Aviation

Austrian Airlines cancelled 150 flights due to internal assembly

Long haul flights to North America are also affected
More than 12,000 passengers have to be rebooked

After the works council board invited the employees, who spontaneously would like to take part in the internal assembly earlier than planned to a so-called “framework program”, starting at 05:30, Austrian Airlines had to cancel a further 80 flights at short notice last night and today. Around 150 out of a total of about 380 flights were cancelled from today’s flight program. That’s about 40 percent of today’s flights. Affected by the cancellations are for example flights between Vienna and Amsterdam, Basel, Bologna, Berlin, Belgrad, Brussels, Bucharest, Cairo, Copenhagen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Graz, Hamburg, Innsbruck, Kiev, Leipzig, London, Lyon, Milan, Minsk, Moskow, Munich, Paris, Prague, Sofia, Stuttgart, Teheran, Tel Aviv, Warsaw, Venice, Zagreb and Zurich. The flights to Washington and Toronto also had to be canceled. The flight to Newark had to be canceled due to weather conditions (blizzard on the east coast).

Austrian Airlines CEO Kay Kratky: ”The short-term expansion of the combat measures clearly indicates that the union’s and the works council’s target is a disruption. It is incomprehensible and absolutely unacceptable to us that higher salary demands are carried out on the backs of our customers while competition is intensifying as well. In total, today more than 12,000 passengers are affected by the cancellations. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.”

Aviation

Airbus Enhances A350 Cabin with 10-Abreast Seating

Airbus has announced a new partnership with Jiatai Aircraft Equipment, a Chinese aircraft seating manufacturer, to supply upgraded economy-class seats for the A350 widebody series.

This collaboration, unveiled at the 2024 Airshow China, focuses on developing a newly designed economy seat tailored for the A350‘s New Production Standard (NPS) cabin.

One of the key features of the NPS cabin is the ability to accommodate 17-inch wide economy seats, compared to the previous 16.5-inch wide seats that airlines were limited to in the A350’s earlier configurations.

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This change is made possible by the expanded space in the NPS cabin, which is 35 inches longer and 4 inches wider than the previous version. This extra space is achieved by slightly moving the cockpit wall forward and shifting the rear pressure bulkhead back by one frame.

The wider cabin allows airlines to add up to 30 extra economy seats without compromising comfort. For airlines opting for a 3-4-3 seating layout, the 17-inch wide seats are an excellent choice for a more comfortable passenger experience. However, some airlines, such as Iberia, may choose to retain a 9-abreast layout with wider seats for added comfort.

The NPS cabin also offers enhanced flexibility for airline operators. One major advantage is the ability to easily switch between a 9-abreast and 10-abreast seating configuration without requiring significant downtime for aircraft reconfiguration. Airlines can use the same seat rails, tracks, and IFE interfaces, making the transition smoother and quicker.

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In addition, the design of the floor attachments and air-conditioning systems has been optimized for 10-abreast seating, meaning airlines can upgrade their cabins without needing to make substantial modifications to the aircraft’s structure.

Though it’s still unclear when Jiatai’s economy-class seats will be officially added to the A350’s Buyer Furnished Equipment (BFE) catalogue, the collaboration marks a significant step toward enhancing the A350’s cabin offerings.

With this partnership, Airbus is providing more seating options for airlines, ensuring that they can meet diverse customer needs while improving overall operational efficiency.