New routes, flights and services Delta increases flights to Cairo US-BASED Delta Airlines is increasing its flights from Cairo to Atlanta to five times a week. The flight frequency will increase again from five a week to six in June, according to Manoj Kuriakose, commercial manager in Dubai. Frankfurt-Rzeszó LUFTHANSA is extending its route network in Poland by adding Rzeszów to its summer timetable 2009. From 27 April 2009, the Lufthansa CityLine regional airline subsidiary will begin operating five flights weekly on the Frankfurt-Rzeszów route with a Bombardier CRJ700. The Frankfurt-Rzeszów round trip is available at a price as low as 99 euros. The economy fare includes all taxes, fees and the Lufthansa ticket charge of 10 euros, if booked online at www.lufthansa.com.www.lufthansa.com. Two new deals BOTH Turkish and Hungarian authorities have reached two agreements with Egyptian authorities to increase operation between Egypt and the two countries. According to Civil Aviation Authority boss Emad Salam, the deals include a modification of previous deals to allow the expansion of operating fleets to Egyptian airports and thus increase the seats offered. Salam also indicated that both countries were permitted operation to new destinations in Egypt such as Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada, and EgyptAir was permitted the operation in Istanbul, Antalya and Ankara. Mobile service on board RJ ONEWORLD member Royal Jordanian has launched mobile in-flight passenger communications services. The new commercial service, which will be available in the first phase on its new A319 aircraft flying to Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and India, will enable passengers to stay connected in- flight using their own mobile phones or BlackBerry-type devices to send and receive text messages and emails, make and receive phone calls, and access the Internet. Passengers will also be able to access the Internet using their own laptops fitted with GSM data cards. The Royal Jordanian launch comes amidst mounting demand for in-flight passenger communications. IT solutions Amadeus exclusive AMADEUS and EgyptAir have extended their relationship for another 10 years until 2018. The new agreement covers the entire IT Services, designed to provide EgyptAir with a new generation" technology platform for the management of passenger services. Three years ago, Amadeus became the system integrator for EgyptAir's "IT Modernisation Project", providing the airline with the Altéa Customer Management Solution. According to Ashraf Hasan, EgyptAir sales manager, Amadeus has approved EgyptAir as an exclusive agent for its IT solutions in Egypt. "We have been approved to provide the service to 13 Arab airlines operating in Egypt who are members of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation in addition to local travel agents," explained Hasan. "These 13 leading airlines in the Middle East and North of Africa account for more than 66 per cent of reservations made by travel agencies in the region," he added. According to Amadeus, 27 of the top 50 airlines listed in IATA's member ranking table have selected Amadeus to underpin their direct relationships with online customers. Money on air Taking over Austrian LUFTHANSA has recently submitted a public takeover offer to the shareholders of Austrian Airlines AG through �LH �sterreichische Luftverkehrs-Holding-GmbH and offered 4.49 euros per share. The acceptance period for the bid starts on 2 March 2009 and ends on 11 May 2009. The offer represents a further step on the way to the complete takeover of Austrian Airlines by the Lufthansa Group. The Supervisory Boards of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and �sterreichische Industrieholding AG (�IAG) had previously approved the purchase of the shares and the integration of Austrian Airlines AG into the Lufthansa Group. The Lufthansa Group said it expected an operating income of around 1.3 billion euros for the business year 2008. Previously, a result of around 1.1 billion euros was forecasted. The increase is substantially attributable to a more stable development in the fourth quarter than was previously expected. Lower revenues associated with a noticeable slowdown in demand were offset by cost reductions as a result of the decreasing fuel price and favorable valuation effects. The Group's revenue totalled 22.4billion euros compared to 19.8 billion euros at the end of the financial year 2007. The operating result of 1.378 million euros compared to previous year's 845 million euros, exceeded the profit target. New appointments THE NATIONAL carrier has announced the appointment of a new general manager for its local and international stations. Mohammed Meki has been named to take over the post which has been occupied by Taha Awad-Allah who has been promoted to Commercial Sector deputy. EgyptAir Chairman Sherif Galal asserted that the new manager is highly qualified to take over the post as well as carry out the job as required for the coming phase. Meki has been working for the airline for twenty five years and his last position was serving as Paris Station manager. Technical support Winglet centre approved BOEING'S Aviation Partners Boeing (APB) has approved the national carrier's technical branch as APB's Blended Winglet Installation Centre. The new approval was granted following a remarkable success by EgyptAir Maintenance and Engineering (ME) affiliated company to install the equipment to the Yemenia Airlines B737-800 aircraft in Cairo. According to Abdel-Aziz Fadel, ME chairman, the original equipment manufacturer, APB had coordinated an action plan for the installation, including transferring technical data, drawings, detailed work instructions, supplemental type certificate, an overall manhour sequence, manuals and service bulletins. APB also conducted a thorough quality audit on the company's facilities, systems and technical procedures within the maintenance complex.
