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BRUSSELS The European Commission took Greece to court Wednesday for failing to recover hundreds of millions of euros in state aid from Olympic Airlines, a move that might mean the end for the carrier.
 
Closely watched by competitors eager for room in a crowded European aviation sector, the airline founded by the tycoon Aristotle Onassis has amassed debts over the decades. Repeated efforts to privatize it have failed.
 
Greece said that it would defend its position in court while trying to come up with another rescue plan for the airline, and that Olympic would keep flying.
 
"What is certain is that it will continue to operate at least until September, October," the finance minister George Alogoskoufis told reporters in Athens.
 
The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said that it would take Greece to the European Court of Justice for not complying with its September 2005 decision to recover illegal aid and unpaid taxes from Olympic Airways and its successor, Olympic Airlines.
 
Greek officials said that they would prepare a response within the next three or four days, arguing that the successor carrier should not be responsible for the parent company's debts and that the state owes Olympic money for services rendered over the years.
 
In its lawsuit, the commission said that Greece had failed to quantify the amount of aid and taxes that must be paid back, which could run as high as €540 million, or $671 million.
 
"No recovery has taken place, and Greece has not demonstrated that it has suspended all payment of new illegal aid," the commission said.
 
The decision Wednesday relates to aid after 2002. Greece has also been asked to recover €161 million in illegal state aid granted to Olympic from 1998 to 2002 or face court action.
 
Analysts said that the action would hurt efforts to find investors willing to rescue Olympic, whose assets are estimated at €150 million.
 
"This whole situation has led to the depreciation of the company," said Gregory Karagiannopoulos, of Cyprus Securities. "If it shuts down, the political cost will fall on the government."
 
The airline has about 6,000 employees. In addition, remote Greek islands now rely mainly on Olympic for connections to the mainland.
 
 
BRUSSELS The European Commission took Greece to court Wednesday for failing to recover hundreds of millions of euros in state aid from Olympic Airlines, a move that might mean the end for the carrier.
 
Closely watched by competitors eager for room in a crowded European aviation sector, the airline founded by the tycoon Aristotle Onassis has amassed debts over the decades. Repeated efforts to privatize it have failed.
 
Greece said that it would defend its position in court while trying to come up with another rescue plan for the airline, and that Olympic would keep flying.
 
"What is certain is that it will continue to operate at least until September, October," the finance minister George Alogoskoufis told reporters in Athens.
 
The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said that it would take Greece to the European Court of Justice for not complying with its September 2005 decision to recover illegal aid and unpaid taxes from Olympic Airways and its successor, Olympic Airlines.
 
Greek officials said that they would prepare a response within the next three or four days, arguing that the successor carrier should not be responsible for the parent company's debts and that the state owes Olympic money for services rendered over the years.
 
In its lawsuit, the commission said that Greece had failed to quantify the amount of aid and taxes that must be paid back, which could run as high as €540 million, or $671 million.
 
"No recovery has taken place, and Greece has not demonstrated that it has suspended all payment of new illegal aid," the commission said.
 
The decision Wednesday relates to aid after 2002. Greece has also been asked to recover €161 million in illegal state aid granted to Olympic from 1998 to 2002 or face court action.
 
Analysts said that the action would hurt efforts to find investors willing to rescue Olympic, whose assets are estimated at €150 million.
 
"This whole situation has led to the depreciation of the company," said Gregory Karagiannopoulos, of Cyprus Securities. "If it shuts down, the political cost will fall on the government."
 
The airline has about 6,000 employees. In addition, remote Greek islands now rely mainly on Olympic for connections to the mainland.

Original Article 

By JAMES WALLACE
P-I REPORTER

South African Airways announced this week that it plans to add flights that will provide daily service between Johannesburg and Washington's Dulles International Airport.

But is Africa's largest airline really ready for prime time? I wonder, given the experiences I recently had on three of the airline's flights.

Earlier this month, South African Airways became the 18th member of the Star Alliance, the world's biggest airline group that includes such heavyweights as Lufthansa, Singapore, United, All Nippon and SAS.

A couple of days before South African Airways officially became a member of the alliance, Swiss International Air Lines joined.

The alliance invited a group of aviation journalists, including this reporter, to Zurich, Switzerland, where the Swiss carrier was welcomed into the alliance during a ceremony at the airport. Afterward, some of us flew to Cape Town, South Africa, but with a plane change in Johannesburg. We took a South African Airways Boeing 737-800 from Johannesburg to Cape Town. There was no passenger jetway at the Johannesburg airport. We climbed aboard a bus that took us to the plane.

And we sat there, in the jet on the tarmac, for more than an hour and a half. The pilot said the delay was caused by air traffic control being swamped with too many flights in and out of the airport that day.

Once we were finally in the air, I used the business-class lavatory on the Boeing jet and was surprised to find that someone had put tissue in the holder where the toilet seat covers are supposed to go.

I figured the ground crew folks had made a simple mistake.

There was no jetway when the plane landed at Cape Town, either. Another short bus ride to the airport.

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A couple of days later, we flew back to Johannesburg on a different South African Airways 737-800. That plane was more than two hours late leaving the airport.

No passenger jetways at either the Cape Town or Johannesburg airports. Two more buses.

During the flight, I used the business-class lavatory. Same thing: Tissue paper where the toilet seat covers are supposed to go.

The next night, after the ceremony at the Johannesburg airport where South African Airways was welcomed into the Star Alliance, I took one of the airline's new Airbus A340-600 jets to Frankfurt.

Again, no jetway. And the plane was more than an hour late.

Shortly into the flight, I used the business-class lavatory. This time, there were barf bags instead of toilet seat covers.

After I returned to my seat, I spoke with the head flight attendant, letting him know that on three South African Airways flights I had taken, including his, there were no toilet seat covers in the lavatories. I'm not sure he understood, but he said he had never seen toilet seat covers on a South African Airways flight. He thought it was a good idea, and he said he would mention this to people at the airline.

Several hours earlier, before this flight, during a news conference at the Johannesburg airport with the 18 Star Alliance airline chief executives, Khaya Ngqula, the chief executive of South African Airways, was asked about the state of his airline that had just become a member of the alliance. The airline has lost money, and its domestic service has been sharply criticized. Ngqula said he was aware his airline had to do better. And it would.

At least the ceremony welcoming the airline into the alliance was special. Several thousand airline employees were invited to the ceremony, which was held in an airport hangar. It was a lively and festive crowd, which began waving small South African flags and singing along to live music. Pretty soon, the entire crowd was standing and singing and waving flags. It was such a contrast to the more subdued ceremony a few days earlier in Zurich when Swiss International Air Lines was welcomed into the alliance.

But there was one small problem.

South African Airways had handed out slick color pamphlets as part of the ceremony. Everyone got one, including the 18 airline chief executives. A two-page spread in the pamphlet had a map showing the various Star Alliance members and their major hubs and countries of origin. Air Canada, for example, was correctly shown as being based in Montreal, Canada.

But Asiana Airlines was listed as being headquartered in Seoul, North Korea.

And Singapore Airlines was listed as being headquartered in Singapore, Malaysia.

"We know," a public relations person with South African Airways said curtly when one of the journalists told her about the mistakes.

I wonder if she also knows about those toilet seat covers.

In an effort to form a regional flight network within the East African Community, Tanzania 's Precision Air has decided to start flights to Entebbe of Uganda in July this year.

The airline has already started operating daily flights to Nairobi and Mombassa of Kenya.

Uganda and Kenya are both member countries of the East African Community that also includes Tanzania.

The Precision Air is jointly owned by a Tanzanian businessman who controls 51 percent of the company's shares and the Kenya Airways that holds 49 percent of its shares.

Precision Air last month became the fifth airline company in Africa to issue electronic tickets, after Kenya Airways, South African Airways, Air Namibia and Air Seychelles, according to a Precision Air press handout.

Original article 

A recent poll amongst airline passengers by the Belgian publication ‘Test-Achats’/ ‘Test-Aankoop’ has credited VLM Airlines with excellent scores. VLM Airlines has achieved a very high ranking in a list including all the airline companies worldwide and resulting from a satisfaction study amongst 8.638 people in six European countries. With a satisfaction index of 7,4 out of 10 and an 8th place in the ranking, VLM Airlines proves itself once again as favourite Belgian airline. In addition to this, passengers recognize VLM Airlines as the most punctual airline.

VLM Airlines hits the headlines again. After being awarded Best Regional Airline of the Year by leading airline industry magazine, Air Transport World, and after an eighth consecutive profitable year, a study by Test-Achats shows that VLM Airlines’ passengers are particularly satisfied with the service. The consumer organization compiled answers from 8.638 people for its study carried out in six European countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. VLM Airlines has achieved an amazing eighth place in the list of most favourite airline companies. It is only beaten by a few companies such as Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Malaysian.

The decisive criteria for this excellent result are (on a scale of 1 to 10) :
· courtesy on board (7,9)
· punctuality (7,75)
· cleanliness on board (7,35)
· reliability (7,15)
· efficiency of cabin crew (7,15)

Once more, VLM Airlines demonstrates its excellent punctuality, as no other airline scores as high in this field. With 0 % cancellations and a mere 5 % delay (minimum 15 minutes), VLM Airlines largely overtakes its competitors according to this study. Finally, the Fokker 50, VLM Airlines’ flagship is positively perceived by passengers. The seat comfort (6,33) and the feeling of security (7,5) ranks highly.

Johan Vanneste, Managing Director at VLM Airlines, is more than satisfied with this new achievement : “For years now we have been doing our very best to offer our customers a perfect service and excellent punctuality. These new results once more prove how much our passengers appreciate these efforts and express it in various polls. After the Best Regional Airline of the Year awarded by Air Transport World, the second place in the ‘Business Airline of the year’ ranking by Business Travel World and the eighth consecutive profitable year, this study by Test-Achats is a new victory for all our staff.”
Original article 

INDIAN Airlines has come under fire from passengers for its “unseasonal” hike in fares from Doha to Kozhikode and Kochi.

The airline raised the fare by QR100 on a one-way ticket and QR150 on a return journey, from Thursday. The hike is in effect until May 31.

Travel agencies were told of the increase just three days before it was to be implemented, they said.

Passengers called the fare hike “unexpected and unusual”. The airline is exploiting its near monopoly on the route, an incensed passenger alleged yesterday.

Indian Airlines is the only carrier with a daily service from Doha to Kozhikode.

The peak summer season is still two months away and this increase came as a rude shock, another irate passenger said.

The airline’s acting manager in Doha, Ravi Shankar said the fare revision was a “market requirement” – an euphemism for a high demand for seats on the sector.

Travel agencies confirmed that the flights have been “packed” for several weeks. Doha shares the flight with Bahrain.

A one-way economy ticket is now sold for QR900 and a return ticket for QR1,750, sources said. This could go further up to QR2,500 by the time schools close, they added.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=83390&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The U.S. Department of Transportation has ordered the only airline providing service to the city to continue flights beyond its planned pullout date.

Trans States Airlines said in February it planned to end service May 11 to Columbia and four other cities in Missouri and Illinois. The DOT order means the airline must continue flights out of Columbia while officials consider requests from other carriers.

DOT spokesman Bill Mosley said the department will consider several factors in choosing a new airline to operate from Columbia. First preference is given to airlines not seeking federal subsidies.

Bids are to be accepted through May 11. Trans States Airlines currently runs 20 flights a week for AmericanConnection between Columbia and St. Louis.

http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/state/14412313.htm

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW REAL ESTATE WRITER

Business and political leaders agree Pittsburgh needs nonstop international air service.

But even with more than 260 foreign-based companies in Western Pennsylvania, a problem has been getting an airline — any airline — to agree.

Area leaders have made progress in recruiting such top-flight discount air carriers as Southwest Airlines and Jet Blue to make up some of the significant loss of domestic air service in the wake US Airways' downsizing of operations at Pittsburgh International Airport.

However, its been since late in 2004 the airport last could travelers a nonstop connection across the Atlantic.

That chagrins people such as Elie Saad, vice president at Lanxess Corp., a German-owned maker of chemicals and polymers.

Saad, a frequent flyer, is among dozens of Lanxess employees who must take flights toPhiladelphia, New York, Newark, Charlotte, and even Chicago and Detroit to connect to nonstop flights overseas.

"It can cost you a whole day's worth of work," said Saad.

"It's a huge problem," said Randall Dearth, chief executive for Lanxess, a spinoff from Bayer AG, with its North American headquarters in Findlay. It is one of 70 German-owned companies in the region, who collectively employ about 9,500 people.

When Pittsburgh had direct flights to Germany, the company's employees could leave Pittsburgh in mid-afternoon for a flight to Frankfurt. Now, they must leave by 10 or 11 a.m., which is "a big inconvenience," Dearth said.

It also results in lost productivity, according to Lanxess officials. The company's employees lost about 1,300 hours of precious work during the 260 flights they made overseas in 2005.

If those employees worked in Cincinnati, they would have no such problem.

Cincinnati is a similarly-sized city. There, however, Delta Airlines operates nonstop flights to London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris and Rome.

There is a simple reason, said airline industry expert Robert W. Mann.

Summed up in one word, it's "hub," said Mann, head of R.W. Mann & Co. Inc., of Long Island, N.Y.

Mann notes that The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is Delta's second largest hub airport, a claim Pittsburgh no longer can make about US Airways.

"The difference there is it's still operating as a hub; it has substantial feed (flights from other Delta-served cities) into Cincinnati, and that's what keeps it going. It's not Cincinnati originating business that makes the difference, its the feed from surrounding cities that use Cincinnati as a connecting point," Mann said.

"What has happened at Pittsburgh is that a lot of those spokes were removed by US Airways. What remains is a lot of service, but spread among a lot of carriers. So there's no single carrier that controls Pittsburgh's feed to the extent that US Airways once did, and that's really the difference."

Delta boasts it is the fastest growing major U.S.-based carrier in international service, with 15 new routes announced, added or applied since Jan. 1, 2005. It flies to Europe, India and Israel.

By summer, it expects to be flying 51 daily departures to 29 different cities in those countries, including the five from Cincinnati. Pittsburgh is not on Delta's expansion list.

The airline does not disclose financial or occupancy data about specific flights, said spokeswoman Gina Laughlin. She said the fact that the flights from Cincinnati to Europe are expanding is an indication they are performing satisfactorily.

Pittsburgh lost nonstop flights to Europe in November 2004, when US Airways ended service to Frankfurt. It also used to have nonstop service to London and to Paris.

In March, US Airways officials said they don't believe it is financially feasible to fly from Pittsburgh International now.

Scott Kirby, executive vice president of sales and marketing for US Airways, said a Frankfurt flight would need to generate between $70 million and $80 million annually.

However, "There is just not that much revenue coming out of Pittsburgh," he added.

"If we can make it work — fine," said Doug Parker, the airline's chief executive. "But we also have a problem with aircraft (being able to fly the route)."

German-based carrier Lufthansa has taken a similar stance, telling Pittsburgh area leaders there is not enough traffic to justify a new European flight, said Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

But that doesn't mean its time to give up. Onorato said recently the effort to get some type of nonstop European air service is his top economic development priority.

"We all believe we can get this done," said Onorato. He is working with the Allegheny County Airport Authority, and the Regional Air Service Partnership, a coalition of 50 area business leaders brought together by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development to spearhead efforts to help the region attract replacement air service.

The coalition talks to "three or four" air carriers regularly, according to local leaders. But there are reasons why the process can be slow, said F. Michael Langley, chief executive of the Allegheny Conference.

"Airlines don't make these decisions overnight," he said, adding that companies often take two or more years to do so. Such decisions also may be delayed by factors such as the availability of planes to fly a route, or gates open for use at international airports

Local leaders might take heart in a similar effort waged by business and community leaders in Portland and neighboring Vancouver, Wash., after Delta stopped its nonstop service to Japan.

Not only did that effort find success in 2002 when Lufthansa agreed to start nonstop service from Portland International Airport to Frankfurt, but over the next two years it also helped convince Northwest Airlines to provide a flight to Japan and Mexicana Air to start service to Mexico.

"One of the key points … was development of what we called a travel commitment" said Steve Johnson, spokesman for the Port of Portland, one of the partners in the community coalition. "Through our partnership we were able to raise almost $11 million in advanced commitment and pledges from local corporations to support the new nonstop service," he said.

Local leaders have made similar pledges of business in hopes of convincing airlines to fly here.

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/business/s_446511.html 

Keith L. Alexander, Washington Post

Washington — It was the kind of news that many frequent fliers had long suspected.

At a news conference last week, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that there is a possibility that airline travelers could contract mumps, measles or even tuberculosis from other airline passengers during flights.

The alert came in the wake of a recent mumps outbreak in the Midwest that began in Iowa and has spread to six neighboring states: Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. So far, 600 cases have been reported, with at least nine victims hospitalized.

"The transmission of diseases during air travel is something we don't have a complete understanding of," said Ram Koppaka, chief of quarantine and border health services at the CDC. "Our belief is there is a risk of transmission."

Koppaka said the CDC isn't concerned about any existing outbreaks of measles or TB related to air travel, but that there is the possibility that these diseases also can be spread among airline passengers. The focus on mumps comes on the heels of the recent outbreak, which has been linked to two airline passengers who were potentially infectious during travel on nine commercial flights involving Northwest and American airlines between March 26 and April 2.

Five of the flights were on Northwest Airlines: On March 26, flight 3025 from Waterloo, Iowa, to Minneapolis, and flight 760 from Minneapolis to Detroit; on March 27, flight 260 from Detroit to Washington's Reagan National Airport; and on March 29, flight 1705 from National to Minneapolis and flight 3026 from Minneapolis to Waterloo.

Four American Airlines flights on April 2 also could have played a role. They were flight 1216 from Tucson, Ariz., to Dallas, flight 3617 from Dallas to Lafayette, Ark., flight 5399 from Lafayette to St. Louis, and flight 5498 from St. Louis to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The mumps outbreak is the latest example of how quickly diseases might be spread as a result of air travel. The air circulation systems of planes, long suspected as promoting the spread of disease, are no longer believed responsible for outbreaks. The systems are equipped with sophisticated filtering mechanisms that help prevent the recirculation of contaminated air. But passengers are at a greater risk aboard airliners for the simple reason that they are stuck in confined spaces for extended periods of time with potentially ill seat mates.

Mumps is a viral infection spread by coughing and sneezing. Because its incubation period is two to three weeks, CDC officials believe some cases may begin appearing now for people on the affected flights. The CDC is urging travelers on those flights to be alert to symptoms that may include a stiff jaw, sore throats, fever and coughing.

The concern over mumps, measles and other infectious diseases comes as the government is working on a response plan in the event of a pandemic influenza outbreak. Alarm has intensified with the emergence of the avian flu, a particularly virulent strain that so far has affected mostly birds but also has infected about 200 people worldwide, killing about half.

Koppaka encourages airline passengers to make sure their vaccinations are current. He also encouraged passengers to wash their hands often, even on flights when possible.

Sara Laughlin, a Los Angeles management consultant, says she tries to change seats on a flight whenever she notices that the person sitting next to her is coughing uncontrollably. "One or two coughs don't bother me. But if they are coughing uncontrollably for a while, you better believe I have grabbed my stuff and moved," she said. "It may seem rude, but my health is worth more than a few hard feelings."

The nation's airlines say passengers should refrain from traveling if they're feeling ill.

"Of course, anytime you are in contact with other people, there is a possibility of transmission of communicable disease from a common cold to something more rare and potentially more serious," said Katherine Andrus, assistant general counsel for the Air Transport Association.

"It's also important that people monitor their own health and defer travel if they are ill. Just as you wouldn't want your co-worker to come into the office if he or she is sick, you don't want to sit next to someone on a bus, at the airport or on an airplane who may be contagious."

In December, the CDC announced it is collecting detailed airline traveler information so federal health officials can warn passengers of potential outbreaks of communicable diseases. The CDC is attempting to maintain a database of traveler information, such as home addresses, emergency contact information, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and even the names of travel companions. Creation of the database is still about two years away.

The CDC said it decided to step up its efforts after trying to contact travelers who may have been exposed to severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in late 2002 and early 2003. Airline executives said collecting the passenger information while maintaining traveler privacy is a major undertaking and may even require some airlines to update their reservation systems, an investment that many airlines may find difficult to afford.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/04/23/TRG2SIBOI61.DTL 

By SOMAN BABY

A UAE airline has no plans in the near future to implement a zero per cent commission for Bahrain's travel agents, it was revealed yesterday.

Emirates has requested travel agents not to add any service charges to their tickets sold to customers, said the airline's area manager Mohammed Bin Ghannam.

Most of the airlines scrapped the five pc travel agents' commission with effect from April 1.

It was replaced by the service charge on all tickets issued by the airlines.

This means customers could be paying two pc more for their tickets.

Agents party to the scheme have each paid a BD5,000 deposit, which they risk losing if they are caught discounting, said sources.

The decision to introduce a zero pc commission in the Bahrain market was taken earlier this year by the Board of Airlines Representatives (BAR), which is chaired by national carrier Gulf Air.

The Association of Bahrain Travel and Tours Agents (Abtta) welcomed the decision, saying it would benefit both the airlines and the travel agents.

All the airlines, except two or three including Emirates, have agreed to this decision.

Mr Ghannam said it was Emirates' network wide decision not to follow a zero per cent commission practice.

 http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=141608&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=29033

DENVER — A passenger who claimed to have a bomb aboard a United Airlines flight was subdued by passengers as the California-bound plane was diverted to Denver International Airport, airport officials said.

Two F-16 fighter jets from Buckley Air Force Base scrambled to escort the plane as it flew into Denver Friday, according to Lt. Commander Sean Kelly, a spokesman for NORAD.

"They followed to make sure nothing untoward was going to happen," he said.

Jose Manuel Pelayo-Ortega was arrested after the plane landed around 4:30 p.m., FBI spokeswoman Monique Kelso said.

Three Secret Service agents traveling between assignments who happened to be on the plane helped detain the passenger, said Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren.

After the A-320 Airbus landed, it taxied to a remote part of the airport where the passengers got off and were bused to the terminal.

None of the 138 passengers or six crew members was injured, airport spokesman Chuck Cannon said. The flight was headed to Sacramento, Calif., from Chicago.

Authorities searched the aircraft for explosives and re-screened luggage and passengers before they reboarded the plane, which took off for its original destination around 7:30 p.m., Kelso said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,192696,00.html