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French air traffic controllers threaten to strike Thursday

French air traffic controllers are set to strike for 48 hours Thursday in their

latest protest against what they say are deteriorating working conditions in the

face of steady growth in the aviation sector. The controllers, members of the SNCTA union, say the budget of the French

aviation regulator should be safeguarded; instead, it argues, decisions over

recent years by both the French government and the European commission

have led to restrictions in both technical resources and the workforce. by French controllers and is likely to this yearThe strike is the second called

have a severe effect as the summer holiday season gets underway. The French

authorities have asked airlines to cut their frequencies 40% during the dispute. against the disruption railedbased Ryanair, which has repeatedly -Ireland

caused by controllers strikes in various European countries, called on the French government and the European Commission (EC) to keep traffic flowing

by allowing air traffic controllers from other European Union (EU) nations to

handle flights over-flying France. The timing of these strikes is designed to cause maximum disruption to consumers because theres little or no capacity in the system to allow customers to rebook or reschedule canceled holidays, chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said. The timing of these strikes during the first week of the school holidays is reprehensible. The request by the French authorities for a 40% cut in flights will result in millions of consumers having their flights or holidays canceled, with no

opportunity to rebook or re-route them. He called on the EU and France to instigate a system similar to that in the US,

where air traffic controllers are legally barred from striking and where industrial

relations problems must be submitted to binding arbitration. Ryanair has refused to comment on reports in the French media that it has

applied for slots at Paris Orly, Nice and Lyon for the forthcoming winter

season. If confirmed, the development would be a further indication of Ryanairs gradual move away from serving smaller regional airports in favor of larger hubs.

Currently, it only serves Paris via the small airports at Beauvais and Vatry, while

its only presence at Nice is with flights to Dublin and Shannon. It does not

currently serve Lyon. While we are always interested in new routes, we do not comment upon or engage in rumour or speculation, the airline said in a written statement.

http://m.atwonline.com

ETIHAD AIRWAYS AND PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL

AIRLINES ANNOUNCE NEW CODESHARE AGREEMENT

Etihad Airways and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have signed a

codeshare agreement which will provide travelers with enhanced

connections between the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and beyond. Etihad Airways will place its EY code on PIA flights between Islamabad,

Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Abu Dhabi. In return, PIAs PK code will be placed on Etihad Airways flights between Abu Dhabi and Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore and PK code will also be

added to Etihad Airways flights from Abu Dhabi to many of the global destinations operated by Etihad Airways.

via travel agents or through the 2015June 30 Flights can be booked from

27 airlines sales offices and contact centers. The first travel date will be70 . This will facilitate travelers with a choice of more than 2015July

destinations. Kevin Knight, Etihad Airways Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, said: Our unique partner strategy has been highly successful and we are pleased to add Pakistan International Airlines to our growing list of

successful code share partners. There is a long and proud history of travel between Abu Dhabi and cities across Pakistan, and this new codeshare agreement between the national airlines of the UAE and Pakistan will make that experience, as well as travel onwards to Africa, Europe, and the United States, that much easier. Khurram Mushtaq, Director Marketing of Pakistan International Airlines,

said: This is indeed a great opportunity for PIA to join hands with Etihad Airways, connecting Pakistan to UAE and around the globe, expanding

reach to more destinations for the convenience of valued passengers. Etihad Airways and PIA are also exploring options to offer members of their

respective frequent flyer programs, Etihad Guest and Awards+Plus,

reciprocal earn and burn for miles when using codeshare flights. All passengers flying on Etihad Airways flights from Abu Dhabi to the

United States are processed through the US Preclearance facility at Abu

Dhabi Airport, which means they pass through all US immigration and

customs checks in Abu Dhabi and arrive in the US as domestic passengers.

http://www.atn.aero

LOTs Boeing airplanes will soon have new colours

Dark graphite for better concentration, two shades of grey for even better relaxation.

Starting today LOT will successfully implement elements of new design and colour

scheme, which is supposed to help passengers find their way around the airport

better on the way to the airplane and while on-board. All travel classes will be marked

and filled with elements which will allow passengers to have a feeling of

transparency and comfort. By introducing class identification every passenger will easily find his or her seat on

the aircraft and will easily move around the airport. LOTs passengers will notice the first changes on-board and at the airports, such as, new colour schemes of food

trays and decor of the check-in areas at the Warsaw airport, as soon as next week.

Subsequent elements of the new colour scheme will appear soon. LOTs every travel class is a separate space, based on strictly defined colours. The waves visible on the seats have been inspired by the movements of air masses and

LOTs 86 year old logo. Blue colours distinguishing each class emerge from elegant shades of graphite. The navigating colour of LOTs Business Class is light blue, contrasting with the dark graphite complementing the entire scheme. This last colour will be used in the future

as a covering fabric of seats in the business class. It fosters concentration and gives

passengers more energy to act frequently needed before important business meetings immediately after landing. Meanwhile, the range of shades of grey used to decorate LOTs Premium Economy and Economy Class has been juxtaposed with navy blue colour of LOT Polish

Airlines logo that remains unchanged for 86 years. The neutral colours of the seats help passengers to relax during the trip. An accent of red is visible in each travel

class, which makes the entire colour scheme even more elegant and refers to the

Polish origin of the LOT brand name. Implementing a new colour scheme in each travel class LOT distinguishes its every

product, creating a separate colour identification for it. The system constitutes a coherent and logical entirety. We hope that it will be intuitive and easily distinguished

by our customers, which will make it easier for them to find their way around the

airports and in our airplanes- says Marta Glinka, Director of LOTs Marketing Office. By implementing an innovative look of its travel classes LOT is setting the trends.

Passengers will be able to see the first redecorated Boeing 787 Dreamliners before

the end of this year. A similar colour scheme will be implemented in the fall in Boeing

737 airplanes, whose entire interior will be modified and redecorated. In several weeks time LOT will open a new check-in area at Warsaws airport for passengers. It will be larger than the current one, and thanks to coherent colour

navigation, passengers will easily find dedicated check-in desks such as LOT

Business and Premium Economy Class and LOT Family Check-in desks.

http://www.atn.aero

July, union says-Lufthansa strikes postponed until mid-4UPDATE

Lufthansa, UFO union had agreed to talk on Monday * UFO union says progress made in talks * Union agrees to postpone action until mid-July * Lufthansa shares closed down 1.86 pct (Adds union saying progress in talks averts

immediate strike threat) FRANKFURT, June 29 (Reuters) - Talks to resolve a pay dispute at German airline

Lufthansa have made enough progress to lift the threat of any immediate work

stoppages, flight attendants' union UFO said early on Tuesday. Lufthansa had faced a June 30 deadline to make concessions or be hit with one-day

strikes by cabin crew workers over the busy summer holiday season. Due to the progress in the latest talks, cabin crew union official Nicoley Baublies told

Reuters the start of any possible industrial action had been pushed back to mid-July

at the earliest. Lufthansa has been in lengthy talks with various staff groups to try to cut costs to

compete more effectively with low-cost airlines and Gulf airline rivals. UFO said earlier on Monday its members were ready to talk and Lufthansa Chief

Executive Carsten Spohr told journalists he was optimistic that a deal could be

reached. UFO said last week its members would strike on July 1 if Lufthansa did not put

forward a much better offer on pay and pensions. More one-day strikes would follow that could last until Sept. 16, disrupting travel over

the lucrative peak summer season, the union said at the time. Spohr said the airline needed 24 hours' notice to change flight plans so it was crucial

to come to an agreement on the negotiation process with unions by the morning of

June 30 at the latest. The dispute centres around the airline's pension scheme. Lufthansa has said that low interest rates mean it can no longer afford the retirement

scheme it offers to cabin crew. The costs of the scheme, which amounted to some 3.7 billion euros ($4.1 billion) last

year, are of particular concern for the airline because cabin crew can take early

retirement from the age of 55 due to the strains of frequent flying. It wants employees to contribute more of their salary towards their pension. UFO

wants to keep much of the current retirement scheme. Spohr said the airline wanted to ensure that employees who had been with the

company the longest would be least affected by the pension changes. Lufthansa shares were down nearly two percent, while the German blue chip index,

hit by the Greek debt crisis, was down 3.56 percent. ($1 = 0.9011 euros) (Reporting by

Peter Maushagen and Victoria Bryan; Writing by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Jane

Merriman and Tom Brown)

Europol Leads Crackdown on Air Ticket Fraud

Europol is celebrating after an international operation led to the detention of 130

suspected air ticket fraudsters. Organized through three operation centers Europol in The Hague, Interpol in Singapore, and Ameripol in Bogota the crackdown took place in 140 airports across 49 countries worldwide. The operation required co-ordination between airlines, issuing banks, payment card

schemes, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and law enforcement. Police stationed in the affected airports on 16 and 17 June were fed information by

payment providers, card companies and IATA concerning suspicious looking

transactions. Officers then intercepted the relevant passengers before they could

.Europol board their plane, according to A total of 222 suspicious transactions were flagged for investigation, with 130 people

detained 101 in Europe, 11 in APAC, 10 in Latin America, two in the US and six in Canada. It was discovered that many of those detained have been involved in even more

serious crimes including human trafficking, illegal immigration, drug smuggling,

cybercrime and terrorism. The airline industry faces losses in excess of 1bn from ticketing fraud, with criminals often using card details stolen via large scale data breaches, Europol said. Once again the operation was successful and proved worthwhile, claimed Meta Backman, from the European Airlines Fraud Prevention Group. As a result of these actions, airlines can already see improved cooperation with card issuing banks, card schemes and law enforcement in their daily fight against credit

card fraud. Without the determination and effort of Europols European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) this could not have happened. Security consultant, Brian Honan, a special adviser on internet security to EC3,

argued that the operation shows how effective cross border and industry co-operation

can be. Of particular note is how police forces around the world were involved with Europol acting as the hub to coordinate the various actions, he told Infosecurity. This operation is the most recent of its kind to target airline ticket fraudsters and its interesting to note that lessons learnt from previous operations have been applied to

make this operation effective. This is an encouraging development and as more

operations of this type are carried out we will see more effective operations against

cyber-criminals.

http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com

Star Alliance on track for more Gold Track express

lanes

A dozen major airports around the world will gain express

security lanes for selected first and business class travellers

and top tier frequent flyers by the end of August. Its part of the continued roll-out of the Gold Track, the premium passenger channels created by Star Alliance. We have Gold Track facilities at two dozen airport already, and another dozen are going to open in the next two months at the

major hubs of Star Alliance carriers says Star Alliance CEO Mark Schwab. Its a good start but with 1,300 airports around the world we have a long way to go.

Speaking on the sidelines of a half-yearly gathering of Star

Alliance airline CEOs in Warsaw last week, Schwab told

Australian Business Traveller that theres now a keener focus than ever on the passenger experience. This has always been important to us, but with Star Alliance now 18 years old we have a comprehensive network that

covers the entire globe and so our focus shifts to creating

more value within this existing network, including ways to

enhance the customer experience. to that Avianca BrazilStar Alliance will next month add

network, helping to fill a hole created in the South American

market when Brazil's TAM merged with Chilean airline LAN to

create LATAM, and left Star Alliance for Oneworld.

http://www.ausbt.com.au

EgyptAir participates in Star Alliance Chief Executive Board in

Warsaw

Capt. Sameh El-Hefny, chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding

Company participated in Star Alliance mid-year Chief Executive

Board hosted by the Star Alliance member LOT Polish Airlines,

during which the member carrier CEOs endorsed

enhancements to further improve the network travel experience

offered to customers and gave the go-ahead for the inclusion of

the newest member Avianca in Brazil. As a mature Alliance with a comprehensive network and good, close relationships between our member airlines we are

excellently placed to offer continuous enhancements in various

ways that together improve the Alliance travel experience, said Star Alliance CEO Mark Schwab. Avianca in Brazil will be added

to the network as of July 22nd this year, allowing Star Alliance

once again to offer its customers domestic flights in Latin

Americas largest and most important market. El-Hefny confirmed that EgyptAir effectively participate in a strategy to support the Star Alliance network especially in

Middle East and North Africa. He welcomed the newest member on board and stated that it will add up many

advantages to EGYPTAIR customers in North America

continent in general and Brazil in specific. During the meeting, the new destinations added to the

Alliances network in 2015 were reviewed. Complementing the network expansions, member carriers are deepening their

bilateral cooperation by signing code-share agreements for the

interest of all members.

http://www.arabianaerospace.aero

As a hosting carrier, LOT outlined its new strategy a new LOT in a new Europe under which it plans to double in size over the next five years. In addition to three new connections to Asia

Tokyo, Seoul and Bangkok it plans more than a dozen new European routes. Announcing the most dynamic growth in the

companys history, LOT said it was competing for leadership in the region and aimed to become the largest network carrier in

New Europe. In their joint discussions, the CEOs reaffirmed the objectives

set out by the Alliances founding fathers more than 18 years ago, agreeing to continue to build on its key strengths a global network, a high standard of customer service and

making use of modern technology to drive business strategies. Dialogue with airports is essential in realising ground service

improvements. We would ask airports around the world to engage with us at a very early stage, as they redevelop

terminals or build completely new infrastructures. As the

experience at Heathrow shows, this can bring advantages for

all, said Mark Schwab. Another service which is currently being rolled out across the

network is Gold Track Security a dedicated security lane for First and Business Class passengers as well as Star Alliance

Gold Card holders. This Alliance product is currently available

at over 25 major airports and will progressively expanded to the

majority of Star Alliance hubs during the course of the year. - See more at: http://www.arabianaerospace.aero/egyptair-

participates-in-star-alliance-chief-executive-board-in-

warsaw.html#sthash.ztAgd1DE.dpuf

http://www.arabianaerospace.aero

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