British and US airlines among those to suspend flights over the conflict zone

British Airways announced yesterday that it was suspending all flights over Iraq.

 

A spokesman for Britain's flagship carrier said that the move was “temporary” and that it would "keep the situation under review". Flights that will be affected include those to Dubai and Oman. 

 

The move follows a similar decision taken by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which said that it was banning all US airlines from flying over the country until further notice because of the “hazardous situation” engendered by fighting between security forces and the Islamic State (IS).

 

The Islamic militant group has been taking control of large parts of northern Iraq and Syria over the past few months. US air travel below 30,000 feet in the area was already banned by the FAA on 31 July.

 

This morning, Australian airline Qantas followed suit and announced that it would be suspending flights. Other airlines that have already put a temporary ban on flights over the troubled country include the UK's Virgin Atlantic Airways, Dubai-based Emirates, Air France and Lufthansa.

 

Yesterday, the US launched an airstrike into the country to tackle the Islamic militants, after being given authorisation to do so by President Barack Obama. 

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British Airways sued for pilot 'sex abuse'

A LONDON law firm representing 16 girls in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania says it is initiating legal proceedings against British Airways over allegations that one of its pilots sexually abused the girls during layovers.

THE 54-year-old British Airways pilot, Simon Wood, who is now dead, was able to abuse the girls, between the ages of eight and 20 years, because of his employment with the airline and the company's community outreach work, Leigh Day lawyer Nichola Marshall said on Wednesday.

"The schools and orphanages that our clients attended were all in receipt of charitable donations from the airline, and Wood played a key role in administering those donations, on behalf of British Airways," Marshall said in a statement.

British Airways said it was shocked and horrified by the allegations, which the company said appeared to be related to activities "entirely outside the scope of his employment with British Airways".

The airline extended its sympathies to the victims.

"It is disappointing that the conduct of one person has caused so much distress to the many thousands of decent people who engage in charitable works on a regular basis," the company said in an email to The Associated Press.

Wood was struck by a train and died two weeks before he was to appear in court last August.

He had faced charges of indecent assault of a girl under the age of 16 and making and possessing child pornography, the statement said.

An investigation into his death began Wednesday, the law firm said.

Marshall said a team will be travelling to meet with other potential victims who have recently come forward in Kenya and Uganda.

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New Record of British Tourists Arriving in Greece

According to German travel operator TUI, more than two million tourists from Great Britain are expected to arrive in Greece this summer. The Spanish Iberia Airlines is back in Athens, Sky Express has added new routes between Volos and Heraklion, Mykonos, Santorini and Mytilene and Transavia is increasing its available seats to Greece.

Even though numbers continue to break the record this year, hotel owners still face cash flow problems while Greece is expected to host about 20 million tourists, “most of which will arrive during the summer months until September, given that the big bet with Greek summer season has not been won yet for Greek tourism,” said the President of the Panhellenic Hotel Owners Union Yannis Retsos.

This is one of the main reasons for the huge rise in prices recorded in the recent period, although official sources insist “there is no discrimination between Greek and foreign tourists and the same applies for on-line reservations. On the contrary, a discrimination may occur with most of the rooms due to the hotel room pre-bookings by tour operators (this year increase in such packages was about 1.5 to 2 percent). From this point on, supply and demand determine the prices for the remaining rooms, while Mykonos and Santorini are established as luxurious travel destinations.”

However, even if the number of tourists continues to increase and the visitors stream towards Athens continues to flow, Greek hotels will need another three years before they get out of the “red” zone, due to accumulated financial damages.

Further investments in Athens, such as the new National Museum of Modern Art in former Fix factory, the renovation of the National Art Gallery and the Stavros Niarchos Central Park in Delta Falirou, will create new conditions to boost tourism in Athens.

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Best views from the cockpit

Choosing from more than 180 different routes, British Airways' pilots have taken part in a poll to select their top 10 views from the air.

British Airways' chief Boeing pilot, Captain Al Bridger, said: "We get some spectacular views from the cockpit and many of these can be seen by everyone on board."

The Top Ten sights are:

1. Northern Lights - "If you're not already asleep this is an amazing sight three to four hours into most long North America flights. Well worth staying up for," said captain Dave Willsher, British Airways

2. Central London - Approach into Heathrow

3. Mont Blanc - Approach to Pisa

4. Sydney Harbour - Departure from Sydney

5. Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and bay - Approach into San Francisco

6. Greenland - North Atlantic flights

7. Venetian canals - Approach into Venice 

8. Table Mountain - Approach into Cape Town

9. Dubrovnik - Approach into Dubrovnik

10. Mount Fuji - Approach or Departure from Tokyo (Narita)

...and finally the Soyuz 35S space craft

"While flying to Singapore I had the rare privilege of seeing the Soyuz 35S space craft returning to Earth," said BA captain Simon Wijker.

"I later discovered that in addition to the three astronauts on board, it was also carrying the Olympic torch which it had just been taking for a spacewalk for the first time ever."

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Passenger sues BA after booking flights to historic Granada, in Spain, and ending up 4,000 miles away in Grenada, the Caribbean

An American dentist visiting Europe has sued BA after the airline refused to reimburse him for two first class tickets after flying him and his wife to Grenada in the Caribbean instead of Granada in Spain. 

Mr Edward Gamson, who said he hadn’t taken a holiday in two years and had always wanted to visit the historic Spanish city and its famous Alhambra Palace, said he only noticed the mistake once he was on board the flight from London.

The booking mistake was allegedly made by BA’s agents in Florida and Mr Gamson claims the electronic tickets did not show the airport code, flight duration or destination country, only showing the name Grenada.

BA staff initially apologised for the error, but the airline later refused to put Mr Gamson and his wife on a flight back to London Gatwick en route to Granada, according to The Independent on Sunday.

After battling for three days, the couple never reached Spain and decided to file a complaint and ask to be reimbursed their £2,650 first-class tickets. 

Mr Gamson told The Independent on Sunday: ‘I have a lifelong interest in Islamic art. I’m also of Spanish Jewish heritage so it was something I had always wanted to do to visit Granada and the Alhambra. I made it absolutely clear to the booking agent I wanted to go to Granada in Spain. Why on earth would I want to go to Grenada in the Caribbean if I was flying back to America from Lisbon?

‘It’s just so sad. A trip we had been really looking forward to was ruined and ... BA won’t do the decent thing.’

This is not the first time that a passenger ends up in Grenada in the Caribbean instead of Granada in Spain. Last year Lamenda Kingdon, a 62-year old former life coach from Plymouth, also found herself some 4,000 miles away from where she wanted to go. 

Mrs Kingdon had planned her trip to Granada as part of a ‘bucket list’ of activities after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and a brain tumour.

She booked the flight over the phone using her late husband’s Avios air miles and did not notice when the ticket arrived that the destination was one letter different.

But while Avios, the air miles company owned by BA, reimbursed her points and put her on a flight to Malaga – the nearest major airport to Granada – the following day, BA is resisting Mr Gamson's damage claim for $34,000 (£20,000).

BA tried to have some of the lawsuit struck out, but a US judge rejected the request, with the claim now heading for a full hearing.

Judge James Boasberg wrote: ‘This case proves the truth of Mark Twain’s aphorism that “the difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug”. Except here only a single letter’s difference is involved.’

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British Airways cabin crew 'ready to strike' over pay claim

British Airways is facing the threat of renewed strikes after cabin crew said they were prepared to take industrial action after their pay claims were rebuffed. In a consultative ballot last week among members of the mixed fleet, 95% of crew who voted said they would go on strike. About a third of the eligible crew voted in the ballot, taken to gauge feeling in a fleet that rapidly unionised under Unite in 2012.

The mixed fleet is a predominantly younger crew, employed under inferior terms and conditions to pre-existing crew. The fleet was set up in 2010 during the last wave of bitter industrial action at the airline, when cost-cutting led to 22 days of walkouts.

Willie Walsh, the then BA boss and now chief executive of parent company IAG, argued that traditional airlines needed to cut costs to survive, and has since pushed through thousands of job losses and salary cuts at BA's sister airline Iberia in Spain. But the new BA recruits have been angered by schedules and earning less money than counterparts at low-cost competitors EasyJet and Ryanair.

Unions claim many BA cabin crew are now reliant on working tax credits to supplement basic salaries, believed to be a little over £12,000 a year, though the airline says earnings should reach around £20,000 with full-flying rosters.

BA has offered a pay rise in line with inflation to other cabin crew on pre-2010 contracts, who work exclusively either long-haul or short-haul in the worldwide or European fleets. The new flexible crew had been hoping to close the wage gap with their better-paid colleagues and counterparts, but have made no progress.

Anger has been further stirred among employees by news that Walsh earned £5m in 2013, a pay rise of 400% on the previous year, while BA boss Keith Williams was also paid £3m. Holidaymakers heading to France also face travel disruption this week, as two French air traffic controller unions begin a six-day walkout.

The SNCTA and Unsa-ICNA unions announced last Friday that the strike will begin on 24 June. Travellers have been warned to expect heavy disruption during the period, with officials aiming to run at least 50% of scheduled flights.

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BA and Vueling agree codeshare

British Airways is adding its flight code to more than 170 Vueling services.

The codeshare agreement between the two IAG airlines largely centres on the Spanish low-cost carrier's Italy operation.

Among the 37 international and 11 domestic routes from Vueling's Rome Fiumicino base that are new to BA customers are Brindisi, Palermo, Lamezia, Valencia and Nantes.

Other new routes on offer to BA passengers through the codeshare include London Heathrow to Bilbao and La Coruña; Cardiff to Malaga and Alicante; Edinburgh to Barcelona; Paris Orly to Catania (Sicily); Barcelona to Naples; Brussels to Venice; and Copenhagen to Florence.

Further codeshares between BA and Vueling will be added "in the near future".

Steve Ronald, BA's head of alliances, said: "As we forge ever closer relationships with our fellow IAG airlines, Iberia and Vueling, our customers will be able to access all corners of Europe and beyond, with one simple booking on ba.com and the enticement of the collection of reward points for their loyalty."

Fernando Estrada, Vueling's director of strategy, alliances and business development, added: "We are very excited about this agreement with British Airways, which allows us to be more competitive in the market and concretely support the development of the Airport of Rome Fiumicino and tourism in the city of Rome."

Earlier this week, BA unveiled the new cabin interior that will soon be installed across its short-haul fleet (see news, June 16).

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British Airways plans to roll out inflight broadband

British Airways is in talks with communications satellite firm Inmarsat to become the initial customer for the first pan-European high-speed air-to-ground Internet service. Negotiations are at an “advanced stage,” with British Airways planning to introduce the technology on U.K. domestic routes, the companies have confirmed in a statement.

“We believe that the same in-flight connectivity opportunity exists in Europe and that, with the support of EU telecoms regulators, Inmarsat can rapidly bring to market unique, high speed aviation passenger connectivity services to meet this market demand on an EU-wide basis,” said Inmarsat CEO Rupert Pearce.

“A number of European airlines are aligned with this vision and we are absolutely delighted to announce advanced discussions with British Airways to be a launch customer on our new aviation network.”

Kate Thornton, Head of Product and Service at British Airways , commented: “British Airways is in discussions with Inmarsat about leading Europe in a new era of broadband in the air. Starting with UK domestic routes Inmarsat intends to deploy Europe’s first ground-based 4G broadband network giving our customers the internet access they expect on the ground while in the air.”

To reduce initial programme costs, Inmarsat and Hellas-Sat, a non-competing European satellite operator, have contracted with Thales Alenia Space for the construction of a satellite on a shared basis, with each partner retaining exclusive rights to a separate payload. Inmarsat will deploy a unique integrated telecommunications network delivering aviation passenger connectivity across the EU. The company has placed an order for a new S-band satellite, called Europasat, and expects to complement this satellite with a fully integrated air-to-ground network across the European Union. Inmarsat’s new aviation network will deliver high-speed broadband services to commercial and business aviation passengers across the continent. These capabilities will be offered alongside Inmarsat’s Global Xpress aviation services, extending Inmarsat’s service coverage for European aviation passengers seamlessly across the rest of the globe.

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British Airways cancels Italy flights due to strike action

British Airways has announced the cancellation of a “small number of flights” to Italy today (30 May), due to a 24-hour strike by Italian ground handling staff.

BA flights to and from Milan Linate, Venice and Bologna have all been affected.

“We are doing all we can to minimise the effects of the industrial action. We have re-timed a number of flights and are also using larger aircraft where possible,” the airline said.

The action, over pay and working conditions, takes place alongside an SEA, airport and ground handling staff strike at Milan airports from 1300 to 1700 local time. Some Ryanair and Easyjet flights to Italy have also been cancelled. Ryanair confirmed more than 25 flights to Italian airports have been cancelled and Easyjet said it would be informing its customers via SMS and email of disrupted flights. All airlines advised to keep checking websites for further updates.

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British Airways increases weekly flights to Chengdu

British Airways launched its latest Boeing 787 Dreamliner for direct service between Chengdu and London this week and increased frequency of the route from three to five flights per week.

"I am very pleased to be able to deliver on our promise to our customers in Chengdu with the arrival of our new Boeing 787 Dreamliner today," Keith Williams, British Airways' Executive Chairman, was cited as saying in a note filed to Xinhua on Sunday.

It is the first time for a 787 Dreamliner to be used for international direct flight service to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, one of China's fastest growing hub airports.

This state-of-the-art aircraft will become a mainstay of the British Airways fleet over the next few years, part of a 5-billion-pound (about 8.43 billion U.S. dollars) investment program to increase comfort in the air and on the ground, Williams said.

The company has also raised the frequency of the route between Chengdu and London from three to five flights per week.

Li Wei, chairman of Sichuan Province Airport Group, said the company's actions not only show the importance of the Chengdu airport as an aviation hub in China, but also aid the growing cooperation between Sichuan and the UK in business, trade and technology.

British Airways has used Boeing 777-200 aircraft on the thrice-weekly service since the route launched in September last year.

British Airways has a worldwide route network covering more than 170 destinations in 75 countries. The airline has been flying to China for over 30 years.

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British Airways facing payouts after Heathrow emergency landing

British Airways is reported to be settling claims for passengers on flights affected due to disruption at Heathrow as a result of an emergency landing of one of its aircraft.

Flight compensation solicitors Bott & Co says passengers are eligible for compensation of between €250 and €600 per person, depending on their flight distance and length of delay.

One couple are reported by the Cheshire-based law firm to have been awarded €1,200 in compensation after they missed their connection for New York due to one of Heathrow’s two runways being closed after an Airbus A319 en route to Oslo had to make an emergency landing almost a year ago.

BA initially denied responsibility for the technical failure which triggered the emergency landing. The airline claimed it was an extraordinary circumstance and was exempt from paying compensation to affected passengers under European regulation EC261/2004.

But a report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch subsequently revealed the fault was due to human error.

The incident was found to have been a result of retaining latches - which hold the fan cowl doors in place to shield the inner part of the aircraft’s engine - not being closed before take-off.

The law firm says it has won compensation for passengers on three BA flights disrupted as a result.

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US Airways announces codeshare with British Airways

US Airways announced Tuesday a code-sharing agreement with British Airways that includes the profitable trans-Atlantic routes.

US Airways is part of American Airlines Group (Nasdaq: AAL). Neither US Airways nor American Airlines have international nonstops from Pittsburgh. The airlines flow international passengers through hubs in Charlotte, N.C., and Philadelphia. The codeshare deal gives immediate access to British Airways' flights in the United States to London and will be rolled out to the rest of the flights by the end of the summer.

"US Airways' entry into the Atlantic Joint Business marked a crucial step in our overall integration process, and this codeshare agreement with our longtime partner British Airways is essential to the continued expansion of our combined networks," said Kurt Stache, senior vice president of alliances and partnerships in a preapred statement. "British Airways' network out of London offers unparalleled access to key destinations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, providing our customers another tangible benefit of both the joint business and our merger."

US Airways said it would have codeshare agreements with Iberia and Finnair soon.

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British Airways plane makes emergency landing as woman gives birth early

A British Airways flight from Nigeria to London was diverted to Majorca when a woman gave birth just 26 weeks into her pregnancy. The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing on the Spanish island after Ujunwa Ozeh, 31, went into labour at 36,000 feet.

According to The Guardian, BA cabin crew helped medical staff at the airport in Palma with the baby. Ozeh gave birth in Business Class on the Boeing 777 carrying 296 passengers, the Daily Mail reports.

The mum of two was travelling with her one-year-old daughter and was planning on a trip to Washington, USA for a holiday. When her water broke, a call was put out for doctors on board and a female doctor was able to oversee the birth with the help of cabin crew trained in birthing procedures.

Speaking to the Mail, Ozeh said: "I just wasn't thinking that I could be in labour, I couldn't imagine it. When the doctor told me that the baby was coming I went into total shock, I can't really remember, I wasn't able to think clearly."

Ozeh and the baby were rushed to hospital when the plane landed. Her son, who she has named Michael, is in the intensive care unit where he will remain until August. Her husband Kaycee Ozeh, a businessman in Nigeria, is now trying to get a visa to be with his family in Majorca.

A BA spokeswoman said: "Our cabin crew, who are trained in birthing procedures, assisted with the delivery of a baby on board our flight from Abuja.

"The captain diverted the aircraft to Palma so that mum and baby could be taken to hospital. We wish the mother and her little one all the very best."

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British Airways operate direct flights to the Greek islands of Myconos and Santorini

British Airways will operate direct flights from London’s Heathrow Airport to the Greek islands of Myconos and Santorini for the high season starting on May 3. The airliner has also added a Thessaloniki-London Gatwick Airport service four times a week.

The BA A320 carriers will fly to the Cycladic island of Myconos on Tuesday and Saturday while flights to and from Santorini will take place Wednesday and Sunday reports Kathimerini.

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Ryanair falls out of favour as Norwegian Air and easyJet voted best for budget flights (and BA is named UK's top airline)

Ryanair is no longer among the top five airlines in the UK for budget flights, according to a  survey. Norwegian Air topped the poll, voted the best for holidaymakers looking for value for money - with easyJet second, British Airways third, Jet2 fourth and Monarch making up the top five. While BA was voted the best airline in the UK overall, travellers believe they get better value for money elsewhere, with lesser-known Norwegian scooping first place. BA was revealed as the favourite carrier in four out of five categories - best food and drink, best customer service, best on board experience and best overall style - the Skyscanner survey of 4,000 Brits who frequently fly short haul revealed. 

 

But when it comes to price, the Scandinavians won out, voted the best value for money of any short-haul carrier operating to and from the UK. Norwegian, which has recently been pushing its cheap fares in a massive advertising campaign, is not seen by its customers as just a no-frills airline. It was second to BA for customer service, onboard experience and style and fourth behind BA, SAS and Lufthansa for best food and drink, said Skyscanner. Frequent fliers were only allowed to answer about airlines they had used in the last two years and any with fewer than 200 respondents were not included in the final tables.

Skyscanner's Mary Porter said British travellers were very 'proud' of BA and its motto of 'To Fly To Serve'. She added: 'It's perhaps not surprising that British Airways has scooped the top spot in our survey. 'But it is particularly interesting to see such strong results for a far less well-known airline - Norwegian. 'It goes to show that low cost does not necessarily mean an inferior product or service.'

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BA launches two Greek flights this weekend

The two services from Heathrow will both operate twice a week, with the Mykonos flight starting on Saturday (May 3) and Santorini on Sunday (May 4).

BA will be using an Airbus A320 aircraft on both routes, offering a total of 162 seats in economy and Club Europe.

Richard Tams, BA’s head of marketing, said: “Mykonos and Santorini are great short-haul holiday destinations and we think they’ll prove really popular with customers and sun-seekers.”

Mykonos flights will operate on Tuesdays and Saturday, while the service to Santorini flies on Wednesday and Sunday.

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British Airways unveils new flight simulator

British Airways has powered up its newest flight simulator, taking the number used by the airline to train its pilots to 18 – the highest ever. 

The new addition, a full-motion Airbus A320 simulator, features the latest in flight training technology, allowing pilot instructors to link their iPads to the simulator to control each training session.

British Airways’ head of flight technical and training, Captain David Thomas, said: “We’re proud to continue to provide our pilots with cutting-edge technology to train on.

“We have a long history of training our own pilots using flight simulators, which has seen huge technological advances over the decades.

“With additions like this new A320 simulator, we can continue to set the highest standards in flight safety and training that our customers expect from British Airways.”

The simulator will be used to train some of British Airways’ 3,600 pilots who fly any of the A320 family of aircraft – serving domestic and European destinations on the airline’s network. The investment in the new simulator reflects increased demand following the airline’s introduction of new A320s, A380s, 787s and 777-300s.

British Airways’ pilot numbers have also been increasing following the success of the airline’s pilot cadet scheme, now in its third year. The programme sees newly trained pilots start their British Airways flying career on its A320 fleet. The new A320 simulator is part of the company’s £5bn investment in new products and technology to provide the best possible flying experience for British Airways’ customers.

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British Airways penalized for long tarmac delays

The Transportation Department has assessed a fine of $225,000 on British Airways for allegedly violating the tarmac delay rule on two U.S.-London flights in November 2012. Half the amount is payable immediately, and half will be waived if the carrier refrains from similar violations for one year.

The first of the two incidents occurred during a winter storm that caused numerous delays and cancellations, and required BA’s Newark-London flight to get de-iced several times while waiting to take off. The flight eventually departed five hours and 34 minutes late. There were 187 passengers aboard. The DOT said BA failed to give passengers an opportunity to deplane after four hours.

The second incident concerned a mechanical delay on a Boston-London flight with 329 passengers. After pushing back, the aircraft returned to the terminal for a mechanical problem and sat at the gate for four hours with the door open before it was eventually canceled. 

The airline said it served food and beverages during the delay and provided meals and hotel accommodations after the flight was canceled, but the DOT said the airline failed to announce to passengers that they had the opportunity to deplane during the time the aircraft was parked with the door open.

According to the consent order issued by the DOT, BA expressed the view that penalties under the rule should be assessed per flight rather than per passenger, but it agreed to settle without conceding or waiving its legal position on that question.

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British Airways and Iberia celebrate expanded AA

British Airways and Iberia have hailed the joint venture with American Airlines now that it has been extended to include American’s merger partner US Airways.

Following the merger customers booking with BA and Iberia will now be able to choose from 70 direct flights a day between the UK and US and 16 flights a day between Spain and North America.

The venture includes all scheduled flights operated by Oneworld alliance members American US Airways, BA, Iberia and Finnair between North America and Europe.

The deal is a revenue sharing agreement under which member airlines have permission to co-ordinate schedules and pricing on Nor

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British Airways pilot killed in Essex aircraft crash

The man in charge of a light aircraft that crashed in Essex was an experienced British Airways pilot, it has emerged. Andrew Sully and 29-year-old Simon Chamberlain died in Saturday afternoon's crash near Chelmsford.

British Airways confirmed Mr Sully, from Writtle, near Chelmsford, was "a highly-respected and popular member" of its "pilot team". The YAK 52 plane they crashed in has been taken away for investigation. Mark Reynolds saw the accident and described how the cockpit had "bent underneath" the plane.

Mr Reynolds, a chef at a pub opposite the crash site, said he was standing outside on a break with a colleague when they saw the plane overhead. 

"While standing out the back of the building we saw a plane overhead doing what seemed to be, at first sight, aerobatics," he said.

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