Fall In Air Passengers Blamed On Poor Weather
A sharp fall in airline passenger figures last month has been blamed on bad weather and bank holiday disruption.
Airport chiefs expected a modest 3.5 per cent decrease compared with a year ago, after recent months showed the decline prompted by the economic downturn was slowing.
But they claimed wet and windy conditions — which delayed flights over the final weekend in August — were responsible for a heavy 5.3 per cent loss (3,670 people) borne out in the latest figures.
Isle of Man Airport director Ann Reynolds said she was ‘disappointed’ by the drop from 69,222 flyers in August 2008 to 65,552 last month, as it is traditionally the busiest time of the year.
She said: ‘The economic downturn continues to affect the whole of the aviation industry.
‘But we were hopeful our peak month of August would reflect the recent trends of a recovery in passenger numbers.
‘The Island, like the UK, has not experienced the best weather during August and this has perhaps turned people’s heads towards warmer climates, despite the economic situation.
‘Operational disruption due to the weather at the end of the month compounded this effect.’
The hardest-hit routes were Luton, Southampton and Glasgow, which lost a third of passengers on average.
Operators Flybe and Loganair cut the frequency and capacity of flights on these routes last year in response to falling demand.
Numbers on Manx2’s Belfast International route were down by almost a quarter.
Loganair’s Edinburgh route was down by almost a fifth and losses were also recorded to Gatwick (16.6 per cent), Dublin (13.3 per cent) and Manchester (12 per cent).
Newcastle and Birmingham suffered much smaller drops than expected (13 per cent and 6.5 per cent) after Eastern Airways pulled out of the Isle of Man.
This was thanks to Manx2’s replacement Newcastle route and Flybe’s increased Birmingham services.
The big success story was Aer Arann’s London City service, filling the gap left by VLM, which saw almost four-and-a-half times as many people use the route (from 936 to 5,075).
Travellers to Blackpool went up by a quarter and there were smaller increases for Gloucester (9.9 per cent), Liverpool (3.7 per cent) and Leeds (2.1 per cent).
Services to the Channel Islands on Blue Islands were holding steady, with a loss of only eight passengers (down from 770 to 762).
Transport Minister David Anderson MHK said he remained ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the future.
He said: ‘August was not as good as we had hoped, but the underlying trend still shows a gradual recovery.
‘As businesses return after the summer holiday period, we are hopeful the vital business traffic that airlines need as the foundation for their routes will improve in September.’
Kingfisher Airlines Cooperation With HSBC Sri Lanka
King Club, the frequent flyer programme of India’s Kingfisher Airlines, has entered into an alliance with HSBC Sri Lanka, that will allow King Club members who are also HSBC credit cardholders to easily convert their HSBC reward points into King Miles.
Commenting on this unique initiative, Ms. Anshu Sarin, Vice President – Guest Loyalty and Kingfisher Holidays, Kingfisher Airlines Limited said, “At King Club, our vision is to deliver a host of unmatched and innovative benefits across the world to our members, in collaboration with leading national and international brands. The alliance with HSBC Bank, Sri Lanka is yet another initiative that will expand the range of rewards that we offer our King Club guests.”
The alliance will allow HSBC credit cardholders who are also members of King Club, to redeem their reward points towards King Miles. In line with the rewards conversion programme, King Club members will need a minimum of 1500 HSBC reward points (1,000 Mileage Rewards points and 500 Normal Reward points) to get 500 King Miles. To celebrate the tie-up, King Club is offering HSBC Credit Cardholders the following benefits:
- A credit of 20% bonus King miles on conversion of HSBC points to King Miles between 25 August 2010 to 25 November 2010 will increase the overall points available for redemption
- 1000 bonus miles on enrollment into King Club program for those HSBC Sri Lanka card holders who are not currently King Club members between 25 August 2010 to 25 November 2010
- Cardholder Flies Free – An HSBC credit card holder who purchases a return ticket in Kingfisher First on the Chennai-Colombo sector using the HSBC credit card for their family / friends, will get to fly free on the Colombo-Chennai-Colombo route in Kingfisher First anytime between 25 August 2010 to 25 November 2010
- A special 10% off from the rack price on any Kingfisher Holidays package from anywhere across the Kingfisher Airlines network between 25 August 2010 to 24 February 2011
Mr. Sarit Wijeyekoon, Head of Personal Financial Services HSBC, Sri Lanka said, “We are happy to have entered into a strategic partnership with Kingfisher Airlines. This will enable our card holders to enjoy the many benefits offered and to experience frequent travel opportunities.”
Kingfisher Airlines currently flies to 59 cities in India and 8 international destinations and has over 300 daily departures with a fleet of 66 aircraft.
Airline Baggage Fee, Delta Air Lines adds baggage fee
Delta Air LInes has jumped on the baggage fee bandwagon, announcing it will impose a $15 fee to check a first bag, the Associated Press reported. The fee takes effect Dec. 5 and applies to customers flying within the U.S.
Have a second bag that needs checking? That one’ll cost you $25.
Delta passengers flying in first or biz class, including SkyMiles Medalion members and WorldPerks Elite members, will be able to check up to three bags for free.
The good news: Delta has scrapped its $25-$100 fuel surcharges assessed for SkyMiles and Northwest’s World Perks award ticket travel originating from the U.S. and Canada. (Delta recently took over Northwest.)
As for curbside check in, Delta said it will drop the $3 fee it had been charging as of Dec. 5.
European Airlines That Offer Cheap Airfare Alternatives
You’ve booked your trip to Europe; what happens next? Well, you can travel the continent by train, but if you’re keen on flying, the national carriers aren’t often the best bet. Here are five of our favorite budget airlines to keep costs down.
Easyjet: Based in London – mainly Luton and Stansted airports outside the city, EasyJet’s one of the budget airlines big boys, flying just about all over Europe, plus down to the Canary Islands, Morocco, Egypt and even Tel Aviv in Israel. Prices are decent if you book ahead – think £30 (one way, plus tax) for London to Italy or Istanbul up to $140 each way to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt – and they regularly discount tickets.
Air Berlin: The German airline – based out of Dusseldorf and Berlin – isn’t your standard budget airline: you get assigned seats, free refreshments and smiling faces on the cabin crew. They pretty much fan out to most of Europe – particularly northern Europe – from Germany. Prices to London start at $70, or St Petersburg for $200.
Vueling: The Spanish airline (it’s based in Barcelona) ate up budget airline Clickair last year, but it’s picked up their old routes. It has a good network cross-country in Spain, but also solid routes throughout Europe – think Barcelona to Athens for $60 each way, or to Viella for $85. They go as far north as Moscow and as far east as Amman in Jordan.
Ryanair: Of course, Dublin-based Ryanair is most famous for nickel and diming its customers, but it is actually possible to score some of their legendary super cheap seats – I once flew from London to Oslo and back for a fare of 2p: £20, or $30, if you include the full price with taxes. It flies pretty much everywhere, but bear in mind that most of the airports will be out of the city center.
Meridiana: Cheapoair is running a special offer with the Italian airline, based out of Milan, Rome and Olbia in Sicily: you can get some great deals, but you’ll need to book soon. It’s pretty much the only commercial carrier to have routes from Florence (from London, that will cost you about $80 each way) but it even goes as far as the Maldives.
Deutsche Airlines Company, Lufthansa Resumes Talks to Buy SAS Stake-paper
Deutsche Lufthansa has resumed talks on buying a stake in Scandinavian airline SAS , German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung said, citing industry sources. Talks could be concluded in 2009, the newspaper said on Saturday.
A spokesman for Lufthansa declined to comment on the report.
Last month a source familiar with the matter said Lufthansa had temporarily broken off talks to buy loss-making SAS to focus its efforts on Austrian Airlines and Alitalia .
The German airline last week signed a deal to buy Austrian Airlines, a move that will make it Europe’s biggest airline as the industry struggles with the economic downturn. It is also competing with rival Air France-KLM for an alliance with Alitalia.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the talks to buy a stake in SAS were more difficult than those concerning Austrian Airlines had been as it needed to negotiate with the governments of Sweden, Norway and Denmark, which together own 50 percent of SAS.
Chief Financial Officer Stephan Gemkow said last month that Lufthansa was in principle still interested in SAS, but said the company would wait for SAS to restructure its business first.
German media had reported that Lufthansa did not want to take over SAS’s loss-making unit Spanair.
