Newsletter - August 2010

Gibraltar (GIB)

The Gibraltar Airport timetable for September 2010 is set out below -

Monarch

(a) Operates from 24 September

(b) Operates from 12 September

Monarch Airlines (ZB) has announced that it will increase its Manchester (MAN) flights to four weekly with effect from 12 September 2010. The additional flight will operate every Sunday until 31 October. In addition, the airline is also adding an extra flight to Luton (LTN) which will operate each Friday from 24 September to 29 October.

Málaga (AGP)

Ryanair (FR) has announced that it will suspend its six weekly flights to Bournemouth for the winter. Flights will not operate between 01 November and 31 January 2011.

Sevilla (SVQ)
Ryanair (FR) will launch two weekly flights to Palermo (PMO) from 03 November.

Ándalus Líneas Aéreas

According to reports, the airline’s single remaining aircraft appears grounded at Málaga Airport. Although the carrier’s website remains online, all attempts to book tickets are met with an error message which states ‘your request can not be processed at this time. Please try after some minutes.’

Farnborough Air Show 2010

In contrast to previous years dominated by the defence industry, the 2010 Farnborough Air Show provided a number of headlines of interest to the airline passenger. The biennial trade show, this year held between 19 and 25 July in Farnborough, Hants. showcased displays of significant new aircraft types as a backdrop to some equally significant orders by airlines and leasing companies.

On its first international outing, Boeing briefly displayed one of the prototypes of its new 787 ‘Dreamliner’ model. Designed for long haul routes, the mid size, twin-engined aircraft is the first commercial airliner to be largely constructed from composite materials. Seating between 210 and 330 passengers, the aircraft will enter service with Japan’s All Nippon Airlines in 2011. The first European operator will be Thomson Airways, to be followed by Polish airline LOT.

In a major order for Brazilian manufacturer Embraer, UK airline FlyBe announced the purchase of up to 140 EMB175 regional jets. Seating 88 passengers in a single class layout, the aircraft which will start appearing in 2011 are should appear on the airline’s services to Málaga from both Southampton and Exeter.

Another airline with a substantial operation in Málaga, Norwegian Air Shuttle, continued its plan to modernize its fleet of Boeing 737 by ordering another 15 of the manufacturer’s series 800 aircraft. The 189 seat aircraft will be used on the carrier’s expanding network which stretches as far as Dubai.

This year’s Farnborough was judged to be a great success with over 1,400 exhibitors and more than 120,000 visitors over the five trade days. The next show will be held just prior to the opening of the London Olympics – from 09 to 15 July 2012.

Granada-Jaén - summer 2010
Following on from last month’s review of services from Jerez de la Frontera, I have been asked to compile a summary of daily departures from Granada-Jaén (GRX) for summer 2010. This should be of use in comparing possible connections using other local airports.
Information is based upon the week of 09 August 2010.

Travelling To The USA Without A Visa - New Charges

From 01 January 2009 the US government introduced a new system for citizens of countries covered by the visa waiver scheme (including the UK and Spain). Travellers from these countries would have to apply for advance authorization before departure. The Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) must be completed at least 72 hours before travel and lasts for two years (or until passport expiration if sooner).

Until now, application via the US government website HTTPS://esta.cbp.dhs.gov has been free of charge however from 08 September 2010 a fee of $14 (approx. £9) will be levied for each application.

And Finally...
By now, most of my travelling readers will be familiar with the story of flight attendant Steve Slater. This JetBlue employee, based in New York was allegedly hit on the head by luggage falling from an overhead bin opened by a passenger while the aircraft was still taxying to the gate. After an altercation with the passenger Steve had had enough and engaged the aircraft’s emergency slide by which means he decided to resign from the company.
 
With the help of the internet, Steve has now found a huge fan base and an online campaign to have charges against him dropped is attracting hundreds of thousands of supporters. His fans on Facebook and Twitter have given Steve the status of a modern hero for refusing to take abuse from airline passengers. He still faces charges of criminal mischief and reckless endangerment of an aircraft.