The oneworld alliance has welcomed the granting of antitrust immunity by the US Department of Transport for a joint business agreement on transatlantic services between Iberia, British Airways and American Airlines. “This final approval is fantastic news for all three airlines and the oneworld alliance,” said BA CEO Willie Walsh. “We’ve waited 14 years to
Qantas has announced that it has exercised options for seven additional Bombardier Q400 NextGen turboprops, valued at US$218m (A$247m) at list prices. “The aircraft really suits QantasLink’s operations and is extremely popular with the airlines customers,” said Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce. “We have therefore made the decision to acquire another seven aircraft for delivery
Qatar Airways has placed an order for two additional Boeing 777-200LRs and has also announced that it is moving up delivery slots for some of its 787-8s. The new 777s, which were previously attributed to an unidentified customer, will be used to grow Qatar’s longhaul network. Qatar already operates 19 777s, and has a further
Virgin Blue and Skywest Airlines have signed a memorandum of understanding which will expand the relationship between the two airlines, allowing for more connections through regional WA. The first phase of the expanded agreement will see Virgin Blue codeshare on Skywest services to Albany, Esperance, Geraldton, Exmouth, Carnarvon, Monkey Mia and Kalbarri. Skywest will also
Qantas will launch its Next Generation Check-in at Perth Airport next week, with the airline revealing that it has worked with renowned designed Marc Newson to provide creative direction for the various components involved. “Next Generation Check-in has been designed to deliver an enhanced check-in experience for our customers – providing greater speed and ease
Load factors across domestic services decreased during May as capacity growth outstripped demand growth, according to a statistical report by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). Over the month there were 4.23 million domestic passengers, representing a 5.3 per cent increase over May 2009, while revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) increased by 4.1