News in brief from Austrian Airlines, the ACTE, British Airways in Las Vegas and the latest swine flu advice from the FCO
Austrian volume slumps 13%
Austrian Airlines carried 795,500 passengers in April, down 12.7% year-on-year.
The airline blamed the drop on a relatively strong April 2008 and subsequently a "sharply reduced demand for flights."
But Austrian said its figures would have been worse if not for "intensive marketing activities" and an 8.2% cut in production.
Load factor across Austrian's short and medium haul routes was up 2% overall. Austrian described a 4.2% increase in Western Europe as "remarkable."
Capacity cuts in Easter Europe, where demand fell sharply, had resulted in a constant load factor.
Austrian said 2.7 million passengers had been carried between in the first four month of 2009, 14.8% fewer year-on-year.
www.aua.com
ACTE names Russian champion
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) has named its first country champion for Russia.
Irina Kuznetsova, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Russia's administrative director, is the first person to be awarded the voluntary role in Russia.
Caroline Allen, ACTE regional director, Northern and East Central Europe and Russia, said the country had "huge business travel potential".
"The fact that ACTE is now represented in Russia is extremely important. Russia is the largest country in the world and has huge volumes of international and domestic business travel," Ms Allen said.
"I know Irina will be instrumental in providing regional support to ACTE to help the business travel industry flourish."
Ms Kuznetsova played a key role in developing the ACTE's first education event at the Hilton Leningradskaya in April.
www.acte.org
BA takes a gamble on Las Vegas
British Airways has announced plans to fly non-stop to Las Vegas from Heathrow this Autumn.
The new daily service will start October 25, and will be served by a three class B777.
Richard Tams, BA's head of sales for UK and Ireland, described the new route as an "ace" in BA's pack.
Tickets starting at £467 go on sale this week through BA.com and by phone.
Transatlantic rival Virgin Atlantic also flies to Las Vegas but from Gatwick rather than Heathrow.
UK hub airport Heathrow, where BA is the dominant carrier, already serves a number of key US routes.
www.ba.com
FCO revises Mexico advice
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has revised its advice on Mexico, saying it no longer warns against "all but essential travel."
The change comes after a decline in the number of people catching swine flu since its peak on April 26.
The FCO said the World Health Organisation's Pandemic Threat Alert still remains at level 5.
It also still reminds potential travellers of the Mexican Secretariat of Health's advice to avoid large crowds, shaking hands and kissing people as a greeting.
www.fco.gov.uk