February 29, 2024

Norse Atlantic Airways is deeply in the red

Jan Gruber 29. February 2024 11:08

The low-cost airline Norse Atlantic Airways incurred an operating loss of 135 million US dollars in its first full year since it began operations. In 2023, the net loss was 168 million US dollars. Sales are reported in the annual report as 439 million US dollars. Management explains that it sees itself on a "clear path to profitability". The high deficit is downplayed as "start-up losses". It points out that advance bookings for summer 2024 are already 80 percent higher than last year. In addition, additional sources of income are said to have been opened up with ACMI and charter orders. For example, the company will soon be operating the Lagos-London (Gatwick) route on behalf of Air Peace.

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China Airlines sets course for Koror

Jan Gruber 29. February 2024 10:35

From April 1, 2024, the airline China Airlines will offer three weekly flights from Taipei to Koror (Palau). From July 15, 2024, there will be four flights per week. Between April 1 and July 14, 2024, connecting flights will be offered from Vienna via Taipei (Republic of China) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The return flights will be on Mondays and Wednesdays. From July 15 to December 30, 2024, these will be operated on Tuesdays and Fridays, and the return flights will be operated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

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Associations: ABTA celebrates 35 years of existence

guest Author 29. February 2024 10:01

Whether business and networking events across Austria, regular market reports, numerous online formats for exchanging know-how or international cooperations from GBTA to VDR to BT4Europe - the projects and activities of the Austrian Business Travel Association (ABTA) are traditionally far-reaching. In 2024, the association of the Austrian business travel industry will celebrate a major anniversary, its 35th birthday. ABTA President Roman Neumeister on intensive years in the rearview mirror and big plans on the horizon for 2024: "I am pleased to be able to report that, despite extremely disruptive times, marked by various international developments and upheavals, the Austrian Business Travel Association is also on the up in its anniversary year. Together with our two vice presidents Sabine Toplak and Angela Lille, our entire association team and our loyal members, we have succeeded in getting through the global pandemic and thus also one of the most difficult phases for the entire business travel environment of all time in a stable and safe manner." In 1989, 16 renowned domestic companies founded the Austrian Business Travel Association as a strong and innovative interest group for the business travel industry, laying the foundation for ABTA's success story. The association has always focused on the best possible national cooperation with well-known companies and a wide range of industry players. In order to provide optimal training for young people, training to become a certified travel manager was also launched in 2007 in cooperation with the TTC. The intensive cooperation with the VDR and the GBTA at an international level has also been at the heart of the association's efforts for years. The targeted commitment on the European stage also led ABTA to

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Austria takes part in European Union Naval Force Aspides

guest Author 29. February 2024 09:33

Austria will be participating with two officers in the maritime EU mission in the Red Sea, "European Union Naval Force Aspides". The experts will contribute their know-how in the areas of logistics and information and communication technology to the mission's operational headquarters in Larissa, Greece. Austrian participation can be increased to up to five people if necessary. "Current developments in and around Europe show that Europe's international security and defense policy is facing major challenges. These can only be met jointly. I therefore see Austria's contribution to the 'Aspides' protection operation as particularly important when it comes to representing the vital interests of Europe - and thus Austria - in the European alliance and actively protecting the security of important trade routes to Europe. The Austrian Armed Forces can also contribute its decades of experience in crisis management to this international protection mission. I wish our mission officers the best of luck and thank them for their contribution to Europe's security," said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner.

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Alltours is accepting bookings for winter 2024/25

Amely Mizzi 29. February 2024 09:07

The German tour operator Alltours has started selling package tours for the 2024/2025 winter season. According to the company, the destinations are being gradually released. There is already high demand for the following destinations: Canary Islands, Mallorca, Egypt, Turkey, the Caribbean, Asia and the Indian Ocean. "Those who book their Alltours trip early not only have the largest selection, but also benefit from attractive early bird discounts of up to 50 percent. The Alltours Flex tariff, which customers can add on for just 27 euros per full-paying person, provides more flexibility. With it, vacation trips can be canceled up to 15 days before the start of the trip without giving any reasons," explains Georg Welbers, Alltours Managing Director for Sales and Marketing.

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Qatar Airways is flying again with all A350-900s

Amely Mizzi 29. February 2024 08:31

Qatar Airways has now brought all Airbus A350-900s that it had taken out of service during a legal dispute with the European manufacturer back into the air. The Doha-based airline had accused Airbus of significant quality defects. Mutual lawsuits followed. The dispute culminated in the aircraft manufacturer canceling a large A321neo order. Qatar Airways also took legal action against this. Surprisingly, an agreement was then reached. This also led to further A350s being accepted and the disputed order being put back on Airbus' books. The Airbus A350-900 aircraft affected were in long-term storage from 2021 to 2023 inclusive. Qatar Airways currently has 34 of this type. It also has 24 of the larger A350-100 variant. According to a report by CH-Aviation.com, the last parked A7-350, the A900-ALF, was returned to commercial flight operations. The "comeback" flight took place on February 16, 2024 as QR1190 on the Doha-Jeddah route. This means that all of Qatar Airways' Airbus A350-900s are back in service. No further details were given regarding the agreement reached between Airbus and the Gulf carrier. The former squabblers have agreed to keep this confidential. In any case, it led to further ordered A350s being accepted and the order for 50 A321neos being reactivated.

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Pilatus PC-21: Over 500.000 flight hours completed

Amely Mizzi 29. February 2024 08:07

So far, the Swiss aircraft manufacturer Pilatus has been able to deliver around 250 PC-21 training aircraft. To date, these have completed a total of around 500.000 flight hours. Ioannis Papachristofilou, recently elected VP Government Aviation at Pilatus, emphasizes: "The PC-21 offers air forces a highly efficient platform for training their jet pilots. The training aircraft has extremely high equipment and performance features as well as smart avionics. With the PC-21, training hours can be flown with significantly less fuel, making it an extremely cost-effective, sustainable and intelligent training platform." In addition to the aircraft itself, the integrated PC-21 training system includes mission planning and debriefing systems, training materials, virtual reality tools and a simulator - an essential element in the field of ground-based training. The fleet currently consists of almost 250 PC-21s worldwide. Customers include the world's best air forces from Europe, the Middle and Far East and Australia. The Spanish Air Force also trains with the PC-21. With the purchase of 16 additional PC-21s and associated simulators in March 2023, it is now the largest PC-21 operator in Europe. The Swiss Air Force has also been using the PC-2008 since 21 and is successfully training future military pilots with it.

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Expedia is cutting 1.500 jobs worldwide

Jan Gruber 29. February 2024 07:32

The online travel agent Expedia is about to cut around 1.500 jobs. Around nine percent of the global workforce will have to leave the company, a company spokesperson confirmed a Bloomberg report. The company, which has been led by Peter Kern since 2000, will soon have a new managing director, Ariane Gorin. Kern will join the board of directors as deputy chairman. Before that, however, a so-called "restructuring" will be carried out. This will also affect the workforce, as around 1.500 employees are set to lose their jobs. Expedia is an online travel agency that specializes in arranging airline tickets, hotel rooms, package holidays and cruises. The company now wants to reposition itself. A spokesperson says that the impending job cuts, which affect various locations, must be carried out due to an "organizational and technological restructuring". The group currently appears to be experiencing declining revenues in its core business. For example, at the beginning of February 2024, it was pointed out that there had been a decline in revenue in the area of airline ticket brokerage. This is attributed to the fact that ticket prices have fallen significantly in some markets. At the same time, there is strong competition in this segment from other providers, but also from the airline's direct sales. The upcoming restructuring, which is expected to cost around 1.500 Expedia employees their jobs worldwide, will not be cheap. According to the company, the company is spending around 80 to 100 million US dollars on it. The majority of this sum is likely to go towards modernizing the technology behind the booking platform.

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January 2024: 404.500 overnight stays in Lower Austria

guest Author 29. February 2024 07:06

Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner and Michael Duscher, Managing Director of Lower Austria Tourism, are pleased about a good start to the year with 404.500 overnight stays in January 2024. "The upward trend in Lower Austria's tourism continues. Of the 404.500 overnight stays in January, 275.900 overnight stays were by domestic guests and 128.600 overnight stays by foreign guests. This results in a total increase of 0,5% compared to January of the previous year. The increasingly milder winter months are also shifting the tourist seasons. The hiking season starts with the first warm rays of sunshine, for example from mid-March on the occasion of the dirndl blossom in the Pielachtal or from the end of March when the apricots bloom in the Wachau. A walk or hike is one of the most beautiful opportunities to experience the wonderful blossoms to the fullest," says Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner. Michael Duscher, Managing Director of Lower Austria Tourism, adds: "Lower Austria's wide range of winter activities on and off the slopes is very popular with our guests. It's not just classic ski tourism that attracts visitors, but also cross-country skiing, ski touring, winter hiking or simply relaxing in Lower Austria's wellness and thermal spa hotels. Our discovery tours through Lower Austria have the best stories and insider tips all year round."

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Flight frequencies: USA and China reach agreement

Amely Mizzi 29. February 2024 06:30

The diplomatic climate between the United States of America and the People's Republic of China has been better in the past. It is therefore not surprising that there was a long struggle to increase the weekly flight frequencies for Chinese carriers. Now there is an agreement. The US Department of Transportation has now confirmed that an agreement has been reached with the Chinese counterpart that airlines based in the People's Republic of China will be allowed to operate up to 31 US rotations per week, effective March 2024, 50. Compared to the current state of affairs, this is a significant increase, as currently only 35 weekly rotations are permitted. However, the agreement is far below what the Chinese side wanted, as before the corona pandemic there were more than 150 rotations per week between China and the USA. In the wake of the crisis, restrictions were introduced. These lasted much longer than comparable ones on other international routes where frequencies have to be agreed bilaterally. For example, only 2023 rotations per week were permitted up to and including August 12. The number was then gradually increased to 35. The restriction also has diplomatic reasons, because if it were up to the Chinese side, they would like to see all restrictions lifted. However, the industry association "Airlines for America" also sees the agreed increase as positive, because US airlines are likely to increase their offerings to the same extent. This means that there could be a significant expansion in the 2024 summer flight schedule, so that passengers can benefit from more capacity and more frequencies. The extent to which this will affect ticket prices

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More articles from the category

Norse Atlantic Airways is deeply in the red

China Airlines sets course for Koror

Associations: ABTA celebrates 35 years of existence

Austria takes part in European Union Naval Force Aspides

Alltours is accepting bookings for winter 2024/25

Qatar Airways is flying again with all A350-900s

Pilatus PC-21: Over 500.000 flight hours completed

Expedia is cutting 1.500 jobs worldwide

January 2024: 404.500 overnight stays in Lower Austria

Flight frequencies: USA and China reach agreement

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