Flydubai, Dubai’s pioneering low cost airline, has announced flights to its 44th destination - the world’s third fastest growing city, Ahmedabad.
 
Flights to India’s seventh largest city will operate weekly on Saturdays from 27 August 2011. 
Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, said: “Ahmedabad is one of the most prosperous cities in the region and is renowned for its rich past and association with Mahatma Gandhi. I am delighted to be able to announce today that it will become the third Indian city on flydubai’s rapidly expanding network.
 
“The growing Indian expatriate population in the UAE and the increasing reliance our two nations have on each other for our economic growth and development makes the introduction of quality, affordable direct flights between the UAE and India’s numerous airports very important.
 “I would like to thank the Indian authorities for granting us the permission to fly to this exciting destination. flydubai looks forward to extending a very warm welcome to the passengers travelling between Ahmedabad and Dubai  and we look forward to being able to extend our service to other Indian cities in the future.
 “We believe this route has tremendous potential and that travellers in both directions will enjoy the friendly on board service, clean, new aircraft and good prices that flydubai is becoming known for.”
 
Once operational, the new route will enable people to experience year-round sunshine, intriguing deserts, beautiful beaches, luxurious hotels and shopping malls in Dubai.
 “Everyone knows Dubai is a shopper’s paradise, but there is so much more to the Emirates than shopping. We are fortunate to have wonderful beaches, amazing hotels and world class entertainment as well as some of the modern wonders of the world, such as the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and the Palm Jumeirah, visitors will enjoy the welcome and warmth of the people of the UAE thanks to the commencement of this route,” added Al Ghaith.
 “The start of this route will ensure people from Ahmedabad can enjoy these things, together with the warmth and hospitality of the people of the UAE on flydubai’s quality, affordable flights.”
Flight Details
FZ437 to depart Dubai Terminal 2 at 2210hrs, landing in Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 0250hrs local time. The return flight FZ438 will depart at 0335hrs, arriving in Dubai at 0505hrs.
 The one-way fare from Ahmedabad to Dubai will start at INR 7,500 inclusive of taxes and 7kg hand baggage. Checked baggage allowance of 20kg can be purchased at INR 650 along with a seat with extra legroom at INR 1,250.
 Flights from Dubai will start from INR 6,700 one way including all taxes, and one piece of hand luggage.

SOURCE

The US transport industry yesterday vented its anger at EU plans to introduce an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) it claims will cost its airlines more than US$3 billion by 2020.

From January, airlines flying through EU airspace will be expected to join the ETS system and buy permits for any carbon emissions they produce over a certain level.

At a hearing yesterday, representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration, Transport and State departments and US pilot and airline associations slammed the scheme, calling it “illegal”, “arbitrary” and “unjust”.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica said: “The message from Congress and the US government is loud and clear: the US will not participate in this ill-advised and illegal EU programme.”

Tom Petri, Chairman of the US Aviation Subcommittee, said: “The EU is not sovereign over the US or the rest of the world, and has no right to levy taxes outside of the EU.”

Mica said: “This EU scheme is an arbitrary and unjust violation of international law that disadvantages US air carriers and kills US aviation jobs."

Nancy Young, VP of Environmental Affairs at the US Air Transport Association, told the hearing: “US airlines will be required to pay into EU coffers more than $3.1 billion between 2012 and 2020. That outlay could support more than 39,200 US airline jobs.”

Petri added: “Since the EU has shown no interest in working with the international community to address its concerns and objections and to seek a global approach to civil aviation emissions, we believe that the US should not participate in this unilateral and questionable ETS programme.

SOURCE & FURTHER READING

Gulf airlines are expected to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars to offset their carbon footprint over the next decade because of environmental taxes coming into force in Europe, Australia and South Africa.

Many environmental taxes, such as the EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS), which comes into effect in January, provide allowances for emissions from existing operations. But the huge growth plans of Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, which between them will receive more than 400 additional aircraft this decade and plan to deploy them on new routes worldwide, are expected to force the carriers to become major investors in carbon trading to offset their increased emissions.
Etihad estimates it could pay up to €500 million (Dh2.63 billion) for carbon credits between next year and 2020 on the various trading exchanges worldwide to comply with the European scheme alone.

"Any airline that has growth plans will be penalised more than those that have fairly steady or flat growth," said Linden Coppell, the head of environmental affairs at Etihad. "We are now estimating [our costs] could be between €300m and €500m, if the carbon price is high."

That compares with estimates last week from Virgin Atlantic, based in London, of costs between €270m and €630m over the same period. The estimates come with a tonne of carbon currently costing about €15, but analysts predict a potential rise to €60 as demand for carbon credits rises, said Ms Coppell. While airlines advocate a single, global solution to offset emissions, a number of countries have begun imposing unilateral measures with the aim of reducing emissions. Many of these countries figure large in Gulf airlines' growth plans.

Last year, Germany announced plans to impose an aviation tax that will cost passengers €45 per long-haul flight, while the UK government is increasing airline charges under its air passenger duty.
In South Africa, the government is considering a tax based on a price per tonne of carbon emissions that could be in place by next summer. Meanwhile, Australia is introducing a carbon tax that will result in airfares to the country rising. Local airlines Qantas and Virgin Australia could pay more than A$150m (Dh597.9m) a year collectively under the scheme, according to estimates.

The added fees come with the Middle East aviation industry struggling to withstand challenging economic conditions. Collectively, the more than two dozen regionally based carriers are projected to earn US$100m (Dh367.3m) in profits this year because of high fuel prices and reduced demand from regional unrest, compared with $900m last year.
FURTHER READING

Sustinable biofuels were cleared for takeoff on Friday after they were included in the latest aviation fuel standard from ASTM International.

According to the new version of ASTM D7566-11, which specifies fuels for aviation use, up to 50% renewable fuels can now be blended with conventional commercial and military jet fuel.

The renewable fuel component – known as hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) - is identical to the hydrocarbons found in jet fuel but could come from feedstocks such as algae, camelina or jatropha, or from animal fats.

The inclusion of HEFA in jet fuel had to be ratified by ASTM’s aviation fuel committee, which has more than 2000 members from 66 countries.

“The revision of D7566 reflects an industry cooperative effort,” says Mark Rumizen, who worked on the project. “Because of the great emphasis on safety when you’re dealing with aviation fuel, the passage of this ballot required a collaborative and cooperative effort between the members of the aviation fuels community.”

The announcement has been welcomed by the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) and airlines.

“This critical and significant step… brings the airline industry one step closer to meeting our environmental goals of widespread production of cleaner, alternative fuels while enhancing energy supply security and competitiveness,” comments ATA vice president John Heimlich.
CEO of biofuel developer Solazyme, Jonathan Wolfson, agrees, saying:
“Today’s ruling approving the use of algae- and other sustainably-derived biofuels in commercial flight, is a regulatory breakthrough and provides a critical step in the commercialization of advanced, low-carbon biofuels.”

One of the first to start using sustainable biofuel is UK airline Thomson Airways, which will operate its first commercial biofuel-powered flight from Birmingham to Palma on July 28.

The airline says it plans, subject to safety clearance, to continue using the biofuel supplied by Dutch company SkyNRG on the route from September. The biofuel is a 50:50 blend of conventional jet fuel and biofuel derived from waste cooking oil.

KLM has also used the same biofuel blend to power one of its Boeing 737-800 jets from Amsterdam to Paris. The airline also plans more biofuel-powered flights in September.

Source Story

China Airlines (CAL), one of Taiwan's leading international carriers, was slapped with a fine of US$80,000 (NT$2.32 million) by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for violation of price advertising rules, the department said Tuesday. 

The DOT said it requires any advertising that includes a price for air transport to state the full price consumers will have to pay. 

The department said that if taxes and other fees are listed separately, an advertisement of an fare must clearly disclose that the price does not include such charges and should list the amounts involved. 

It added that for Internet listings, these charges should be disclosed through prominent links next to the stated fare and it noted that the rules apply to both U.S. and foreign carriers and ticket agents. 

However, the department's Aviation Enforcement Office found that an advertisement displayed on the CAL website did not provide any information on additional taxes and fees, including a security fee of US$2.5 (NT$72.5) per passenger that has been implemented since October 2003, the DOT said. 

As a result, the department said, consumers were not aware of the full amount they had to pay until they came to purchase the tickets. The advertisements were deemed deceptive and in violation of the department's rules. 

"When passengers shop for air tickets, they have a right to know the full price they'll be paying," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. "We take our airline price advertising rules seriously and expect carriers to comply with them." 

Under the current rules, the only exception is for government-imposed taxes and fees.

A report linking cell phones to potentially disastrous aircraft malfunctions seems to be running below the radar since ABCNews broke the story last week. So, for those of us who have forgotten on at least a couple of occasions to turn off the radio function of cell phones while flying, here’s the situation: a report for the International Air Transport Association trade group found that over six years, 75 cases of signal interference caused serious concern aboard aircraft, such as when a cell signal was suspected of turning off the autopilot on a jetliner.

In the past, conspiracy theorists have suggested that it's all just a ruse to make passengers use expensive onboard phone options or to avoid in-air confrontations between the talkers and the nontalkers. I'm not sure I'd let my own cynicism make the call on this one, but then, I don't need to talk to ANYBODY that much.
By Ross WerlandTribune Newspapers12:43 p.m. EDT, June 14, 2011

Delta Air Lines' decision to move several hundred jobs from Minnesota to its headquarters in Atlanta has come under immediate fire from politicians on both sides of the aisle. The carrier announced that positions in the Twin Cities involved with the training of pilots, flight attendants as well as flight simulator operations will be shipped south where Delta already maintains similar training facilities. Additionally, some engineering and technical jobs now based at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport will be moved to Georgia. Delta purchased Twin Cities-based Northwest Airlines in 2008 but made a commitment to keep at least 10,000 jobs in Minnesota after the acquisition was completed. CEO Richard Andersen said in an employee memo that the airline would still employ 12,000 Minnesotans after the jobs move and that the airline remains "firmly committed" to the hub at MSP. However, Republican Congressman John Kline and Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison both blasted the company for its actions. In response to the criticism Delta responded that the move was made necessary by rising fuel costs that have placed even further pressure on being efficient.

Advertisement Delta has also offered positions in Atlanta to every employee that is being displaced should they be willing to relocate. According to Representative Ellison whose district encompasses the airport, Minnesota had already lost 1,500 jobs due to the Northwest merger prior to this week's announcement. The airline, because of its decision to close the training centers which are located adjacent to the former Northwest headquarters in Eagan, will now be required to pay the Metropolitan Airports Commission for a $175 million loan obtained by Northwest in 1992. The post-merger agreement with the MAC required Delta to keep the training facilities open or re-pay the loan.

Another part of the airport lease agreement between Delta and the airports commission requires the airline to fly a minimum of 360 daily flights from MSP. The summer schedule has 480 daily Delta flights so does not appear to be in any near-term jeopardy of default. While the carrier earlier this year announced a planned reduction in flying overall, the Twin Cities hub is expected to be one of the least affected by the cutbacks and remain Delta's second largest operation after Atlanta. Other Delta hubs include Detroit, Salt Lake City, Memphis, Cincinnati, New York-JFK and Tokyo-Narita.

Marc Friedman
Story By:- Marc Friedman, Minneapolis Airlines/Airport Examiner

China is threatening legal action against the European Union for the emissions trading scheme (ETS) it is planning to introduce to airlines next year.
"I believe we have to take legal action," said Wei Zhenzhong, head of the China Air Transport Association.
Under the scheme, international airlines will have to pay for their carbon emissions in flights to Europe.

The head of Airbus has warned that the measure could lead to a trade war.

In a letter to EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard, Tom Enders said it was "madness to risk retaliation".
But Ms Hedegaard said the EU would stand up to any threats.
"When some parties start to threaten specific European companies, I think Europe should be very firm," she said.
'Global system' Other industry figures have also opposed the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

"We are now perhaps the highest taxed entity of any business on the planet today," said Tim Clarke, president of Emirates airline.
"The answer to this is obviously to get a global system. The problem with that is that it is long and slow to get to the end game, which is to see a reduction in carbon emissions."
US industry group Air Transport Association of America is also challenging the ETS in EU courts.
Non-EU airlines will be able to negotiate an exemption from the scheme if they can demonstrate that they are from a country with an equivalent emissions scheme.
"The last thing that we want to see is a trade war," said Giovanni Bisignani, head of the International Air Transport Association, adding that the EU had to heed a "growing chorus of countries strongly opposing an illegal extraterritorial scheme".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13668567

Air Canada has tumbled off the top 10 list for ancillary airline revenue not because it’s stopped charging but because it’s stopped disclosing, the leading industry analyst says.

Worldwide, 104 airlines raked in $21.46 billion in extra revenue, which ranged from add-on charges for baggage and food to vacation packages. That’s a staggering increase from the $2.45 billion collected in 2007, when extra charges were largely just a discount airline money-maker.

“It’s unusual to back away from disclosing more,” IdeaWorks’s Jay Sorensen told the Star on Tuesday. “It’s seen as a point of pride or bragging rights for investors.”

He made “a herculean effort, but I failed” in his attempt to get financial information on ancillary revenue from Air Canada.

IdeaWorks Company Inc. , a consulting company that specializes in improving ancillary revenue and brand development, compiles the annual analysis. It released its 2010 figures on Tuesday.

In 2009, Air Canada ranked eighth worldwide, with $743.7 million in extra revenue. Air Canada also ranked in the top 10 that year for ancillary revenue per passenger.

Air Canada Vacations packages contributed richly to those numbers, said Sorensen, far more than add-on charges for a second piece of checked baggage, extra legroom or food on shorter flights.

WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a smaller player on the 2010 list, not in the top 10, said Sorensen. WestJet started charging for a second checked bag last year.

Hugely irritating to travellers and a source of increasing U.S. demands for upfront full disclosures of all charges, ancillary revenue leaped from discount airlines into the mainstream three years ago when United Airlines started charging for a second piece of luggage.

Now, United and its merger partner, Continental, lead the list with $5 billion in annual ancillary revenues.

“True financial success for airlines is boosted when these services are available,” said Ian Wheeler, marketing vice-president of Amadeus Airlines Ancillary Services, which sponsors the annual report and offers airlines programs to boost their revenue.

“We expect to see ancillary revenues grow significantly” as more airlines start using travel agencies to sell extra services, Amadeus executive vice-president Philippe Chérèque said.

That $21.46 billion collected by airlines last year was less than 5 per cent of operating revenue.

“As à la carte pricing methods are perfected and become more pervasive,” add-on revenue will increase in 2011, said Sorensen in his report. Aggressive discount carrier AirAsia X, for example, reaped ancillary revenue of $23.67 per passenger by pushing online à la carte booking.

Delta Air Lines, number 2 on the list, increases its add-on revenue by spreading baggage fees to transatlantic routes and charging for in-flight wireless service, on-demand movies, food and lounge passes, the report said.

Airlines also boost their ancillary revenue with frequent-flyer programs. For example, Aeroplan, a separate company that manages Air Canada frequent-flyer points, buys tickets from the airline that passengers redeem for points.

Discount carriers Allegiant Air, Spirit Airlines and Ryanair remain the leaders for ancillary revenue as a percentage of total revenue, the report said.

Among the airlines “best practices” to boost revenue, the report said, were charging for extra legroom and prepaid food vouchers, both of which Air Canada offers.Lesley Ciarula Taylor, Staff Reporter
www.thestar.com

IT'S the cattle-class of epic proportions: planes that can hold as many as 1000 passengers may soon be a reality. According to a report by Australian Business Traveller, Airbus is set to release an expanded version of the world’s largest passenger jet, the A380.

While most airlines are currently using versions of the jet that can carry between 400 and 540 passengers, the capacity of the next-generation A380 planes will reportedly be much higher.

In fact, the current planes will seem spacious when compared to future jets.

Air Austral has ordered a pair of A380s packed with 840 economy seats that are set to take to the skies in 2014.

Meanwhile the A380-900 currently being developed by Airbus will carry up to 900 passengers in an economy-only configuration, and 650 people in a standard multi-class layout.
However Lufthansa and Air France are reportedly keen to squeeze even more passengers on board. The airlines are eyeing a larger version called the A380-1000 that is capable of carrying as many as 1000 travellers.
Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has previously told of his preference for the 900-seat version of the A380, saying he’ll wait for the stretched version to be developed.

“Ideally, we'd like Airbus to stretch them because for the A380 to be really competitive it needs to be even bigger than it currently is,'' Branson said.

“We'd be willing to wait a bit longer for the A380 stretch version.''
By Kate Schneider