Airport News - Europe.

May 3, 2009

The European Commission has confirmed that the clause on data protection in the new CRS Code of Conduct applies to airlines. In a reply to a question from Brian Simpson, Labour MEP for north west England, the EC said the relevant 7.3 article in the Code does cover airlines. The EC said that the clause is "very clear on the protection of business data." It added: "It provides that any marketing, booking and sales data resulting from the use of distribution facilities of a CRS by a travel agent...shall include no identification either directly or indirectly of the travel agent." Information can only be released if the CRS and agent agree to it. The EC added in its reply to Mr Simpson's request for clarification that the "protection of business data was a fundamental point of the Code of Conduct. " www.europarl.europa.eu

www.iata.org www.businesstravelcoalition.com May 1, 2009

Alarmed by the spread of a new swine flu virus, airports around the world have rushed to install temperature scanners to identify the sick, but the microbe is proving too clever for modern technology. Experts say an infected person can easily pass through these heat sensors without detection as the incubation period for influenza ranges anywhere between one and three days. "The scanners won't pick up everyone (with flu), especially if they are too early in the infection... People who have been infected very, very recently wouldn't show up on the scanner," Mark von Itzstein, director of the Institute for Glycomics at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia said. "You can imagine somebody who is just infected boards the plane in Singapore and heads toward Hong Kong. There would not be enough time for the apparatus to pick it up because he would not have developed significant fever." The new H1N1 swine flu virus, which has killed 159 people in Mexico, has been found in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Britain, Israel and Spain. Apr 30, 2009

The UK is experiencing significant cutbacks in airline service, both domestically and internationally, according to the latest statistics from OAG, the world's leading aviation data business and part of UBM Aviation. Frequencies and capacity within the UK for April are down year on year by 13 percent and 14 percent respectively. Apr 30, 2009

Air Europa

Spanish carrier Air Europa said on Thursday it would cut charter flights to Mexico to one from five a week next month after demand was hit by fears about traveling to the country because of the swine flu outbreak. "We are reducing charter flights from Madrid to Cancun to one a week because of demand," said a spokesman for the airline, owned by private Spanish travel group Globalia. European Union health ministers will discuss a French proposal on Thursday to suspend flights to, but not from, Mexico, French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said on Wednesday. Air Europa is among the first airlines to announce cuts in flights to Mexico. Iberworld, another Spanish charter airline, said on Wednesday it would cut its far smaller service to Mexico in May, However Iberia, the Spanish flag carrier, said it had not made any changes to its schedule of 12 flights to Mexico a week. The spokeswoman added she did not have data on how the flu outbreak had affected demand. Apr 30, 2009

AirBaltic

AirBaltic will commence four-times-weekly Riga-Linkoping service on April 30 aboard a 737. Apr 29, 2009

AirBerlin

AirBerlin launched six-times-weekly Berlin Tegel-Oslo Gardermoen service aboard a 737-700. Apr 29, 2009

American Airlines

Amid the fanfare of flamenco dancing, Spanish food, and music, American Airlines today is launching new daily nonstop service from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Madrid, Spain (MAD). American is flying the route with its 225-seat Boeing 767-300 widebody aircraft in a two-class configuration. The inaugural departure, Flight 36, departs DFW at 5:30 pm and arrives in Madrid at 9:55 am the next day - a flight lasting approximately 9 hours, 25 minutes. The first departure from Spain, Flight 37, will depart Madrid at 1:10 pm Saturday and arrive at DFW at 4:45 pm the same day - a flight lasting approximately 10 hours, 35 minutes. All times are local. May 1, 2009

Bmi

UK airline bmi said it wants to re-launch direct flights between London Heathrow Airport and Baghdad. Daily flights could begin as early as spring 2010 if UK and Iraqi governments grant permission and sign a bilateral agreement. Bmi's chief executive Nigel Turner said during a London forum that he had sent a letter to Iraq's transport minister Amr Abduljabber Ismail. The forum was attended by more than 500 delegates comprising of interested investors and government officials from both countries, including Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Lord Mandelson, UK business and enterprise secretary. www.flybmi.com May 1, 2009

Bmi

UK operator Bmi is interested in opening a link to the Iraqi capital Baghdad, and has met with Iraqi Government representatives with a view to establishing a connection. Neither UK nor Iraqi airlines fly between the two countries and BMI - which gained a Middle Eastern network when it took over British Mediterranean Airways - says any service will depend on security, regulatory and operational considerations. But BMI, which met Iraqi representatives during a business forum in London, says it is "ready, willing and ideally-placed" to operate between London Heathrow and Baghdad. Apr 27, 2009

British Airways

British Airways is this weekend running its first ever buy one get one free offer on business class flights. The airline, which has seen a 20 percent drop in premium class passengers since last year, is offering unprecedented fares in its Club World cabin across its network. Fares to New York will start from GBP1,666 for two, Hong Kong from GBP2,633 for two, Mumbai from GBP1,604 for two and Rio de Janeiro from GBP3,022 for two. All flights must be booked by midnight on Tuesday 5 May. May 1, 2009

CSA Czech Airline

CSA Czech Airlines will launch twice weekly Prague-Novosibirsk service on April 28 with an A319. Apr 27, 2009

France

France has said it will ask EU health ministers to suspend all flights to Mexico because of the virus, which has killed up to 176 people in Mexico and is spreading around the world. A European Commission official said Wednesday EU countries can impose individual travel restrictions but the EU's executive cannot impose an EU-wide ban. Noting that many governments have already issued travel warnings, the Association of European Airlines said such measures could do more harm than good unless coordinated. And global airlines body IATA said the World Health Organization had advised against closing borders. Most airlines have so far maintained flights as normal, but Spanish carrier Air Europa reduced links with Mexico, saying it would cut charter flights to one from five a week. Among other major European airlines, Spanish carrier Iberia operates 12 flights a week to Mexico, and Lufthansa flies there once a day. Neither company has so far indicated plans to change that schedule. As SARS spread, Asian air travel collapsed, driving down monthly passenger numbers around the world by up 21 percent, according to IATA. The flu has spread from Mexico to countries including the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The World Health Organization has raised its alert level and said a swine flu pandemic was imminent. May 1, 2009

Lufthansa

Lufthansa announced contingency plans to cut flights and drop routes amid a crisis worsened by swine flu, but global airlines warned governments against overreacting to the outbreak. Lufthansa, which has been slower than other carriers to reduce capacity because of the economic downturn, said it could cut seats on long-haul flights by up to 8 percent this year if demand continued to deteriorate. Thursday's comments came as European Union health ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, prepared to discuss coordination of possible restrictions on travel to and from Mexico following the outbreak of swine flu there. Lufthansa's Chief Financial Officer Stephan Gemkow said he expected the impact of swine flu on his own company to be less severe than that of the 2003 SARS epidemic, in the worst case. Lufthansa said late Wednesday it would place doctors on its flights to Mexico who would be able to detect an infection with swine flu early and treat affected passengers. For now, Lufthansa plans to cut the number of seats it offers on its planes by 1.1 percent this year. May 1, 2009

Mexico

Health ministers from EU countries were yesterday (April 30) meeting in Luxembourg to discuss a co-ordinated response to the outbreak of swine flu. The minister ere expected to discuss a call by the French health minister Roselyne Bachelot to ban on air travel between Europe and Mexico where the disease first broke out. But it was unclear whether the EU has the power to order airlines not to fly to Mexico. A spokesman for the UK Department for Transport said it was a matter for individual airlines. BA, Air France KLM, Iberia and Lufthansa were all operating normal services to the Central American country. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said airlines were "prepared for the heightened level of alert" after the World Health Organisation (WHO) had upgraded to Level 5 its assessment of the risk of a pandemic from the flu.www.iata.org www.fco.gov.uk www.who.int http://ec.europa.eu Apr 30, 2009

Thales

Thales announced that its microwave landing system received UK approval for ground installations for Cat IIIb operations at London Heathrow. Thales received European certification for its onboard aircraft installations to Cat IIIb in November 2007. British Airways is the first airline to implement the system, using it on its LHR-based Airbus single-aisle fleet throughout 2008. The system became fully operational on March 25. Apr 30, 2009

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