Varig, Brazil´s largest airline and the largest air carrier in Latin America, filed for bankruptcy protection in Brazil and the U.S. last June 17, but said its operations will not be affected.
Varig faced the possible repossession of 11 of its 87 aircraft, but with the bankruptcy filing it will now have 60 days to present its creditors and the court with a restructuring plan.
Virgin Atlantic announced it has teamed up with its Australian sister airline Virgin Blue for a codeshare agreement effective from the end of July onward.
In keeping with both Virgin airlines´ history of innovation, the codeshare is possible due to cutting-edge technological breakthroughs.
Passengers traveling on electronic tickets (e-tickets) will benefit immediately from the closer cooperation between Lufthansa, BMI and LOT Polish Airlines.
From now on, the e-ticket service will also be available on flights to the worldwide destinations served by Lufthansa´s partner airlines BMI and LOT in addition to the destinations served directly by Lufthansa. Passengers will then be able to fly to a total of 370 cities throughout the world without a paper ticket.
The European Union approved a controversial restructuring plan for troubled Italian-flag airline Alitalia that had been opposed by competing carriers as illegal state-sponsored aid.
Under the plan -which includes an Italian government loan of 400 million euros (about $492 million)- Alitalia will be broken up and receive a capital increase of up to $1.48 billion.
Continental Airlines has just joined the short list of U.S. commercial airlines allowed to fly to China.
With last week´s flight from New Jersey´s Newark Liberty International Airport, Continental is the latest U.S. carrier to take advantage of the agreement between China and the US Department of Transportation in 2004.
US Airways added on June 7 an additional nonstop weekly flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, on Tuesdays. This new service will continue until August 16, 2005.
The new nonstop flight has been added in response to a growing demand for travel to St. Croix from the Southeast and other U.S. markets. This new service complements US Airways´ existing Saturday nonstop flight from Charlotte to St. Croix, and the airline´s numerous flights to St. Croix that connect in San Juan with Caribbean Sun Airlines.