Airline News April 2005

Flybe has nearly doubled flights from Birmingham International to Spain and Portugal. The carrier is basing two Boeing 737-300 aircraft at Birmingham allowing an expansion to its summer schedule. Flights launched include services from Birmingham to Alicante, Almeria, Bergerac, Brest, Faro, La Rochelle, Malaga, Murcia and Palma. The carrier now operates from 17 UK airports including Exeter, Southampton, Belfast City, Birmingham and the Channel Islands. http://www.flybe.com Apr 4, 2005

Zurich is to be linked to Luton airport after the Swiss airline Helvetic Airways, announced last week that it is to move its current Gatwick operation to the North London airport. Helvetic, which made its first flight in November 2003, now serves 19 destinations in 8 countries operating Fokker 100 jets. The budget airline will initially offer a single daily flight from May 15. http://www.helvetic.com Apr 18, 2005

Iberia has introduced what is believed to be, the first daily newspaper produced by any airline worldwide. 'IB Universal' will be offered free to all passengers flying on its services every weekday, along with the regular publicly available newspapers and the airline's established monthly in-flight magazine. Its 24 pages cover the daily news with features on sport, lifestyle, education, health, science, the environment and leisure. But British readers don't get too carried away - it's only available on domestic flights and in Spanish!http://www.iberia.com Apr 30, 2005

Iraq has a new carrier, Ishtar Airlines, founded by a group of former Iraqi Airways pilots. Operating a Boeing 737-200 leased from Dolphin Aviation, a UAE-based company, the airline made its first flight on April 1 and initially is operating on a Thursday and Sunday from Dubai to Baghdad, and on a Saturday from Dubai to Arbil (Hawler) 200 miles further north in the Kurdish region. To date load factors have been in the 80% region. The airline plans to operate into Basra out of Dubai from June when that city's airport is expected to open for commercial operations. An MD 83 is also being used for executive operations. Eden Travel is the exclusive agent in the UK. http://www.ishtarairlines.com Apr 11, 2005

Jet Airways, rapidly expanding private Indian airline with ambitions to fly to London, has introduced services from Mumbai to Singapore. Jet Airways will initially offer a daily two class service using Boeing 737 equipment. Changi is the airline's third international destination and comes after route introductions to Colombo and Kathmandu. The airline currently has 42 aircraft and serves some 40 cities in India. http://www.jetairways.com Apr 18, 2005

Now five years old, JetBlue plans expansion with new aircraft. Five years after launching service, JetBlue has become a favorite among business travelers. In a Q-and-A with USA Today, chief executive Dave Neeleman said he expects the airline to grow quickly once it takes delivery of 100 new Embraer jets on order. The airline now flies mainly from coast to coast or from Northeastern cities to Florida, but will consider flying to the Southwest and Midwest. Apr 6, 2005