Aviation

Qatar Airways opened the world’s only dedicated first and business class terminal at Doha International Airport in time for the 15th Asian Games being held there, for which the carrier is the official airline and prestige partner.

SkyTeam, the global airline alliance, welcomed Aeroflot as its tenth member and this event was celebrated in Athens at the annual party. Aeroflot, the largest Russian airline, offers daily flights to 89 destinations in 47 countries with its fleet of 81 aircraft. The carrier is based at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and expects to complete construction on its own terminal Sheremetyevo-3 by the end of 2007.

Emirates Airlines will be the first airline to introduce in-flight mobile phone use with service expected to begin this month, should all the required approvals be received.

Last month, the European Union’s new security rules regarding the amounts of liquids and semi-liquids passengers can take through security checkpoints and on airplanes took effect for all passengers and flights departing from or in transit in the airports of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

Last month, the European Commission requested the European Court to impose penalties on Greece for non-compliance with the Commission’s 2005 ruling that Olympic must repay illegal government subsidies of 161 million euros received from 1998 to 2002.

To celebrate more than one year of successful operation in Greece, Qatar Airways hosted its First Travel Agent Awards (2005-2006) ceremony, which was followed by a dinner and show. More than 300 guests from the travel industry, as well as special guests from show business attended.

Amadeus Hellas has outperformed in Greece and Cyprus every year for the last three years, marking record growth levels in the travel industry market.

As we go to press, a new agreement has not been reached between the EU and the U.S. on the transfer of airline passenger name records (PNR) to the U.S. government.

In an unprecedented initiative, European Union Transportation Commissioner Jacques Barrot convened a meeting of Europe’s aviation industry leaders and their regulators for a one-day conference in Brussels titled, “The Future of Aviation Regulation in Europe.”

Delta Air Lines celebrated its 100th day anniversary for its non-stop service from Athens International Airport to Atlanta, Georgia. To date, the flight, which began in May, has provided service for more than 37,000 customers. The daily flight, aboard a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, can carry 214 passengers in a two-class configuration that features Delta’s BusinessElite service.