Nice Come Back for Aerolineas Argentinas

Praise for the Argentinian airline Aerolíneas Argentinas in the way it responded to a man who complained about the 'short, fat, lot to be desired' cabin crew.

 

The airline politely informed the Facebook user that 'prejudice doesn't fly. when he stated on th social media site that company's flight attendants were 'short and fat  - writing 'gets my attention is the low quality of flight attendants that the company has.' 

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He continued to say that the flight attendants who used to be 'tall, slender, and nice' are now all 'short, fat girls who leave much to be desired' in their appearance.

 

The response, unusually considered by an airline was simple and effective - prejudice doesn't fly, we leave it on the ground.' they then proceeded to list all the requirements it has for the job of a flight attendant.

 

Flight attendants must be older than 18, the company wrote, they must be citizens of Argentina, they must be high school graduates, they must speak fluent English, they must have a TCP license, and they must know how to swim. 

The company even listed height requirements for the flight attendants with women required to be between 5'4'' and 5'7' and men between 5'7' and 6'1.' 

 

 

 

• Here, a flight attendant for the airline tweets a photograph of herself with the hashtag #prejuiciosnovuelan -- #PrejudiceDoesn'tFly

 

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IAG New Bid for Aer Lingus.

Aer Lingus said on Monday it was considering a revised takeover approach from International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) the parent group of British Airways and Iberia.  IAG made a third bid of 2.55 euros per share, after the previous two offers were dismissed.

 

The Irish airline said the bid comprised an all cash offer of 2.50 per euros share and a cash dividend of 0.05 euros per share, and that it remained conditional on the recommendation of the board and receipt of irrevocable commitments from Ryanair and the Irish government, its two largest shareholders.

 

Buying Aer Lingus would ensure British Airways would have more access to take-off and landing slots at London Heathrow Airport, its home base and a top European hub for profitable long-haul routes. The airport is operating at close to capacity, preventing British Airways from adding more flights and expanding.

Malaysian Airlines Wesite Hacked.

Malaysian Airlines website was hacked on Monday, visitors to  www.malaysiaairlines.com were greeted with a photograph of a lizard in a top hat, monocle and tuxedo, surrounded by the messages '404 - Plane Not Found' and 'Hacked by Lizard Squad - Official Cyber Caliphate'. A rap song could be heard.

A group calling itself "Official Cyber Caliphate" claimed it hacked the official website of national carrier Malaysia Airlines on Monday.  However, in a statement, Malaysian Airlines said the website was not hacked, but that users were redirected to a hacker website.  "Malaysia Airlines assures customers and clients that its website was not hacked and this temporary glitch does not affect their bookings and that user data remains secured," it said.

According to some local media reports the hacked site carried the words "ISIS will prevail" but this is unconfirmed and no sight of the slogan could be seen.

EazyJet Emergency Landing in Amsterdam

An easyJet flight has been forced to detour in order to make an emergency landing in Amsterdam after smoke was reported in the cockpit.

 

The Airbus A320 was enroute from Berlin to Bristol flying over the North Sea when it was diverted to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.  The pilot had reported smoke in the cockpit while passengers on board flight EZY6238 also reported the smell of smoke in the cabin.  Passengers tweeted photos from the aircraft upon arrival in Amsterdam.

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Eazyjet spokesperson described it as ‘a technical issue’ saying "The safety and welfare of its passengers and crew is easyJet's highest priority. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience experienced due to the delay and will do all possible to keep passengers fully informed.  Passengers are currently being cared for while their onward travel to Bristol is being arranged."

 

After the aircraft landed in Amsterdam the plane was inspected by a fire crew and passengers disembarked normally. They waited inside the terminal for about two hours until a new plane arrived to transport them to Bristol early this morning.

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Thai Airways Restructure

Announced today a major restructuring plan for Thai Airways has been approved by the military-led Thai government in a bid to restore profits for the national airline.

 

The state controlled Thai Airways is one of a number of state companies to undergo major reform after the military took over from the elected government in a coup last May.  The restructuring of Thai Airways will see drastic measures implemented to cut down operating costs, boost revenue and will also see some non-core assets sold off.

 

Thai Airways President Charumporn Jotikasthira announced to a packed news conference that the airline would reduce the number loss-making routes, both in the domestic and international markets by around 10 % by the end of the year. Thai will sell off up to 22 older aircraft whilst taking delivery of three new planes during this two year restructuring initiative. Thai Airways had seen its financial position crumble after its debt jumped with high operating costs and outlay for new aircraft. Thai Airways had been on a major fleet renewal programme, having received 41 aircraft in the last four years alone.

JShaw

Passenger Numbers up at London's Airports

Passenger numbers where up at London’s Heathrow Airport last year despite being operated close to capacity!.  Passenger numbers were up 1.4 % to 73.4 million last year, mainly due to a number of airlines deployed larger jets, including the Airbus A380 super jumbo to make the best use of highly prized slots.

 

However this was not a big an increase as enjoyed by Heathrow's rival for expansion, Gatwick, which managed an extra 2.7 million extra customers, that's an annual growth rate of7.6%. Gatwick operators say the record figures show that the UK  clearly needs an expanded airport that serves the widest range of travel modes, including low-cost flights with airlines like Ryanair and EazyJet.

 

Gatwick is currently the world's busiest single runway airport and shortlisted for expansion by a state-appointed Airports Commission and currently 38.1 million passengers pass through its doors each year.   “Airport expansion should be for the many not the few, and our broad range of growth underlines that Gatwick is the obvious solution,” Chief Financial Officer Nick Dunn said in a statement. “Expand Heathrow and we take a backwards step.”

 

There was also positive news for Global Infrastructure Partners - Gatwick's owners, their other airport, London City also saw a rise in passenger numbers.  Last year 3.65 million chose to fly from the docklands airport - an increase of 8% and well on track for the target growth number of 6 million by 2023.  

 

The Airport Commission’s final recommendations are due later this year after the May general election, however the current favourite is Heathrow, who have been very busy just lately persuading local councillors in the south east not to support rival Gatwick's plans. It has been an effective campaign seeing many councils and counsellors doing a complete U-turn on previous support.

FlyBe Share Price Tumble

Tough times ahead for Britain's budget airline Flybe as shares tumbled today after it revealed lower passenger numbers in the third quarter of last year and would break even before tax in its financial year ending in March 2015.  

 

 

 

The ailing airline posted its first pretax profit in four years in the year ending March 2014, made possible by heavy cost cutting measures - including relinquishing airport slots, cutting jobs, axing unprofitable flight routes and a grounding of a number of aircraft in its fleet.

 

 

The full-year forecast announced today, Monday, follows a drop of 3.8% drop in passenger revenue in the final three months of 2014 to £126.8 million pounds, citing commercial pressure. "We believe that this competitive pressure will extend the period of time that these routes take to reach maturity and deliver the full contribution we expect," Flybe said in a statement.