Air France and Delta might become closer

photo courtesy of caribbThe AFP and the French newspaper Les Echos are reporting that Air France is in joint-venture talks with Delta Air Lines, which is a fellow SkyTeam partner. A spokeswoman for Air France said that it "is still in negotiations with Delta, but nothing has been finalized". She also said that "the agreement being negotiated should be signed in the autumn."The joint venture would happen in two stages - the first would start in...

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United stock buyback plan raises controversy

photo courtesy albspotterExecutives at United Airlines have been talking about the possibility of the airline buying back stock or paying dividends to shareholders. “We realize the importance of doing something for shareholders," said CFO Jake Brace.But the idea has not gone over well with the unions, who claim that the airline should be doing more for its employees, who had to sacrifice a lot during the airline's extensive stint in Chapter 11 bankruptcy....

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No buyer, no Alitalia?

What happens next for Alitalia?The Italian carrier has seen its suitors drop out one by one: Aeroflot said no, Lufthansa-backed Italian carrier Air One said no, and MatlinPatterson, a US firm, was the last bidder - and it too said no. That leaves, well, nobody to bid for Alitalia, and it leaves the Italian government in a bit of a bind: it is under some pressure to solve the problem - especially when the 'problem' is losing 2 million euros ($2.8...

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US carriers look for more US-China routes

Several US airlines are pushing for more nonstop routes between the US and China, beginning in March 2009. And they're also going straight to the customer for help - most of them have designed separate websites highlighting their bids and are asking fliers to help out by signing petitions that will be presented to the Department of Transportation. Here are the airlines:American Airlines filed an application on Monday to start nonstop Chicago O'Hare - Beijing service, to start on March 25, 2009. (This isn't the first time American has tried to do...

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A big change for Delta, indeed

Well, it's certainly been a long road for Delta, but only three months after exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it has posted a $1.8 billion profit."Delta’s emergence from bankruptcy was a significant milestone in the history of the company and the airline industry,” said Gerald Grinstein, Delta’s chief executive officer, in a press release today. “In delivering the kind of outstanding financial, operational and customer service results we saw this quarter,...

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Lufthansa economy-class sleeping area?

Recently on both Airliners.net and FlyerTalk.com there have been rumors floating around of Lufthansa introducing an economy-class sleeping area on overnight intercontinental flights. In an email survey that the airline recently sent out, one of the questions was:To increase the travel comfort on intercontinental night flights, Lufthansa is thinking about a separate sleeping area within Economy Class. There, you would have the possibility to sleep...

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AiRUnion moves towards Star as S7 joins oneworld

Lufthansa announced on Wednesday that it will begin codesharing with the Russian airline alliance AiRUnion, which is made up of the carriers Domodedovo Airlines, KrasAir, Omskavia, Samara Airlines, and Sibaviatrans. The deal will help Lufthansa, which serves eight cities within Russia, create domestic connections. Likewise, the AiRUnion carriers will have access to Lufthansa's international network.While the deal doesn't make AiRUnion a member of...

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Fly free on Ryanair

Those who are signed up to Ryanair's email list got the following email:250,000 FLIGHTS ABSOLUTELY FREE100% FREE - NO TAXES, NO FEES, NO CHARGES*TRAVEL in SEPTEMBER and OCTOBER 2007!THIS INCREDIBLE OFFER IS AVAILABLE FOR BOOKING FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHTAND IS VALID FOR 2 DAYS ONLY!HURRY BOOK NOW ON WWW.RYANAIR.COMOffer Ends Midnight Thursday!Of course, I'm a bit late informing readers of this deal, but I think it's a pretty funny example of Ryanair's marketing methods. And don't think that Ryanair will be losing tons of money on this deal - in the...

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Last A300 delivered

"I'm the youngest member of the eldest Airbus family." Picture from Airliners.netThe last ever Airbus A300 was delivered today to FedEx, making a total of 821 Airbus A300s and A310s ordered. The A300 was launched in May 1969, with the first airplane entering commercial service with Air France in May 1974. It was the first wide-body, twin-engine aircraft, and it led to the creation of the A310, which was launched in July 1978 and first flew in April...

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Ryanair to sue EU as EC investigates Ryanair

European discount carrier Ryanair has said that it will sue the European Commission, the antitrust regulatory body of the EU, because it failed to look into complaints about state aid given to Air France and Lufthansa.Ryanair alleges that Air France received discounted airport fees from the French government and that Munich airport in Germany is building a new terminal for Lufthansa, even while the airport loses money. Ryanair also accuses the EC...

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Boeing rolls out the 787

photo courtesy jnsabinoThe Boeing 787 Dreamliner was unveiled yesterday at Boeing's Everett, Washington facility. It was certainly a PR coup for the company - many news outlets were on hand to cover the event, and employees and the public were allowed to go right up to the plane and touch it!Boeing also announced 35 new orders for the 787 just a few hours before roll out, meaning that there are now 677 orders from 47 customers for the plane, which...

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