Airline briefs 22Oct12
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Round-up of airline news from this morning including Air France strikes and Kingfisher’s licence suspension.
Air France braces for strike
Air France has said it will aim to “limit the impact of disruption” after one of its unions decided to go on strike this week. The General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union has said it will down tools on Friday 26 October in protest against the airline’s restructuring plans. The airline said it “expects to carry all its passengers to their final destination”, while any flight disruptions should be limited to “a few delays”.
Kingfisher license suspended
Troubled Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines has had its operating permit suspended. The airline has been grounded for several weeks due to a strike over unpaid salaries, and officials with India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation have now suspended its license until it presents a “viable revival plan”. Kingfisher has never made a profit in its history, and is currently seeking overseas investment to secure its future. Even prior to the strike, the airline was operating a severely reduced service.
American posts quarterly loss
American Airlines has posted a US$238 million net loss for the third quarter ending 30 September 2012. The airline, which is currently restructuring following its bankruptcy protection filing late last year, saw a slight 0.8% rise in revenues, to US$6.43 billion, which helped it generate an operating profit of US$51m. The airline was hit by reorganization costs and special charges however, which caused the net loss to widen year-on-year.
KLM Economy Comfort goes on sale
KLM has released bookings for its Economy Comfort products on flights within Europe. The flights with the new product are available from 1 December onboard Boeing 737 aircraft. The seats are said to offer nine centimetres more legroom and a 40% more recline. The airline is also looking into putting the seats on its Cityhopper fleet.