Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

World

Will Ryanair Snap Up Cyprus Airways?

Aleksandr Shatskih

New that Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary may be considering Cyprus as a Middle East with an expected acquisition of Cyprus Airways has Europe airlines buzzing. The top low cost player, may take a bite out of territories of AirAsia, Air Berlin, and even Air India Express.

EU Sanctions Can’t Keep Aeroflot’s Budget Airline Down

Phil Butler

Apparently western sanctions can’t keep a Russian airline giant down. Aeroflot’s being forced to ground fledgling budget airline Dobrolyot over EU sanctions disrupting aircraft leases may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Russia’s biggest airline.

Abacus Becomes First Foreign GDS in China

Aleksandr Shatskih

Abacus, a leading Asia-Pacific leader in travel tech, has announced being the first foreign global distribution system (GDS) to issue airline tickets customized for China.

BOC Aviation Orders $8.8 Billion of Boeing Planes

Aleksandr Shatskih

Boeing has just announced an order from BOC Aviation worth $8.8 billion. According to the news, BOC is to get 50 737 MAX 8s, 30 Next-Generation 737-800s and two 777-300ERs (Extended Range) aircraft making it the largest order ever or the airline.

La Tomatina Festival Starts This Week

Aleksandr Shatskih

This week the city of Buñol in Spain turns completely red with the annual La Tomatina Festival. The world’s biggest tomato fight this year starts August 27th.

Motel One Expands Europe Footprint

Aleksandr Shatskih

German budget hotel group Motel One has just released its 2014 half year performance results. The hotel group, which has grown to offer more than 50 hotels in 4 countries, also reached €114 million euro in sales versus €95 million in the previous year.
The group also reported on four new hotels and occupancy rates in excess of 72% across their prope

Iceland’s Bardarbunga Volcano Orange Again

Aleksandr Shatskih

Status Iceland’s huge Bardarbunga volcano is now threat level orange again after having been elevated over the weekend to red . On Saturday, the Icelandic Meteorological Office issued a red alert, which suggests an eruption of the massive volcano is imminent. Later, erroneous reports of sub-glacial lava led to the threat level being reduced.

Ryanair Issues Ice Bucket Challenge to Industry

Phil Butler

Ryanair, Europe’s leading budget airline, called out CEOs of IAG (Willie Walsh), Air France (Alexandre de Juniac), and Lufthansa (Carsten Spohr) to take the ice bucket challenge. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary literally overdid the ice bucket event in Dublin on Thursday, much to the delight of 200 employees of his airline.

SaSaZu in Prague is Great Fun

Mihaela Lica Butler

A concept by Chef Shahaf Shabtay, SaSaZu is not only a restaurant, but a true entertainment venue.

Iceland Evacuates Area Around Bardarbunga Volcano

Aleksandr Shatskih

In the latest news on the Iceland volcano emergency, the area around the Bardarbunga volcano is being evacuated and all tourism activity inside the national park surrounding the volcano have been suspended.