Airbus will offer a modified version of its A330neo wide-body designed for shorter trips in an effort to undermine demand for a new middle-of-the-market plane that Boeing is expected to launch next year. The A330neo’s engines could be re-rated to a lower level of thrust, helping to reduce the fuel load and cut its take-off weight, Crawford Hamilton, the plane’s marketing chief, said Monday. That would make the model better-suited to the mid-range routes Boeing would target with its jet, dubbed the 797. While the A330 will remain a bigger plane, Airbus is seeking to chip away at the overall market for the new Boeing, with versions of the A321neo narrow-body already eating into the lower end of the same niche with a spate of sales to trans-Atlantic carriers. <br/>
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Airlines were struggling Monday to dig out from a powerful snowstorm that pummeled the Midwest at the height of Thanksgiving travel. The storm, which dropped more than a foot of snow on some places, largely subsided Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service. But its effects continued to snarl air traffic throughout the day after grounding hundreds of flights Sunday as travellers tried to make the trip home. The biggest impact was at Chicago O’Hare International: Some 8.4 inches of snow accumulated there, one of the biggest November snowfalls on record, according to the weather service. The FAA slowed traffic at the airport, with some arriving flights delayed by more than 4 hours. Monday, 1,254 flights to and from O’Hare were canceled—around 40% of the airport’s daily schedule. <br/>
Global distribution system specialists Amadeus and Sabre are defending their operations in the face of a formal EC probe into possible violations of competition law. The Commission is opening an investigation into the relationship between the distribution companies and their airline and travel agency clients, to assess whether terms of their agreements restrict the use of alternative distribution channels. European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager says the probe will concentrate on “possible restrictions” in the ticket distribution market. Amadeus says it has expected such an investigation “for some time”, adding that it will “fully and openly” co-operate with the inquiry. Sabre insists its agreements and contracts with airlines and agents are “pro-competitive” <br/>
First, there was Black Friday, and then there was Cyber Monday. Now there's Travel Tuesday. In recent years, the number of airlines participating in the annual post-Thanksgiving retail fest that is Black Friday has steadily increased. However, airlines and the travel industry have taken a page out of Amazon and Walmart's playbooks with their own "day of deals." And it's begun to catch on. Even though Tuesdays, in general, have been known as a good time to catch a good deal on a flight, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is expected to be even more fruitful for bargain hunters. Airfare prediction website Hopper expects the number of flight sales on Travel Tuesday to be twice that of Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. <br/>
Airline industry officials continue to express alarm over the amount of foreign currency funds blocked by African govts, as airlines on the continent await repatriation of some US$670m in earnings. Monday, IATA DG Alexandre de Juniac highlighted the challenge to airlines and the traveling public. “This is a big concern for us,” he said. “Many of these countries are facing severe economic challenges. But blocking airline funds puts air connectivity at risk. That, in fact, deepens economic challenges.” De Juniac called for urgent dialogue to mitigate the problem. After a series of negotiations with IATA, the govts of Nigeria and Egypt completely cleared their backlog of blocked funds. Zimbabwe, Angola, and Sudan continue to hold the majority of the blocked funds. <br/>