Malev orders Sukhoi Superjets

Assuming that Malev showed interest in Sukhoi’s Superjet 100 because of being under pressure from Aeroflot, what about the Spanish airline Gadair which signed a letter of intent for two firm orders and two options and potentially worth around $60 million?
Please check http://www.ainonline.com/news/single-news-page/article/avialeasing-firms-order-for-24-superjets/

Additionally, Alenia Aeronautica’s website (http://bit.ly/FqkpP) states that the Italian-Russian joint venture is in charge of aircraft customization delivery, marketing in the western countries, and worldwide technical support.

Are we still saying that the Superjet 100 will be flying the skies of Eastern Europe mostly?

Date: 26 June 2009 commenting on http://www.bnet.com/

Kevin Costner is doing Turkish Airlines ads

Is this a travel industry blog or a backstage gossip?
Kevin Costner is a star whether appearing in a movie or a commercial. Participating in a successful advertisement like that does not mean that the professional career of Costner is going down. Kudos for Turkish Airlines for a choice well made and a job well done!

Turkish Airlines is achieving a good performance during the first five months of 2009. I checked their monthly traffic data. The figures reflect a positive growth. Is it a coincidence that the Costner commercial is about 4 months old?

Date: 26 June 2009 commenting on http://travelinglight.professionaltravelguide.com/

Rescuing Air India from crisis requires hard decisions and political support

Writing the above article requires a great deal of boldness. Criticizing Indian affairs by an Indian citizen simply implies credibility.

The shocking facts revealed throughout the article are quite resembling the situation of Aeroflot. Its board of directors said last week (viz. the tweet of Airlinologist on 21 JUN) that the airline is 30% overstaffed which is the result of reasons similar to those which made Air India 50% overstaffed.

It is so sad to see the maharaja airlines falling like that due to the effect of corruption-infested India. Away from the sadness-triggering memories, let us face it. Government-supported airline is not the fashion any more. Comparing the ailing Air India with the privately-owned Kingfisher Airlines would clearly reveal some reasons of both failure of the former and success of the latter.

There is one more comment regarding the statement about the communist countries. It is true that that North Korea and Mongolia are still under communism. However, the situation is different for both China and Russia. China is somehow adopting a communist system under a capitalist flag. On the other hand, Russian Federation has been rigorously moving to the market economy since the collapse of the Soviet Union early 1990s.

Published at: http://www.bangaloreaviation.com/

You cannot delegate entrepreneurship - if you are going to make mistakes make them yourself. – Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou is definitely a successful entrepreneur.
His statement (once you’ve proven the business model leave it alone and get a manager in, and hire a proven manger) is somehow in contradiction with what was published by Forbes.com on 06 April 2009 under (EasyJet Shakes Up Boardroom). http://tinyurl.com/cyqnbx

The article is talking about the pressure of Sir Haji-Ioannou to change the board of directors. So, either he did NOT hire proven managers or he did NOT leave it alone.

That situation drove me, (Airlinologist), to tweet the following on 08 April: How can I find Stelios Haji-loannou to tell him about the best one to run EasyJet?

My comment does not change the fact that the article is a source of motivation for many people.

Date: 24 June 2009 commenting on http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/

Social media at Paris Air Show by the numbers

This is another proof of the increasing role of social media in the business world. A sophisticated sphere like aviation to be well represented/ reported through a concise message of 140 characters only. What an eloquent contrast!
Despite the relatively high level of Twitter coverage, some big names like Boeing and Airbus are still shying away from using the social media channel.

Published at: http://ludozone.net/

Losing the backlog?

Their statements are inversely pari passu with the current economic condition. The statements are meant just to serve public relations only. Seemingly, the crash of AF447 earlier this month forced Airbus’s CEO to adopt a bold stance toward mass media.

Date: 23 June 2009 commenting on http://www.fleetbuzzeditorial.com/

South Korea offers to pay tourists who contract swine flu

This is a revolutionary idea in promoting the tourism industry.
Of course, tourists will not go to South Korea to make 3,000 US$. However, the message is clearly saying that the Korean authorities are serious about keeping the country clean form the virus, and that they will not forget their responsibility toward any tourist who might catch the virus in their country.
Finally, if someone is fated to catch the virus, it is better to catch it in South Korea. At least, virus with money is definitely better than virus without money!

Date: 13 June 2009 commenting on http://travelinglight.professionaltravelguide.com/

United removes website hold feature

This is somehow strange to be decided by an airline company to show its customer-friendliness. Instead of exerting some more efforts to keep their existing customers, they are doing something which might push the customers away.

Both canceling the non-ticketed booking within 24 hours, and canceling the ticketed booking within 24 hours without penalty have the SAME effect on the seat inventory but the former option is definitely more customer-friendly.

The feature of auto-cancellation due to expired time-limit has been there since almost the dawn of the automated reservation systems. That feature could be simply used without dissatisfying the customers and without negatively affecting the seat inventory of United Airlines.

Published at: http://www.bnet.com/

The £300m flying palace

This is really a flying beauty.
It is the taste of luxury at its best.
I am wondering whether this aircraft uses regular fuel or champagne.

Published at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Kazan: A taste of Tatarstan

Quite interesting article about Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation.
For traveling to Kazan, Kaliningrad might not be the best gateway as Lufthansa operates four flights weekly from Frankfurt with one stop en route in Samara.

Date: 06 June 2009 commenting on http://www.dailymail.co.uk/