Scoot off to Australia
SYDNEY, 7 February 2012: Singapore Airlines’ new long-haul budget carrier Scoot said Tuesday Australia’s Gold Coast would be its second destination, having already announced routes to Sydney.
Scoot will begin flying from mid-2012 with a fleet of four Boeing B777-200s bought from parent company Singapore Airlines in a challenge to Australian carriers Qantas and Jetstar.
“Scoot’s all about offering great value, fun and a unique attitude, ‘Scootitude’,” the airline’s chief executive Campbell Wilson said on the Gold Coast as he announced the new destination. Read more
Air France cancels flights
PARIS, 7 February 2012: A strike by French aviation workers was set to intensify on Tuesday with Air France saying it might fly only half of its long-haul flights.
Flight disruptions were limited on Monday, the first day of a four-day action against restrictions on the right to strike, but there were a number of last-minute cancellations and delays.
At Paris’ Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, officials said airlines had preventively cancelled 10% of flights scheduled for Monday. Read more
Hungarian airline Malev grounded
BUDAPEST, 6 February 2012: Hungary’s national airline Malev, which has been making losses for years, was grounded last Fridazy almost a month after the European Union said the carrier had to pay back state aid.
“At 0500 GMT 3 February, after 66 years of almost continuous operation, Malev stopped taking off,” Malev chief executive Lorant Limburger told a news conference as low-cost rivals Wizz and Ryanair jumped into the gap left.
The immediate reason was a refusal by Israeli ground staff to service a Malev flight in Tel Avi without immediate payment of a “hefty sum,” Limburger said. Read more
Europe in grip of cold snap
KIEV, 6 February 2012: The deadly cold snap that has gripped Europe for more than a week strained emergency services, wrought travel chaos and claimed more lives over the weekend, bringing to more than 300 the tally of victims.
The homeless population has borne the brunt of the deaths, with dozens of transients freezing to death in unheated apartments, fire escapes or in makeshift street shelters.
Authorities on Sunday found two homeless people’s bodies in France who had likely frozen to death, bringing to at least 307 the number of cold-related deaths across Europe. Read more
China bans ETS tax payments
BEIJING, 6 February 2012: China said Monday it has banned its airlines from complying with an EU scheme to impose charges on carbon emissions opposed by more than two dozen countries including India, Russia and the United States.
Beijing has said repeatedly that it opposes the new European Union plan, which was imposed with effect from 1 January and which Chinese state media have warned would lead to a “trade war” in the sector.
A statement on the website of China’s State Council, or cabinet, also said airlines were barred from using the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) to increase fares or other passenger charges. Read more
Still call Australia home
SYDNEY, 6 February 2012: Qantas chief Alan Joyce on Monday warned the airline would be forced to slash services and expressed “grave fears” for its future if proposed laws strengthening its ties to Australia went ahead.
Joyce said a bill, which would force Qantas to keep its headquarters and the majority of maintenance, flight operations and training in Australia, posed a “major threat” to the airline’s business and to jobs.
“If Australians want a truly competitive national carrier, this parliament cannot tie up Qantas in this way,” Joyce told a Senate hearing into the proposal. Read more
AA to layoff staff
NEW YORK, 2 February 2012: American Airlines said Wednesday it needed to cut costs by 20% to stay afloat, as it met with union representatives to detail a plan for layoffs that reports said would total 13,000 workers.
“All workgroups will have total costs reduced by 20%, including management,” Tom Horton, chief executive of American parent AMR Corporation, said in a letter to employees Wednesday.
“While the savings from each work group will be achieved somewhat differently, each will experience the same percentage reduction.” Read more
SA air link to Beijing
JOHANNESBURG, 2 February 2012: South African Airways launched non-stop flights to Beijing on Tuesday, a move it said would cement ties with China which has become South Africa’s largest trade partner.
The state-owned airline said it will make three round-trips a week on the Johannesburg-Beijing route, roughly a 15-hour flight, operating an Airbus A340-600.
The new link will boost trade and tourism within the 15-nation Southern African Development Community, SAA chief Siza Mzimela said in a statement. Read more
Airline traffic up 5.9%
GENEVA, 2 February 2012: Global airline passenger traffic rose 5.9% last year despite weak conditions, the International Air Transport Association said Wednesday, with 2012 likely to be difficult for the industry.
“Given the weak conditions in Western economies the passenger market held up well in 2011,” IATA said in a statement, describing the year as one of contrasts.
“Healthy passenger growth, primarily in the first half of the year, was offset by a declining cargo market,” it said.
Myanmar gains Singapore know-how
SINGAPORE, 1 February 2012: Myanmar signed an agreement with Singapore, Monday, seeking the financial centre’s help as the country emerges from political and economic isolation after decades of military rule.
President Thein Sein arrived Sunday for a four-day state visit to the city-state accompanied by a top-level delegation which included business leaders and top ministers in charge of economic portfolios.
Thein Sein met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Monday to witness the signing by their foreign ministers of an agreement under which Singapore will provide training for reforms in the legal, banking and financial sectors.
