Prague Seeking More Long-Haul Routes: Airline Pulse News and Notes for April 28, 2016

by Josh Lew
Last updated: 11:00 AM ET, Thu April 28, 2016

Photo courtesy of Thinkstock

Prague Seeking More Long-Haul Routes
Following a record-breaking year in 2015, Prague is trying to expand its long-haul offerings and to launch flights to unserved routes in Europe. The airport is trying to attract long haul carriers to serve the increasing number of business and leisure travelers coming to the Czech Republic from Asia and the Americas.

Delta May Be Looking to Enter Low-Cost Long-Haul Market
Delta could be looking to enter the growing long-haul, low-cost marketplac, now that Norwegian Air and its peers are expanding in the U.S. Rather than offering low-cost overseas flights directly, Delta would most likely use Virgin Atlantic, which it owns 49 percent of, to compete with the European LCCs.

Virgin America Passengers Can Register to Vote In Flight
Virgin America is teaming with nonprofit Rock the Vote to offer passengers the opportunity to register to vote via a free online portal that can be accessed on Virgin's in-flight Wi-Fi network. Fliers can also browse PSAs and educational videos through the portal.

JUST THE LINKS

Etihad Airways, which now owns a stake in both Air Berlin and Alitalia, announced a consolidated profit of $103 million during 2015. In all, the Abu Dhabi-based airline has equity shares in seven carriers as well as more than 50 code-sharing deals.

Qatar Airways has increased its stake in IAG, which owns British Airways, Aer Lingus and Iberia. Though an exact percentage was not given, Qatar CEO Akbar al-Baker said that the Gulf carrier had increased the size of its stake from 9.99 percent to somewhere around 12 percent.

Mauritius is bidding to become a major hub for connecting flights between Asia and Africa. The Indian Ocean nation has signed a memorandum of understanding with Singapore Changi Airport that could lead to it becoming a major link on flights between Africa and Southeast Asia. In addition to Singapore Airlines, Silk Air and Tiger Airways, Mauritius also announced a new service from Kuala Lumpur on AirAsia. The flight will start later this year.

Lufthansa has until August to exercise an option to buy Brussels Airlines. There is a rumor that the German national carrier will merge the Belgian airline with its own low cost wing, Eurowings.