Finnair, one of the oldest operating airlines in the world, is celebrating 85 years of operations by painting one of its Airbus A319 in the livery of a Convair aircraft, which Finnair flew under its original name Aero in the 1950s. The retro aircraft will begin flights at the end of July and the aircraft’s crew is also dressed in the spirit of the times in 1950s uniforms. “With this special aircraft we want to pay respect to Finnair’s long experience in flying. Even though our sights are set on the future as we build Finnair into the airline of choice in air travel in the Northern Hemisphere, it is also a good idea to look back and remember our distinguished history,” says Finnair SVP Commercial Division Mika Perho.

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Finnair begins flights from Helsinki to the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals region of Russia at the beginning of September. The route is to be served three times a week with Airbus A319 aircraft. The flight time will be just three hours, with excellent connections in both directions. “The flight time from Helsinki to Yekaterinburg is half that of any other connection via Western Europe,” says Finnair’s Sales director in Russia, Vesa Vilkkula. “There are fast connections in both directions to about 40 Europe destinations and especially to Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo. “The opening route also serves our long-haul connections to North America and Asia as well as growing demand for domestic traffic to Rovaniemi, Kittilä and Kuusamo in northern Finland,” says Vilkkula.

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Regional Express (Rex) today announced that as a direct consequence of the record high oil price, the airline will increase its fuel surcharge by $3.00 (including GST) per sector effective on all sales from 13 May 2008. This will see Rex’s fuel surcharge increase from $33.00 to $36.00 per sector. Rex General Manager, Network Strategy & Sales, Mr Warrick Lodge said, “Oil prices have risen by another 10% since the last time we raised the fuel levy and are now at historic highs above USD120 a barrel. In addition, the refining margins have also increased presenting a double blow for airline fuel.”

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Iberia’s wine list for May, June, and July features an interesting tour of different Spanish regions and vintages, marking the second anniversary of cooperation between the Spanish airline and the Club Todovino Spanish wine consultancy firm. Business Plus passengers on Iberia’s long-haul flights can choose between two of the Spain’s most intriguing whites, the almost confidential and very personal Clarión of Somontano, and the intense and fragrant José Pariente of Rueda, which has become a model of the winemaker’s art and the maximum expression of one of Spain native grape varieties, the verdejo. The selection of reds rests on the solid pillars of Rioja and Ribera del Duero, with an offering from another region which has long produced superior tintos: Navarre. The region’s Señorío de Andión vintner boasts one of its most sought-after labels. From Ribera del Duero comes Cillar de Silos, a typical Ribero red of great character. And the Rioja is an excellent and reliable reserve that has steadily gained popularity in recent years: Luis Cañas.

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Montreal, Canada, May 6, 2008 — Mesaba Airlines, a pioneer in adopting technology to improve operational efficiency, crew satisfaction, and passenger service is enhancing the use of its current crew planning system from Kronos® Incorporated to effectively manage the schedules of its pilots. In addition to utilizing Altitude Pairing™ to develop optimal crew pairings, Mesaba Airlines’ flight attendant group is a long-time user of Altitude PBS™ (Preferential Bidding System), an automated and optimized crew scheduling software solution pioneered by the AD OPT division of Kronos. The airline has experienced enhanced crew satisfaction and improved operational efficiency through the use of Altitude PBS, and is now extending the use of the software to create pilot schedules.

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Regional Express (Rex) has today announced a number of network schedule changes as a result of the continuing pilot shortage. Rex will withdraw from the Cooma (Snowy Mountains) to Sydney route indefinitely, which had been planned to recommence from 6 June 2008, as well as reducing flying activities elsewhere in the network. Rex General Manager, Network Strategy and Sales, Mr Warrick Lodge said, “When we announced our decision to suspend the summer schedule for Cooma, we were counting on a lessening of the recruitment activities of the major carriers over the winter period to enable us to resume the Cooma service in winter. Unfortunately this was not to be and in the most recent month of April, Rex experienced 5% attrition in our pilot ranks, with the attrition rate in this FY tracking above 50%.”

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Singapore, May 6, 2008 – Low fare airline Tiger Airways today announced the appointment of Mr Chin Sak Hin as its Chief Financial Officer. An airline financial veteran, Sak Hin will join the Company in June, from his current role as CFO at SIA Engineering Company, a Singapore Exchange listed subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. Sak Hin will report to Tony Davis, Chief Executive Officer and President of Tiger Aviation. In his new role, he will be responsible for all group financial planning, control and reporting of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiary companies in Singapore and Australia. Sak Hin brings with him extensive and relevant aviation experience across the Asia Pacific region, as Tiger Airways embarks on its next phase of growth.

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Dubai, 30th April 2008 - The Emirates Group today reported its 20th consecutive year of net profit, notching a new profit record despite soaring oil prices and challenging business conditions in the second half of its 2007-08 fiscal year.Group net profits increased 54.1 per cent to AED 5.3 billion (US$ 1.45 billion) for the financial year ended 31st March 2008, on revenues of AED 41.2 billion ($ 11.2 billion) compared to the previous year’s AED 31.1 billion ($ 8.5 billion). The Group net margin improved to 13.2 percent from 11.4 percent in the previous year.

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ATLANTA, April 30, 2008 – Thirty years ago today, Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) Flight No. 10 took its maiden flight from Atlanta to London’s Gatwick International Airport taking Delta customers across the Atlantic for the first time. The departure from what was then known as Original poster for Delta’s London inauguralHartsfield Atlanta International Airport marked a significant milestone in the growth of the airline, the city of Atlanta, and what is now the world’s largest airport. “Delta is confident that this new Atlanta-London air route will be a major catalyst in an expansion of international business and tourism here,” accurately predicted R. S. Maurer, then Delta’s vice chairman of the Board, during inaugural flight ceremonies held April 30, 1978, at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. “Today is a dream come true. For Delta, this is a dream of more than a decade in length. For several of you here, I suspect that you have for even longer a period waited for Atlanta and Georgia to take this great step forward as a vital world air transportation center.”

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Following the news that Eos has ceased operating, Virgin Atlantic is offering stranded Eos passengers special one way fares in Upper Class on selected routes between London and the US. Virgin Atlantic is offering Eos ticket holders a fare of £799 one-way in Upper Class from London Heathrow to JFK, Newark, Boston or Washington. The fare includes all taxes and charges and is bookable via the Virgin Atlantic contact centres or at Virgin Atlantic’s ticket desk at Heathrow Terminal 3. Eos ticket holders, stranded by the cancellation of Eos Airlines services, must be booked and ticketed on an Eos flight departing between April 29 and June 30, 2008 (inclusive) to qualify for these special fares. For journeys from JFK, Newark, Boston or Washington to London Heathrow, Virgin Atlantic is offering passengers a special fare of $1299 including all taxes and charges, which can be booked through US reservations or at the airport ticket desks.

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From 28 April, passengers flying Lufthansa from Hamburg to Munich or Frankfurt will be able to use the new mobile boarding pass service. With this innovative service, passengers who have an Internet-enabled phone can be sent an electronic boarding pass by email or SMS link. The mobile boarding pass contains the relevant flight data, such as the name of the traveller, flight number and departure time, plus a 2-D barcode. Passengers travelling with hand luggage only can then proceed straight to the security checkpoint and to the gate, where the barcode on their mobile boarding pass will be read by a scanner. This means they can then board the aircraft without a printed paper document.

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SINGAPORE, 28 April 2008. A week after releasing strong financial year end passenger and operating results, Tiger Aviation today announced firm plans for continued fleet expansion. At the Industry Leader Luncheon Aerospace Forum Asia in Hong Kong today, President and Group Chief Executive Tony Davis announced that as the group is bringing forward the delivery of aircraft to meet passenger demand for its low fare services, Tiger Airways will be issuing a Request For Proposal to raise US$225M in aircraft and engine financing. Consistent with its business model, this will help the company lower its aircraft ownership costs to continue providing low, low fares to passengers. Davis mentioned that invitations for financing will be sent out this week.

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The majority of airlines at Heathrow are fed up with being treated as second class citizens after “being charged through the nose” for Terminal 5, said bmi group chairman Sir Michael Bishop today in a speech to the Aviation Club in London. The 30-minute notice given of delays to the long-planned moves of airlines around the airport was the latest chapter in a sorry tale of reputational disaster for the world’s largest international airport, he said. And he warned BAA to redouble its efforts to ensure the same fate does not befall Heathrow East, the terminal being developed to replace Terminal 1 in time for the 2012 Olympics. “We don’t place any blame for sins of the past at the feet of Ferrovial, so recently charged with the management of Heathrow. Indeed in the case of Terminal 5, the die was firmly cast long before the Ferrovial acquisition.

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Virgin Atlantic, one of the world’s leading long-haul airlines, is to be the Official Airline of the 2008 European Ryder Cup Team. Special dispensation has been granted for the Team to fly direct from London Heathrow to Louisville International Airport onboard a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-600 for The 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville, Kentucky, USA from 19 to 21 September 2008. European Captain Nick Faldo and his 12 man team will fly out on Monday 15 September to defend the Ryder Cup before flying back the following Monday 22 September. Joining the Team onboard the Virgin Atlantic flight will be their wives and girlfriends, Ryder Cup partners, sponsors and suppliers, the official party, the respective Boards of the European Tour, the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) and VIP guests.

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Singapore, 23 April 2008. The Tiger Airways Group today welcomed its fifth millionth passenger on-board Tiger Airways Singapore flight TR148 from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Ms Suchitra Sankar, age 30, was returning to Kuala Lumpur from a business trip in Singapore. While checking in for her return flight, the lucky passenger was warmly welcomed at the Budget Terminal, Changi Airport, by Tiger Airways Chief Pilot Captain Andy Cole-Bowen. Captain Cole-Bowen presented Ms Sankar with S$500 worth of Tiger Airways flight vouchers, plus a two-night weekend stay with breakfast at the Grand Mercure Roxy as well as a S$500 car rental voucher from Hertz. In addition, Ms Sanker also won free admission to the Zoo, plus a complimentary Wild Discover Tour for herself and a guest. It was Ms Sanker’s first trip with Tiger Airways to Singapore with flights booked via Tiger Airways website.

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bmi, London Heathrow’s second largest airline, has welcomed today’s Competition Commission’s ‘emerging thinking’ report into BAA’s monopolistic ownership of airports in the South East of England and Scotland. The independent competition watchdog’s initial findings suggest that, whilst not calling for the immediate break-up of the BAA, it does accept BAA’s ownership of seven airports in the UK “may not be serving well the interests of either airlines or passengers”, with no competition between BAA’s three London airports and only very limited competition from non BAA airports. Nigel Turner, bmi chief executive officer, said: “We welcome the findings of the commission’s report and look forward to remedial action being taken at the earliest opportunity.

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Iberia and the Consorci Zona Franca [Free Port] of Barcelona (CZFB) has laid the cornerstone of a new maintenance hangar at Barcelona’s El Prat airport, which will be equipped to handle the world’s largest commercial aircraft, as well as short- and medium-haul airliners. This symbolic ceremony fulfils the commitments by both partners to build Catalonia’s only such installations. The new hangar, rivalled in Spain only by Iberia’s maintenance facilities at the Madrid Barajas airport, will contribute to the development of El Prat, and enable it to dispatch long-haul flights.

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21 April, 2008; Kyiv, Ukraine – Ukraine International Airlines announced today it has signed a contract to lease one (1) Boeing 737-300SF freighter aircraft from GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS). UIA is the first customer in Ukraine to add the 737-300SF freighter to its fleet. This aircraft is the freighter version of one of the best-selling and popular commercial passenger aircraft in the world today and represents a big increase in UIA’s freight carrying capacity.

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SINGAPORE, 21 April 2008. Tiger Aviation today released its passenger figures for the year ending 31 March 2008. The Group delivered strong year on year performance with continued growth across both load factors and passengers flown. The airline group also delivered solid financials in year-onyear revenue percentage growth. These figures are the culmination of a very successful year for Tiger Airways as the company transitioned into a group structure with the launch of Tiger Aviation in September 2007 and the successful launch of Tiger Airways Australia in November 2007. Tiger Airways now operates the most geographically diverse network of any low fare airline in the Asia-Pacific region and is the only airline to operate to the world’s key growth markets of India, China and South East Asia. This diverse network provides a solid platform for future growth and has been underpinned by the company’s commitment to grow its fleet of new Airbus aircraft from the current 12 to a total of 72 aircraft by 2016.

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The designer of Finnair’s new uniforms has been chosen as Ritva-Liisa Pohjalainen, who is behind the well-known Finnish Ril’s women’s clothing brand. Pohjalainen participated in a competition organized by Finnair between several invited top Finnish designers. The quality of entries was exceptionally high and the scope of contributed ideas was refreshingly wide. The starting point for the design of Finnair’s new service uniforms was that the new image should be in line with the factors behind the success of the Finnair brand, especially freshness and ‘Finnishness’, as well as in harmony with the planned new cabin appearance.

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HOUSTON, April 16, 2008 – Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) released the following message yesterday to its more than 45,000 employees from Larry Kellner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Jeff Smisek, President, in response to last night’s announcement that Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) have agreed to merge:

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easyJet has informed BAA that it intends to withhold part of the dramatic price increase being imposed on it at Gatwick Airport, pending the outcome of a Judicial Review. In a letter to BAA’s new Chief Executive Colin Matthews (the text of which is repeated in full below), easyJet CEO Andy Harrison repeats the airline’s strong objection to the 21% increase in passenger charges that came into effect from 1 April 2008 and has given BAA until Wednesday 16th April to agree the principles of this arrangement.

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Finnair now offers its customers the possibility to calculate their flights’ fuel consumption and resulting carbon dioxide emissions. Finnair does not, however, promote emissions offset services to its customers. “In our environmental work we have focused on the fact that Finnair carries the responsibility for its emissions itself. We do this by systematically renewing our fleet and offering short connections between Europe and Asia via Helsinki. We recently did a study among Finnish consumers asking them who is responsible for the emissions from a flight, the airline or the passenger. 54 per cent replied that the airline is responsible. This gives resounding support to our view,” says Finnair VP Sustainable Development Kati Ihamäki.

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Panama, April 14, 2008 — Copa Airlines today announced it has taken delivery of its twelfth Embraer 190 aircraft, bringing its fleet total to 38. Copa operates one of the youngest fleets in the world. “This new aircraft arrival signals the continuation of our fleet expansion and modernization,” said Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Airlines. “The Embraer 190 gives us the flexibility to continue growing our route network with an efficient fleet and a comfortable and attractive airplane for the benefit of our passengers.” Copa’s new aircraft are more fuel efficient, thereby reducing the greenhouse gas effect. The Embraer 190 is equipped with modern engineering design features, including high-performance GE engines and “winglets” (wingtip extensions), which reduce drag and fuel consumption.

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US Airways is giving customers a chance to beat the heat this summer and head up north with new service to Montreal. A new daily flight to Montreal will begin July 3 from the airline’s largest hub in Charlotte, N.C. This new service will be operated by US Airways Express partner Republic Airlines using 86-seat Embraer 175 aircraft. “Montreal is a world class city with something to offer everyone,” said Senior Vice President Schedule Planning and Alliances Andrew Nocella. “With this new service, travelers can enjoy old world charm, modern cuisine, or explore the ‘Double Decker City’- one above ground and one below in La ville souterraine (the underground city). No matter the season, an adventure can always be had in Montreal.”

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