Cheap flights to Spain

Iberia withdraws from British Airways deal

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:32:00 +0000

Iberia to concentrate on its clientele and delay negotiations over the fusion with British Airways until the autumn

Fernando Conte, the President of Iberia, has withdrawn from negotiations over the possible fusion with British Airways. Future plans with regards to this have been put on hold until later this year. He said that the British Airways’ pension fund which currently has a deficit of 1.2 million (1,290 million euros) would need to be revised in September.

Conte also said that improving its service to its clientele was of now of utmost importance to Iberia. He recognised that improvements could be made especially during the present climate in which all airlines were fighting to win over more passengers. He announced that Economy class facilities would be renewed and ways of improving Business class would also be studied.

Conte warned that if the ‘dramatic crisis’ continued more cuts would have to be made in capacity and in its workforce and that more redundancias would have to be made. Iberia is currently in negotiations over temporary redundancies covering 10% of its workforce.

Commenting on the government’s plans to freeze airport taxes in Conte said that airport taxes were reasonable but that navigation taxes were unacceptable.

Fusion of Clickair with Vueling

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:40:00 +0000

Clickair approves fusion with Vueling to create the first Spanish low cost airline

Yesterday the board of directors of Clickair gave the go ahead to the fusion of their company with Vueling whose board of directors also approved the project last week. The new company is forecast to begin operating in June this year with 39 routes 23 of which will be to international destinations. The current chairman of Vueling, Josep Piqué, will continue in his position and the chairman of Clickair, Alex Cruz, will be the new company’s first chief executive.

Iberia has confirmed that it will hold onto its 20% ownership of Clickair and that this could rise to 45%. Nefinsa will also retain its interests in the new Vueling although only as a minority shareholder. Iberia said that some of the handling and maintenance for the new company will be carried out by Iberia or its associates.

Following approval of the fusion by the shareholders of both Vueling and Clickair the operation to absorb Clickair into Vueling will begin and Vueling will acquire all the rights and obligations previously held by Clickair.

The type of exchange proposed for the fusion is 2.98 shares of a euro for Vueling for every share of 10 euros for Clickair something which needs to be approved by both companies board of directors.

Acquisition of Spanair by Catalan consortium

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 10:27:00 +0000

Catalan businessmen, the Catalan regional government and the town hall of Barcelona to buy Spanair

A group of Catalan businessmen and women together with the Catalan regional government and the town hall of Barcelona have acquired 80.1% of Spanair, the second largest Spanish airline.

The group of business men and women and institutions which form the la sociedad Iniciatives Empresarials Aeronàutiques reached an agreement with the current owners of Spanair the Scandinavian company SAS before the deadline of 31st January expired.

SAS will continue to own 19.9% of Spanair and will be responsible for Spanair's debts of 500 million euros according to the Catalan association which has confirmed that in the next few weeks a definitive deal will be signed. SAS will also keep control of the operative management of Spanair.

The Aeronautical Association of Business Initiatives includes the following Catalan groups - la sociedad de capital riesgo Catalana d'Iniciatives, Consorci Turisme de Barcelona – which belongs to the town hall, Volcat 2009, Fira de Barcelona, the Catalan regional government, a group of business men and women from the Catalan tourist sector together with business representatives from other parts of Spain.

According to information on its web page Catalana d'Iniciatives consists of a group of buisnesses including La Caixa, Santander, Gas Natural, Telefónica, Repsol YPF, Ferrovial, CAM, Endesa and the town hall of Barcelona.

The acquisition of Spanair implies expanding the group's capital by 100 million euros which will be taken on by new partners.

The business plan behind the acquisition of Spanair is based on promoting Barcelona as a platform for future growth, taking advantage of the new T1 terminal, the cancellation of non profitable routes and a reduction of costs by improving operations and supply.

According to the new owners of Spaniar the airline will strengthen routes where there is strong demand from business passengers on weekdays and routes where there is strong demand from passengers who travel for leisure at the weekend and during the holiday season.

It also hopes that the routes between Barcelona-Madrid-Palma de Mallorca are strengthened as well as routes to the Canary Islands.

Over recent months Spanair has made 775 of its workers redundant as a means of reducing its operative base.

Ryanair routes to Alicante

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:47:00 +0000

Ryanair has announced four new routes from Alicante

Ryanair has announced that it will be operating four new routes from El Altet airport in Alicante starting in the summer. The new routes from Alicante will be to Bristol (UK), Derry and Knock (Ireland) and Breslavia (Poland). The Irish lowcost airline also announced the incorporation of a new plane in its base in the airport which will continue with a total of three Boeing 737-800NG.

The flights to Bristol will operate on a daily basis and there will be two flights to Derry Knock and Breslavia every week.

Luis Fernández-Mellado, who is in charge of Marketing and Sales for Ryanair in Spain said that figures for passengers travelling to and from El Altet airport in Alicante had increased considerably thanks to Ryanair. With this new announcement Ryanair will operate a total of 32 routes from Alicante. He said that the new routes together with current routes to London Gatwick, Palma de Mallorca and Madrid show the commitment that Ryanair has to El Altet airport and mean that it will carry around 200,000 passengers to and from Alicante annually.

According to Fernández-Mellado, Ryanair intends to improve passenger figures for 2008 and continue increasing its routes to Alicante offering the lowest fares. He also said that the addition of another aircraft to the company’s base in Alicante would mean that the number of its permanent staff in Alicante would go up.
Fernández-Mellado said that Ryanair’s commitment to Alicante was very positive for the whole region and would help promote it as a top tourist destination.

Ryanair has decided to celebrate the opening of new routes by offering 1 million tickets for just 1 euro each. Tickets can be reserved until midnight on 19th January 2009 and are for travel between 27th January and 12th March. Tickets cannot be bought for travel between 12th and 23rd February to or from the UK or Ireland. Tickets must also be bought at least 14 days in advance and are subject to availability.

Ministry of Transport to investigate Iberia's treatment of passangers

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:59:00 +0000

Ministry of Transport to take action against Iberia for its treatment of passengers
The Ministry of Transport has announced that it intends to carry out an investigation into how far Iberia had fulfilled its commitments under the law to passengers. After three days of chaos with thousands of passengers affected, cancellations and delays to flights operated by Iberia look set to continue.

The Minister for Transport, Magdalena Álvarez, announced the measure yesterday during a press conference in Madrid-Barajas airport. She said that Iberia’s behaviour towards it passengers had been inexcusable referring to three flights to Buenos Aires, Lima and Montevideo. On these flights passengers had already boarded the plane when they were informed by the pilot that he had gone over the permitted time for flying and were forced to get off again.

Yesterday the company cancelled 56 flights and the rest of its flights were subject to delays.

A spokesperson for Iberia said that the company would provide all the information required and insisted that it had kept the Ministry of Transport fully informed at all times.

When action is taken against a company the first step is to ask for information on the situation followed by justification of its actions. The next step is to decide on sanctions if it is found to have acted incorrectly. According to the law on air safety the fine for a serious breach of the law is between 450,000 and 4.5 million euros.

Delays in Iberia flights

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:47:00 +0000

Iberia cancels 41 flights and accumulates delays in 62% of its operations

A spokesperson for Iberia said that Iberia cancelled 41 flights and accumulated delays to 62% of its flights yesterday. Furthermore, the company admitted that these figures could rise even further.

Most of the flights affected were either to or from Madrid-Barajas airport although Barcelona-El Prat, Bilbao, Vigo, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and La Coruña airports were also affected. Flights to London, Brussels, Paris and Lisbon were subject to cancellations.

In order to alleviate the effects of these cancellations Iberia contracted flights from other companies that operate between London and Madrid, Madrid and Brussels and Madrid and Las Palmas.

One of the worst delays was to a flight between Madrid and Buenos Aires, which at 18.00 hours yesterday afternoon registered a delay of 13 hours.

Since the beginning of last month Iberia has accumulated 600 cancellations and more than 6000 delays to flights which has affected more than a million passengers and has caused serious economic losses to the airline which had to pay for hotel accommodation, meals and transfers.

Iberia has repeated on various occasions that alterations to flights are due to a strike by the trade union Sepla. The strike coincides with the breakdown of negotiations for the renewal of the collective agreement governing pilots although this Selpa says that the situation has been caused by lack of personnel.
Iberia has taken action against 41 pilots which have supported the strike which could result in them being suspended, having their pay suspended and even being sacked.

Despite two meetings between Iberia and Sepla this week no agreement between the two sides has been reached. Another meeting is planned for today in order to try and break the deadlock in negotiations.

New Ryanair route to Alicante

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:40:00 +0000

Two new daily Ryanair flights between Alicante and Gatwick will carry 20,000 tourists a month

On th 18th December Ryanair will begin operating a new route between London, Gatwick and Alicante. It is expected that the new route will bring up to 20,000 more visitors to Alicante every month.

The news of the new route to be operated by Ryanair, which will have two flights daily, was received with great satisfaction by Toni Mayor, the president of the Association of Hotels for the city. He said it was very good news especially in the current economic climate. He added that while other destinations and airports were decreasing their activity, Benidorm continued to be a favourite destination for British tourists. He also said that if Ryanair had decided to open this new route it was because it believed that it would be profitable for the company adding that Ryanair only operated on routes where there was high demand.

The Head of Tourism for the regional government, Angélica Such, said that the figures for the number of foreign tourists visiting the Costa Blanca this year were very positive. Such also referred to an increase of over 2% in foreign visitors to the area while the average for the rest of Spain showed declining figures. Over the last 10 years tourism in the Valencian Region has increased by 44%.

The tourist board for the Comunidad Valenciana now has its sights set on the US where it is planning a number of events to persuade more American tourists to visit this popular part of Spain. It hopes to increase the forecast of 50,000 visitors a year with the creation of new flights on the route between the Valencia and John F Kennedy airport in New York

Cheap flights between Alicante and Madrid

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:03:00 +0000

Ryanair route of low cost flights Madrid-Alicante sparks price war

The start of Ryanair flights between Alicante and Madrid on 18th November has led to an 80% reduction in the price of various flights and train journeys on this route. In response to Ryanair’s offer of flights costing 10 euros each way plus additional costs Iberia has started offering flights on the same route for as little as 22 euros, all inclusive. Yesterday the Spanish national rail company, Renfe, responded by offering train tickets booked on the internet for 16 euros one way if booked 2 weeks in advance.

Although prices have dropped over the last few weeks due to the recession Ryanair has recently announced a net profit of 214 million euros during the first financial quarter (April to September) which is a 47% drop compared to 2007. The company said that fuel costs had affected its profits. Ryanair made 407.6 million euros for the same period last year.

The commencement of flights between Alicante and Madrid this month means that there will be 27 flights between the Spanish capital and Alicante daily 13 from Alicante to Madrid and 14 from the capital to Alicante. The last flight that leaves Madrid is at 23.40 hours (Iberia) which leaves Alicante the next day at 7.15 am.

Ryanair is offering the possibility of flying to Madrid twice a day at 14.45 and 22.55 hours and return flights from the capital leave at 13.10 and 21.20 hours- the cost from as little as 10 euros each way plus extras (only hand luggage is allowed free of charge with all hold luggage extra).

Troubled Spanair has not entered into the fray yet and is still charging 50 euros each way from Alicante to Madrid.

Related: Guide to Alicante ## Guide to Madrid

Air Europa plane leaves runway when landing in Lanzarote

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:32:00 +0000

An Air Europa plane travelling from Glasgow to Lanzarote this morning reportedly went off the runway when landing and almost ended up in the sea. The airport has told Spanish press that all the passangers were transferred from the plane to the airport terminal and that nobody was injured in the incident.
Passengers told the media that the Air Europa plane, a Boeing 737, touched down at great speed and that during landing they noticed strong vibrations in the wings. Air Europa claimed that the plane did not actually leave the runway, although the company did admit that it stopped just a few metres from the sea. The same source said the incident was due to destabilisation at the moment of landing which could have been caused by atmospheric conditions, but they did not go into details.

Lanzarote airport was closed for some time after the incident. Paradoxically, the accident has happened just two days after the airport carried out an accident drill to demonstrate how its emergency services would act in the face of an accident and which was attended by local authorities and media.

Spanair cancels Madrid flights

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:49:00 +0000

Spanair cancels six flights from Barajas for ‘operational reasons’

The airline Spanair has cancelled six flights which were due to take off from Barajas airport in Madrid for ‘operational reasons’. According to a company spokesperson the cancellations have been caused by ‘normal incidents’ common during this time of year.

The flights which have been cancelled until later on this afternoon are to Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Oviedo, Málaga and Jerez. A flight from Barcelona to Madrid has also been cancelled. Spanair has given no further explanation other than ‘operational reasons’ for the latest cancellations although this is a very general term which could cover many causes. However airline sources have assured that this is common during the month of August. These sources also stressed that none of the cancellations were not due to technical reasons.

In such cases Spanair – like other airlines – has paid back the cost of the tickets to its customers, has placed passengers on other flights or has taken them by bus to their destinations.

Yesterday a Swiftair plane operated by Spanair between Granada and Barcelona had to return to the Andalucian Federico Garcia Lorca airport when the cabin crew detected a ‘communications problem’ which could have caused problems in areas of dense air traffic.

This is the second time that a Spanair plane has had to turn back in the last 24 hours and experts from the Civil Aviation Authority have travelled to Malaga to carry out inspections on a second aircraft which covered the route between Barcelona and Lanzarote which also had to turn back.

Iberia is also suffering cancellations and delays especially on short distance flights. A flight which was due to set off to Istanbul was delayed for five hours this morning. A spokesperson for Iberia said that the delays were due either to technical problems or the fact that the cabin crew had gone over their number of permitted continuous flying hours. An Air Europa flight to Buenos Aires has also been cancelled today.

Iberia in the red

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:45:00 +0000

Iberia Airlines has published negative results for the first quarter of 2008. In fact, Iberia has announced losses of 400,000 euros for this period compared to a profit of 12.2 million euros for the same period last year.

This situation has been caused by the drop in the number of passengers and a negative operating result valued at more than 28 million euros as well as the rise in petrol prices which have seen costs rise by 25.6% with 327.4 million euros spent on fuel costs.

During the first three months of 2007 Iberia spent 260 million euros on fuel which is just 1.2% more than for 2006. However, the cost of fuel for the first quarter of 2008 now represents 24.6% of the total operating costs for Iberia. The price of Brent oil on the stock market has gone above 100 dollars a barrel and its average cost has been 65% more than for the same period last year. Fortunately for Iberia the fall in the value of the dollar has compensated for approximately a third of the impact of this hike in oil prices.

With a view to the future, Iberia has presented an offer for its rival Spanair in order to try and compete against other low cost airlines in Spain as well as the AVE which has taken customers away for one of Iberia’s most profitable routes between Madrid and Barcelona. In addition to this it is promoting the fusion of Clickair with Spanish low cost airline Vueling in another attempt to reduce competition.

In April Iberia announced a 3 point drop to 78.4% of occupied seats partly due to the early Easter break this year. The biggest drop was in long haul flights with a drop of 1.9 points from an occupation of 87.9% to 86% followed by domestic flights which have dropped 1.1 points from 71.1% to 70% occupation.

Iberia also announced that its offer of average seats per kilometre has gone up by 1.1% while the demand from passengers per kilometre transported has gone down by 2.4%
Fernando Conte, the president of Iberia, warned earlier this week that Iberia was not immune to the world economic situation in which the US economy is experiencing a serious slump.

Cheap flights from Cardiff to Barcelona

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Fri, 09 May 2008 08:04:00 +0000

BmiBaby launches new route between Barcelona and Wales

The low cost airline bmibaby has announced that this month it will start operating a new route between Cardiff and Barcelona. As from 24th May there will be two flights per week on Tuesday and Saturday and from 18th June onwards there will also be another flight on Wednesdays.

Tickets for the new route are already available from BmiBaby and cost from 24.99 pounds (approximately 31€), taxes and charges included.

The best offers, subject to availability, can be obtained by reserving online. Tickets are limited during the summer holiday period and no refunds are available.

Tickets reserved using a debit card are subject to a 2% charge on the total amount paid for the ticket and those reserved using a credit card are subject to a 3% commission. Passengers travelling from Cardiff can use the bmi executive lounges and the bmi online check-in system. Consult the bmibaby website for more information and online booking.

Cheap flights from Manchester to Alicante

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:38:00 +0000

Tickets for easyjet’s new route between Manchester and Alicante are now on sale.

The new route will begin operating from 29th September 2008 and will have four flights every week between Alicante and Manchester during the winter months. Prices vary from as little as 27.99 pounds for one way tickets and 47.98 pounds for return tickets, tax included.

This new route is expected to be especially popular for families and people takng a short break. Easyjet hopes to carry around 60,000 passengers on this route in its first 12 months of operating.

The Commercial Director of easyjet in the UK, Carly Brear, said that it was the first route that easyjet has introduced in its new base in Manchester and that the company hoped to expand its routes from Manchester in the near future.

Carly Brear also went on to say that Alicante is a popular destination from its other bases within the UK and that now passengers in the northeast could take advantage of this new service from their base in Manchester airport.

Tim McDermott, the Director of Aviation in Manchester airport said that he was delighted that easyjet had started to expand its routes from Manchester with the announcement of its new route to Alicante, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe.

Possible fusion between Clickair and Vueling

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:40:00 +0000

The Managing Director of Clickair, Alejandro Cruz, has not ruled out the possibility of a fusion with Vueling, an option which he says now depends on ‘time and shareholders’. He went on to say that both companies are Catalan airlines that use the Airbus A-320 and operate similar routes from Barcelona.

Cruz affirmed in an interview with the magazine Efe that ‘shareholders are speaking amongst themselves’ although he also said that no definite plans had been made yet.
Cruz stressed that in his opinion something has to happen in the Spain airline industry but he also said that a fusion between Clickair and Vueling, both low cost airlines, was complicated and involved competition, personalities, reputation and money.

With regards to the sale of Spanair, Cruz said that there were many possible combinations from the purchase of Spanair by Iberia following the sale of Clickair to the union of Vueling and Air Nostrum or the acquisition of Spanair by Air Nostrum. He added that until concrete plans were made the company he directed could not give its opinion.

Cruz said ‘Nothing convinces me that the final solution lies in the purchase of Spanair by Iberia although nothing forbids Gonzalo Pascual from bidding for the airline. However, SAS has not said anything with regards to the offers it has received for Spanair’.

Cruz also stressed that ‘the Spanish air market would not be the same in six months from now’ He said that Clickair would be in a fantastic position to support these changes given that it was the most efficient operator in Spain with the least costs in terms of infrastructure and the most productivity in terms of planes and air crew as well as the best record of punctuality.

Bidding for Spanair ends today

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:38:00 +0000

The Swedish airline SAS has announced that today is the last day in which offers for the Spanish airline Spanair can be presented within the bidding process for the sale of the airline.

The assistant director of communications for SAS, Claus Sonberg, has refused to comment on the level of offers received so far saying that is was a ‘confidential process’.

The Swedish airline said it regretted that Marsans had withdrawn its bid. The
president of the Spanish tourism consortium, Gonzalo Pascual, said that the decision had been taken due to the difficult situation in the air transport market in Spain and because it was expecting to agree another deal with SAS.

The Spanish airline Iberia is bidding for 100% of Spanair, together with the group Gestair.

Cheap flights to Canary Islands with frills

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:43:00 +0000

Jet2.com Plus! - new system to upgrade cheap flights to Spanish destinations

Low-cost airline Jet2.com has launched Jet2com. Plus, a new service for passengers prepared to pay for special treatment during their flight for Spain.

Customers flying to Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote who are willing to pay £25 one-way or £45 return (per passenger) for an upgrade to Jet2com.Plus will be entitled to the following perks:

Priority check-in
Fast security checks (where available)
A drink in the VIP lounge before the flight
Seating in the front cabin
An in-flight meal which contains chocolates and complimentary drink (excluding champagne) . On early morning flights a wake-up breakfast meal will be served. Passengers can select from vegetarian or non-vegetarian options when making their flight booking online.

Jet2.com Plus can be purchased both online 3 working days before departure or at the airport on day of travel subject to availability. The service is non-refundable and is not available for children under 12 years.

Jet2.com operate flights to:

Lanzarote from Leeds-Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle aiports
Gran Canaria from Leeds-Bradford, Manchester, Belfast and Newcastle aiports
Tenerife from Leeds-Bradford, Manchester, Blackpool, Belfast and Newcastle aiports

This new upgraded class is only available on flights to the Canary Islands.

Online purchase of cheap flights

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:42:00 +0000

Irregularities detected in seven websites selling online airline tickets

The Spanish National Consumers’ Institute has analysed 12 web pages run by airlines and travel agents selling online tickets following complaints by consumers.
On 27th September this year the 12 internet sites which had received the most complaints were investigated by the National Consumers’ Institute in a joint operation with other EU member states when web pages were scanned for fraudulent special offers.

As a result of this investigation 7 of the web pages were found to contain misleading publicity on special offers such as free flights that didn’t take into account extra charges such as airport taxes. Both Ryanair and Vueling were included in this group.

Ryanair, Iberia, Spanair and Vueling had special offers advertised on their websites which could not be found when the investigators later searched for them. Furthermore, the website belonging to eDreams was found to refer to geographical areas that did not correspond to the airports listed for departure or arrival.
The National Consumers’ Institute also found irregularities regarding the legal requirements that these sites need to fulfil. The web pages belonging to Ryanair, Transavia and Tuy-Fly were found to contain sales information in Spanish but the terms and conditions of flying were only offered in English.

No irregularities were found in the web pages belonging to Air Berlín, Atrapalo.com, Rumbo and Easyjet.

Flybe launches frequent flyer scheme

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 07:35:00 +0000

The low cost airline Flybe has announced the launch of a new frequent flyer scheme whereby regular passengers travelling on Flybe flights will be able to earn points each time they fly and then exchange them for flights or for access to the airline's executive aiport lounges.

Flybe's frequent flyer scheme is called Rewards4all and it is open to both leisure and business travellers. Once registered, members will be earn points automatically each time they book. The points can be exchanged for benefits on the following basis:

16 Reward Points = 1 return UK Economy flight
20 Reward Points = 1 year Executive Lounge Access
22 Reward Points = 1 return UK Economy Plus flight
24 Reward Points = 1 return European Economy flight
30 Reward Points = 1 return European Economy Plus flight

Flybe's new frequent flyer scheme will be available in the next few weeks and passengers open their Rewards4all account on the airline's website.

Flyebe flies to the following destinations in Spain: Alicante, Malaga and Palma.

Low cost flights in Spain

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 06:57:00 +0000

Spain is the Second European Country with the most Low Cost Flights

Low Cost airlines now make up 25% of the market in Spain compared to the average for the rest of Europe, which is 16%. According to the European Organization for Air Navigation Safety (Eurocontrol), Spain is the second country in Europe after the UK with the highest number of low cost airlines operating from its airports.

At a seminar in Barcelona yesterday the Managing Director of Eurocontrol, Víctor Aguado, said that the low cost sector grew by 36% in Spain between January and June 2007 and that corporate aviation grew by 15%. In corporate aviation Spain accounts for 5% of the European market whereas this figure rises to 10% for countries like the UK, Germany and France.

Aguado also said that in 2020 up to 70 airports in Europe will be saturated and encounter problems operating normally, although this forecast doesn’t take into account planned airport expansions. In this respect Madrid and Barcelona airports will be well placed to meet future demands.

Eurocontrol predicts that air traffic will increase by 9.3% in Spain this year and by 7% in 2008 this is above the European average which is 5% for this year, and that in the period 2007-2012 there will be an annual growth of 4.1%. The growth rate is expected to continue steadily in the long term until 2025.

According to this prediction 2 million flights will operate from Spain by 2011 and this figure is expected to rise to 3 million by 2025.

Víctor Aguado also said that Madrid and Barcelona are the best connected cities in Europe with 46,000 flights per year which is double the air traffic between the second most connected European cities Milan and Rome.

According to Aguado Spanish airports perform very well compared to the rest of Europe. When there are air traffic problems in Europe Madrid comes 7th and Barcelona 18th.

Monarch Summer flights to Spain

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 08:37:00 +0000

Special Summer Offers by Monarch

The airline Monarch has launched an attractive offer on all flights with up to 75% discount on all routes operated by the airline. Under the motto ‘Escape the rain and enjoy the Spanish Summer’.

Monarch is offering a massive reduction on flights: up to 75% discount on the price of flights. This offer is valid until 5th July 2007 so you are advised to book as soon as possible.

Special Offer Conditions:

Discounts. The discount up to 75% depends on the type of fare
Reservation Dates: All bookings must be made before midnight on 5th July 2007
Discounts are available on any Monarch flight to Spain and on any date
Routes. The offer covers all routes and flights. See the map for further details.

Iberia Summer Flights 2007

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 08:59:00 +0000

Iberia has launched a campaign called ‘Iberia - Basic Prices’ for cheap flights this summer 2007. The company hopes to compete against other low cost airlines and their constant special offers.

Iberia’s Offers of Flights at Basic Prices

Conditions and duration of Iberia's special offer:

You need to buy your ticket before the 29th June
Flights can only be made up to 6th September 2007 (depatures)

Prices per journey (applicable to return tickets only) are:

Flights to and from the Balearic Islands starting at 23 euros
Flights within the Peninsula starting at 25 euros
Fights to and from the Canary Islands starting at 45 euros

All prices include tax and handling charges. There is an increase of 5 euros per ticket for outbound flights only. For more details consult the Iberia website.

Spanair strike affects 7000 passengers

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 07:39:00 +0000

Strike by Spanair cabin crews left 7000 passengers stranded

The Independent Union for Cabin Crews (Sitcpla) says that yesterday’s strike was supported by more than 50% of its members and caused 75 flights to be cancelled (35% of Spanair’s programmed fights yesterday) and left 7000 passengers stranded at airports throughout Spain. The strike was called to protest at the loss of disposable income, excess work loads and staff shortages. Spanair flights which were still in operation yesterday were delayed around 40 minutes.

Yesterday’s strike affected mostly Madrid-Barajas airport. Spanair was forced to cancel 4 flights between Madrid and Coruña, 6 between Madrid and Alicante, 10 between Madrid and Bilbao, 2 between Madrid and Granada, 4 between Madrid and Jerez, 6 between Madrid and Malaga, 4 between Madrid and Pamplona, 2 between Madrid and San Sebastian, 8 between Madrid and Valencia, 2 between Bilbao and Jerez and 4 between Madrid and Vigo. In addition 2 flights between Madrid and Copenhagen , 2 between Madrid and Frankfurt, 2 between Madrid and Zürich and 2 between Madrid and Vienna were also cancelled. According to Spainair the rest of yesterday’s scheduled flights operated normally.

In Madrid-Barajas airport dozens of passengers affected by the strike had to queue since first thing in morning at Spanair check in desks and at the company’s offices at airports. No incident were reported according to official sources. However, passengers complained that they hadn’t been warned about the strike until their arrival at the airport. AENA has stated that the strike by Spanair cabin crews did not affect other operations in Barajas airport.

Further strikes have been called to take place on the 1st, 9th, 15th and 31st July and the 1st and 15th August.

British Airways (BA) staff also called strikes in Madrid and Barcelona airports (Barajas and El Prat airports) although no flights have been cancelled and all BA flights operated normally. British Airways was criticised for ‘irregular practice’ because they substituted staff on strike with staff flown over from London.

Lost baggage on Spanish flights

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 10:01:00 +0000

Spanish airlines Iberia and Spanair lose 12 cases for every 1000 passengers

Iberia and Spanair lose around 12 cases for every 1000 passengers they carry according to figures just released from the European Association of Airlines (AEA) for the first quarter of 2007.

However, these figures are better than the average for other European airlines which lose on average 15.4 cases for every 1000 passengers. Out of 24 airlines included in the study Iberia came 12th followed by Spanair.

The best airline in this respect was Turkish Airlines which only loses on average 4.3 pieces of luggage for every 1000 passengers. Air Malta came second losing 5.8 cases and third place was occupied by Tarom Romanian which loses on average 7.6 cases.

All the other large European airlines included in the study performed worse than Iberia and Spanair. Alitalia loses 14.5 cases for every 1000 passengers, Air France 14.9 cases, Lufthansa 15.4 cases, KLM 17.1 cases, British Airways 24.7 cases (!!) and the worst airline was Portuguese TAP which loses on average 29.9 cases for every 1000 passengers.

New personal information system on flights to Spain

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Thu, 24 May 2007 13:25:00 +0000

Next month British travellers flying to Spain will be required to give specific personal information before boarding their flight, according to a new US-style entry procedures applied by the Spanish airport authorities which will come into force on 13th June.

The new rule, issued by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior will apply only to countries that are not signed up to the Schengen treaty, an agreement which allows free travel, without presentation of a passport, between EU member states that signed the treaty. Britain is not a Schengen member.

The system about to be enforced by the Spanish government is known as API (Advance Passenger Information) and, according to the new regulations, passengers who do not submit the required information (including full given names, surnames, nationality, date of birth and number of travel document – passport or ID) risk being barred from flights. Travellers to Spain will be required to give the information either to the travel agency or, if they have booked online, at the check-in desk. If the airlines fail to provide the Spanish authorities with the API information of passengers on board, they face fines of up to 60,000 euros.

Some airlines fear delays because of the fact that the check-in on flights to Spain will now take longer, although some airlines are expected to create mechanisms to enable them to get the information prior to check in to avoid delays.

Easyjet has already announced this on its website, although it is still not clear exactly what the procedure will be: “As a web based company easyJet will collect this information in advance online and will shortly announce details of what passengers need to do, by emailing affected customers with details of the new procedure. Information will also be available on our website. EasyJet is aware of the change in requirements and is working with the Spanish authorities to achieve compliance as soon as possible”.

British Airways has already adapted its online booking system, enabling passengers to enter their API information via the Manage my Booking facility. Passengers making an online booking with BA will be prompted to supply the information at the time of booking or prior to arrival at the airport. The airline also intends to set up a self-service kiosk at airports where passengers will also be able to enter the necessary information.

Record number of flights programmed for May 2007

euroresi@euroresidentes.com (Euroresidentes) — Sat, 12 May 2007 08:20:00 +0000

According to a report by OAG, a company that analyses the aviation industry, there are 2.51 million flights programmed for the whole world this month which is 5% more than the same month last year and more than the historic maximum recorded in August 2006 which only reached 2.49 million.

This figure is 113,827 flights more than in May last year and 17.7 million more seats. Spain has experienced one if the largest increases in the number of flights with 100,000 more than in May 2006, a growth of 16%.

The low cost flight sector in Spain has registered a 22% increase over the last year with 70,000 more flights than in May 2006 a 26% increase in the number of seats which is approximately 12 million more seats available.

For example low cost flights in Barajas airport in Madrid have increased from 2% in 2003 to 10% of the total flights just four years later.

It is a similar story In Barcelona where the low cost flight sector has grown significantly and now accounts for more than 23% of total flights. In 2003 this sector only made up 10% of total flights. In Malaga low cost flights have grown from 34% to 47%. However, Palma de Mallorca has the most low cost flights. This month they made up 52% of total flights.

Overall there has been a 68% increase in low cost flights for the whole of the country which works out at 2.5 million more seats available on such flights.
The route which has shown the highest increase is that between Western Europe and Africa, this month there are 2,200 more flights operating between the two continents than this time last year, a 13% increase. However, flights from or to Latin America have registered the smallest increase from 55,336 flights last year to 55,437 this May.

Nevertheless despite the good prospects for the aviation industry some ecological groups say that they are worried about possible repercussions on the climate. Kevin Anderson, a climatological researcher from Manchester University, believes that expansion in the aviation sector contradicts efforts to combat climate change. He explained that although the growth in this sector was good news for share holders it was bad news for the climate and ‘for our children who will pay the price in the future’.