December 2008 eNewsletter
Airline News
01 Dec 2008
News on Aer Arran, BMI, Lufthansa, Air Sylhet, Qatar & BA services.
Aer Arran to launch Isle of Man-London City services
From 19th January 2009, Aer Arran will operate a three-times daily service between London City Airport and the Isle of Man to compete with daily flights operated on the route by VLM.
Aer Arran plans to use the 72-seat ATR72-500 aircraft for the service, the first time that the aircraft will have been used at London City, although it is subject to certification.
The Aer Arran services will leave London City at 1015, 1545 and 1945 while the Isle of Man services will leave at 0825, 1355 and 1755.
Bmi to end long-haul services from Manchester
Bmi is to end long-haul services from Manchester. Its service to Chicago will end on 14 January 2009 while those to Las Vegas, Barbados and Antigua will end after Easter 2009.
LH now first to Dusseldorf
An additional early morning flight at 07.00 from London Heathrow to Dusseldorf has been added to the winter timetable, just in time for a morning meeting. The new return flight will leave Dusseldorf at 19.50, giving business travellers a full day in Germany without the extra cost of an over-night stay. A total of five flights will be operating daily from Heathrow to Dusseldorf, more than any other airline.
New airline gets rights to fly to Jeddah
Air Sylhet has won the rights to fly from the UK to Jeddah, via Vienna.The airline has announced plans to start flights in December from London Stansted and Manchester to Dubai, via Vienna and plans to operate three flights a week to the Saudi Arabian city early next year.
UK passengers will be able to connect to Air Sylhet’s Vienna- Jeddah service from Manchester and Stansted.
The airline also hopes to serve Saudi Arabia from Birmingham in the near future.
Air Sylhet will initially fly twice a week from London Stansted to Vienna/Dubai, and once a week from Manchester to the same destinations.
Qatar launches online check-in from the UK
Passengers travelling from the UK with Qatar Airways can now check in online up to 36 hours before departure.
The new service is available for travellers from London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Manchester, to the carrier’s hub in Doha. At present it is not available for flights to or from New York or Washington.
Online check-in can be accessed between 36 hours and 90 minutes before departure, with passengers able to choose their seat and print their boarding pass.
British Airways launches mobile phone check-in
British Airways has launched remote check-in via mobile phones with wireless connectivity. The service is quick, free and available in 11 languages - without any need to download accompanying software.
Logging on to ba.com/mobile using any mobile device with wireless connectivity (such as BlackBerry’s and mobile phones), customers can access the BA timetable in real time, as well as select seats and check-in individuals, groups and families for departure or return flights.
