Tiger's New Boss
Crawford Rix (pictured left) will soon switch his role as bmibaby's managing director to head up Tiger Airways' Australian operations. Rix will succeed Shelly Roberts and bring his wealth of experience to the low-cost operator.
Ryanair Reviews Barcelona Base
Ryanair is looking to base up to five B737-800s at Barcelona El Prat Airport from this summer. It is already a major player at Reus and Gerona with a 96% and 89% market share respectively. In Barcelona Ryanair will be competing directly with easyJet, Vueling and Spanair.
Lufthansa To Land in Iraq
Lufthansa has now confirmed it will resume services to Iraq after a 20-year hiatus. From April 25, the carrier begins a four-times weekly service from Frankfurt to Baghdad using A319 aircraft with 132 seats. The carrier also plans to serve Erbil and Baghdad from Munich. Currently the only non-stop service from Iraq to Europe is a five weekly service from Vienna to Erbil, operated by Austrian Airlines.
New Twin-Hub strategy in Ukraine
Ukrainian airlines Aerosvit and Donbassaero plan to operate a twin hub strategy from their respective Kiev Borispol and Donetsk hubs. Donbassaero currently operates 58% of all services in Donetsk and Aerosvit is the largest carrier in Kiev with an 18% share of the market. The two carriers will offer more frequency between their hubs and feed passengers to onward destinations.
airBaltic Adds Tallinn Base
Latvian carrier airBaltic will add a new base in Tallinn, Estonia where it is currently the second largest carrier behind Estonian Air with a 24% market share. The move reflects a focus on the Tallinn and Vilnius markets, complementing its Riga operation. The carrier is also the largest operator in Vilnius with a 40% share.
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