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Aer Lingus to quit Oneworld
Aer Lingus says it will quit the Oneworld alliance (whose main members include British Airways, American, Cathay Pacific and Qantas) early next year. The Dublin-based airline says it's no longer the same airline it was since joining Oneworld six years ago. In recent times, Aer Lingus has repositioned itself as a low fare point-to-point carrier developing more direct international routes from Ireland.
Says a Oneworld spokesperson, "Aer Lingus' current business plan is no longer consistent with Oneworld's strategy which is to focus on connecting premium international traffic."
It's also believed the Irish airline wasn't happy at having to spend a small fortune on its IT systems so that they could "talk" to three soon-to-arrive Oneworld members (Hungary's Malev, Royal Jordanian and Japan Airlines) when these airlines would not be a big source of connecting passengers for Aer Lingus. Says one airline analyst, "There was a cash cost to this and the Oneworld issue has brought matters to a head."
State-owned Aer Lingus has a number of routes between Ireland and the UK. In particular its three main routes into Heathrow from Dublin, Cork and Shannon feed passengers onto the networks of Oneworld carriers like BA, American, Cathay Pacific and Qantas.
No other Oneworld carrier flies these routes and it's by no means certain that Aer Lingus will continue to interline its passengers (with Oneworld members) when it leaves the alliance.
Says a spokesperson for Oneworld, "This is one of the issues which we will cover in the bilateral agreements with Aer Lingus. This carrier has confirmed to us that it has no intention of joining another global alliance and its intention is to complete these bilateral agreements before it leaves Oneworld."
If Aer Lingus decides not to interline with Oneworld in the future then it will hand a strategic advantage to the rival Star Alliance. Star member Bmi flies Dublin-Heathrow and interlines with the likes of United, SAA, SIA, Thai, SAS, Lufthansa and so on. One solution, of course, is for BA to restart a Dublin-Heathrow service.
Meanwhile, Aer Lingus' recently launched three times a week (every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) direct service to Dubai could make Dublin a cost-effective springboard for the Gulf. As with its other routes, Aer Lingus has adopted simple point-to-point pricing for the Dubai routes with return tickets typically priced from £252 (Euros 367) return.
For more information go to aerlingus.com, oneworld.com
Report by Alex McWhirter
SN Brussels introduces lie-flat seats to Africa
Belgian-airline SN Brussels is introducing lie-flat seats in business class on Airbus A330 flights to Africa. One A330 has already been fitted with the new seating and the other two planes will be equipped by the end of June.
The new seat, which is manufactured by UK firm Contour, can be transformed into a 180 degree flat bed with a length of 198 cm. Foot, leg and armrests can be adjusted to suit the passenger and there's also a massage function. Passengers can view audio channels and films using 10.4 inch LCD screens. SN Brussels compliments the new seat with an a la carte choice of four Belgian-style meals.
The airline serves 14 destinations in Africa including Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Uganda. The carrier specialises in difficult to reach African destinations and it has a monopoly (from Brussels) on practically all these routes.
For more information go to flysn.com
Report by Alex McWhirter
New Edinburgh-Hamburg service with BA Connect
There are precious few direct international routes from Edinburgh so when a service is launched it's always a newsworthy event. In this case it's tomorrow's re-instatement of a three times direct link from the Scottish capital to Hamburg. This route was pioneered by German budget airline Hapag Lloyd Express which operated it for a short time using a 150-seater B737 before suspending service a few months ago.
It's now been taken over by BA's low-cost subsidiary BA Connect who will operate it three times a week using a smaller 110-seater one-class BAe146. Says a spokesperson for BA Connect, "The Scottish executive is very keen to develop direct flights to mainland Europe and beyond. We think Hamburg represents a potential gap in the market."
Flights start on June 2 leaving Edinburgh on Wednesdays and Friday at 1050 and arriving in Hamburg at 1340. The inbound service leaves Hamburg at 14.20 to reach Edinburgh at 1515. On Sundays, BA Connect departs Edinburgh at 1710 arriving in Hamburg at 2000 and returning at 2035 to land back in the UK at 2130.
Return fares start at £87 although at busy times you could pay as much as £367. On days when there is no direct flight, passengers have an alternative with BA mainline via Heathrow. But BA's website (ba.com) doesn't automatically offer this option so you have to request it via the multiple flight search. Fares via Heathrow may also be more expensive.
BA Connect is aiming this service at both business and leisure travellers at both ends of the route. It's timed for the start of the FIFA World Cup and Scottish summer tourism including the famous Edinburgh Festival.
Like Edinburgh, Hamburg has a wide catchment area covering cities like Bremen and Hanover in Northern Germany while even Berlin is within striking distance by fast train. Let's hope BA Connect is more successful on this route than was Hapag Lloyd Express.
For more information go to ba.com, edinburghairport.com
Report by Alex McWhirter

Aer Lingus says it will quit the Oneworld alliance (whose main members include British Airways, American, Cathay Pacific and Qantas) early next year. The Dublin-based airline says it's no longer the same airline it was since joining Oneworld six years ago. In recent times, Aer Lingus has repositioned itself as a low fare point-to-point carrier developing more direct international routes from Ireland.
Says a Oneworld spokesperson, "Aer Lingus' current business plan is no longer consistent with Oneworld's strategy which is to focus on connecting premium international traffic."
It's also believed the Irish airline wasn't happy at having to spend a small fortune on its IT systems so that they could "talk" to three soon-to-arrive Oneworld members (Hungary's Malev, Royal Jordanian and Japan Airlines) when these airlines would not be a big source of connecting passengers for Aer Lingus. Says one airline analyst, "There was a cash cost to this and the Oneworld issue has brought matters to a head."
State-owned Aer Lingus has a number of routes between Ireland and the UK. In particular its three main routes into Heathrow from Dublin, Cork and Shannon feed passengers onto the networks of Oneworld carriers like BA, American, Cathay Pacific and Qantas.
No other Oneworld carrier flies these routes and it's by no means certain that Aer Lingus will continue to interline its passengers (with Oneworld members) when it leaves the alliance.
Says a spokesperson for Oneworld, "This is one of the issues which we will cover in the bilateral agreements with Aer Lingus. This carrier has confirmed to us that it has no intention of joining another global alliance and its intention is to complete these bilateral agreements before it leaves Oneworld."
If Aer Lingus decides not to interline with Oneworld in the future then it will hand a strategic advantage to the rival Star Alliance. Star member Bmi flies Dublin-Heathrow and interlines with the likes of United, SAA, SIA, Thai, SAS, Lufthansa and so on. One solution, of course, is for BA to restart a Dublin-Heathrow service.
Meanwhile, Aer Lingus' recently launched three times a week (every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) direct service to Dubai could make Dublin a cost-effective springboard for the Gulf. As with its other routes, Aer Lingus has adopted simple point-to-point pricing for the Dubai routes with return tickets typically priced from £252 (Euros 367) return.
For more information go to aerlingus.com, oneworld.com
Report by Alex McWhirter
SN Brussels introduces lie-flat seats to Africa

Belgian-airline SN Brussels is introducing lie-flat seats in business class on Airbus A330 flights to Africa. One A330 has already been fitted with the new seating and the other two planes will be equipped by the end of June.
The new seat, which is manufactured by UK firm Contour, can be transformed into a 180 degree flat bed with a length of 198 cm. Foot, leg and armrests can be adjusted to suit the passenger and there's also a massage function. Passengers can view audio channels and films using 10.4 inch LCD screens. SN Brussels compliments the new seat with an a la carte choice of four Belgian-style meals.
The airline serves 14 destinations in Africa including Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Uganda. The carrier specialises in difficult to reach African destinations and it has a monopoly (from Brussels) on practically all these routes.
For more information go to flysn.com
Report by Alex McWhirter
New Edinburgh-Hamburg service with BA Connect

There are precious few direct international routes from Edinburgh so when a service is launched it's always a newsworthy event. In this case it's tomorrow's re-instatement of a three times direct link from the Scottish capital to Hamburg. This route was pioneered by German budget airline Hapag Lloyd Express which operated it for a short time using a 150-seater B737 before suspending service a few months ago.
It's now been taken over by BA's low-cost subsidiary BA Connect who will operate it three times a week using a smaller 110-seater one-class BAe146. Says a spokesperson for BA Connect, "The Scottish executive is very keen to develop direct flights to mainland Europe and beyond. We think Hamburg represents a potential gap in the market."
Flights start on June 2 leaving Edinburgh on Wednesdays and Friday at 1050 and arriving in Hamburg at 1340. The inbound service leaves Hamburg at 14.20 to reach Edinburgh at 1515. On Sundays, BA Connect departs Edinburgh at 1710 arriving in Hamburg at 2000 and returning at 2035 to land back in the UK at 2130.
Return fares start at £87 although at busy times you could pay as much as £367. On days when there is no direct flight, passengers have an alternative with BA mainline via Heathrow. But BA's website (ba.com) doesn't automatically offer this option so you have to request it via the multiple flight search. Fares via Heathrow may also be more expensive.
BA Connect is aiming this service at both business and leisure travellers at both ends of the route. It's timed for the start of the FIFA World Cup and Scottish summer tourism including the famous Edinburgh Festival.
Like Edinburgh, Hamburg has a wide catchment area covering cities like Bremen and Hanover in Northern Germany while even Berlin is within striking distance by fast train. Let's hope BA Connect is more successful on this route than was Hapag Lloyd Express.
For more information go to ba.com, edinburghairport.com
Report by Alex McWhirter
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