After nearly a week of chronic disruption due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland, it now looks as if the world’s airline industry can start to return to some semblance of normality. Last night, the UK’s airspace was reopened and a British Airways passenger jet inbound from Vancouver was permitted to land at Heathrow. German officials say that they plan to resume flights as of today and planes have already been taking off from Amsterdam, Madrid and Paris.
The World Meteorological Organisation said that it is confident that the worst of the impact of volcanic ash in the atmosphere is over. [...]

The eruption of a volcano in Iceland may cause disruption for airline passengers in the UK throughout today and into tomorrow. The concern is that prevailing weather conditions will bring the ash plume which has been created by the eruption down through Scotland, making flying conditions hazardous for aircraft.
Aberdeen airport was closed at midnight as a precautionary measure and other Scottish airports are monitoring the situation. Aberdeen said that it was told to close by air traffic control because of the volcanic ash threat.
The ash consists of rock and glass and is hazardous to aircraft mechanics as well as pilot [...]

BCD Travel, the world’s third-largest travel management organisation, has released its global update for the first quarter through its consulting unit Advito. The revised update includes projections that hotel room rates will fall and that car rental charges will rise, with North American airfares remaining stable.
The hotel rate revision was applied to room rates at leading travel markets including China, Spain, France, India, Germany, Brazil, the UK and the US. Advito said that the new outlook was based on the slow pace of global economic recovery along with emerging markets showing increased capacity. The figures reflected the stabilisation of American Depository [...]

The Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways has unveiled another questionable toilet etiquette policy following the announcement of new, female-only lavatories to be installed on its jet planes. Only recently, the same airline raised eyebrows in the travel industry by instructing its boarding passengers to visit the bathroom before stepping onto the plane – theoretically as a water and environment saving measure.
The women-only lavatory will be introduced by ANA next month on all international flights. The reason, claims the airline, is that women air passengers have said that a separate toilet was the thing they wished for the most on long [...]

The Australian travel industry is bearing the emotional scars of the recession in addition to the material damage as authorities have disclosed an alarming rise in disruptive behaviour and air rage, leaving airlines concerned at the level of baggage left over from the economic crisis.
The increase of low-cost or budget carrier market share is thought by many to be the primary reason behind the massive 65 percent rise in reported cases in the Australian skies last year. Government statistics reveal that in 2007 there were 64 disruptive incidents, a figure which quadrupled in 2008 to 279. In 2009 there were [...]

Simon Crean, the Australian Minister for Trade, has spoken out against the latest British tax hike on air travel, claiming that the new measures discriminate against those travellers bound for down under.
Since November last year the UK government has implemented air passenger duty increases under the guise of protecting the environment from harmful emissions which they claim can be off-set by price hikes by way of compensation. The tax changes are based solely on travelling distance meaning that tickets for distant destinations are subject to significantly higher levies than short haul travel. What this ultimately has meant is that Australian-bound [...]

The attempted bid by Nigerian student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up a Northwest Airlines jet on descent into Detroit will have widespread ramifications for all travellers this New Year’s Eve and possibly beyond.
Airline passengers around the world are facing up to a new range of security checks at airports the likes of which have not been seen since the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Abdulmutallab’s failed attempt to down the US bound flight from Amsterdam has seen global leaders call for increased knowledge sharing and global travellers set for massive delays. Cancellations and missed connections are also [...]

According to leading plane manufacturer Boeing the forecast for the next 20 years will see a huge demand from Southeast Asia and the Pacific for new airlines at an estimated cost of US $330 billion.
Boeing’s market data analysis and forecasting was issued this week by Marketing Vice President Randy Tinseth with the focus being squarely on the emerging Southeast Asian commercial market. The group has said that by the year 2028 they will need to supply some 29,000 new aircraft at a total value of over US $3 trillion.
Tinseth said that almost one-third of the group’s 20-year forecast had already [...]

The move by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) to purchase Gatwick Airport has been met with mixed response but the group has promised to make extensive improvements.
Already the owners of London City Airport, GIP has promised passengers and improved airport experience after announcing their purchase for £1.51 billion of the world’s busiest single runway airport.
According to GIP they will modernise and upgrade the airport and hope to transform the airport experience for leisure and business travellers alike. The group has pointed to their success in operating London City airport as an indicator of their commitment and has claimed that they will [...]

In the midst of many of the world’s top airlines struggling to survive, Ethiopian Airlines has announced record profits last year. Their profit more than doubled from the year before to $118.6 million. The profits are accredited to cost cuts and a new aggressive marketing campaign.
The African carrier saw rises across the board, from passengers numbers to revenue per passenger to cargo. Cargo revenue went up almost 40 per cent from the year before.
“Our profits increased due to an aggressive marketing campaign and a major cost-cutting effort,” a spokeswoman for the airline said. “We introduced seven new routes which also [...]