Boardingmedia.net

An Myair Airbus 320 preparing to take off from Bucharest Baneasa airport.
Foto by: Cristian C./Boardingmedia.net

This story is under development.

The Italian low-cost carrier Myair and the Slovakian based low cost airline SkyEurope sign an agreement to form in the short future an alliance that will transform them in the fourth player on the low-cost aviation market in Europe.

According to a press release from Myair, Flyholding - the holding company of Myair and SkyEurope Holding, the holding company of SkyEurope Airlines announced that they have jointly entered into a protocol agreement to immediately commence an operating partnership between Myair and SkyEurope Airlines and explore an eventual strategic alliance.

The new alliance with Myair should help SkyEurope to fix the company financial problems. SkyEurope has been posting losses in both raports presented this year, and last year.

The alliance should help both of the companies to achieve lower prices when purchasing prices of services and fuel.

The companies will start selling each other’s tickets on their websites till the end of this year and will also use each other’s planes. Some airline market analysts says that SkyEurope’s Boeings will be used on the routes were both companies face a high seat demand, and the small CRJ900 of Myair will be used on the routes were are less passengers. Myair Airbuses could be leased in order to get extra cash for the new company operations (this information has not been confirmed by any of the two airlines).

The aim of this alliance is to create the fourth biggest low-cost airline in Europe, after Ryanair, easyJet and AirBerlin. SkyEurope head Jason Bitter said that the two cooperating airlines will play a bigger role on the European market than the one played till now.

Need to know
Friday, LTE International Airways - a charter airline based in Palma di Maiorca, Spain - ceased operation due to financial problems. The company, that own 7 aircraft Airbus 320 was part of MyAir Group, the same that owns Myair.

On the European market other companies that merged this year: Vueling and Clickair (both Spanish airlines) and Condor, TUIfly and Germanwings (all German airlines) are still in talks for merging.

The Qantas A380 is configured with 450 seats in four cabins - 14 in First Class, 72 in Business Blass, 32 in the Premium Economy cabin and 332 in Economy Class.

Features include:
- 14 single private suites in First Class featuring a 17 inch LCD wide screen video monitor, a unique touch screen control unit, and a seat (manufactured by B/E Aerospaces’s VIP jet group) that swivels into a comfortable armchair and a fully flat, extra long and wide bed;

- the next generation of Qantas’ award-winning sleeper seat Skybed in Business Class, which now offers an extra long and fully flat bed with ergonomically enhanced cushioning, a larger in-arm entertainment screen, additional storage options and more privacy;

- a private lounge area in the upper deck Business Class cabin featuring leather sofas, a self-service bar, large video monitor with laptop connectivity and a feature display cabinet;

- Premium Economy seats by Recaro, with fully adjustable, in-arm, digital wide screen television monitors, and a self service bar dedicated to the upper deck Premium Economy cabin;

- Recaro seats in Economy Class featuring a sliding base that moves with the seat back to create a more comfortable, ergonomically tested position to aid sleep and eliminate pressure points and a foot net to stop sliding during sleep;

- four self-service bars in Economy Class;

- state-of-the-art Panasonic inflight entertainment system with more than 100 on demand movies, 350 television selections, 500 audio CDs, 30 PC style games, and a selection of audio books, language tutorials, destination information, business education and radio channels; and

- in-seat laptop power and connectivity in every class allowing passengers to send and receive emails directly from their personal webmail and hotmail accounts via laptop or seat monitor.

The first Qantas A380, named after Australian pioneer aviatrix Nancy-Bird Walton, aged 92, departed Toulouse at 23:55 and operate via Singapore to touched down in Sydney at 09:00 on Sunday, 21st September.

Were it is flying?
The Qantas A380 will undergo a series of pre-entry into service, training and promotional activities ahead of its first commercial passenger service, operating from Melbourne to Los Angeles on 20 October 2008. The first service from Sydney - also to Los Angeles - will operate on 24 October.

Qantas A380 services between Sydney and London via Singapore will commence in January 2009.

Qantas will take delivery of three A380s by the end of 2008, with eight by the end of 2009 and all 20 by the end of 2013.

Source: Qantas PR Department

Romanian low-cost carrier BlueAir is introducing a 7 euro fee for each checked in bag, starting with October 26th. The carrier is not limiting the number of bags that a passenger can check-in but the tax will be paid for each bag.

In the same time the carrier is lowering the luggage allowance to 20kg, from 25kg. For each extra kilogram the passenger has to pay 6 euro more. For the moment the passenger can’t pay for the luggage on the internet at the time of the booking, so the tax will be paid at the departure airport, before the check-in.

As the passenger is not yet able to pay at the time of booking BlueAir can front some delays because of the “pay at the airport” process.

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Czech Airlines (CSA) , the biggest national airline of Czech Republic, is also lowering the luggage allowance for all the passengers traveling in Economy Class, from 23kg to 20kg. The new rule is effective from October 26th.

The new allowances affect also the passengers flying to/from intercontinental flights - United States and Canada - hat have to carry maximum two pieces of luggage of 20kg.

The Business Class passengers can still fly with 30kg of checked luggage in Europe and Middle East and 32kg for flights to/from United States and Canada.

Sursa foto

Today, the Belgian and Irish governments announced that they plan to introduce from the early months of 2009 a new tax for all the airlines operating to/from Belgium and Ireland.

The new tax called “Collective madness” will be paid by each carrier taking off from any airport in the two mentioned countries, no matter it is a local or a foreign airline. The tax will be paid for each passenger carried on board of the aircraft.

In Ireland there the tax will be introduced starting with 30th March for each passenger that is outbound for another European country. The tax will be 8 euro for a passenger flying to one of the countries very close to Ireland - UK, Iceland, France, Spain and Germany, and 10 euro if he/she is flying to another European destination and the north African countries. For the moment the government have not mentioned if there will be a tax for the intercontinental flights (other than those to north Africa).

The press is expecting a very vehement reaction from low-cost airline Ryanair which is flying from all Irish airports to more than 90 European destinations. In the same time, Ryanair has a base at Bruxelles Charleroi Airport (the secont Bruxelles airport) from were is flying to almost 30 European and north African destinations.

Ryanair is flying to over 90 destinations from Irish airports. The company official are expected to attack the new tax in the next couple of days. (photo source)

In Belgium, the tax can be even higher, and if so it is expected that airlines will cut flights from the four main airports: Bruxelles International, Charleroi, Antwerp and Liege. For the moment, the government did not said how much this tax will be.

A French newspaper said (noting that there is not an official source to be quoted) that the new Belgian tax will be 10 euro for any European outbound flight and 40 euro for all the others.

A person working in the Belgian aviation sector told Boardingmedia.net that he hopes taxes will not be like those imposed last spring by the Dutch government: 11,25 euro per any passenger on an outgoing flight to any European destination and 45 euro for anybody flying to any worldwide airport.

The Belgian tax concern a lot the Dutch travelers too as many of the are using the Bruxelles International airport to fly intercontinental flights and Charleroi to reach European popular destination, as they do not want to pay the high Dutch taxes impose to airlines flying out Amsterdam or Rotterdam airports.

IATA (International Air Transport Association) criticized the Irish and Belgian proposals for the new tax, “Collective madness is the only way to describe the EUR 150 million Irish and EUR 132 million Belgian departure tax proposals. Filling budget gaps or financing government investment in the banking industry with gratuitous travel taxes is policy myopia at its worst,” told Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO, quoted by Associated Press.

Compania germana Lufhansa va opera incepand cu data de 2 martie 2009 zboruri zilnice directe intre Bucuresti Otopeni (OTP) si Milano Malpensa (MXP). Pretul pentru un zbor dus-intors, cu toate taxele incluse, incepe de la 99 de euro. Orarul de zbor este urmatorul:

LH1836, Milano (MXP) 11:25 - Bucuresti (OTP) 14:35
LH1837 Bucuresti (OTP) 15:20 - Milano (MXP) 16:40

Zborurile vor fi operate cu aeronave Airbus 319 (foto jos).

Pe aceasta ruta mai zboara compania de linie Alitalia - in parteneriat cu Tarom - si Easyjet (relatia Bucuresti Otopeni - Milano Malpensa), dar si MyAir, Wizzair si BlueAir (relatia Bucuresti Baneasa - Milano Orio al Serio/Bergamo).

Compania Alitalia a anuntat in urma cu doua saptamani ca reduce numarul de zboruri zilnice intre Milano si Bucuresti de la doua la unul singur.

Indiferent de ce ar spune unii sau altii, cea mai buna pizza din lume se face la Napoli. Aici a inceput povestea ei si nimeni nu o face mai bine ca un napoletan…

Eu va recomand sa nu alegeti pizzeriile din centru, ci pe cele din zonele mai putin turistice ale orasului… acolo unde mananca localnicii.

Si va rog sa nu faceti mofturi ca pizza are prea putine ingrediente. Intelegeti ca o pizza cu pepperoni si sunca este un “fake” realizat in Romania.

La Napoli o pizza buna si o bere rece - va recomand Bira Moretti sau Peroni Rosu (nu Nostro Azzuro) - costa intre 7 si 10 euro (mai mult in locurile ultracentrale).

Zboruri:
Alitalia ofera trei zboruri pe zi catre Napoli (via Roma sau Milano), preturile incepand de la 209 euro, dus-intors, cu toate taxele incluse.
Compania low-cost Myair ofera sase zboruri directe pe saptamana (duminica - vineri) pentru preturi care incep de la 90 de euro dus-intors (taxa de bagaj de 9euro/zbor inclusa).

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Posted from my iPhone.

Operatorul national Tarom opereaza incepand cu data de 6 decembrie un nou zbor de la Cluj cu destinatia Paris, aeroportul principal Charles de Gaulle.

Zborul va fi operat in zilele de luni, miercuri si vineri dupa urmatorul orar:
RO385, Cluj (CLJ) 05:55 - Paris (CDG) 07:55
RO386, Paris (CDG) 09:25 - Cluj (CLJ) 13:15

Pasagerii vor calatori pe aceasta ruta cu aeronave Boeing 737-700. Biletele s-au pus in vanzare pe site-ul Tarom.

Introdusa la data de 6 noiembrie 2006, noua legislatie europeana cu privire la transportul lichidelor in avioane a dat dureri de cap la foarte multi pasageri.

Pe scurt, regulile sunt urmatoarele:
- fiecare pasager poate transporta in bagajul de mana pana la un litru de lichide, dar fiecare container nu poate depasi 100ml.
- prin lichide se intelege: apa, suc, creme, pasta de dinti, deodorant, produse cosmetice, crema de ciocolata (si orice aliment sub forma de crema), medicamente (siropuri, creme).
Intreg setul de reguli cu privire la transportul lichidelor la bordul avionului il gasiti aici. (PDF)

Iata si un video realizat de autoritatile aeroportului Napoli Capodichino:

Daca pasagerul calatoreste pentru una - doua zile si doreste sa aiba numai bagaj de mana, exista solutii pentru a transporta produse cosmetice absolut necesare. Fie se cumpara produse ale caror recipiente nu depasesc 100ml, fie se achizitioneaza un chit de sticlute de plastic in care se pot pun samponul, gelul de dus sau chiar cremele cosmetice. Am gasit setul “Carry-On Bottle Set” care costa doar 10 dolari (plus taxele de expeditie) si care contine patru sticlute de plastic a cate 75ml fiecare si doua borcanele de plastic pentru creme.

Un set asemanator se poate achizitiona si de la reprezentantii Amway.

Tarom va opera, incepand cu orarul de toamna (din 26 octombrie) mai multe zboruri noi, dupa cum urmeaza:
- Cluj (CLJ) - Roma Fiumicino (FCO), in zilele de marti, joi, sambata si duminica. Plecare din Cluj la ora 07.25 cu aterizare la Roma la 08.40. Zborul de retur pleaca din Roma la ora 10.00 si aterizeaza la Cluj la 13.10.

- cursa Bucuresti - Sofia si retur va fi operat de doua ori pe zi, de luni pana sambata, iar duminica o singura data.
Luni - Duminica:
RO293, Bucuresti (OTP) 08:00 - Sofia (SOF) 09:00
RO294, Sofia (SOF) 09.40 - Bucuresti (OTP) 10.40

Luni - Sambata:
RO291, Bucuresti (OTP) 17:20 - Sofia (SOF) 18:20
RO292, Sofia (SOF) 19.00 - Bucuresti (OTP) 20.00

- se fac schimbari si la cursa Bucuresti - Sibiu. Zborul 723 de la Bucuresti la Sibiu, si returul 724 sufera modificari de orar, dupa cum urmeaza:
Luni - Duminica: (zboruri operate cu aeronave Aibus 318)
RO723, Bucuresti (OTP) 07:25 - Sibiu (SBZ) 08:10
RO724, Sibiu (SBZ) 13:45 - Bucuresti (OTP) 14:20

Miercuri, Sambata si Duminica
RO729, Bucuresti (OTP) 20:45 - Sibiu (SBZ) 21:35
RO730, Sibiu (SBZ) 06:05 - Bucuresti (OTP) 06:55

Compania AerLingus, care opereaza in prezent trei zboruri pe saptamana intre Bucuresti si capitala Irlandei, Dublin, va introduce un al patrulea zbor incepand cu orarul de primavara (28 martie 2009). Astfel, in loc de zilele de marti, joi si sambata, compania va zbura luni, miercuri, vineri si duminica, dupa cum urmeaza:
EI672, Dublin (DUB) 15:20 - Bucuresti (OTP) 20:55
EI673, Bucuresti (OTP) 21:55 - Dublin (DUB) 23:50
Zborurile sunt operate cu aeronave Airbus 320 si pretul pentru o calatorie dus-intors incepe la 175 euro.

Compania elvetiana Baboo zboara incepand cu 27 octombrie, de patru ori pe saptamana de la Bucuresti la Geneva, in zilele de luni, miercuri, vineri si duminica. In aceleasi zile compania ofera posibilitatea romanilor care vor sa ajunga pe riviera franceza sa zboare catre Nisa, via Geneva.

Orarul de zbor este:
Zbor numarul 614, Bucuresti 15:45 - Geneva 17:25
Zbor numarul 613, Geneva 11:30 - Bucuresti 15:05

Zbor numarul 614/295, Bucuresti 15:45 - Nisa 19:10
Zbor numarul 292/613, Nisa 09:30 - Bucuresti 15:05

Preturile sunt:
Bucuresti - Geneva - Bucuresti, de la 336 CHF (aproximativ 214 euro).
Bucuresti - Geneva (one-way), de la 323 CHF (aproximativ 205 euro).
Geneva - Bucuresti (one-way) de la 320 CHF (aproximativ 203 euro).

Bucuresti - Nisa - Bucuresti, de la 430 CHF (aproximativ 273 euro).
Bucuresti - Nisa (one-way), de la 444 CHF (aproximativ 282 euro).
Nisa - Bucuresti (one-way), de la 441 CHF (aproximativ 280 euro).

Toate zborurile intre Bucuresti si Geneva si vv., precum si cele dintre Geneva si Nisa si vv. sunt operate cu aeronave Embraer 190, configurate pentru a transporta 100 de pasageri.

Embraer 190 / Foto: flybaboo.com

Toate scaunele sunt echipate cu ecran; astfel calatorul nu se va plictisi in timpul zborului. / Foto: flybaboo.com