Airline News - Europe

Aegean Airlines will launch flights from Athens to London Stansted (twice-daily from May 15 aboard A321s), Tirana (daily from May 2 aboard RJ100s), Limnos (four-times-weekly from March 30, becoming daily May 1) and Kefalonia (four-times-weekly from May 1, becoming six-times-weekly in July and daily in August). The carrier expects to take delivery of 10 A320s/A321s this year and to replace its 15 737s with Airbus narrowbodies by June 2009. Feb 10, 2008

Aeroflot

Russian flag carrier Aeroflot said on Tuesday its net profit rose 92 percent in the first nine months of 2007 to USD$357.3 million. The company said in a statement revenue rose 31.9 percent to USD$2.8 billion, while operating expenses increased 21.9 percent to USD$2.3 billion. Aeroflot Deputy General Director Mikhail Poluboyarinov said the results were helped by effective control of fuel costs, favorable market conditions and currency exchange rates. The results are calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Feb 5, 2008

Air France KLM, Skyteam

Air France KLM says Skyteam partners to offer 11 more Heathrow-US flights daily. Air France KLM said its Skyteam alliance with fellow airlines will offer another 11 daily flights between the US and London's Heathrow airport from March 30 following the so-called open-skies agreement on transatlantic routes. The new flights will enable Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines to become the first US companies to obtain slots at Heathrow since 1991, Air France KLM said. Announcing a joint venture last October, Air France KLM and Delta had already said they would share codes for US-Heathrow routes, while creating a new Air France flight between Heathrow and Los Angeles and a new Delta route between Heathrow and Atlanta. Feb 5, 2008

Alitalia, Air France KLM

Alitalia s latest move coming hot on the heels of Italy s latest government collapse is also slap in the middle of talks between the State and an Air France KLM bid for the carrier that has raised union hackles in the country. A snapshot into just how parlous a state Alitalia has fallen can be gleaned from a statement that justifies the airline s decision to withdraw substantially from Malpensa. The move has angered not only trade unionists but has also apparently whipped up strong political feeling in the north, which has long had a separatist tendency to that of Rome. But Alitalia justifies its move on the basis that most traffic at Malpensa is transit-based and it needs to concentrate its firepower on point to point services, even raising the possibility of re-instating Rome-Los Angeles rotations. Feb 7, 2008

Austrian Airlines

Austrian Airlines will launch thrice-weekly Vienna-Baia Mare on April 21. Feb 6, 2008

British Airways

British Airways said on Tuesday its passenger traffic fell 1.6 percent in January, as short-haul first-and business class and long-haul economy markets continued to show weakness. Europe's third-biggest airline said its passenger load factor -- a measure of how efficiently it fills its seats -- fell 0.7 percentage points from a year earlier to 69.2 percent. "Premium traffic remains strong, particularly in the Club World cabin. Longhaul non-premium and shorthaul premium markets continue to show weakness," the airline said in a statement. Feb 5, 2008

British Airways

The new British Airways business class service will be operated aboard 32-seat Airbus A318s and will begin next year. The flights will be operated by the mainline as opposed to the OpenSkies subsidiary and will connect London City airport with either JFK or Newark depending on slot availability. British will offer 15-min. check-ins and lie-flat business class seats. It currently flies from LHR to JFK eight-times-daily and EWR thrice-daily. "As well as the business market, we are confident that there will also be a demand from premium leisure customers for this service," Walsh said. He assured that the two A318s, which will be the first of the type in British's fleet, are "large enough for us to provide the number of business class seats required to make this a viable operation." Feb 4, 2008

British Airways, SilverJet

All-business trans-Atlantic fares vary significantly. Competition in the all-business class trans-Atlantic market is likely to change the way airlines set their fares. Fares for all-business class flights across the Atlantic range from $3,260 on SilverJet, which flies between Newark and London Luton Airport, to $10,658 on British Airways, which flies from New York to London Heathrow. Feb 5, 2008

Corsair

Corsair will start twice-weekly Paris Orly-Quebec City on June 7 and weekly ORY-Halifax on June 25 aboard A330-200s. Air Canada will codeshare on the flights. Corsair will place its code on select Air Canada flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Montreal and Toronto. Feb 7, 2008

Eastern Airways

Eastern Airways is increasing services on key business routes from Aberdeen, Newcastle and Southampton from March 3. Daily frequencies increase from Aberdeen to: Newcastle (6 flights); Southampton (4) and Leeds Bradford (4). From Newcastle to: Southampton (4), Cardiff (3) and Stavanger (2). And from Southampton to: Leeds Bradford (4) and Angers Loire (4). A 50-seat Saab 2000 will be introduced onto all services from Aberdeen to Newcastle and Southampton, and Newcastle to Southampton. Eastern Airways passengers benefit from a dedicated fast-track security channel at Newcastle, Leeds Bradford, Southampton and Cardiff airports. Feb 4, 2008