Prince William gets his wings.

Flying Officer William Wales, better known to many as Prince William, joined 24 other graduates from the RAF’s Central Flying School to receive their flying wings from The Prince of Wales on Friday 11 April 2008.

The graduation ceremony took place at the school, located at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire and marks the completion of the four month pilot training course on both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft that Prince William began in January 2008.

Wing Commander John Cunningham the Chief Flying Instructor at RAF Linton On Ouse, where Prince William spent five weeks training on the Tucano T1 plane, took Flying Officer Wales on his final handling test:

“He was surprisingly good,” he said. “It’s a credit to William that he worked very hard, he worked every hour he had spare and also mixed in with the boys well and took part in sports with them too.

“There’s naturalness to his piloting skill. For someone in five weeks to show that kind of skill really shows that he’s a natural.”

Prince Charles, accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, presented the RAF Pilots Wings to the graduates in his capacity as Air Chief Marshal and he also awarded trophies to graduates who have excelled in various aspects of the flying course.

RAF’s Tucano the trainer in witch William got his training, photo zap16.com

Afterwards they met flying instructors, the graduates and their families and viewed a display of various aircraft, including the Chipmunk T10 trainer plane in which Charles himself learned to fly almost 40 years ago.

Flying Officer HRH William Wales was fast-tracked through the RAF’s six month pilot training course in just four months. He graduated from Sandhurst Military Academy in December 2006 and has maintained his Army commission with the Household Cavalry.

He also plans to serve in the Royal Navy for a short period which, along with his RAF commission, will give him the Services’ full house that is traditionally expected of a British monarch.

Prince William flew his first solo flight with the RAF in a Grob Tutor training aircraft just nine days after beginning his training. He then trained on the faster Tucano T1 plane at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire and his final placement was at RAF Shawbury, Shropshire, where he learnt to fly the Squirrel helicopter.

Wing Commander Cunningham, who was at today’s graduation ceremony and had helped develop the Prince’s course and supervised his training, added:

“William had a go at everything the other guys normally do. He did formation runs, night flying, low level, target runs, tail chasing and he led formations as well as being a wing man. And he performed all these to a high standard.

“I flew him at the end of the course and it was a pleasure for me to fly with someone with such natural skill.”

Source: RAF news

Bangkok Airways expands its ATR fleet with two more ATR 72-500s

ATR announced today the signature of a contract for the purchase of two ATR 72-500s that will be operated by Thailand’s Bangkok Airways. The deal is valued at US $ 37 million and has been inked with Irish-based leasing company AIR Ltd (Aircraft International Renting), a subsidiary of TAT Group, which will lease the aircraft to the airline. With these two aircraft, Bangkok Airways will bring its ATR 72-500 fleet up to 10 aircraft. Deliveries of these two additional aircraft are scheduled for late 2008 and 2009.

The aircraft will be configured with 70 seats and will be used to increase the total capacity of the ATR fleet of the airline and thus face its increasing flight demand in Thailand and the surrounding region.

Bangkok Airways, which is celebrating this year its 40th anniversary, started operating ATR aircraft in 1994 and ordered their first ‘-500 series’ ATRs in 2000 and 2002. With the two aircraft announced today, Bangkok Airways will become one of the largest ATR operators in South East Asia.

Source: ATR

Berlusconi Coins "Love Italy, Fly Alitalia" Slogan

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's next prime minister and billionaire businessman, on Wednesday told Italians he flew near-bankrupt national carrier Alitalia despite owning several private jets.

"This morning I coined a new slogan, and now I'll let you in on it: 'I love Italy, I fly Alitalia,'" the prime minister-elect told a news conference.

Berlusconi made Alitalia a key part of his election campaign, attacking its planned takeover by Air France-KLM as a "colonization" attempt and stressing the need to keep the ailing carrier in Italian hands.

But he has so far failed to convince political rivals that his comments on Alitalia, which have ranged from talk of a rival Italian bid to his sons chipping in to buy the carrier, were anything more than pre-election rhetoric.

Italian newspaper La Stampa last week interviewed the media tycoon on one of his private jets, describing it as fitted out with 48 business seats with Playstation screens.

(Reuters)

Philippine Air To Create Budget Domestic Carrier

Philippine Airlines, one of Asia's oldest carriers, will create a new budget airline, mainly to fly tourists to the smaller islands on the archipelago, officials said on Tuesday.

Philippine Airlines hopes to tap into rising tourism in the region, which should help offset record high fuel prices and concerns over growth in the sector following the collapse of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines.

PAL Express, a subsidiary of PAL Holdings, which is owned by one of the country's richest men, Lucio Tan, will launch on May 5 with flights between Manila and Caticlan, the nearest airport to island resort Boracay, with later plans to expand to Cebu, in the central Philippines, the officials said.

The new airline will acquire nine turbo-prop aircraft -- three Bombardier Q300s and six Q400s -- within a year at a cost of USD$150 million, Philippine Airlines president Jaime Bautista told reporters.

The airline plans to borrow up to USD$100 million from local lenders to fund the purchases, he added.

The Philippines' flagship carrier currently focuses on international routes and larger domestic destinations served by jet aircraft.

But many of the Philippines' top tourist destinations, including Boracay and the deserted tropical coves of northern Palawan are serviced by smaller airports accessible only by turbo-prop aircraft.

Last year was a record for Philippine tourism with over 3 million arrivals and the outlook is bright as increasingly wealthy tourists from nearby China seek warmer climes.

Bautista said the new airline would carry about one million passengers per year when it was fully operational.

"At full operation, we project that profits will increase to around 300 million pesos while revenues should be about one billion pesos," he said.

(Reuters)

Berlusconi Vows To Do All To Keep Alitalia Flying

Silvio Berlusconi, who swept to power in Italy's election, vowed to do everything possible to keep Alitalia in the air and said "tens" of business owners were ready to invest in the struggling airline.

Berlusconi said the airline's survival would be one of the first "emergencies" he would tackle after taking office.

He told local television he had held a meeting about Alitalia on Monday evening as polling results showed he had won a clear majority in both houses of parliament.

"Everything that is necessary to keep the flag carrier working... to support tourism and the economy will be done," he was earlier quoted by the Ansa news agency as telling a radio station.

Alitalia's future looks uncertain after his victory because Berlusconi has opposed Air France-KLM's plans to take over the airline in a deal supported by the outgoing government.

Air France-KLM's deal to buy Alitalia was scuppered by union opposition, though unions and the outgoing government say its decision to back out is not final.

During his election campaign, Berlusconi said he favored an Italian buyer and often spoke of the interest in the business community to help save the airline.

But time is not on his side.

Alitalia is running out of money and Italy's aviation authority has warned it will be forced to suspend the airline's license if the airline cannot explain within three weeks how it plans to fund operations for the next 12 months.

Alitalia has said it has funds to last it "in the short term" but it loses more than EUR1 million euros (USD$1.6 million) a day. Further state aid is banned under European Union rules.

Alitalia has even entered talks with airline industry association IATA about possible guarantees to allow it to keep using the organization's settlements system if it were to go into administration.

Sergio Romano, a political analyst and columnist at the Corriere della Sera newspaper, told foreign journalists at a roundtable discussion on Monday he did not expect Berlusconi to find an alternative to Air France-KLM's offer despite his opposition to it.

"He will have to realize that there is nothing to be done," he said. "I think he will give it to the French."

Air France-KLM abandoned talks to buy Alitalia after the airline's unions refused to sign the deal, which would lead to the loss of about 10 percent of the work force.

(Reuters)

Thomson and First Choice join forces in joint offsetting and sustainable development scheme

For all Summer 2009 bookings, Thomson will join forces with First Choice and introduce the ‘World Care Fund’. The scheme gives customers the opportunity to donate £1 per adult and fifty pence per child on an opt-out basis – a donation that is matched by the company. Originally launched by First Choice in 2007, the scheme has so far raised over £1,000,000 for The Travel Foundation, who organise projects benefiting local environments and communities overseas, and Climate Care, one of the UK’s leading offsetting providers.

In the past 12 months, more than one third of First Choice customers contributed to the scheme in which the payment is automatically added to the bill, and explained so the customer knows exactly what it is. The payment is easily removed if the customer does not wish to contribute. With other industry schemes traditionally having an uptake of around 15%, the opt-out system has proven to be a winning formula.

Sarah Perry, Sustainable Development Manager, TUI Travel PLC, said: “We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to help combat climate change - Thomson, First Choice and those travelling on their holidays can lead by example and make a genuine difference.

“Our success to date clearly shows that when you introduce an opt-out scheme at an amount that most customers find acceptable, you will get far greater results. If Thomson customers contribute to the fund at the same level we’ve seen with First Choice, once matched, we could be looking at a total of over £2.5 million in donations next year.

“While we know that off-setting and donation schemes cannot work in isolation – which is why the World Care Fund is supported by a robust carbon reduction programme, including fuel efficiency measures – the £2.5 million in is not an insignificant amount.

Our experience with the World Care Fund dispels the myth that sustainability is only for the well-off. When we analysed the contributions that First Choice customers made to the scheme in its first year, we found that young families with children were most likely to contribute – and that less well-off families were more likely to contribute than their more “affluent” counterparts. Therefore, the projected £2.5m we’re looking to raise next year could be exceeded if all of our customers, from all walks of life, contribute towards the new, joint initiative.”

The Travel Foundation, thetravelfoundation.org.uk which receives funding from the World Care Fund, helps to care for the places we love to visit, and is the first organisation of its type in the world. Its role is to ensure that local people get a fair deal from tourism, and it will receive twenty percent of monies raised from Summer 2009 bookings. Donations will support projects in many destinations worldwide similar to those that have helped 500 farmers in the Gambia supply their produce to 70% of the country's tourist businesses, and village families in the Masai Mara in Kenya to increase their income from tourism by 800% and have access to clean water and sanitation, and giving 300 children the opportunity to go to school.

Climate Care, climatecare.org is a leading carbon offset organisation, channelling money into carbon reduction and renewable energy projects in the developing world. It will receive eighty percent of the monies raised from Summer 2009 bookings. TUI UK estimates that the money raised will offset up to 20% of the carbon emissions from customers’ flights.

While offsetting alone can’t solve climate change, it’s a positive and immediate action that First Choice and Thomson customers can take to help make up for the carbon impact of their flights. The projects supported through Climate Care are Gold Standard, meaning that they are assessed to ensure that they’re not only good for the environment but also for local communities.

For example, in Zambia a hydro-electric project is providing a new reliable source of electricity to local schools and hospitals. This will help local people - in hospitals operations can be undertaken at all times, local school children will have greater access to computers in schools and households will have access to electric light, on demand, for the first time.

The World Care Fund features in all First Choice and Thomson Brochures for Summer 2009.

WEKO approves the acquisition of Edelweiss Air by SWISS

WEKO, the Swiss Competition Commission, has given its green light for the merger of the two airlines. The authorities have not imposed any special conditions. Edelweiss Air will continue to operate as an independent member com-pany of the Swiss Group. Kuoni remains Edelweiss Air’s biggest customer.

The favourable decision taken by the Competition Commission now permits full imple-mentation of cooperation between Edelweiss Air and SWISS. Allowing for the neces-sary organizational system adjustments, operational completion is scheduled for the end of October 2008. In February, Kuoni and SWISS announced a strategic partner-ship. In addition to the acquisition of Edelweiss Air by SWISS, this also includes a comprehensive hotel offering by Kuoni on SWISS.COM.

With the consent of the authorities, Edelweiss Air will continue to operate as an inde-pendent airline with unchanged management, its own fleet and own crew. The three Airbus 320 short haul aircraft and the Airbus 330-200 for long haul flights will remain in service. Kuoni Switzerland is still Edelweiss Air’s biggest customer and will continue to offer high quality holiday flights to a wide range of destinations. All three parties look forward to the new Swiss partnership which can now be implemented.

Portimao Port opens its doors to large cruise ships

The opening of the Portimao Cruise Port quay in April 2008 to large cruise ships without any tidal constraints is the main new feature presented by the Algarve port in southern Portugal. The dredging work, which is now complete, will reestablish the depth at -8 metres, both in the access channel and in the turning (350 metres diameter) and berthing basins, ensuring complete safety conditions for the entrance of ships over 210 metres in length.

In practice, almost all the ships that currently call at Portimao can dock at the quay, instead of anchoring off shore, providing greater safety and comfort for passengers.

The reestablishing of the depth by the Port and Sea Transport Institute began on 19 October 2007 and is now complete, with more than 435 thousand cubic metres of sand and mud will having been removed.

Complying with a strict environmental monitoring programme, the spoils resulting from the dredging will be deposited off shore, at two specific sites (at 6.1 miles and 7.3 miles), according to the level of contamination of the material to be deposited.

Well aware of its role in the good environmental management of the area, the port administration contracted the supervision of this work from the National Institute of Biological Resources for around 47 thousand euros. The contract programme includes the monitoring of surface water quality at the dredging site and at the sites where the spoils are deposited. An assessment is also made of their effects on the biota at the disposal site, through the capture of fish, molluscs and benthic communities (organisms that live in the substratum).

As Portimao Estuary is an important example of the maritime activities of the people who inhabited the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, the intervention also ensures the preservation of its valuable archaeological heritage. Preliminary archaeological prospection work was carried out on the bed river, to the value of almost 83 thousand euros, by a team from the National Centre of Maritime and Underwater Archaeology, which is part of the Institute of Architectural and Archaeological Heritage Management (IGESPAR). The objective was to ensure that the dredging work would not damage any archaeological traces.

Falling pound sparks boom in all-inclusive holidays

The weakening pound against the euro has given a boost to the all-inclusive holiday market and one leading tour operator is predicting a boom in sales as savvy Brits cash in on all-in packages to popular tourist destinations in Europe.

Sales of all-inclusive holidays – which cater for all the food, drink, snacks and entertainment needs of holidaymakers – at tour operator Jet2holidays.com have shown a spike in sales of 63 per cent year-on-year. In the last week alone, sales have increased by 37 per cent.

Since the start of 2007 the pound-euro exchange rate has fallen from a high on 22 January 2007 when one euro cost 65.4p, to a low on 11 April 2008 when it cost 80.1p – effectively meaning the cost of living in European resorts has risen by 22.5%*.

A recent survey, carried out by Halifax Travel Insurance, shows that one-third of all holidays booked by Brits are all-inclusive, suggesting that consumers are taking the safer resort-based holiday option.

Mandy Round, General Manager, at Jet2holidays.com, said: “With the value of the pound devaluing so much against the euro, savvy customers are opting for all-inclusive deals.

“Just like fixing a mortgage deal, taking an all-inclusive break means you can pretty much fix your holiday spending in the sun as everything in resort – from ice creams, food, drink and snacks – is taken care of.

“We are not of the opinion that the credit crunch and mortgage rate worries are going to stop consumers taking holidays abroad – they are just being more sensible about their choices.”

*Source: European Central Bank.

Germany is on the way to the top of the world

Germany is European Market Leader when it comes to meetings and congresses. This has been confirmed once again by the current "International Association Meetings Market 2007" study released by the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA). Germany has achieved the lead position in Europe for the fourth year in succession and second place worldwide. Spain, in fifth place last year, has passed by England and France into third place.

German meetings industry representatives should not only be joyous about this continuity of excellent performance but also about their clear upwards trend: the gap between Germany and global leader U.S.A. has closed, whereas the distance between Germany and its other competitors has increased. And in the international city ranking: Berlin, last year at position number five, has taken a great leap forward to second place.

"This result has not come about by chance", comments Lutz P. Vogt, Managing Director of the GCB German Convention Bureau e.V. "It has been earned by the German meetings and congress branch as a whole for they have been continually developing offers and services while at the same time raising quality and standards." The GCB markets Germany both nationally and internationally as a destination for congresses, conferences, meetings, incentives and events and acts as a central point of contact or one-stop-shop for all clients planning meetings and events in Germany.

The annual ICCA "International Association Meetings Market" statistics present a comprehensive analysis of current trends and developments in the international meetings market. Association and federation congresses examined by ICCA have to have a minimum of 50 participants, be held on a regular basis and rotate between at least three countries. ICCA, founded in 1963, has its head office in Amsterdam and collates information since 1972 on association events worldwide.

"The ICCA results confirm the key messages of our "Meeting and EventBarometer 2008" study of the German events and meetings market. These will be presented during the course of our press conference at 12:30pm on Tuesday 22nd April 2008 at IMEX in Frankfurt" adds Lutz P. Vogt.

The comprehensive study carried out by the European Institute for the Meetings Sector (EITW) on behalf of the European Federation of Event Centres (EVVC), the German National Tourist Office (GNTO/DZT) and the German Convention Bureau (GCB) analyses this important economic segment, supplies up-to-date facts and figures and reveals forward-looking tendencies and trends.

AIRPORT NEWS

Europe seeks visa-free trips to the USA

The European Commission has been given the go-ahead by EU ministers to open negotiations on visa-free travel to the USA for all the European Union’s citizens.

Many established EU member states are already part of a visa-waiver scheme, but Greece and many of the recent additions to the EU from former communist countries in Eastern Europe are not included.

The new talks will aim for all members of the 27-nation bloc to enjoy the same access to the USA.

A number of countries have struck deals with the USA in recent months to allow visa-free travel, but the EU as a whole has been concerned about the USA’s planned Electronic System for Travel Authorisation, known as ESTA. It is worried that ESTA will act as a visa-system but in another guise and name.

The main stumbling bloc is the free flow of security information on travellers between the USA and the EU. Under the Schengen agreement on open borders in the EU, data on stolen cars and people searches as well as fingerprints of asylums seekers are held. The Commission is seeking some form of reciprocity on any information swaps as part of the deal with the USA.

Changi traffic up 6.7% in first quarter

Changi Airport registered strong growth in passenger traffic in the first three months of 2008, with a total of 9.32 million passenger movements, up 6.7% compared to the same period in 2007. In March more than 3.26 million travellers passed through Changi, the highest monthly traffic registered so far this year.

Changi is served by 80 airlines operating more than 4,340 weekly scheduled flights to 188 cities in 59 countries.

Subang SkyPark to refurbish airport

Subang SkyPark, has allocated US$10.6 million (RM35 million) for the refurbishment of Terminal 3 (T3) of the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Malaysia.

The refurbishment will see new interior design and facilities for to FireFly and Berjaya Air passengers.

Corporate strategy managing director Fariz Hashim says, “The refurbishment is expected to be completed within six months of commissioning and passengers will, in addition to the new check-in facilities, also enjoy an organised approach in the airport, the entire project would be privately funded.”

Industry mislaid 42.4 million bags in 2007

Leading IT provider SITA launched a major report yesterday (Thursday 17 April) at Passenger Terminal Expo, which claims the air transport industry now handles around 2.25 billion pieces of checked baggage every year and lost US$3.8 billion in 2007 because of growing pressures on baggage management linked to passenger volumes, tight aircraft turnaround times, and heightened security measures.

According to this year’s Baggage Report 42.4 million bags were mishandled or delayed in 2007. The air transport industry handles around 2.25 billion pieces of checked baggage every year. In 2007, the single largest cause of baggage delay was in transfer baggage mishandling, 49%, but this number has been falling steadily since 2005 when it was at 61%.

Commenting on the 4th annual SITA Baggage Report, Francesco Violante, SITA chief executive, says, “Once again, the past year has seen an increase in the amount of baggage mishandled worldwide. It also brings fresh hope, however, in the shape of new initiatives such as IATA’s Baggage Improvement Programme.

“It is important that we continue to move towards a comprehensive, fully-integrated global baggage management system that can direct, track and trace passenger baggage throughout the entire journey from check-in to final delivery at the destination. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) also has a role to play and could save the industry as much US$700 million if it was fully implemented across the industry.”

Terminal 5 song hits web charts

Right: Heathrow's Terminal 5 - unlikely subject of a hit music video on YouTube

An amateur music video, which criticises the problems at Heathrow’s new Terminal 5, is proving an unexpected hit on the Internet site YouTube.

The song was first written by New Zealand bridegroom Tim Soong in 2006 after luggage containing his bride’s wedding dress and best man’s suit were lost by British Airways at Heathrow.

“BA found our luggage the day before the wedding,” says Soong, “but it wasn’t ideal preparation and we ran up a lot of unexpected bills.”

Soong updated the song in the light of BA’s current troubles at Terminal 5 and recorded the video with the help of his best man, Andy Baynes. The video is reportedly now attracting thousands of hits.

Watch the video here.