Feb 2, 2007

Airline News

Is it just me or does it seem like more and more airlines are adding flights between the U.S. and Europe?

In October, I mentioned that both Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines were adding flights between the two continents. Read about those flights here.

Last week, I reported on the specific flights Northwest was adding between Detroit and Frankfurt and Dusseldorf, Germany. Details on those flights here.

This week, I learned the LTU International Airways, a Germany-based airline, is launching regularly scheduled flights between Dusseldorf and Los Angels and Las Vegas in May. The best part of this news is the price: Roundtrip economy fares will start at $348 for the Vegas-Dusseldorf route and $388 for LA-Dusseldorf.

The Los Angeles route will take place five days a week, excluding Tuesdays and Saturdays. The Vegas route will be twice a week: Mondays and Thursdays.

LTU also has new service beginning this spring from Dusseldorf to Lefkas, Greece; Seville, Spain and Edmonton, Canada. LTU currently flies to about 75 destinations including Fort Myers, Miami, New York City, Toronto and Vancouver.

Additionally, Spanish airline Iberia is adding service from Boston to Madrid, and Flyglobespan, a Scottish discount carrier, recently unveiled twice-a-week flights to Ireland starting May 30. Flyglobespan earlier announced plans for service between Boston and Glasgow, Scotland starting in May.

In other airline news: Wolfgang Mayrhuber, CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, says that airline consolidation throughout Europe could be on the table if the U.S. and the EU can’t work out a strategy for liberalizing air traffic between the two continents. According to his interview in the Financial Times, Mayrhuber says that the U.S. government’s regulations that ban foreign airlines from owning more than 25 percent of a U.S. carrier “would only hinder trans-Atlantic joint ventures and increase the probability for European consolidation.”

While a few experts think airline consolidation could actually help consumers, most say the lessening competition will be felt in sub-par customer service, inflated prices and fewer flight options.