Category Archives: Airline industry

Australian man says he was booted from Qatar Airways flight because of his disability

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Craig Nolan incident comes after disability royal commission hears airlines are ‘dehumanising’ passengers with disabilities

A man requiring a wheelchair claims he was booted from his Qatar Airways flight after boarding the plane and left stranded at Melbourne airport because of his disability.

The story of Craig Nolan, an Australian man with spina bifida whose plan to return to his home in Finland via Doha was disrupted, comes after the disability royal commission heard evidence in recent weeks that airlines are “dehumanising” Australians with disabilities, who they treat as an “afterthought”.

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Consumer watchdog puts Australian airlines on notice over high domestic air fares

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ACCC says they will closely monitor companies to ensure they do not keep prices high through artificial scarcity

The consumer watchdog has put airlines on notice, warning carriers they will be “closely” monitored to ensure they aren’t deliberately slowing their return to full service capacity so they can “keep air fares high”.

In its quarterly airline competition report, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found a 27% increase in all air fare types between October 2019 and October 2022. It noted the price of discounted economy fares had increased the most because “with fewer flights but strong demand, the airlines don’t currently need to offer special fares to fill their planes”.

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Baggage handlers filmed slamming luggage onto conveyor belt at Melbourne airport stood down

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The three men are employees of Qantas subcontractor Swissport, which said it is conducting an ‘urgent investigation’ into the incident

Baggage handlers filmed throwing luggage and slamming bags onto a conveyor belt at Melbourne airport have been immediately stood down pending an investigation.

The minute-long footage, reportedly filmed at Melbourne airport, shows baggage handlers deliberately slamming luggage into a conveyor belt, throwing suitcases high into the air, and hurling one bag so forcefully it falls off the conveyor belt altogether.

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EasyJet looks to over-45s in cabin crew recruitment drive

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Airline launches campaign targeting ‘empty nesters’ or people looking for challenge later in life

The airline easyJet has launched a recruitment drive urging people over the age of 45 to join its cabin crews, as firms devise new strategies for hiring staff in the UK amid a shortage of workers.

The airline said it has seen a 27% increase in crew aged 45 and over in the past four years, including a 30% increase in over-60s in the past year.

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Heathrow ‘ready for Christmas rush’ after making plans to avoid disruption

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Airport vows passengers will not face daily cap during biggest festive getaway in three years

Heathrow airport has said it is prepared for the biggest Christmas getaway in three years and promised that passengers will not have to face a return of the daily cap that was introduced as summer holiday travel descended into chaos.

Europe’s busiest airport, which said last month that on the busiest travel days over the festive period travellers may have to fly outside peak times to manage the festive rush, said it was working on contingency plans for potential strike action over the period.

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Alan Joyce to get millions in bonuses despite Qantas bungles

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Airline chief will receive $4m in shares on top of his $2m-plus salary, despite customer fury at service failures

The Qantas boss, Alan Joyce, will pocket millions in bonuses despite customer fury over service failures, lost bags, and cancelled flights, and union anger over staff pay.

Joyce will also stay on as chief executive officer until at least the end of next year, the Qantas chair, Richard Goyder, confirmed at the airline’s annual general meeting on Friday.

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Heathrow passengers may have to fly outside peak times in run-up to Christmas

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Airport still has shortage of 25,000 staff and is keen to avoid disruption of summer

Heathrow has said passengers may have to fly outside peak times on some days in the run-up to Christmas to avoid further travel chaos, as Europe’s busiest airport admitted it is still short of 25,000 staff to meet high demand.

The airport, which this Sunday is due to lift the current cap of 100,000 passengers a day that was introduced in July as summer holiday travel descended into chaos, said it was in talks with airlines over the selective cap.

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Airline hired for UK’s Rwanda deportations pulls out of scheme

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Exclusive: Privilege Style causes problem for Home Office as it bows to pressure from campaigners

A charter airline hired to remove people seeking refuge in the UK to Rwanda has pulled out of the scheme after pressure from campaigners.

A plane operated by Privilege Style first attempted to fly asylum seekers to the east African country in June but was grounded by an 11th hour ruling by the European court of human rights.

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Melbourne airport terminal partly shut down and flights delayed after ‘inadvertent’ security breach

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Qantas apologises for disruption and delays after passenger allegedly entered security gates without being screened on Tuesday morning

Federal police have shut down a section of the Melbourne airport terminal and ordered passengers from a plane ready for takeoff after an apparent security breach.

A Qantas passenger allegedly entered security gates without being screened on Tuesday morning, which led to other passengers having to evacuate the area before being re-screened.

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Manslaughter trial over 2009 Air France crash begins with cries of ‘shame’

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Anger as airline and Airbus plead not guilty to charge 13 years after flight AF447 crashed, killing 228 people

A manslaughter trial over the 2009 crash of Air France flight 447 has opened in Paris, with the courtroom falling silent as a judge read out the names of 228 passengers and crew who died in the airline’s worst ever accident.

The grief of the victims’ families quickly erupted into anger as the chief executives of Air France and Airbus pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and offered their condolences.

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UN body reaches long-term aviation climate goal of net zero by 2050

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Decision described as a compromise by several European countries who wanted a more ambitious target

A United Nations body has agreed to a long-term aspirational goal for aviation of net-zero emissions by 2050, despite challenges from China and Russia, as countries aligned overwhelmingly with airlines amid pressure to curb pollution from flights.

Nevertheless, environmentalists criticised the non-binding nature of the agreement as toothless.

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Inflight wifi could be pricier if takeover of UK satellite firm goes ahead, says CMA

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Competition and Markets Authority says other operators may not be able to compete after merger of Inmarsat and Viasat

The $7.3bn (£5.4bn) takeover of the British satellite company Inmarsat by its US rival Viasat could result in higher-priced and lower-quality wifi for aeroplane passengers, according to the UK competition watchdog.

The Competition and Markets Authority said its investigation has identified concerns with the merger possibly leading to airlines being offered lower-quality products for onboard wifi and facing higher prices to deliver it.

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‘Second-class citizen’: man lifted on to plane as Darwin airport had no ramp for wheelchair users

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Being carried across the gap between the air bridge and the plane risked his, his wife’s and airline staffs’ safety, says passenger

An Australian man has said he was made to feel like a “second-class citizen” by being lifted on to a Jetstar flight in Darwin, as disability advocates call for a complete overhaul of the way airlines treat passengers.

Brad Wszola, 50, suffered a spinal cord injury in 2016. He uses a wheelchair, but was not able to navigate the gap between the air bridge and the plane when boarding a Jetstar flight from Darwin to Cairns on 12 August.

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‘UK travel is on sale’: plunging pound attracts US visitors

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Operators catering for inbound tourists enjoy best month for bookings in three years

The plunging pound may cause British holidaymakers to choke at the prices if and when they next choose to go abroad. But one slice of the travel industry is seeing a silver lining in the storm clouds.

Tour operators catering for visitors are quietly calling it their best month for bookings since October 2019 as US tourists take advantage of sterling’s tumble.

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Qantas to offer vegetarian meals on all domestic flights again after customer backlash

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Airline had started offering a single meal option on shorter Australian flights, prompting ire from travellers with dietary restrictions

Qantas will start serving vegetarian meals on all domestic flights again after a backlash from travellers.

At the start of the pandemic in 2020 Qantas reduced its meal offerings on board all domestic flights under 3.5 hours, ​​which meant only providing a single option on some flights.

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Activists subvert poster sites to shame aviation and ad industries

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Billboards have been hijacked across Europe to highlight role of airline emissions in climate crisis

As Kate, 23, walked out of Seven Sisters station, in Tottenham, north London, she noticed an airline advertisement attracting unusual attention.

“I was on my way back home, I was coming out of the station, and I saw two people taking pictures of the billboard,” she said. “I thought at first it was just a normal airline ad, so I just walked past. Then I did a bit of a double take.”

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‘Chicken or chicken?’ Qantas ditches vegetarian meals on some domestic flights

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Airline says it changed menu during Covid but critics say ‘one size fits all’ alienates passengers and is a sign of decline

Qantas has stopped offering vegetarian meals on some domestic flights, leaving one irate traveller to suggest it is a further sign that the airline is in decline.

Environmentalist Jon Dee was flying from Adelaide to Sydney on Sunday night when he was told there was only chicken pie on the menu.

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Qantas confident its post-Covid operations will settle into a new normal within weeks

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Despite backlash from customers and calls for CEO Alan Joyce to resign, airline has ‘a lot of confidence’ for September school holidays

Qantas has vowed its operations will settle into a new post-Covid normal within weeks after months of customer complaints over flight cancellations and lost baggage.

The Qantas group executive of associated airlines and services, John Gissing, told the Centre for Aviation summit in Adelaide the airline had “a lot of confidence” going into the September school holidays.

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Passengers escorted off Qantas flight by police after Sydney airport security breach

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All passengers were escorted out of the screened area of Melbourne airport because one passenger had bypassed screening in Sydney

All passengers on a Qantas flight from Sydney on Wednesday evening were escorted off the plane by police to the unscreened area of Melbourne airport, after one passenger managing to bypass screening.

A Qantas spokesperson said “a passenger on a Sydney to Melbourne service (QF487) boarded the flight after inadvertently passing from an ‘unscreened’ to a ‘screened’ part of the airport in Sydney.”

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Jetstar flights cancelled, leaving 4,000 passengers stranded overseas for up to a week

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Travellers in Bali have run out of medication and been offered tortuous routes home

Mass flight cancellations have left 4,000 Jetstar passengers stranded or forced to cancel trips, with the carrier only able to offer flights a week later in many cases.

Many have reported being left in Bali well beyond their planned return date without access to medication, or being forced to lose wages because they could not return home in time to work.

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