Press Releases – Dec 2012

 

27.12.12 | LAN and TAM plan additional international flights to bolster summer season

· Both companies to bolster connections between South America and destinations in the United States, the Caribbean and Mexico from December 2012 to April 2013.
· In addition to its seasonal direct flight between Santiago and Orlando, LAN Airlines to offer additional flights between Santiago (Chile) and Miami and Los Angeles, as well as a new route between Santiago-Rio de Janeiro/Galeão-Miami.
· TAM to offer additional flights between the cities of Miami and Brasilia, Manaos and Rio de Janeiro as well as between Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Orlando.
Santiago, December 26th, 2012 – LAN Airlines and TAM Airlines added round trip flights to their network of destinations to meet the high demand for international travel in South America during the summer.

Between December and April 2013, passengers on both airlines will have more scheduling options and travel dates on routes between South America, the United States, the Caribbean and Mexico. “It is the first time that TAM and LAN Airlines have planned our travel offerings together during summer – a period of high demand for our business. This represents a concrete example of the benefits provided by the creation of the LATAM Airlines Group, since the new frequencies will considerably expand the connectivity options that we offer to all passengers,” stated Damian Scokin, CEO – International of LATAM Airlines Group.

Flights to and from the United States

Among the TAM-operated flight schedules, bolstered US destinations include round-trip flights from Manaos, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to Miami, in addition to flights between Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Orlando. These are in addition to recent capacity increases in the Miami and New York markets provided by the latest incorporation of the Boeing 777-300 to TAM’s fleet, which have a capacity for more than 360 passengers.

In addition to its seasonal direct flights between Santiago, Chile and Orlando, LAN Airlines will offer additional flights this summer between Santiago and the cities of Miami and Los Angeles and will begin operation of the seasonal Santiago-Rio de Janeiro/Galeão-Miami route. LAN Airlines and LAN Peru will offer new flights to Miami, New York and Los Angeles from Lima, Peru.

These additional flights during the first three months of 2013 represent a more than 23% increase for LAN direct flights between South America and the United States as compared to 2012. For its part, TAM will increase its flights between Brazil and the United States by 32% during the same period.
Through the wider network of connections in South America, TAM and LAN passengers in the entire region can use these extra flights to plan their holidays or business travel with greater ease.

Mexico and the Caribbean

LAN Airlines will also bolster its service to Mexico and the Caribbean. Between December and February, additional flights will be added to routes between Santiago and Mexico City, Cancun (Mexico) and Punta Cana (Dominican Republic). An additional flight will also be offered to passengers between Lima and Mexico City.

 

27.12.12 | Boeing, Aeromexico Finalize 787 Dreamliner Order

Boeing and Aeromexico finalized an order for six 787-9 Dreamliners, with reconfirmation rights for four additional Dreamliners. The order by Mexico’s largest airline, which was first announced as a commitment in July, is valued at more than $1.46 billion at published list prices.

“The acquisition of these Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, part of the 100 aircraft announced earlier this year, represents a fundamental step that strengthens the international position and leadership of Grupo Aeromexico,” said Andres Conesa, Aeromexico’s CEO. “It also reaffirms the company’s commitment to provide the best service to our clients, assuring they will be treated with the best crew and will fly with the best aircraft ever built.”

“With this successful purchase, Grupo Aeromexico will have a total of 19 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in its fleet, whose first delivery is expected to be in the summer of 2013. The arrival of these aircraft will surely increase the added value of our assets and will also reinforce our operative structure, giving us the flexibility to continue growing,” said Conesa.

“Aeromexico continues to show it is an aviation leader in Latin America and across the globe,” said Van Rex Gallard, vice president of Sales for Latin America, Africa, & Caribbean, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “These additional 787s will help Mexico’s largest airline expand its international presence with a stellar product for its valued customers. The Dreamliner will allow Aeromexico to provide the highest level of service to its passengers, while taking advantage of the airplane’s unmatched economics.”

Made primarily from composite materials, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the first mid-size airplane capable of flying long-range routes and will allow Aeromexico to replace older aircraft on its European, Asian and South American routes. As a result of innovative technologies, the airplane offers unparalleled operating economics, fuel efficiency and passenger comfort. More than 800 787s are on order by 58 customers, a testament to the airplane’s unique capabilities.

Aeromexico operates an all-Boeing fleet of airplanes larger than 100 seats. Grupo Aeromexico, the parent company of Aeromexico, operates its main hub out of the Mexico City International Airport. In 2011 the Group transported more than 14 million passengers and offered close to 600 daily flights to cities in Mexico, the United States, Canada, Central and South America, as well as Europe and Asia.

 

21.12.12 | Hawaiian Promotes Mark Arimoto to Associate General Counsel, Appoints Robin Kobayashi and Scott Miyasato as Assistant General Counsel

Hawaiian Airlines has announced the promotion of Mark Arimoto to the position of associate general counsel, and the appointment of Robin Kobayashi and Scott Miyasato to the position of assistant general counsel in the company’s legal department.

The appointments are in keeping with the company’s growth plan and increasing scope of operations with expansion into new markets.

“Mark Arimoto earned this promotion with the superb work he has done since joining the company five years ago, a period in which Hawaiian has enjoyed tremendous growth,” said Hoyt Zia, Hawaiian’s senior vice president – general counsel and corporate secretary.

“We will add a sixth and seventh country to our international route network next year with new nonstop service to New Zealand and Taiwan, and we plan to continue expanding into new markets overseas. Robin and Scott bring extensive legal backgrounds that will help ensure that we grow our operations efficiently,” added Zia.

Mark Arimoto – Associate General Counsel
Mark Arimoto has been promoted to associate general counsel and will continue to help oversee many of the day-to-day activities of Hawaiian’s legal department, including transactions and government regulations.

Arimoto joined the airline as assistant general counsel in September 2007, having previously worked in securities litigation for a private law firm in Boston and Los Angeles.

An alumnus of ‘Iolani School in Honolulu, he graduated from Harvard University magna cum laude and earned his law degree from Georgetown University.

Robin Kobayashi – Assistant General Counsel
Robin Kobayashi has been appointed assistant general counsel and will focus on labor and employment issues for Hawaiian.

She joins Hawaiian after 12 years of experience clerking and working for law firms and government, including four years as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, DC.

A graduate of Kaiser High School in Honolulu, Kobayashi attended the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature with distinction, before receiving her law degree from the University of Washington.

Scott Miyasato – Assistant General Counsel
Scott Miyasato has been appointed assistant general counsel and will focus on financial and contractual matters for Hawaiian.

Miyasato comes to Hawaiian after 10 years of private practice and corporate experience gained at the law firm Cades Schutte in Honolulu and most recently as general counsel for a medical device company.

An alumnus of Pearl City High School on O‘ahu, he graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science before earning his law degree cum laude from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.

 

20.12.12 | Alaska Air Group food drive fills 9 cargo jets for the hungry in 30 cities

Generous employees across the Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air network turned out in force to fill the equivalent of more than nine cargo airplanes for another record-breaking “Pack the Plane” food drive this year. Their contributions of about $44,000 and nearly 13,000 pounds of food exceeded last year’s drive that filled 7.5 planes.

“We’ve beaten the previous record every year,” said Claire Sowers, programs and events specialist who led this year’s effort. “Our amazing employees stepped it up and beat the record again. I could not be more proud.”

Donations poured in from Washington, D.C., to Fairbanks, Sitka to San Diego and Loreto to Las Vegas. Sixty workgroups in 30 cities (see list below) participated, including these top six contributors:

1) Anchorage Cargo: $5,062 and 216 pounds of food
2) Seattle Flight Operations: $4,418 and 300 pounds of food
3) Seattle IT: $3,309 and 50 pounds of food
4) Seattle Inflight: $2,900 and 178 pounds of food
5) Sitka Airport Station: $2,534 and 300 pounds of food
6) Seattle Airport Station: $2,295 and 186 pounds of food

Carrie Vanderwood, administrative assistant for Anchorage Cargo and leader of the top contributing team, said her group raised money through bake sales, Mexican food offerings and pizza.

“The biggest money-maker for our department came from [Customer Service Agent] Emie Diamond, who prepared more than 100 pre-orders of Thai and Filipino food for our employees,” Vanderwood said. “We’re very happy to have exceeded our goal of $4,000—we packed a whole airplane. Helping others in need is very important to our workgroup. We have a crew of very caring people working in Anchorage Cargo.”

Boise Call Center Agent MaryLou Buchta said her team built a replica of a cargo warehouse area and challenged everyone to see how much food could be placed there. “We didn’t do anything special—we just asked and the office gave like they always do,” Buchta said.

Noting that there never seems to be a shortage of food in the Flight Operations and Training Center in Seattle, Pilot Scheduling Supervisor Trish Barney said: “Food is very important and we can’t imagine having to go hungry. This time of year there are many causes to donate to, but one that deals with food, a life essential, tops the list for us. We like to think of all the families we were able to help with our donations.”

Barney said she’s also happy to see so many cities participate. “Programs like this show that we’re proud of all the communities we serve. It’s the Alaska Spirit way.”

Donated money and food stays in those communities and is given to local food banks.

Alaska and Horizon employees donated food and money to food banks in these cities:

Anchorage, Alaska
Barrow, Alaska
Bethel, Alaska
Boise, Idaho
Burbank, Calif.
Chicago
Eugene, Ore.
Fairbanks, Alaska
Helena, Mont.
Kalispell, Mont.
Kotzebue, Alaska
Las Vegas
Loreto, Mexico
Los Angeles
Oakland, Calif.
Oklahoma City
Ontario, Calif.
Palm Springs, Calif.
Petersburg, Alaska
Phoenix
Portland, Ore.
Pullman, Wash.
San Diego
San Francisco
San Jose, Calif.
Santa Ana, Calif.
Seattle
Sitka, Alaska
Spokane, Wash.
Washington, D.C.

 

20.12.12 | Carlisle Interconnect Technologies Launches SMP-L Push-on Connector Series with Secure-Lok™

Carlisle Interconnect Technologies formally announced its new family of Push-On connectors, SMP-L™ that incorporates a patent pending locking mechanism called Secure-Lok™.

The locking feature adds a strong retention force to the standard Push-On connector, which makes it ideal for rugged military and commercial applications that are susceptible to vibration.

In addition, this simple locking mechanism does not require any additional tools to engage ordisengage the connector.

Finally, the small form factor of the SMP-L connector series reduces weight and size to accommodate dense packaging of RF/Microwave systems.

 

20.12.12 | LATAM Airlines Group reports revised monthly traffic statistics for November 2012 compared to November 2011

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. and its subsidiaries, the leading airline group in Latin America, today reported revised monthly traffic statistics for November 2012 compared to November 2011.

System passenger traffic increased 12.0% as capacity rose 6.5%. As a result, the Company’s load factor for the month increased 3.9 points to 78.3%. International passenger traffic accounted for approximately 50% of the month’s total passenger traffic.

Domestic passenger traffic in LATAM Airlines Group’s Spanish speaking operations (Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia) rose 13.8%, as capacity increased 14.9%. As a consequence, the domestic passenger load factor decreased 0.7 points to 78.8%.

Domestic passenger traffic in Brazil rose 14.7%, as capacity decreased 5.2%. As a consequence, the domestic Brazil passenger load factor increased 14.0 points to 80.7%.

International passenger traffic rose 9.8%, while capacity increased 13.4%. Accordingly, the international passenger load factor for the month decreased 2.5 points to 76.6%. International traffic includes international operations of both LAN and TAM on regional and long haul routes.

Cargo traffic for LATAM Airlines Group decreased 3.7% as capacity increased 3.1%. As a consequence, the cargo load factor decreased 4.3 points to 60.5%. The decrease in traffic continues to be driven by weaker imports into Latin America, especially Brazil.

 

20.12.12 | PICTURE: AirAsia becomes first operator of Airbus’ Sharklet equipped A320

Airbus has delivered the first A320 equipped with Sharklets today to AirAsia, which becomes the first operator of the new fuel-saving large wing tip devices. Sharklets are an option on new-build A320 Family aircraft, and are standard on all members of the A320neo Family.

Sharklets are made from light-weight composites and are 2.4 metres tall. These newly designed wing-tip devices reduce fuel burn and emissions by improving the aerodynamics of the aircraft significantly. Cutting airlines’ fuel bills by around four percent, Sharklets will offer the flexibility to A320 Family operators of either adding around 100 nautical miles more range or allowing increased payload capability of up to 450 kilogrammes.

“We are extremely proud to be the first airline in the world to take delivery of an A320 fitted with Airbus’ new, fuel saving Sharklets,” said Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia . “AirAsia has a long-standing, special relationship with Airbus and as we grow our network with our all A320 fleet, these new wing tip devices will contribute to fulfilling our goal of being the most efficient, innovative low cost airline in the world.”

“As our biggest A320 Family airline customer, it’s very fitting that AirAsia is the first carrier to benefit from the four percent fuel saving our new Sharklets deliver,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “AirAsia’s vision is to make is possible for everyone to fly and now with their Sharklet-equipped A320s they can assure their passengers that they are also travelling on board the world’s most environmentally friendly single-aisle aircraft.”

Due to the very strong customer demand for Sharklets, all Airbus’ single-aisle final assembly lines (FALs) will be engaged in building A320 Family aircraft with Sharklets. These FALs are located in Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany) and Tianjin (China) and will soon be followed by an additional A320 FAL in Mobile (Alabama, USA).

AirAsia, the largest low cost airline in Asia is also Airbus’ largest A320 Family airline customer. The carrier recently placed a new order with Airbus on the 13th December 2012 for 100 more A320 Family aircraft including 36 A320ceo aircraft with Sharklets. Altogether, AirAsia has ordered 475 single aisle aircraft from Airbus, comprising 264 A320neo and 211 A320ceo. Over 100 aircraft have already been delivered to the airline and are flying out of its bases in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila and Tokyo.

The A320 Family is the world’s best-selling and most modern single aisle aircraft Family. To date, close to 8,900 aircraft have been ordered and over 5,300 delivered to more than 380 customers and operators worldwide.

 

20.12.12 | TE Connectivity announces qualification approval on CII line of high-performance time delay relays

TE Connectivity (TE) announces receipt of qualification approval from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) for its CII line of high-performance time delay relays. (The governing military specifications are MIL-PRF-83726/28, 29, 30, and 31.)

The DLA is the Department of Defense’s largest logistics combat support agency, providing worldwide logistics support to the military services as well as several civilian agencies and foreign countries.

“This DLA qualification approval signals an important recognition for TE’s broad range of high-performance relays for the aerospace and defense market,” said Don Stalker, Product Manager, TE Aerospace, Defense & Marine. “These time delay relays broadens our offering of military approved high-performance relays and help us provide our customers with a one-stop shopping experience.”

The mid-range time delay relays combine multiple functions into a single package and are specifically designed for operation in extremes of temperature, shock, vibration and altitude. This series of time delay relays incorporates proven electromechanical relay design features along with advanced digital timing circuitry. They are hermetically sealed and provide a variety of mounting configurations. All have contact ratings of 10 Amps and include four functional versions:

· Delay on operate, fixed
· Delay on operate, adjustable
· Delay on release, fixed
· Delay on release, adjustable

Available customizing options include: extended timing ranges, tighter timing tolerances, custom header and mounting, and 115 VAC, 60 Hz. input types. With a temperature range of minus 55 degrees Celsius to 85 degrees Celsius or minus 55 degrees Celsius to 125 degrees Celsius, the time delay relays offer numerous output options which include 4A rated contacts in 1-4 form C (SPDT-4PDT) arrangements and 10A rated contacts in 1-2 form C (SPDT-DPDT) arrangements. Military approved subminiature digital timing modules are also available.

More information on TE’s mid-range time delay relays

 

20.12.12 | SIA unveils $95 million upgrade of Boeing 777-200ER cabins

Singapore Airlines will be investing nearly SGD$95 million to refit ten Boeing 777- 200ER aircraft with new long-haul cabin products to provide customers with additional space and comfort.

The cabin upgrade programme will provide greater product consistency across the Airline’s long-haul fleet, with Business Class seats that convert into full-flat beds and larger in-flight entertainment screen sizes for both Business Class and Economy Class.

The first refitted B777-200ER will operate between Singapore and Amsterdam from 13 January 2013. Upgraded B777-200ERs will be deployed to more destinations in Europe and to points in India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand as additional aircraft are refitted.

In Business Class, the richly upholstered leather seat reclines up to 125 degrees and unfolds into a 76-inch full-flat bed. Also featured on the Airline’s Airbus A340- 500, A380 and B777-300ER fleets, the forward-facing, four-abreast 1-2-1 configuration offers all customers direct access to the aisle. The award-winning KrisWorld in-flight entertainment system also features a 15.4-inch LCD monitor and an extensive selection of audio and video programmes.

In Economy Class, personal LCD monitors will be upgraded to 9 inches from 6.5 inches. Seat covers, designed by Givenchy, will also feature soothing colours as well as richer and softer fabrics, similar to those found on Singapore Airlines’ A380s and B777-300ERs.

 

20.12.12 | ViaSat Receives $52 Million Satcom Services Contract for Airborne ISR

ViaSat Inc. will provide broadband airborne satcom services for a U.S. government customer under a contract award valued at $52 million. The one year contract is a renewal for services already provided using ViaSat ArcLight® technology over a managed private network established in 2009 to support military missions for the War on Terror.

ViaSat mobile broadband systems are designed to provide high-speed, beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) communications for media-rich ISR, C2, and other applications. Typical operational data rates range from 1 to 8 Mbps off the aircraft using Ku- and Ka-band satcom links. These systems are flown on over 300 government aircraft such as the C-130, C-17, U-28, and various King Air models, accumulating over 500,000 mission hours.

These same terminals can operate seamlessly on the global Yonder® satellite network. In addition, ViaSat offers higher priority regional service overlays to Yonder network coverage with a range of connectivity and performance options.

 

20.12.12 | ITC Global Chooses Intelsat for Broadband Delivery to Russia and Australia

Intelsat S.A., the world’s leading provider of satellite services, announced today that ITC Global, a leading provider of enterprise-grade satellite communications services to mining, energy and maritime businesses operating in remote and harsh environments, has signed two multi-year agreements for broadband capacity.

In the first agreement, ITC Global will leverage Intelsat 18 at 180° East to provide C-band services to its mining customers in eastern Russia.

ITC Global will integrate its services into a sophisticated network, incorporating carrier-in-carrier technology, to achieve optimal efficiency in delivering high-throughput broadband Internet to remote locations.

ITC Global also signed a contract for capacity on Intelsat 906 at 64° East, enabling broadband service to a major natural resources provider in Western Australia.

“Intelsat’s premiere C-band capacity provides an essential element of our newest customized communications offering,” said Michael Spytek, ITC Global Vice President of Engineering. “Operational excellence is a hallmark of our service, and one that our clientele in the mining, energy, and maritime sectors require.

Intelsat’s track record of performance and reliability enables us to move forward confidently in designing the right solution for some of the most challenging locations in the world.”

“ITC Global’s customers have come to expect unparalleled reliability in difficult environments that often render other communications platforms unworkable,” said Intelsat SVP of Global Sales Kurt Riegelman.

“Intelsat is ideally positioned to offer ITC Global an effective solution that is capable of meeting the varied requirements of their customers.”

 

20.12.12 | Alaska Airlines and Aeromexico Partner to Make Travel Easier to the United States

Alaska Airlines and Aeromexico, Mexico’s global airline, today announced their new frequent flier and codeshare agreement to connect each other’s networks and bring more options to travelers flying between Mexico and several cities along the West Coast and Alaska.

Starting early next year, travelers can accrue miles when they fly on Alaska Airlines’ expansive network across the United States, Mexico and Canada, and Aeromexico’s 80 destinations throughout Mexico, the United States, Canada, Central and South America, Europe, and Asia.

Miles flown on Aeromexico will count toward qualification in Alaska’s Mileage Plan MVP elite-level program. Frequent fliers will be able to redeem miles for award travel on Aeromexico beginning later in 2013.

“Aeromexico’s customers will enjoy Alaska’s easy connections, streamlined handling of checked baggage and more travel options to some of the West Coast’s most popular destinations, including Seattle and Portland, Oregon,” said Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of marketing.

“We welcome Aeromexico’s passengers to experience the award-winning customer service of Alaska Airlines on their next U.S.-bound flight.”

Under the codeshare agreement, Aeromexico’s “AM” code will be placed on Alaska Airlines flights between 20 city pairs, including all eight Alaska destinations in Mexico with service from Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and San Jose.

Travelers connecting between Alaska Airlines and Aeromexico will be able to check in with the originating carrier, receive their boarding passes and check baggage through to their final destination.

“We are very pleased to announce this new alliance and confident that this commitment will benefit all Alaska’s and Aeromexico’s passengers, which will allow them to connect with 45 cities around Mexico and with 11 different countries in Central and South America,” said Sergio Allard, Aeromexico’s chief commercial officer.

“Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and Aeromexico Club Premier members will very soon also be able to enjoy all of their well-known benefits as if they were flying with the same airline.”

 

20.12.12 | Android Phone Owners Can Now Purchase Tickets Using the Alaska Airlines App

Alaska Airlines has upgraded its Android app to enable travelers to conveniently purchase tickets whenever they’re carrying their smart phone. The airline will roll out the same feature for its iPhone app in January.

“Allowing our customers to book tickets from their smart phones inside our native apps for the Android and iPhone was a natural next step following the successful launch of booking on our mobile website earlier this year,” said Curtis Kopf, Alaska Airlines’ managing director of customer innovation and alaskaair.com.

“With one-stop shopping in the app, our customers will have the power and convenience of technology in the palm of their hands, allowing them to book from whatever device is most convenient—whether they’re at home, at work or on the go.”

Features of Alaska Airlines’ Android app (and the iPhone app when it’s released in January) include:
Book and purchase tickets
Select and change seats
Check in for flights
Access mobile boarding passes
Track flight status and boarding information
Create text or email flight alerts
Create a parking reminder and add notes for hotel and car reservations
Access “My Trips” to view multiple flight itineraries
Track Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account information

Travelers can also book and purchase tickets on Alaska Airlines from any mobile device on the carrier’s mobile website m.alaskaair.com

The apps and mobile features are part of a series of enhancements Alaska Airlines has developed since 2010 to make flying easier for travelers. For more information on Alaska Airlines’ mobile site and free Android and iPhone apps, visit www.alaskaair.com/mobile

In addition to its mobile website and apps for iPhone/iPod and Android devices, Alaska Airlines recently provided customers with the ability to text 252752 (ALASKA) for current flight status information, including city pairs, arrival and departure times, and gate information.

The airline has also partnered with the Transportation Security Administration to offer Pre-Check, an expedited security screening, for eligible travelers at select airports.

Alaska Airlines, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), together with its partner regional airlines, serves 95 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines has ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Network Carriers” in the J.D. Power and Associates North America Airline Satisfaction StudySM for five consecutive years from 2008 to 2012.

 

20.12.12 | Gogo Agrees Partnership with Inmarsat for Global Xpress (GX)

Gogo and Inmarsat have signed an agreement that sees Gogo become a value added reseller for Global Xpress® (GX) in the Commercial Air Transport market.

The world’s first global Ka-band network will be provided through a constellation of three satellites and GX is scheduled to deliver full global coverage available by late 2014.

Through GX, Gogo will offer improved capacity, global coverage and significant cost advantages to its commercial airline customers. Optimized for mobile users, including the global aero market, GX will deliver download speeds of up to 50 megabits per second, powering in-flight solutions, affording a superior user experience for passengers and crew.

“We strongly believe Global Xpress will be the first scalable, global solution optimized for the aero market,” said Michael Small, Gogo’s president and CEO.

“Inmarsat has assembled a great team and we are confident in the execution plan we’ve put in place. With the addition of Inmarsat’s Ka-band service, Gogo has the ability to provide the most complete range of solutions, which enable us to service the full-fleet needs of our current and future airline partners; regardless of aircraft size, mission or location.”

“Gogo is a leader in in-flight connectivity, serving major commercial airlines across the world and we are delighted to have them as value added resellers for Global Xpress,” said Leo Mondale, Managing Director of Inmarsat GX.

“Global Xpress has been designed from the bottom up to meet the requirements of the commercial airline market and will offer a future-proof option with ample broadband capacity for growth. This will support adoption of superior connectivity solutions across entire airline fleets.”

 

20.12.12 | Cathay Pacific statement on successful resolution to sponsored FAU talks

Cathay Pacific confirms that talks sponsored by the Labour Department between the company and the Flight Attendants Union (FAU) have resolved the outstanding differences between the two parties.

Chief Executive John Slosar said: “This is the best possible outcome for our customers, who have always been at the forefront of this issue for us. They can now look forward to their holiday travel plans with confidence.”

General Manager Cabin Crew Liza Ng said: “The agreement we reached today addresses issues important to the company and the crew. It is incumbent upon the company to always ensure its long-term success when discussing short-term issues. We were able to accomplish that today.”

The resulting agreement includes:
- A commitment that all destinations will remain available to Hong Kong based crew,
- That crew based outside Hong Kong will not exceed 15 percent of total cabin crew staffing,
- That outport based crew can only operate based routes between outport bases, and
- That a minimum of 50 percent of overall flights on based routes will be operated by Hong Kong based crew.
- This part of the agreement being valid for a period of two years beginning 1 January 2013.

Additionally, the company and the FAU jointly agreed on changes to some lifestyle issues deemed important to cabin crew. For example, regarding late night flights and specific patterns, Cathay Pacific will trial some new initiatives including service flow and enhanced rest times.

According to Mr. Slosar: “This is a good agreement for the company. It allows us to expand our business here at home, bringing even more services to the people of Hong Kong. Specifically, we maintain the flexibility we need to offer what our customers want us to provide.”

He continued: “Beyond that, we were able to look after the interests of the broader cabin crew community in terms of addressing lifestyle issues, which is important because we must keep the interests of all staff at heart. And we have demonstrated that we will listen to staff concerns and respond with appropriate solutions.”

Mr. Slosar concluded: “We are very grateful to the Labour Department for sponsoring these talks and keeping the parties focused on a resolution that protected the interests of the travelling public. We’re now ready to redouble our efforts to ensure a pleasant experience for all of our customers over the holidays.”

 

20.12.12 | PICTURES: JAL Group Unveils New Set of Uniforms

JAL Group (JAL) today unveiled the Group’s brand new set of uniforms for approximately 26,700 of its staff members, including flight crew, cabin attendants, various ground staff at the airport and city offices, as well as maintenance staff.

The new uniforms will be adopted in the first half of fiscal year 2013 (between April 1 and September 30, 2013).

Created based on the concept of the new JAL Brand, the latest uniforms are sophisticated and coordinated with JAL’s current aircraft livery and airport signage to clearly project a distinguished JAL Group brand image.

With the new attires, JAL aims to promote communication with its customers and provide them with a truly enjoyable journey and sense of security. Consolidating the designs across various sections within the JAL Group and conducting a thorough review of the selection and management of the materials used, have also helped realize significant cost savings.

A New Uniform Project Team was established and comprised of passionate employees from various sections to implement this change.

Based on a deep sense of gratitude to all parties who had supported JAL, the Project Team worked on the selection of designs and fabric, and provided valuable feedback in the process of developing this new generation of uniforms.

For cabin crew and passenger service staff who are always interacting with customers at the frontlines, JAL engaged the help of Japanese fashion designer Keita Maruyama, who conceptualized the design for these uniforms.

Incorporating the essence of the employees’ mindsets and feelings for the revitalized JAL Group, Maruyama created a unique style to embody JAL’s spirit of hospitality, and provide aesthetically both beauty and comfort.

Employees in the new uniforms represent a cohesive JAL Group and will extend the most welcoming and assuring reception to all customers.

United by the aspiration to deliver the highest quality of service with hospitality from the heart, JAL Group employees will strive to make every customer’s journey on JAL a joyful and moving experience.

Flight Crew

The flight crew’s cap and chest emblems will now feature the JAL brand mark’s distinctive circular-crane logo, while the traditional, elegant black double-breasted suits with gold arm stripes are retained to continue portraying an aura of reliability and sense of security for the passengers. The flight crew uniform for all six air-transport operators of the JAL Group – JAL, JAL Express, J-AIR, Japan Air Commuter, Japan Transocean Air and Ryukyu Air Commuter will be standardized.

Cabin Attendants

Designed by Keita Maruyama, the new uniforms for cabin crew prominently feature JAL’s crane logo and are also standardized for cabin attendants across all JAL Group airlines, differentiated only by the color of their scarves for female attendants.

The base color of the cabin crew uniforms is a noble, dark blue tone, with linings in JAL’s corporate red color around the cuffs and the lower edge of the jacket for women and on the pocket lip of the men’s suit jacket.

Female cabin attendants will wear a one-piece dress with half-length sleeves to the elbow, smartly lined with white around the collar and cuffs.

An outlined breast-pocket and red belt complete the outfit. Male cabin attendants will wear suits designed to allow easy movements of the arms and legs while maintaining an elegant silhouette.

Also designed by Maruyama, uniforms for JAL’s passenger service staff at the airport as well as in city offices will utilize the same noble, dark blue color and red linings in synchronization with the cabin crew uniforms to be easily identified as JAL Group employees.

Check-in agents, VIP guest relations agents and lounge staff at the airport will each have distinctly-designed jackets based on their respective roles so that customers can easily recognize and approach them for assistance at the airport.

The coveralls for both maintenance, as well as ground and cargo handling staff have a generally light grey base while only the sleeves will be highlighted with a distinct color to set them apart.

This heightens the clarity of each group’s function while raising the consciousness of inter-department unity. Maintenance staff will wear coveralls with black sleeves with a thick stripe of red running down from the underarm to the wrist.

In contrast, ground and cargo handling staff will wear coveralls with bright-red sleeves and a thick stripe of light-grey in the same area. Both will have the JAL logo printed on the back.

About Keita Maruyama

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Keita Maruyama graduated from Bunka Fashion College and began his career in 1987 with a Japanese apparel company. His designs debuted in Tokyo in 1994 and in 1996, Maruyama won the Best New Designer Award at the Mainichi Fashion Grand Prix. He then made his debut in Paris the following year.

In 1998, he gained recognition from the Fashion Editors Club of Japan (FEC) with an award for his excellence in design. Presently, Maruyama is active in the industry managing several brands such as [Keita Maruyama], [Beauty Bar by Keita Maruyama], [WEDDING DRESS KEITA MARUYAMA] and others, as well as creating stage costumes for musicians and celebrities.

 

19.12.12 | Qantas and Emirates welcome Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) draft determination on partnership

Qantas and Emirates have welcomed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) draft determination that proposes to grant authorisation for their partnership for five years.

The partnership will provide customers with a seamless international and Australian network, exclusive frequent flyer benefits and world class travel experiences.

ACCC approval is required for Emirates and Qantas to coordinate on pricing, sales and capacity.

The ACCC has issued a draft determination with a final decision due in March 2013. The implementation of the partnership remains subject to the ACCC’s final determination and regulatory approval in other jurisdictions.

Qantas Group Chief Executive Officer, Alan Joyce, said the ACCC’s draft determination was an important step towards delivering a better travel experience for millions of customers.

“We put a strong case to the ACCC that outlined the benefits of this partnership, both for travellers and for Australian tourism,” said Mr Joyce.

“Our customer research has shown very strong support for the Qantas and Emirates partnership, particularly in terms of increasing one-stop access to Europe, cutting travel time and offering frequent flyer benefits.

“We will now focus on responding to the issue raised by the ACCC in relation to the trans-Tasman as we move to securing final approval of this landmark partnership,” added Mr Joyce.

President of Emirates Tim Clark said that the positive response from its customers had been matched with enthusiasm from the local tourism sector.

“The feedback since the Emirates and Qantas partnership was announced has been positive and reinforces what a strong match the two brands are for each other,” said Mr Clark.

“Australia is one of the top three destinations in the Emirates network, popular for our business and leisure travellers alike.

“The partnership with Qantas means we can add regional destinations like the Gold Coast and Hobart to the growing list of places we offer Emirates customers worldwide,” added Mr Clark.

Since announcing the proposed partnership in September, Emirates and Qantas have started initial preparations that do not require regulatory approval, including connecting IT systems, designing frequent flyer benefits and establishing an operational base for Qantas in Dubai.

Submissions to the ACCC made in support of the Qantas-Emirates partnership included the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure and Transport, the Victorian and Queensland state governments, Australian Tourism Export Council and the National Tourism Alliance. A final decision is expected from the ACCC in March 2013. The partnership is scheduled to start in April 2013.

 

19.12.12 | Carlisle Interconnect Technologies Announces Distributor Stock for TMP®/WMP® Connector Series

Carlisle Interconnect Technologies announced today two top tier connector distributors – Richardson RFPD, Inc. and RFMW, Ltd. – now have inventory and full design support capabilities for both the TMP® and WMP® Push-on Connector Series.

The TMP® connectors are designed to provide a convenient blind-mateable solution specifically for high power applications. The TMP interface is comparable in size to an SMA connector, and offers similar power handling capability and durability in a push-on configuration. It is ideal for design in radar, missile and satellite systems, as well as commercial applications.

Key features of the TMP Series include:
• • DC to 23 GHz frequency range
• • 50 Ohm impedance
• • Push-On interface
• • Blind-Mate with Radial and Axial float
• • Over 5000 Mate & De-mate cycles
• • Available in full, limited, and Catchers Mit detents
• • Options include Board Mount, Field Replaceable, Bullets and Cable Connector configurations
• • MIL-PRF-39012 compliant
The WMP® series offers a small form factor push on blind-mate solution for high frequency applications like military radios, electronic countermeasure, and test and measurement, from DC to 100 GHz. The WMP series is designed to satisfy the demand for increased package density and reduced weight in microwave systems. The sub-miniature, lightweight blind-mateable interconnect solution is ideal for complex high performance microwave modules and systems where weight is the primary issue.

Key features of the WMP Series include:
• • DC to 100 GHz frequency range
• • Push-On interface
• • Blind-Mate with Radial and Axial float
• • Available in full, limited, and Catchers Mit detents
• • Options include Board Mount, Edge Launch, and Cable Connector configurations

Common configurations are in stock and available for immediate delivery.

 

19.12.12 | JetBlue Airways Scores Big with New York’s Newest Venue: Signs on as the Official Domestic Airline of Barclays Center

Brooklyn Nets dancers, Brooklynettes, will be at JetBlue’s Terminal 5 at JFK for Barclays Center Day on Thurs. Dec. 20, where travelers will have the opportunity to shoot hoops for great prizes.

Starting in January 2013, visit facebook.com/BarclaysCenter for the “Bound for Brooklyn” sweepstakes and the chance to win one of 25 pairs of roundtrip JetBlue flights to or from New York plus a pair of tickets to a select Barclays Center event

JetBlue Airways New York’s Hometown AirlineTM, today proudly announces its status as the Official Domestic Airline of the brand new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, a major sports and entertainment venue showcasing an extensive variety of events, including premier concerts, major professional boxing cards, top college basketball, family shows, and the Brooklyn Nets.

On Thursday, Dec. 20 the airline will launch the partnership with Barclays Center Day from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., post-security at its world-class home at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s (JFK) Terminal 5, complete with a branded SportPros court where ticketed customers will have the opportunity to shoot hoops for great prizes including flight giveaways and Nets game tickets. The Brooklyn Nets dance team, Brooklynettes, will be onsite to entertain.

“Barclays Center represents renewal and innovation in New York, much like JetBlue was introduced over a decade ago,” said Marty St. George, senior vice president of marketing and commercial strategy. “We’re very happy to be part of this new endeavor, which promises to delight and entertain fans for many years to come. As the largest domestic carrier at JFK, with our new support center here in Long Island City, we’re New York’s Hometown Airline and, like the Barclays Center, will maintain our focus on top notch customer service, value and entertainment. The partnership is a perfect fit!”

“JetBlue is a great New York City-based airline, which offers the same commitment to top customer service and innovation as Barclays Center,” Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said. “We are looking forward to welcoming JetBlue passengers to Barclays Center for world-class sports and entertainment.”

Each Thursday during the month of January, 2013, Barclays Center will host a “Bound for Brooklyn” sweepstakes, presented by JetBlue. Customers can visit Barclays Center’s Facebook page at facebook.com/barclayscenter and enter for the chance to win a pair of round trip JetBlue tickets to or from New York, plus a pair of tickets to an event at Barclays Center. Five winners will be selected every Thursday for a total of 25 winners.

JetBlue’s partnership with Barclays Center, located in the heart of Brooklyn and designed by the award-winning architectural firms Ellerbe Becket and SHoP Architects, includes exclusive digital street-to-seat signage for all events, courtside television-visible signage and baseline signage during Brooklyn Nets home games, and arena activation rights. Brooklyn’s own JAY Z launched Barclays Center’s inaugural season with eight sold out shows. The arena’s BrooklynTasteTM culinary program, customer service, outstanding sightlines, easy accessibility, 101 luxury suites, four bars/lounges, three clubs and the newest location of the 40/40 CLUB & Restaurant by American Express, all guarantee that an event at Barclays Center is destined to be a memorable one.

JetBlue is the largest domestic airline at JFK, operating more than 150 nonstop flights daily to 56 destinations throughout the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. The customer service friendly airline carried more than two million travelers from the airport last year to its many international destinations including: Barbados; Colombia; Costa Rica; Dominican Republic; Jamaica; Mexico; Saint Lucia; St. Maarten; and Turks and Caicos – all of which will soon enjoy the seamless experience of arriving into the new international arrivals terminal extension.

About Barclays Center
Barclays Center opened on September 28, 2012, and is a major sports and entertainment venue in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. Developed by Brooklyn-based real estate developer Forest City Ratner Companies, and designed by the award-winning architectural firms AECOM (www.aecom.com/architecture) and SHoP Architects (www.shoparc.com), Barclays Center has one of the most intimate seating configurations ever designed into a modern multi-purpose arena, with unparalleled sightlines and first-class amenities. Barclays Center offers approximately 17,732 seats for basketball, 14,500 seats for hockey and up to 19,000 seats for concerts, and has 101 luxury suites, four bars/lounges, four clubs, and 40/40 CLUB & Restaurant by American Express.

Barclays Center is hosting an extensive variety of events, including premier concerts, monthly major professional boxing cards, top college basketball, family shows, the Brooklyn Nets and soon the New York Islanders.

In addition to Barclays, the naming rights partner, Founding Partners for Barclays Center include American Honda Motor Co., Inc., American Express, Calvin Klein, Cushman & Wakefield, EmblemHealth, Foxwoods Resort Casino, GEICO, MetroPCS, Stolichnaya, and Ticketmaster. Other sponsors include: adidas, Anheuser-Busch, The Coca-Cola Company, Haier America, High Point Solutions, JetBlue, LIU Brooklyn, New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, SONY, and Willis.

Located atop one of the largest transportation hubs in New York City, Barclays Center is accessible by 11 subway lines, the Long Island Rail Road, and 11 bus lines.

 

19.12.12 | Astronics Corporation Selected to Supply Exterior Lighting System for the KC-390 Military Transport and Tanker Program

Astronics Corporation, a leading provider of advanced technologies for the global aerospace and defense industries, announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Luminescent Systems Inc., has been selected by Embraer Defense and Security as a supplier for their KC-390 Military Transport and Tanker Program.

Astronics will provide a complete exterior lighting system, including navigation, anti-collision, landing, taxi, aerial refueling and formation lights. The system will feature Astronics’ LED technology to provide enhanced optical performance, high reliability and reduced power consumption. The KC-390 is expected to enter service in 2016.

Peter J. Gundermann, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Astronics has a long history as an Embraer supplier, including providing the exterior lighting system for the Phenom family of business jets. The KC-390 selection serves to both enhance that relationship and builds on our industry leading position of supplying best in class exterior lighting solutions for the military and commercial aerospace market.”

 

19.12.12 | Etihad Airways acquires majority stake in Air Berline TopBonus frequent flyer program

Etihad Airways announced the purchase of a majority stake in a new entity incorporated to own airberlin’s topbonus frequent flyer program, the first step in the establishment of a global loyalty management platform.

The new entity will seek to offer new opportunities for topbonus members to collect and redeem topbonus miles around the world, including the ability to use PointsPayTM to convert miles into cash payments at more than 30 million outlets worldwide.

Etihad Airways has taken a 70 per cent holding in the new company, with airberlin taking the remaining 30 per cent. The total transaction value is €200 million, which is being financed by an equity injection of €50 million and debt financing of €150 million, provided by HSBC International and Commerzbank.

The entity will become part of a new loyalty management company being established by Etihad Airways. This company will allow Etihad Airways and its partners to target the fast-growing, profitable global loyalty management market more effectively. The new loyalty group will have global scale and a critical mass of valuable, high-spending consumers.

It is planned that Etihad Guest, which expanded to become a multi-airline program in June when Seychelles Plus, the Air Seychelles frequent flyer program, started participating in the program, will cooperate with the new company.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “This new investment creates an excellent growth opportunity for us to capitalise on the loyalty management market, while offering a greater range of benefits to passengers from multiple partner airlines.

“The acquisition of a stake in the new topbonus company is part of our strategic evolution to create a ‘house of brands’ loyalty management company, with global scale.

“The loyalty program sector is a faster growing and higher margin business than the airline industry. This new approach allows both our companies to reap greater rewards together, with opportunities to generate sustained profits from our loyalty programs.

“The new company also provides an attractive vehicle for other airlines looking to generate further revenues from the fast-growing loyalty management sector.”

Hartmut Mehdorn, airberlin’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “This is a fantastic deal for our customers, offering new opportunities for them to collect topbonus miles around the world and redeem them in the most effective way.

“It is also a deal which offers airberlin an exciting future strategy for our FFP, while improving liquidity, our balance sheet and our equity position.”

Etihad Airways and airberlin initiated reciprocal ‘earn and burn’ for miles on each other’s frequent flyer programs in January 2012 and the new deal will greatly enhance synergies between the two programs.

Together, topbonus (3.1 million members) and Etihad Guest (1.82 million members) have nearly five million members worldwide. Etihad Guest currently has 173 partners and topbonus has 123.

topbonus, Germany’s second largest frequent flyer program, is growing at a rate of more than 1,000 new members a day.

These members are expected to benefit from new opportunities under the new company. It is planned that PointsPayTM, the facility that allows Etihad Guest members to convert their miles to make cash payments at more than 30 million outlets worldwide, will be extended to topbonus members.

Etihad Guest members use the PointsPayTM iPhone app or visit the PointsPayTM website to arrange for their miles to be transferred into funds. The funds are then loaded directly to a PointsPayTM prepaid card which can be used to shop in-store or online.

airberlin announced in November 2012 its decision to separate topbonus from the core airline operation and place it into a new entity, seeking external investment to develop the business further. Participating in the new loyalty management company will enable airberlin to offer its customers a greater range of benefits.

The deal was preceded by a comprehensive review process undertaken by Credit Suisse and KPMG on behalf of airberlin in Germany, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (London) instructed by Etihad Airways in the UAE.

About Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, began operations in 2003, and in 2011 carried 8.3 million passengers. From its hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Etihad Airways serves 86 passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas, with a fleet of 68 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and over 90 aircraft on firm order, including 10 Airbus A380s, the world’s largest passenger aircraft. Etihad Airways also holds equity investments in airberlin, Air Seychelles, Virgin Australia and Aer Lingus. For more information, please visit: www.etihad.com

About airberlin
airberlin is one of the leading airlines in Europe and flies to 170 destinations in 40 countries. As Germany’s second largest airline, it has 9,300 employees. The airline with the award-winning service carried more than 35 million passengers in 2011. Due to its strategic partnership with Etihad Airways and its membership of the oneworld® airline alliance, airberlin has access to a global route network. airberlin offers world-wide codeshare flights in cooperation with 14 airlines. With 158 aircraft and an average age of five years, its fleet is one of the youngest and most eco-efficient in Europe.

 

19.12.12 | Aeroflot Jubilee Onboard Menu with Michelin Stars

Aeroflot gathered airline’s frequent flyers, top managers, key partners and celebrities to take part in a new anniversary onboard menu tasting ceremony.

The menu was especially designed with a help of Michelin starred chefs — Pierre Gagnaire, Alain Llorca (both from France) and Bjorn Franzen from Sweden to celebrate the 90thAeroflot jubilee.

For the coming 2013 spring season the chefs’ trio offered tremendous choice of the most exquisite dishes.

Now in the menu there are four kinds of soup — the famous Russian Borzch with champignons and sour crème, an old-styled cabbage soup with porcinos and fennel, a spicy soup with vegetables and Astrakhan sturgeon and an old-Moscow soup with spinach and sour crème.

Among appetizers are: Norwegian salmon bouche with pancakes and cream cheese; Norwegian salmon fillet on a lemon jelly with caviar, cranberries and shrimps; Norwegian salmon sautéed in beet-orange sauce with fresh salad and angus veal in sesame souse and beansprouts.

Newly introduced main courses were of a great success among Aeroflot passengers and guests — baked Russian polar halibut with steamed vegetables and red pepper souse; beefsteak with shitake mushrooms, steamed spinach, stewed pumpkin and carrot; chicken breast sautéed with goat cheese and figs jam followed by jasmine rice and backed sweet red peppers with Porto souse.

The world-renowned chef Kamel Benamar (head chef of «Bolshoi» and «Vanil» restaurants, owned by A.Novikov) presented his new dessert menu with millefeuilles, cherry cheesecakes and pistachio mousses with strawberries making for a perfect finale for the menu-tasting ceremony.

The new menu will be available on board of Aeroflot international and domestic flights starting from February 01, 2013.

Established in 1923 with a headquarters in Moscow, Aeroflot is Russia’s flagship airline and the largest national air company.

Proudly being a member of SkyTeam global airline alliance, Aeroflot with its partnering members provides service to 1000 destinations in 187 countries.

Aeroflot operates one of the most modern and youngest fleets in Europe counting 126 aircraft formed by Airbus, Boeing and Sukhoi airliners with an average airplane age of 5 years.

In 2011 Aeroflot carried more than 14.2 million passengers, showing the best result in modern Russia’s history.

In the same year Aeroflot was honored with a prestigious international SkyTrax World Airline Award as ‘The best airline in Eastern Europe’.

 

19.12.12 | Boeing test breakthrough means more reliable connectivity on airplanes

Boeing has developed an advanced method to test wireless signals in airplane cabins, making it possible for passengers to enjoy more reliable connectivity when using networked personal electronic devices in the air.

Boeing engineers created a new process for measuring radio signal quality using proprietary measurement technology and analysis tools. This enables engineers to more efficiently measure how strong a signal is and how far it spreads, ensuring safe yet powerful signal penetration throughout an airplane cabin.

Once the new method was established, testing that previously took more than two weeks to conduct was reduced to 10 hours.

“Every day we work to ensure that Boeing passengers are travelling on the safest and most advanced airplanes in the world,” said Dennis O’Donoghue, vice president of Boeing Test & Evaluation. “This is a perfect example of how our innovations in safety can make the entire flying experience better.”

This technology was first developed to more thoroughly and efficiently ensure that signal propagation met the regulatory safety standards that protect against interference with an aircraft’s critical electrical systems.

Initially using a de-commissioned airplane, the team from Boeing Test & Evaluation laboratories conducted a series of such tests. The team determined that potatoes were ideal stand-ins for passengers, given their similar physical interactions with electronic signal properties. Much of the testing was conducted on the grounded airplane with the seats filled with 20,000 pounds of potato sacks. The test data was then validated on the ground with human stand-ins for passengers.

A wireless signal inside an airplane can deviate randomly when people move around. Boeing’s new test process takes advantage of state-of-the-art technology and ground-breaking statistical analysis to identify strong and weak signal areas and balance them by adjusting the connectivity system accordingly. The result is increased safety and reliability.

 

19.12.12 | Fabrice Bregier new Chairman of Airbus Corporate Foundation Board

During its last Board of Directors meeting on 17th December, the Airbus Corporate Foundation appointed Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and CEO, as its new Chairman of the Board, succeeding Tom Enders, CEO of EADS, who headed the Foundation since its creation in 2008 and who has been appointed Honorary Chairman of the Foundation.

“I am thrilled to take over this great mission to head the Airbus Corporate Foundation. I will continue to work hand in hand with our Airbus employees as well as with our partner airlines and organisations in order to take the Foundation further”, said Fabrice Brégier.

“With a strong footing on the Foundation’s humanitarian and environmental objectives, the organisation will now focus more on local initiatives in Airbus home countries, especially ones that help young people from difficult areas”.

Social responsibility coupled with a greater will to take care of the environment has been at the heart of Airbus’ business activities for a long time. From its beginning, the Airbus Corporate Foundation’s Board of Directors secured the support of international external members who brought in experience and know-how in their respective fields of expertise.

The Airbus Corporate Foundation aims at facilitating charitable activities worldwide within an international network of employees and partners by focussing its support on three themes: Humanitarian and community support, Youth development and the Environment.

The first theme of the Foundation is to provide aid and relief in cases of natural disaster and reaching out to develop local communities where Airbus is present. Airbus has built up a global network of airlines and relief organisations to support international humanitarian aid missions such as transporting food and goods to areas of need on aircraft being delivered to customer airlines. Since its launch, the Airbus Corporate Foundation has facilitated 30 relief flights to numerous destinations all over the globe.

Projects to inspire youth launched through the Airbus Foundation have successfully run in Airbus’ home four countries and around the globe, reaching over 30,000 young people over the last four to five years. The “Flying Challenge” – programme that supports high school students from underprivileged neighbourhoods in completing their scholastic studies – was successfully rolled out in Toulouse and the US and will be expanded to the UK, Spain and Germany in 2013.

In the field of Environment, the Foundation focuses on protecting, improving and increasing awareness of the environment, and supporting projects with a particular focus on biodiversity. In 2010, the Foundation launched a Biodiversity Program enabling selected Airbus employees to make a significant difference in the environment and the lives of a local Indian community and upon their return, closer to home, to share their unique experience with their managers and colleagues as well as with local youth. In 2011, the Foundation also launched local projects to increase biodiversity awareness among youth in France, Spain, the UK and Germany in local communities.

 

19.12.12 | United Airlines begins daily nonstop service between Chicago and Washington hubs and Latin destinations

United Airlines will begin daily nonstop service between its hub at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Monterrey, Mexico, on Dec. 19, 2012. The same day, United will begin daily service between its Washington/Dulles International Airport hub and San Salvador International Airport in El Salvador.

“These new routes connect major business and cultural destinations in the U.S. and Latin America,” said Milagros Uriarte, United’s Director, Latin America Onshore & Caribbean Sales. “They strengthen United’s Latin American route network and provide our customers from the U.S. and Latin America increased travel options whether they’re traveling to conduct business or visit friends and family.”

Chicago O’Hare to Monterrey

Flight UA6276 will depart Chicago at 8:50 a.m., arriving in Monterrey at 12:20 p.m.. The return flight, UA6277, will depart Monterrey at 12:55 p.m., arriving in Chicago at 4:25 p.m. (all times local).

The new Chicago-Monterrey United Express flight will operate using Canadair CRJ700 regional jet aircraft with 66 seats – six in first class, 28 in Economy Plus and 32 in economy.

United offers service to 28 Mexican destinations — more than any other airline from the U.S.

The airline also serves Monterrey seven times daily from its Houston hub. From Chicago, United offers nonstop daily service to Mexico City.

Washington, D.C. (Dulles) to San Salvador

Flight UA1660 will depart Washington at 8:59 a.m., arriving in San Salvador at 12:45 p.m. The return flight, UA1716, will depart San Salvador at 1:35 p.m., arriving in Washington at 6:54 p.m. (all times local).

The flight will operate with Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 154 seats – 16 in first class, 48 in Economy Plus and 90 in economy.

United also operates twice-daily flights to San Salvador from its Houston hub.

 

19.12.12 | British Airways launches new route to China

British Airways today announced a new route to Chengdu in China, just weeks after starting services to Seoul in South Korea.

To celebrate the launch, and reflecting the Chinese belief that eight is an auspicious number, flights to Chengdu are available from just £508 if booked between today and January 6, 2013. The flight number for the inbound service is BA88 and BA89 for the London outbound flight.

British Airways will be the only UK carrier to offer a direct service between Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and London Heathrow.

The thrice-weekly service, which is now on sale, will start on September 22, 2013. The route will be served by a four-cabin Boeing 777 with First, Club World (business class), World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and World Traveller (economy).

Willie Walsh, CEO of IAG, who announced the route in Chengdu today, said: “I have visited China on many occasions and last year went to Chengdu to see for myself the progress that has been made at the airport. It is truly impressive and shows vision and ambition.

“I am delighted to announce this new route which demonstrates the importance of mainland China to British Airways and our commitment to grow our presence here.

“Economic growth in China is continuing to outstrip that of most other countries, and Chengdu is not only the capital of Sichuan Province in the South West of China but one of the country’s largest cities.

“Since 1990, Chengdu’s economy has expanded rapidly, consistently delivering double-digit rates of growth. We are confident that the new route between Chengdu and London will prove popular with customers travelling between the two major economic hubs.

“China is also a fascinating venue for leisure travellers, and the region is famed for its giant pandas, rich culture and excellent cuisine.”

In Summer 2013, British Airways will also be increasing frequencies on services from London Heathrow to Amman, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jeddah, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and Toronto.

 

19.12.12 | PICTURES: Air Canada rouge™: Introducing Canada’s New Leisure Airline

Air Canada today unveiled its new leisure airline, marking a milestone in the transformation of Canada’s flag carrier to compete in the growing leisure travel sector. Special introductory fares are available for sale beginning today at aircanada.com and through travel agents.

Along with details of the initial destinations it will fly to beginning in July 2013, the name of Canada’s new leisure airline – Air Canada rouge – was announced following a contest launched on Facebook inviting customers, employees and travel industry professionals for their input. Details about the contest and prize winners have been posted on facebook.com/aircanada.

“With the introduction today of Air Canada rouge, Air Canada enters today’s growing leisure travel market on a truly competitive basis,” said Ben Smith, Air Canada’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, at a news conference in Toronto to unveil the new leisure airline.

“In partnership with Air Canada Vacations, part of our new leisure group, Air Canada rouge will leverage the strengths of Air Canada’s extensive network, operational expertise and frequent flyer reward program in order to offer Canadians great value for their vacation travel.”

Michael Friisdahl, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada’s Leisure Group, continued, “With leisure time at a premium, Air Canada rouge will combine affordable fares, great service and choice leisure destinations with those benefits offered by Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations that are valued most by vacation travellers. We look forward to giving them a warm welcome onboard Air Canada rouge, Canada’s affordably stylish leisure airline.”

Special introductory Air Canada rouge fares now on sale to: Venice, Edinburgh, Athens, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Costa Rica
For its inaugural 2013 season, Air Canada rouge will introduce new routes not currently operated by Air Canada to Venice, Italy and Edinburgh, Scotland.

In addition, Air Canada’s seasonal services from Toronto and Montreal to Athens, Greece will be flown by the leisure carrier. Similarly, existing Air Canada flights operated in cooperation with Air Canada Vacations to Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Costa Rica will be operated by Air Canada rouge effective July 2013.

To celebrate the launch of Air Canada’s new leisure airline, special introductory fares are now available for purchase until December 25, 2012, subject to availability, at aircanada.com and through travel agents, for travel on Air Canada rouge between July and October 26, 2013.

Examples of special introductory fares based on Toronto departures:
Venice, Edinburgh and Toronto/Montreal-Athens: starting as low as $949 round-trip including all taxes, fees, charges and surcharges.
Dominican Republic (Punta Cana, Puerto Plata and Samana) and Kingston, Jamaica: starting as low as $269 each way including all taxes, fees, charges and surcharges.
Costa Rica (San Jose and Liberia): starting as low as $389 each way including all taxes, fees, charges and surcharges.
Cuba (Varadero, Cayo Coco, Holguin and Santa Clara): starting as low as $538 round-trip including all taxes, fees, charges and surcharges; available exclusively at aircanadavacations.com.

Air Canada Vacations is also offering great introductory specials for bookings made by December 25, 2012 on air-inclusive vacation packages to select Caribbean and European destinations. Visitaircanadavacations.com for further information.

Air Canada rouge flights to all destinations to be served in the carrier’s inaugural 2013 summer schedule will depart Air Canada’s main hub at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport offering customers seamless connections with Air Canada, Air Canada Express and its Star Alliance partner flights.

Air Canada rouge will also operate non-stop flights to Athens from Montreal’s Trudeau Airport, in addition to its Toronto-Athens flights. Air Canada rouge customers benefit from attractively priced through-fares from any point within Air Canada’s extensive network on a single ticket as well as baggage checked through to final destination and Aeroplan mileage accumulation and redemption.

The Air Canada rouge fleet will initially be comprised of two Boeing 767-300ER aircraft to operate transatlantic flights in a two-cabin configuration offering a selection of rouge Plus™ seats with additional legroom and Premium rouge™ seats featuring additional seating comfort, space and enhanced meal and beverage service; and two Airbus A319 aircraft to operate North American flights in an all-economy configuration offering a selection of rouge Plus seats with additional legroom.

These four aircraft will be released from Air Canada’s existing fleet to Air Canada rouge as the mainline carrier takes delivery of two new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in 2013, as announced October 1, 2012.

Air Canada rouge will expand to other popular holiday destinations as Air Canada starts to take delivery of new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in 2014, thereby freeing up aircraft for deployment in the Air Canada rouge fleet. As this occurs, and subject to commercial demand, Air Canada rougemay operate up to 20 Boeing 767-300ER aircraft and 30 Airbus A319 aircraft, for a total of 50 aircraft, to pursue opportunities in markets made viable by Air Canada rouge’s lower operating cost structure. Flights operated by Air Canada rouge are subject to receiving all required regulatory approvals.

Two hundred new jobs will be created for flight attendants and pilots at Air Canada rouge, in addition to Air Canada hiring 900 employees to meet its own planned workforce requirements as part of its 2012-2013 recruitment program announced September 20, 2012.

 

17.12.12 | Thales USA, Inc. President and CEO to Retire; Thales Elects Successor

Thales USA, Inc. announced that President and CEO, Allan Cameron, will retire at year-end after eight years of service with the company. Vice President and General Manager of Thales Avionics, Alan Pellegrini, will succeed Cameron as President and CEO effective the beginning of 2013.

Cameron joined Thales in 2004 leading the naval business in the UK and was appointed as President and CEO of Thales USA in 2006. During his tenure at Thales USA, Cameron served on a number of Boards including the SSA Board of Directors for Thales USA Defense & Security.

Under his leadership, Cameron spearheaded major transformation initiatives in the US to ensure sustainable growth and allow Thales to maintain its competitive edge in the current market.

His forward-thinking strategy led to four significant acquisitions: Advanced Acoustic Concepts, Visionix, Tampa Microwave and nCipher which have resulted in a diversified defense and security portfolio. Prior to his appointment to Thales, Cameron had an extensive and distinguished career with General Dynamics Corporation, serving as the President of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works Corporation.

“Allan Cameron has had a very successful career at Thales, working diligently to increase the company’s footprint in the US defense, civil and commercial markets and setting high standards for improving organizational efficiencies in the US,” said Pascale Sourisse, Thales Senior Vice President, International.

“As a result of his dedicated efforts targeting strategic growth markets in the US, he has built a foundation for continued growth and opportunity for his successor, Alan Pellegrini.”

Pellegrini has more than 20 years of combined experience in the avionics and commercial aerospace industry. He joined Thales six years ago, as CEO of the In-flight Entertainment and Connectivity (IFEC) organization during which time he rapidly increased the company’s market share up to 35 percent.

He was previously the CEO at Integrated Media Solutions and has held executive level positions at Panasonic Avionics Corporation, Rockwell Collins, Inc. and Hughes Electronics.

“Alan’s appointment builds on the forward momentum Thales has already created for our aerospace, defense and security businesses both domestically and abroad,” said Cameron, president & CEO, Thales USA. “With his leadership and direction, coupled with a successful track record of bringing innovative, transformational solutions to market, I am confident Thales will continue to deliver on business commitments and high levels of customer satisfaction.”

In the coming months, Pellegrini, along with his seasoned executive team, will continue to lead the IFEC organization, remaining focused on delivering high-quality connectivity solutions and personalized customer care.
Pellegrini received an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business, an MS in Engineering from California State University, Northridge, and a BS in Applied Mathematics from UCLA.

 

17.12.12 | TE Connectivity announces new SHF-260 highly flexibly 3wire for power distribution applications

TE Connectivity (TE) has introduced the SHF-260 highly flexible wire for power distribution applications within the aerospace, defense and marine markets. This comes as an answer to the need for a combination of high temperature and high performance in wire insulation, which has become a critical factor in today’s platforms. This is especially true in large-diameter power feeder applications where temperature and durability are vital.

The highly flexible cable can be bent and routed in extremely tight areas. As a result, SHF-260 flexible wire is able to run shorter distances, reducing the stress on the contact, and reducing the mating and demating forces normally associated with large shell diameter circular connectors, such as MIL-DTL-5015 and MIL-DTL-83723 connectors.

“The SHF-260 flexible wire can provide both the high flexibility and the extreme temperature capability that is needed in power distribution applications—other products offer only one or the other,” said Carl Treadwell, Product Manager, TE Aerospace, Defense & Marine.

“With this product, TE is expanding the envelope to meet designers’ growing power distribution needs in harsh environments.”

The SHF-260 flexible wire enables routing in tight spaces, allowing the user to go up in AWG sizes and eliminate the need to split power, where routing and bending previously prevented the user from doing so.

The SHF-260 flexible wire is made with extruded polymer, making it more notch and abrasion resistant as well as mechanically tough. Because the wire is easily strippable, less force is required when cleanly removing the jacket. The wire also offers reduced cost of installation and vibration stability.

SHF-260 flexible wire is available in 0 to 24 AWG size, with a nominal voltage rating of 1000 Volts. It has an insulation resistance of a minimum of 50,000 Mohms/kft and insulation elongation of 150 percent minimum. SHF-260 wire offers a minimum 10x bend radius.

 

17.12.12 | British Airways’ pilots switch to iPads

British Airways is equipping its 3,600 pilots with iPads to further improve customer service and operational efficiency levels.

The move, which follows the airline’s rollout of iPads across its cabin crew and ground operations teams, is part of the company’s £5bn investment in new products and technology to provide the best possible flying experience for British Airways’ customers.

By having access to additional real-time operational data, shared with ground colleagues, pilots will be able to plan the flight more efficiently using the most accurate information available pre-departure.

This means our flight crew can provide customers with faster and more accurate flight information than ever before. With the latest operational updates customers will be better informed and able to make plans if their flight time has changed for any reason.

Pilots will also be able to use historic and current data, supplied by the customer, to provide an even more personalised service during the flight.

British Airways’ director of flight operations, Captain Stephen Riley said: “As pilots we want to deliver a safe and memorable experience for each and every British Airways customer, on every single flight.

“The iPads will help us to achieve this goal by giving us the means to provide a more personalised service and share more timely flight information with our customers and colleagues.”

 

17.12.12 | British Airways makes kids travel look like child’s play

As British Airways’ busiest day for Christmas travel approaches*, the airline has announced it’s investing in new products and services in 2013to keep its younger customers entertained at the airport and in the air.

In the lounges at Heathrow Terminal 5 children will start to see refreshed
‘Kidszones,’ which will feature:

Bright new furniture including beanbags and floor cushions
Talking mirrors on the walls
Sensory blocks and aviation-inspired toys for younger children
Power chargers for a range of mobile devices including smartphones and iPads

In the Skyflyer Solo lounges, used by children travelling alone, there will be further enhancements including:
Football tables
Balance boards
Mini fridges stocked with a complimentary selection of snacks and drinks Vitra ‘Tip Ton’ chairs, designed by Barber Osgerby (the designers behindthe London 2012 Olympic torch)
‘Allsorts’ ottomans from designers Davison Highley, specially created to look like liquorice allsort sweets

In addition, British Airways has partnered with Microsoft to provide children with access to the latest in games technology with the ‘Xbox’ in the Kidszones and ‘Xbox Kinect’ in the Skyflyer Solo lounges. The Kinect console’s motion sensors allow children to interact with the game using their bodies, without the use of handsets. The library of age-appropriate games available will include: Sesame Street, Forza (driving), Dance Central, FIFA football, Star Wars and National Geographic.

There are also some changes being made to entertainment at 35,000 feet to enhance the family travel experience. The airline recently introduced extended inflight entertainment, which means children will be able to start enjoying their favourite films and TV programmes as soon as they board until they land at their destination, giving parents time to relax and enjoy the flight.

Thousands of new ‘Skyflyer’ packs for children have also been created which includes an activity book, crayons or pens in a drawstring bag.

Kate Thornton, British Airways’ head of product and service said: “Children are flying more regularly than their parents ever did, and with the development of new technology they are also discerning travellers. We’re always looking for new ways to make the journey special, interesting and enjoyable for families.”

To help parents plan their Christmas flights British Airways has created a new video about travelling with children. The short film gives top tips for families travelling through the airport from check-in to arrival and is available to view on British Airways YouTube channel

British Airways customers will start to see changes to the lounges in Spring 2013.

British Airways’ busiest day for Christmas travel is Friday December 21,2012 when it is expected that 102,000 people will be travelling on British Airways flights around the globe.

 

17.12.12 | TDI is Granted Patent for Low Voltage Converter Utilizing Distributed Secondary Circuits

TDI Power has been granted a patent for a low output voltage converter utilizing distributed secondary circuits. The inventors of this unit include Gary Mulcahy, CTO, John Santini, VP of Engineering and Joe Mancuso, Principal Engineer.

The use of voltage converters is well known where a particular voltage is needed for a specific application and differs from the obtainable source voltage.

As energy consumption and power control have evolved, so has the need for improved and efficient power management. As components for computers and electrical devices become a center of consumer demand, attention has shifted to the delivery of low voltage output from an industry-standard or readily manageable voltage source.

Components for computers and electrical devices are becoming smaller and smaller, so the need for more effective low output power control is becoming increasingly significant.

TDI Power is a global manufacturer of power conversion systems for the Commercial Aerospace, Medical and Industrial markets. We have the broadest range of high technology power conversion products available in the marketplace, including DC and AC Power Systems, Power Supplies, Rectifiers, Converters and accessory equipment. Established in 1961, TDI is headquartered in New Jersey, has over 800 employees and three facilities located throughout the world.

 

17.12.12 | LAN Colombia strengthens its position in United States and Canada

• The codeshare agreement between LAN Colombia and American Airlines will allow LAN Colombia to offer more options to Colombians traveling to the United States and Canada, and vice versa.

LAN Colombia, a member of the LATAM Airlines Group, and American Airlines announced that they have signed a codeshare agreement. The accord will provide more options to Colombians traveling to and from the United States and Canada.

Additionally, it will allow the airlines to carry more tourists from these two countries to Colombia, thereby strengthening the region’s connectivity.

Once the agreement is approved by the respective regulatory bodies, Colombians will be able to make direct connections from Bogota to Miami via LAN Colombia. From Miami, they will be able to take advantage of the large network of American Airlines destinations within the U.S. and Canada. Passengers will also be able to take advantage of direct flights offered by American Airlines from Miami to Cali and Medellín.

“The United States is a very important market for Colombia. More than 105,000 Colombian passengers currently travel to the US each year — for tourism or business. As a result, this agreement strengthens the airline’s position in North America and offers more options by which Colombian passengers can take advantage of the network of more than 40 destinations that will be offered through the codeshare with American Airlines in North America,” said Hernán Pasman, Executive Director of LAN Colombia.

In the same spirit, Nicolas Cortázar, President of LAN Colombia’s Board of Directors, stated: “This agreement will allow us, not only to promote the North American market, but to also facilitate the arrival of more international tourists to the country and the surrounding region.”

The Colombian airline company provides service to 20 destinations, with 930 weekly flights to cities in Colombia, Brazil and the United States. Upon approval of the agreement, LAN Colombia passengers will be able to fly from Miami to 40 US destinations and 4 in Canada using the LAN code. They will also gain access to American Airlines direct flights between Miami and the Colombian cities of Cali and Medellín.

 

17.12.12 | Cobham Selected to Provide Passenger Audio Systems for Embraer KC-390 Military Transport Aircraft

Cobham has been selected by Embraer Defense and Security to provide the Passenger Address System (PAS) for the KC-390 military transport aircraft to ensure broadcast announcements are appropriately heard in the aircraft’s cockpit and cabin.

Each KC-390 aircraft will receive one PAS, which consists of a Passenger Audio Amplifier and a set of loudspeakers, with the system provided by the Cobham Aerospace Communications strategic business unit in France.

With this selection, Cobham is now providing five products to the KC-390 programme: the Wing-mounted Aircraft Refuelling Pods (WARP), the auxiliary fuselage fuel tanks, the aerial refuelling probes, and the nose radomes.

The KC-390 is a Brazilian Air Force project for which Embraer signed the development contract in April 2009.

It is the biggest aircraft to be manufactured by the Brazilian aerospace industry and will set new standards in the medium-lift market in terms of performance, cargo capacity, flexibility, and life cycle costs.

According to Embraer, the first flight of the KC-390 is expected in 2014, with first aircraft delivery in 2016

About Cobham
Cobham specialises in meeting the demand for data, connectivity and bandwidth in defence, security and commercial environments. Offering a technically diverse and innovative range of technologies and services, the Group protects lives and livelihoods, responding to customer needs with agility that differentiates it. Employing more than 10,000 people on five continents, the Group has customers and partners in over 100 countries.

 

17.12.12 | US Airways Announces Schedule for Charlotte to London Heathrow Service and Opens Flights for Sale

US Airways today announced that service between the airline’s largest hub in Charlotte, N.C. and London’s preferred business airport, Heathrow, will start March 30, 2013. The daily flight will supplement the airline’s existing daily service between its international gateway in Philadelphia and Heathrow and replace its current service between Charlotte and London’s Gatwick Airport, which ends March 29.

US Airways will operate service between Charlotte and London Heathrow with Airbus A330-300 aircraft with seating for 28 in Envoy, the airline’s international business class, and 263 in the main cabin.

“US Airways is committed to expanding travel options for our customers and strengthening our trans-Atlantic network,” said Andrew Nocella, US Airways’ senior vice president, Marketing and Planning.

“Our new service between Charlotte and London Heathrow connects customers in markets throughout the East Coast to London’s most important business and tourism gateway.” Customers may book their flight through US Airways’ website.

The flight will originate in Miami offering customers in South Florida convenient one-stop service to London via the airline’s Charlotte hub.

US Airways recently announced the launch of new service between Charlotte and its second destination in Brazil, Sao Paulo, beginning May 5, 2013.

 

14.12.12 | United Airlines’ top flyer Tom Stuker reaches 1million miles in a calendar year

United Airlines’ most frequent flyer, Tom Stuker, this month became the first United customer to fly 1 million miles on United and United Express in a calendar year, reaching the mark on Dec. 6 onboard United flight 949 between London and Chicago.

This is the latest travel milestone for Stuker, who in July 2011 was the first person to fly 10 million miles on United and United Express. With more than 13 million miles flown, Stuker is one of commercial aviation’s highest-mileage travelers.

“We congratulate Tom on another remarkable achievement,” said Tom O’Toole, president of MileagePlus. “We look forward to having him fly with us for the next million miles and beyond.”

“It has been a phenomenal year flying with United,” said Stuker. “Everyone at the airline, from the customer service agents to the flight attendants to the ramp workers, has made my travels feel effortless.”

Stuker estimates he has flown more than 6,000 flights on United, including about 400 flights this calendar year alone. To equal the distance that Stuker achieved this year, a traveler would need to trek around the world about 40 times. Cruising at 570 miles per hour, a single nonstop flight of 1 million miles would land 73 days after takeoff.

Stuker’s 11 million miles flown on United would also put him about a third of the distance from Earth to Mars.

Stuker, an automotive sales consultant who – when not in-flight – lives in suburban Chicago and New Jersey, began clocking his miles after joining United’s MileagePlus loyalty program in 1983. Since then, he has logged most of his miles flying to Asia and Australia and has flown to all fifty U.S. states.

 

14.12.12 | Italian inaction over airport investment damaging national economy

The European airport trade body ACI EUROPE has called for swift action from the Italian authorities to finally resolve a 10 year policy paralysis over airport charges, which has delayed much needed modernisation and development at Italian airports.

Since 2001, airport charges in Italy have remained frozen due to a combination of ineffective regulation and political interference by vested interests – aimed at artificially protecting national airlines.

This situation has prevented Italian airports from responding to inflationary pressures in a timely manner and from investing to upgrade operational processes, improving the passenger experience and providing more capacity where required.

While SEA Milan Airports has recently obtained the approval of a new charges structure, the situation remains stalled for the vast majority of Italian airports, including ADR’s Rome airports and SAVE Venice airport. This is threatening their financial viability and hurting their competitive position in the long-term, especially given that demand for air transport in Europe is still expected to double by 2035.

This is also preventing Italian airports from contributing to the national economic recovery. Airports in Europe are key drivers of local economic development and job creation, with 2,100 indirect jobs supported nationally for every 1,000 airport jobs. In times of acute economic crisis, airport investment becomes extremely relevant, due to its ability to deliver both immediate and longer-term job-based growth.

Last month, ACI EUROPE called on the Italian Government to address this situation as a matter of urgency. In a letter sent to Mr Corrado Passera, Transport Minister and Mr Vittorio Grilli, Economy & Finance Minister, on 21 November, ACI EUROPE asked for the immediate adoption of the Decrees allowing for the implementation of new tariff structures at the Rome and Venice airports, as well as for the timely adjustment of tariffs at other Italian airports –to reflect at a minimum 2012 inflationary pressures and mounting security costs.

ACI EUROPE also urged the Italian Goverment to establish the long awaited new independent National Transport Authority so as to improve and simplify the procedure for the approval of airport charges.

Olivier Jankovec, Director General ACI EUROPE said “The Italian situation on airport charges remains a truly unique anomaly in Europe. The mix of bad regulation and vested interests is toxic not just for the Italian airports themselves, but for the Italian economy and Italian citizens. Preventing Italian airports from investing in their future is like cutting the wings of Italy – it affects the country’s attractiveness as a place to do business as well as a prime tourist destination. Given their strategic importance, the courageous path of economic reform followed by Italy over the last year must also be extended to airports.”

 

12.12.12 | Gulf Air to Serve Christmas Dinner onboard with SkyChef-designed menu

Welcoming the holiday season and Christmas, Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has created a special Christmas menu onboard its flights for passengers travelling between Bahrain and Europe.

Designed by Gulf Air’s SkyChefs, the special Christmas menu offers a choice of turkey with chestnut stuffing and gravy, potatoes, a selection of vegetables, and Christmas pudding and vanilla sauce for desert.

The Christmas menu will be served on Gulf Air’s afternoon and evening flights to and from London, Rome, Copenhagen, Frankfurt and Paris from the 24th to the 26th of December.

Gulf Air’s Christmas menu will be served during afternoon and evening flights from the 24th to 26th of December.

Passengers will also have the option to select regular meals during these timings, if they wish, which will be available on all flights throughout the festive season.

 

12.12.12 | Singapore Airlines & Virgin America sign codeshare agreement

From 19 December 2012, Singapore Airlines customers will be able to enjoy seamless travel to more cities in the United States through a codeshare agreement with Virgin America.

Under the agreement, SIA will add its ‘SQ’ code to Virgin America-operated flights serving Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, Seattle and Washington D.C., from SIA’s West Coast gateway points of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“We are pleased to announce this partnership with Virgin America which extends our network even further within the United States. The United States is an important market for Singapore Airlines and through this partnership we can offer our customers more travel options to more destinations,” said Singapore Airlines Acting Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, Mr Chin Yau Seng.

“This agreement enables us to offer guests a seamless, award-winning travel experience across continents and significantly expand connection options in North America for Singapore’s savvy travellers,” said Virgin America Senior Vice President for Planning and Sales, Mr John MacLeod.

“The partnership with one of the world’s leading airlines is a testament to the quality of our product, and we’re happy to welcome aboard Singapore guests in time for the holiday travel season.”

Tickets for the codeshare flights are now open for sale, for travel from 19 December 2012.

Singapore Airlines currently operates 45 flights per week to five points in the United States, namely Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, New York and San Francisco.

 

12.12.12 | United Continental Holdings Board of Directors named President and CEO Jeff Smisek as Chairman of the Board

United Continental Holdings, Inc. has announced that its Board of Directors has named President and CEO Jeff Smisek as Chairman of the Board effective Dec. 31, 2012.

Smisek replaces Glenn Tilton, who has served as Chairman of the United Continental Holdings board since October 2010, and who will remain a member of the board. Tilton served as Chairman and CEO of UAL Corporation from 2002 until October 2010.

Transition of the chairmanship at this time was part of the 2010 merger agreement between United Airlines and Continental Airlines.

“I want to thank Glenn Tilton for his many years of service to United Airlines,” said Smisek. “Under Glenn’s leadership, United became a strong competitor and sought-after partner.”

In addition, United today announced a realignment of its senior management team as the airline shifts to its post-integration phase.
“Now is the time to begin the next phase for United, as we continue on the path to becoming the world’s leading airline,” Smisek said. “This structure aligns our senior management team to most effectively and efficiently meet the challenges and opportunities of this next phase.”

United is combining oversight of the airline’s traditional sources of revenue with oversight of operations that deliver the product; combining oversight of IT, high margin products, strategy and customer experience; combining marketing and MileagePlus into a single marketing and loyalty organization and aligning it with IT; and combining eCommerce and merchandising functions.

This realignment results in the following new leadership roles, effective today:
• Jim Compton assumes the position of vice chairman and chief revenue officer. Compton will oversee operations and the traditional revenue side of United’s business. Pete McDonald, EVP and chief operations officer, will report directly to Compton.
• Jeff Foland will oversee the airline’s marketing and loyalty, technology, strategy and customer experience groups, as EVP marketing, technology and strategy.

 

12.12.12 | JetBlue’s Swing For Good/Bid For Good Charitable Fundraising Campaign Raises Over $400,000 for KaBOOM! and PBS KIDS

JetBlue Airways, New York’s Hometown Airline has announced the results of its annual Swing for Good and Bid for Good fundraising campaign, the airline’s largest charitable fundraiser of the year.

The campaign includes the annual Swing For Good Golf Classic and the Bid For Good online charitable auction.

This year, crewmembers, customers and corporate sponsors joined to raise $420,000 for the airline’s non-profit partners KaBOOM! and PBS KIDS. Both nonprofit partners will receive $210,000 allowing them to continue their youth-based activities.

Over the past four years, JetBlue’s Swing For Good and Bid For Good fundraising campaign has raised more than $1 million for a variety of nonprofit partners.

The Swing for Good Golf Classic began in 2009 to build awareness for JetBlue’s various charitable partners. This event began as friendly competition between JetBlue and its business partners to make a difference. JetBlue then added Bid for Good, powered by Charity Buzz, in 2010 as an extension of the golf outing. Bid For Good provides an online option for those that cannot attend the Golf Classic, extending an invitation to give beyond the event.

“Swing for Good has become a tradition. We look forward to enjoying a day of golf knowing that it is all going towards causes we support. While, Bid For Good is a way for us to exponentially increase funding for some of our longstanding partners. Our corporate sponsors are gracious enough to provide exclusive auction items for our online auction, and customers generously bid on auction lots with the results going towards youth and education focused organizations,” said Icema Gibbs, JetBlue’s Director of Corporate Social Responsibility.

“KaBOOM! and PBS KIDS are long standing partners of JetBlue. We are eager to work with them in 2013 to provide safe places for children to play and educational programming and resources.”

Both KaBOOM! and PBS KIDS plan to put these funds to good use. KaBOOM!, a non-profit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America, will use the much needed funds to continue its work building safe play spaces in underserved areas. PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, will use the funds to create media that reaches children wherever they live, learn and play.

“We are honored to be a recipient of this year’s Swing for Good and Bid for Good fundraising campaign,” says Darell Hammond, KaBOOM!, Founder and CEO. “We know how important play is for kids. It’s great to see adults taking time out of their busy schedules to play themselves, while also supporting the next generation.”

“JetBlue continues to be a supportive partner to PBS KIDS and our member stations nationwide,” said Lesli Rotenberg, PBS, General Manager, Children’s’ Programming. “We are thankful that JetBlue selected PBS KIDS as a beneficiary of their largest fundraising campaign. The funds raised will help us continue to create media that will spark children’s curiosity and expand their possibilities.”

About PBS KIDS 
PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, online and community-based programs.

For more information on specific PBS KIDS programs supporting literacy, science, math and more, visit PBS.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter and Facebook.

About KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to saving play. Children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation, a fact that is having disastrous consequences on their health, achievement levels, and overall well-being.

To fight this play deficit, social entrepreneur Darell Hammond founded non-profit KaBOOM! in 1996 in Washington, D.C. with a vision of creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America.

Since then, KaBOOM! has mapped over 90,000 places to play, built more than 2,100 playgrounds, and successfully advocated for play policies in hundreds of cities across the country. KaBOOM! also provides communities with online tools to self-organize and take action to support play on both a local and national level. Hammond chronicles the founding of the organization and the importance of the cause of play in his The New York Times Best Seller A Movement to Save Play.

The book, recently released in paperback, details how businesses and communities can work together to save play for children across the country. All author proceeds support KaBOOM!. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.

About JetBlue Corporate Social Responsibility

At JetBlue Airways, our commitment to corporate social responsibility goes beyond raising cause awareness. We are dedicated to developing impactful charitable partnerships, supporting and aligning ourselves with the communities in the cities we serve, and creating significant volunteer experiences for our crewmembers. Our focus is to create programs and opportunities and fully engage our resources to connect with our communities within the areas of Youth & Education, Community, and the Environment.

In addition, we align our efforts to reflect the diverse interests and core values of our business by striving to enrich the lives of others. Moving forward, we will sustain JetBlue’s charitable efforts through continuous support and unique programs that help promote positive social and environmental change.

 

12.12.12 | CNN Airport Network Adds 50th Airport To Roster

Network Also Renews Contracts With Airports In 3 Major Cities – CNN Airport Network, the nation’s prominent source for on-the-go news and entertainment in the airport industry, is now available in 50 major airports across the country, reaching an audience of over 263 million passengers each year, after signing its most recent carriage deal with the Spokane International Airport (GEG) in Washington. CNN Airport Network has also renewed contracts for continued service in three major cities, including the Memphis International Airport (MEM), Miami International Airport (MIA), and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). The announcement was made by Debbie Cooper, President of CNN Airport Network.

“CNN Airport Network has been a valued brand for over 21 years, and our dedication to providing a quality service that enhances the travelers experience resonates with our engaged audience,” said Cooper. “The network has proved itself to be the most trusted source for information and news for over two decades, and our consistent growth shows our strength in the marketplace and as a leader in the airport entertainment space.”

Launched in 1991, CNN Airport Network is the only live satellite-delivered airport programming service specifically designed for the busy traveler. CNN Airport Network delivers live daily news from CNN and HLN, original travel features, entertainment programming from HBO, TBS, TNT and TCM, and live sporting events from premiere sports leagues such as the NFL, NBA, MLB and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.

 

12.12.12 | Transasia Airways poised to further expand international presence following delivery of its first A330-300 aircraft

Taiwan-listed airline TransAsia Airways, officially received delivery of its first A330-300 aircraft in Airbus’s Headquarter in Toulouse, France, on 26th November.

The new delivery marks the beginning of TransAsia Airways’ fleet enhancement plan; from 2013 to 2022, the airline will receive a further 31 new aircraft, which includes its second A330-300, six A321-200, twelve A321-neo, and twelve ATR-600 – three of which are optional.

“The delivery of A330 is another milestone for TransAsia Airways”, said Mr. Vincent M. Lin, Chairman of TransAsia Airways, “Together with the 2nd A330-300 expected to be in operation early next year, we will see an annual growth of 40% in passenger capacity on international routes. As the first wide-body jet, A330-300 aircraft will contribute in new destination expansion and enhance our competitiveness among peers. In addition, its advance technology and more comfortable interior layout will ensure a better flight experience for our passengers.”

The stretched-fuselage A330-300 matches twin-engine efficiency with increased passenger capacity. This jetliner has a range of up to 5,450 nautical miles while carrying 300 passengers in a typical two-cabin arrangement seating 32 in business class at a 60-inch seat pitch and 268 in economy class at 32-inch seat pitch. All seats are equipped with individual inflight entertainment system offering a large collection of Hollywood new releases and classic titles, Asian cinema including Taiwan, China and Hong Kong movies, as well as an extensive range of western and regional TV programmes and a comprehensive library of AOD CDs, all updated monthly and supplied by IFP Singapore.

Compared to its peers, the A330 is an all-round aircraft – capable of achieving efficiency and keeping operating costs low. Its versatility in operating different kinds of routes and its optimum performance on medium to long haul routes, more specifically 7-9 hours range, are in line with TransAsia’s expansion strategy to achieve an international destination network and to compete on the global platform.

Talking about the airline’s fleet selection strategy, Vincent added: “Fleet and network are the two most important assets to an airline. Making the right choice on fleet purchase is critical to an airline’s performance. To mitigate the risk of fluctuating fuel price, while achieve the best efficiency, we selected ATR fleet for domestic routes for its light weight, fuel efficiency and safety. We also ordered twelve A321neo aircraft, ahead of other Taiwanese airlines, for its flexibility and range capability and fuel saving of up to 15%. A321neo will be the key model of our fleet moving forward.”

“A330-300 model has many commonalities with A320 series, which provide us cost savings from pilot training, maintenance and operation. The first A330-300 aircraft will be deployed on international routes to Japan and Singapore. In the near future, we are also looking to further expand our network to include destinations within 9 hour radius from Taiwan, including Sydney, New Zealand, Guam, and Middle East.”

Since 2010, TransAsia Airways has doubled the number of scheduled international routes to 16 to destinations including Singapore, Macau, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan. In 2012, the airline has rolled out a series of service upgrade initiatives to offer value added experience to passengers, including launch of new crew uniform, new in-flight menu and new airport lounge with Oxygen Bar.

About TransAsia Airways

TransAsia Airways was established in 1951 as the first private airline in Taiwan and has since grown to be one of the nation’s three largest carriers.

Operating a modern passenger fleet of 18 aircraft, TransAsia Airways flies to a network of 46 routes – 7 domestic and 39 regional, including China, Japan, Macau, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam. TransAsia Airways also operates chartered flights to Japan and many other cities in Asia.

The company recorded revenues of NT $8.74 billion for the full year ended 31st December 2011, with a year-on-year growth rate of 4.62%, a net-profit margin of 7.60% and a cumulative Earnings Per Share (EPS) of NT $1.34, which makes it the best-performed airline in Taiwan. 29 new aircraft are on order with deliveries scheduled from 2012, onwards.

TransAsia Airways is a publically listed company on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

 

12.12.12 | AirAsia orders 100 more A320s

AirAsia, the largest low cost airline in Asia, has placed a new order with Airbus for 100 more A320 Family aircraft. The contract covers an additional 64 A320neo and 36 A320ceo aircraft for operation across the carrier’s network.

The order was announced during a visit by British Prime Minister David Cameron to the Airbus wing manufacturing facility at Broughton in the UK, where Mr Cameron witnessed the signing of documents by Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group Chief Executive Officer, AirAsia and Fabrice Brégier, President & CEO, Airbus.

The contract reaffirms AirAsia’s position as the largest A320 Family airline customer in the world. Altogether, the carrier has now ordered 475 single aisle aircraft from Airbus, comprising 264 A320neo and 211 A320ceo. Over 100 aircraft have already been delivered to the airline and are flying out of its bases in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila and Tokyo.

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia said during the signing: “We have three gold mines in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. On the other hand, Philippines and Japan have enormous potential growth. With these added aircraft, it goes in-line with our strategy to further build our already extensive network through new routes and added frequencies and allow AirAsia to maintain its market leadership.”

“AirAsia is one of the great success stories of recent years in the airline business,” said Fabrice Brégier, President & CEO, Airbus. “The repeated confidence the airline places in the A320 is a clear endorsement of the reliability, efficiency and unbeatable operating economics offered by the world’s most modern single aisle product line.”

AirAsia’s all-A320 fleet currently flies to some 70 destinations on a route network spanning 20 countries across Asia. In addition, affiliate AirAsia X operates widebody A330-300s on longer services from Kuala Lumpur to Northern Asia and Australia.

The A320 Family is the world’s best-selling and most modern single aisle aircraft Family. To date, more than 8,800 aircraft have been ordered and over 5,300 delivered to more than 380 customers and operators worldwide.

 

12.12.12 | EU Airport Package: Time to re-focus on Quality & Capacity

Taking stock of today’s vote of the European Parliament on the ‘Airport Package’ proposed by the European Commission, Europe’s airports expressed concerns that the original purpose of improving quality and capacity at airports had been overlooked and now needs to be brought back into focus by EU legislators.

Ground Handling

The fact that the European Parliament refused to endorse the proposed Regulation on Ground Handling and sent it back to the EP’s Transport Committee is a strong signal. This means that a new approach is required to make progress with this proposal. With the market already largely liberalised across Europe, competition is fierce with price pressures already affecting service levels and working conditions. The focus now really needs to be on delivering effective improvements to the quality of ground handling activities – in the interest of passengers.

Olivier Jankovec, Director General ACI EUROPE said “Now is the time to draw the lessons from what has happened in the Parliament. The existing Directive has served its purpose – with Europe’s airports generally open to at least 4 ground handling operators*. As rightly stressed by many Members of the Parliament, the real issue at European level today is the quality that the travelling public should be entitled to.”

This means that airports should be able to coordinate ground handling operators and steer the overall performance of ground operations, in line with the objectives of the Single European Sky. This also means improved social conditions – including minimum training requirements. In addition, airports should not lose existing rights, such as the right to subcontract ground handling activities – a key issue for regional airports.

Airport Slots

ACI EUROPE regrets that the key provisions put forward by the European Commission have been watered down by the European Parliament. This is a missed opportunity, as it will prevent a more meaningful optimisation of scarce airport capacity and genuine benefits for the travelling public and the economy. However, ACI EUROPE would like to thank the Rapporteur of the European Parliamentary Report, Mr Giommaria Uggias MEP, for making the airport slot allocation process more transparent and more efficient – allowing airports to be more involved in the way their capacity is being used by airlines.

Aviation Noise

Finally, as regards the proposal for a new Regulation on noise, the proposed legislation should ensure a more transparent and rigorous process for Member States when adopting operating restrictions at Europe’s airports
- potentially allowing to avoid purely politically-motivated decisions.

 

12.12.12 | IFE Services providing in-flight entertainment content for iPad Mini

Leading in-flight entertainment provider believes Apple’s new mini tablet will be a hit with airline passengers.

IFE Services, one of the world’s leading in-flight entertainment (IFE) providers, announced today that it can provide a variety of content that can be exhibited on the iPad Mini for airline passengers to enjoy.

Released in November 2012, the iPad Mini is ideal as a portable in-flight entertainment device, weighing in at just 308 grams and featuring a 7.9 inch screen and storage capacity up to 64 Gb. It can be loaded with a wide selection of movies, TV shows, music, games, e-magazines and apps and be rented out to passengers during their flight or offered complimentary depending on the airline’s business model.

IFE Services, which currently provides in-flight entertainment to over 50 airlines with a combination of embedded and portable systems, has signed content agreements for the larger iPad tablet with 8 airlines to date making it the market leader in this space.

“We believe that the iPad Mini is a brilliant portable IFE device for airline passengers to enjoy,” said Andy McEwan, CEO of IFE Services. “It’s light, has a long battery life and can be loaded with a wide array of fantastic in-flight entertainment content. We’re confident it will be a huge hit with airlines and their customers.”

 

12.12.12 | Cathay Pacific Airways optimizes flight operations with IT from Lufthansa Systems

Lufthansa Systems announced that Cathay Pacific Airways, based in Hong Kong, has opted for its NetLine/Ops ++ operations control system. The companies recently signed a five-year-contract to this effect. Using this innovative IT solution from Lufthansa Systems, the airline will be able to optimally control its flight operations and react quickly to unforeseen flight irregularities, thus minimizing its additional costs.

“NetLine/Ops ++ is a great next step for us,” said Alex Chan, Manager Integrated Operations Centre (IOC) at Cathay Pacific. “We are continuously improving our ability to manage our network and this system will further enhance our capabilities. We’re particularly impressed with its ability to help us be more nimble with schedule changes.”

The completely redesigned operations control solution NetLine/Ops ++ will make Cathay Pacific’s flight operations even more efficient, and in the event of disruptions like delays or canceled flights it can help lower the costs arising from positioning flights or passenger layovers. The IT solution’s new functionalities simplify information management, enable a higher level of automation and improve support in key decision-making processes.

“We are pleased to be able to expand our cooperation with Cathay Pacific,” said Olivier Krüger, SVP Regional Management Asia Pacific at Lufthansa Systems. “Having one of the world’s most highly respected airlines as a NetLine/Ops ++ customer is proof of the high quality of our product.”

Cathay Pacific is based in Hong Kong, China, and operates internationally. The airline offers passenger and cargo flights to 140 destinations worldwide with a fleet of 134 wide-body aircraft. Cathay Pacific, together with its subsidiaries Dragonair and Air Hong Kong and its other associates, employs more than 20,000 people. The airline is a founding member of the oneworld alliance, whose joint network covers over 750 destinations worldwide.

 

12.12.12 | Intelsat Donates Satellite Capacity to Support the Broadcast of the “12-12-12″ Hurricane Sandy Relief Concert

Intelsat Donates Satellite Capacity to Support the Broadcast of the “12-12-12″ Hurricane Sandy Relief Concert – Intelsat S.A., the world’s leading provider of satellite services, is donating satellite distribution services for the “12-12-12″ Hurricane Sandy relief concert in New York City, working with AMC Networks.

Intelsat will provide capacity for the Dec. 12 event via its Galaxy 17, Intelsat 11 and Intelsat 805 satellites, enabling viewership across North America and South America.

“12-12-12″ will be distributed worldwide to nearly two billion people through television feeds, radio and online streaming.

It will be available to 114 million television households in the United States, and to more than 400 million television homes outside the country via networks and feeds in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Scheduled to take place at Madison Square Garden, the event will feature Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Kanye West, The Who and Paul McCartney.

“It is an honor to support this event through our donation of satellite capacity, which will directly assist those impacted by the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy,” said Intelsat SVP of Global Sales Kurt Riegelman.

“Intelsat has a long history of providing support in times of need, and we hope that through this donation, more people will tune in and come forward with their generous contributions.”

The concert is being produced by James Dolan, Executive Chairman of The Madison Square Garden Company; John Sykes, President of Clear Channel Entertainment Enterprises; and Harvey Weinstein, Co-Founder and Chairman of The Weinstein Company. All proceeds from ticket purchases and donations will go to serve the victims of Hurricane Sandy through the Robin Hood Relief Fund.

For more information on the event and to make a donation, visit http://www.121212concert.org/

 

12.12.12 | Aer Lingus to Launch In-Cabin High-Speed Wi-Fi in 2013

Aer Lingus will soon provide customers on its European network with in-cabin Internet access. The new service will be available on Aer Lingus short-haul fleet, including Airbus A319/A320 and A321, from mid-2013. Aer Lingus has signed a letter of intent with LiveTV, a wholly owned subsidiary of jetBlue Airways – Aer Lingus’s low-cost US partner airline – to offer customers the fastest and most advanced airborne Internet access.

The first aircraft to be fitted with the Internet capability is expected to launch mid-2013 and will provide services via the KA-SAT satellite operated by Eutelsat Communications that offers high-speed Internet access throughout Europe.

Aer Lingus Chief Commercial Officer, Stephen Kavanagh, said: “We have been investigating ways to bring in-cabin connectivity to our customers for quite some time. We believe we have secured the best product in terms of speed, capacity and value for money. This initiative is in direct response to customer feedback, from business and leisure customers alike. Having direct access to in-cabin wi-fi is top of our customers’ wish-lists. We look forward to enhancing our customers’ experience and working for many years to come with LiveTV and Eutelsat.”

“We are excited about adding Aer Lingus as our Ka-band European launch airline,” said Glenn Latta, President of LiveTV. “The decision by Ireland’s national carrier to select LiveTV’s Ka-band system validates that airlines are ready to skip first-generation technologies and go straight to Ka-band, the most advanced services for true At Home in the Air broadband.”

“We are delighted to partner with LiveTV and provide industry-changing technology,” said Jean-François Lepince Ringuet, Eutelsat Chief Commercial Officer.

“The increasing user expectation for broadband access in all environments is expanding the scope of platforms like KA-SAT that can deliver both performance and cost-efficiency. The satellite mobility business is entering a new era and we are excited to leverage our newest technologies in order to expand our contribution to this market.”

The letter of intent with LiveTV provides the framework for a definitive agreement to be negotiated with LiveTV.

 

12.12.12 | Ice Watch brand announced as official event partner and premium gala dinner sponsor for the 2013 Asia Pacific Airline Retail Conference

Greater demand than ever before to attend ARC2013 Asia-Pacific conference taking place from 25th to 27th February, 2013 at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong

The organisers of the Airline Retail Conference (ARC), the world’s most focused networking platform for airline buyers and suppliers, have today confirmed Ice-Watch, the leading Belgian fashion watch brand as the Official Event Partner and exclusive Gala Dinner Sponsor for the Airline Retail Conference Asia-Pacific.

The conference, covering all aspects of inflight retail, as well as other ancillary revenue streams, will take place at the award-winning AsiaWorld-Expo convention centre in Hong Kong from Monday 25th to Wednesday 27th February 2013.

The ARC Gala Dinner, hosted by the vibrant fashion Ice-Watch brand, will take place in the stunning Ballroom of the SkyCity Marriott – the conference hotel – on the evening of Tuesday 26th February.

“Our Ice-Watch brand has been a regular supporter of the ARC conferences in Europe and Asia over the last couple of years, so we are delighted to be the major sponsor the Gala Dinner, as well as being an Official Event Partner in Hong Kong,” said Thierry de Poerck, ICE SA General Manager

“Although we are relatively new to travel retail, we already enjoy listings on 57 airlines globally, so supporting such a key networking event is an important move for us. We hope the ARC Gala Dinner and conference will strengthen our position in the sector and raises awareness of both our brand and products among the key decision makers in Asia,” continued de Poerck.

After the success of the 2012 event in Singapore, the demand for both delegate passes and exhibition space is greater than ever before, ARC expects more than 300 senior executives to attend from airlines, concessionaires and travel retail suppliers.

“The Ice-Watch timepieces are one of our greatest success stories, having launched into travel retail
event in London.” said Alex Vail, Events Director at Ink. “They are a fantastic brand for the inflight channel and we are thrilled to welcome them back as our Official Event Partner.”

The conference sessions will be supported by a 40+ stand key suppliers’ exhibition, giving airline buyers from across the region the opportunity to meet with new and existing suppliers and to find out about the latest innovations and product developments for inflight retail and other ancillary revenue streams. The Ice-Watch brand will take one of the largest and most prominent booths in the exhibition, which has grown considerably since last year, making the event more valuable and successful ever before.

For more information about the conference, go to airlineretail.com or email info@airlineretail.com

About the Airline Retail Conference

ARC – Shaping the future of inflight retail.

The Airline Retail Conference is the most focused networking platform for airline buyers and suppliers in the world. Through conferences, exhibitions and social events, ARC creates premium opportunities to build rewarding business relationships.

Since ARC first launched in 2007, over 2300 high-level delegates have attended this focused event, including representatives from almost all of the world’s top 75 airlines and all of the major retail concessionaires.

ARC is the leading global conference for senior inflight professionals. We bring together chief executives, retail directors and ancillary revenue specialists from the world’s leading airlines, to share knowledge and best practice in a professional networking environment.

Since Ink acquired the conference in 2009, it has gone from strength to strength. The 2012 London event was the largest in its five-year history, with 531 delegates and supported by over 90 sponsors and exhibitors. Following the success of the inaugural ARC Asia-Pacific event in 2011, this event has also expanded: the 2012 event took place at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, attended by over 260 travel retail industry delegates and supported by 50 sponsors and exhibitors.

For more information go to www.airlineretail.com

Press Enquiries:
James Harrison
Group Marketing and Communications Director, Ink
James.harrison@ink-global.com
+44 20 7613 6995

Change has been made possible by Ice-Watch for three reasons: an affordable price, multiple colours and combinations: collections can be varied depending on the wearer’s activities throughout the day. You can switch them – buy one, two, three. Start a collection.

The iconic Ice-Watch BeCubic packaging is always aligned with the collections, displaying the same colour, feel and finish as the watch models. It is an integral part of the Ice-Watch brand identity, a real collector’s item.

Over the last six years, the Ice-Watch timepieces have become a core brand in the market, perfectly in line with the trend in consumption and the social phenomenon of change. The brand can now be found in all four corners of the world, in more than 100 countries and more than 12,000 points of sale. Beside the vibrant and colourful Forever collections the Ice-Watch range is continuously growing with innovative collections, such as Ice-Chrono Electrik and Ice-Star … unique design and ever more intense colours. Furthermore, in line with the brand’s commitment to innovation and quality, all timepieces currently produced are 10 ATM water resistant, a real achievement in the sector.

Since it was created, the Ice-Watch brand has brought a breath fresh air and a sense of openness to the watch-matching world, thanks to a strong identity, a nod to luxury and a community of enthusiasts who pass on the spirit of the brand.

 

12.12.12 | PICTURES: Recaro Aircraft Seating establishes a new aircraft seat production facility in Qingdao – Groundbreaking for new Recaro plant in China

On December 12, 2012, the groundbreaking ceremony for Recaro Aircraft Seating’s new Chinese plant took place. The company, based in Schwaebisch Hall, is building a new facility in the province of Shandong to manufacture seats for the local market. The first seats are expected to roll off the production line at the end of 2013.

Following the conclusion of an investment agreement with the Chinese authorities on February 22, 2012, the way was paved for the establishment of Recaro’s Chinese subsidiary and the new facility in Qingdao.

The new plant, custom-built to meet the aircraft seating manufacturer’s needs, is being erected in Qingdao’s high-tech zone. In addition to a Recaro delegation headed by Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mark Hiller and Manfred Buechner, General Manager of the future Recaro plant, the groundbreaking on December 12, 2012 was attended by high- ranking representatives of the Chinese government and the city of Qingdao, including Zhao Xing Shu, Director Qingdao National High-tech Industrial Development Zone, and Zhang Weiping, Vice Director Qingdao National High-tech Industrial Development Zone.

Recaro Aircraft Seating is the first international supplier of aircraft seats to establish a local production facility in China. “With this groundbreaking, we have now reached an important milestone in this project,” explains Manfred Buechner.

Dr. Mark Hiller adds, “This means that we will have manufacturing facilities in each of the key aviation markets in Asia, Europe, and America. With the new plant in Qingdao, we are expanding our capacity for the Chinese market. We are already engaged in first discussions with local customers. According to our current plans, we expect that the Chinese facility will deliver its first seats by the end of 2013.”

The move to China is strategically important for Recaro Aircraft Seating. As Dr. Mark Hiller puts it, “Asia will be the world’s largest market for aircraft seats in the future. Studies indicate that Chinese airlines alone will need about 5,000 new aircraft in the next twenty years.”

 

11.12.12 | Alaska Airlines Introduces ‘Deals and Destinations’ Windows 8 Travel App

Alaska Airlines today launched “Deals and Destinations,” a Windows 8 travel application that alerts fliers to airfare deals from their hometown and to cities where their friends live.

The app is available for free in the Windows 8 Store and can be used on a variety of devices including tablets, ultra-books and any desktop running Windows 8.

“Alaska Airlines is laser-focused on adapting technology to fit how our customers live, work and travel. Our newest app does that and it’s fun to use,” said Curtis Kopf, Alaska Airlines’ managing director of customer innovation and alaskaair.com.

“Deals and Destinations delivers personalized fares to travelers and allows them to share those fares with their friends by email or through their social networks, making it easier to connect with friends and family.”

With Deals and Destinations, Alaska Airlines is the first U.S. carrier to release a Windows 8 travel app that brings great deals and fares to desktops and enables travelers to easily share them with friends.

In addition to integrated social sharing, travelers using the Deals and Destinations app can search for tickets from their hometown or view fares by city or region. To purchase a ticket, customers are then directed to alaskaair.com.

Curtis said the airline’s latest travel app is visually stunning, boasting colorful photos and descriptions of the 95 cities Alaska Airlines serves. Alaska Airlines’ Windows 8 app was built in five weeks by a team of Microsoft and Alaska employees who worked together to conceive and launch the app.

“Alaska Airlines has embraced the Windows 8 design philosophy and delivered a high-quality user experience,” said John Richards, senior director of Windows App marketing for Microsoft Corp.

“A cool feature, sure to be a fan favorite, is the social integration that enables the user to quickly identify the deals and destinations that will help them visit friends in their social network.”

During the past 18 months, Alaska Airlines has continued to evolve its mobile apps and mobile site, allowing travelers to purchase tickets; view and choose/change seats; check in and obtain an electronic boarding pass; and check flight status, schedules, and upgrade and standby lists; among other features.

 

11.12.12 | American Airlines Takes Delivery Of First Boeing 777-300ER with International Wi-Fi, Lie-Flat Seats in First and Business Class

American Airlines today takes delivery of its first Boeing 777-300ER (Extended Range) aircraft, another step in its plan to create the industry’s most modern fleet. American is the first U.S. airline to order and take delivery of the Boeing 777-300ER, which will give American’s fleet additional network flexibility, while delivering increased efficiency and better operating economics.

“This is an important step in demonstrating how American is focused on putting our customers at the center of everything we do,” said Virasb Vahidi, American’s Chief Commercial Officer.

“This aircraft will deliver a new level of comfort, connectivity, and convenience for our customers. We are especially pleased to be among the first in the industry to offer a combination of fully lie-flat seats with all-aisle access, international Wi-Fi, and state-of-the-art in-seat entertainment.”

American’s 777-300ER, delivered today without the traditional American livery, marks the beginning of the airline’s brand new fleet type and points toward the airline’s future. Inside, the cabin is configured with three classes, featuring lie-flat seats in First and Business Class.

“This delivery demonstrates American’s commitment to transforming its fleet into one of the youngest and most fuel efficient in the industry,” said John Wojick,Boeing’s Senior Vice President of Global Sales for Commercial Airplanes. “The 777-300ER is an ideal airplane for American’s fleet renewal effort providing unparalleled operating economics, long-range capability, reliability and passenger comfort.”

The Dallas/Fort Worth-Sao Paulo route, scheduled for Jan. 31, 2013, will be the first to feature the newest addition to American’s fleet. Subsequently, the aircraft is slated to fly to London Heathrow from both Dallas/Fort Worth and New York JFK.

The modern new aircraft will feature a freshly painted livery on the outside. Upon boarding, American customers will be invited inside through a dramatic archway and ceiling treatment and mood lighting, to continue the modern experience and the look and feeling of spaciousness.

A walk-up bar in the premium cabin stocked with snacks and refreshments will be a first for any U.S. airline and adds another distinctive luxury feature to the 777-300ER. Entertainment options include up to 120 movies, more than 150 TV programs and more than 350 audio selections that will be offered throughout the aircraft. Also, every seat will feature individual 110-volt AC power outlets and USB jacks for charging personal electronic devices.

 

11.12.12 | Hawaii Residents Invited to Vote for Their Favorite Design in Paint the Plane Contest

Hawaii residents are invited to vote for their favorite design that best represents the unique culture of the Aloha State in Alaska Airlines’ “Paint the Plane” contest. The public can visit www.alaskaair.com/hawaii until Dec. 18 to cast their vote, which will help Alaska Airlines determine the winner of the statewide contest.

A panel of 10 judges representing Hawaii’s government, community, arts, education and tourism leaders selected the three top designs from more than 2,700 submissions in the statewide contest sponsored by the airline, Hawaii State Department of Education and the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools.

“Evaluating so many stunning designs proved to be a very difficult challenge for our judging panel,” said Mark Bocchi, Alaska Airlines’ managing director of sales and community marketing. “Ultimately, our panel of judges determined that these three designs best represent the ‘Spirit of the Islands.’ We’re eager to get the public’s input as we decide on the final design that will be painted on a 737 jet.”

The top three designs were submitted by Sophia Cleek, a sixth grader at Kapolei Middle School on the Island of Oahu; Izabela Hamilton, a 12th grader at Seabury Hall on the Island of Maui; and Aaron Nee, an 11th grader at Kaiser High School, also on the Island of Oahu. Sophia’s design depicts a voyaging canoe sailing around the Islands, among various ocean wildlife. Izabela’s design incorporates a male and female hula dancer against a backdrop of ocean waves and windswept mountain cliffs. Aaron’s design displays a voyaging canoe, the hibiscus (the state’s flower) and the Hawaiian Island chain, with the phrase, “Spirit of the Islands” prominently shown.

Many of the designs submitted by Hawaii students in kindergarten through 12th grade proudly featured the Islands’ natural beauty, ocean and wildlife, and popular local activities such as surfing and canoe paddling, Bocchi said. Other designs boasted Hawaii’s unique geography and many designs depicted King Kamehameha I, who united the Hawaiian Islands into one royal kingdom in 1810.

The winner of the contest and honorable mentions will be announced on Jan. 10, 2013. Alaska Airlines will unveil the “Spirit of the Islands” plane at a public event in the spring of 2013. The contest was open to students from public, private and home schools across the state.

“We look forward to voting for our favorite designs in the ‘Spirit of the Islands’ contest,” said Fenny Csaszar, Parent Teacher Association treasurer of Iroquois Point Elementary School, which is located beneath one of the flight paths for Honolulu International Airport. “Students and faculty enjoy watching all types of planes flying over the school every day, so we’ve had fun promoting the contest to our students. To add to the excitement, we’ve already judged our students’ entries and selected nine winning artists who will be honored at a lunch with our principal.”

The student with the winning submission will get his or her design painted on an Alaska Airlines aircraft, a trip for four to any of the carrier’s destinations and a $5,000 scholarship. Second- and third-place winners will receive a trip for four to any Alaska Airlines destination, and 12 honorable mentions will be awarded a $1,000 scholarship each.

Voting is restricted to Hawaii residents and each household is allowed to cast one vote each day until 11:59 p.m. Hawaii time on Dec. 18, 2012.

 

11.12.12 | SIA to sell Virgin Atlantic stake for US$360million

Singapore Airlines has agreed to sell its 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic Ltd to Delta Air Lines.

Under the agreement, Delta will pay US$360 million in cash for Singapore Airlines’ entire shareholding in the UK-based airline group.

The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals being obtained in Europe and the United States. Subject to these approvals being secured, the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of the 2013 calendar year.

Singapore Airlines acquired 49% of Virgin Atlantic in March 2000. The Airline had been evaluating strategic options for the stake for some time, as the investment has not performed to expectations and the synergies the parties originally hoped for have not materialised.

The successful completion of the sale will result in a profit being booked in Singapore Airlines’ accounts.

Commercial arrangements between Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, encompassing codesharing, frequent-flyer programme ties and reciprocal lounge access, are expected to remain in place after the divestment.

 

11.12.12 | Virgin Atlantic appoints new customer experience director

Virgin Atlantic, one of the world’s leading airlines, is pleased to announce that Reuben Arnold will be joining the airline as Customer Experience Director from 02 January 2013.

Steve Griffiths, Chief Operating Officer for Virgin Atlantic, said: “I am delighted to welcome Reuben to this key position at Virgin Atlantic. The airline has always been at the forefront of product and service. As one of the biggest brands and leaders of innovation in the world, customer experience is key to our business.”

“Reuben brings with him a wealth of experience. He has been very successful in a number of senior management roles and we very much look forward to having him on board”

Commenting on his appointment, Reuben Arnold said: “I am delighted to be joining Virgin Atlantic; an iconic brand that is so synonymous with innovative and market leading customer experience. I’m really looking forward to working with the teams across the business to continue to build on this reputation, ensuring we remain at the forefront of our industry and continue to delight our customers.”

In his new role at Virgin Atlantic, Reuben will report in to Steve Griffiths, Chief Operating Officer and will see him responsible for Design, Customer Experience Management, Inflight Services, On board Media and Clubhouses worldwide.

Reuben joins Virgin Atlantic from Eurostar, the international high-speed rail operator, where he is currently responsible for all aspects of end to end customer experience. In the last few years, he has led the company through significant change. This includes the introduction of a new range of travel classes and heading up the design process for Eurostar’s new fleet.

Reuben also led the design and build project for Eurostar’s flagship terminal at St Pancras International. Prior to this he held a number of senior operational management roles including Head of Customer Service and Head of On board Services.

 

11.12.12 | Lufthansa Passage flies with Electronic Flight Bag from Lufthansa Systems / Latest technology simplifies cockpit processes and lowers costs

Lufthansa Systems today announced that Lufthansa Passage pilots will be using a more advanced version of its Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) in the cockpit in the future.

This solution from Lufthansa Systems will give the pilots continual access to updated electronic navigation charts, technical log books and operating manuals. The EFB reduces the amount of paper on board and saves weight while also cutting printing and logistics costs and protecting the environment.

The nearly paperless cockpit is therefore an important step towards efficient, environmentally conscious flight operations.

Lufthansa will continue to use the EFB as a so-called Class 2 solution. “The decision for the further development of the EFB with Lufthansa Systems is a great sign of confidence and a credit to our development work in the field of Flight Deck Solutions,” said Claus Rohde, SVP Key Account Management Lufthansa Passage at Lufthansa Systems.

“Together, we will provide Lufthansa pilots with an innovative tool which enables them to access up-to-date information even more quickly and flexibly.”

In addition to the electronic navigation charts of the Lido/eRouteManual, the EFB for Lufthansa encompasses an electronic briefing packet known as the Electronic Flight Folder that contains all data required for flight operations, as well as a document management system.

This complex software also handles connections between applications on board and on the ground, automatic updates and data synchronization. It optimizes the information process in the cockpit, easing the crew’s work load and improving flight safety. Furthermore, the solution reduces logistics and other costs and helps conserve the environment by eliminating the need to print and regularly distribute the paper charts.

 

11.12.12 | PICTURES: British Airways maps out seat plans on new aircraft

With the first of the airline’s new long-haul aircraft only six months away from delivery, British Airways has announced the cabin design and layout for its Boeing 787 and Airbus A380 aircraft.

214 customers will enjoy the comforts of the new British Airways Dreamliner and the A380 will be the largest aircraft in the British Airways fleet, with 469 customers.

The 24 Dreamliners and 12 A380s will feature the elegant cabin designs fitted on British Airways’ new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which have proved hugely popular with customers.

All eight 787-8s will feature a new Club World 2:3:2 layout, the latest generation World Traveller and World Traveller Plus seats. In addition, the new A380 will also have an enhanced version of First. The exact seating plans of another 16 787-9s on order have yet to be finalised, they could have three or four-cabin configurations.

British Airways is set to be the first European airline to operate both new aircraft types, with its first Dreamliner arriving in May and A380 deliveries starting in July.

Speaking in Seoul, Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG), said: “We are investing £5bn in British Airways’ new and upgraded aircraft, innovative technologies and customer services.

“We now have six Boeing 777-300ERs all fitted with our latest cabins. Our customer feedback and satisfaction scores show the seat and cabin designs have achieved the highest ratings we have ever seen.

“By next Spring we will have finished installing our new First cabins. The nine new aircraft we take delivery of in 2013 will feature our latest signature designs to ensure the customer experience maintains the highest standard across our fleet.”

The British Airways Dreamliner will have 35 seats for customers in the new Club World triple configuration of 2:3:2; 25 seats in a World Traveller Plus layout of 2:3:2; and a further 154 seats for those travelling in World Traveller, with a 3:3:3 configuration.

On the British Airways A380 there will be 14 seats in First on the main deck, with extra personal and stowage space; the Club World cabin will feature 44 seats in a 2:4:2 configuration; and there will be 199 seats in World Traveller, with a 3:4:3 layout.

The A380 upper deck will feature 53 seats in the new Club World triple configuration of 2:3:2; 55 seats in a 2:3:2 World Traveller Plus layout; and World Traveller will have 104 seats in a 2:4:2 configuration.

Both new aircraft will also feature the airline’s latest Thales in-flight entertainment system, which offers customers 50 per cent more movies, 200 per cent more TV shows and 200 per cent more audio programmes and music*.

Customers will also benefit from new larger screens in all cabins and an easier to use system with shortcut buttons. They will also be able to connect personal devices, such as laptops and use the in-seat power available for the first time in all cabins.

In 2013, British Airways will take delivery of nine new long-haul aircraft. The first British Airways Dreamliner will be delivered in May 2013. A further three will arrive by the end of the year.

The first A380 will be delivered in July, with additional deliveries in August and October. Two additional 777-300ERs will arrive in September and October.

British Airways will announce the routes the new aircraft will operate in Spring 2013.

 

10.12.12 | Austrian Airlines Group sets forth its restructuring process

· Further savings through the elimination of duplicate operations

· Bolstering of operations in Innsbruck: to be home of a center administering all flights at Tyrolean Airways

· Flight control center operations of Tyrolean Airways to be pooled with those at the Vienna hub

Austrian Airlines Group has initiated a further step in the restructuring program announced in spring. This step will eliminate redundancies in its organization.

These were identified through the conducting during the second half of 2012 of analyses of the operating procedures employed in the flight operations of Tyrolean Airways, in technical processes and in administrative departments.

The result is potential savings somewhat greater than €10 million. 150 administrative positions out of the Group’s 6,320 employees will be cut.

Gaudenz Ambühl, managing director of Tyrolean Airways, states: “This is a highly painful move. However, it is one that our restructuring makes inevitable. This makes it possible for us to realize all of the savings in costs enabled by the operational transition. These measures have been widely expected. They will now eliminate the redundancies found in operations.”

The following measures were resolved upon:

Flight control operations are currently managed from two centers. These operations will be handled by the Vienna hub.

The headquarters of all flight administration operations will be set up in Innsbruck. This essentially involves the establishment of a Shared Services Center in the city, to which nine departments will be assigned.

The planning of personnel, resources and rotation will be concentrated in Innsbruck.

Redundant operations will also be eliminated at Austrian Airlines. The “Part M” responsibilities forming part of technical maintenance – with these including the engineering, the planning and the management – will be grouped in Tyrolean. Tyrolean is the holder of the official AOC (Air Operator Certificate).

The technical maintenance of the fleets will continue to be undertaken at a variety of stations. Innsbruck will handle the maintenance of the Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft; Vienna, of the Fokker, Airbus, and Boeing airplanes, and Bratislava, the overhauling of the Fokker fleet.

Jaan Albrecht, CEO of Austrian Airlines says: “The difficult conditions prevailing on markets do not leave us any choice. We have to increase our organization’s efficiency and to eliminate redundancies in the entire Group. This especially applies to duplications in our organizations, of which we have been aware for a number of years.”

All measures will be implemented in 2013. The grouping of operations at a set of centers will result in a reduction of up to 150 jobs. These will be in Austrian Airlines’ administrative operations. The Austrian Airlines Group has resolved to set up a social plan for the employees affected. Details of it are still being worked out with the works council.

As of September 30, 2012, the Austrian Airlines Group employed some 6,320 persons.

 

10.12.12 | United reports November 2012 operational performance

United Continental Holdings, Inc. reported November 2012 combined operational results for its airline units.

UAL’s consolidated traffic (revenue passenger miles) in November 2012 decreased 2.3 percent and consolidated capacity (available seat miles) decreased 2.6 percent versus November 2011. UAL’s consolidated load factor in November 2012 increased 0.3 points compared to November 2011.

UAL’s November 2012 consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) decreased an estimated 1.0 to 2.0 percent compared to November 2011.

Superstorm Sandy reduced revenue by approximately $50 million and reduced consolidated PRASM by approximately 2 points year-over-year in November, which is included in the PRASM estimate above.

 

10.12.12 | Air Canada, South African Airways Sign Code Share Agreement

Air Canada and South African Airways (SAA) are pleased to announce today a code share agreement that will make it substantially easier for customers to travel between Canada and South Africa. Effective December 13, 2012, customers connecting between the carriers in London or New York will be able to book a single itinerary and make seamless connections. In addition, as both airlines belong to the Star Alliance, customers can benefit from reciprocal frequent flier accumulation or redemption and lounge access for eligible customers.

“Air Canada is extremely pleased to offer customers traveling between Canada and South Africa the added convenience of code sharing with our preferred partner SAA. With flights coordinated to minimize connection times, plus the simplicity of a single itinerary, it will be easier than ever to fly between Canada and South Africa.

Customers aboard Air Canada will enjoy the best international service of any North American carrier, as recognized by the SkyTrax World Airline Awards for the past three years. Amenities on board our international flights include lie-flat suites in Executive First while all Air Canada-operated flights offer business class and complimentary seatback entertainment with up to 600 hours of content,” said Yves Dufresne, Vice President Alliances and Regulatory Affairs.

“SAA looks forward to introducing Air Canada’s customers to our award-winning service and extensive route network. This code share agreement represents new and seamless travel options between two world-class airlines with a deep knowledge of their respective markets,” said Manoj Papa, acting General Manager: Commercial for South African Airways.

“Travellers based in Southern Africa and Canada will benefit greatly from the convenient travel choices now open to them, thereby increasing travel between the two regions.”

SAA will code share on Air Canada-operated flights between London and Vancouver, London and Toronto, and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Toronto (including flights operated by Air Canada Express). Air Canada will in turn code share on SAA-operated services between London and Johannesburg, New York and Johannesburg, and Johannesburg and Cape Town.

With both airlines being members of Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline network, customers will continue to enjoy the benefit of earning and redeeming frequent flier miles through Aeroplan or the SAA Voyager program when flying on the code share services and throughout their respective global networks.

 

10.12.12 | US Airways Expands International Network With New Sao Paulo Service

US Airways has announced that it will launch daily non-stop service to Sao Paulo, Brazil from its largest hub at Charlotte, N.C. beginning May 5, 2013.

The new route is US Airways’ second destination in South America and complements the airline’s existing non-stop service to Rio de Janeiro from Charlotte. US Airways will operate service to Brazil’s largest city on Boeing 767-200 aircraft with seating for 18 in Envoy, US Airways’ international business class, and 186 in the main cabin.

“US Airways’ new service to South America’s most important business market strengthens our international network and provides consumers throughout the United States and Brazil with a convenient new travel option,” said Andrew Nocella, US Airways’ senior vice president, Marketing and Planning.

“Brazil is important for US Airways, which has served Rio de Janeiro since 2009. Thanks to the support of the U.S. Department of Transportation and key stakeholders, we are now able to expand our presence to the largest market in the country.” “With the addition of US Airways’ new route to Sao Paulo, Charlotte now boasts two flights to the world’s sixth-largest economy,” said Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx.

“Through their ongoing expansion of overseas service, our Airport and US Airways continue to cement Charlotte’s reputation as an international city where businesses want to locate and people want to live.” The Sao Paulo flight adds to US Airways’ growing international operation at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Last month, the airline announced new service to London’s Heathrow Airport and earlier in the year increased its frequency of service to Frankfurt, Germany for the busy summer travel season. Customers may book their flight to Sao Paulo through US Airways’ website, by calling US Airways Reservations at 1-800-428-4322 or through their travel agent.

The flight schedule is as follows:
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) – Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport (GRU)
Flight Departure Arrival
802 5:50 p.m. 4:30 a.m.*
*Flight arrives next day.
Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) – Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)**
Flight Departure Arrival
803 8:25 a.m. 5:25 p.m.
**First day of operation for Charlotte-bound flight is May 6, 2013.

 

10.12.12 | JetBlue Airways Celebrates Move to Historic Hangar 8 at Boston Logan International Airport

The city’s leading airline plans to add more than 30 jobs focused on Technical Operations next year as the carrier grows towards 150 daily departures JetBlue Airways, Boston’s largest airline with more flights than any other carrier at Logan International Airport (BOS), today celebrated its aircraft maintenance base move to Hangar 8.

JetBlue’s Chief Operating Officer Rob Maruster along with other airline executives and crewmembers joined Massachusetts GovernorDeval Patrick; U.S. Congressman Michael Capuano (D-MA); Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Secretary & Chief Executive Officer Richard A. Davey; Massport CEO & Executive Director Thomas P. Glynn and the Logan airport community to commemorate the announcement. Business partners working jointly with JetBlue on project, including TBD Construction, were also on hand.

As JetBlue flies towards its goal of operating more than 150 daily departures in Boston, its on-site aircraft maintenance needs will also grow.

Fifteen percent of the airline’s fleet passes through Logan daily, significantly increasing the need for more jobs in Boston by the end of 2013.

JetBlue plans to increase its current Tech Ops crewmember levels by 25 percent, adding 30 new jobs next year.

“Today’s move to Hangar 8 is a physical manifestation of our growth in Boston, which wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and notable expertise of our Tech Ops crewmembers here at Logan,” said Mr. Maruster.

“No other airline has ever served as many destinations as JetBlue in Logan’s entire history. Our partnership and support with Massport helps to make this growth possible, and we are excited to continue breaking the mold with Bostonians as we look towards our airline’s future growth throughout New England, adding more destinations and more flights to the places our customers want to go.”

“JetBlue has once again stepped up to the plate with the decision to move into a new maintenance hangar,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “JetBlue’s investments are creating good jobs in Massachusetts and its growing flight schedule demonstrates a serious commitment to serving the people of the Commonwealth.”

“I am happy to be here today celebrating JetBlue’s expansion at Logan Airport,” said Congressman Michael Capuano.

“It will result in more jobs and more travel options for consumers, and benefit the regional economy.”

“Thanks to the leadership of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, we have invested in transportation with the understanding of the critical role it plays in the Commonwealth’s economic future,” said MassDOT Secretary & CEO Richard A. Davey. “I am pleased to join this celebration of a move that creates jobs while promising increased service for air customers.”

“Everyone at Massport takes great pride in working for an economic engine for the region and this project is a great example of how Massport works with stakeholders to build a strong regional economy,” said Thomas P. Glynn, Massport’s CEO and Executive Director. “The $16 millionMassport invested in this project will be paid back over time, but the immediate dividends are the excellent jobs created by JetBlue’s growth in Boston.”

JetBlue signed a five year lease on Hangar 8 in October of 2012. Hangar 8 was originally constructed for Northeast Airlines, which began service as Boston-Maine Airways in 1933. Amelia Earhart was one of Boston-Maine’s co-founders, and the building was dedicated to her memory in 1949.

Technical Operations in Boston:
JetBlue Tech Ops crewmembers uphold an uncompromising high standard of safety and service excellence when performing routine and non-routine maintenance and regulations compliance like Service Checks, Weekly Checks, A320 A-Checks, E190 600 Hour checks and higher, and Aircraft Modifications. The team also handles the procurement, repair and storage of aircraft parts.

By late 2009, as JetBlue’s flights and destinations increased, on-site maintenance needs also grew in line with the carrier’s network growth and Tech Ops began servicing up to 10 aircraft overnight with 57 crewmembers.

JetBlue now serves up to 33 aircraft per night with 118 crewmembers, a 300 percent increase over the last three years. The airline employs 850 Tech Ops crewmembers across its 75-city network.

JetBlue’s Presence in Boston:
On January 7, 2004 JetBlue, recognizing the need for high quality, competitively priced air service in Boston, began flying from Logan to three destinations: Denver, Orlando and Tampa, quickly followed by Fort Lauderdale and L.A./Long Beach.

Bostonians warmly embraced JetBlue’s award-winning mix of friendly service, spacious assigned seating and free in-flight amenities, including a first checked bag, unlimited snacks and drinks, and live TV programming on personal seatback screens, which prompted JetBlue to add more service.

JetBlue has experienced exponential growth since its debut in 2004, adding an average of five new destinations annually.

This year, the airline launched direct service to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, Grand Cayman, The Cayman Islands and Nantucket, Mass., and has announced new service to Charleston, S.C. in 2013 with more to come. JetBlue now operates more than 100 daily flights to 46 nonstop destinations across the U.S., Caribbean and Mexico and serves approximately 7 million customers at Logan annually.

Customers connecting through Boston on JetBlue from select destinations can also take advantage of convenient onward service to Europe and beyond on JetBlue’s partner airlines Aer Lingus, American Airlines, Icelandair, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic, or to destinations throughout New England with Cape Air.

In addition to its Boston focus city, where it employs more than 2,000 crewmembers, JetBlue offers service from six other New England airports: Burlington, Vt.; Hartford, Conn.; Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Mass.; Portland, Maine; and Providence, R.I.

 

10.12.12 | Air Canada Announces Christine Sinclair as Recipient of First Annual Air Canada Athlete of the Year Award

Air Canada today announced Canadian women’s soccer player, Christine Sinclair, as the recipient of the first annual Air Canada Athlete of the Year Award.

As recipient of this award, she will receive two complimentary Executive First tickets to anywhere in the world Air Canada flies as well as year-long Super Elite membership privileges for two in Air Canada’s Altitude program.

In selecting Ms. Sinclair for the award, Air Canada President and Chief Executive Officer, Calin Rovinescu, said, “Christine is a true ambassador for sport in Canada.

Her performance, leadership and courage have come to the fore on many occasions and have been a source of pride for many Canadians, leading to an unprecedented interest in women’s soccer in this country. Her outstanding accomplishments are the inspiration for the creation of the Air Canada Athlete of the Year Award – an annual award to be voted on in the future by our customers. By recognizing leadership, excellence and inspiration among our nation’s athletes, it is our hope that Canadian youth will strive for the highest ideals of performance – a value we share as Canada’s flag carrier.”

Beginning in the fall of 2013, Air Canada’s customers will be invited to vote for the Air Canada Athlete of the Year; details of the award program will be announced next year.

Air Canada has a long history of supporting amateur and professional sport in Canada. The airline has been a supporter and official airline of the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic teams since 2006, and for more than 25 years, a sponsor and transporter of many of Canada’s NHL hockey teams as well as Hockey Canada.
Burnaby B.C. native Christine Sinclair is a two-time Olympian and led the 2012 London Games with a record-setting six goals to lift Canada to a bronze medal and earn herself the honour of carrying the flag at the Closing Ceremonies.

Captain of Canada’s women’s national soccer team, Ms. Sinclair has spent the last 13 years (2000-2012) with the Canadian team, participating in three FIFA World Cups (2003, 2007, 2011) and the 2008 Olympic Games. Among her individual accomplishments is a “Top-5 Player in the World” status for the last decade.

At the age of 29, Ms. Sinclair is Canada’s all-time leader in appearances and goals and a nine-time Canadian Soccer Player of the Year. She played her college soccer at the University of Portland, where she set an all-time Division I goal-scoring record with 39.

Air Canada is Canada’s largest domestic and international airline serving more than 175 destinations on five continents.

Canada’s flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and in 2011 served more than 33 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 59 Canadian cities, 56 destinations in the United States and 63 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America.

Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,290 destinations in 189 countries. In 2012, Air Canada was ranked Best International Airline in North America in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers conducted by independent research firm Skytrax.

 

10.12.12 | Lufthansa brings first-ever Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental passenger flight to California

LAX is second U.S. gateway to receive new aircraft – Scheduled daily service will increase capacity by 17 percent – Aircraft features Lufthansa’s latest in-flight products in every class, including unique Business Class “V” shape configuration

Today Lufthansa initiated commercial service of the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental along the airline’s Frankfurt (FRA) to Los Angeles (LAX) route. Flight LH456 departed Frankfurt at 10am and is scheduled to touchdown at Los Angeles International Airport at 12:40pm.

The City of Angels is just the second destination in the U.S. and fourth in the world designated for service of the new Jumbo jet. The regularly-scheduled return flight, LH457, will depart LAX at 2:50pm, arriving in Frankfurt at 10:55am the following day.

Lufthansa’s newest flagship aircraft will provide daily service between the two cities, increasing capacity on this route by 17 percent. Flights are available for booking on www.lufthansa.com

A celebratory water canon will greet the new “Queen of the Skies” as the aircraft taxies to a gate located in the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

Passengers will be welcomed by a bevy of guests that will include Deputy Mayor Matt Karatz from the Office of Economic and Business Policy; Elizabeth Lund, Vice President and Chief Project Engineer of the 747 program at Boeing; Los Angeles World Airports Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey; and Mr. Juergen Siebenrock, Vice President, The Americas for Lufthansa; along with esteemed customers, partners and media.

“The selection of Los Angeles for our new flagship aircraft demonstrates the market’s critical importance for Lufthansa, which has had a presence in Southern California since 1960,” said Juergen Siebenrock. “The Frankfurt – Los Angeles route connects the world’s two largest and most influential consumer markets for entertainment products – Hollywood and Germany. LAX is also an active gateway for the pharmaceutical, IT, automotive industry and defence contractor industries, all of which are important customer segments for Lufthansa.”

“We are honored Lufthansa chose LAX for this new, historic service that will greatly enhance the passenger experience,” said Gina Marie Lindsey. “Lufthansa is the only international carrier offering daily service on a new-generation Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental jumbo jet between Europe and the U.S. West Coast.”

New Business Class cabin with full-flat beds

Lufthansa’s 747-8 Intercontinental is equipped with 386 seats in a three-class configuration (8 First Class, 80 Business Class and 298 Economy Class). Passengers flying on the 747-8 Intercontinental will experience Lufthansa’s new Business Class, which offers a unique seating arrangement in the form of a “V” whereby two neighboring seats are angled towards one another along a central axis. This innovative solution enables Lufthansa to fulfill one of the main wishes expressed by customers during an extensive research process – to sit or lie facing the direction of travel. At the same time, passengers enjoy virtually double the distance between two neighboring seats at shoulder level, providing greater privacy and more personal living space. At the push of a button, the seat converts to a full-flat, horizontal sleeping surface measuring 6’6” in length (1.98 m). Ergonomically improved cushioning ensures a high degree of comfort in a sitting or horizontal position, and adjustable armrests provide more space in the shoulder area when lying down.

Dedication to improved sustainability

The aircraft generates a 30 percent smaller noise footprint than the 747-400 and brings double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions per passenger, making it one of the industry’s most fuel-efficient aircraft and key to Lufthansa’s commitment to sustainable reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The 747-8 Intercontinental fuselage is 250’2” long, which is 18’4” longer than the 747-400. The stretch also provides Lufthansa with 26 percent more cargo volume.

The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental features new, state-of-the-art wings with improved aerodynamics and raked wing tips; new fuel-efficient, U.S.-manufactured GEnx-2B engines that contribute to a reduction in fuel burn, emissions and noise and thus give customers the lowest operating costs and best economics of any large passenger airplane; and fly-by-wire technology.

Lufthansa’s commitment to the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental is a testament to the airline’s 50-plus year partnership with the U.S.-based manufacturer. Lufthansa currently has 20 Boeing 747-8 Intercontinentals on order. In addition to Los Angeles and the inaugural market of Washington, D.C., Lufthansa operates the 747-8 on its Delhi and Bangalore routes and plans to roll-out service to additional gateways in the near future.

The public can track the progression of the 747-8 Intercontinental into Lufthansa’s service via a dedicated 747-8 Intercontinental micro site (www.lufthansa.com/747-8) that showcases product features along with 3-D models of the aircraft and interactive games.

 

10.12.12 | OnAir Offers First Ever Linefit GSM Option for Falcon 7X Customers Using TriaGnoSys Solution

OnAir’s inflight connectivity is, for the first time, now a linefit option for buyers of Dassault’s iconic Falcon 7X. The first Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir equipped Falcon 7X will be available for delivery in 2014 and owners may linefit either or both services.

The Falcon 7X, which has been in service for five years, is Dassault’s flagship business jet. Over 150 are currently in service, and the 200th is due for delivery in 2013. Since its launch in 2007, the Falcon 7X’s cabin has undergone regular developments to ensure it continues to exceed owners’ and passengers’ needs and expectations.

OnAir offers the most complete passenger communications solutions ever deployed on a large-cabin long-range business jet, all of which can now be installed during production. The airborne system, GSMConneX , designed and produced by TriaGnoSys, consists of just two lightweight units. It is fully compatible with any SwiftBroadband-capable satcom system.

Mobile OnAir enables business jet owners, their guests and the crew to make and receive calls, text messages and emails, as well as surf the Internet using their mobile phones. It works in the same way as international roaming: simply turn on your phone and start using it. All charges are included in the user’s standard mobile phone bill, making the payment process both simple and transparent.

Internet OnAir creates a Wi-Fi network in the aircraft, providing Internet access through any Wi-Fi-enabled device, including smartphones, tablets and laptops.

“Business moves so quickly that being disconnected when flying is no longer an option for our customers. We have developed the Falcon 7X’s cabin options to offer the best possible connectivity available today,” said Eric Monsel, Vice President of Programs for Dassault Falcon.

“OnAir is leading the global inflight connectivity market”, said Ian Dawkins, CEO of OnAir. “Our products are already available as linefit on many commercial aircraft, as well as being available for a range of business jets. By making OnAir available as a linefit option on the Falcon 7X, Dassault is clearly setting the pace for inflight connectivity on business jets.”

Dawkins continued, “OnAir is ideal for Dassault’s customers because it is simple to use. What could be easier than turning on your phone? You have access to all your contacts, you use your normal number and no one need know where you are.”

Axel Jahn, Managing Director of TriaGnoSys, said, “Our hardware is ideal for aircraft of all sizes though it is particularly appropriate for business jets. We designed it to be very simple to install, with unrestricted mounting options, meaning it can go anywhere on the plane. And the combined equipment weighs less than 15kg, making it the smallest, as well as the most comprehensive, inflight connectivity hardware available.”

Covering the world

OnAir has a unique ever-increasing network of authorizations in over 80 countries, as well as more than 350 roaming agreements with mobile network operators. Combined with its use of Inmarsat’s satellite services, OnAir provides consistent worldwide coverage. Passengers can use OnAir connectivity on over 14,500 flights each month, to over 510 cities in over 110 countries across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, the Middle East and South America.

 

10.12.12 | HAPPY EXODUS

As Christmas approaches, a surprising number of us are of are secretly thinking about getting away to escape the pressures of the festive period.

A survey by British Airways found that nearly one in five of us would consider jumping on a plane to escape the in-laws or steer clear of cooking for relatives on Christmas Day.

Across the UK it was the Scots who were most likely to want to avoid the in-laws, while seven per cent of Londoners said they would use being abroad as an excuse not to buy presents.

Seventeen per cent of 25-34 year olds said they would even be willing to travel just to get out of the washing up and 10 per cent to avoid any family arguments.

Susan Smillie, worldwide cabin crew member at British Airways, said: “I’m not surprised by the findings.

“I have been flying for over 20 years, and when I chat with our customers they often say they are relieved to be escaping the demands of Christmas.

“I sometimes also choose to spend Christmas abroad. A trip to Dubai is a welcome escape from the cold in the UK.”

Women and men were equally likely to want to avoid Christmas as a whole, with just over 15 per cent of both sexes looking to go abroad over the period to escape it all together.

British Airways is offering a range of last-minute deals in December for people looking for an alternative to Christmas at home.

TOP LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS GETAWAY DEALS FROM BRITISH AIRWAYS:

New York
British Airways offer three nights at 4* Millennium Hilton from £819 per person, based on two people sharing, departing December 24. The price includes return British Airways flights from London Heathrow and room only accommodation.

Barbados
British Airways offer seven nights at 4* The Club Barbados Resort & Spa in
Barbados from £2,649 per person, based on two people sharing, departing
December 24. The price includes return British Airways flights from London Gatwick and all-inclusive accommodation.

Maldives
British Airways offer seven nights at 4* Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort from
£2,499 per person, based on two people sharing, departing December 23. The price includes return British Airways flights from London Gatwick and half-board accommodation.

Abu Dhabi
British Airways offer three nights at 5* InterContinental Abu Dhabi from
£799 per person, based on two people sharing, departing December 24. The price includes return British Airways flights from London Heathrow and accommodation with breakfast.

Marrakech
British Airways offer five nights at 3* Ryad Mogador Marrakech from £579 per person, based on two people sharing, departing December 21. The price includes return British Airways flights from London Gatwick and accommodation with breakfast.

 

10.12.12 | Boeing, Turkish Airlines Finalize Order for 15 777-300ERs

Boeing and Turkish Airlines have finalized a firm order for 15 777-300ER (Extended Range) airplanes worth $4.7 billion at list prices. The agreement, first announced in October as a commitment, also includes options for five additional 777-300ERs and is the largest order by value in Turkish Airlines’ history.

Turkish Airlines’ fleet currently includes 12 777-300ERs, the first of which Boeing delivered in October 2010. Over the past two years, these airplanes have formed the backbone of Turkish Airlines’ long-haul operations. This latest order will enable the Turkish flag-carrier to continue to serve new destinations worldwide.

“This latest order from Turkish Airlines is testament to the key role the 777 has played in the carrier’s long-haul route expansion,” said Todd Nelp, vice president of European Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “In recent years, Turkish Airlines has been incredibly successful in providing its passengers with outstanding service to a growing range of international destinations. The exceptional performance of the 777-300ER, with its excellent fuel economics, reliability and passenger comfort, has been a cornerstone for Turkish Airlines’ continued growth.”

The 777-300ER seats up to 386 passengers in a three-class configuration and has a maximum range of 7,930 nautical miles (14,685 km).

Turkish Airlines currently operates a fleet that includes nearly 100 Boeing airplanes and serves more than 200 destinations across 90 countries worldwide.

 

07.12.12 | United announces 10 million charity miles giveaway

United Airlines announced the launch of the 10 Million Charity Miles Giveaway, encouraging members of its MileagePlus loyalty program to vote for their favorite of 38 charitable organizations to receive a portion of a 10-million-mile grant. Each of the participating organizations, such as The American Cancer Society, Make-A-Wish America, Wounded Warrior Project, Feeding America and Salvation Army, will receive at least 25,000 award miles. Charities with the largest number of votes will receive a larger share of the mileage grant.

MileagePlus members can visit 10millioncharitymiles.comthrough Dec. 25, 2012, to vote and to view voting results. Voting is also open to individuals who are not currently members of MileagePlus. United invites members to spread the word, particularly on Facebook and Twitter, about the holiday miles donations.

MileagePlus will announce the results in January 2013.

 

05.12.12 | Lufthansa plans Premium Economy

Supervisory Board approves investment in introductory project / Development will take about two years

East Meadow, NY, December 5, 2012 – Lufthansa is expanding its product portfolio and will equip the entire Lufthansa long-haul fleet with a Premium Economy. The Supervisory Board has approved the investment capital for the introductory project to achieve this. At the beginning of next year, a project group will be formed to manage the introduction and define the precise features of the product as well as a detailed timetable.

Premium Economy will be installed on the entire intercontinental fleet. This substantially upgraded Economy product will fill the gap between the superior Business Class segment, which features a seat that can be converted into a fully flat bed, on one side and the classic Economy Class on the other. This will appeal to both leisure travelers seeking additional comfort and business travelers.

 

05.12.12 | Changes in the nomination committee for SAS AB

At the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in SAS AB on April 19, 2012, members of the Nomination Committee for SAS AB were appointed. Information about the Nomination Committee’s composition has previously been published through a media release and via the company’s homepage.

SAS AB has been informed that SEB Fonder has significantly reduced its holdings in SAS AB. Anders Rydin representing SEB Fonder has therefore according to the work instructions of the nomination committee decided to put his seat to the disposal of the committee.

The nomination committee that has started its work has, after discussions with other large shareholders in SAS AB, made a joint assessment that it after the retirement of Anders Rydin still can continue its mission according to its instructions.

The nomination committee has therefore decided to not appoint any new member, but continue its work with remaining 5 members.

After the above change the Nomination Committee consists of the following five members:

Jonas Iversen, Swedish Ministry of Finance , for the Swedish Government, Chairman
Peter Brixen, Danish Ministry of Finance, for the Danish Government
Knut Utvik, Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry, for the Norwegian Government
Peter Wallenberg Jr, for Knut och Allice Wallenbergs Foundation
Karsten Biltoft, for Danmark’s Nationalbank

 

05.12.12 | Windows 8 opens door to new British Airways app

British Airways has become one of the first airlines in Europe to launch an app for the newly launched Windows 8.

Customers can swipe from one feature to the next, as well as select and read destination reviews, view local weather temperatures, search locations via interactive maps, view user generated destination guides through the
Perfect Day service, book flights via ba.com and be inspired by cabin product films.

It will provide customers who have downloaded the app with inspiration to fly to scores of worldwide destinations whenever they use a Windows 8 device.

The app takes advantage of unique features within Windows 8 including the
Share and Search charms, which allow users to access content in the app from across the PC and share instantly.

The app also features easy to use navigation, stunning images, interactive maps, the latest fares and travel snippets from customers with ‘insider advice’ from destinations they’ve flown to using British Airways Perfect Day social media and mobile service.

Richard Bowden, British Airways’ digital marketing innovation manager, said: “Our relationship with Microsoft continues to excite, because of our shared desire to innovate and use technology to explore new ways to improve the customer experience.

“We believe our new integrated app delivers an exciting experience to users of Windows 8, giving British Airways customers a new way to explore and book the destinations we fly to every day.”

The new app echoes the fast and fluid new Windows 8 user interface, available across a variety of devices and the new range of touch-enabled tablets, ultrabooks and convertible devices.

In addition, the tiles on the Start screen automatically update to show the latest prices, images, and weather temperatures of a favourite destination, so the user doesn’t have to open the app.

John Richards, senior director of Windows App Marketing for Microsoft Corp, said: “The new British Airways app is a great example of the innovative and engaging apps available in the Windows Store.

“We are pleased the British Airways app takes advantage of the unique features of Windows 8, such integration with the Search and Share charms and automatic updates through tiles.”

Last year, British Airways was first UK airline to offer Mobile Boarding to
Windows Phone 7 users. The app provided instant access to tailored information about British Airways flights direct from the app’s home screen, providing real-time updates throughout the customer’s journey.

The new app, which is available to download from the Windows Store, forms part of a £5 billion pound investment made by the company in new aircraft, technology and services to make travel more comfortable and more convenient for customers.

 

04.12.12 | Qantas to expand Qantas Club at Perth Airport

Qantas will expand the Qantas Club at Perth Airport and conduct a review of its future lounge offering in Perth to help meet the growing demand for premium air travel particularly from corporate clients and business travellers.

Qantas Domestic Executive Manager Customer Experience Samantha Taranto said planning had already commenced and preliminary works would start next week. It will open to customers in February 2013.

“We have seen a significant increase in passengers over the past couple of years in Perth, due largely to the mining and resources sectors, and we have outgrown the existing Qantas Club.” Ms Taranto said.

“The expanded lounge will be directly below the existing lounge and will comfortably seat an additional 140 customers to relax and work prior to their flight.

“Our customers have told us they want more lounge space, more seating, particularly during peak times, and we have responded.
“Our lounges, more flights, more destinations, wide-body aircraft, reliability, and frequent flyer program have seen us maintain our status as best for business and premium travellers.

“We are the only domestic airline that offers a meal and checked-in baggage to every passenger as part of their fare, no matter what time they are flying or where they are sitting.

The 400 square metre expansion, which will increase capacity of the lounge by almost one third, is being constructed between gates 13 and 14 in Terminal 4. This will make the Perth Qantas Club the fifth biggest in the country.

The expansion will add more seating, work areas, bar and meals space and amenities as well as high speed Wi-Fi.

Ms Taranto said the review of lounges at Perth Airport will look at what future lounge space Qantas requires as the airport is redeveloped and Qantas expands its terminal space.

“The vast majority of flights into and out of Perth Airport are serviced by Qantas Group airlines including Qantas, Jetstar, QantasLink and our Fly-In-Fly-Out services. We expect this to grow in the future and we are starting the planning now to cater for future growth in customers wanting to use our lounges,” she said.
Qantas announced last month it will deploy wide-body Airbus A330s on all weekday Sydney-Perth and Melbourne-Perth services from May 2013.

Qantas currently operates around 100 return flights with more than 26,000 seats from Perth to Sydney and Melbourne each week – about 40 per cent more than any other airline.

The existing Qantas Club will remain open during construction. Qantas last refurbished and increased the capacity of the facility in 2010.

 

04.12.12 | Lufthansa tests BoardConnect on an A320

Lufthansa German Airlines today began testing the BoardConnect in-flight entertainment system from Lufthansa Systems on an Airbus A320 stationed in Munich. The Lufthansa Systems solution, which Lufthansa offers as “my mediaworld”, will enable passengers in business and economy class on flights from Munich to 34 short- and medium-haul destinations to watch Hollywood films, read digital newspapers and look up information about their destinations. The service is available via laptop, tablet computer or smartphones which can connect to the on-board infotainment server.

Unlike conventional in-flight entertainment systems, BoardConnect does not require any complicated fixed wiring for each seat. Instead, it works with a regular WLAN based on the established standard, meaning that just a few access points need to be installed in the cabin. This makes it possible for the first time to offer passengers on short- and medium-haul aircraft such as the Airbus A320 family and the Boeing 737 an extensive range of information and entertainment. Such aircraft currently make up two thirds of the entire global fleet.

“Airlines can leverage the BoardConnect technology to distinguish themselves clearly from their competition also on shorter routes,” said Norbert Müller, Program Manager BoardConnect at Lufthansa Systems. “By offering a wide range of information and entertainment for their passengers, airlines are setting new service standards.”

Since almost no wiring is required to transmit data in the cabin, airlines can install BoardConnect during routine maintenance or night stops without the need for additional ground time. Conventional IFE systems, on the other hand, require several weeks of downtime. Consequently, installation and maintenance costs and efforts are much lower.

It enables airlines to offer a wide range of information and entertainment that can be updated quickly and easily. The solution also presents airlines with an opportunity to introduce new personalized on-board services and generate additional revenue through in-flight sales, for example.

BoardConnect received two coveted awards this year: Lufthansa Systems won the Crystal Cabin Award at the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2012 in Hamburg for this innovative solution, and in September the product received the prestigious Avion Award at the Apex Expo as “Best Single Achievement in Passenger Experience (Vendor)”.

 

04.12.12 | flydubai now features HD movies from all Hollywood studios

flydubai, Dubai’s innovative low cost airline, has reached yet another milestone, having become the first airline in the world to show high definition (HD) movies from all six major Hollywood studios.

The airline introduced its In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system in December 2010 with HD films from Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Now, two years later, the HD debut of The Bourne Legacy from NBCUniversal has brought the full spectrum onboard. flydubai also has HD titles from Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, said: “From day one, we have aimed to offer our passengers the best in-flight experience and the IFE is a significant part of this. The team has worked incredibly hard to forge relationships with these studios to bring the widest variety of entertainment to flydubai, ensuring our customers have unparalleled choice and viewing quality.”

As the launch customer for the ‘Fiber-To-The-Screen®’ (‘FTTS®’) system by Lumexis, flydubai became the first airline in the world to show HD movies simultaneously to every seat back. The feat was achieved thanks to the system’s fibre optic technology, which provides a much higher bandwidth and faster data transfer than copper networks.

Doug Cline, CEO of Lumexis, said: “We have consistently worked with flydubai, our launch customer, to keep setting new benchmarks. The FTTS system is the most technologically advanced on the market and it brings us great pleasure to support this innovative airline in providing its passengers with the very best in movie quality and choice.”

flydubai offers 25 HD films including new titles The Bourne Legacy, The Dark Night Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man. In total, the airline has 198 movies from Hollywood, Bollywood, Russia and the Arabic film world, in addition to 162 TV episodes, 324 audio albums and 36 games, with more titles introduced every month.

The improved IFE content comes one week after flydubai received two Mercury Awards, which were held in conjunction with the International Travel Catering Association’s exhibition in Abu Dhabi. The airline took home both the Systems and Process Development award along with an additional trophy for Environment / Sustainability in recognition of the benefits of its IFE. In total, through choosing the Lumexis model over a legacy system, flydubai currently saves $2.37 million on fuel and reduces carbon emissions by 7.5 million kilos every year.

Al Ghaith said: “Winning these two awards is a wonderful achievement for us. Our IFE continues to set new standards in the industry, which enhances customer experience while also streamlining processes for our cabin crew. To have received the sustainability award shows that airlines do not have to compromise on service quality to maintain a commitment to reduce fuel burn and associated carbon emissions.”

 

04.12.12 | Boeing confident in US$104bn aircraft funding

- Air-travel resilience, stable demand should support funding for $104 billion in 2013 deliveries
- Most funding sources expected to improve or be stable despite economic uncertainties
- Indicators show that global aviation remains healthy, attracting continued financing

Boeing projects the world’s airlines should see reasonable liquidity and pricing for new-aircraft delivery financing in 2013 even as jet builders ramp up production to meet demand, the manufacturer announced here today in issuing its fifth annual finance market forecast.

“We expect that despite economic and political challenges, global air travel will again demonstrate its remarkable resilience in 2013. The industry’s global growth and airlines’ fleet replacements, accelerated by higher fuel prices, should keep demand stable and attract sufficient financing,” said Kostya Zolotusky, managing director of capital markets development and leasing at Boeing Capital Corp., the plane maker’s financing and leasing unit which develops the forecast.

The encouraging report comes amid lingering economic uncertainties and as higher costs for eligible airline borrowing using government export credit financing go into effect in 2013.

The manufacturer forecasts total industry jetliner deliveries at $104 billion in 2013, with 95 percent of that expected to be split between Boeing and Airbus.

Boeing foresees 2013 financing conditions on par with 2012, and predicts the largest funding source – commercial banks – should strengthen their investment. Among other major players, capital markets are expected to grow as a funding source for U.S. airlines and expand to also serve non-U.S. airlines and leasing companies. Meanwhile, leasing firms are expected to grow in their delivery share and gain access to more diverse sources of equity and leverage.

This year began amid concerns that Europe’s commercial banks, a primary aircraft financing source, would pull out of the market due to the continent’s economic crisis. However, Zolotusky said those fears did not materialize, and in 2013 the company expects that Europe’s banks will remain active because the aircraft space is one of the most attractive and high-performing sectors for bank investments.

Boeing said regional commercial banks – in places like China, Japan, Australia, the Middle East and North America – stepped back into or entered aircraft financing in 2012 and expect to remain in 2013.
In announcing the need for increased financing for rising industry deliveries, the company said market data clearly supports the higher production pace.

“Aircraft utilization is at record highs as are global load factors. Growth in people traveling is happening faster now that new capacity is being introduced. These are fundamental indicators that show that the aviation market is healthy and perhaps even a little underserved,” said Boeing’s Zolotusky.

The company expects the higher costs and stricter terms for export credit borrowing next year to drive down reliance on government-backed loan guarantees, as their use gradually returns to lower historic rates.
Boeing’s complete 2013 aircraft finance market outlook can be found atwww.boeingcapital.com/cafmo.

 

04.12.12 | New Qantas Club opens on the Gold Coast

Qantas has today unveiled a new Qantas Club at Gold Coast Airport, as it continues to improve the customer experience for business and premium travellers in the region.

Located at the northern end of the Gold Coast Domestic Airport, the Qantas Club offers a space for around 125 customers to relax, refresh and work prior to their flight.

Qantas commenced three daily return services between the Gold Coast and Sydney using Boeing 737-800 aircraft in October.

Qantas Domestic Chief Executive Officer Lyell Strambi said Qantas was committed to providing its customers with the best travel experience in the market.

“The opening of the Gold Coast Qantas Club is another step in the Qantas Group’s commitment south-east Queensland region. The Qantas Group now operates up to 189 domestic flights per week to the Gold Coast” Mr Strambi said.

“We fast tracked the construction of the new lounge so that Qantas customers could take advantage of the new facility ahead of Christmas and the peak travel season. The lounge has been modelled on Qantas’ network of 34 premium lounges around Australia, which have been refined and improved over time through customer feedback.

“Since commencing direct daily flights to the Gold Coast, we have installed Faster, Smarter Check-In kiosks, the Qantas Club and Business passengers can access an express security lane at Gold Coast Airport.

“Qantas is the only domestic airline operating out of the Gold Coast that includes the convenience of a meal and checked in baggage for all passengers as part of their fare, no matter what time they are flying or where they are sitting.”

Mr Strambi said Qantas was delighted by the success of the return to the Gold Coast.

“The Sydney-Gold Coast route has exceeded our expectations in the first month of operation with continued strong bookings for both premium leisure and business travellers, and there’s been significant interest from international passengers. We’ve seen passengers from more than 40 countries on our flights into the Gold Coast since services were launched,” he said.

“Subject to regulatory approval, the partnership with Emirates will boost inbound tourism with Emirates flights feeding directly into the Qantas domestic network, including its Sydney-Gold Coast flights.”

The December edition of Qantas’ in-flight magazine features the Gold Coast on the cover. Throughout December, Qantas will carry up to 3 million domestic and international passengers.

The 530sqm Qantas Club welcomes up to 125 guests and features:
Luxury lounge seating in a comfortable and contemporary space;
Full buffet menu and refreshments including a barista service, premium beer and wine;
Business facilities including Apple iMac computers, high speed WiFi, PC and printer;
Dedicated meeting room and shower facilities; and
Dedicated Family Zone featuring activities including Apple iMacs, Sony Playstation and Hinkler books.

 

04.12.12 | TUI Travel PLC – Preliminary results for the year ended 30 September 2012 – Well positioned for continued growth

Highlights
Record year of profit and improved operational efficiency
Operating profit increase of 12% to £526m on a constant currency* basis. Underlying operating profit of £490m (2011: £471m), an increase of 4%.

Record Mainstream underlying operating profits, on a constant currency* basis, in all markets with the exception of France and Southern Europe.

Outstanding performance in the UK with a record underlying operating profit of £197m (2011: £149m) and operating profit margins of 5.4%, up from 4.2% in the prior year.

Business improvement programme outperformance with £42m delivered in the year.

Strong underlying earnings per share growth of 9% to 25.8p (2011: 23.6p). Statutory earnings per share grew by 62% to 12.5p (2011: 7.7p).

Final dividend increase of 4% to 8.3p per share (2011: 8.0p), resulting in a full year dividend of 11.7p per share (2011: 11.3p).

Modern Mainstream strategy delivering results
Sales of higher margin unique holidays increased by three percentage points to 65% of Mainstream holidays.
Online sales up three percentage points to 33% of Mainstream sales. Direct distribution up two percentage points to 65% of Mainstream sales.

Significant international expansion across Online Accommodation

Online Accommodation profits up 3% to £35m, including an £11m investment in our Accommodation OTA.

Accommodation Wholesaler continues to consolidate its global leadership position; TTV growth of 13% to £1.4bn.

Accommodation OTA – Continued investment in high growth markets; TTV growth of 4% to £447m including AsiaRooms growth of 25%.

Clear strategy continuing to drive strong trading momentum

Very encouraging Winter 2012/13 trading.

Strong Summer 2013 bookings in the UK, Nordics and Germany. Significant growth in profitable market share in the UK.

Clear roadmap for sustainable future growth with an annualised underlying operating profit growth rate of between 7 to 10%.

*Constant currency basis calculated by translating the 2012 results at 2011 exchange rates

Peter Long, Chief Executive of TUI Travel PLC, commented:
“The year has been one of many successes. We have delivered record Group profits while the UK achieved outstanding results both in terms of profit and margin all against a backdrop of continued economic uncertainty. Our proven strategy continues to evolve and drive strong trading momentum throughout the Group. Overall, with the exception of France, trading for both Winter 2012/13 and Summer 2013 is very encouraging.

“We are today pleased to announce the next stage of our strategic development. This roadmap for growth, built on our detailed understanding of the market and robust business models, means that we are well placed to continue to deliver long-term sustainable growth, which in turn, will drive further value for both our shareholders and our customers.”

Investor and Analyst Webcast
A presentation for analysts and investors will be held today at 9.00am (GMT) at the London Stock Exchange, 10 Paternoster Square, London, EC4M 7LS. The presentation will also be webcast. For details of the webcast please visitwww.tuitravelplc.com

 

03.12.12 | Etihad Airways launches “Etihad Wi-Fly”

Etihad Airways today launched its new “Etihad Wi-Fly” inflight Internet and mobile connectivity service, powered by the Panasonic Avionics Global Communications Suite.

The airline’s first aircraft equipped with Panasonic’s communications technology, an Airbus A330-200, took flight today for Brussels, offering high-speed broadband Internet connectivity as well as data and mobile phone services.

The A330-200 will be used for long-haul destinations across Etihad Airways’ network, such as Brussels, Dublin, Manchester, Munich, Frankfurt and Milan.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “’Etihad Wi-Fly’ is a result of the 10-year, US$1 billion agreement we signed with Panasonic Avionics in November 2011. We continue to invest in our product and consider ways to offer our guests the most engaging and dynamic inflight entertainment options. The broadband Internet is high-speed, in line with what our guests would experience at home or at work, so we believe this will be hugely popular.

“By the end of Q1 2013, we will have 10 ‘Etihad Wi-Fly’-equipped aircraft, and I am pleased to announce that by the end of 2014, every single Etihad Airways aircraft will be equipped for inflight connectivity.”

All Etihad Airways narrow-body aircraft will be outfitted with data and mobile phone connectivity, while wide-body aircraft will be additionally equipped for broadband Internet services.

The “Wi-Fly” connectivity solution is offered to guests at a cost of US$13.95 for one hour or US$24.95 for 24 hours. The service will be complimentary for Etihad Airways’ Diamond First Class guests. Mobile telephone usage will be charged based on the international roaming rates of guests’ mobile network providers.

Etihad Airways also currently operates six connectivity-enabled aircraft under an agreement with OnAir: three Airbus A320s and three Airbus A330-300s.

 

03.12.12 | Embraer Breaks Ground for Florida Research Center

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), working with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), proposed a new policy for addressing flight attendant workplace safety.

While the FAA’s aviation safety regulations take precedence, the agency is proposing that OSHA be able to enforce certain occupational safety and health standards currently not covered by FAA oversight.

“Safety is our highest priority and that certainly extends to those who work in the transportation industry,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Under this proposal, flight attendants would, for the first time, be able to report workplace injury and illness complaints to OSHA for response and investigation.”

“The policy announced today with the FAA will not only enhance the health and safety of flight attendants by connecting them directly with OSHA, but will by extension improve the flying experience of millions of airline passengers,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

Flight attendant workplace issues could include things such as exposure to noise and bloodborne pathogens, and access to information on hazardous chemicals. The FAA and OSHA will continue to work to identify any additional conditions where OSHA requirements could apply. They will also develop procedures to ensure that OSHA does not apply any requirements that could affect aviation safety.

“Flight attendants contribute to the safe operation of every flight each day,” said Acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “This proposed policy is an important step toward establishing procedures for resolving flight attendant workplace health and safety concerns.”

“We look forward to working with the FAA and the airlines to assure the protection of flight attendants,” said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health.

Through the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Congress required the FAA to develop a policy statement to outline the circumstances in which OSHA requirements could apply to crewmembers while they’re working on aircraft.

 

03.12.12 | Embraer Breaks Ground for Florida Research Center

Embraer S.A. broke ground on 27 November on the new Embraer Engineering and Technology Center USA, achieving the next milestone in the development of the 67,000-square-foot facility. The new building is expected to open in mid-2014 and will house the 200 employees the Center expects to have by the end of 2016.

“The continuing development of Embraer in Florida reflects our growth as a global company and our commitment to the US market”, said Frederico Fleury Curado, Embraer President & CEO.

Located at Melbourne International Airport on 13 acres, the Embraer Engineering and Technology Center USA represents a $26 million investment over the next five years by Embraer and is part of the company’s long-term strategy to be closer to its customers and its major markets.

The Engineering Center will create 200 jobs at an average salary of $70,000 per year in such specialties as Mechanical and Electrical Systems Engineers, Interior Design Engineers, Structural Engineers and Certification Engineers. To date, 12 employees, including former Kennedy Space Center personnel, have been hired and are working in temporary facilities adjacent to the airport. The company continues to evaluate potential candidates.

“Our strategy is to increase the scope and depth of our engineering capacity extending it globally and enabling Embraer to take full advantage of the engineering talent and resources throughout the world,” said Walter Pinto Jr, Managing Director.
The Engineering and Technology Center USA will include a state-of-the-art and fully capable engineering center complete with 3D Computer Aided Design, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Finite Element Modeling, 3D Virtual Reality Center, prototype capabilities and sophisticated laboratories and other test equipment.

Announced in 2008, Embraer´s Melbourne campus currently includes the 80,000-square foot assembly and paint facilities for the Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 aircraft, the first jet production facility in Florida which opened in February 2011. It also includes the 58,000-square-foot customer center, opened in December 2011. To date, Embraer has invested $50 million in current buildings at Melbourne and employs 212. In addition, it has invested over $824 million in the United States in facilities and infrastructure since 1979 through the end of 2011 and expects to have invested approximately $1 billion by the end of 2012.

 

03.12.12 | oneworld is best alliance three times over, says Global Traveler

oneworld® has been named Best Airline Alliance for the third year running by Global Traveler in the leading business travel magazine’s GT Tested Reader Survey 2012 Awards. oneworld also retained Global Traveler’s Wines on the Wing award as the alliance whose airlines serve the best wines in-flight

oneworld is in addition the current holder of the World Travel Awards’ World’s Leading Airline Alliance title, retaining that award for the ninth year running, and Australian Business Traveller’s Best Airline Alliance in its debut awards. It is also the current holder of Business Traveller’s Cellars in the Sky award as the alliance whose members serve the best wines in-flight.

oneworld’s individual member airlines also flew high in Global Traveler’s GT Tested reader survey and Wines on the Wing awards.

British Airways made four trips to the winners’ podium – as Best Airline for Business Class and, in the Wines on the Wing awards, for Best International First Class Wines, Best Red Wine International First Class and Best Red Wine International Business Class.

American Airlines was honoured as Best Airline for Domestic First Class and, in the Wines on the Wing awards, for Best North American Wines, Best North American Sparkling Wine and Best North American Red Wine.

LAN took the trophy for Best Airline in Central/South America and Qantas for Best Airline to Australia and New Zealand.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Los Angeles next week, with the oneworld trophy to be collected on behalf of the alliance by Vice-President Commercial Stephen Usery, who said: “oneworld has always aimed to be the first choice airline alliance for international business travellers, so we are thrilled that they have judged us once again to be the best in this prestigious survey. They can rest assured that our airlines will continue to work together tirelessly on their behalves to provide the very best airline alliance services and benefits.”

Global Traveler Publisher and CEO Francis X Gallagher said: “Congratulations, oneworld, on receiving this recognition three years running. It’s no surprise to see the alliance continually ranking at the top when you look at oneworld’s member airlines, most of them award-winning airlines themselves. Service and quality are synonymous with the alliance and the member airlines.”

Global Traveler conducted a survey of it readers from 1 January 2012 to 31 August 2012 with open-ended questions for the best in many categories of business and luxury travel. The survey was ducted in the magazine, as an insert to subscriber copies, as a direct mail questionnaire, on-line and emailed during the period in question. Only those questionnaires where more than 50 per cent of the questions were completed were counted. The 2012 survey generated results from more than 36,000 completed questionnaires under these criteria. Responses from employees of the magazine or individuals associated with the travel industry were not accepted. It is the ninth year running that Global Traveler has conducted its GT Tested Survey.

 

03.12.12 | WestJet links up to Global Explorer round-the-world fare

WestJet, Canada’s “most preferred airline”, is now participating in the Global Explorer round-the-world fare offered by all member airlines of the oneworld® alliance and selected other carriers.

WestJet’s network of more than 80 destinations in North America, Central America and the Caribbean is now featured as part of Global Explorer, which is one of the most popular round-the-world fares available globally.

WestJet’s addition to Global Explorer brings on board almost 25 additional airports in Canada to the map served by Global Explorer (for details, see below). With seven destinations across Canada already covered by Global Explorer, it means the round-the-world fare now features 30 Canadian gateways.

This takes the worldwide reach of Global Explorer – which offers simple, flexible, and great value round-the-world travel for trips of up to one year long – to some 900 destinations in 150 countries.

The round-the-world fare also covers all routes offered by oneworld’s existing member airlines – airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and Russia’s S7 plus some 30 affiliated carriers, including Austria’s Niki, OpenSkies, South Africa’s Comair, Denmark’s SUN-AIR, Iberia Express, Iberia Regional Air Nostrum, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador, LAN Peru, and QantasLink. It also features Malaysia Airlines, which will join oneworld on 1 February 2013.

Global Explorer includes too a number of airlines that have no links with oneworld – Aer Lingus, Air Pacific, Alaska Airlines and its Horizon Airlines sister, Gulf Air and Meridianafly. Flights carrying the Qantas code but operated by Air Tahiti Nui, Jetstar, South African Airways and Vietnam Airlines are included too, expanding the reach covered by the fare further still.
WestJet’s eight code-share partner airlines include four oneworld members – American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines.

Global Explorer is one of two round-the-world fares offered by oneworld. The alliance’s other round-the-world fare is oneworld Explorer. This includes travel on the alliance’s existing member airlines and affiliates only. Uniquely, prices are based on the number of continents visited, rather than on the distance flown.

oneworld offers one of the most extensive ranges of alliance fares. For those who don’t want to fly all around the world, these include Circle fares for traveling through several continents without actually circumnavigating the globe and Visit passes for each continent.

The new Canadian airports WestJet adds to Global Explorer include:

Alberta’s Edmonton, Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie.
British Colombia’s Abbotsford, Comox, Kamloops, Kelowna, Prince George and Victoria,
Manitoba’s Winnipeg.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s Deer Lake and St Johns.
New Brunswick’s Moncton.
Nova Scotia’s Sydney.
Northwest Territories’ Yellowknife.
Ontario’s London, Thunder Bay, Toronto Hamilton and Windsor.
Prince Edward Island’s Charlottetown.
Quebec, in Quebec.
Saskatchewan’s Regina and Saskatoon.
Yukon’s Whitehorse.
Destinations in Canada already covered by Global Explorer include: Calgary, Halifax, Kitchener, Montreal Trudeau, Ottawa, Toronto Pearson and Vancouver.
For full details of Global Explorer and sample itineraries, see http://www.oneworld.com/flights/round-the-world-fares/global-explorer/ or contact any participating airline or your local travel agent.