AS OF this week, Air France and Cyprus Airways are offering  a total of 20 daily code-share flights they said yesterday in a joint statement.The new agreement offers travellers a wider choice. Passengers travelling on Air France’s extensive international network are now able to connect to and from Cyprus at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport.   Flight options between Larnaca and Paris are also enhanced through several daily connections via Athens, in addition to the five weekly non-stop flights operated by Cyprus Airways. Customers can now take advantage of the domestic flights operated within Greece by Cyprus Airways, offering easy connections via Athens, between Paris, Rhodes and Heraklion... 5 comments

IT IS not the job of unions to decide who will run Cyprus Airways (CY), said pilots’ union head Petros Souppouris yesterday, in a clear dig at other airline employee unions who have protested against the appointment of foreign experts at the national carrier. Representatives of the pilots union PASYPI met with Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou and Communications Minister Tasos Mitsopoulos yesterday to discuss implementation of the restructuring plan aimed at saving the airline from imminent closure.  Despite recording losses of €55.8m last year, the national airline has yet to implement key elements of the restructuring plan written up by Air France-KLM, mainly making 490 staff redundant... 7 comments

 ONE WAY or another the government will implement the rescue plan for national carrier Cyprus Airways (CY), Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou said yesterday in a veiled warning to the CY board, which submitted its resignation earlier this week. Communications Minister Tasos Mitsopoulos echoed his colleague, noting that time was running out for more dialogue. If the airline is going to survive, there is little room for manoeuvre, he said.Board members handed in their resignation en masse in protest against last month’s decision to allocate around €20 million of company funds to compensate staff made redundant as part of a last-ditch effort to save the airline from closure... 36 comments

THE BOARD of Cyprus Airways may have made many mistakes during their term but they deserve congratulations for taking a stand over the agreement on redundancy compensations between the government and the unions. All members of the CY board submitted their resignations in protest against the government’s scandalous decision to allocate €20 million of the airline’s money to compensate staff who would take early retirement... 21 comments

CYPRUS Airways unions are questioning the logic behind reported intentions by the airline to hire three executives of Lufthansa Consulting for a combined fee of €1.3m.The three have been approached by the board of CY to supervise the restructuring of the ailing airline until the end of the year. It’s understood the Lufthansa execs were on the island for talks with the CY board last week.Reports yesterday said the three have been offered a whopping €1.3m between them for the remainder of the year - a figure, which if accurate, does not sit well with CY trade unions who are facing pay cuts of up to 25 per cent as part of the airline’s restructuring and downsizing... 19 comments

THE BOARD of national carrier Cyprus Airways (CY) has handed in its resignation in protest at the government’s promise to find €20m in compensation to pay outgoing workers as part of a last-ditch effort to save the ailing airline from closure.  According to state broadcaster CyBC last night, the CY board handed in its resignation to President Nicos Anastasiades, claiming that it simply cannot come up with the compensation money agreed between the government and unions to pay those workers that will be laid off as part of a restructuring plan.  In a letter to Anastasiades, the CY board reportedly highlights its grievances with the latest arrangement to rescue the airline based on a government proposal, agreed last month by unions, board and government... 23 comments

FACED with the prospect of closing down, Cyprus Airways (CY) workers yesterday approved a rescue deal that called for shedding around half its current personnel.“Not approving this deal means closure of the company,” the assembled workers belonging to the PEO and SEK trade unions were told by their representatives.The deal provided for 490 staff to be made redundant, wage cuts, and the reduction of the airline’s fleet by four aircraft to six.“Approving this deal is a one-way street” SEK representative Andreas Pierides said. “There is no other way.”Workers were given a week to state whether they wanted to leave voluntarily so as to avoid layoffs... 14 comments

Woman killed in road accident A 27-YEAR-OLD Bulgarian woman was killed yesterday at 7.10am in Nicosia when she lost control of the car she was driving, also injuring a 39-year-old male passenger, police said. According to reports, Petia Simeonova Kotova was driving her car down Ammochostos Avenue in Aglandjia when she lost control of the vehicle and struck an Electricity Authority of Cyprus pole. Both Kotova and her 39-year-old passenger were taken to Nicosia General Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival by doctors. The 39-year-old passenger, also a Bulgarian national, was treated and released with only minor injuries. Police are investigating the cause of the accident.  Critical after balcony fall ... 2 comments

REPRESENTATIVES of Middle East Airlines (MEA) yesterday held “preliminary contacts” with officials from national airline Cyprus Airways (CY) and the finance ministry. According to a CY announcement made to the Cyprus Stock Exchange in response to numerous press reports of a takeover, the airline clarified that discussions with MEA were at a very early stage and that no specific agreement had been reached.   The airline reminded that CY has also engaged in discussions with other companies that have shown an interest in buying the state carrier, again with nothing specific to announce at this stage.  ... 7 comments

 LENGTHY NEGOTIATIONS on the future of the ailing national airline Cyprus Airways (CY) between the government, CY board and unions ended in agreement last night, giving the airline a glimmer of hope for the future. Attempts to broker a deal on a government proposal to restructure the company resulted in a compromise agreement last night at the labour ministry, involving the unions, ministers of labour, commerce, and communication and the finance ministry’s permanent secretary. After lengthy negotiations, the various stakeholders agreed to offer a redundancy package for 490 members of staff, from the 560 earmarked in the original restructuring plan for the airline.  ... 20 comments