New base for Germanwings
Germanwings has selected Dortmund as its newest base. The German low-cost carrier will base an Airbus A319 at Dortmund from late June and launch services to Faro, Ibiza, Istanbul, Palma de Mallorca and Vienna.
Aegean expands
Greek carrier Aegean Airlines has taken delivery of its first of 11 Airbus A320s. The carrier, which also operates Boeing 737-300/400s, will take three A320s by May. It will use the extra capacity to launch services from Heraklion in Crete to Munich, Dusseldorf and Stuttgart, and Larnaca from the islands of Mykonos and Santorini to Milan and Rome and from Rhodes to Milan. It will also boost services from Athens to Italy and Germany.
Cyprus Airways restructures
Cyprus has secured European Commission approval to loan its ailing flag carrier another C£55 million ($125 million) to fund a new restructuring plan. Cyprus Airways also has raised C£13 million by selling charter arm Eurocypria to the government. The carrier had a C£16 million pre-tax loss last year on revenues of C£157 million.
FlyMe Sweden shuts down
FlyMe Sweden ceased operations in March and filed for bankruptcy. The budget carrier served several European destinations with Boeing 737s.
VLM adds jets
Dutch regional carrier VLM Airlines will place into service its first jet aircraft, a 92-seat BAe 146, in April. The regional jet will be used to add capacity between London City and Rotterdam. VLM, which now operates 19 Fokker 50 turboprops, is wet-leasing the 146 from UK-based Flightline.
Vueling chooses Paris
Spanish low-cost carrier has selected Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) as its first base outside Spain. It will base three Airbus A320s at Paris and operate routes to Amsterdam, Milan Malpensa and Seville. Vueling selected CDG, which has limited low-cost service, over Milan and Rome. Its current bases are Madrid and Barcelona.
Manchester gets Airblue
Pakistan's Airblue plans to launch four weekly flights from Islamabad to Manchester at the beginning of June. The carrier will use Airbus A321s, which it now operates domestically and to the Middle East, on its first long-haul route because it has been unable to secure leases on widebodies. The flight will have to operate with a brief fuel stop in Ankara, Turkey because the A321 lacks to range to fly it non-stop. Airblue still hopes to acquire widebodies next year and add flights to Birmingham and London.
SAA shelves Chicago
South African Airways (SAA) has postponed plans to launch services to Chicago. SAA announced last year it would begin flights in May 2007 from Johannesburg to Chicago, which would have been its third US destination. The carrier has not yet set a new launch date. The postponement marks the first results of a newly launched overhaul of its route network.
LSG back in the black
Lufthansa catering unit LSG Sky Chefs has posted a €73 million ($97 million) profit for 2006, reversing a €286 million loss from 2006. Catering revenues rose for the first time in several years, reaching almost €2.3 billion. LSG says European and Asian catering markets grew while business in North America continued to suffer from a general decline in demand. LSG, nevertheless, "achieved a turnaround".
Source: Airline Business
