Airlines
United Continental pilots vote to strike
After two years of talks, pilots at United Continental Holdings have voted to authorize a strike. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents pilots for what were United and Continental Airlines before the two merged in 2010, reports 99% of the voters supported a withdrawal of services, if required. Pilots from United and Continental have been working without new contracts since agreeing to concessions in the airline industry's financial traumas last decade, during which United went into bankruptcy and Continental underwent cost-cutting measures. ALPA represents 7,600 pilots at...
Air Transat named World’s Best Leisure Airline
Air Transat was named World's Best Leisure Airline at the Skytrax annual World Airline Awards, held July 12 at the Farnborough International Airshow near London. Awards were presented based on a survey measuring the satisfaction of more than 18 million travellers. Conducted over a 10-month period, the survey included more than 200 airlines that were rated on 38 different aspects of the passenger experience - from check-in to boarding, onboard seat comfort, cabin cleanliness, food and beverage, onboard entertainment and staff...
Transat Holidays has new consolidator air program
Transat Holidays has launched a new program offering consolidator flights worldwide to support its cruise program. The new program is being offered in conjunction with cruise line partners Azamara Club Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Louis Cruises, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Pullmantur, Royal Caribbean International, Star Clippers and Uniworld River Cruises. Consolidator flights will be provided by more than 60 airlines such as Air China, Austrian Airlines, Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Emirates, Finnair, Etihad,...
Continental flight attendants ratify agreement
United Airlines reports that flight attendants from its Continental subsidiary, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), have ratified a new labour agreement. The new agreement covers approximately 9,000 United flight attendants at the company's Continental subsidiary located throughout the United States. The company and the AFA will soon commence negotiations for a joint collective bargaining agreement for flight attendants at United, Continental and Continental Micronesia. Flight attendants from the company's United subsidiary ratified a new four-year contract in February....
AC tops Skytrax awards
Air Canada has been named the 'Best International Airline in North America' in a worldwide survey of air travellers for the Skytrax World Airline Awards. In what Skytrax termed "a remarkable repeat success," it is the third consecutive year Air Canada has ranked among the top global carriers in the awards, which surveyed more than 18 million passengers worldwide. The annual survey, whose findings were announced during the Farnborough International Airshow, is regarded in the air transport industry as a key benchmarking tool for airline passenger satisfaction levels. Calin Rovinescu, president...
IATA welcomes ICAO CO2 progress
IATA is welcoming an agreement by ICAO's environment committee on a metric to define a CO2 standard for new aircraft. The association's director general and CEO, Tony Tyler said: "This major milestone in developing a CO2 standard for new aircraft demonstrates the commitment of the global community to environmental sustainability and ICAO's ability to lead progress. Establishing a standard for future generations of aircraft will help to ensure that the environmental benefits of the billions of dollars of airline investments in new aircraft are being maximized." The acceptance of a common...
Lufthansa gains, a group effort
Business is good these days for the Lufthansa Group -- which includes Lufthansa German Airlines, SWISS and Austrian Airlines. During the first half of 2012, the group saw its passenger traffic grow by 3.9% to a total of 49.4 million passengers. And all of the carriers in the group were able to sell more passenger seat kilometres than were additionally offered in the first six months, thus raising the average seat load factor of their aircraft. The seat load factor rose group-wide by one percentage point to 76.9%. Capacity was increased by 2.3%; sales were up by 3.8%. Lufthansa German Airlines...
WestJet earns spot in top 10
WestJet has been selected by Aviation Week as a top 10 international airline. The study ranks airline carriers across the world by their annual revenues, using financial and operational data to rate publicly traded airlines in five different performance categories. WestJet is the only Canadian airline and one of only two North American airlines to appear on this year's list. Gregg Saretsky, president and CEO of WestJet, said: "We are elated that our airline is ranked in the top 10 in the world. WestJetters across our network strive to provide an exceptional guest experience, and this study is...