It seems whilst it’s trying to fix little BMI (or getting shot of it), Lufthansa itself is steaming ahead with more orders today

For fans of the A380, Lufthansa is ordering 2 new A380′s.

In addition, there’s a fair old smatter of aircraft Lufthansa are shopping for including:

• 5 Embraer 195′s
• 4 Airbus A320′s
• 1 Airbus A330-300

The Airbus order is the process of being finalised to completion, with delivery dates not confirmed at this time.

Whilst not the biggest of orders on the planet, it’s a moderate controlled expansion of Lufthansa – something that is a bit logical when you look at some of the mass purchases of aircraft recently.

So what else can we work out from those numbers? With a few extra E-195′s and A320′s, it could be an indication that the 737-300 and 737-500 fleets may not be long for this world. We all know the A320 as a great short haul aircraft, and the E-195′s are near enough mainline capacity these days with a rated 106 seats in a two class configuration or 118 seats in a single class 31″ pitch (the 737-500′s are rated for 122 in a single class, 108 2 class),

The A380 expansion opens up a new question – what routes are heavy enough to deploy that bird on? That’s going to be an interesting one to watch I suspect…

Ok. I give in.

I’ve been resisting this, but I suppose I have too.

As of today, you’ll be able to follow me on Twitter at @GhettoIFE (http://twitter.com/#!/GhettoIFE)

This isn’t the biggest change at GhettoIFE.com towers however. There are some more changes that are in the pipleline… some very exciting ones from my point of view.

I’ll be making an announcement on those changes when the time comes. But for now, it’s business as normal. With a Twitter feed.

(and yes, this early morning post is sort of becoming semi-regular now…)

Kingfisher Airlines have decided to fold it’s Kingfisher Red unit, citing high costs and low yields.

The unit – which operates ATR Aircraft and Airbus A320′s – is a leftover from the takeover  of Air Deccan. Working out that the costs are too high, Kingfisher are to “simpliy” the operating model, switching the aircraft over to the mainline brand.

Over a four month period, the A320′s will be switched from an all economy configuration to incude first class seating, whilst in the process removing some first class seats from the rest of the fleet and replaceing them with Economy Seats.  The ATR aircraft will be an all-economy class product, operating a full service product.

By doing this, Kingfisher hope to increase yield and loads on all the seats, with a 10% capacity.

There are still plenty of Indian LCC’s to choose from, and for Kingfisher, it leads to a unified product – which as it is due to join OneWorld in 2012 would be a good thing for them…

China Southern will take delivery of it’s first Airbus A380 on Friday October 14.

To celebrate the occasion, there will be a ceremony at Airbus Headquarters in Toulouse on the 14th.

China Southern is planning to operate it’s A380 initially on domestic trips, with:

• Beijing-Guangzhou route from October 18, switching to
• Beijing-Shanghai route from October 27

The A380 will be fitted with 506 seats in a 3 Class layout of First, Business and Economy Classes.

Lets hope they make a success of the routes with this aircraft.

Today, the SkyTeam Alliance welcomes it’s newest member – China Airlines (of Taiwan – not to be confused with Air China)

It becomes the 15th member of the SkyTeam Alliance, and the Fifth Asian member of SkyTeam (the others being China Eastern, China Southern, Korean Air and Vietman Airlines).

In addition for frequent flyer people, Dynasty Miles now become redeemable for SkyTeam members, and Dynasty Miles members can now earn on SkyTeam flights.

Elites will be afforded the usual SkyTeam and SkyTeam Elite privleages. For Dynasty Club members,

• Dynasty Club Gold = SkyTeam Elite
• Paragon/Emerald =  SkyTeam Elite Plus

China Airlines operates of 224 daily departures to 80 destinations, and will add three new cities to the SkyTeam map – and Miyazaki Okinawa in Japan, Surabaya in Indonesia

There’s a whole load of promotional information on the China Airlinessite.

… Correct. Once again, Ryanair strikes again.

According to an article posted at MSN Money UK

We all know of the new method of payment – use a Ryanair Prepaid card to pay avoid the purchasing fee. However what are the fees on this card?

Well it comes as no surprise that it’s TravelEx who are issuing the card. Lets get down to the nitty gritty of the fees:

• Want to buy off the card in a Foreign Country? That’s 5.75% per transaction. (A Visa Credit Card will normally levy 2.75%~3%)
• ATM Charge? That’s £2 per withdrawal.
• Inactivity over 6 months? Another £2.50 per month.
• Want to Withdraw Cash from it? That’s a £4 withdrawal charge
• Oh and to top it off… a 50p transaction fee from April 2012 per transaction excluding Ryanair.
• And to cancel the card.. that’s £6 too.

Whilst the card is “free”, one has to purchase it for £6 and get a £6 voucher for Ryanair as a refund to be used on Ryanair flights.

I believe this is what is called “business and profitability” in some places… and in others “Taking the mick”. I’ll leave you to work out which is which.

British Midland International have announced their winter schedule, and there are cuts left right and centre on the UK Domestic programme.

• London LHR Edinburgh will be reduced from a maximum of 8 flights a day to 6 during Monday to Friday. Saturday drops from 6 to 4 flights, Sunday drops from 7 to 5 flights a day
• London LHR Manchester gets an even bigger cut with services cut from 8 to 4 flights a day during Monday to Friday, Saturday and Sunday go down from 4 flights to 3 flights a day.

Now whilst this may look like timetable cannibalisation this isn’t down to the recent slot sale. BMI have been busy trying to launch new routes, but also it is winter. And that’s an important thing to remember

Because it’s a quiet time to send aircraft off to get serviced, and also time for the charter arm of BMI to make serious money.

However for those of you on connecting flights in the regions, you’ve got less choice on when to catch your flight now, and less choice of how long you’ll be stuck waiting for the next flight.

So don’t panic… yet.

Live from the BBC News feed (as I’m watching BBC News 24), JA801A has arrived at Tokyo Haneda International Airport, completing it’s delivery flight from Seattle Paine Field.

YFrog Image by  ikarosairline – http://yfrog.com/h7tv6pwj

Now for ANA – the hard work begins….

Good news if you’re planning Long Haul Travel from Northern Ireland!

If you were reading earlier, you would had seen APD about to fall in cost from Northern Ireland. Well now, it has.

From the 1st November, Air Passenger Duty  will FALL on Long Haul Segments from Northern Ireland. 

The revised APD numbers are equivalent to Short Haul Services, Namely:

£12 for economy flights
£24 for business class flights.

This applies to DIRECT FLIGHTS ONLY.

George Osborn, Chancellor of the Exchequer states:


“The government has taken proactive measures to protect the only direct long-haul service operating from Northern Ireland and with it the jobs of those who serve the Belfast route,”

“Northern Ireland faces a unique challenge in attracting traffic – including very valuable business customers – into its airports.”

NI passengers might watch with more care as the APD may be devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which could lead to less taxes all round.

Well it’s taken long enough for the Bearded One to get involved, but Richard Branson is calling on regulators to examine the purchase of slots at London’s Heathrow by IAG from Lufthansa.. and it’s British Midland International subsidiary according to Bloomberg

Virgin Say:

“Branson is concerned that BA could be attempting to salami slice BMI’s key assets, increasing their dominance whilst leaving just an uncompetitive and unattractive rump for sale,”

Apparently, it’s been revelation that the slots that were sold last week were initially sold for lease – not permanent sale

It’s an open secret that Virgin Atlantic has been eyeing BMI for quite some time – either to use it for slots, or to create a European/Domestic feed with the Virgin name.

But there is a bigger issue. If Virgin have been looking at this since 1999, why the hell are they waiting? Because Lufthansa won’t sell BMI off without trying to recover some of the losses. In addition, Virgin has it’s own issues to attend to since the three major alliances have teamed up – leaving Virgin on it’s own over the pond.

Certainly, it’s getting to the point where Virgin must either put up the cash… or back off…

Over in Northern Ireland, there is considerable debate going on regarding the United (Continental operated) service between Belfast International and Newark International Airport.

The service operates daily with a Boeing 757-200

However, there are issues, least of which is the Air Passenger Duty (APD) of £60 if you’re travelling Economy, £120 if you’re going in BusinessFirst.  However, just across the border is Ireland and Dublin Airport which has a grand departure tax of €3.

Yes, €3. 

What seems to have escaped the Goverment is that one can hop over the border to avoid this tax and start their journey there. Even factoring in for a hotel or bus travel, you’ll be £40 up (and lord knows how much if you’re driving)

United/Continental claims this is killing them at a cost of £3.2m a year, and have been quietly threatening to kill this route off as it just doesn’t make financial sense.

Northern Ireland sees this route as as vital for promoting trade and inward investment – so something has to be done

Northern Ireland’s First Minister – Peter Robinson – has informed the assembly that a favourable announcement from the chancellor on Air Passenger Duty (APD) is expected later, aiming to remove or reduce the tax on this route, whilst maintaining the fees for Short-Haul (Europe/UK Domestic) APD

Whilst this is good news for United/Continental, you can bet your bottom coin that all the other airlines who serve the airport of Northern Ireland will be crying out for this reduction in APD soon.

Expect long term fireworks.