http://www.arabnews.com/
Plane crash aftermath: Egypt Air banned from flying into Russia MOSCOW: Russian aviation authorities have banned Egypt Air from flying into the country, officials said Friday, with Russian flights between the two countries already suspended following the passenger jet crash in Sinai. Moscow‘s Domodedovo airport authorities told AFP that they had received a telegram from the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) banning Egypt Air‘s flights to Russian territory from November 14. Russian aviation agency Rosaviatsia declined to comment, but Russia's ambassador to Cairo, Sergei Kirpichenko, told a local television channel there that cancellations of EgyptAir flights to Russia were "temporary security measures". He did not elaborate. Egypt‘s aviation minister said in a statement that Cairo had ―not been officially informed about the cancelation of Egypt Air flights from Saturday to Moscow.‖ ―High-level contacts are underway to clarify the situation,― Minister Hossam Kamal said. The announcement comes a week after Moscow halted Russian flights to and from Egypt as fears mounted that the Airbus jet crash in the Sinai peninsula could have been caused by a bomb. The plane, flown by Russian firm Kogalymavia, came down shortly after take off from resort Sharm el-Sheikh on October 31, killing all 224 people on board in Russia‘s worst air disaster. The Egyptian-led probe into the disaster is still ongoing, but the UK and US have said a bomb could have downed the plane after an Daesh-linked group claimed to have attacked the jet. Russia says its flights are halted until adequate safety measures have been put in place at Egyptian airports and has been flying out thousands of holidaymakers stranded in the country, though without any check-in luggage. A senior Kremlin official has said the flight ban to Egypt could last for months and Russia‘s flagship carrier Aeroflot said it was not scheduling any flights to Egypt before March 27, 2016.
http://www.travelmarketreport.com/
Lufthansa Strike Update
The strike by the UFO is now the longest strike in the history of Lufthansa. Now in its seventh day, the work stoppage has caused almost 4,000 flights to be cancelled, leaving close to half a million passengers looking for alternatives. While the week-long strike will come to an end today with a demonstration at Frankfurt Airport, the UFO plans to present a new settlement to Lufthansa toiday.The union also said that it will continue to consider walkouts until the airline agrees to a fair deal.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/ Russia bans EgyptAir flights from Nov 14 – officials Russia has banned incoming flights by Egypt's state-owned airline, a senior Russian diplomat and an official of Moscow's Domodedovo airport said on Friday, two weeks after a Russian jet crash in Sinai that Islamist militants claimed to have caused. MOSCOW: Russia has banned incoming flights by Egypt's stateowned airline, a senior Russian diplomat and an official of Moscow's Domodedovo airport said on Friday, two weeks after a Russian jet crash in Sinai that Islamist militants claimed to have caused. The aviation agency Rosaviatsia declined to comment when contacted by Reuters and Egypt's civil aviation minister Hossam Kamal said Russian authorities had not officially informed Cairo of the decision. Russia's ambassador to Cairo, Sergei Kirpichenko, told a local television channel there that cancellations of EgyptAir flights to Russia were "temporary security measures". He did not elaborate. The airport official, who requested anonymity, said the ban on EgyptAir flights would take effect on Saturday. The move comes a week after Russia suspended passenger flights to Egypt in the wake of the Sinai crash, for which a group affiliated with Islamic State has claimed responsibility. The Metrojet Airbus A321 was bringing holidaymakers home from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in what the militants described as revenge for Russian air strikes in Syria that began in late September. The United States and Britain have said it appeared that a bomb brought the airliner down. While no official investigation has confirmed the militants' claim of responsibility, several countries have cancelled flights to Sharm elSheikh and announced new precautions. (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Additional reporting by Michael Georgy in Cairo; Writing by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/
) 1) United Airlines is having yet another problem with the federal government This week, the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against United Airlines in an attempt to stop a deal that would allow the carrier to increase its presence at Newark Liberty International Airport. Newark Liberty, along with LaGuardia and JFK International, form the trio of major airports in the New York/New Jersey area. This is United‘s second run-in with the federal government in recent months, after former CEO Jeff Smisek resigned in September as a result of a federal corruption investigation. According to the DOJ, United‘s deal to acquire 24 sets of take off and landing rights called ―slots‖ from Delta Air Lines is a violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. ―We filed this lawsuit because we determined that allowing United to acquire even more slots at Newark would fortify United‘s monopoly position and weaken the ability of other airlines to compete,‖ assistant attorney general Bill Baer said on a conference call on Tuesday. ―This lawsuit is necessary to protect [Newark Airport‘s 35 million annual passengers] from higher fares and fewer choices.‖ United denied the government‘s allegations that its increased presence in Newark is anti-competitive.
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/
) 2) ―With three major airports, the New York/Newark area is the most competitive air transportation market in the country,‖ United Airlines said in an emailed statement. ―We firmly believe this transaction benefits our customers and the region by enabling us to enhance service at our Newark hub and manage congestion at the airport.‖ United Airlines is, by far, Newark airport‘s biggest customer. In total, the Federal Aviation Administration has granted the facility 1,233 slots, of which 902 belong to United Airlines. That equates to control of 73% of the take-off and landing slots into and out of Newark. With the addition of Delta‘s 24 slots, United‘s share goes up to 75%. United‘s ―fortress hub‖ in Newark )EWR, in airport code) isn‘t entirely uncommon in the airline industry. Delta has one in Atlanta. American has two in Dallas/Fort Worth International and Charlotte Douglas International, where it accounts for 93% of all traffic; But what differentiates Newark is that the airport is ―slot limited‖ by the FAA due to heavy congestion. This means that there are severe barriers for any new or current competitors, if they want to increase their presence at EWR. ―A slot is a scarce resource: an airline cannot fly to or from Newark without them, but they are limited in number,‖ Baer said. ―Airlines seeking to initiate or expand service at Newark face significant challenges obtaining slots in order to support new service.‖‗ In addition to the limited slots, two converging factors have created great demand for flights out of the airport. ―Not only does Newark Liberty offer great proximity to Manhattan, it also serves as the main airport for travellers out of Northern and Central New Jersey,‖ Airways News senior business analyst Vinay Bhaskara said.
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/
) 3) However, even hallmarks of a monopoly, such as overwhelming market share by a single entity and high barriers to entry for competitors, United‘s business in Newark isn‘t necessarily anti-competitive. According to Bhaskara, it all depends on perspective. The likelihood of United‘s Newark Liberty operation being found to be a monopoly changes based on whether Newark is considered a destination in and of itself; or as part of the greater New York market. If EWR is treated as a separate market, then United‘s 73-75% slot share is overwhelming. However, if Newark is considered to be part of a larger market, including JFK and LaGuardia, then United‘s share is down to only 20%. This is because United operates only a limited amount of flights from LaGuardia and completely abandoned its JFK operation earlier this year. The DOJ has also accused United of artificially deflating supply to drive up prices. ―United is also sitting on many of its slots — deliberately limiting its Newark service,‖ Baer said. ‖ Over the course of a year, it operates only 386 daily round trip flights at Newark when its slots would allow it to operate 451.‖ In response to that accusation, United issued the following statement: ―United, like all airlines, varies flight schedules seasonally and by day of week to match changes in passenger demand. Our use of Newark Airport slots complies fully with FAA rules and enables us to offer the frequent flights and destinations travellers want while minimising airport congestion, especially on bad-weather days.‖ Delta has also been named as a defendant in the DOJ‘s suit. In addition to leasing its Newark slots to United, Delta has leased United‘s abandoned JFK routes. However, Delta insisted that the two transactions are not connected. ―Delta‘s agreement to lease slots at Newark to United, the focus of the Department of Justice lawsuit announced [earlier this week], is an independent transaction and does not affect Delta‘s separate agreement to lease slots from United at New York-JFK,‖ the airline said in a statements. ― ―Delta began flights with those slots on Nov. 1 and continues to operate that expanded JFK service.‖ The DOJ filed the lawsuit this week in the U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey.
ادارة العالقات العامة -الشركة القابضة لمصر للطيران