Problems with one of the main booking systems for airlines caused significant disruptions early this week. The glitch in the Amadeus system hit the industry for around three hours on Monday causing major backups for check-in procedures on numerous Oneworld carriers including Cathay Pacific, Iberia, Qantas and British Airways. Officials said that the system’s automatic [...]

The financial collapse of Spanish airline Spanair has stranded dozens of passengers. According to Spanish airport operating firm, the carrier announced that it would cease operations beginning at 02:00 local time on Saturday. The move left many passengers searching for last-minute empty seats on other carriers, local news agencies report. The company said in its [...]

International Airlines Group, the parent of British Airways and Iberia, has published a rise in traffic during December. Premium-class travel was up by 13.6 per cent up on the same month a year earlier and non-premium traffic rose by 12 per cent. Passenger load factor was also up to 77.6 per cent, a rise of [...]

The merger of Chile’s LAN, and Brazilian carrier TAM, has been given the go ahead by the Brazilian anti-trust regulators. The tie-up was first mooted in 2010 and the new airline is to be called LATAM. It will operate to 23 countries, and 115 different destinations. Together TAM and LAN carried 45 million passengers last [...]

Bosses of four major airlines in the UK have slammed the government’s consultation over Air Passenger Duty, calling it a sham. Despite powerful figures in the travel industry repeatedly asking that the tax be scrapped, the government has announced that there will be no significant changes. Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways and Iberia [...]

Concerns about future links to Heathrow from Belfast City Airport have been aired by MPs after Owen Paterson, Secretary for State, admitted that he had been in talks with International Airlines Group CEO Willie Walsh. The company, which owns Iberia and British Airways, is looking to purchase beleaguered carrier BMI from Lufthansa. Mr Walsh said [...]

The British Airways loyalty program Airmiles is to be reborn on Wednesday as ‘Avios’. The change comes as a result of BA’s merger with Spanish carrier Iberia in January, which formed International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of both airlines. IAG officials said the Airmiles name was changed because it does not have name [...]

British Airways’ parent company International Airlines Group has announced that it has established a new airline in Spain which will cater for short-haul and medium-haul travel. IAG was formed at the beginning of the year after BA and Spanish flag carrier Iberia joined forces. The new airline is to be called Iberia Express. The group [...]

International Airlines Group has warned of a slowdown in the coming months, despite announcing a better performance this year. The parent company of Iberia and British Airways said this week that in September it had seen a rise of 9.3 per cent in its most profitable clientele – premium passengers - in addition to a rise [...]

Fears that the latest volcanic eruption in Iceland could cause airline fleets to be grounded as an ash cloud spreads towards Europe have caused shares in the largest carriers to drop. Flights in and out of Scotland have already been cancelled and the Civil Aviation Authority has warned airlines to be prepared for further disruption. [...]