Category: Coronavirus (Page 9 of 33)

British Airways Launches New Fare Brands Offering Enhanced Flexibility

February 24, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Wednesday 24 February, 2021 – British Airways has today launched two new fare brands for its trade customers, which offer refundable options and enhanced flexibility. Select and Select Pro are both refundable fares, which will give customers the flexibility to cancel a flight and claim a full or partial refund should their travel plans change. There will also be no change fee payable for Select and Select Pro bookings.

The Select and Select Pro fares are available to book from today, exclusively for agents, via both the GDS or NDC. They will sit alongside the current Basic, Standard/Plus and Fully Flexible fares, and will enhance the suite of fare options available to suit the different budgets and flexibility needs of customers. In the UK, Select fares will be available on short-haul routes and long-haul routes, and Select Pro available on long-haul routes.*

The table below shows the differences between each available fare brand:

These new fare products will also be available to book through British Airways’ Atlantic Joint Business partners American Airlines, Iberia and Finnair.

Fares will cost from £50 extra on a short-haul return ticket and from £100 extra on a long-haul return ticket, compared with Standard/Plus fares. The refund fee for Select products is similar.**

British Airways’ book with confidence commitment for free changes or the ability to take a voucher will continue to apply to all Basic, Standard/Plus, Fully Flexible, Select and Select Pro bookings. As always, if a flight is cancelled the customer is entitled to a full refund.

More information for trade partners is available through the BA Travel Trade website. Partners can also contact their Account Manager.

Qantas and Jetstar Plan to Resume International Flights in Late October

February 24, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Qantas (ASX: QAN.AX) and Jetstar are planning to restart regular international passenger flights to most destinations starting 31 October 2021 – a four month extension from the previous estimate of July, which had been in place since mid-2020.

The date change aligns with the expected timeframe for Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout to be effectively complete.

Capacity will be lower than pre-COVID levels, with frequencies and aircraft type deployed on each route in line with the projected recovery of international flying. International capacity is not expected to fully recover until 2024.

The Group remains in close consultation with the Federal Government around the reopening of international borders and will keep customers updated if further adjustments are required.

Qantas is assessing the use of digital health pass apps to help support the resumption of COVID-safe international travel. The CommonPass and IATA Travel Pass smartphone apps are being trialled on the airline’s international repatriation flights.

Qantas network

Qantas is planning to resume flights to 22 of its 25 pre-COVID international destinations including Los Angeles, London, Singapore and Johannesburg from 31 October 2021.

Qantas won’t initially resume direct flights to New York, Santiago and Osaka, but remains committed to flying to these three destinations. In the meantime, customers will be able to fly to these destinations under codeshare or oneworld arrangements with partner airlines.

Jetstar network

Jetstar plans to resume flights to all of its 13 international destinations. Frequencies will be adjusted in line with the projected recovery of international flying.

Trans-Tasman

Qantas and Jetstar are planning for a significant increase in flights to and from New Zealand from 1 July 2021.

The Group has the ability to respond to travel bubbles that may open.

Additional flexibility and extension of credit vouchers

Qantas has today announced additional flexibility for international bookings to enable customers to book flights with confidence.

Qantas’ updated Fly Flexible policy (previously only available for domestic and Trans Tasman flights) now applies to international flights booked from today until at least the end of April 2021. The flight date can be changed to any available for sale at the time (up to 355 days in advance). Qantas will waive the change fee however a fare difference may apply.

Qantas has also extended credit vouchers to enable travel until 31 December 2023 on domestic or international flights, with Jetstar doing the same for vouchers issued due to COVID-19 disruptions.

Customers with international bookings impacted by cancellations will be contacted directly and offered alternatives.

Virgin Australia Hosts Wedding in the Sky

February 21, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

A Virgin Australia flight from Melbourne to Sydney has played host to the airline’s first-ever mid-air wedding today, for Melbourne couple, Elaine Tiong and Luke Serdar.

Stunned passengers, onboard flight VA841, looked on as Elaine walked down the aircraft aisle wearing a striking white ensemble, before Australian actress, singer and now well-known wedding celebrant, Tottie Goldsmith, solemnised the nuptials, with the couple officially tying the knot at 40,000 feet, as the aircraft flew over Canberra in the ACT.

Dubbed, a Wedding in the Sky, Elaine, 35, a stylist, and Luke, 36, an electrician, who hail from Prahran in Melbourne’s inner eastern suburbs, said they were looking for an unconventional wedding without the fuss.

“We actually had planned to marry onboard a Virgin Australia flight on Valentine’s Day, but we had to postpone when the Victorian lockdown came into play just 24-hours before the big day, so after a false start, we couldn’t be happier to finally tie the knot today,” said Luke.

As a result of strict COVID-19 regulations, the couple first kissed as husband and wife upon disembarkation of the aircraft in Sydney, where they were finally able to remove their face masks.

Virgin Australia is well-known for their mid-air celebrations. From onboard marriage proposals, to Australia’s first-ever fashion show on a passenger flight, to achieving a Guinness World Record with the Black Eyes Peas performing at 41,000 feet, and now a Wedding in the Sky.

Aeromexico Announces New Agreements with Medical Laboratories

February 21, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Mexico City, February 19, 2021- Aeromexico has signed agreements with four medical laboratories, in addition to the two it already formalized to offer discounts and other benefits on Covid-19 tests for customers with a valid reservation with the airline or partner Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL).

Operating in Monterrey and metropolitan area:

Laboratorios Dr. Moreira with 28 Covid-19 branches.
Swisslab Laboratorio de Analisis Clínicos with 19 Covid-19 branches. Operating in Mexico City and metropolitan area:

Olive Diagnosticos Medicos with 22 Covid-19 branches.
Biomedica with 13 Covid-19 locations.

In addition to special discounts for PCR and Rapid tests for Antigen Detection, customers will have access to other benefits: an exclusive helpline for Aeromexico and Delta Air Lines clients, bilingual advisors, delivery of results in Spanish or English, and at-home service. Club Premier members will also have an exclusive phone line and at-home service at no additional cost.

The results will be delivered 24 hours for PCR tests and 30 minutes for Rapid tests for Antigen Detection.

Laboratorio Medico del Chopo and LAPI Laboratorio Medico continue to offer their services with specific benefits for Aeromexico and Delta passengers.

Aeromexico recommends customers with an international flight to check the destinations’ requirements at the following link: Country Requirements

To consult the details of laboratories’ agreements, click on Laboratory Alliances

Delta Partners with Georgia to Host State’s Largest COVID-19 Vaccination Site

February 21, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

According to the Delta Airlines website, the company will be hosting one of four mass COVID-19 vaccination sites in the state of Georgia beginning on Monday, February 22. The airline has picked the Delta Flight Museum as the location for vaccine distribution, with eligible participants being able to receive the vaccine via the drive through lane, or in the Museum itself. Delta is supporting the vaccination efforts in conjunction with its long standing commitment to protect the health and safety of their employees and customers.

Click the link below to view the full story, and check your vaccine eligibility status!

https://news.delta.com/delta-partners-georgia-host-states-largest-covid-19-vaccination-site

Emirates Operates Flight Serviced by Fully Vaccinated Teams Across All Touch Points

February 21, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

DUBAI, UAE 21 February 2021: Honouring its commitment to the health and safety of its employees and customers, Emirates today has become among the first airlines in the world to operate a flight with fully vaccinated frontline teams servicing customers at every touchpoint of the travel journey.

This morning, the full airport and onboard customer experience for flight EK215, which departed Dubai at 0830hrs for Los Angeles, was safely supported by check-in, security, Business and First Class lounge and boarding gate employees, as well as engineers, pilots and cabin crew who made the choice to be fully vaccinated.

Also supporting the flight’s operations were fully vaccinated aircraft appearance, loading and special handling teams from dnata, as well as SkyCargo teams working on the cargo and logistics requirements for EK215.

The Emirates Group rolled out its vaccination drive at pace just over a month ago, and since then, close to 26,000, or 44%, of the Group’s UAE frontline aviation workforce have received both doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Sinopharm vaccines.

Nearly 5,000 Cabin and Flight Deck Crew have opted to receive both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. In addition, thousands more Emirates Group employees in other roles have taken their COVID-19 vaccine through the company’s clinics and vaccination centres, while others have opted to take their vaccine at one of the many vaccination centres across the UAE.

The Emirates Group vaccination programme is the latest in its series of safeguards and protections to deliver on its health and safety promises to its customers, employees and the communities it serves around the world. The Group’s vaccination centres have been running 12 hours a day, every day of the week to prioritise and provide aviation frontliners with the vaccine.

The UAE currently has one of the world’s highest rate of vaccinations for its citizens and residents as it fights to curb the spread of Covid-19. So far, the UAE has administered over 5.4 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, and Our World In Data, a research website based at Oxford University, recently reported that the country’s distribution rate stands at 55.27 doses per 100 people, ranking it the second highest in the world.

Lufthansa Group Streamlines Pilot Training Program within ReNew Framework

February 19, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

The global aviation crisis caused by the pandemic continues to have serious consequences for employees working in the airline industry. As a result, pilot training has also been severely affected by the repercussions of the crisis, as the need for recruitment has decreased.

Nevertheless, Lufthansa has decided to use the interruption caused by the crisis to fundamentally modernize the existing training concept at its in-house flight schools. The principle of ab-initio training will remain in place, as it has been proven to be successful for decades. However, in the future, a so-called “campus model” framework will provide modern, digital forms of training along with new selection procedures. These will enable more needs-based training for the various airlines of the Lufthansa Group and take into account the volatile demand in air traffic.

The campus training will be comparable to a university study program with defined qualification and training standards resulting in an institutionalized, internationally recognizable degree. After completing the training, graduates will be recruited depending on the demand situation of the respective flight operations of the various airlines of the Lufthansa Group.

Consequently, this gives the current generation of student pilots another perspective on a possible entry into cockpits at Lufthansa Group Airlines later on. In view of the current lack of prospects for pilot careers within the Lufthansa Group, last year the Group’s training division, Lufthansa Aviation Training (LAT), offered all flight students the option of ending their training without incurring any costs or, alternatively, continuing their training at another flight school.

Part of the new training concept is to provide theoretical and practical training, which is located closer to the customer. In the future, the theoretical part will be concentrated at the traditional Bremen location, where the digital modules for theoretical pilot training will also be developed. The practical part of the training, which is scheduled to take place in Germany, will be consolidated at Rostock-Laage: LAT already operates a modern and recognized training facility at “RLG” airport, the site of its largest external customer.

United Announces New Nonstop Service Between Boston Logan & London Heathrow

February 19, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

CHICAGO, Feb. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAL) today announced plans to expand its global route network with new, nonstop service between Boston Logan International Airport and London Heathrow. This new service builds upon United’s growing presence in London and provides customers on the East Coast with another convenient option to get to London. United plans to operate its premium Boeing 767-300ER aircraft on the route, with 46 United Polaris Business Class and 22 United Premium Plus seats. The aircraft features the highest proportion of premium seats on any widebody aircraft operated by a U.S. carrier between London and the United States.

“We are thrilled to offer travelers a convenient, non-stop option between Boston and London with this addition to our global network,” said Patrick Quayle, United’s vice president of International Network and Alliances. “We will continue to monitor the demand recovery and travel restrictions as we finalize a start date for this service later in 2021.”

Tickets will be available for purchase on united.com and the United app in the coming weeks.

United has provided service to London Heathrow for nearly 30 years and over the course of the pandemic has maintained continuous service between the U.S. and London. Looking ahead, Boston will be United’s 19th daily flight between the United States and London Heathrow.

	Boston – London Schedule
	From	To	Depart	Arrive	Frequency	Aircraft
Boston	London	10:00 p.m.	9:35 a.m.⁺¹	Daily	767-300ER
London	Boston	5:00 p.m.	7:30 p.m.	Daily	767-300ER
	Schedule subject to change

United’s Polaris product is a premium travel experience that prioritizes relaxation and comfort with features that include everything from custom, luxury bedding from Saks Fifth Avenue and restaurant-quality, multi-course inflight dining to premium amenity kits and full flat-bed seats with direct aisle access. Along with its 46 Polaris Business Class seats, the aircraft also features 22 United Premium Plus seats, 43 United Economy Plus seats and 56 United Economy seats.

Committed to Ensuring a Safe Journey

United is committed to putting health and safety at the forefront of every customer’s journey, with the goal of delivering an industry-leading standard of cleanliness through its United CleanPlus program. United has teamed up with Clorox and Cleveland Clinic to redefine cleaning and health safety procedures from check-in to landing and has implemented more than a dozen new policies, protocols and innovations designed with the safety of customers and employees in mind.

Delta Named Best Airline for American Travelers by USA Today

February 19, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

USA TODAY 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards announced their list of best airlines, airline amenities and airports of 2021 – naming Delta (NYSE: DAL) the best airline for American travelers, the Delta Sky Club at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as the best airport lounge and Delta flight attendants as the best cabin crew.

Nominees in all categories are chosen editorially by a panel of experts. Once the nominees were selected, readers could vote once per category, per day for four weeks. The winners indicate which airlines, airline amenities and airports make getting to your destination a pleasure rather than a pain.

The Delta Sky Club at New York-JFK features a Sky Deck overlooking Terminal 4, free WiFi, fresh food, premium drinks and more. During the ongoing pandemic, guests can expect to see a new standard of Club cleanliness that includes the same Delta CareStandard practices found throughout the airport and onboard aircraft. This includes but is not limited to: individually packaged fresh food options; plexiglass partitions at check-in, at the bar and between seating areas; limited capacity and blocked seats to promote more space; and enhanced cleaning measures. Learn more on delta.com

In September 2020, the airline opened its newest and largest Delta Sky Club as a part of Salt Lake City International Airport’s newly opened terminal. Delta’s support of the new Salt Lake City Airport build is part of the airline’s ongoing strategy to modernize our hub infrastructure and customer experience by investing more than $12B in airport projects.

Qantas Adds New Routes to North Coast for Holidays by the Sea

February 18, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Three new routes to Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay (Ballina)
Additional seats to Coffs Harbour from Sydney for April school holidays
Sale fares on new routes from $129 one-way

Qantas has today announced it will add three new routes and extra seats to the New South Wales north coast to support growing demand for holidays in Australia. From 1 April 2021, Qantas will launch three new routes to both Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay (Ballina).

Melbourne to Coffs Harbour – flights will operate daily with Qantas’ Boeing 717 aircraft, adding more than 1,750 seats on the route each week.

Brisbane to Coffs Harbour – flights will operate four days per week with the turboprop Q400 aircraft, adding around 600 seats on the route each week.

Canberra to Byron Bay – Qantas’ first ever direct service connecting the two destinations, offering two flights per week with the turboprop Q400 aircraft. Flights will initially operate in April and Qantas will look to continue the service from July in line with demand.

More seats will also be added between Sydney and Coffs Harbour with the introduction of Qantas’ larger two-class B717 aircraft during the April school holidays, operating alongside the Q400 which also operate on the route. This will see Qantas offer around 500 extra seats on the route each week (a total of 4,300 seats), and the option to travel in Business.

QantasLink CEO John Gissing said these new routes would provide Australians with more options to plan their next holiday in their own backyard.

“The beautiful coastal hubs of Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour continue to be incredibly popular with travellers, so it makes sense to provide direct connections from other capital cities to make them even more accessible.

“Travellers from Canberra can spend more time on the beach and less time on their journey with our direct service to Byron Bay.

“We’ll be promoting these new flights to millions of our frequent flyers across the country and think they’ll enjoy the benefits of our premium service, including complimentary food and drinks, baggage and lounge access before they fly out.

Qantas is offering special fares for flights on the new routes from $129 one-way for periods of travel between April and October, available at qantas.com or through Travel Agents, until 11:59pm 21 February 2021, unless sold out prior.

Qantas currently operates up to 20 return flights per week between Sydney and Ballina Byron Bay and 28 weekly return flights between Sydney and Coffs Harbour.

The announcement follows a suite of customer initiatives unveiled last week, including a boost to flexibility allowing unlimited flight changes until at least January 2022.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Qantas has introduced a number of initiatives improve safety and peace-of-mind when travelling domestically through its Fly Well program, including masks on board, hand sanitising stations and enhanced aircraft cleaning.

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