Ryanair, Europe’s leading low cost airline is to reduce the number of aircraft based at its Irish hub Dublin from 22 to 17.
As a direct consequence of this, flights to Doncaster/Sheffield and Durham Tees Valley will be withdrawn from as early as July 09.
Flights to Aberdeen, Bournemouth and East Midlands will also be affected, as the frequency of the Dublin flights to these airports will be reduced.
Ryanair has blamed airport charges and taxes for these cuts, some of which have increased by as much as 12%.
Dublin Airport itself will see Ryanair flight numbers reduced from around 700 per week to around 600. This is a reduction of around 13% in passenger numbers travelling through the airport.
Ryanair’s Chairman Michael O’Leary has stated that such increases in taxation were impossible to justify in a year when inflation will be negative.
Ryanair will make further cuts from Dublin when its winter schedule comes into force.
Monarch Airlines recently commenced a new route from Birmingham International to the popular tourist destination of Larnaca, Cyprus. This twice-weekly route has sold incredibly well, in fact, it has been the fastest selling route in the airline’s history!
For the summer season Monarch Airlines made 22,000 seats available on this route. Unbelievably over half the seats were sold before the first flight had even taken off.
Monarch Airlines offers cheap flights to 42 destinations around the world, from a variety of UK airports. Its sister company Cosmos Holidays, which has been re-branded as Monarch Holidays offers great value package holidays to these destinations.
Offers currently start at £173 for a European package holiday with Monarch Holidays.
Air Canada is continuing its fight for survival but the outlook currently appears bleak.
Despite the resignation of its Chief Executive and the appointment of a new one in April, business and finance analysts believe the carrier is getting closer to its second filing for creditor protection in 6 years. Air Canada’s chances of surviving without bankruptcy protection stand at no better than 50%.
The new management team have been given 6 months to try and find a solution to some of the problems which are currently crippling the company, such as Union matters, a pension black hole which stands at C$3 billion, other debt obligations, weak demand for travel and increasing competition from other rivals such as WestJet who offer low cost flights throughout the region.
Air Canada will need to make fleet reductions and seek to cuts its cost base substantially to stand any chance of survival in the future.
Nigerian airline Arik Air has something to cheer at the moment. The airline’s first international flight between London Heathrow and the Nigerian capital Lagos is performing ahead of all expectations, with the vast majority of flights operating at close to full.
There were fears that demand would fall during the current economic crisis, but Nigeria still has a healthy, cash rich economy, making it an attractive place for foreign investors and businesses.
Plans for further flight expansion have been revealed by the airline with flights to New York and Johannesburg due to commence in the second and third quarter of 2009 respectively. Arik Air plans to serve up to 11 international destinations within the next 5 years. The new routes will be service by two Airbus A340-500 aircraft.
Despite the global economic slowdown, Ethiad Airways, which is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), continues to grow in size and strength.
During 2009 the airline aims to increase its passenger numbers by 15% to a figure around 7 million. To cope with increased passenger numbers the airline plans to increase its fleet by 8 to a total of 50 aircraft. Increases in staff will also be required, and Ethiad plans to employ 15% more staff by the end of the year, bringing the total number of staff to around 8500.
Ethiad currently offers a total of 900 domestic and international flights per week which is an increase of 20% over the same time period last year.
Ethiad Airlines not only offers flights throughout the Middle East region and beyond, but also now offers cheap breaks and holidays in the region.
