French low-cost carrier XL Airways has announced that it has ceased selling tickets as of Sept. 19, due to "financial difficulties." The company also announced the cancellation of several flights, leaving its future in doubt as there are unconfirmed reports that a possible selloff is on progress. DreamJet Participations, XL's parent company, is not able to inject capital in the carrier, as the plan to sustain the low-cost carrier with the profits of sister airline La Compagnie, the all-business-class airline,…
French carrier Aigle Azur has filed for bankruptcy following some turbulent months of financial difficulties and problems at the corporate level. The airline will continue flying under a period of observation, which the airline says shouldn’t affect its short term operations. Problems at the Paris-based carrier's boardroom arose after its…
Following a less than successful attempt last year by the French government to increase tax revenues by proposing an increase in fuel taxes, particularly diesel fuel, the government is back at it doing what governments do best. France next year plans on introducing an “eco tax” ranging from 1.5 to…
French Bee has become the first airline to operate a fleet comprised entirely of Airbus A350s having taken delivery of its third and final Airbus A350-900 XWB. The airline took delivery of its latest aircraft, registration F-HREY, last week and plans to transfer its sole Airbus A330-300 to sister airline…
When WWII was coming to an end, the aeronautical industry had one certainty: It would be easier for the U.S. to convert its production capability into civilian products. Long range bombers were quickly transformed into airliners and that posed a threat to European builders that had been mostly focused on…
A costly and long-standing pay dispute has finally been resolved after Air France struck a new pay deal with five of the seven unions with whom it had been at loggerheads. The unions, representing 76 percent of Air France's workers, have accepted a four percent pay rise, two percent of…
On Oct, 7, 1919, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was founded by eight Dutch businessmen and became one of the first commercial airline companies. The first flight took place just over seven months later on May 17, 1920, between Croydon, U.K. and Amsterdam, Netherlands on a leased De Haviland DH-16 registered…
Air Canada announced the introduction of new seasonal service to Bordeaux, France, the world’s wine capital, from their hub in Montreal Friday. The service commences on June 15, 2019, and will operate four days a week until Sept. 15, 2019. The flights to and from Bordeaux will also be timed…
International Airlines Group (IAG), Ryanair, Wizz Air, and easyJet have together formally submitted an official complaint to the European Commission over France's recent air traffic control strikes. This follows after hundreds of cancellations occurring and thousands more delayed flights thanks to the reduction of controllers carrying out industrial action. This year…
Cathay Pacific took delivery this morning of its first Airbus A350-1000 aircraft at the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse, France. The Hong Kong-based airline is just the second airline to receive the new fuel-efficient airliner, Airbus’ newest widebody aircraft, following Qatar Airways, which took delivery of the aircraft in February…
