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Alitalia seeking agreement with Etihad-Lufthansa

alitalia-viele-flugzeuge — 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”

Reputations are more difficult to win back than to lose

British Airways' newest Airbus A380 (Reg: LEL) Taken: 24th June 2016 Picture by: Stuart Bailey / British Airways — British Airways’ newest Airbus A380 (Reg: LEL)
Taken: 24th June 2016
Picture by: Stuart Bailey / British Airways

Back in the 1990s, British Airways, the nation’s flag-carrier, proclaimed itself to be “the world’s favourite airline” in a long-running and hugely successful advertising campaign. Watching its iconic TV commercials from sofas across the country, many Brits-a pint-sized, starry-eyed Gulliver among them-swelled with pride at what was, at the time, a genuinely treasured national asset. Economist.com: “BA should be careful; reputations are more difficult to win back than to lose”.

“Were British Airways to run the same campaign today, it would probably stir a mixture of derision abroad and embarrassment at home”. (Economist.com: Little by little, British Airways is chipping away at its good name /19.08.2016).

In recent decades the Persian Gulf carriers have dethroned BA as the standard-bearers for long-haul service, while a new breed of low-cost carriers has attacked its short-haul dominance.

Continue reading “Reputations are more difficult to win back than to lose”

India’s air traffic controller: a third of positions left vacant

India has just pumped US$ 50 millions into a new air traffic control tower in New Delhi. Now comes the hard part: finding qualified flight controllers to operate it.

Indira Gandhi International Airport New Delhi/Image: Delhi online cityguide

Designed by HOK, the same firm that drafted Apple’s research head- quarters in California, the tower will be operational in about six months. Yet, it may struggle to handle more flights without enough controllers, according to aviation officials.
The nation’s busiest airport needs 600 of the technicians ideally for stable operations, but employs only 360, the officials say.
The world’s fastest-growing major aviation market is grappling with Continue reading

Rescuing the arch-rival?

German national carrier Lufthansa is in talks to rescue its arch-rival Air Berlin, ,Handelsblatt´ has learned. Europe‘s biggest airline is negotiating with Gulf carrier Etihad, Air Berlin‘s biggest shareholder with a stake of just under 30 percent, to acquire parts of the struggling airline that has been making losses for the past 10 years.

According to Handelblatt Etihad has shored up Air Berlin with credit of several hundred million euros in the past. But Germany‘s second-largest airline has kept on hemorrhaging money because it overreached itself with its ambition to be a premium carrier, budget and charter airline all in one. Lufthansa appears to be interested in taking over all Air Berlin routes that don‘t go via the hubs in Düsseldorf or Berlin, as well as around 40 leased aircraft including their crews.

The planes could join the fleet of Lufthansa‘s budget subsidiary Eurowings. The talks are scheduled to be completed by October at the latest. Up to now the three companies declined to comment.

If the deal happens, Air Berlin chief executive Stefan Pichler could Continue reading “Rescuing the arch-rival?”

July 15th: Boeing celebrates 100 years

Boeings history startet July 15, 1916. From producing a single canvas-and-wood airplane the Company turned in the last 100 years into the world’s largest aerospace company.

http://www.boeing.com/boeing100/

Birthday congretulations also came from competitor Airbus:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2016/07/13/what-airbus-has-say-boeings-100th-anniversary/87042608/

Once the stuff of dreams…..

http://www.king5.com/tech/science/aerospace/boeing-celebrates-100-years/261860933

List of sources: Boeing, USA Today

Emirates named World’s Best Airline at Skytrax World Airline Awards 2016Emirates : Three times Gold

Emirates_Skytrax_Awards_2016_Credit_Emirates — This year’s Skytrax awards were based on a total of 19.2 million completed surveys covering 280 airlines, by customers hailing from more than 104 countries/Image: Emirates

12 July 2016: Emirates was named the World’s Best Airline 2016 at the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards 2016, in addition to scooping up the awards for World’s Best Inflight Entertainment for a record 12th consecutive year, and Best Airline in the Middle East.

Based on the results of the largest airline passenger satisfaction survey in the industry, the World’s Best Airline Awards are considered a global benchmark of airline excellence. This year’s Skytrax awards were based on a total of 19.2 million completed surveys covering 280 airlines, by customers hailing from more than 104 countries. The Skytrax survey measures quality standards across 41 key performance indicators of front-line products and services in the airline industry.

The 2016 World Airline Awards are announced

Continue reading “Emirates named World’s Best Airline at Skytrax World Airline Awards 2016Emirates : Three times Gold”

You can always go your own way…..

Lorne Riley, Dubai Aiports, presented impressing figures at the Aviation Event 2016 in Frankfurt/Foto: Gregor Schläger

Lorne Riley, Head of Communications Dubai Airports, was one of the guests of die Aviation Event 2016, at the HOLM in Frankfurt. About 100 deciders of the Aviation Industry and Politicians discussed about Industry 4.0 and its impacts for the Aviation Business und the Society.

The Event is a meanwhile well established dialogue-platform for Politicians and Deciders of the Aviation Industry,.

Lorne Riley startet his presentation, showing impressing figures, with this video.

Some impressions and figures showing the Dubai Airports Ambition

German Aviation presentation JUNE 2016

German footbal team started with ,Fanhansa´ to Europaean Championship

With Fanhansa to the European Championship/Image: Lufthansa

On June 7th, the German football team started to the European Championship in France with Fanhansa Lufthansa special flight LH342. The special plane took off from Frankfurt at 14:02 local time.

Last week, the Boeing 737-300 aircraft type with the registration D-ABEK received special livery for the occasion. In addition to the well-known “Fanhansa” logo from the 2014 World Cup, the names of fans now decorate the aircraft’s fuselage. Among more than 65,000 online applications, around 300 winners were drawn to symbolically accompany the national team on their flight to the European Championship.
“After the very emotional return from Rio with the Fanhansa Siegerflieger, we Continue reading “German footbal team started with ,Fanhansa´ to Europaean Championship”

ILA 2016 – New inner-city airports and new aircraft – a glimpse into the future

001-Airport_FrontExterior_mod3 — Cent air station/Image: Bauhaus Luftfahrt

After its trade fair appearances in 2012 with “Ce-Liner” and 2014 with “Propulsive Fuselage”, Bauhaus Luftfahrt again wants to attract the attention of important trade visitors and the wider public at this year’s ILA Berlin Air Show form June 1st until June 4th.

In collaboration with twelve students from Glasgow School of Art, 25 scientists from Bauhaus Luftfahrt have developed a well-matched airport and aircraft concept: “CentAirStation” and “CityBird”. Their mission statement: New inner-city airports and new aircraft operating regionally between these new inner-city airports and conventional airports will contribute greatly to solve major air transport challenges in 2040 and beyond.

Please find more details related to “CentAirStation” and “CityBird” and more background informatoin in the links:

160527_CentAirStation_ILA 2016

160525_CityBird_ILA 2016

160529_Backgrounder_ILA 2016

At the stand of its industrial partner MTU Aero Engines (hall 2, no. 301), Bauhaus Luftfahrt will illustrate its concept based on a model in scale 1:200 as well as two animations in 3D and 360 degrees. jwm

Mesut Özil paid a visit to Arsenal Soccer Schools Dubai

Mesut-_zil-5 — Mesut Özil kicking in front of the “Arsenal A380“ of Emirates/Foto: Emirates

Kids at Arsenal Soccer Schools Dubai (ASSD) were able to shoot for the stars when Arsenal superstar Mesut Özil dropped in for a special lesson on how to “Play the Arsenal Way”.

Acclaimed for his playmaking finesse as an attacking midfielder, Özil imparted his winning tips to the young trainees at 7he Sevens ground, home of ASSD. The Arsenal star spent time on the pitch with up and coming footballers before joining them for special group photos. Özil arrived on the Emirates’ Arsenal A380, which was recently adorned with a decal of the club’s crest as well as six players in action fronted by Mesut Özil, and flanked by Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud.

Clearly visible on both sides of the aircraft, the entire decal measures more than 360 square metres. With the A380 visiting 40 destinations, fans from all over the world will both be able to fly and see the Emirates’ Arsenal A380.

Shortly after arriving, Özil greeted his fans on social media and displayed some fancy football moves in front of the aircraft.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDum_xdJ3e4&feature=youtu.be

Arsenal Soccer Schools Dubai kicked off in 2009 as a joint venture Continue reading “Mesut Özil paid a visit to Arsenal Soccer Schools Dubai”