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This is index of all the stories on the Airreview News website. If you want to see stories about just one airline, use the index on the left.
More changes for bmi Diamond Club
bmi has announced a radical overhaul of it's Diamond Club Frequent Flyer scheme. Many upgrade perks have been axed, and all the old paper upgrade vouchers have now been made worthless. However there is a new logo.
1st Dec 2009
Massive cuts at bmi as Lufthansa takes over
bmi is axing a large number of high frequency routes, and cutting two thirds of its long haul fleet.
1st Dec 2009
Bmi cuts its baby
Bmi’s subsidiary Bmibaby has announced a restructuring programme that will see its fleet cut by nearly 30 per cent from 17 to 12 aircraft next year, with a refocus on flights from its main base at East Midlands airport.
27th Nov 2009
Lufthansa cuts First Class, new cabin coming
Lufthansa is to temporarily suspends first class ticketing on five long-haul routes from Frankfurt, but will shortly announce a new First Class cabin.
1st Dec 2009
Smaller seats due at Lufthansa
Lufthansa will overhaul its European economy class product next year, and reduce the seat pitch.
1st Dec 2009
Seats get smaller on Etihad
Etihad will install ten-across seating on its fleet of B777s, in effect making the seats smaller and more uncomfortable.
1st Dec 2009
Seat booking fee on Cathay
Cathay Pacific is offering passengers in Economy Class the option to secure seats with extra legroom for a fee.
1st Dec 2009
Qantas for automatic checkin
Qantas is to introduce new staff saving measures so you can check in a bag without talking to anyone
1th Dec 2009
New Hong Kong Qantas lounge
Qantas has unveiled its new business class lounge at Hong Kong International Airport replacing the current shared facilites it's had with BA for the past 10 years.
1th Dec 2009
Premium Economy on JAL
JAL (Japan Airlines ) will introduce Premium Economy seating on its Tokyo-Sydney service from in December.
1th Dec 2009
New business & First ANA seat
ANA All Nippon has announced its new cabin products which will appear on the B777-300ER. This will initially serve the Tokyo-New York route, then Tokyo-Frankfurt and Tokyo-London.
27th Nov 2009
More flights for Emirates
Emirates Airlines is adding a total of 17 flights per week to its Asia Pacific routes. This will including Bangkok and Sydney.
25th Nov 2009
Bigger seats for Iberia
Spanish flag carrier Iberia is increasing the pitch and recline of its long-haul business class seating giving fully flat beds.
21th Nov 2009
ANA offer Business perks to economy
ANA is allowing passengers wider purchase options during their journey, which means you can in effect "buy up" to business class.
6th Nov 2009
Inflight internet for Lufthansa.
Lufthansa’s in-flight broadband service is set to return to service after a three year absence.
19th Oct 2009
British Airways offer Silver Exec Level for £495
British Airways Executive Club members flying on routes to certain European and North African destinations will earn increased tier points. Plus BA will offer silver level of it's Frequent Flyer scheme for a fee.
26th Oct 2009
Seat Changes at British Airways
British Airways passengers will have to pay to choose their seats before they travel
25th Sept 2009
BA scraps short-haul food & drinks
British Airways has axed all meals, except breakfast, on its short-haul flights in a bid to save £22m a year.
29th June 2009
A380 axed from New York route by Emirates
Emirates Airlines has the dubious distiniction of the being the first airline to pull the new A380 from a route.
7th April 2009
Air France launch Premium Economy
Air France will initially launch Premium Economy on destinations from Paris to New York JFK, Tokyo and Osaka
6th April 2009
bmi increase rates, cut redemptions
bmi has yet again changed the Diamond Club, making further reductions to the possibilities of using bmi miles for flights on Star Alliance airlines.
5th April 2009
Bombay goes as airlines axe services
Both Virgin Atlantic and Finnair are to scrap their services to Bombay (Mumbai).
4th April 2009
American offer inflight internet
American Airlines have begun a trial of their new inflight internet service.
4th Sept 2008
Kingfisher launches Heathrow to India
The Indian airline Kingfisher is to start flying between London and Bangalore. The single daily 11 hour flight to the the Indian IT centre is the airline's first international service.
4th Sept 2008
US Airways shut Gatwick lounges
The dedicated lounges at London Gatwick airport for US Airways are to close
4th Sept 2008
Turkish put on Europe First Class
Turkish Airlines is the first airline to put on a three class aircraft for the relatively short hop from London Heathrow to Istanbul
28th Feb 2009
Emirates go A380 on trans-Tasman
You can now fly on the world's largest passenger aircraft on the route between Australia and New Zealand, with Emirates putting the A380 Superjumbo onto the route between Sydney and Auckland.
28th Feb 2009
US abandons drinks charge
US Airways is to stop charging for nonalcoholic drinks in its economy cabin, following a bout of crisism from passengers.
28th Feb 2009
Singapore axe UK flights & business redemptions
Singapore Airlines continues to reduce flights across its worldwide network in order to cope with declining demand. One side effect of this is bring the end of first and business class redemptions on UK flights.
28th Feb 2009
Singapore Airlines suspends flights, cuts all-business class services
Singapore Airlines is to suspend many of its international flights as the worsening global economy takes its toll. Heathrow & Australia take the brunt of cuts.
31th Jan 2009
Singapore Airlines show new regional Business Class seat
Singapore Airlines has received the first of its new A330-300 aircraft, a fleet which will grow to 19, and which are destined for most routes in Australia
28th Jan 2009
Singapore Airlines reduce seat quality to Australia
Singapore Airlines will introduce its new Airbus A330-300 regional aircraft with poorer seats on routes to Australian and Japanese cities from March 2009.
1st Jan 2009
Delta to start Sydney service.
An american airline, Delta Air Lines has confirmed its plans to launch flights from Los Angeles to Sydney in July. This may start an air fare battle on the Qantas-dominated route .
20th December 2008
Delta to scrap London-Seattle service.
Delta is scrapping the London Heathrow-Seattle service began just six month ago. 10th December 2008
BA switch contracts.
Northern Foods is diversifying into airline food - taking over the BA contract.
1st December 2008
Bmi scrap longhaul from Manchester.
BMI will stop all of its Manchester long-haul flights early next year, and transfer its two A330s to other routes from London Heathrow.
10th November 2008
Bmi sold to Lufthansa.
Lufthansa is buying the 50% of bmi owned by BMI chairman Sir Michael Bishop, who forced the purchase under a long-standing agreement. Frequent Fliers are concerned at the impact on the Diamond Club.
8th November 2008
Bmi downgrades domestic services.
Bmi is to downgrade services on four domestic routes. Smaller planes will be used and flights will be retimed. It has resulted in Bmi removing aircraft details from its website so, at the time of booking, passengers no longer know which plane type will be operating their flight.
26th October 2008
Lufthansa expands hub at Milan.
Lufthansa is to start direct services to eight European cities from Milan Malpensa next year.
26th October 2008
bmi doubles flights to Moscow.
bmi has announced a new daily service between London Heathrow and Moscow Domodedovo, starting 26 October. The new service is an overnight flight leaving Heathrow at 2155.
26th October 2008
LHR T5 opens new dedicated business class check-ins.
British Airways has opened a dedicated business class check-in zone at Heathrow T5. Business class passengers can now take advantage of 16 'fast bag drops' for those with hold luggage only
26th October 2008
Continental unveils its new lie flat seats
Following delays on its Boeing 787 introduction Continental Airlines has confirmed that the 180-degree lie-flat seat for the BusinessFirst cabin on its long haul aircraft will now be seen initially on its Boeing 777 fleet that primarily serve trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific routes.
26th October 2008
Air France drops Heathrow-LA
Air France dropping its daily flights from London Heathrow to Los Angeles from the end of October, seven months after the route was launched.
26th October 2008
United scraps free longhaul food.
United Airlines are to scrap free food on Trans Atlantic flights, and start charging for food in business class on domestic flights.
18th August 2008
Qantas change seat allocations.
Qantas have changed their check-in system, restricting the ability of some passengers to select seats. Teething problems with the new software has caused some family groups of passengers to be split up in the cabin.
14th August 2008
bmi end LH Miles and Cash deals.
The airline bmi has confirmed that it will no longer offer Miles and Cash awards for Lufthansa First Class awards. 8th August 2008
BA's Open Skies expands to Amsterdam, but scraps economy class.
OpenSkies, the new premium transatlantic airline from British Airways, will offer daily service between Amsterdam and New York. 8th August 2008
In-flight showers for Emirates A380
Emirates Airlines has taken delivery of its first Airbus A380 aircraft. The new cabin features 489 seats (14 first class suites, 76 business and 399 economy), and two spa showers at the front of the aircraft. 8th August 2008
BA reveals London City's new plane.
British Airways has revealed what it's new all-business class planes from London City will look like. The new services, using two new A318 planes, will be configured with 32 flat-bed seats. 8th August 2008
Singapore swap Manchester for Heathrow.
Singapore Airlines is to reduce its Manchester-Singapore route from a daily to a five times a week. The Boeing 777-200 service is to be cut from November. 8th August 2008
BA cuts capacity as fuel bill hits.
British Airways has started making cuts to services, as it's daily fuel bill hits over £8 million a day. Overall it means that seat capacity will be cut by 3 percent. 8th August 2008
Qantas introduce domestic Business Lounges.
Qantas is splitting it's Qantas Clubs into two - introducing a new Business lounge at it's main locations. 17th July 2008
Qantas revamp Frequent Flier.
Qantas frequent flyers will be able to redeem points for "Anyseat" on Qantas or Jetstar flights under an enhancement to the program. It means that any seats will be made available, if you have enough points. 15th July 2008
New Joint Star Alliance lounge at Heathrow.
The Star Alliance has opened a joint lounge for premium customers at London Heathrow Terminal 1. It has a first class and a business side. 13th July 2008
Bag charge plan hits AA.
American Airlines plans to raise several hundred million dollars in new fees and axe many routes. 26th June 2008
New Business Swiss seats.
Swiss International Air Lines is launching what it says is a unique seating concept for its international Business Class cabins.
26th June 2008
New BA lounge in Munich.
British Airways are opening a new lounge in Munich. It is the first of the new Galleries designs to open in Germany.
26th June 2008
Air New Zealand offers IFE on the ground.
ANZ has decided to keep it's entertainment system running, even while it is on the ground. Air New Zealand passengers flying to and from London Heathrow to Los Angeles, Hong Kong or Auckland on 747 and 777 aircraft will be the first to use a new service
24th June 2008
Star Alliance welcomes Continental Airlines.
Continental Airlines has announced it wishes to leave SkyTeam and join the Star Alliance as it rejigs its global partnerships.
24th June 2008
Delta axes Gatwick NYC route.
US carrier Delta will no longer fly between London Gatwick and New York JFK after the end of August.
17th June 2008
Malaysian to revamp lounge at Terminal 4.
Malaysia Airlines new lounge at Heathrow Terminal 4 will have its new style lounge concept. Opening in 2009, it will offer business and first class passengers facilities based on the recently-opened regional lounge at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
17th June 2008
More cuts for United.
United Airlines is grounding 100 aircraft from its mainline fleet. It is cutting domestic capacity by around 18% and internationally by 5% by the end of 2009.
12th June 2008
Qantas axes many routes.
Qantas is to make large cuts to it's network in the wake of record fuel prices.
12th June 2008
New BKK lounge for Singapore.
Singapore Airlines has opened a new SilverKris Lounge for its premium customers at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, in Bangkok.
12th June 2008
Air France goes longhaul from Heathrow.
Air France has finally started it's longhaul operation from London's Heathrow Airport - with just one route, to Los Angeles. As part of the Open Skies de-regulation of the airport, it is permitted to offer a direct flight, as opposed to taking passengers via it's Paris hub
17th May 2008
New arrival lounge for Star at Heathrow.
bmi and South African Airways have linked up to provide a new arrivals lounge at Terminal one at London Heathrow airport. The new lounge will be available to SAA customers who are travelling in Business class, plus the usual top tier Frequent Fliers.
17th May 2008
Open Skies plan shifts.
British Airways has changed it's plans for a new operation from continenl Europe to the US. BA has been preparing six Boeing 757-200s for its OpenSkies subsidiary.
15th May 2008
New Malaysia Airlines lounge in KL.
Malaysia Airlines has opened a new Regional Golden Lounge at Kuala Lumpur International Airport
7th May 2008
British Airways may link with US counterparts.
British Airways hasconfirmed it is in talks with US competitors to co-operate more closely. It is exploring opportunities for co-operation with American Airlines and Continental Airlines.
7th May 2008
BA revamp Club World snackbar.
British Airways have increased the food available throughout the flight in Business World. BA call it Club World - so it's appropriate that they call it the Club Kitchen.
4th May 2008
Business airline Eos goes bust.
US business-class airline Eos has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and has stopped operating flights.
30th April 2008
New seatback entertaintainment for Singapore.
Singapore Airlines is now offering passengers computer office applications on the seatback TVs. It works by reading files off a USB stick.
20th April 2008
End of bmi looming as Lufthansa plans takeover.
Lufthansa has warned it plans to exercise an option to buy control of bmi by the middle of 2009, with it's main aim of securing valuable slots at London's Heathrow airport.
15th April 2008
End of Longhaul for BA at Manchester.
British Airways will suspend its daily flights from Manchester to New York JFK in October to use the slot at JFK for another Gatwick flight.
1st April 2008
Delta & Northwest merger forms 'largest airline'.
Rival US companies Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines have agreed to merge in a £2.5bn deal that would create the world's biggest carrier.
1st April 2008
New seats in all classes for Cathay Pacific.
Cathay Pacific has upgraded its economy, business and first class offer with the new designs being progressively installed on all new aircraft as they are delivered.
1st April 2008
Emirates has opened a new luxury lounge at Brisbane International Airport.
In an Australian first, passengers can board their flights directly from the comfort of the lounge, including the top deck of the superjumbo Airbus A380.
1st April 2008
Virgin may scrap in-flight beauty treatment.
Sir Richard Branson's airline Virgin Atlantic has appeared to take a step closer to scrapping its in-flight beauty treatment service after 18 years.
1st April 2008
Expansion for Austrian Airlines.
Austrian Airlines says that an expected €150m cash injection will firm up its ambitious plans to target business travellers to the Middle East
1st April 2008
bmi insists on a move on time.
bmi says that it will strongly resist any bid to delay Star Alliance's long-anticipated move into London Heathrow's Terminal 1.
1st April 2008
V Australia to go trans-pacific.
Virgin Blue's new international subsidiary V Australia will begin competing on the recently liberalised transpacific market from December with daily direct flights from Sydney to Los Angeles.
10th Feb 2008
Northwest Airlines from London Heathrow.
Northwest Airlines (and with a codeshare with its partner KLM) now flies to Minneapolis in the USA from London Heathrow after moving its operation from London Gatwick.
10th Feb 2008
London to Sydney on an A380.
Singapore Airlines' Airbus A380 service from Singapore to Heathrow is now a reality
10th Feb 2008
All change at Heathrow.
British Airways' move to Terminal 5 is engendering a domino effect as airlines and alliances shift across Heathrow.
10th Feb 2008
Open Skies starts.
The long-heralded Open Skies agreement between the European Union and the US has started.
10th Feb 2008
Cathay Pacific moves at Bejing.
Cathay Pacific Airways moves its operations to the new Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport on 26 March and will offer improved passenger facilities.
10th Feb 2008
bmi still rejecting LHR trans-Atlantic.
Bmi says it will continue to consider whether to fly out of Heathrow following the start of Open Skies next month.
10th Feb 2008
Air Southwest launches Business Plus.
Business travellers flying with Air Southwest can take advantage of a new package of benefits.
10th Feb 2008
Delta worries frequent flyers.
Delta SkyMiles members are to benefit from various new redemption options as the airline revamps its loyalty programme.
10th Feb 2008
Business only for Singapore.
Singapore Airlines is to retrofit five of its ultra long-haul aircraft into an all-business class configuration for services between Asia and the US.
10th Feb 2008
New Virgin Clubhouse at Boston.
Virgin Atlantic has opened a £1m Clubhouse for Upper Class passengers at Boston's Logan International Airport
10th Feb 2008
Premium Economy for Qantas.
Qantas has welcomed its first aircraft fitted with the airline's new Premium Economy cabin.
20th Feb 2008
Heathrow Terminal 4 gets communal Skyteam facilities.
Global airline alliance SkyTeam will build a new facility with shared check-in and reservation options for passengers when its members move under one roof at Heathrow's Terminal 4.
28th Feb 2008
Qatar Airways now 4 times a day from Heathrow.
Qatar Airways will start a fourth daily non-stop flight between Doha and London Heathrow, taking the airline's capacity between Qatar and the UK to 42 weekly services.
10th Feb 2008
Premium Economy now on all SAS flights.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines says that its upgraded long-haul premium economy service is now on board all routes.
10th Feb 2008
Delta unveils its new Business Class seat.
Delta Air Lines unveiled its new full flat seat for its BusinessElite class.
20th Feb 2008
London City gets a direct flight to New York.
British Airways is to launch a transatlantic business class only service next year from London City Airport to New York using A318 aircraft with just 32 business class seats.
10th Feb 2008
Thai Airways abandons all First class flights to Australia.
All Thai Airways flights to Australia will be carried out by 777s from the 29th March and there will be no First Class cabin.
10th Feb 2008
Japan Airlines has new First Class cabin.
Japan Airlines is introducing a new first class cabin on the Tokyo-Fukuoka route in April.
10th Feb 2008
London City to Berlin route restarts.
Lufthansa has restarted its route to Berlin from London City Airport,
30th Dec 2007
Extra Sydney flight for Singapore Airlines.
ngapore Airlines will further expand capacity on the Singapore - Sydney route from April, with the progressive introduction of a fourth daily service
21st Dec 2007
Open Skies is the new name for BA's offshoot.
British Airways is creating subsidiary airline 'OpenSkies' to fly daily between New York and either Brussels or Paris from June.
15th Dec 2007
Seatback Tvs at last for Icelandair.
Icelandair is currently installing new seats and a new in-flight entertainment system on all of the company's Boeing 757 aircraft.
7th Dec 2007
New lounges in new terminal for Singapore Airlines.
Singapore Airlines' premium customers get new lounges at Changi Airport's newest addition, Terminal 3, to the tune of £10 million.
1st Dec 2007
More Premium Economy for All Nippon.
There is to be a Premium Economy counter at the airports, and customers are allowed into ANA business class lounges at Tokyo's Narita airport, London Heathrow, New York Kennedy and Washington Dulles airports.
30th November 2007
No longer bmi for Inverness and Nice from Heathrow.
Bmi has announced that from the start of the summer schedule on 30 March the daily service from Heathrow to Inverness will be cancelled .
27th November 2007
Northwest Airlines finally gets access to London Heathrow.
Northwest Airlines is to launch three daily direct flights from Heathrow to Detroit, Minneapolis St. Paul and Seattle in spring 2008.
25th November 2007
New routes for Flybe.
Flybe says it is to start some 23 new routes next summer across the UK and Europe, leading to seven million extra seats becoming available.
18th November 2007
New Premium Economy from Qantas.
Seats in Qantas' new international Premium Economy cabin are now on sale. The airline's new Premium Economy cabin is available on some Boeing 747-400 services, including London to Sydney via Singapore
15th November 2007
Stanstead flights for American Airlines.
American Airlines will be the only transatlantic service between New York and Stansted to offer both business class and economy class seats. The new flights will operate using a Boeing 767-300 aircraft with 225 seats.
15th November 2007
Heathrow options for Delta.
Delta Air Lines has announced what it is planning to do with its London Heathrow flights, with a joint venture with Air France to start new transatlantic services.
30th October 2007
New Premium checking for Virgin Atlantic.
Virgin Atlantic says it will operate the world's fastest airport check-in, with the introduction of its new Upper Class Wing at London Heathrow's Terminal 3.
25th October 2007
Bangkok for Scandinavian.
SAS will start a thrice-weekly service between Stockholm and Bangkok on 29 October, to be followed two days later by a new route between Copenhagen and Dubai.
20th October 2007
Easyjet buy British Airways franchise.
British Airways has further retrenched it's routes, but refusing to take up an option to buy it's franchise GB Airways.
15th October 2007
Superjumbo order from British Airways.
British Airways has committed itself for 12 Airbus A380s (to be delivered from 2012) and 24 Boeing 787s (from 2010).
5th October 2007
Lufthansa to Newquay
Newquay Airport it get get a services to Dusseldorf from next summer by Lufthansa.
3rd October 2007
Virgin Atlantic adds to Premium Economy.
Virgin Atlantic is adding more Premium Economy seats due to demand and by Christmas, the airline's entire Heathrow-based Boeing 747 fleet will have been fitted out, nearly doubling capacity.
10st October 2007
Etihad increase in Australian flights.
Etihad Airways, is to increase its Australian flying programme following the success of the Sydney service.
20th Sept 2007
New business class for Scandinavian.
SAS has unveiled a raft of business traveller initiatives including a last minute business class fare, a new comfort kit and added breakfast options.
15th September 2007
bmi is cutting back on its plans to expand transatlantic.
bmi, the airline previously known as British Midland -- is now no longer planning to fly to the US from Heathrow as soon as it's allowed to under the new Open Skies agreement
10th September 2007
Lufthansa Economy Class: Entertainment on Demand.
Lufthansa have at last joined the real world - and have become the last mainstream airline in the world to offer seatback video screens in Economy Class.
4th September 2007
New Premium Economy, seats, logo & A380 cabin for Qantas.
Qantas are to completely revamp their aircraft cabins, and offer an extra class, in preperation for receving the A380.
21st July 2007
New route for AA to the UK.
American Airlines, an airline based in the US, is ramping up flights to London. The major addition is a new route between New York and London's Stansted Airport.
13th July 2007
Virgin have new Clubhouse at Narita.
Virgin Atlantic has opened a re-furbished facility at Narita, Tokyo's main international airport.
11th July 2007
Dublin to Gatwick service to Aer Lingus.
Aer Lingus is launching services between Dublin and London Gatwick from this October. It follows the Irish flag carrier successfully fighting off a takeover bid from Ryanair.
10th Feb 2008
New Loyalty Scheme for Flybe
Flybe has announced details of its new frequent flyer programme that now sees all travellers eligible for membership benefits. Called the Rewards4all scheme, it will be able to exchange points for either free flights or one year's executive lounge access.
10th Feb 2008
Scandinavian Airlines to sell 20% stake in bmi.
Scandinavian Airlines will sell its 20% stake in bmi to reduce costs and lift profits. Lufthansa is believed to be the only buyer interested. If Lufthansa were to buy SAS's holding it would mark a big step towards the German carrier gaining a stronghold at London's Heathrow airport.
21st June 2007
All business class planes for British Airways.
British Airways is planning to establish a dedicated premium class operation across the Atlantic. This would move it head to head with Virgin Atlantic.
15th June 2007
More premium economy seats for Air New Zealand.
Air New Zealand plans to increase the number of Pacific Premium Economy seats on its longhaul fleet for a second time, following continued strong customer demand for the newly improved product.
8th June 2007
Stories before this point are in the Archive.
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