Luchtvaartnieuws / binnen en buitenland.

[Kano]

Direct Korea flights to Negros cancelled

Malaya.com.ph Jan 24, 2012
BY GILBERT BAYORAN

BACOLOD CITY — Zest Airways cancelled its direct flights between South Korea and Negros Occidental due to the softening of the market.

The two-times-a-week chartered Zest Air flights carrying almost 500 golfing tourists from South Korea that had been landing at the Bacolod Silay Airport since Jan. 7, came to a halt Jan. 21. The service was supposed to be tested by Zest Air until March this year.

ZestAir director Arturo Alejandrino, however, said the arline will try to explore the possibility of resuming such flights in the future.

"Let us not be discouraged, it is not the fault of Negros Occidental and Bacolod, it is just that the tourist market in Korea has softened," Alejandrino said

Aside from golfing, Negros Occidental can promote its other tourism destinations to tap into the market for other Korean tourists.

Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said that while he was disappointed by the cancellation of direct flights from South Korea to Negros Occidental, he remains hopeful that more will resume in the future.

Leonardia said he got reports that there were certain business and administrative problems among those responsible for bringing in the tourists.

Alejandrino said the Philippine government is joining the Yeosu Travel Expo this year in Korea to strongly promote its tourism destinations.

"We are not giving up," he said, adding that the ZestAir will continue to find ways to bring in foreign tourists to Negros Occidental.

Source: www.malaya.com.ph/01242012/busi6.html 2012

[Rich]

KLM gaat weer sigaretten verkopen

AMSTERDAM -  KLM start na jaren weer met de verkoop van drank en sigaretten aan boord van de vliegtuigen. De maatschappij wil zo een graantje meepikken van de lucratieve opbrengsten uit de belastingvrije verkoop op Schiphol.

Lees verder, bron : http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/11408947/__KLM_verkoopt_weer_sigaretten__.html

[Kano]

CEB bares long-haul flights



Manila Standard Today, Feb 1, 2012

Cebu Air Inc., the country's largest budget carrier, has revived plans to start flights to the US, Middle East, Australia and Europe in 2013 to tap demand from Filipinos living outside the country.

Cebu Air president and chief executive Lance Gokongwei said in a press briefing Tuesday the airline would lease eight A330-300 aircraft to serve the new markets starting in the third quarter of 2013. Fares will be 35 percent less than full-price competitors, it said.

"The A330-300 will give us the lowest cost per seat, allowing us to drive long-haul fares 35 percent than those currently offered by other airlines and as much as 80 percent lower when Cebu Pacific offers promo fares," Gokongwei said.

He said Hawaii was a potential for route for the A330-300 aircraft.

Cebu Air, which operates Cebu Pacific, will target the more than 8.5 million Filipinos leaving overseas as it challenges Philippine Airlines Inc., the largest long-haul carrier. AirAsia X and Jetstar also operate budget long-haul flights from Asia as rising wages spur travel.

About 4 million Filipinos work in the United States and 2.5 million to 3 million are stationed in the Middle East.

The Cebu City-based airline plans to offer direct flights to the country to draw passengers away from services requiring multiple stops, said Gokongwei.

The carrier, which currently operates only short-haul services, expects to fly 14 million passengers this year compared with almost 12 million in 2011.

Cebu Pacific vice president for commercial and corporate planning Alex Reyes said the average fare of long-haul economy flight costs $500 compared with Cebu Pacific's proposed $330.

Most Filipino workers outside Asia could afford to come home only after three or five years because of the high cost of airline tickets, Gokongwei said.

He noted that only two of the top 10 destinations of Filipino expatriates are being served by other airlines. The workers, thus, make multiple stops and connecting flights because no home carrier is offering non-stop flights.

"We want to do the same for long-haul traffic–offer the lowest fares possible and drive a significant increase on demand for air travel to regions outside of Asia," Gokongwei said.

Gokongwei, meanwhile, said he was confident the blacklisting of Philippine airlines by the European Union would be lifted and that the US Federal Aviation Authority would revert back the country's status to category 1 by the end of 2012.

The EU and the US blacklisted Philippine airlines after local safety rules failed to meet international standards.

Source: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideBusiness.htm?f=/2012/february/1/business1.isx&d=2012/february/1

[bananacreek]

Met dank aan het forumlid AB...

Solar Impulse geland op Brussels Airport

Vanavond is op Brussels Airport de Solar Impulse geland. Het vliegtuig op zonne-energie was 13 uur eerder in het Zwitserse Payerne vertrokken voor de eerste internationale vlucht naar Brussel. Met de landing op baan 02 kwam er een einde aan een lange en speciale dag. Hieronder een korte samenvatting van deze historische vlucht.

Om 08:40 gisterenmorgen was het zonnevliegtuig Solar Impulse klaar voor vertrek. De enige piloot die het vliegtuig de komende 13 uur ging besturen, was André Borschberg, een vroegere jachtpiloot van de Zwitserse luchtmacht. De geplande vluchttijd bedroeg ongeveer 12 uur. Nadat de motoren één voor één nog voor de laatste keer getest werden, was het dan zover. Alle vier de motoren startten en gelijktijdig begon het toestel aan zijn take off roll. Omdat de opstijgsnelheid slechts 20 knopen (35 km/u) bedraagt, kwam het toestel al na enkele seconden van de grond. Met een lage grondsnelheid begon de Solar Impulse aan zijn klim naar 12.000 voet.


©Solar Impulse
De route ging via het oosten van Frankrijk en het Groothertogdom Luxemburg, naar Luik en Mechelen om zo om 21:39 te landen op Brussels Airport. De gemiddelde snelheid bedroeg tussen de 40 en de 50 km/u. Tijdens de vlucht kregen verschillende internationale media de kans om Borschberg enkele minuten te interviewen. Daarin vertelde hij onder meer dat bij aankomst in Brussel er energie zou kunnen worden afgegeven van de batterijen van het vliegtuig, omdat het toestel veel minder energie heeft verbruikt dan het kreeg van de zonnepanelen. Desondanks dat het toestel werkt op zonne-energie, kan het ook 's nachts vliegen. Dat bewees het reeds vorig jaar toen het een ganse nacht heeft gevlogen.


©Flightlevel — Route naar Brussel
Na een lange vlucht verscheen het toestel rond 20:45 boven Mechelen. Vanaf daar begon het zijnapproach via Peutie en Kortenberg om dan zo te draaien voor de landing op baan 02. Tijdens de landing werd het luchtverkeer op Brussels Airport stilgelegd, waardoor enkele vluchten dan ook vertraging opliepen op de grond en in de lucht.

[Rich]

vr 03 feb 2012, 13:14
Schiphol heeft last van sneeuw

SCHIPHOL -  Vliegveld Schiphol ondervindt hinder van de sneeuwval. Passagiers moeten rekening houden met vertragingen. Als gevolg van de sneeuwval komen er per uur minder vliegtuigen binnen en kunnen er ook minder vertrekken, aldus een woordvoerster.

Lees verder. Bron : http://www.telegraaf.nl/reiskrant/11437579/__Schiphol_heeft_last_van_sneeuw__.html

[Kano]

China bans airlines from paying EU carbon charges



CLAIRE COZENS, Agence France-Presse February 6, 2012


BEIJING – China said Monday it has banned its airlines from complying with an EU scheme to impose charges on carbon emissions opposed by more than two dozen countries, including India, Russia and the United States.

Beijing has said repeatedly that it opposes the new European Union plan, which was imposed to take effect starting January 1, and which Chinese state media have warned would lead to a "trade war" in the sector.

A statement on the website of China's State Council, or cabinet, also said airlines were barred from using the EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS) to increase fares or other passenger charges.

"The Civil Aviation Administration of China recently issued a directive to Chinese airlines that without the approval of relevant government departments, all transport airlines in China are prohibited from participating in the EU ETS," said the statement.


The EU's ambassador to China said he hoped the standoff, which comes a week before Chinese and EU leaders meet in Beijing for a summit, could be resolved through negotiations.

"There are a number of avenues to be pursued – bilateral, multilateral and possibly legal," Markus Ederer told journalists in Beijing.

"The EU would like to have an international solution to this... That's the way forward, hopefully through negotiations, (to) find an agreement between all stakeholders."

China has said it fears its aviation sector will have to pay an additional 800 million yuan ($125 million) a year on flights originating or landing in Europe, and that the cost could be almost four times higher by 2020.

The European Commission argues that the cost for airlines is manageable, estimating that the scheme could prompt carriers to add between â,¬4 and â,¬24 ($32) to the price of a two-way long-haul flight.

Nonetheless, some airlines have announced new ticket fees since the EU's rules came into force.

US carrier Delta Air Lines, one of the world's biggest airlines, added a $6 surcharge for two-way flights between the United States and Europe.

Germany's Lufthansa indicated it would raise its fuel surcharge, a move taken by Belgian carrier Brussels Airlines, which increased it by â,¬10 to â,¬135 for international flights and by â,¬3 to â,¬39 for EU routes.

Airlines denounce the system as a new tax and warn that it would cost the industry â,¬17.5 billion ($23.8 billion) over eight years.

The system went ahead despite a plea by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the EU to halt or delay its application.

The Airlines for America association grudgingly indicated that its members would abide by the EU law, but "under protest" while pursuing legal options.

The China Air Transport Association, which represents the country's airlines, said last month the government was considering "countermeasures" against the EU scheme, without giving any details.

It has said the charge would affect all of China's major airlines, including Air China, China Eastern and China Southern. The last two refused to comment when contacted by AFP, and Air China was not immediately available.

Ederer said the EU was ready to exempt any airline from the carbon charges if their country decided to slap "equivalent" levies on their carriers in a bid to offset their own emissions.

But Chinese airlines are unlikely to be penalized immediately as carriers have until April 30 next year to calculate their annual emissions and buy polluting rights for 2012.

Luo Yanyan, an analyst at China Merchants Securities based in the southern city of Shenzhen, said the scheme would have little impact on Chinese carriers in the coming, few years.

"It remains uncertain whether the EU can actually put this into force, given worldwide opposition," she told AFP.

"But in the long term, Chinese airlines may come under pressure as they won't give up their business in the European market if the EU really carries out the plan to levy the tax."

The European Union launched the ETS in 2005 in a bid to reduce carbon emissions of power stations and industrial plants.

It decided to include airlines, responsible for three percent of global emissions, in the system in the absence of a global agreement to cap aviation emissions.

Airlines that refuse to comply could be fined and denied the right to land in the 27-nation EU in extreme cases, the bloc has said. – Agence France-Presse


Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/247018/economy/business/china-bans-airlines-from-paying-eu-carbon-charges

[Rich]

Mochten er leden zijn die via Frankrijk vertrekken, gelieve rekening te houden met het volgende :

Morgen ernstige hinder van Frans luchtverkeer verwacht

De staking op de Franse luchthavens breidt zich uit. De grootste Franse luchtvaartmaatschappij Air France verwacht morgen serieuze beperkingen van het luchtvaartverkeer.

Lees verder. Bron : http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/1901/reisnieuws/article/detail/1390882/2012/02/06/Morgen-ernstige-hinder-van-Frans-luchtverkeer-verwacht.dhtml

[Kano]

European Airlines


Manila Times February 5, 2012,

MANILA, Philippines – Less than a decade ago, European airlines such as British Airways, Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), Lufthanza, KLM, Air France, Sabena, Alitalia, and a few more that had since gone under, used to fly out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and bring Filipinos directly to Europe, sometimes with stopover in Hong Kong, Singapore, or Bangkok.

Not a single one of them comes to the NAIA anymore.

Air France-KLM, which had been operating in the Philippines for 60 years, quit its direct flight from Manila to Amsterdam last year, although it still retains its Manila-Taipei-Manila link.

These air carriers quit Manila because of the oppressive Common Carriers Tax (CCT) imposed by the government, along with the high cost of operating in the country, among other reasons.

Under the National Internal Revenue Code, international air carriers are slapped a 5.5 percent tax on revenues – a 3 percent CCT on their gross receipts, and a 2.5 percent tax on Gross Philippine Billings (GPB) on all cargo and passenger revenues originating from the Philippines.

There are pending measures in Congress seeking to remove the CCT and the Gross Philippine Billings tax.

Senator Ralph Recto, wishing to bring back European tourists to Manila, and thereby help the Tourism Department's (DOT) strategy to increase tourists to 10 million by 2016, is proposing a bill to remove the CCT.

Recto's proposal was greeted with enthusiasm by the airline community, promising that if the CCT is eliminated, direct flights from Europe to the Philippines would immediately resume.

The DOTC, warming to Senator Recto's proposal, said that if the bill pushes through, a flood of tourists is sure to follow and attain the government's goal of hosting 10 million tourists by 2016.

It added that the passage of the measure that would scrap the CCT on international carriers would boost tourist arrivals by 70,000 and increase incoming and outgoing passenger traffic by 230,000 in the first year of implementation.

Although the Senator acknowledges that scrapping of the CCT would lead to R1.875 billion in revenue losses per year, he said the expected revenues to be generated in the tourism sector would far outweigh the losses.

"If we remove it [CCT], they [tourists] will come. And it would be truly fun to come to the Philippines," Recto, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said.

Recto urges President Aquino to certify as urgent his bill to speed up its congressional approval.

Malacañang promptly gave its support, as long as Congress can find ways to compensate for the revenue loss.

"We support the lifting of the Common Carriers Tax," says Secretary Ramon Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO).

He said Malacañang shares the position of the Department of Finance (DOF), which told Congress it did not object to the proposed measure, but had asked that Congress finds ways to make up for the potential foregone revenues.

The airline companies have complained with the Bureau of Internal Revenue that the CCT was based on the higher fare reflected on the ticket. They suggested that billings should be based on actual sales.

The taxes, together with increasing competition from heavily subsidized Middle Eastern competitors, have forced the European airlines out of the Philippine market over the last decade.

Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/350440/european-airlines

[Baliw-katok]

Mochten er leden zijn die via Frankrijk vertrekken, gelieve rekening te houden met het volgende :

Morgen ernstige hinder van Frans luchtverkeer verwacht

De staking op de Franse luchthavens breidt zich uit. De grootste Franse luchtvaartmaatschappij Air France verwacht morgen serieuze beperkingen van het luchtvaartverkeer.

Lees verder. Bron : http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/1901/reisnieuws/article/detail/1390882/2012/02/06/Morgen-ernstige-hinder-van-Frans-luchtverkeer-verwacht.dhtml

Ik vertrek donderdag via Parijs ... worden nog 2 slapeloze nachtjes. Hopelijk is donderdag alles weer normaal.

[Kano]

Kalibo airport shut down after plane overshot runway



Inquirer Visayas Monday, February 13th, 2012

LA LIBERTAD, Negros Oriental, Philippines – The operations at the Kalibo International Airport (KIA) were suspended late Monday morning after a plane overshot the runway while landing at the airport.

Percy Malonesio, KIA manager, said an Air Philippines plane from Manila to Kalibo overshot the airport's Runway 05.

All crew members and passengers were safe and were transferred from the plane to the terminal.

Malonesio said the plane's tires on its right side emitted smoke, which was immediately extinguished by firefighters.

Airport authorities are working to tow the plane from the tarmac to allow planes to land and take off.

The airport has 12 domestic and 10 international incoming and outgoing flights daily, according to Malonesio. It is the entry point of direct international flights mostly catering to tourists bound for Boracay Island.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/144651/kalibo-airport-shut-down-after-plane-overshot-runway