p28 air Mar12 9/3/10 15:50 Page 28
news air
ttglive.com
Continental adds
March traffic
extra legroom fee
to rise by 4%
THE WORLD’S AIRLINES have signalled growing
signs of confidence with a 4% rise in the number
Gary Noakes.
without extra space for of flights they plan to operate this month.
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES a fee for passengers with Airline guide OAG estimates that worldwide,
has become the latest tight connections. 2.46 million flights will operate in March, with
carrier to charge for Continental’s extra Africa and the Middle East leading expansion.
extra legroom seats on room seats can be The number of flights to Africa has increased
transatlantic flights. booked when online 18% year-on-year, with more than 1.1 million
Economy seats by the check-in is carried out seats available this month.
emergency exits and or when checking in at In the Middle East, where the recession hit
those at the front of the the airport. much later, carriers such as Qatar Airways and
cabins which provide a In addition, members Etihad have nevertheless continued expanding.
minimum of seven inches of the airline’s OnePass Scheduled capacity has risen 17% this month,
more legroom will incur Elite frequent flyer some of which includes routes to Africa. The
a fee from March 17. programme and their world’s other growth area is Central and South
A spokesman said travelling companions America, where capacity is up 15%.
prices on the carrier’s transatlantic flights, which can assign themselves extra legroom economy The figures contrast with those within Europe,
depart from Heathrow and several regional class seats without charge. where capacity is up only 2%, and within North
airports, would vary on any given day. Meanwhile, British Airways is to fit an extra America, where it is down 2%.
“A seat with extra room on Heathrow-Newark row of economy seats on its short-haul fleet in a
on the day we introduce this might be offered at bid to generate an additional £6 million a year.
$99 [extra] or the sterling equivalent,” he said. The airline’s Airbus A320 fleet will have a
“Prices on other routes might be more or less wardrobe removed to bump up the number of
In brief
than that, it will depend on various factors on economy seats from 156 to 162.
the day.” The increase in economy seating means that ■ Air Slovakia loses licence to fly aircraft
Continental’s rival US carriers Delta, American the maximum possible number of Club Europe Air Slovakia, which used to operate flights from
Airlines and United Airlines do not charge pas- seats falls slightly to just over 40, although it is Birmingham to the Slovakian capital of Bratislava,
sengers for extra legroom. However, British Air- rare that all are occupied. has ceased operations after its Air Operator's
ways and Virgin Atlantic do and US Airways Certificate was removed by Slovakian authorities.
offers reserved seats at the front of the cabin ■ Upgrade your customers for less, p47
■ KLM bolsters Amsterdam-Liverpool route
KLM will add a fourth Liverpool-Amsterdam
frequency from May 10, just over a year since it
started the route. A promotional £79 return fare
is now bookable for travel until September 30.
■ BMI begins codeshare with sister Swiss
BMI is to codeshare with sister airline Swiss
International Air Lines. The carriers, part of the
Lufthansa group, will codeshare on all UK to
Switzerland routes including Zurich, Geneva and
Basel. The deal covers routes from Heathrow, Lon-
don City, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh.
■ SAS adds seventh daily flight to Stockholm
SAS will introduce a seventh daily Heathrow-
Stockholm frequency on March 28. The additional
departure from London is at 16.35, arriving at
20.05. The new flight from Stockholm departs at
12.55, arriving at Heathrow at 14.35.
ROADSHOW REWARD: Liz Rees (centre), Birmingham Trailfinders’ business travel ■ Nordic airlines grow network, p50
consultant, is presented with two BusinessFirst tickets to New York by John Garside,
Continental Airlines’ regional sales manager and Ursula Hammond, Birmingham Interna-
ttglive.com
For the very latest flights, airline and
tional airport’s area sales manager, after winning the prize draw at a regional roadshow. airport news, go to ttglive.com/air
28 12.03.2010
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64