According to the recent report published by the Department of Transportation and FlightStats, the three New York City airports are found to report the largest number of delays over scheduled flights during the month of July among all the major hubs scattered across the US. Over and above, the report says that JetBlue carries the worst on-time record for the month.

At the outset, this summer has proved to be a delay nightmare for most of the customers, especially for those who travel through the airports located in the New York City area, as reported by the two reports.

Flight-tracking firm FlightStats and the DOT have said that among the major US hubs, the three major New York City-area airports reported the greatest number of delayed arrivals during this summer. FlightStats also noted that JetBlue Airways showed the worst on-time performance among all the major carriers during the month of July. In addition, according to DOT, the performance of American Airlines was the worst for the month of June.

As part of the several exclusive tours planned for the aircraft, Emirates Airline showcased its brand new, double-decker Airbus A380 during last two days in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Hosted by Emirates, San Francisco and Los Angeles International Airports, each city offered an exciting two-hour flight. Notably, this followed the inaugural launch of the aircraft on 1st August from Dubai to New York's JFK Airport.

Adel Al Redha, Emirates Executive Vice President, Engineering and Operations observed during his address to media and guests in these two cities, "We are very confident these flights are a symbol of a strong future relationship between Emirates and the state of California and we are very appreciative of the support we receive from our many friends here at local, state and federal levels.â€Â�

The events organised at both these cities offered the guests a rare opportunity to tour the magnificent aircraft that features about 489 seats in total arranged in a three-class configuration with 14 seats in the first class, 76 seats in the business class and 399 seats in the economy class. Over and above, the guests too enjoyed Emirates' award-winning on-board amenities that included the airline's onboard lounges and the brand new Shower Spas, in addition to the premier service aboard.
 
The aircraft is powered by GP7200 engines offered by American aircraft engine maker Engine Alliance. Most notably, Emirates' A380s can fly not less than 7,456 miles with a full load and has 13 tons of bellyhold capacity meant for cargo. The aircraft offers better fuel economy than several hybrid passenger cars and is quieter.

Owing to the problems associated with the checked baggage sorting system employed by the American Airlines, there were unusually long delays that highly bothered the passengers on 35 flights operated by the airline. According to a report published in the Reuters, a software malfunction was the main reason behind all of the delays at the New York's John F Kennedy (JFK) Airport.

The software problem in turn paralysed the conveyer belt that is meant for sorting out the checked baggage. American Airlines tried its level best to sort out the issue. In this regard, the airport even took the help of ground staff to sort out the checked bags manually. Eventually, this resulted in a remarkable slowing down of the entire process.

With most American flights facing a delay of about an hour and a half, there were notably no cancellations whatsoever. The passengers making their way to the JFK Airport are advised to check the schedules for the flight departures online well in advance to ensure that they are aware of delays that might be lengthier.

According to a report recently published by Travel Weekly, it appears that British Airways is preparing to release the details of its new business class-only service connecting London City Airport with New York.

With the service due to be launched in the month of September 2009, the said connection will be notably the first ever long-haul service of the city. Most notably, this particular service primarily targets to serve the corporate travelers based around Canary Wharf.

Under this new launch, the airline will operate its flights twice a day. The most attractive feature of this service is that the airline is to use an exclusively configured Airbus A318s, which has not more than 32 fully-reclinable beds, assuring the best of comforts available at present in the airline industry.

Under the present scenario, both American and British carriers are struggling hard to gain the upper hand in the highly lucrative and competitive route between London Heathrow and New York City. In this regard, several major US carriers are now striving to reach the winning edge by upgrading the business and first class cabins in their fleets. This has been reported by The Independent.

For instance, United Airlines is spending more than $165 million on upgrading to its premium cabins. Those in first class shall be able to enjoy 15-inch flat screen television sets and brand new lie flat beds. In addition, passengers will also be able to use their ipods on board, by just hooking them up to the airplanes entertainment system.

Setting itself clearly apart from several other airports, Plattsburgh International Airport located in New York State's Clinton County has demonstrated an overwhelming success history amidst the tough challenges faced by the airline industry during the current times. Though the airline has been operating only since last year, it has been expanding rapidly. The principal reason to this success is due to the Canadians hailing from Québec, who rather choose to make a short and more economical travel from Montreal rather than pay high and waste time in flying from Pierre Trudeau Airport.

Opening its doors during last July, Plattsburgh airport has offered the passengers a modest selection of destinations. Some of the popular routes in its portfolio include short-haul flights to Washington DC and New York City. In addition, the airlines has also welcomed a number of airlines to directly fly to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Myrtle Beach and Boston. Most of these are highly popular holiday destinations. Michelle Powers, from the Plattsburgh North County Chamber of Commerce observed, "If you drive around the parking lot, you would think that we were located directly in Montreal."

With Canadian passengers already dominating this New York hub, the local airport authority is contemplating on tapping the northern market by offering its customers extra incentives. Montreal now enjoys direct shuttle bus service from Canada's second largest city to the Plattsburgh Airport for an attractive price of $20. Such facilities further enhance the attractive utility value of the airport from the rest of the others.

Travellers will be able to enjoy flying with Emirates' state-of-the-art A380 plane for the first time on the 1st of August, when the carrier starts its first A380 commercial flight on the route from Dubai to New York JFK.

Emirates' first A380 service, a 14-hour non-stop journey, will also be the first ever commercial A380 flight to the Americas.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates Airline & Group's Chairman and Chief Executive, said, "The Americas represent a key focus area in Emirates' route development plans, and we are delighted to be the first airline to launch commercial A380 services to the continent.

The new route of Jet2Holidays.com-the low fares carrier-from Leeds Bradford to New York has proven to be very popular with female customers more than male passengers.

The budget carrier has revealed that 72 per cent of the seats on the route have been booked by female travellers. The carrier said that should this trend persist, its route from Leeds to NY, which was introduced on 8th May, would turn out to be the most popular route for female passengers out of Yorkshire.

Jet2holidays.com's general manager, Mandy Round, said, "We knew this would be a popular route for Christmas shoppers, but we didn't anticipate it would have such a strong female bias.

American Airlines said that it would scrap its services between John F. Kennedy Airport New York and Stansted Airport on the 2nd of July.

The service between JFK and Stansted was started in the month of October last year. The US carrier will continue to operate its full schedule of services between New York JFK and London Heathrow Airport.

A spokesman for the carrier said that the decision of cutting its Stansted route was one of the several first-round reductions to the carrier's services as part of the carrier's plans to cut capacity in an attempt to considerably reduce costs and establish a more sustainable between supply and demand in the market. Recently, due to fuel costs rising, many airlines have scrapped many flights around the world. However, American Airlines is cutting flights to make the services more sustainable.

Plans have been uncovered by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Delta Air Lines for the huge redevelopment of two terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The Port Authority Board of Commissioners has approved a $20 million (approximately £10 m) planning study for the reconstruction of Terminal 2 and 3 at the airport.

Operated by Delta Air Lines, the terminals handle more than 9 million of a total of 48 million passengers using the airport in a year, and are the oldest traveller facilities at JFK.

As OpenSkies, the new Europe to US flights subsidiary of British Airways, gets ready for start-an online marketing shot for the new carrier has been opened. British Airways is spending considerable time for the development of its subsidiary and it won't be surprising if we some more developments in the coming future.

The new drive, developed with Web Liquid-a digital agency-aims at the premium leisure and business travel segments, by making use of social media along with normal search and display arrangements of marketing.

For the promotion of the carrier's opening route between New York and the French capital city of Paris, display ads will appear on a number of New York-based sites including The New York Times, Bloomberg.com and The Wall Street Journal, and the search keywords will include 'premium flights to New York' and 'business travel to Paris'. This is a great development for air travel to the cities of New York and Paris.

The transatlantic routes that are axed from Liverpool John Lennon airport are not likely to be reinstated for this summer. Notably, operational problems led to the scrapping of this route during last year. Flyglobespan, the Edinburgh-based business said last year that the New York and Toronto services would be renewed in May, when favourable economic conditions were anticipated by the airline. However, the present circumstances of increasing fuel costs and poor reliability of leased aircrafts are challenging the scenario making it unfavourable to recall the said services.

A spokesman of Flyglobespan remarked, "Two key factors have driven this decision - the price of fuel and aircraft availability. With the price of airline fuel at a record high we have had to look long and hard at the economic viability of all our long- haul routes. Also, after unsatisfactory performances from third- party operators in our programme last season, we are flying only our own aircraft this year, and are concentrating these aircraft on the most popular routes. Unfortunately that means that we will not be resuming Liverpool's transatlantic service this summer."

Last year, John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono introduced the first daily link from Liverpool to New York with great fanfare on 25th May. However, the service was cut within a month of its launch to four flights a week due to technical problems faced with the leased aircrafts, which caused hundreds of passengers getting stranded in New York for several days. During last October, there were only 325 bookings.

American Airlines, the largest carrier in the world in terms of passenger-miles travelled, has communicated that it will hold-up an addition in the number of its flights between London Stansted and New York JFK Airport.

The US based carrier had earlier made an announcement that it would be increasing the frequency of its flights on the route to two daily flights from the 8th of April.

But an undisclosed source from the company communicated to Business Travel World that the move would be hanged up until the 1st of August. Accounting for the decision, the unnamed representative said that their proposals had been disturbed by the impact of pilot staffing concerns on the whole network of the carrier.

Passengers will be offered an opportunity by Emirates to travel between Dubai and London Heathrow on one of its new flying machines, Airbus A380 super jumbos, later in the current year.

The carrier has revealed that the introductory flight between Dubai and London Heathrow will fly on the 1st of December. An Airbus A380 with the capacity to accommodate 489 passengers will be used for this flight. The seats that are available in the introductory flight are: 14 in First Class, 76 in Business Class and 399 in Economy Class.

While announcing these details, the airline has also revealed that it would start operating a flight to New York from Dubai on the 1st of October and offer an air link to Sydney-Auckland from the 1st of February, next year.

By way of catering to the rising demands of the forthcoming travel season for summer, Delta Airlines has fine-tuned its plans for some of the key international markets.

With effect from 3rd June, Delta is to start offering its services in the New York-JFK to Lyon, France. Initially, this service was to begin on 15th July, which has been advanced now. Also starting from 3rd June, the airline will increase the number of flights from New York-JFK to Cape Town, South Africa from three times a week to four times a week. The services will fly through Dakar and Senegal. It is a very good news for passengers of Delta Airlines.

Commencing from 4th June, the airline's services from New York-JFK to Malaga, Spain will also be increased from 3 services a week to 4 services a week. With effect from 2nd June, the frequency of services in the New York-JFK - Orly, France route will increase from four to five a week as a prelude to offering daily services in this route from July. Also, The Atlanta – Venice route will see five services a week from 2nd June, while a second flight will be added to the Atlanta - Sao Paulo, Brazil, making it five times a week between 15th June and 15th August.

Eos Airlines, the reputed all business class carrier based in Stansted Airport has entered into a partnership agreement with US helicopter to offer helicopter services between Manhattan and the JFK International Airport of New York to benefit the passengers traveling to London. This will be a great news for passengers of Eos Airlines using route of Manhattan and JFK international airport New York. Now, they can avail the helicopter services of Eos Airlines. 

According to this agreement, the passengers who book for unrestricted tickets will be entitled for a complementary helicopter transfer from the specified locations at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport located at the Wall Street or the East 34th Street Heliport. The passengers availing this facility will have to clear the security screening and the luggage will be checked to the final destination.

Based on the description given by a spokesperson of the airline, following a comfortable flight in the helicopter lasting for about eight minutes, the passengers will receive a cordial welcome by an Eos Guide, who will escort them to the airline's lounge or directly on to their respective flights. 

People who are willing to go snorkelling or scuba diving in this summer? Want to enjoy bird watching in the morning and sunbathing in the afternoon? Delta Air Lines will carry its passengers to more places in the Caribbean with new unlimited service between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Antigua and Barbuda, beginning on June 12.

Situated in the midst of the Leeward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean, Antigua (pronounced An-tee'ga) and Barbuda provides enthusiasm for the passengers who are searching sensation of snorkeling or scuba diving among coral reefs. The sandy beaches and sun of islands provides complete relaxation. The small island of Barbuda is an exact place for bird watching enthusiasts, as it has become a historic bird sanctuary in the area.

"Delta continues to be the fastest growing airline to the Caribbean. We have added more than ten destinations in the last two years," says Christophe Didier, Delta's vice president of Sales and Government Affairs for Latin America and the Caribbean.

All business class carrier, Silverjet is offering a number of discounted seats on its flights from London Luton Airport to both New York and Dubai. Book your seat by the 31st of January and grab the opportunity to fly at a very low cost. A very good offer is presented by the airlines to its customers.

With its Very Sivilised Sale, the all business class carrier is giving customers an opportunity to travel to New York and Dubai from London Luton at a price starting from just £879. The quoted price is for a return journey and includes all the charges and taxes.

There are no minimum stay restrictions for taking advantage of the offer and passengers can also change their travel dates for an additional ccost of just £100 per sector, plus any price difference for ticket costing more than that was booke earlier.
 
At present, Silverjet offers a twice-daily service between London Luton and New York, and a daily flight from London Luton to Dubai.

Silverjet, the all-business class airline based in Luton Airport has launched its first ever sale. The deal entitled 'Very Sivilised Sale' provides selected return flights to Dubai and New York exclusively for business travellers from the private terminal of the airline at Luton Airport. The charges start from £879 including taxes. This includes a 20% saving on the standard fares.

The airline's spokesman said that for the first time in the whole of airtravel industry, the airline has eliminated the terms and conditions restricting the airline seat sales. Thus, the features that alienate the business traveller have been removed by this new scheme. For instance, the travellers never have to schedule their journey within a narrowly determined period and need not be bound by a compulsory stay for the Saturday night.

The CEO of Silverjet, Lawrence Hunt remarked, "We wanted to develop a sale that not only delivers real benefits to the bottom line but one that our business customers can actually take advantage of."

Thanks to the courtesy of private jet style airline Silverjet, starting from Thursday, 22nd November, British travellers can avail the advice of the world's first retail therapist providing insider secrets on managing the shopping havens of Dubai and New York.

Lucia Van Der Post, the luxury Guru is the independent retail therapist of Silverjet. She is also a famous columnist and the author of "Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me". Investing on her long experience in solving the country's shopping dilemmas, Lucia Van Der Post can offer customised retail suggestions for the customers of Silverjet.

Lucia will offer her expert advice on choosing the best Christmas presents, availing the ideal January bargains, sizing, tax declaration, the good and bad of commodities. Lucia opines, "Without insider knowledge the international shopping experience can be daunting- many of us come back with unwanted gifts and a hefty credit card bill and miss out on the very best of what each destination has to offer."

Continental Airlines, the US carrier has revealed that it is going to start operating a twice-daily service to Heathrow from both Houston and New York. The carrier will start operating its non-stop services to London Heathrow from both Houston and New York from 29 March, 2008.

It will operate twice-daily flights to Heathrow from Houston George Bush Intercontinental airport and Newark Liberty International airport. The airline's new services will operate alongside its existing routes to London Gatwick from Houston, New York and Cleveland. So, this will be an added advantage for the passengers, as now they have multiple choices of routes from the airlines.

Continental Airline's chairman and CEO, Larry Kellner, said, "At last we will be able to give our customers something they have long requested-the opportunity to fly to both London's main airports with their preferred airline. At the same time, we will be able to show transatlantic travellers already using Heathrow what they have been missing. We look forward to the chance to compete at Europe's most important business airport".

Eos Airlines, which offers comfortable and uncompromising journey between London and New York, today came out with an exciting offer for its customers: every customer who will register and buy a round-trip service between 31st October and 16th November, 2007 will get a Nintendo(R) game system of their choice or bonus points in the airline's loyalty programme, Club 48.

Adam Komack, Chief Lifestyle Officer at Eos, said, "Stresslessness and efficiency are hallmarks of Eos Class service. If we can save our Guests time and hassle by providing them with this year's hard-to-find holiday gifts, we're going to do it".

All the customers who will book a round-trip journey at a price of $4,000 and above will get a choice of a Nintendo Wii video game system or 40,000 points in Club 48. Those who book round-trip journey below $4,000 will get a choice of a Nintendo DS Lite(TM) handheld video game system or 20,000 points in Club 48.

Travelscope, a holiday firm is providing a one-off trip between Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield and New York. The visitors will get an opportunity to enjoy the Big Apple and other sights.

The visitors during the five day trip starting on November 25 will stay at a hotel in midtown Manhattan. The ticket beginning from £648 is inclusive of all airport transfers. So if you are planning to visit New York, this could be a great chance for you provided by Travelscope. The firm is famous for providing holiday plans, and you can also plan other things when you deal with the firm-there would be many offers featuring in the trip and you can really expect a good time being with Travelscope.

David Ryall, managing director at Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield, speaks: "We recognise that demand for more long haul routes is extremely high, and as the regions only long haul airport, we are pleased to be working with Travelscope by adding New York to our growing list of some 50 destinations across the world".

Travelscope, the holiday company is to run a package trip to New York from Cardiff International Airport, providing travellers an opportunity to have an experience of the delights of the Big Apple.

Travelscope's package trip will operate on 25th November and will be a five day trip. The trip will offer passengers the chance to spend three nights in midtown Manhattan. So if you are planning to go to US for your holiday trips, you can avail the opportunity and plan accordingly.

The price of the tickets is starting from £599 and it will also include airport transfers.

Offering travel discounts via air, auto and rail as part of a bid to increase travel to Upstate New York, three corporate partners has been signed by the state.

I Love New York – the tourism promotion which is now in its 30th year, put emphasis on getting people in the Toronto and New York City to travel to the area.

On Wednesday, the office of the governor said that JetBlue will offer a fare of $30 on certain days for journey between Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse and the carrier's JFK Airport hub. A 20 per cent of discount wil be given by Amtrak from all its locations statewide and as far north as Montreal via a unique code. And, Zipcar, a car-sharing service, offers $30 worth of free driving to the members through Oct. 31.

In association with VeCommerce, a leader in voice self-service and speaker verification solutions, Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) is to introduce a completely automated and speech based system for flight information. In coordination with the airport's back office systems and call centre, the system will manage enquires regarding flight arrivals and departures, leaving the customer service staff to attend to complex enquiries.

Being the largest of Ireland's airports, the Dublin Airport handles over 600 aircraft movements and 60,000 travellers per day with the number rising to around 80,000 during the peak season. In the year 2006 alone, the airport managed over 21 million passengers.

Commenting on the investments to enhance technology, Declan McCarthy, Head of Passenger Operations at Dublin Airport remarked, "The main problem was the high demand for information during peak times, the call centre operatives coped well during the quieter times, but during the busy times, such as early morning, late afternoon and holiday periods the centre was simply swamped with calls.

It certainly is good news for Ireland and especially Dublin, where the customers can experience the taste of Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi to Dublin.  Dublin will definitely get the boost in tourism growth not only from Middle East but other access points also, where Etihad is flying. An opportunity for people from world over to experience golf, Irish pubs, and other sightseeing opportunities.

Etihad Airways has launched their flights from Abu Dhabi to Dublin. The airline will fly four flights-a-week service, which offers air travellers direct access to Dublin and Ireland which is now one of EuropeÂ's top holiday and business destinations.

It is an opportunity for EtihadÂ's Irish passengers a one-stop connection to Sydney which is the fastest way to Australia from Ireland.