Travel News Monkey

Turkish Airlines (THY) was the fastest growing airline in Europe in 2006 as per information provided by the European Airlines Union. The airlines recorded an impressive 20.8% increase and totalled 16,475,900 passengers in 2006. The first nine months of 2006 alone yielded 12.8 million passengers for Turkish Airlines. Read more.

Ryanair is based in Dublin and is the largest budget airline in Europe; hot on its heels are EasyJet and Air Berlin. The three companies are redefining the manner in which people travel within Europe. They are in fact changing the cultural landscape of Europe. Doctors from Poland now visit England to perform surgeries; people jump jobs between countries; weekend travel has taken on a whole new meaning; and real estate prices across Europe are feeling the effects of easy travel as people find it easier to spread out.  Read more.

Spain’s biggest airline Iberia is set for a jump in its stock after a French newspaper reported that Lufthansa is keen to purchase a part of Iberia or even the entire airline. The tie-up could see the two airlines account for a 100 million passengers which will be 30 million more than what the Air France-KLM Group manages. Read more.

Rostransnadzor, which is the transport supervising authority of Russia, has banned Aero Rent, Tatarstan, Atlant-Soyuz, Aviacon Zitotrans, Center Avia, Gazpromavia, Lukoil, Russkoe Nebo, and UTair from executing charter and one-off flights to the EU. The reason for the ban is the notice from the Transport Directorate of the European Commission which stated that the said airlines were guilty of repeated violations. The airlines did not check their aircraft and they concealed the violations from the Russian transport authority. Rostransnadzor has taken the step to safeguard the reputation of Russia as an established air power.

Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd., which is Southeast Asia’s biggest defence company, will be deploying an aircraft maintenance and repair centre in Eastern Europe in lieu of the one it shut down in the UK in December 2006. The cost of such an initiative in Eastern Europe is expected to be almost 40% lower than what it would be in Western Europe. The company hopes to lure airlines, especially budget operators, to make use of its Eastern Europe facility because of the cost advantage. Read more.

A new blueprint is being prepared for a future European air traffic management system that will change the way in which European skies are managed. European regulators are in the midst of raising EUR2.1 billion for this project – Single European Sky project known as SESAR. The industry consortium responsible for developing the roadmap for the ATM plans to present its operational concept for an internal review next month.

The consortium is represented by airlines, airports, and manufacturers and hopes to develop an improved ATM that facilitates better co-ordination between all the involved parties. Read more.

The seventh annual Airline Marketing workshop organized by the Athens International Airport was marked by the special awards that AIA presented to those that contributed to the airport’s growth. The airport touched 15.1 million passengers in 2006, which is a 5.6% increase over the 2005 figures. The workshop was an opportunity for interaction and exchange of ideas between airlines and the Airport Company. To read about the award winners, go here.

Alan Watts is set to become the world’s first man to redeem his frequent flyer miles for a visit to space. Alan will exchange his two million Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles for a trip to outer space with Virgin Galactic. Alan will fly off to outer space in 2009. Read more.

Turkish Airlines will be acquiring two crew management products – Carmen Crew Pairing and Carmen Crew Rostering – from Jeppesen. Turkish Airlines hopes to reap strong savings by implementing the products. The airline is experiencing strong growth and with its recent purchase of 59 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, its fleet is one of the most modern in Europe. Read more.