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Groundforce unions call a six day strike in Barcelona Standard

Groundforce equipment seen from an airplane at Barcelona airport by Yasunari Goto - Flickr

Just when we are expecting the outcome of the Handling licenses  any day now, we found an article in LaVanguardia informing that the Groundforce Union UGT has called a six day long strike during the month of May. Groundforce is the handling division of Globalia and is the main groundhandling company that provides services at the Barcelona airport. Bearing in mind the current ground handling map in the Spanish airports, Groundforce is the second largest operator after Iberia Handling. The Groundforce Unions have called stops for the days 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29 of May. They aim to protest against the…

Aena prices might have to be reduced up to 10% Standard

Air Canada Boeing 767-300ER taxiing at El Prat Airport / Wikimedia Commons - Russavia

On Monday, Aena held a meeting with the associations to continue the consultation process over airport charges.  ElMundo published a piece informing that the airline associations ALA, ACETA, AECA and ELFAA were discussing the prices to be charged by Aena during 2016. In this line, yesterday ElConfidencial informed that the National Competition Commission is using all available legal resources to force Aena to lower their prices. According to this article, sources from the industry estimate this reduction to be between 8 and 10%. The Ministry of Development is very upset though, so an intense battle is expected. Competition demands that the dual till model which Aena…

The Tenerife council demands a new terminal from Aena in Tenerife Sur Standard

Tenerife Sur Airport Terminal/Flickr - MarinoCarlos

According to an article in Eldia.es, the association for the defense of infrastructure in Tenerife asked Aena to build a new terminal in the Tenerife Sur Airport taking into consideration that the passenger capacity is currently at 90%. Furthermore, they warned that if the issue of new infrastructure is not addressed, whose planning and development could take between 8 and 10 years, the Reina Sofía (Tenerife Sur) Airport will reach a situation of inadmissible collapse on an island whose economy depends on its airport infrastructure. This airport is especially important since 70% of the economic flow funnels through it. The…

Ryanair doubled their advantage over Vueling Standard

Strait of Gibraltar view from a Ryanair’s plane / flickr.com

In March of last year Vueling was about to catch Ryanair as the main operator in the Spanish airports. This morning, thirteen months later, Preferente.com informed that Ryanair doubled their advantage with regard to the Spanish airline. They served 1.4 million more passengers than Vueling between January and March 2015. This nearly doubles the 800,000 passenger difference they had over Vueling within the first quarter of 2014. So far this year, Ryanair has transported 4.7 million passengers, which is a 870,000 passenger increase (22.8%). Vueling has transported 3.2 million travelers, up 250,000 passengers (8.2%) with regard to the same period in 2013. After…

Air Europa to build a new hangar in Madrid airport Standard

Brand new boeing 787 at Madrid airport with T4 in the background. By José A. - Flickr.

Talks with Aena are in an advanced stage for reaching an agreement that lets Air Europa build a new hangar at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport. According to an article published by ElEconomista, the hangar will be built near Terminal 1, on land belonging to Aena. This was explained by Juan José Hidalgo (president of Air Europa) during a press conference on the presentation of their route Madrid-Miami, which will be operated with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Hidalgo expects the Hangar will be ready for the summer of 2016. It will be able to hold 4 big aircrafts and 3 small…

Competition might force Aena to lower their airport charges Standard

Aena offices in Madrid / Luis García - Wikimedia Commons

The National Competition Commission, which had already expressed their concern about the Aena’s privatisation, has now published a report on Aena’s dual till model.  In theory, the dual till is intended to separate the regulated costs from the ones which are a consequence of the commercial activities. However, Competition believes that the dual till implementation might lead to incremental costs which, in turn, would mean an increase in the airport charges. On Monday, ElConfidencial published a comprehensive article about the report issued by the National Competition Commission. According to this piece, Competition intends to adjust the costs which correspond to the commercial activities and the costs which correspond…

Plus Ultra will have its own wholesale company Standard

Plus Ultra EC-MDG by José Luis Celada Euba - flickr

According to an exclusive in Reportur, Plus Ultra will have its own wholesale company Plus Ultra Vacaciones. Plus Ultra had been aiming to start operations in the first quarter of 2015 but has yet been unsuccessful in doing so. The president of the tour operating company will be Welcoming International, with Victoria González Zuinaga and Francisco Xavier García Fernández in charge. Both have experience in F&G Hotels and real estate development in Spain. Welcoming International will have 40% of the Air Plus Ultra Capital, followed by Peiva Interprovincial with 21%, controlled by Antonio Pérez and Francisco Pérez Vicente. Other important…

Leon Airlines will begin operating the 1 of April Standard

Leon Airlines Logo

Leon Airlines will begin operating from the Leon airport to Barcelona on the 1st of April. Last week EuropaPress published an article informing that the company has already signed an agreement to operate from the airfield in Leon and will feature a Saab 340 plane with a 35 passenger capacity that will link the capital of Leon to Barcelona daily. We informed about this company in December, though at the time operations were expected to begin in February. “Our first flight is expected, without any operative changes, for the 1st of April and will be to Barcelona at the first…

Fast lane available at Palma airport as of today Standard

Terminal C of Palma de Majorca Airport by Wusel007 - Wikimedia Commons

As of today, the airlines will be able to come to agreements with Palma airport over the use of the brand new “fast lane”. This will let some of the passengers go straight to the security controls. No need to queue. This system has been set up at the airlines’ request and will be handled by them too. They will decide if they want to use it and how much each passengers has to pay for it.  For their part, Aena will charge the airline 1.5 Euros per passenger. The news was published this morning in a piece by DiaroDeMallorca. The announcement…

Ryanair to connect Castellon with Bristol and London Standard

Castellon Airport Terminal in November 2009 by La Veu del País Valencià - Flickr

This morning, in a press conference, Ryanair announced they will start selling tickets for flights to Castellón. ElMundo and LasProvincias have just informed that José Espartero – Ryanair’s Commercial director in Spain and Portugal – explained that the airline will connect Castellón with Bristol and London-Stansted as of September. In particular, they will start Castellón-London on September 15, to operate three times a week; Castellón-Bristol will begin on September 16 and will have 2 frequencies per week. Ryanair reckons that there are 60,000 potential passengers per year with these routes. With regard to the prices, during a period of time the tickets will cost…