Aviation

*LATAM, Lufthansa latest carriers to pull out of Caracas By our correspondent in Dublin LATAM Airline Group  and Lufthansa have become the latest carriers to scrap flights to Venezuela amid the continued challnges of repatriating revenues earned in the country. LATAM Airlines Brazil affiliate has withdrawn flights between Caracas and Sao Paulo and at the end of July, LATAM will pull service between Lima and Caraca and service on its Santiago-Guayaquil-Caracas route. The airline cites…

Poor service delivery despite huge taxes accruing from levies may have forced the Federal Government to privatise four of the big airports in Nigeria. Experts have, however, warned of pitfalls if the process is not well managed, writes WOLE SHADARE   The plot The disclosure by the Federal Government to privatise some of the country’s aerodromes could have been helped by its disappointment over growing concern of the state of Nigerian airports and the need…

To optimize their joint network between the United States and the United Kingdom, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic announced changes to their respective summer 2017 schedules.   The move reflects the strong partnership between the two airlines, which is focused on offering customers more travel choices and flexibility. The joint venture partnership between Delta and Virgin Atlantic continues to grow, allowing both airlines’ customers to benefit from a high-quality and complementary travel experience with…

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced global passenger traffic data for April showing that demand (measured in total revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose by 4.6 per cent–the slowest pace since January 2015. April capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by 4.9 per cent, and load factor slipped 0.3 percentage points to 79.1 per cent. For African airlines, traffic climbed 9.9 per cent in April. Capacity rose 11.1 per cent, with the…

The withdrawal of categories of fares was what triggered what people referred to as increase in airfares, international airlines operating to Nigeria have said. The carriers’ top officials, who spoke to woleshadare.net but craved anonymity, however, stated that the fluctuating naira exchange rate against the dollars made them to restrict fares to just one category, just as they refuted insinuations that the firms increased airfares. They noted that only a clear policy on foreign exchange would…

* Trapped funds: BA – $100m, Iberia – $5m, Air France/KLM – $150m United States-based airline, Delta, and British mega carrrier, British Airways (BA), are poised to reap from the sudden withdrawal of United Airline’s service from the lucrative US-Nigerian route. This is coming at a time some of the carriers have given a breakdown of their funds trapped in the country. The total of BA’s trapped funds is $100 million as at March 2016,…

British Airways has refuted media report that it plans to stop operations to Nigeria over its $100m trapped in the country. It stated that publication in the media (not woleshadare.net) that the carrier had concluded plans to exit the country was untrue, stressing that it never issued any statement to the media indicating such. The airline in a statement yesterday it has a long history in Nigeria, having begun operations in the country 80 years…

  *Four passengers test positive for narcotic ingestion An Emirates flight EK 262 from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Dubai, United Arab Emirates made an emergency landing today in Lagos due to the deteriorating health condition of a suspected cocaine trafficker. Screening by anti-narcotic officials found four passengers positive for drug ingestion who are currently under interrogation. One of the suspects in critical health condition was immediately hospitalised as doctors battle to save his life. Chairman/Chief…