Author: Krimml

“The good guys of globalisation”

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Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr/Image: Lufthansa
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Etihad CEO James Hogan/Image: Etihad

Carsten Spohr and James Hogan are unfazed by the growing protectionist mood since Trump´s election. The chief executives of the airline groups Lufthansa and Etihad on February 1st  shrugged off concerns that their industry could suffer from a protectionist backlash against free trade. Both said that aviation deals make globalization possible for other industries.

At an Abu Dhabi press conference to announce a tie-up in catering and potentially other areas of operation, Carsten Spohr, the chief executive of the German carrier, said that the aviation industry “are the good guys of globalisation. We make globalisation feasible for billions of people around the world”.

“We play a very important part in making globalisation positive for as many people as possible beyond aviation itself,” he said.

Etihad’s James Hogan said: “We continue to have dialogues with the GCAA, who in turn have their dialogue with the EU. There are challenges, there’s points of view. What is more important is how does partnership deliver. It’s about connectivity, it’s about jobs and economic contribution. It shouldn’t be about politics.” Continue reading ““The good guys of globalisation””

United: computer glitch grounds U.S. planes

Von Ken Fielding/http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32293179
United Airbus A320-200/Image: Ken Fielding

A computer problem forced United Airlines (UAL.N) to ground all domestic flights for about an hour on Sunday evening, causing a cascade of delays and annoying customers throughout the United States.

The “ground halt”, which the unit of United Continental Holdings Inc disclosed in a tweet at 8:06 pm ET and lifted about an hour later, follows a series of problems at United and other airlines last year.

Continue reading “United: computer glitch grounds U.S. planes”

Customers may change itineraries on their own

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Frankfurt Airport/Image: Fraport

A few days before his flight home to Seattle from Tokyo in October, Bruce Ryan learned that a windstorm might disrupt air travel in the Pacific Northwest. Mr. Ryan and his wife didn’t want to risk getting stuck.

So he went to the Alaska Airlines website to find the cost of changing his tickets. “I expected the fare and change fees to end up around the cost of a whole new booking,” Mr. Ryan said. He was pleasantly surprised to find that Alaska Airlines had issued a “weather waiver” in advance of the possible storm. It allowed passengers flying in or out of the affected area to make no-cost changes to their itineraries on their own, without speaking to a representative. Continue reading “Customers may change itineraries on their own”

The Bells

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Image: pinterest.com

Hear the sledges with the bells- Silver bells! What a world of merriment their melody foretells! How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night! While the stars that oversprinkle
All the heavens, seem to twinkle
With a crystalline delight;

Lines of the Poem ,The Bells´ by Edgar Ellen Poe

To all our readers of visionsblog.info a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

European Lowcost Airline ,Norwegian Air Shuttle´ starts flights in Argentina

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The airline is known for its distinctive livery of white with a red nose, with individual portraits of noteworthy Scandinavians on the aircraft’s tain fin./Image: Nowegian Air Shuttle

Low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA will begin operating flights in Argentina beginning in late 2017, a spokesman said Dec. 16th , as more air travel operators seek a foothold in Latin America’s No. 3 economy.

The company plans to open two or three operating bases and begin passenger flights by November. It already has begun the relevant regulatory processes. Spokesman Alfons Claver did not say which routes the airline plans to run but expects to have bases in Buenos Aires, Cordoba and possibly Mendoza. “South America is a very interesting market characterized by little competition and high prices,” Claver said in a statement. He said

Continue reading “European Lowcost Airline ,Norwegian Air Shuttle´ starts flights in Argentina”

Afraid of flying? – This article might help

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Image: time.com

Quite a long time writing about aviation items and also sometimes suffering from the fear of flying I found the following  article very helpful: “Afraid of flying? Apps might help soothe your fears” (The New York Times, International Edition, Dec,7th,2016 )

“As a longtime travel writer, you would think that, for me, getting on a plane would be as routine as brushing my teeth. Whether it’s a long haul to Asia, a trans-Atlantic visit or a short hop from my home in Italy to another city in Europe, barely a week goes by that I am not catching a flight, or multiple ones. Sadly, however, the frequency of heading to the airport has not cured me of my visceral fear of flying. It ebbs and flows. When crashes are not in the headlines Continue reading “Afraid of flying? – This article might help”

Ryanair: overall expansion plans

Der Geschaeftsfuehrer der irischen Billigfluggesellschaft Ryanair, Michael O'Leary, posiert am Mittwoch (09.05.12) auf dem Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn in Lautzenhausen auf einer Pressekonferenz der Fluggesellschaft mit einem Flugzeugmodell. Die Billigfluglinie Ryanair kritisiert die EU-Beihilfeverfahren gegen regionale Flughaefen in Deutschland als "Feldzug". Der Vorwurf illegaler oeffentlicher Finanzhilfen fuer die Airport-Betreiber, von denen Ryanair profitiere, sei falsch, sagte Ryanair-Chef Michael O'Leary am Mittwoch in Lautzenhausen. (zu dapd-Text) Foto: Harald Tittel/dapd
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary/Image Harald Tittel

The Ryanair Holdings PLC on November 7th lifted its outlook for long-term passenger growth and nonticket sales. Ryanair said it now expects to carry 200 million passengers a year by March 2024, or 20 million more than previously projected.

The airline expects to gain customers through expansion and retrenchment of other airlines in the face of stiff competition. Sales for the July-to-September period, traditionally the busiest for the airline, advanced 2% to €2.4 billion.  The Irish carrier said its board had approved a €550 million share-repurchase program, the airline’s eighth, to be carried out through February 2017. Continue reading “Ryanair: overall expansion plans”

Quality, Efficiency and Innovation

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Carsten Spohr, CEO Lufthansa Group/Image: Oliver Rösler

A summary on an Interview with Carsten Spohr by ,Modern Weekly´:

“After Carsten Spohr took lead of the Lufthansa Group in more than two years, the group experienced some major issues from internal integration, route adjustment, Germanwings incident to personnel strikes. In the handling of all these major topics, Spohr always overcame the difficulties from three points, namely quality, efficiency and innovation and led the Group to a new height.” 

In the end of September, the Lufthansa Group has taken the most critical step in China market, as Spohr signed the Joint venture contract with China Airlines. The commercial Joint Venture is scheduled to commence in the spring of 2017. Spohr believes China, the second largest aviation market in the world, has great potential and is very important for the Lufthansa Group. As DNA of Lufthansa, quality doesn’t only mean the excellent quality of services, but also means Lufthansa attention to flight safety. Continue reading “Quality, Efficiency and Innovation”

Alitalia seeking agreement with Etihad-Lufthansa

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Flying higher by the end of the year?/Image: Alitalia

Preliminary negotiations between the management of the Italian company and the German carrier to involve it in a recapitalization of up to €400m. Alitalia’s new route to becoming a high flyer once again could be drawn by the end of the year by taking on board one of the world’s biggest carriers, Lufthansa, which has expressed interest several times in the past eight years.

An Alitalia CAI board meeting, chaired by Luca di Montezemolo, was scheduled at the NCTM law offices in Rome. CAI is the company that combines the 13 Italian partners plus Air France KLM (7.08%) that, through Midco, controls 51% of Alitalia Sai, with Etihad owning the other 49%.
The sexiest company in Europe?

According to the reconstruction by Il Messaggero, the meeting should focus on the plans for the airline’s relaunch, on which work is ongoing as a result of the company’s precarious health. A way out might be identified in the dialogue Continue reading “Alitalia seeking agreement with Etihad-Lufthansa”