Aviation Report

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of EasyJet, is set to launch a low-cost airline in Africa this year after taking a 5% stake in a new venture. The easyGroup tycoon, who is embroiled in a long-running boardroom battle with easyJet, is backing a carrier that will operate under his Fastjet airline and be run by former easyJet executives. Fastjet will operate from Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Angola. The ambition is to carry more than 12 million passengers a year, from the 500,000 at present, by cashing in on demand for regional travel from a burgeoning African middle-class. EasyJet remained tight-lipped about the move, referring queries to a statement made last year that said the Luton-based airline would take "necessary action" if Fastjet infringed its rights. However, Ed Winter, Fastjet's chief executive-in-waiting and formerly easyJet's chief operating officer, said the airline would avoid antagonising its European peer. "We have been 100% careful....

American Airlines' parent company company, AMR Corp. (PK: AAMRQ), and U.S. Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) announced Friday that they have entered into a non-disclosure agreement under which each company will exchange confidential information as they study a potential merger. The companies said that they would work closely with AMR's Unsecured Creditors Committee as the Fort Worth-based airline company works its way through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Both companies agreed that they would not talk with other parties about potential mergers while the agreement is in place, but said that a merger between AMR and US Airways is not guaranteed. American Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, citing high labor costs as part of the reason for its financial distress. US Airways within days expressed an interest in merging with American and reached agreements with the three unions representing American's workers in case such a merger could be reached. ...

Starting from 2013, Air France will offer for free to its passengers digital versions of several newspapers and magazines on their tablets or smartphones. In order to define future services, the company requested the opinion of its passengers: for several weeks now, a large panel of frequent travellers have been questioned about their expectations and opinions in an aim to determine the main lines of a more upmarket positioning of the company’s products and services. The company will first make tablets with those newspaper available in airports. It will later on allow passengers to download the newspapers and magazines of the day.

KLM has launched its online magazine and made it shareable. It has the visual quality of the Air France Magazine with the added dimensions of sound and video. The goal is clearly to viralize breathtaking images and content in order to drive traffic to the airline. Link to the magazine:  http://www.iflymagazine.com

Lufthansa will soon bring inflight mobile phone capability to passengers, after receiving certification for AeroMobile’s “eXPhone” GSM connectivity system for an aircraft type, the APEX editor’s blog can exclusively reveal. The German carrier says it has started “testing the performance” of the eXPhone system in-flight. AeroMobile is majority owned by Panasonic Avionics, which has been reigniting inflight Wi-Fi on Lufthansa’s long-haul fleet. A total 71 Lufthansa aircraft now offer the Internet service, which is branded as FlyNet by the airline. However, rollout of eXPhone on Lufthansa has been slower than expected due in part to the fact that in Europe “there is lack of manpower at EASA to review aircraft modification projects”, says Panasonic Avionics VP of global communications David Bruner. “We’re somewhat a victim of our own success. We have so many projects; these are just lining up on their desks and they’re going one-by-one. So there is a bottleneck because there is a...

Launching the app in London today, Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said: “Ryanair is pleased to launch our latest passenger initiative (the iPhone/iPad app) which will allow passengers to book Europe’s lowest fares, manage their booking, and keep up-to-date with Ryanair news, directly from their iPhone or iPad. Passengers can now book Ryanair flights anywhere they take their phone, day or night, ensuring that they never miss out on our lowest fares. Our new app is available today from the iTunes store for just €3.” According to reviews, little work seems to have been put in the app (it is just a wrapper around the website) and it looks like another scam ancillary revenue, 3€ at a time. Reviews: Just a wrapper that sends a password to "unlock" their mobile site. Surprised Apple left this through. HTML web app, does the job but fiddly, pages don't always load and buttons don't always react when selecting airports on booking screen. Fare text tiny and hard...

Delta Enhances Travel Experience at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport with iPads and Unique Restaurants Delta continues to invest in MSP with local chefs and superior amenities Delta Air Lines DAL +0.87%  today begins deployment of more than 250 iPads in three new restaurants on Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport's Concourse G. Delta continues to transform the airport experience by providing travelers a new level of access to high-quality food and hi-tech amenities. "Delta is following through on our commitment to invest in our Minneapolis-St. Paul hub by improving the airport experience with these truly unique amenities," said Bill Lentsch, Delta's senior vice president - Minnesota Operations. "These enhancements on the ground coupled with our in-flight investments such as installing full flatbed seats in BusinessElite and Wi-Fi on more than 800 aircraft, make for a unique traveling experience on Delta that no other carrier can match....