Nov 12th, 2009 at 4:15PM:
If you ever needed any more evidence that the aviation industry is changing, look no further than the big announcement from British Airways and Spanish flagship carrier Iberia this afternoon.
The two have announced that they reached an agreement on a "memorandum of understanding" to proceed with a full merger of equals. The combination will create one of the largest airlines in Europe, ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
BritishAirways posts
British Airways and Iberia agree on a "merger of equals"
Nov 12th, 2009 at 4:15PM:
If you ever needed any more evidence that the aviation industry is changing, look no further than the big announcement from British Airways and Spanish flagship carrier Iberia this afternoon.
The two have announced that they reached an agreement on a "memorandum of understanding" to proceed with a full merger of equals. The combination will create one of the largest airlines in Europe, ...Financial trouble at British Airways could lead to strike
Nov 6th, 2009 at 10:30AM: Anyone following the travel news knows the airlines are in trouble. Well, it appears some airlines may be in more trouble than expected. British Airways announced that in the first half of its 2009 financial year it suffered a loss of £292 million ($485 million). In the same period in 2008 it made a profit of £52 million ($86 million). This was more than a 13% loss of total revenue, ...British Airways flight greeted by hazmat team after 6 passengers faint
Nov 1st, 2009 at 10:00AM: Here is a sight you don't want to be greeted by when you land at your destination - upon landing at London Heathrow, an ambulance hazmat team boarded the aircraft to check on the condition of six passengers who had fainted during the flight. It probably isn't too uncommon for one passenger to faint after the stress of a long haul flight, but six of them on a single plane usually warrants some kind ...British Airways plane grounded after tarantula sighting
Oct 29th, 2009 at 9:00AM: A London bound plane was grounded in Edinburgh after a passenger spotted a tarantula walking through the cabin. The plane was filled with 100 passengers, and the sighting forced BA staff to evacuate the plane. An exterminator was flown in from London Gatwick, but the spider was nowhere to be found. Eventually, the plane was flown back to London without any passengers. According to a British ...Hundreds of flights cancelled as Iberia workers go on strike
Oct 26th, 2009 at 11:00PM: Thousands of passengers were left stranded today as workers at Iberia Airlines walked off the job for the first day of a two-day strike. Iberia was forced to cancel more than 400 of its 2,000 flights for this Monday and Tuesday as cabin crews protested the fact that they haven't received a pay increase in four years. This is a tough situation for Spanish workers, who live in a country with one of ...British Airways computer glitch posts super low cost flights to India
Oct 5th, 2009 at 4:00PM:
Late Friday night, an alert went out on Twitter. Fares to Mumbai, India, from locations all over the US were being offered at rock bottom prices on British Airways. Flights from Chicago to Mumbai were just $550 per person.
I quickly logged on to Orbitz, selected my dates, and clicked purchase. I received an email from Orbitz confirming my purchase and then got to work planning the trip. My ...British Airways offers free companion fare
Oct 1st, 2009 at 2:30PM: Fly on British Airways between now and January 29, 2010 and you could earn a free companion fare for your next flight.
To get the free ticket, you need to sign up for the Executive Club (which is free) and take a round-trip flight to any one of the 300 destinations to which the airline flies. Then, book another ticket January 4 to July 30, 2010 for travel January 11 to December 15, 2010. You'll ...British Airways innovates in the "new fees" department with a seat selection fee
Sep 25th, 2009 at 5:00PM: Dear readers - it is official; British Airways has lost its frikkin mind. Starting October 7th, the UK airline will be charging pretty hefty fees for anyone who wants to make a seat selection at the time of booking (something offered for free by most civilized airlines in the world). The fees start at $15 for a domestic UK seat selection, and go to $30 for World Traveler and World Traveler Plus, ...British Airways says, "Sandwiches? You don't need no stinkin' sandwiches!"
Jul 29th, 2009 at 1:00PM: British Airways has announced that as of next week it will no longer serve sandwiches on its short-haul flights, the BBC has reported.
The move, which the airline hopes will save £22 million ($36.3 million) a year, will affect all flights after 10am that last less than two-and-a-half hours. Passengers will be served "snacks" instead, most likely meaning a tiny bag of pretzels and a ...The fall of OpenSkies?
Jun 23rd, 2009 at 4:30PM: OpenSkies, the all-business-class subsidiary of British Airways has always been fighting an uphill battle. At only one year old, the airline has always struggled to earn and maintain a customer base. Now with demand on the wane and airlines cutting back, OpenSkies might soon be on the chopping block. The model, it seemed, was valid. A smaller plane with all business and first class seats could ...British Airways plans to fly the tiny Airbus A318 across the pond
May 28th, 2009 at 4:00PM: British Airways has announced its plans to fly on the London City - New York JFK route starting this October. Now, news like this normally gets ignored by us, unless it involves cool and interesting locations, neither of which are included in this announcement. What makes this news worth writing about, is that the route will be serviced by the small Airbus A318 plane. This plane is seriously small ...British Airways scrapping first class on new planes
May 24th, 2009 at 5:00PM: It's official, we're in trouble. British Airways has decided to remove first-class seating on four of its new flights, The Guardian newspaper has reported. The carrier is also considering removing the service from other flights. The move comes after a fall in demand for first-class seating, brought on by the economic downturn, which apparently is even affecting people who will pay three to ten ...Survey of most annoying passengers says - don't kick my seat
May 6th, 2009 at 12:30PM: British Airways recently surveyed a large number of their European customers, and asked them what the most annoying behavior is from their fellow passengers.
The results are not exactly a surprise, and probably very much in line with the kind of stuff that annoys us all.
Here is the top 5 of most annoying in-flight passenger behavior:
Fellow passengers who kick the back of your seat.
...Dakar to Paris: Layover in Algiers or Tripoli?
Apr 24th, 2009 at 1:30PM: You think that you know things about airlines until you start searching for flights in and out of African. There, the old knowns of KLM and British Airways go out the window and replacements like Afriqiyah Airways and Air Algerie come into play, carriers that many never knew existed. The current itinerary on which I'm working involves a one way flight between Dakar and Paris, a three thousand ...Love in the air - Germans most likely to flirt, Swedes most likely to have sex
Feb 12th, 2009 at 10:30AM: It's the most romantic time of the year - which means companies are releasing all kinds of love related news and surveys. The latest comes from British Airways, who did a quick interview of European travelers, and how often they flirt with their fellow passengers. According to the survey, Germans are the most likely to try and hit on you in the sky, followed by the Swiss. The "passionate" ...British Airways to allow cell phone use on London to New York flights
Jan 30th, 2009 at 11:00AM: British Airways has just announced that, beginning this fall, they will allow cell phone use in-flight, but only on business class flights between London and JFK. While talking on cell phones will still be prohibited, the airline will allow passengers to send and receive text messages and have access to the internet.
A BA spokesperson says that the airline will listen to feedback from customers ...Baghdad airport welcomes first European passenger flight in 18 years
Jan 3rd, 2009 at 11:00AM: 18 years after the United Nations imposed a ban on all commercial air traffic destined for Iraq, a Swedish charter plane has landed at Baghdad International Airport. The charter was operated by Nordic Leisure and their 150 passengers were mostly Iraqis. This is just the beginning of what should become a fairly popular route, as many Iraqis are in Europe waiting to return to their homeland. ...Winona Ryder gets a British Airways airplane priority landing status. Could you?
Nov 21st, 2008 at 12:00PM: Two days ago, Winona Ryder's British Airways flight to Heathrow airport was granted priority landing status after Ryder became sick on the plane. Jaunted's blurb doesn't say how she got ill. One wonders was it the food? Is this normal for her? What about me or you? Could we get special treatment? Could we get a plane to land before all the others?
I was on a flight once when the plane turned ...British Airways CEO Sees Little To Be Excited about in the US
Nov 11th, 2008 at 1:30PM: After the election of Barack Obama and a Democratic Party majority in the house and senate, British Airways CEO Willie Walsh sees little to be optimistic about as far as stateside operations go. Many European carriers would like to see additions to the Open Skies Agreement, which provided greater rights for foreign-owned airlines to operate within the US. Walsh is worried about Obama's support of ...Nobody is safe from the flight delay monster - even billionaires!
Nov 6th, 2008 at 3:00PM: Formula One racing is not very popular in the United States, so I'll forgive you if you don't have a clue who the gentleman on the right is. Bernie Ecclestone is the current president and CEO of the companies behind Formula One racing. Mr.Ecclestone has amassed a net worth of almost $4 Billion thanks to a combination of his slick management skills and some very lucrative TV deals. On average, ...
