United Arab Emirates Aviation Signs MoU Open Air Services with Croatia

The United Arab Emirates represented by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has signed an open air services Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and initialed an Air Services Agreement (ASA) with the Government of Croatia in Zagreb on 7th April 2011.

The agreement was initialled by H.E. Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and Mr. Jure Šari?, Director General for Civil Aviation at the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure of Croatia. Representatives from Abu Dhabi Department of Transport, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Sharjah Department of Civil Aviation, Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline attended the negotiations.

The two delegations agreed that any number of designated airlines of both parties will have the right to perform scheduled air services. The UAE delegation designated Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Air Arabia, RAK Airways and FlyDubai as UAE national airlines under the Agreement. The Croatia Delegation designated Croatia Airline, Dubrovnik Airline and Trade Air as its designated airlines.

The MoU allows full flexibility on the routes, capacity, number of frequencies and types of aircraft, in any type of service (passenger or cargo). The signed memorandum also includes the exercise of fifth freedom traffic rights. In addition, both Parties agreed to allow unrestricted non-scheduled operations between the two countries.

Ryanair and Aer Lingus Allow Passengers to Rebook Flight

Ryanair and Aer Lingus will allow passengers to rebook flights without charge and both will give full refunds on tickets for flights cancelled due to airport closures.

Holders of tickets for cancelled flights were advised to rebook using special facilities on the websites of both airlines and most other airlines.

However, hoteliers and other accommodation providers have been warned by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey not to engage in “bumping up prices” for people whose flights out of Ireland have been cancelled.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said a consular crises centre has been set up in Hainault House, Dublin, to handle hardship cases among Irish people stranded abroad. The international access phone number is 353-14082999. The centre will remain open throughout the week.

The Government’s taskforce on emergency planning, which is co-ordinating the response to the volcanic ash which closed airports and led to the cancellation of thousands of flights each day since last Thursday, said Irish embassies and consulates in the countries concerned are responding directly to cases as they arise.

A small rise in the number of inquires had been received but a specific number was not available. The taskforce stressed the advice to Irish people abroad was to contact their tour agent or airline.

Ryanair said it had cancelled some 850 flights a day across northern Europe, affecting about 100,000 passengers daily. Aer Lingus said it cancelled about 200 flights affecting some 20,000 people per day. Both airlines have said those whose flights have been cancelled will be invited to rebook for available seats beyond Wednesday.

They will not, however, be given priority over those who already hold reservations for seats on dates after Wednesday and seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

However, tickets for journeys beyond Wednesday will not be changed or refunded unless these flights too are cancelled.

Once normal service resumes changes will be subject to normal change conditions. This may affect the return journeys of some travellers.

Responding to reports that hotel prices in some European cities had risen sharply as a result of the closure of airports, Mr Dempsey said he hoped Ireland would not see “the kind of behaviour where people start getting greedy because people are in a bad situation here”.

While the Consumers’ Association of Ireland welcomed the offer of full refunds or rebooking, a spokesman said the EU directive which applied to passenger rights was still too vague.

“It allows a get out clause for technical difficulties and we are lucky that on this occasion the airlines didn’t use this,” he said.

The Irish Travel Agents Association said it could not put a figure on the number of Irish people travelling with its member companies.

However, a spokesman said arrangements for hotels and airlines were being carried out by the tour operators “so in that way they are a little better off than those who may have booked themselves”.

United Airlines, Jet Blue Tweeting Cheap Fares

Tech-savvy fliers who are members of the micro-blogging site Twitter have a new way to find last-minute fare deals.

United Airlines and JetBlue have introduced Twitter-exclusive promotions — “twares” in the case of United and “cheeps” for JetBlue. These deals reward the companies’ Twitter followers, or those that sign up to receive the airlines’ updates via the site. The deals are announced on Twitter and can disappear within hours, so consumers either need to be glued to their screens or have great timing.

“Our goal really was to take advantage of all the great followers we already had on Twitter,” said JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin.

JetBlue’s main Twitter account has roughly 988,000 followers. The company set up a new account, “JetBlueCheeps,” that posts fresh deals every Monday morning. For example, JetBlue is currently offering a $9 one-way fare from Burbank, Calif. to Las Vegas this Saturday. Customers have to book by 6 p.m. Eastern time on Monday to get the deal.

“The goal with Cheeps is to put options out there for really great fare deals that are close-in — within that week,” Baldwin said. “It’s for customers who have flexibility or want a last-minute getaway.”

United Airlines, meanwhile, offers its “twares” through its main Twitter account, “UnitedAirlines.” The deals can come at any time and usually expire within two hours. United Airlines has nearly 21,000 followers.

Strike of British Airways Cabin Crew Has Begun, Thousands Of Passengers Stranded

British Airways cabin crew have started a three-day strike that is set cause severe disruption for thousands of passengers.

The BBC’s Chris Rogers was on a BA flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam on Saturday morning.

Terminal 5 was teeming with stewards acting as guides for thousands of BA staff who have volunteered to replace striking cabin crew, the stewards were there to guide them though their first day on the job.

The airline has assured passengers the volunteers have been fully trained for the job.

I was a passenger on one of just a few scheduled flights with BA cabin crew who did turn up for work.

The three-man team told me they decided to cross the picket line and were allocated on the flight to Amsterdam.

One worker – who didn’t wished to be named – said he may regret it “but he and other colleagues were thinking about the long term effects the strike would have on the company”.

Rare experience

BA has told its staff it may have to withdraw company perks such as discounted tickets for workers, family and friends, and the airline has not ruled out redundancy to recoup its losses from strike action.

The majority of passengers found themselves flying on BA planes operated by relatively unknown European airlines such as Jet 2 or Viking which provide their own cabin crew.

So far so good for a majority of passengers at Terminal 5 but with 1,100 BA flights cancelled over the next three days, my experience will be a rare one.

The word cancelled is already appearing on the flight information boards leaving some travellers at a loss, but the expected scenes of travel chaos may have been averted with many passengers opting to take earlier flights or switching airlines.

‘Direct ticket’

Some budget carriers have offered discount tickets to victims of the BA strike.

The airline has brought in extra ground staff to help stranded passengers get to their destination, even if that means switching them to a rival airline.

Frances Pardoe’s connecting flight to Canada was cancelled.

“They simply handed me a direct ticket with Air Canada, I was amazed,” she told me.

“They must be losing so much business but it seems they are putting passengers before profit.”

BA stands to lose £30m a day over the strike period and have warned of a knock on effect in the coming days.

Survey of Frequent Fliers, U.S. Airlines Get Thumbs Down From Frequent Fliers

The annual survey of frequent fliers by Seatguru.com, the popular online guide to airline seating, doesn’t have a lot of highlights for U.S.-based airlines.

U.S. carriers serve the worst food — if they serve food at all, that is — and have the least comfortable seats, the survey of 1,600 fliers found.

Meals on American Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways were considered the worst of the bunch.

The best? Singapore Airlines, followed by British Airways, Houston-based Continental Airlines and Air France. Many U.S. carriers have eliminated meal service on domestic flights.

One domestic carrier, JetBlue Airways, did come out on top for the most comfortable economy-class seats, according to the survey, while Singapore Airlines led the field for business class. The least comfortable: American, United and US Airways.

The survey also asked which airline had the rudest flight attendants, and again United, American and US Airways topped the list. Singapore and Southwest airlines were voted as having the most polite attendants.

“Domestic airlines have been making strides in recent years to better compete with international airlines, but it is clear that they still have a ways to go in the eyes of fliers,” said Matthew Daimler, founder of Seatguru.com.

Most of the people surveyed flew at least eight times last year.

A timely upside to the downturn

Travel experts insist that there has never been a better time to fly, and they may well be right. The latest air travel data show that the recession-induced travel slump is not only lowering fares but also causing fewer flight delays.

With fewer planes in the air and even fewer passengers flying, U.S. carriers are posting some of the best on-time performance numbers in 15 years. The industry’s performance for the first three months of 2009 was the third-best since the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics began keeping track.

Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time performance, with 91% of its flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule. Comair, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, had the worst at 68%.

Among the nation’s largest carriers, Southwest Airlines was on time most often, and Continental Airlines had one of the worst records.

Among major airports, Los Angeles International jumped from 11th to fourth in the nation, with 86% of the flights taking off within 15 minutes of scheduled departure, while Newark, N.J., fell to last place. Salt Lake City again topped the list.

Northwest Airlines Flight 803 from Atlanta to Honolulu was the most frequently delayed, being late a whopping 96% of the time.

Love is in the air in New Zealand

Air New Zealand is launching what it says is the world’s first matchmaking flight.

It will fly American singles from Los Angeles to Auckland on Oct. 13 to find a partner there. Included in the flight package, which starts at $795 for a round trip, is a preflight gate party at LAX and then themed food, drink and entertainment during the flight.

Waiting at Auckland will be a singles-only party at a convention center, along with accommodations at the Skycity Grand Hotel.

To increase chances of a match, ticket holders can upload an online dating profile and start connecting before the flight.

“Air New Zealand is always looking for fun ways to improve our customers’ experience,” said Roger Poulton, Air New Zealand’s vice president for the Americas. “And let’s not forget our charming Kiwi accents. What more could an American want?”

More than a quarter of the New Zealand adult population is unmarried, according to the airline.

The quirky airline is known for some unusual marketing campaigns, including an all-gay “Pink Flight” last year in which flight attendants dressed up as drag queens accompanied passengers from San Francisco to Australia for Sydney’s annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

It recently began a television ad campaign featuring employees, including its chief executive, wearing only body paint to make the point that the airline has no hidden fees in its fares.

Carry-ons

United Airlines is moving up the start of its nonstop flights between LAX and Pittsburgh to Aug. 18, the same day that US Airways drops its service. . . . Russian carrier S7, formerly Sibir Airlines, joins American Airlines and British Airways in the Oneworld alliance, making it easier for U.S. travelers to fly to Eastern European countries such as Armenia, Kazakhstan and Moldova. . . . Bucking industry trends, Korean Air is spending $200 million to upgrade business-class cabins with larger video monitors and roomier seats that can fold out to become fully flat beds.