EU and Sri Lanka Ink Deal to Boost Air Transport
The European Commission and Sri Lanka have signed an aviation agreement which will restore a sound legal basis for developing future aviation relations between Sri Lanka and EU Member States. The so-called "horizontal agreement" will place several provisions in bilateral air services agreements between 15 EU Member States and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka on a sound legal footing by ensuring compliance with EU legislation. Most importantly, it will remove nationality restrictions in bilateral air services agreements between EU Member States and Sri Lanka. It will thereby allow any EU airline to operate flights between Sri Lanka and any EU Member State in which it is established, where a bilateral agreement between the EU Member State concerned and Sri Lanka already exists and traffic rights are available. The agreement represents an important step towards strengthening aviation relations and enhancing the overall cooperation with Sri Lanka, while encouraging traffic between the EU and Sri Lanka. Air transport is crucial for relations between the EU and Sri Lanka, linking people, cultures and businesses. Today, there are direct flights between Sri Lanka and six EU Member States (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the UK). In 2010, the total number of air passengers travelling between the EU and Sri Lanka increased by eleven per cent to 380,000 passengers.
American Airlines and Air Pacific Sign Codeshare Agreement
American Airlines and Fiji-based Air Pacific have signed a new codeshare agreement that will give American's customers more travel options throughout the South Pacific and Air Pacific customers easier access to major business centers in the US. Pending US government approval, expected within the next 30 to 60 days, American will place its code on Air Pacific flights in the following markets: Los Angeles-Nadi, Honolulu-Nadi, and Nadi-Suva while Air Pacific will place its code on nearly 20 new destinations to cities flown from American's Los Angeles cornerstone hub.
Royal Jordanian and airberlin enter new Codeshare Agreement
Royal Jordanian Airlines and future oneworld alliance member airberlin have entered into a codeshare agreement that will add some points to the route network of both carriers. From the start of the winter flight schedule, Royal Jordanian passengers will be able to travel to a number of German and European points on airberlin flights, featuring Royal Jordanian flight numbers. In return, airberlin passengers will be able to book Royal Jordanian flights to Amman from Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna. According to Hussein Dabbas, President and Chief Executive Officer, Royal Jordanian, this agreement “further increases connectivity options, through expanding our route network and giving our customers much better access to many more cities across Germany while, at the same time, helping them take advantage of better links to Northern Europe”.
New Partnership Between Munich and Beijing Airports
The airports in Munich and Beijing are forging closer ties and at an official signing ceremony, the heads of the two air transportation hubs, Dr Dong Zhiyi, President and CEO of Capital Airports Holding Company, and Dr Michael Kerkloh, President and CEO of FMG, the Munich Airport operating company, finalised a new cooperation agreement. The objective of the partnership is a systematic knowledge transfer for employees and managers of the two airports. Among the arrangements for achieving this goal, the contract provides for a management exchange program, in which visiting managers will gain detailed insights into the operations and processes of the partner airport. Beijing International Airport is China’s biggest airport, and handles nearly 80 million passengers per year. When the new Beijing Daxing International Airport opens in the Chinese capital in 2015, it will handle about 370,000 passengers per day, making it the world’s busiest aviation hub. Beijing joins Denver, Nagoya, Bangkok and Singapore as Munich’s fifth sister airport.
Qatar Airways Signs Interline Partnership with Precision Air
Qatar Airways is to enhance its activities in East Africa through an interline partnership with Tanzania’s largest carrier, Precision Air. The agreement allows Qatar Airways’ passengers to connect seamlessly via the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam to and from a wide range of East African cities, such as Moroni – the capital city of Comoros – Zanzibar, Mombasa, Arusha, Kigoma, Shinyanga, Musoma and Tabora.
JetBlue and Jet Airways Launch Interline Agreement
US low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways and India’s Jet Airways have launched a new interline agreement that will offer customers new travel options between US destinations, Brussels, and onward to India. Making use of Jet Airways’ European hub in the Belgian capital, the agreement will open up enhanced links between the three continents and customers will be able to book a single combined ticket for JetBlue and Jet Airways-operated flights with one stop check-in and baggage transfer between the two airlines. According to Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, the carrier’s transatlantic services from Newark Liberty International and JFK International in New York to Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai, via Brussels, have proved extremely popular, consistently registering very high loads. “This partnership will enable us to tap into JetBlue's impressive network into New York, thus offering guests an unmatched, seamless travel experience between several additional destinations in the USA and India," he added.
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