NZ: Those Kiwi's are at it again - Fit to Fly with Richard Simmons... (Safety Video Saturday Extra)

Yup. Time for a new Air New Zealand safety video. And it's an exercise video with Richard Simmons.

And there's a game to play - spot the CEO ;)




Two words: Oh dear.....

FR: An extra €2 to fly with them...

The cowboys of the air Ryanair have made an annoucement today to impose a €2 charge on all bookings made from the 4th April.

They bleat that this is to offset the costs of of compensation mandated by EU 261/2004 for delays or cancellations of flights.

Ryanair bleats:

"It is unfair and discriminatory that airlines are made liable for providing refunds, meals, hotels and phone calls during ATC strikes, bad weather airport closures or (volcanic) airspace closures when even travel insurance companies avoid liability during these 'force majeure' events and when competing transport providers (rail, ferries and coach operators) have no such 'force majeure' liability"

Well, if you play hard and fast with booking policies, this is what happens Ryanair.

The company suffered extraordinary costs of more than €100 million ($141 million) in 2010 mainly due to the volcano incident and the Air traffic control strikes

Whilst Ryanair says "all costs are up front", this is just yet another fee that you can't opt out of.

One which you won't pay with say... oooh ANY OTHER CARRIER OUT THERE.

ORD X: Late - the Canadian way?

Well a lot of lounge time was eaten into, but I'm aboard 505 to the bunny.


Next stop: O'Hare!

ORD X: being maple for 15 minutes.

I have soup, vodka and coke zero.

That was a trial and a half

Greetings from the Maple Lead Lounge!











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ORD X - where is my luggage?

You tell me...





At the moment, I'll consider myself lucky if I make my next flight without more stress ....

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ORDX: Ready for the off!

And I'll catch you all in Toronto!





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ORD X: Disappointing lounge is dissapointing

Morning from The London Lounge at LHR T3

And the snacks are ... Disappointing.

More later!







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UK Airfrieght Security FAIL: Fake bomb makes it to IST, Media whips up a frenzy

Once again, UPS is in the fireing line with the media revealing a fake bomb being loaded on a UPS Airlines and making it from London to Istabul.

An investigation has begun, with UK Police stating the incident was not terrrorist related, but the UK Department for Transport said it was taking the matter "very seriously".

The device was disguised as a wedding cake box, to a UPS office in Camden according to ITV News.

UPS is cooperating with the Department for Transport

And of course, the media aew whipping this into a storm. Obviously knowing the secuirty forces, this will be whipped into more tighter regulation for the passenger, whilst ignoring the cargo side.

Again.

What wonderful news to be travelling on today...

ORD X Good morning from Satans fleapit (LHR T3)

Let the pain commence..


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ORD X - and so it begins...

Greetings from the midpoint of the beginning of this trip.

Not much to say on the first bit other than some Darn good company, good food, and the Dita Von Teese episode of CSI

More as the journey kicks off properly tomorrow!




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BA: Unite vs BA - Vote for strike action, and it's the same old story all over again.

I was going to write this yesterday, but really - we all know the score.

Unite has balloted its BASSA members if they wish to strike, and they have done. Whilst we can look at the numbers, it seems Unite is once again hell bent on industrial action rather than negotiate.

BA meanwhile is trying to bring an end to this, but needs to sort out the issues with both sides. 

And it's sad - because in the end it will the passenger who suffers.

Unite has 27 days from today to announce the next round of strikes 

So my line as usual to Unite, BASSA and BA is simple - GROW UP AND SORT IT!

Airplane p0rn - Lufthansa B747-400

It's Sunday again, so it must be time for some more airplane p0rn (and it's late as I'm on GMT still)

This week it's a Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 climbing out of Frankfurt airport.

More next week!

Safety Video Saturday - Hawiian Airlines DC-10

It's Saturday once again, and near enough as it is to the end of the month, so it's a safety video from the archives - and it's Hawaiian Air demonstraing the safety features of their DC-10's when they had them.



Nowdays, of course, they prefer to wizz around in A330's with Hawaii Five-O in the opening credits...

More next week!

CO/UA - Fleet update continuing apace.

Continited/Uninental/"The Combined United" (I'll come up with a name that might make sense one year) have updated the progress on their fleet refits:

CO: 757-200 Fleet - all 41 now have BusinessFirst Seats installed.
CO: 777-200 Fleet - 22 aircraft have BusinessFirst Seats installed.
UA: 767-300ER Fleet - Complete Flat bed in Business installed (in 2009!)
UA: 747-400 Fleet - Complete Flat bed in Business installed (a shame they couldn't be bothered to do anything to economy.. also in 2009)
UA: 777-200 Fleet - Up to a grand total of 10 aircraft by April 2010. Although in a 2 x 4 x 2 in BUSINESS Class, this is more akin to the flying Dormitory rather than business class (and don't get me started on Economy class...)

As stated by the combined entity, Economy Plus will be rolling out onto the CO fleet in 2012, but expect this to take serious amounts of time before you get unity. Suffice to say, seating could be a crapshoot for some time if you're flying CO when they begin the refurbishment...

UK Budget 2011 - UK APD *FROZEN*, APD on Private Jets added.

Well the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has delivered his budget to the nation.

Rather than concentrate on the everything else that will make British Citizen's life more of a living hell, lets concenrate on the big news for travellers. And it is good - as Air Passenger Duty (APD) has been FROZEN at the current rates.

The bad news however, is that APD will go up, but it will be delayed for a year.

Taxation by per plane, rather than per passenger, would be illegal under international law according to the Chancellor, therefore that pricing model is out of the window.

What will be new is that APD will now be enforced on Private Jet flights - so there's no escaping that now.

For those unfamiliar, these are the current APD rates from flight departing from the United Kingdom, and is levied from the depature airport to the arrival airport, and zoned to the nationals capital from London to be complex. This is levived after any fuel surcharge, security or tax fees.

				Reduced Rate		Standard Rate
Band A		0–2,000 miles from London		£12		£24
Band B		2,001–4,000 miles from London		£60		£120
Band C		4,001–6,000 miles from London		£75		£150
Band D		over 6,000 miles from London		£85		£170

So yes, it's a mess, and as I've written about a few times, there are ways to get out of paying masses of APD... it requires time however and planning. Have a look at my previous writings on the matter.

And of course, it goes without saying this is yet another taxation exercise by the government, as I haven't seen any evidence of this tax being used for "Green" Projects.

More delays from GhettoIFE.com towers....

Hello again faithful reader.

Things will be a lot more quieter than normal for the next couple of days as my iMac has taken a running jump and the power supply unit has brought the farm.

As a result, GhettoIFE.com towers will be dedicated to getting my data safely off the blown up computer and disassembling iMacs as advised by iFixit.com. That's before the shoot I have booked to do, and of course an upcoming trip.

Yes, you read that right. Another trip! This is as gooder place to open up a tag, so I present... ORDX

Yes, X - the 10th Chicago Stopping Trip! More about it when I have 10 minutes not cursing at the repair job that's ahead of me....

So, I'm sorry for the lack of news, spots or anything for a day or two. But I need to retrieve my iTunes collection somehow or other....

AZ: More ERJ's on the way

Alitalia, that seemingly wonderful Skyteam airline is in the process of fleet renewals, and working with Embraer, they have agreed to lease 20 regional jets.

This will be broken down into 15 E-175's (the shorter twin isle jet capable up to 86 seats) and 5 E-190's (the longer 106 seater jet), with deliveries due to begin in Q3 2011 - a very "quick" turnaround for these frames.

Alitalia will be operating this fleet, basing it through it's main bases, to run routes on Italian Domestic Services, as well as European routes.

As flyers will know, if an E-175/E-190 is configured correctly, it's one heck of a little aircraft with 2 x 2 seating, reasonable seat-pitch and a habit of mis-aligning the windows.

A good sign that Alitalia are slowly renewing and improving themselves.

Japan Earthquake: A Captain's View from the Air

If you ever wonder what happens when an emergency is declared like an earthquake, and an airport closes, here's a very interesting account from a Delta Captain who was in the air when it hit - and how he got his plane on the ground.

Highly recommended reading

http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/g7ksg/written_by_a_delta_pilot_on_approach_to_tokyo/

Airplane p0rn - United Airlines Boeing 737-800

It's Sunday again, and it's time for some more airplane p0rn.

This week, it's one of the "Combined" United Airlines Boeing 737-800WL (Ex Continental Airlines) taxing in the winter sun at Washington Dulles International

More of course next week!

Safety Video Saturday - China Airlines

Yes, it's Saturday, so it's time to put your seat back in the upright position as China Airlines give their safety demonstration



It's the end of the month next week, so it's another classic. Stay tuned!

FCO: "Get out of Bahrain"

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has updated it's advice for people in or considering heading to Bahrain.

• We advise against all travel to Bahrain until further notice. As of 14:00 Bahrain time on 17 March we continue to recommend that those without a pressing reason to remain should leave. Our assessment remains that, as on 16 March, travel on the main routes on the island during daylight hours is orderly if slow in some places because of police checkpoints. You should exercise caution in particular on any routes you use to get to these main routes and consider carefully the situation in your local vicinity before you leave. The British Government has arranged charter flights to supplement existing commercial means (see details below).
• A team from the British Embassy has been assessing accessibility and security along the main routes to, as well as at, the airport itself on 17 March. There continues to be sporadic violence around Bahrain, and there are frequent police checkpoints on many routes. The risk of continued outbreaks of violence is ongoing and the security situation remains uncertain. On 17 March, during daylight hours, the motorway network was safe to use with caution.
• Travel to the airport remained possible with caution from the east and centre of Bahrain via the southern route, i.e. the Sheikh Isa bin Salman highway via Tubli.
• We advise against using King Faisal Highway between Seef and the Sheikh Isa bin Salman bridge to Muharraq, through Seef and past the Pearl Roundabout and the Bahrain Financial Habour (BFH).
• We urge people to consider carefully the security situation in their local vicinity before leaving their homes and travelling to the airport.
• The UK government is chartering planes to supplement commercially available options. A further flight is being arranged to fly from Bahrain to London at midday on 18 March to assist the departure of British nationals. If you wish to secure tickets for this flight, you can register your interest by calling +44 20 7008 5900. We will take your details and contact you as soon as possible to confirm your place on the flight and details of departure (we may call at inconvenient hours). In order to comply with UK immigration regulations, this option will be available to holders of valid British passports or British Emergency Passports, EEA nationals; other nationals who do not need a visa to travel to the UK; people who hold valid visas for the UK. There will be a charge of up to £310 for this flight.
• Visitors must have legal status in Bahrain when they depart. You may be prevented from departing Bahrain if you are subject to a travel ban, involved in legal proceedings, have unpaid debt, or are a child subject to a custody dispute. Visitors can incur heavy fines if they overstay or fail to extend their legal residency.
• Commercial flights are still operating to and from Bahrain and the airport remains open, including for transit flights. British nationals with confirmed flight bookings should continue to use commercial flights and make reservations and ticketing arrangements with their airline as usual. Some airlines are temporarily changing their schedules in light of the continuing uncertain security situation. If you have a ticket with a commercial airline, you should check latest flight arrangements carefully with your airline before travelling to the airport. British Airways will be temporarily changing the departure time of their flight from Bahrain to Heathrow from 02:20 to 10:00. This change will take effect from the flight on Friday 18 March and will be reviewed on 21 March. See our airline information page.

www.fco.gov.uk - http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/middle-east-north-africa/bahrain


In other words, get out via any commerical means possible and get out safely.

And safe travels if you're affected.

BA/AA/IB - New TimeTable Annoucuned for LHR<>JFK/ORD

As promised by AA and BA, they will be adjusting their timetables shortly, to almost deliver an almost "hourly transatlantic shuttle" service between London and New York JFK, with both BA and AA departures times being changed to be non-competing against each other, but to compliment them instead:

The times of the new service and who operates them are and departure times from LHR are:

08:30 BA
10:00 BA
11:00 AA
13:00 BA
14:00 AA
15:00 BA
16:00 BA
17:00 AA
18:00 BA
19:00 AA
20:00 BA

Chicago to London Heathrow will also change, mainly on the return legs. These now change to hourly departures between 1700 and 2000.

These changes, along with more of the AA/BA/IB Joint Venture routes will commence 27th March.

More to come later on.

Spanish Airport Workers Cancels Strike, Holiday makers breath a sigh of releif

For holiday makers, there is a collective sigh of relief as Aena - the operator of Spanish Airports has reached a preliminary agreement with the local trade unions, which was leading to major strike action.

Had the strike action gone ahead a total of 22 days with 12,500 staff would had gone out on strike, hitting the critical Easter period. The action was called in protest over privatisation plans for some Spanish airports.

There are agreements now in place to include protection of staff numbers employed by both Aena and private operators when they appear.

So if you're planing to head off for sunny Spain in the Easter Holidays, you can toddle off now without a care in the world.

Unless the agreement isn't upheld by either side...

BD: Groupon Offer - £25 down, then either +£124 to Basel, +£144 to Vienna in Business

BMI seem to be embracing Groupon, and is once again offering flights through the group buying site.

It's £25 down, then to Basel it's an extra £124 (£149 Total) or Vienna it's an extra £144 (£169 Total)

Both of these book into BMI's Business Class.

Terms and Conditions:

• Expires 30 June 2011.
• Voucher activates on Thursday 17 March 2011.
• Bookings must be made between 17-29 March 2011 at www.flybmi.com and is valid on flights between 16 April-30 June 2011.
• The Groupon voucher is valid against business class fares priced at £303.89 (Basel) and £392.70 (Vienna) against which a supplement will be required (Basel - £124) (Vienna - £144).
• Groupon voucher valid on BMI/BD operated flights only.
• Flight times subject to availability.
• Credit card booking fees may apply.
• For enquiries call 0844 8484888 or email open@flybmi.com.
• Valid for flights and Lounge access only.

This turns this into a cheap 3200 mile run and whilst not stellar value at 5.31p a mile, it's not a bad deal consider the normal prices - or dread the thought - it's a nice break away somewhere! ;).

If you can take advantage of this, hit http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/london/bmi-ma11/288322. As always with group buying, do your research before hitting the buy button.

A3: Does a slot takeover and increases frequencies at LHR and CDG

It seems that Greeks do like to share, with Aegean Airlines have brought the Olympic Airlines slots at London Heathrow and Paris Charles De Gaul Airports.

Aegean are using these slots to expand their services, opening direct services to Larnaca and Heathrow, and increasing it's Heathrow to Athens service to four times daily from two times

New services commence from March 27th.

A three-times weekly service from Paris to Thessaloniki operating during the summer, with the trunk Paris to Athens service increasing from a single flight daily to three times a day.

For Star Alliance passengers, this is a bit of a boon for those connecting in these regions, giving more feeder flights to the rest of the network, as well as soaking up the old Olympic Air traffic.

Lets hope Aegean can make these routes pay off - and hopefully avoid another Greek tragedy....

Minor Apologies

Dear all

Things at GhettoIFE.com towers have been pretty fraught as of late.  Both my normal job and my alternative jobs are keeping me overbusy at the moment - so I'm not able to bring the full coverage as usual.

As I'm also in the run-up to a Chicago Trip, things are bonkers as well.

As a result, posting are slowing down for a fair bit, and if I'm honest, won't be back to full power until just before I head off to the Windy City.  Things like Airplane p0rn and Safety Video Saturday will continue as normal, however, coverage from other angles may be delayed - or not covered at this blog.

So my deepest apologies for a bit. I'll be aiming to give you more insightful (and not so insightful) travel comment

Thanks!

Airplane p0rn - Turkish Airlines 737-800

It's Sunday again, so it must be time for some more airplane p0rn.

This week, it's a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 beginning it's takeoff role for Istanbul from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

More next week!

Safety Video Saturday - TAM A340

It's that time of the week to put your seat belt on as TAM give us a safety overview of their A340's.




More videos next week!

Japan Earthquake/Tsunami

As you're aware by now, there's been one hell of a quake that's hit 80 miles out from Japan (250 miles from Tokyo), and is having devestating shocks and aftershocks

• British Airways have cancelled it's flights to Tokyo Narita and Tokyo Haneda
• Virgin Atlantic have also cancelled it's flight into Tokyo Narita
• Tokyo Nartia itself is currently shut, whilst Haneda has reopened.

As the situation is in flux, you are strongly advised to check before you travel today - and if you're over in the Far East/Pacific/Pacific Basin area, take care and stay alert to warnings.

QR: Yup. More new routes.

Qatar Airways are busy. As well as bulking up to a 2 x daily service from Manchester, they are adding services to/from

• Kolkata India (Starting 27th July, Daily Service)
• Sofia Bulgaria (startting 14th September, 4 times a week)
• Oslo (October 5th, 5 times a week)

As it tries to defend and attack Emirates, it's opening up services to:

• Aleppo
• Bucharest
• Budapest
• Brussels
• Montreal
• Shiraz
• Stuttgart
• Venice

Qatar is also working on increasing capacities and frequencies on a number of it's routes including:

• Bengalaru
• Barcelona
• Copenhagen
• Dar Es Salaam
• Frankfurt
• Geneva
• Kuala Lumpur
• Karachi
• Muscat
• Munich
• Paris
• Seychelles
• Singapore

What did Bugs Bunny say when Elmer Fudd annoyed him: Of course you know, THIS means war!

Sums up what the carriers in this region are doing...

EK: Playing leapfrog - Emirates Style - Service Increases at Manchester

It seems Manchester is the new battle ground of Gulf carriers with the three majors - Qatar, Eithad and now Emirates upping their daily frequencies to this airport.

Emirates is to take it's Manchester service TRIPLE Daily from 01/05/11.

Now before you get excited, if you're booking tickets, I'd hang on. Least of all each departure will feature a different aircraft - and that of course means a different product.

The "new" Morning Departure will be an Airbus A330-200
The current Lunchtime Departure will be Airbus A380-800
The Evening Departure to confuse matters further will be a Boeing 777-300ER.

So there's going to be a mix of aircraft heading out there, and if you're paying for the more expensive seats - a mix of product that could make your choice for you.

And this will lead to one thing - confusion - something that Emirates do very well sadly as they can roster different equipment for different missions. And then swap it all around...

So if you do choose an Emirates flight out of Manchester - check what you're flying aboard and then check Seatguru to see what should be rostered for your plane.....

CX: They want you feel... their new Aircraft...

Cathay Pacific have been busy (like me I'm afraid) and have annouced an order with both Boeing and Airbus:

• From Airbus, they'll be ordering 15 A330-300's 
• From Boeing, they'll be ordering 10 B777-300ER's
• And from a leasing company a pair of A350-900's

Cathay expect to have all the aircraft by the end of 2015, with them allowing to retire their 747-400 and A340-300 fleets.

Alas, painting an aircraft orange and red did nothing to convince Cathay to order the 747-8I's.....

Contrails are amazing things...

As this video demonstrates the contrail of an Airbus A380...

CA: Painting a 747-8i Orange = Orders! - Air China Selects Boeing 747-8i's

Well it's the Asian Aerospace Show this week, and there are bits and bobs of orders dripping out - but the highlight of the day so far is Air China who have placed an order for Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental aircraft.

Now before Boeing fans and fans of the upper deck wet themselves in anticipation, it's a grand total of five frames that have been ordered (the same as Korean Air).

Which isn't a big fleet at all.

Whilst this is good on paper, the deal has to be ratified by the Chinese Government.

He Li, vice-president of Air China states:

"The new high capacity Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental will deliver exceptional economics and a great flying experience to our customers."

Air China is hoping for these frames within the next three years to expand it's international network. Whilst it's chosen the 747-8I in the first instance, it still hasn't shut out the possibility of operating Airbus A380's in it's fleet.

Suffice to say, it's given Boeing a small shot in the arm with the 748-8I project which now is up to 38 orders - 30 of which are going to Commercial Customers.

Boeing released a rendering of what the 747-8I will look like in Air China's livery:

Image (c) Boeing.

LO: Not a whole LOT of fun - LOT's 787's delayed to April 2012

It's that time of the week to bash the 787 project again, and the news comes in from Boeing and LOT that the delivery of LOT's first 787 has been pushed back to April 2012.

The delivery schedule has now been modified to so the first unit arrives in April, and the other four will arrive between August and November 2012.

LOT notes:

"In the light of this information, and of the current contracts for Boeing 767 aircraft, LOT Polish Airlines are preparing a seamless fleet replacement programme for long distance flights, while at the same time carrying out its plans to expand its connection network to Asia and continue flights to North America"

And yes, that is a note of disappointment from LOT - which is what quite a few airlines are feeling over the 787 project, and the long delays to the aircraft. Other carriers have expressed their disappointment in other ways whilst being politicly correct.

Whilst Boeing are targeting a Q3 delivery of the first production 787 to ANA, there remains work to be done to get from "Experimental" to "Production" aircraft.

Hopefully Boeing won't run into many more problems. However, they are in new territory with that plane.....

IB: Memo signed - 8 Airbus A330's on the way

Well International Airlines Group has been busy, with an annoucemnt they've signed an Memorandum of Understanding for new Airbus aircraft.

They are looking at aquiring 8 Airbus A330-300 aircraft, with options for a further 8.

Subject to negotiations and agreements, these are in line for delivery between Autum 2011 and spring 2014, with the aim of withdrawing Iberia's Airbus A340 aircraft - however this could be a challenge as there are 35 different A340's that Ibera operate (in A340-300 and A340-600's) - more than likely this is the cut for the A340-300's which can carry around the same amount of passengers (infact more) as a A330-300.


Will there be more purchases? Both British Airways and Iberia's fleets do need to be examined, and this can't be ruled out. Time for Airbus and Boeing to brush up their sales pitches....

CO: Another Day, Another Cut.

It seems that the Continental side of United is aligning itself more to United, with the removal of free inflight snacks on US Domestic runs. 

Or as we know them better - the oversalted pretzels that are in a bag so tough to get into, yet so few of them.


It's actually quite sad - Continental were the last hold out of free in-flight meals in all classes up till a year or so ago.

So, whilst this is a costcutter, this leaves only one major carrier giving out free snacks still.

Step forward Delta who will continue to offer peanuts, pretzels or Biscoff biscuits.

American, US Airways and United have dropped snacks sometime ago.  However carriers like Southwest will give out peanuts still...

Buggies - controlled and about time too

This as you know is a travel blog. And alas, travel sometimes involves... Buses.

Now, as we all know, buses are hateful things that 1) never turn up on time 2) overloaded when I get on and 3) full of buggies it seems in the West Midlands.

Why do I hate buggies?

Well it's the not the buggies per say I hate - it's more of the the people who push them around, who seem to think the entire bus is run for their benefit, who push their way through on a fully loaded bus at peak time with a self-importance, whilst everyone else has to move for them.

And it has got stupid, with 4 buggies loading up on a bus at some points. Which apart from being crammed solid, is darn dangerous if parents forget to put the brakes on and concentrate with more important things - like answering their phone.

It's even got to the point where wheelchair passengers cannot board because the front of the bus is filled up with... buggies

Well it seems the incumbent bus operator has finally woken up and realised people are getting annoyed with this little sticker appearing on the boarding area

And about time too.

It's improved the loading on buses, and space. And has left unhappy buggy owners who seem to can't read signs (or learn to read).

Airplane p0rn - Air Canada Jazz CRJ-200

It's Sunday again, so it's time for some airplane p0rn.

This week, it's an Air Canada Jazz CRJ-200 (what some consider the lousiest excuse of a plane - and I'd agree) taxing in the evening sunset at Washington Dulles International

 

More of course, next week!

Safety Video Saturday - Saudi Arabian 777

It's time for another safety video, and this week, it's Saudi Arabian Airways presenting it's dual language safety video.



More next week!

OA: Drops Routes, starts new ones, blames the EU.

Olympic Airways are in a bit of a pickle after the European Union comptetion commision denied them a merger with Aegean Airlines. Whilst Olympic and Aegean are going to appeal, the troubles are now manfesting in route cuts from:

• Brussels
• London Heathrow
• London Gatwick
• Paris
• Vienna

These Services will end on the 27th March. Instead Olympic will focus on South Eastern Europe with routes launching

From Athens:

• Alexandroupolis
• Belgrade
• Corfu

From Thessaloniki 

• Chania, 
• Heraklion, 
• Mytilene 
• Rhodes.

 Well, at least no one is being laid off or made unemployed. Yet. 

ME: SkyTeam confirms MEA to join.

The "Quality" airline alliance that is SkyTeam has confirmed that MEA is to join the alliance after negotiations.

This makes it the second Middle Eastern airline to sign up to SkyTeam (along with Saudi Arabian Airlines)

Membership is set for 2012, allowing system integration and code-share integration.

MEA operates a fleet 15 aircraft, mainly Airbus A330-200s, A321-200s and A320-200s.

As I've stated with a lot of SkyTeam new members.... "Yet another Quality Airline...."

LH: Project A380 - Full speed ahead

Lufthansa has completed it's first run from Frankfurt to New York JFK International, and has announced it's expecting it's A380 delivery scheduled to be unaffected after the Qantas QF32 Incident.

The Lufthansa A380 fleet will be up to 8 members by the summer of 2011.

The JFK service is a prelude to the second A380 service operated by Lufthansa - to San Francisco.

In addition, there is consideration being given to Chicago, Miami and Washington Dulles as possible A380 routes to the USA.

Nico Buchholz, executive vice president, Lufthansa Group Fleet Management also indicates that the load factors on the A380 current services are over 90%. Of course he didn't indicate if those were bargain bucket seats or high price fares (which would lead to a higher yield)

Still, the A380 is beginning to spread it's wings again, and recovering from last years incident.

And about time too.

TC: Yes - even Charter Operators are now having to pile on fuel surcharges

In what will come as a shock to some, the Tour operator Thomas Cook has decided to levy a fuel surcharge.

This is due to the spike in fuel prices.

For Short Haul Holidays (Think Europe), you're looking at £15 a person a holiday.
For Long Haul Holidays (Anywhere else), it's now £40 extra.

The surcharge will apply to all new bookings that include a Thomas Cook flight made from Tuesday 1st March onwards. It applies to:

• Flights only
• Flights and Holidays
• Booked Directly
• Booked via a 3rd Party

In other words - the lot.

This affects brands sold by Thomas Cook. These include:

• Thomas Cook
• Airtours
• Club 18-30
• Manos
• Neilson
• Sunset 

Considering how much these could be when it's a big family, expect it to hurt if you're booking a package...

QR: Departing from London Gatwick.

It seems that operating to two airports in London is a costly exercise for Qatar Airways, as they prepare to abandon the current twice a day service from London Gatwick

Last services depart on the 31st May.

This means the poor people who live south of the river (The River Thames) will have to wander all the way to London Heathrow to pick up flights to Doha now. Alternatively, Emirates will continue to operate from Gatwick

Commercial reasons are cited for the drop of the service. In other words - it wasn't pulling in enough coins.

If you've got a flight from LGW on Qatar Airways AFTER 31st May, I'd get in contact to be re-accommodated on a Heathrow flight.