November 23, 2023

More articles from the category

November 23, 2023

Business Class: “One dog food and dragon bone soup please”

Recently, a passenger travelling in business class with China Eastern Airlines was quite surprised. On the menu, he found “imported dog food” as an option. But what is that actually? Fresh from a can or could “dog food” perhaps also be interpreted as a dish that contains dog meat? The passenger in question did not want to know exactly. It is noteworthy that extensive discussions have already developed on social media around the photo shared by Conrad Wu on Facebook. The theory has even been put forward that China Eastern Airlines had reacted to the trend of more and more business passengers taking their pets with them. Others are of the opinion that austerity measures mean that dog food is now also on the table, but not from domestic sources, but imported, so that it appears more upscale. In any case, China Eastern Airlines seems to have a general problem with translations into English. They also offer a “corn and dragon bone soup” on the same menu. Where the dragon bones actually come from is completely unclear. To date, no one has ever seen such a mythical creature, which is quite popular in China. The reaction of the carrier itself is particularly strange. Apparently they did not understand or did not want to understand what it was all about and why “dog food” and/or “dragon bones” do not look particularly appetizing. In a statement, China Eastern Airlines highlights the high quality of the business class catering and stresses that it is often praised by passengers. When asked whether they actually serve soup made from dragon bones or dog food, the airline

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Innsbruck wants to bring more conferences to the city

In order to strengthen Innsbruck as a congress and conference location, representatives of Innsbruck Tourism and the City of Innsbruck have agreed on a higher funding budget. Thanks to the collaboration, 100.000 euros will be available in the future to promote scientific conferences and congresses in Innsbruck, with special attention being given to green events. Congress funding is awarded to bring notable congresses and conferences to destinations. "The added value of around 37,1 million euros associated with the congress and conference industry is extremely important for Innsbruck as a business location, as upstream and downstream economic sectors benefit immensely from holding congresses and conferences," says City Councilor Christine Oppitz-Plörer. For Vice Mayor Johannes Anzengruber, who is responsible for tourism and events, congress guests are an important target group: "With over 180.000 overnight stays, congress and conference guests contribute 12,4 percent of the total overnight stays. In addition, the tourism added value gained from this is above average." Promote the congress location as a business and tourism location: This is the motto of the "New Congress Funding". "Congress funding was initiated by Innsbruck Tourism over ten years ago and has had a great impact since then. I am very pleased that a larger funding pot has now been set up through cooperation with the city of Innsbruck," says Barbara Plattner, Managing Director of Innsbruck Tourism. Whereas previously Innsbruck Tourism-funded funding totaling 40.000 euros was awarded by the Congress Advisory Board, the joint budget pot of 100.000 euros should now be available (financed at 50.000 euros each).

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Due to lack of demand: Ryanair and Wizz Air are out of Aqaba

In the meantime, both Ryanair and Wizz Air have completely suspended their flight services to Aqaba (Jordan). Booking numbers have plummeted so much due to the war in Israel that flights are no longer being operated due to a lack of demand. Aqaba Airport is within sight of the Israeli Eilat-Ramon Airport, but on the Jordanian side of the border. The cities of Aqaba and Eilat and the run-down village of Taba share the Gulf of Aqaba. The war in Israel has meant that holidays in this region - including in Jordan and Egypt - are no longer in demand at all. Potential holidaymakers are too concerned that the war could quickly spread to the border regions in neighboring countries. Ryanair pulled the emergency brake on November 11, 2023 and canceled all Aqaba flights due to a lack of demand. Previously, attempts were made to maintain the route by offering particularly low ticket prices, but that did not help either. Wizz Air followed suit a few days later and cancelled not only existing Aqaba routes, but also announced new ones. The only changes to the plans have been made in some areas, with Wizz Air Abu Dhabi heading for the capital Amman instead. Neither Ryanair nor Wizz Air want to write off the current winter season completely. For the time being, the Aqaba cancellations will only apply for a few weeks. For example, the first-mentioned carrier intends to fly again from January 4, 2024. However, it remains to be seen how the situation in this region of the world develops. Whether there will actually be a reactivation depends primarily on the booking figures. If almost all of the airlines are already flying to Aqaba, the airline will be able to offer a service to the capital Amman.

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Airbus A350-1000: Ethiopian relies on new IFE system

Ethiopian Airlines has announced that it will invest in its in-flight entertainment system. The Avant Up in-flight system will initially be deployed on the Airbus A350-1000 aircraft due for delivery. Thales' Avant Up features new OPTIQ 4k QLED HDR displays. It offers two Bluetooth connections and integrated Wi-Fi so passengers can pair multiple devices. OPTIQ is equipped with USB-A and USB-C charging ports in the screen, offering passengers up to 70 watts during the flight to charge their earphones, phones, tablets or laptops. Bruno Guinamand, Regional Vice President of Thales Inflyt Experience, said: “Ethiopian has trusted Thales as a supplier of in-flight entertainment for more than a decade and now also to equip their new A350-1000 aircraft with the latest Avant Up IFE solution. Thales' Avant Up brings Ethiopian the latest consumer technologies and capabilities on board. The combination of our Optiq 4K QLED HDR displays, award-winning dynamic power and next-generation digital services will create exceptional experiences for Ethiopian's passengers." 

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Marathon Airlines flies with even more Embraer jets for Air Serbia

The airlines Air Serbia and Marathon Airlines intend to expand their cooperation in the 2024 summer flight schedule. The Greek airline will then operate up to six Embraer jets on behalf of the Serbian state carrier. Marathon Airlines is already operating two Embraer 195s, an E190 and an E175 for Air Serbia under wet lease agreements. The latter type of aircraft is to be replaced by another Embraer 2023 before the end of 195. According to the Serbian airline, this is an interim solution. A fourth E2024 is to be put into the air on behalf of Air Serbia towards the beginning of 195. Jiri Marek, managing director of the Serbian airline, told Aviation Week that five to six aircraft have been agreed with Marathon Airlines for the 2024 summer flight schedule. The exact number would depend, however, on whether the Greeks manage to find the required aircraft. He also stressed that, given the engine problems that the E2 series is suffering from, the airline would be "very happy" with the use of the E1 models. In general, Air Serbia is currently on a strong growth path. This is being achieved partly, but not exclusively, with the help of rented aircraft. Particularly in the turboprop sector, the airline often gets help from other ATR operators for a fee. Larger orders for expansion are being considered, but Air Serbia is still cautious in this regard and - as can be seen from the example of the long-haul fleet - is also using used aircraft.

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Lufthansa Technik launches Leap 1B services

Lufthansa Technik has signed a so-called Branded Service Agreement with CFM for the Leap-1A and Leap-AB engines. The company already has extensive experience with the LEAP-1A type, which it has been supporting for four years and serves a wide range of customers - from airlines to lessors and OEMs. Lufthansa Technik offers MRO solutions for the specific needs of customers, ranging from Cyclean Engine Wash, Housekeeping Services, Mobile Engine Services and Quick Turns to Performance Restoration Workscopes. The focus is now on rapid capacity growth. "The introduction of the first CFM LEAP-1B engine at Lufthansa Technik in the coming weeks is an important milestone for our open LEAP MRO network. As our first CBSA partner, Lufthansa Technik has already gained extensive experience with the engine and we are very confident that the company will provide first-class MRO support," said Gaël Méheust, President and CEO of CFM International. 

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Barcelona: Level will fly under its own AOC in the future

The International Airlines Group intends that the low-cost brand Level will no longer be operated by Iberia in the future, but will operate on the market as a fully-fledged airline under its own certificates. The company is currently in the approval phase. It is expected that the AOC and operating license will be granted by the Spanish authorities "shortly". The flight operations that are currently being carried out by Iberia for Level will then be carried out independently. The International Airlines Group does not want to go into this in more detail, as this fact was only mentioned in passing during the capital market day. In the past, there were already two dedicated Level flight operations. On the one hand, there was the French Openskies, which was completely converted to the Level brand. This former IAG subsidiary was responsible for operating the low-cost long-haul flights from Paris-Orly. During the Corona pandemic, it was decided that these would be abandoned due to ongoing losses. Openskies was subsequently sent into voluntary liquidation because no interested buyer was found. On the other hand, a subsidiary airline was maintained in Vienna under the name Level Europe GmbH (formerly Anisec Luftfahrt GmbH). In addition to the Austrian capital, this was also briefly represented with a base in Amsterdam-Schiphol. The carrier was never successful because from the beginning there were massive problems in utilising the aircraft, which could possibly also have been due to the strong competition. At the beginning of the Corona pandemic, the then Kurz government considered and briefly negotiated that a successor to Austrian Airlines could be created on the basis of Level Europe in cooperation with IAG. Ultimately, however, it was decided to give the

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Air Baltic reports record sales

Latvian airline Air Baltic achieved its highest revenue to date in the first nine months of the current year. Revenue is reported at EUR 510,6 million, about 41 percent more than in the same period last year. In addition, the first nine months were closed with a comparable EBITDAR of EUR 129,5 million, which exceeds the 2022 figure by over EUR 74 million. The results for the third quarter of 2023 also show an upward trend: a record comparable EBITDAR of EUR 72,7 million and an EBITDAR margin of 33,2% and revenue of EUR 219,3 million were achieved. The latter figure represents an increase of 28% compared to the corresponding period last year and underlines the company's strong growth and resilience in the market. “In the third quarter and first nine months of 2023, Air Baltic consistently demonstrated strong financial and operational performance. During this period, we experienced a record summer with almost half a million passengers per month and a steady increase in overall demand. This growth is reflected in our revenues, which exceeded the half a billion euro milestone. Despite the challenges in spare engine supply and reliability, which led to a grounding and affected performance in the third quarter, air Baltic achieved one of the highest EBITDAR margins ever achieved in the third quarter. Without the engine problems, the results could have been even better," said company CEO Martin Gauss. 

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