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British Airways has announced that it is to bring back into service two of the Boeing 747 jumbos it grounded when passenger traffic all but dried up during the recession. The two planes, each capable of carrying 350 passengers, have been retrieved from Victorville in California’s Mojave Desert, where the arid conditions help stave off corrosion, and are undergoing maintenance checks.
One of the 747-400s will take the place of a Boeing 777 between London and Dallas. The smaller plane will then be used to add an extra service between Heathrow and JFK. According to James von der Fecht, a spokesman [...]

Yesterday’s walkout by Spanish workers meant hundreds of flights had to be cancelled causing travel chaos for thousands. The 24-hour strike, a protest against the government’s austerity measures, is expected to continue to disrupt many people’s travel plans today.
Ryanair said it had to cancel the majority of its flights to Spain and scrap all internal flights. A spokesman for the airline said because the Spanish government had not been able to provide minimum service guarantees to non-Spanish airlines around 46,000 passengers had been affected by the cancellation of 308 flights.
Ryanair has assured all disrupted passengers that they will be allowed [...]

 
A law firm representing Philips and Ericsson says Air France-KLM faces a claim for up to 500 million euros. The companies are seeking compensation through litigation firm Claims Funding International (CFI) for alleged cargo price fixing.
 
The law firm said the damage claim currently stands at 400 million euros but added that this could exceed 500 million euros by the time the case goes to court as interest for harm suffered since 2000 could be taken into account.
 
Sweden’s Ericsson firm has declined to provide any details but did say that it is one of the main claimants in the legal [...]

Car hire company Hertz is waiting to see if shareholders in the Dollar Thrifty Group will approve a takeover today.
If Dollar investors decide the deal offered by Hertz is not good enough, it is likely Hertz will walk away from the negotiating table. This will clear the way for rival car rental firm Avis to [...]

 
Car rental company Avis has revealed that it is willing to consider a break-up fee with its offer for Dollar Thrifty if Hertz rental firm abandons its takeover bid. Dollar Thrifty shareholders are due to vote on a $1.5 billion Hertz offer this week. The company have been sparring with Avis in an attempt to acquire the smaller company. Hertz has said it will stop pursuing of Dollar if its offer is binned.
 
Speaking in a statement, Avis announced that while the company has previously insisted that it would not offer any reverse termination fees if Hertz enjoyed matching rights, now [...]

Passengers at airports in Belgium experienced delays and cancellations yesterday as the country’s air traffic controllers walked out on a wildcat strike. The industrial action was due to last 24-hours, but was over by 10pm local time, according to Belgocontrol, the national air security organisation.
A spokesman for Belgocontrol originally said that no reason had been given for the walkout and that although the air traffic controllers had told pilots about the action, no warning had been given to the company’s management. Apparently, members of Belgocontrol’s senior management met with the unions to try and avert a strike on Tuesday morning, [...]

A major shareholder with the Dollar Thrifty Group has announced that it intends to vote against the car hire firm’s plans to sell to Hertz Global Holdings. PAR Capital Management, owner of a 7.7 per cent stake in the company, made the announcement ahead of a shareholder vote due to take place on Thursday. President of the PAR group, Paul Reeder, said he was concerned that the offer being made by Hertz will not fully compensate those who have interests in Dollar Thrifty.
Although a higher bid for the rental company had been put on the table by Avis, it has [...]

Following its approval last week of a merger between British Airways and Iberia, the Spanish flag-carrier has appointed its chairman, Antonio Vasquez, to the same position at International Airlines Group (IAG), the new airline to be formed by the partnership. IAG is to be 44 per cent owned by investors in Iberia and the other 56 per cent will be controlled by BA shareholders.
Both airlines are to remain flag carriers for their respective countries. Although IAG’s headquarters will be in London; Iberia will still run operations out of Madrid-Barajas airport, Iberia’s current home, and El Prat airport in Barcelona. Iberia [...]

Continental Airlines has announced that it is to stop serving complimentary meals and light snacks to passengers travelling in economy class on all of its domestic flights lasting less than 6.5 hours. The airline said it would be introducing similar measures on a number of its international routes. As of 12 October, passengers will be offered a new menu featuring the airline’s new food-for-purchase range.
Continental confirmed that it would still be offering a range of non-alcoholic beverages to all of its passengers, free of charge. Those with first class and business class tickets will still be given a complimentary food [...]

British Airways has confirmed that the final signature needed for a revenue sharing agreement with Iberia and American Airlines is now drying on the dotted line. Commercial cooperation on all transatlantic flights operated by the three carriers could begin as soon as next week. The new agreement means that a share of the ticket price [...]

A bus carrying Polish tourists has crashed near Berlin killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens of others. According to police, the accident happened on a motorway just to the south-east of the city. The bus was carrying 49 Poles returning home from a Spanish holiday. According to president of police in Frankfurt an der Oder, Arne Feuring, it is believed that the bus collided with a car merging with highway traffic before hitting the pylon of an overpass.
The driver of the car has been confirmed as one of those who suffered injuries. Feuring said seven of those who [...]

The appeal hearing is underway for a man who threatened to blow up South Yorkshire’s Robin Hood Airport in January because he was frustrated that it had been closed due to heavy snow. In May, 26-year-old Paul Chambers, a trainee accountant, was found guilty of sending a menacing communication via his Twitter account, fined £385 and ordered by a district judge to pay an additional £600 in court costs.
In his Tweet of 6 January, Mr Chambers said the airport had one week in which to open, after which he intended to blow it up. Stephen Ferguson, Mr Chambers’ council, has [...]