Air France has just signed a code-share agreement with Vietnam Airlines that, as of July 3, will let its customers fly nonstop from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to either Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City three times a week.
British Airways and Iberia have signed a merger agreement in accordance with a memorandum of understanding signed in November. The merger is expected to be completed in late 2010. The new company will be one of the world’s largest airline groups with 408 aircraft flying to 200 destinations and carrying more than 58 million passengers per year.
Carlson Wagonlit Travel reported a 23 percent drop in sales volume last year but said it is hoping for moderate growth in 2010. Douglas Anderson, president and CEO of the travel management company, said business travel is picking up in the United States and is “bounding along the bottom in Europe.”
Continental Airlines reported a March consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 83.1 percent, 3.7 points above the March 2009 consolidated load factor, and a mainline load factor of 83.6 percent, 3.7 points above the March 2009 mainline load factor.
While there were fewer passengers flying last month, airline passenger revenue, based on a sample group of carriers, rose 4.5 percent in February versus the same month in 2009. This marked the second consecutive month of airline revenue growth, the Air Transport Association (ATA) reports.
The cruise industry is rebounding, but not for the companies who build the increasingly elaborate ships.