward to a busy summer season and to welcoming our customers on board," said Magnus Thome Maursund, Chief Commercial Officer at Norwegian. 

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North Korea is demanding numerous new Pyongyang routes from Russia

The government of North Korea has made an unequivocal demand to the Russian Federation: Russian carriers are required to open numerous routes to Pyongyang. Whether there is demand for these or not is irrelevant to Kim Jong-un's regime. North Korea's state airline has a few aircraft, but they are used very rarely. There are only a few international scheduled routes because demand is very low for various reasons. For example, it is very difficult for North Koreans to obtain coveted exit visas. The isolated state is also not a popular destination for many tourists. There are currently two weekly rotations between Pyongyang and Vladivostok. If Kim Jong-un has his way, Russian carriers should open a whole series of new connections to the capital of North Korea. He is said to have personally intervened with Russian President Vladimir Putin on this matter. A program that would allow Russian citizens to enter and leave the country more easily is even being prepared. According to a report in the Kommersant newspaper, the "pressure" from North Korea has already led to the Russian Civil Aviation Authority approaching Aeroflot and its subsidiary Aurora and requesting that they examine and, if possible, establish flight connections to Pyongyang. However, it is unlikely that many different routes will follow quickly. Rather, at least Aeroflot is toying with the idea of ​​operating traffic from Vladivostok in codeshare with Air Koryo. This would lead to more flights between the two countries, because Aurora would then fly alongside the North Korean carrier, but it would tie up comparatively little capacity.

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Delta and Air Baltic agree to code share

The airlines Air Baltic and Delta Air Lines have signed a codeshare agreement. As part of this, the two carriers will work more closely together in the future. As part of the new codeshare relationship, Delta will place its code on 20 routes operated by Air Baltic to three bases of the Latvian airline - Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius. "This is a historic success for Air Baltic and Latvia as we will expand our network across the Atlantic. The cooperation with the renowned US partner Delta Air Lines, which is known for its extensive network and international cooperation infrastructure, offers enormous opportunities. It will not only attract new passengers for Air Baltic, but also increase the global visibility and connectivity of the Baltics. We look forward to a successful, long-term cooperation," explains Managing Director Martin Gauss. 

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Transfer passengers also affected: UK wants to collect “entrance fee” in future

The United Kingdom is planning to impose a new tax on transfer passengers in the future. This will primarily affect people who would not need a visa to enter the UK. However, they will have to apply for an "Electronic Travel Authorisation" up to three days in advance, which costs ten pounds sterling. In addition to additional income, the United Kingdom has a very specific reason behind the plan: they want to know exactly who is travelling through the country or changing planes at Heathrow and/or other airports. To this end, they want a fee-based online form to be filled out well in advance of departure. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are extremely critical of the plan. BA boss Sean Doyle fears that business travellers in particular might find it too tedious to fill out a fee-based online form, which is not even necessary when changing planes at other airports, such as Paris-Charles de Gaulle or Frankfurt am Main. It is also stated that this would only affect transfer passengers who are actually only in transit. Entry into the United Kingdom is only possible in the event of flight irregularities, and there are local laws and international agreements for such cases. The UK government's plan does not only apply to transfer passengers. People who want to enter the UK for a trip to London, for example, will also be asked to pay in the future. The prerequisite for being required to participate in the new ETA program is that you do not need a visa to enter the country. It is planned that airlines will be instructed by regulation to check at the latest when boarding whether the ETA registration is present and paid for. In this regard,

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Summer 2024: Norwegian starts two Basel routes

The airline Norwegian Air Shuttle intends to set up regular flights to Basel-Moulhouse Airport from the beginning of June 2024. The airline plans to add Oslo and Copenhagen. From June 2, 2024, the airline plans to set a flight to Basel from Oslo on Thursdays and Sundays. On Mondays and Fridays, the airline plans to fly from Copenhagen. The latter destination will continue to be served daily by Easyjet. 

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Thanks to cheap tickets: US airlines are expecting record passenger numbers for Thanksgiving

Traditionally, the time around Thanksgiving, which this year takes place on November 25, 2024, is considered to be a particularly busy time for travel. This poses a problem for airlines and airports in the United States of America, as up to three million travelers are expected per day. For many Americans, Thanksgiving is a traditional opportunity to visit relatives who often live in other states or to spend a short vacation. Demand around this year's holiday weekend is very high. At the same time, airlines, airports and their management are also under particular public attention. Anyone who is noticed with many delays or even cancellations around Thanksgiving is very likely to be in the headlines and talk shows may even be busy publicly searching for someone responsible. The pressure on management is therefore high. The US airlines say they are expecting around 30 million passengers, spread over Thanksgiving and the days before. The busiest day for return travel is the day immediately after the holiday. Three million passengers are forecast for this. Airports, airlines and authorities claim that they have prepared well for this. The TSA announced that it expects that by November 28, 2023, more security checks than ever before will be carried out. The agency cites the number of 30 million travelers. The FAA reports that a new record will probably be set this year, with 22 flights registered on November 2023, 49.606 alone. The authorities also attribute the increase to the fact that airfares have fallen. Last year there were

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Winter: Rental skis are particularly popular with German tourists

For over 80% of Austrians, skiing is a valuable cultural asset that must be preserved for future generations, according to one of the key statements of the Intersport Ski Report. This is a good thing, because Austria is still one of the most popular winter holiday destinations for Germans. Every second German customer of Intersport Rent enjoys traveling light and rents ski equipment on site. More and more are also turning to rental services for ski clothing. The winter season has already opened in some places, and in many ski areas in Austria it is starting these days. Perfectly groomed slopes, hearty hut fun and exercise in the fresh air - that is winter sports - and it is firmly rooted in Austria. 81% see skiing as an Austrian cultural asset. "Even with challenges such as climate change, future generations must have the chance to learn to ski and enjoy exercise in nature," says Thorsten Schmitz, Managing Director of INTERSPORT Austria. But individual ski equipment costs money. The demand for ski equipment to rent is therefore continuing to rise. Every second customer at INTERSPORT Rent already comes from Germany, which puts the Germans in the lead. "The added value of rental has arrived. This is also demonstrated by the doubling of sales in the last ten years. Compared to the previous year alone, our RENT business grew by 37% and we are expecting double-digit sales growth again for the coming season," Schmitz continued. Demand at Intersport Rent from German and Dutch guests is also steadily increasing. Austria is still the most popular winter sports country. This

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After a smear campaign in Innsbruck: Greenpeace calls for a ban on private jets

Following the smear campaign carried out unnoticed at Innsbruck Airport by unknown perpetrators over the weekend, the Greenpeace organisation has now come forward, purely by chance, with a survey. The aim is to prove that the majority of Austrians are supposedly calling for a ban on private jet flights. The public appeal is directed at Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens), who is known for her own pleasure in using business jets, which her spokespeople downright trivialise as "on-demand airlines". The government member hardly misses an opportunity in public to express her aversion to commercial aviation. At the same time, enormous sums are being invested in night trains. Also suffering as a result of current politics is the bus industry, whose long-distance bus routes are not included in the Austrian climate ticket for ideological reasons. The result: With the exception of Graz-Vienna and Graz-Vienna Airport, all Flixbus routes within Austria had to be discontinued for economic reasons. In the summer of 2020, shortly after scheduled air travel had started up again on a reduced level after the first lockdown, Gewessler loudly demanded minimum prices for airline tickets. At the time, she announced that these would apply from September 2020. Airports, airlines and even the coalition partner ÖVP have expressed serious concerns about its compatibility with EU law. The project has been extremely quiet and since a mini-statement by its climate protection ministry, it has not been discussed any more - at least in politics. The Greenpeace organization published a survey "purely by chance" close to the smear campaign that took place at Innsbruck Airport at the weekend. The official reason for the survey, which was carried out by Integral on behalf of the environmentalists, is said to be

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Sunny Cars expects rental car prices to fall

Countercyclical price development: Last year, the prices of many travel components rose - but not in the rental car sector. Although the rental car provider Sunny Cars recorded a significantly stronger demand for holiday cars, it is predicting further falling prices for 2024. At least for everyone who decides to book early. The turn of the year is approaching, and with it the start of the traditional early booking season. According to Sunny Cars, this is also worth taking advantage of. Holiday cars were already very popular in 2023 after the end of travel bans and vehicle shortages. The rental car expert is expecting strong demand again in 2024. "The fleet sizes of our partners will in all likelihood be sufficient to meet high demand. Nevertheless, bottlenecks can of course occur at peak times in individual destinations," explains Kai Sannwald, Managing Partner of Sunny Cars. But he sees good signs not only in terms of availability. The price level is also giving consumers reason to be happy. After a cost explosion in the spring and summer of 2022, the level stabilized in the last financial year. "An extreme example: In June 2022, the average price per rental was around 650 euros - a year later it was around 500 euros. The reason for this was too few vehicles on the market," says Kai Sannwald. While the annual average per rental this season was still 476 euros, this value will continue to fall. "We therefore recommend that holidaymakers reserve their holiday car well in advance in order to secure a good price." A look at Sunny Cars' last financial year, which

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