Etihad alliance stands to benefit from ban on Emirates flying Milan-New York

A potential ban stopping Emirates Airline flying between Milan and New York opens up a lucrative gap for Etihad’s new equity alliance partner Alitalia to fill with the launch of more long-haul flights to the US, analysts said.

Emirates awaits a final judgement on the operation of its Milan-JFK route before the end of this year, after the Rome-based Lazio Regional Administration Court moved to block the route in April.

The route is an example of usage of the “fifth freedom”, which dates back to the 1940s “Freedoms of the Air” agreed by the industry in Chicago. The fifth freedom is the ability for a carrier to fly between two foreign countries on a flight originating or ending in one’s own country.

Currently Emirates operates about 15 of these routes, mainly in Australia and Asia.

However, the flights are also subject to the agreement of the local authorities — in the case of the Milan-JFK route, both Italy and the US would need to approve it.

The court in Lazio ruled that a non-EU carrier cannot operate to a third destination from Milan — especially if the airline does not originate from the point of departure or the point of destination.

The Milan-New York route is important for both business and economy travellers. Around 70,000 passengers have booked to travel on this route between April and August, according to Emirates.

The carrier had identified it as a potentially lucrative route as many passengers are connecting via another European destination and Emirates is also able to offer the only true first class cabin.

However, analysts expect that Etihad could leverage this opportunity if Emirates can no longer operate the route thanks to the Abu Dhabi carrier’s €560 million (Dh2.75 billion) investment in debt-laden Alitalia this month.

“I think it would be naive to believe that Etihad wasn’t going to try and synchronise feeding traffic to the Milan hub,” said Peter Morris, the chief economist at Ascend Flightglobal Consultancy, an aviation firm.

“Various innovative operating or franchise arrangements on long haul might be developed between the two airlines to fulfil the important EU-US Open Skies regulatory criteria,” Mr Morris added.

Will Horton, a senior analyst at Sydney-based Centre for Aviation (Capa) said: “Etihad via its [49 per cent] Alitalia stake could potentially benefit.

“But the market Emirates is targeting is more Milan-New York local and not originating from the UAE.”

Etihad’s investment in the Italian carrier included a three-year plan to turn Alitalia’s operations around to focus on long-haul flights. Ten long-haul routes will be introduced as part of the Italian carrier’s five-year plan, which will seek to develop Rome’s Fiumicino Airport as an intercontinental hub, while Milan’s Malpensa Airport will get more long-haul flights.

But Mr Morris warned of potential hurdles that could face carriers flying to the US, referring to the case of Norwegian Airlines, which faced a ban flying to the US after operating on a licence from Ireland.

“It is notable that Norwegian [Airlines], seeking a flexible type of arrangement for Ireland based operations, have so far ended up frustrated by a law change by the House of Representatives, under pressure from US airline interests,” said Mr Morris.

The US airline industry is facing tough competition from foreign carriers including from Europe and the Middle East.

Any flights operated out of Italy including to the US via Etihad’s equity alliance with Alitalia would not be classified as fifth freedom routes. Currently, Etihad operates only a small number of such routes, including flights from Singapore to Brisbane and Beijing to Nagoya.

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Nicer pillows, blankets on tap for JetBlue's Mint customers

JetBlue and London Luxury LLC are working to make transatlantic flights even more luxurious.

Westchester-based London Luxury, a provider of home goods, will now supply the New York City-based air career with premium pillows and blankets for JetBlue’s Mint offering.

Mint features lie-flat beds and semi-private seats with doors. Mint pillows and blankets are initially available on domestic transatlantic flights between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles.

Though the companies are calling it a “strategic partnership,” it is more of an extension of their collaboration. London Luxury has actually already been providing items for Mint like the bedding, and the pillows and blankets to JetBlue’s Core customers, the companies said.

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New nonstop flight from China lands at JFK

When China Southern Airlines' first non-stop flight from Guangzhou arrives at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday morning it will bring the airlines top executives and some 300 tourists to the Big Apple—as well as the promise of tens of thousands more visitors throughout the year.

The largest carrier in Asia is commencing service here from Guangzhou, one of the largest cities in China, at a time when the city and state is gearing up to capture a greater share of the booming Chinese tourism market. The Chinese are already the fastest growing overseas segment in the city, jumping 19% in the past year alone. Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently launched an 'I Love NY' advertising campaign in China to attract both business and leisure travelers.

"Now our fourth largest overseas market, China remains a tremendously important source of travel for New York City's five boroughs," said Fred Dixon, chief executive of NYC & Company, in a statement.

The inaugural flight from Guangzhou is expected to arrive at 6:15 a.m. The airline, which already offers non-stop service to Los Angeles, will begin here by offering four flights a week. The implications are enormous, say industry experts.

"If China Southern increases to daily service it could bring as much as 160,000 passengers to New York annually," said airline consultant Craig Jenks, adding "it's certain that this flight will stimulate substantial incremental tourism."

Previously, travelers could only fly between Guangzhou and New York on other Chinese carriers, with a stopover in another city, adding on average three hours to an already long flight, Mr. Jenks said. There is no U.S. carrier that flies to Guangzhou, so the new service essentially opens up a new market to New York.

In July, Mr. Cuomo announced a series of marketing initiatives aimed at the Chinese market, including "Becoming China Ready" workshops upstate to help tourism regions promote their attractions. The majority of Chinese visitors to New York stay here from seven to 13 nights, according to the governor's office.

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JFK Airport flies high in New York-area survey

New York-area travelers like John F. Kennedy Airport the most and LaGuardia the least, according to a survey by airport advocates. Of the 457 metropolitan travelers surveyed, 42% named JFK as their favorite, 35% Newark and 20% LaGuardia, according to the Global Gateway Alliance, a business group that advocates for airport improvements.

But when asked how airports affected their impressions of the region, 38% reported that they had bad impressions, 37% said airports didn't matter and 25% had a good impression, according to the survey. Opinions can be fickle. The top five airports leaving a good impression were JFK, Newark, Orlando, Atlanta and Denver, according to the survey. But there was some overlap with the worst five: LaGuardia, JFK , Newark, Chicago's O'Hare and Atlanta.

Among the complaints about New York airports, 18% cited security and customs, 15% the lack of Wi-Fi and 12% the poor on-time performance, according to the survey. For improvements, 43% would like free Wi-Fi at the airports and 27% would like better ground-transportation links.

"At a time when the nation is reevaluating its infrastructure, we too must take a long hard look at our airports and take the necessary steps to transform them from 'third world' to first class," said Joseph Sitt, the group's founder and chairman.

The survey came after Vice President Joe Biden compared LaGuardia to a third-world country.

"If I blindfolded someone and took them at 2 in the morning into the airport in Hong Kong and said 'where do you think you are,' they'd say, 'this must be America, it's a modern airport,'" Biden said during a speech in Philadelphia. "But if I blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia Airport in New York, you must think, 'I must be in some third-world country.' I'm not joking."

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in January an ambitious $3.6 billion construction project that envisions an entirely new central terminal at LaGuardia, with vast open spaces, restaurants, shopping plazas, new parking garages, free Wi-Fi and other amenities now common in other airports. Cuomo also wants to develop a plan to upgrade cargo operations at JFK.

"LaGuardia airport is ranked as the worst airport in America believe it or not," Cuomo said in his state of the state speech. "That is a disgrace my friends and it is unacceptable and it is going to change. We need to modernize JFK and LaGuardia."

The Global Gateway survey of 457 people in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania conducted by SurveyMonkey from April 9 to May 13.

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JFK Airport has cellphone parking lot

John F. Kennedy Airport has a designated cellphone parking lot. It's designed to keep motorists off the shoulders of airport roadways as they wait to pick up passengers.

The Wall Street Journal (http://on.wsj.com/1vs5Da1 ) reports that the free cellphone lot has 375 spaces and is close to the terminals. But it is rarely full because it isn't well advertised.

The lot was created in 2007 by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Police say they encourage drivers to use the lot whenever they find them illegally idling along the roadways where they wait for passengers to call and say they're ready to be picked up.

LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airports are among a handful of airports around the country that don't have cellphone lots.

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United Airlines flight temporarily grounded at JFK Airport by bomb threat made on Twitter

A Tweet that referenced a bomb threat on a United Airlines flight from New York to Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C., led a flight to be grounded, evacuated and searched at JFK on Wednesday night. No bomb was found.

Passengers were evacuated from a United Airlines flight prior to its scheduled takeoff from JFK Airport on Wednesday night after a company official spotted a bomb threat on Twitter, sources said.

United Airline’s corporate security saw the tweet, which was posted at 7:05 p.m. and read: “There is a bomb on a United Airlines flight from JFK to Dulles,” according to the Port Authority Police Department.

A 7:40 p.m. flight from JFK to Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C., had already boarded at Terminal 7 but had not left the gate area when the tweet was spotted. Authorities evacuated all 49 passengers from the plane and the FBI began sweeping it for explosives, sources said.

No explosives were found. The plane took off about two hours late, officials said.

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JetBlue to start Airbus A321 “Mint” service from New York (JFK) to San Francisco on October 26

JetBlue Airways (New York-JFK) will launch nonstop two-class Airbus A321 “Mint” service between the New York (JFK) hub and San Francisco on October 26 according to Airline Route.

According to the airline, “Mint will offer an unparalleled in-flight experience: the longest lie-flat beds in domestic business class (a) and four private suites among the 16 Mint seats. 

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Korean Air makes major A380 play in USA

Korean Air is adding a second A380 flight from JFK in May, making it the only airline serving both coasts with double daily A380 flights to Asia.

Korean Air currently offers double daily A380 flights from Los Angeles and daily A380 flights from New York.

The airline also flies out of ten other US cities.

“We have the most competitive service for the US business traveller to south-east Asia and Korea,” said John Jackson, Korean Air’s vice president of sales and

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