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.
Its news that will delight all airline passengers – the UK Civil Aviation Authority have revealed a considerable improvement in UK flight punctuality in 2008 compared to 2007. This covers both charter and scheduled flights.
On time performance (which is early, on time or up to 15 minutes late at take off) now stands at 77%, which is an increase of 8% from 2007.
London Heathrow recorded a 13% improvement; Gatwick saw an improvement of 9% and London Luton 5%. All UK regional airports reported improvements and the best performing was Edinburgh Airport. This airport saw 83% of its scheduled flights departing on time.
As a reaction to the economic downturn and falling passenger numbers, Aer Lingus has revealed plans to cut flights from its Winter 2009/ 2010 schedule. Flights affected will be from the airlines 2 major bases, Dublin and Belfast.
Winter flights from Belfast to the popular European destinations of Paris, Rome, Milan, Faro and Barcelona will be dropped entirely during the winter months. Passengers will only be able to travel to London Heathrow, Malaga, Murcia, Munich, Lanzarote and Tenerife from Belfast with Aer Lingus and just 2 aircraft will service these destinations.
On a positive note, Aer Lingus has confirmed that no jobs will be lost from Belfast Airport as a result of these cuts, and has also revealed that all cabin crew and pilot’s positions are safe.
Aer Lingus’ main base of Dublin, in Southern Ireland will also see flight withdrawals, but the airline has not yet revealed which are to be removed. Drastic action needs to be taken in order to substantially reduce the airlines’ operating costs. Aer Lingus reported a loss of 120 million Euros in 2008 and looks set to make a further loss in 2009.
Aer Lingus continues to face stiff competition from budget airlines such as Irish carrier Ryanair.
Cheap flights are currently at the forefront of every passengers mind, as the credit crunch continues to bite both holiday makers and business travellers alike. However, there are still people who look for a more premium experience when travelling abroad. In a reponse to meet this need British Airways has recently opened its newest lounge at Heathrow. Based in terminal 3 and called “Galleries” the lounge is available to not only BA passengers, but also oneworld alliance passengers travelling with a BA codeshare partner.
This modern and stylish lounge is available to the airlines First, Club World and Club World Europe passengers and offers a bar sering a wide range of quality, premium alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. Snacks are available and there is also a coffee house. The loung is split into zones for the increased comfort of passengers, so there is a news zone, quiet work zone and a (not so quiet) kids zone.
The lounge is available for passengers travelling on British Airways and oneworld alliance flights to and from Barcelona, Lisbon, Madrid, Helsinki, Malaga and Vienna.
You may recall that recently Ryanair hit the headlines with an idea to charge obese passengers for two seats instead of one. However, the so-called “Fat Tax” has now been dismissed and will not be implemented by the airline. This decision has been reached not thanks to negative passenger reaction but by the time it would take to implement.
The budget airline has recently been criticised for other moneymaking ideas, such as charging passengers to use the toilet. This option is still under consideration.
Ryanair revealed that 30,000 online passengers voted for a “Fat Tax”. However, Ryanair believe that implementing such a tax would impede their ability to operate a 25-minute turnaround between flights.
