AIRLINE & TRAVEL NEWS

Air Namibia is in final talks to add two former Sabena A340-300s to its fleet. Currently it has one ex-Swiss MD-11 in operation on its four weekly Windhoek-Frankfurt services. "With the A340-300s we are also looking to open London again," CEO and Technical Adviser Riedel Gernot said. The airline's aging fleet of three 737-200s will be flying until 2006 when their leases expire Dec 10, 2004

Polish startup Air Polonia halted operations Sunday, grounding its three 737s. The airline was headed by former LOT Polish Airlines CEO Jan Litwinski. According to wire service reports, Air Polonia said it reached agreement with Sky Europe of Slovakia to transport its passengers, while separately, Wizz Air, which operates from bases in Poland and Hungary, offered to transport stranded Air Polonia passengers. In a statement, Wizz Air said it was offering free tickets for all passengers holding valid reservations with Air Polonia, with only taxes and charges to be paid. The Associated Press reported that Air Polonia suspended operations after an investor canceled plans to inject $10 million into the airline. Dec 7, 2004

Air Polonia canceled all its flights indefinitely on Sunday December 5 2004 stranding passengers. Both SkyEurope and Wizz Air have rushed in with help offering free flights for stranded passengers subject to space availability when booking and the payment of taxes and airport fees. Air Polonia flew from Stansted to Bydgoszcz, Gdansk, Katowice, Poznan, Szczecin, and Warsaw. It is a Boeing 737 operator and was founded in 2001. http://www.airpolonia.com Dec 6, 2004

AirBaltic will launch two weekly 737-500 flights to Istanbul from Riga March 1 2005, rising to three during the summer season. Dec 7, 2004

AirBaltic will launch flights between Riga and St. Petersburg using F50s. The four-times-weekly service will be operated in code share with Pulkovo Airlines. Dec 2, 2004

Airsea Lines has inaugurated their Corfu seaplane services. Using 19- seat DHC Twin Otter, float planes the airline is linking Corfu Gouvia marina (ten minutes drive north of Corfu airport) to Paxos, Kefalonia, Ioannina and Patras, plus Brindisi in Italy. A second hub at Athens Flisvos marina is due to open for the Christmas holiday season with a third center at Patros expected to open with the April 2005 summer airline program. We would like to compliment Airsea Lines for the TV media coverage clipping on its website. However it is all Greek to us! http://www.airsealines.com Dec 6, 2004

AirTran Airways initiated new daily nonstop service from Sarasota/Bradenton to Atlanta and Baltimore. Dec 21, 2004

Kuwait-based Al-Jazeera Airways placed an order with Airbus for four A320s with options for four more. Each will be outfitted with 165 seats in a single-class layout and deliveries are expected to begin in Oct. Engine choice has yet to be made. Al-Jazeera Airways expects to begin operations in Feb. with flights to key business and leisure destinations throughout the Middle East using two leased A320s. Initial destinations include Dubai, Bahrain, Amman, Damascus, Beirut and Egypt, with further expansion planned to include cities on the Indian subcontinent. The new entrant is the latest of a number of carriers who have placed orders for the A320. Recently, Air Deccan ordered 30 and last week AirAsia ordered 40 with 40 options and India's Kingfisher placed an order for 10 with 20 options. Dec 23, 2004