Cointrin airport, Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Geneva appeared for a few short years to be of only marginal interest to airlines, after the demise of Swiss in 2002. That has changed and travellers to and from Geneva are now being wooed by airlines, who are offering more destinations. The latest wrinkle in this saga is something of a price war, with BA (British Airways) offering a new lowest price guarantee.
EasyJet stepped into the gap left by Swiss when it announced in 2007 that it was reducing long-haul flights from Geneva, obliging travellers to go via Zurich. The number of flights to several destinations, including London, briefly dipped before the low-cost airline began to build up its Geneva presence.
British Airways Friday 25 March announced that it is offering a guarantee of the lowest price on flights from Geneva to Britain, for Swiss residents who reserve online. The deal is part of a larger “price promise” for BA flights, effective immediately. It is a clear bid to fight the easyJet domination of Swiss airports, particularly Geneva, where it has 36 percent of passenger traffic, and Basel, where it accounts for 45 percent of passengers.
EasyJet has 32 percent of the airport’s passenger traffic, much of that between the UK and Switzerland.
Earlier in the week Swiss announced that it is stepping up the number of codeshare flights with its sister airline Edelweiss and when the new summer schedule starts 27 March it will offer shared flights to Pristina, Heraklion, Rhodes, Kos, Las Palmas, Tenerife, Mykonos, Santorini, Larnaca and Sharm el-Sheikh. It earlier announced that it is increasing connections with Athens to two flights a day and also adding several Basel and Zurich flights to a number of destinations (details).
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Travelers to or through the UK will need to check for last minute changes Friday, as the two-week school spring holidays begin, with British Air workers scheduling a four-day strike that starts Friday night. British railway workers are also planning a strike after the weekend. BA said Friday morning that it is able to add more flights because of the larger number of crew not joining the strike, which Unite, the union disputes.
Updates: BA Swiss page, BA strike news, British National Rail strike news
British Rail Maritime and Transport union workers have voted to strike over changing work practices, just as British Air strike talks broke down, threatening to create travel chaos during the upcoming Easter holidays. The union says that 54 percent of its 5,500 signalers voted to strike. Meanwhile, BA says it is preparing for the three-day strike that begins at midnight tonight, 19 March.
Analysts had predicted losses of up to £150 million for BA (British Airways) for the final three months of 2009, but the company weighed in with a loss of £50m, down significantly from the £122 it lost during that period in 2008. Its financial year ends in March, so the figures are for the company’s third quarter. Willie Walsh, chief executive, told journalists Friday morning 5 February that cost-cutting was responsible for the improvement, with costs reduced by more than 10 percent. The figures look less rosy for the financial year as a whole, compared to the first three quarters of 2008-09, with a loss more than four times as great. But Q3 did show an operating profit, and Walsh insists that the company’s structural changes are having a positive impact on its finances. Difficult negotiations continue with staff over pay cuts and the BA pension plan, with staff voting until 22 February on whether to strike.
Links to other sites: BA, BBC, Financial Times
The threatened British Air cabin crew strike over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday season appears less certain, with the airline saying Wednesday 15 December that it plans to contest the strike vote in court. BA’s argument is that some of those who voted are no longer employed by the airline. The company is meanwhile working out staffing plans should the strike go ahead.
British Air staff have voted in favour of a 12-day strike starting 22 December. Britain’s largest airline is widely expected to create chaos if the strike over the end of year holidays goes ahead. The 22,000 employees polled voted 92.5 percent in favour of the strike, to protest cost-cutting measures. The airline had a record loss in the six months that ended 30 September 2009. BA has posted information for travelers on its web site.
Spanish air carrier Iberia and British company British Air (BA) have ended 16 months of negotiations with an agreement to merge as equal partners, but the deal is far from done. The new company would be tax resident in Spain, but the head office would be in Britain. BA’s pension plan debt of £2.66 billion, exactly equal to the value of the company, must be brought under control or Iberia could still back out of the deal, according to the terms of the agreement. Iberia Friday morning 13 November posted a nine-month pre-tax and interest operating loss of €331 million, higher than analysts expected, for a net loss of €181m during the period. The new airline, which does not yet have a name (TopCo is being used temporarily), would be Europe’s third largest, after Lufthansa and Air France-KLM.
Links to other sites: El Pais (Spa), Financial Times, London Stock Exchange news, Times, UK
Passengers flying on British airline BA will have to pay to select the seats they want, starting 7 October. The exception is seats selected in the 24 hours before departure. The new policy includes passengers traveling together who want seats side by side. Prices range from £10-60, with long-haul selected seats costing £20 each and emergency exit seats £60. BBC and BA official notice
British Airways has asked its employees to take unpaid leaves of absence or work without pay for up to a month to help it weather the financial storm that caused it to post a record loss of £400 million for 2008, reports CNN. The company has not confirmed the information, nor do the British media report it but BA and the Unite union have been bickering over pay proposals in recent days.
Subway trains in London, England are likely to come to a halt for two days, with drivers on strike from 19:00 Tuesday 9 June until late Thursday. Their union is calling for higher pay. PR-Inside
British Airways last week told staff that it is seeking 2,000 voluntary redundancies among the 14,000 flight crew members, raising fears of a strike by airline staff this summer, according to the Times. The company announced a £401 pre-tax loss 22 May, the worst in the company’s history, due to a mix of falling business travel, a high pound and high fuel costs. Guardian
