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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New airline to land on water

A new airline is planning to land business travelers on water. Tailwind Air Service is launching this summer with weekday seaplane service between Manhattan's East River at 23rd Street, Boston Logan and Washington Dulles. Flights will depart Manhattan in the mornings and offer same-day returns from Boston and DC in the evenings.

The company says it is the only seaplane operator offering the routes. For now, though, the seaplanes will land at private airport terminals in Boston and D.C. But eventually, they will land in the downtown waterfronts in those two cities, the company said in a written statement.

Bloomberg points out that the airline is trying to grab some of the 3,000 business travelers who fly among those cities each day. Delta and US Airways have hourly nonstop flights from New York's LaGuardia airport to Boston and DC. Business travelers can also take Amtrak's Acela business class train from Manhattan to Washington Union Station and Boston.

Tailwind is partnering with Fly The Whale, a seaplane and private charter operator that has weekend shuttles to the Hamptons and Nantucket. The two companies will use each other's aircraft.

Tailwind says it will save passengers time because they will only have to arrive at 23rd Street and the private terminals at Logan and Dulles 20 minutes before take-off. Fares will range from $450 to $650 each way, but there will also be corporate and commuter discounts. And there will be free beer and wine. "Free booze isn't a problem," Melissa Tomkiel, who founded the company, told Bloomberg. "We've got that covered—we know exactly what these customers like."

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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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Meet the Gulfstream you can take nonstop from New York to Hong Kong

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. on Monday announced a new extended-range version of G650 model, one it says now represents the longest range of any business jet in the world.

With a range of up to 7,500 nautical miles — roughly 8,600 miles — the plane will open up new potential nonstop flights from cities as far apart as New York and Hong Kong.

The increased range beats by more than 500 nautical miles the range of the current G650, which entered service in 2012.

The G650ER has upgraded engines, but will share the same cabin, avionics and systems as the G650.

Savannah, Ga.-based Gulfstream said in a press release that the new version is undergoing Federal Aviation Administration certification and that current G650 owners and order-holders will be able to upgrade to the G650ER beginning in the first quarter of 2015 when it enters service.

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US Airways flight strikes bird shortly after takeoff, returns safely to New York City airport

A US Airways flight from New York City has struck a bird shortly after takeoff and returned to the airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration says Flight 2191 landed safely Friday night at LaGuardia Airport.

US Airways says the Airbus A319 had been headed for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport with 96 passengers and 5 crewmembers aboard. The airline says passengers were booked on other flights.

The FAA is investigating the bird strike, the second this week involving a LaGuardia flight. A United Airlines jet from Chicago struck a bird before landing safely at the airport Wednesday.

In March, a seagull put a hole in a JetBlue airliner's nose shortly after takeoff from Westchester County Airport, prompting an unscheduled landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

US Airways Group merged with American Airlines last year to form Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines Group Inc.

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Thomas Cook announces Manchester-US routes

Thomas Cook Airlines has announced new flights from Manchester to New York and Miami for the summer next year.

The airline will offer three flights a week from Manchester to New York JFK from May 2015, while the Miami service will run twice a week. Both routes will be used to promote city breaks, fly/cruises to the Caribbean as well as further connections into the USA. Holidays are included in the company’s new brochure, which also outlines its new premium service and an upgraded economy class on its aircraft.

The premium service allows the company’s long-haul passengers to reserve seats in advance; have priority check-in; wider seats with a 35-inch pitch and 19.7-inch width and allows bags up to 32kg. The new economy cabin has new wider seats; an improved touch-screen in-flight entertainment system; 23kg of luggage, meals and drinks.

“As well as bringing a new and alternative approach to travelling to New York – catering for both business and leisure travellers – our new cabin interiors, premium service and upgraded economy will change the way customers view Thomas Cook Airlines, as we look to provide a great quality product at a great price,” said Christoph Debus, CEO of Thomas Cook Airlines.

“More than a million people travel from the UK to Miami each year, currently served only by London airports.  With the launch of this exclusive route from Manchester, holidaymakers and cruise passengers looking for flights from the north of the UK will now have more options for travel.  Both routes will also allow significant onward travel across the USA – we’re bringing travel to the states closer to the rest of Britain,” he added.

Tickets for the new flights go on sale 7 May.

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Plane rolls off runway after emergency landing at New York airport

A Delta Air Lines Inc flight made an emergency landing at a New York airport on Wednesday after a cockpit indicator signaled a hydraulic system problem, and the aircraft later rolled into a grassy area, an airline official said.

Flight 886, which was carrying 118 passengers and five crew from an Atlanta airport to New York's LaGuardia Airport, was diverted to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) because it has longer runways, Delta spokeswoman Leslie Scott said.

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Delta-Virgin takes up battle for New York-London fliers

Delta Air Lines has been making inroads in the dogfight over the lucrative market for business travel between New York and London, but the newly merged American Airlines Group is fighting back.

Delta is hoping to attract customers through its new partnership with Virgin Atlantic, known for its high-tech and non-traditional approach to flying, and its own boosted profile in New York, where it expanded flights and renovated terminals.

Now under new management, American is trying to bounce back from years of under-investment and market share losses, drawing from its recent merger with U.S. Airways.

The New York-London route is popular with Wall Street executives who are willing to pay for the priciest seats and who often travel at the last minute. Eager for their business, airlines are using their best planes on the route and investing in upgrades such as satellite WiFi and seats that turn into flat beds.

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100% female Brussels Airlines crew flies to New York on International Women’s Day

At the occasion of International Women’s Day (8 March), Brussels Airlines flight SN501 to New York will be entirely composed of female crew members. The initiative was launched by the female Brussels Airlines pilots and flight attendants who have been playing an important at the airline role since many years.

More than a hundred years after Helène Dutrieu was the first Belgian woman and one of the first female pilots in the world to obtain het pilot’s license,

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Etihad Airways Starts Double-Daily New York Flights

Etihad Airways has launched a second daily service onto its Abu Dhabi-New York JFK route.

The Gulf carrier is initially operating the extra flights with two three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, leased from its strategic partner Jet Airways. From May 1, Jet Airways will take over the additional service.

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