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Alaska Airlines adds new nonstops from Anchorage to New York City and San Diego

Alaska Air Group Inc (NYSE: ALK) is connecting Anchorage to both New York City and San Diego with seasonal nonstop service this summer. Daily flights to New York JFK begin June 13, 2024, and weekly flights to San Diego start May 18, 2024. Flights are available for purchase now at alaskaair.com.

Our new nonstop between the Big Apple and the Last Frontier offers New Yorkers an easier option to get away and enjoy the wilds of Alaska with its countless outdoor adventures, rich Alaska Native culture, wild Alaska seafood, jaw-dropping scenery and history-filled towns. It will be the only nonstop service between New York JFK and Anchorage.

Our Anchorage-New York JFK route — at 3,386 miles — will become the longest flight in our network. We’ll serve the route with our new Boeing (NYSE: BA) 737-8 aircraft. It will have the longest range of any plane in our fleet — allowing us to add new nonstop destinations that we couldn’t before.

New Anchorage routes for Summer 2024

Route Start Date End Date Departs Arrives Frequency Aircraft
Anchorage – San Diego May 18 Aug. 17 2:50 p.m. 9:10 p.m. Saturday 737
San Diego –Anchorage May 18 Aug. 17 9:00 a.m. 1:45 p.m. Saturday 737
Anchorage –New York JFK June 13 Aug. 19 8:00 p.m. 7:05 a.m. Daily 737-8
New York JFK –Anchorage June 13 Aug. 19 9:45 a.m. 1:30 p.m. Daily 737-8
All times local

 

Apple TV+ Takes Flight with Air Canada

Montreal, Quebec, Canada, August 1, 2023, CNW – Air Canada (Toronto: AC) today announced the expansion of its award-winning in-flight entertainment with the addition of exclusive Apple TV+ original programming beginning Aug. 1, 2023. The partnership marks Air Canada’s latest investment in the customer experience, adding critically acclaimed original programs including Ted Lasso, Bad Sisters, Severance, Foundation and many more for its global customers.

Earlier this year, Air Canada was recognized by Global Traveler as Best Airline for Onboard Entertainment for the fifth consecutive year, and by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) with the Passenger Choice Award for Best Entertainment in North America. With 420+ movies, 1,000+ TV episodes, 130+ music albums, podcasts and more, customers can enjoy the best programming from boarding to landing. All content onboard Air Canada’s inflight entertainment equipped aircraft is complimentary for all customers.

Air Canada’s partnership with Apple follows the airline’s recent collaboration with Mattel which brings more family fun with some of the most popular kids’ shorts.

In May, Air Canada and Bell began offering free messaging for all Aeroplan members worldwide on all Wi-Fi equipped aircraft across Air Canada’s fleet, including Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express flights. Customers can send and receive text-based messages via onboard Wi-Fi using popular messaging apps including Apple’s iMessage, Meta’s WhatsApp and Messenger, Rakuten’s Viber, and Messages by Google. 

Last November, Air Canada became the only Canadian carrier to offer live Canadian TV featuring English and French channels, giving customers the ability to cheer on their favourite sports teams by watching global sporting events in real time, as well as live news onboard equipped flights.

Virgin Australia Resumes Service Between Hobart and Perth

Virgin Australia continues to expand its domestic network in time for summer, with the airline today kicking off its services between Hobart and Perth. 

Flights between the two cities will operate three times per week, allowing for up to 4,200 passengers to travel each month. 

The news follows last week’s commencement of services between Hobart and Adelaide which is now operating four times per week and allowing up to 5,600 additional passengers to fly each month. 

Virgin Australia experienced a 90 per cent increase in Tasmanian bookings compared to the previous week after the announcement of new services to the Apple Isle and the Tasmanian Government’s release of a recovery roadmap.

Since September Virgin Australia has added 12 additional domestic routes to its network and is scheduled to resume flights to Fiji in December, followed by Bali and New Zealand from early next year.

Re-introduced services

ROUTE FREQUENCYSEATS PER MONTHCOMMENCEMENT DATE
Hobart – Perth / Perth – Hobart (Seasonal service only)3 services per week(Monday, Friday, Sunday) 4,20029 October 2021 

New services 

ROUTE FREQUENCYSEATS PER MONTHCOMMENCEMENT DATE
Hobart – Adelaide / Adelaide – Hobart4 services per week(Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) 5,60020 October 2021 

Tesla to be Added to the S&P 500 Index

Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) will be joining the S&P 500 index, expanding its investor base and putting the electric car maker in the same company as market behemoths such as Alphabet, Amazon.com, Apple, and Microsoft.

The announcement, made Monday afternoon by the S&P Dow Jones Indices, sent the company’s shares 13.7% higher in after-market trading. Tesla will officially join the benchmark stock index before the market opens on December 21, the index stated.

When Tesla joins the S&P 500, it will be one of the most valuable companies on the benchmark index. The weighting will be so influential that the S&P is debating whether or not to add the stock at its full market capitalization weight all at once, or in two separate tranches.

First of Its Kind Jet to Shuttle Travelers Between the Beltway and the Big Apple

13 daily flights between Washington’s Reagan National and Newark Liberty mostly aboard the world’s only two-cabin 50-seat regional aircraft – the Bombardier CRJ-550 starting March 29

New jet offers first class seating, Wi-Fi, more leg room and enough space for every customer’s roller bag

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — United Airlines today announced a new hourly shuttle service between Washington’s Reagan National Airport and New York/Newark Liberty International Airport. United will operate the world’s only two-cabin 50-seat regional aircraft – the Bombardier CRJ-550 on most flights. The CRJ-550 is designed for business and leisure travelers who want true-first-class seating, Wi-Fi, more leg room and enough space for every customer to bring a roller bag on board.

With this new shuttle service, United will now offer more travel opportunities between these two cities than any other airline in the world. Tickets for the 13 daily flights between New York/Newark and Washington, D.C. will be available for purchase beginning January 18 and service starts on March 29.

“Our customers who regularly travel between Washington, D.C. and New York – one of the busiest routes in the country – have told us they value convenient flights and a comfortable ride above all else,” said Sarah Murphy, United’s senior vice president of United Express. “With our new shuttle service aboard the one-of-a-kind CRJ-550, United Airlines is the only carrier to deliver both.”

The CRJ-550 is a first-of-its-kind jet boasting a wide variety of premium amenities, including:

  • 10 seats in United First, 20 seats in Economy Plus, and 20 Economy seats 
  • Space for every customer to bring a roller bag on board. 
  • A self-serve refreshment center for United First customers featuring a wide assortment of snacks and beverages. 
  • More overall legroom per seat than any other 50-seat aircraft flown by a U.S. airline. 
  • The ability to stay connected while in flight with United Wi-Fi.

Every customer. Every flight. Every day.

United continues to strengthen its commitment to its customers, looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier keeps customers’ best interests at the heart of its service. In addition to today’s announcement, United recently:

  • Announced that MileagePlus award miles will never expire 
  • Committed $40 million toward a new investment initiative focused on accelerating the development of sustainable aviation fuels and other decarbonization technologies 
  • Established Miles on a Mission, a first-of-its-kind crowdsourcing platform which gives customers a simple way to donate miles to non-profit organizations and charities in need of air travel 
  • Launched ConnectionSaver, a digital tool dedicated to improving the experience for customers with connecting flights 
  • Instituted PlusPoints, new upgrade benefits for MileagePlus Premier members 
  • Gave Economy customers a choice of complimentary snacks on domestic flights 
  • Made DIRECTV free for every customer on more than 200 aircraft
United Airlines logo. (PRNewsFoto/United Airlines)
United Airlines logo. (PRNewsFoto/United Airlines)

United Airlines in Talks with Apple on SFO Airport Upgrade

CHICAGO (Reuters) – United Airlines is in early discussions with Apple Inc about upgrading the U.S. carrier’s terminal at San Francisco International airport, United’s Chief Digital Officer Linda Jojo told journalists on Friday without providing more details.

“I’m being deliberately vague,” she said.

Apple declined to comment on the development. The company has supplied United with iPad tablet computers in the past, but also has deals with United rivals such as American Airlines to let Apple Music customers listen to streaming music on its planes without purchasing in-flight WiFi.

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

A United Airlines 787 taxis as a 767 lands at San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco

British Airways Makes MULTI-MILLION POUND INVESTMENT IN MOBILE TECHNOLOGY FOR CABIN CREW IN DRIVE TO OFFER PERSONALISED CUSTOMER SERVICE

LONDON, UK: Cabin Crew using an iPhone XR on board a flight on 05 August 2019 (Picture by Nick Morrish/British Airways)
  • Every member of British Airways’ 15,000 cabin crew will receive an iPhone XR in latest phase of multi-million pounds investment in technology and training
  • New phones are part of initiative to empower cabin crew to deliver personalised customer service to customers
  • Investment comes after British Airways awarded prestigious Skytrax gong for Best Airline Staff in Europe

As part of British Airways’ £6.5bn investment for customers, the airline has announced that all of its 15,000 cabin crew will be issued with iPhone XRs to help them offer a more personalised service to the more than 45 million customers that travel with the airline every year. The investment for all cabin crew members follows a successful trial of iPads for senior cabin crew on board every flight. 

The new phones will be loaded with a selection of apps to help crew offer customers instant additional assistance during their journey. 

They will also have access to a range of customer information at their fingertips, including previous flights and meal preferences, enabling them to personalise every interaction. 

The investment is part of British Airways’ continued commitment to ensure customers receive the best customer service at every stage of their journey.

Bradley Smith, 27, one of the first cabin crew to receive a brand-new iPhone XRs says the phones are enabling a step-change in customer service: “Recently, when a customer realised that he had forgotten to order a special meal, he was really impressed when I quickly took out the phone, logged onto ba.com and ordered a meal for his return journey – all within a matter of minutes in the middle of the flight.

“It felt so rewarding to be able to immediately resolve the situation for the customer. All my crew reference guides are also loaded onto the phone, so everything I need is in my pocket throughout each flight; it really has made a huge difference already.”

Karen Slinger, British Airways’ Head of Inflight Customer Experience, said: “Our customers spend up to 14 hours with our cabin crew on a single flight and we know from the recent success at the Skytrax Awards that the care provided by our people has a huge impact on the overall customer experience and is what sets us apart from other airlines. This investment is about further empowering our crew and providing them with everything they need to deliver the very best service to our customers while in the air.” 

The rollout of these devices is the latest initiative to enhance customer service at British Airways. Earlier this year, the airline launched Help Me; a brand-new section of ba.com to help customers make changes to their bookings and find out more about their consumer rights if their journey doesn’t go to plan. The airline also announced a multi-million-pound investment in training for its staff based at Heathrow, with every agent now trained to help customers with a range of different queries and personally reach out to them at the airport using iPads loaded with a host of specialist apps.

British Airways is investing £6.5 billion to improve its customer experience over the next five years, including the installation of high-speed, industry-leading WiFi across the fleet, which will help cabin crew access the latest information for customers on their devices whilst in flight. The airline will also take delivery of 73 new aircraft, including 18 A350s, with four of the new aircraft joining the fleet before the end of the year.

Google Raises Price of YouTube TV to $49.99

(Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google on Wednesday raised the monthly membership price of its YouTube TV online service by 25 percent to $49.99, while adding channels such as Discovery, Animal Planet and TLC.

The second price rise in nearly 14 months comes as YouTube expands its offering to better compete with a growing number of services, including Dish Network Corp’s Sling TV, AT&T’s DirecTV Now and Hulu, which are vying to attract viewers cancelling cable subscriptions, or cord cutting.

Google had raised the price of YouTube TV from $35 to $40 in February last year.

The cost for competing services such as Hulu’s offering with more than 60 channels is $44.99 per month, while its library of shows and movies costs an additional $5.99.

YouTube TV will be adding eight new channels, including the Travel Channel, HGTV and Food Network, to take the total number of networks to more than 70.

The new price takes effect from April 10 for new members, while the revised fee for existing subscribers will come into force after May 13, it said in a blog post.

The price for members billed through Apple will be $54.99 per month, it added.

(Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by James Emmanuel)

Wall Street Set To Jump On Temporary Trade Detente

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures jumped around 2 percent on Monday, setting Wall Street up to add to last week’s strong gains, after the United States and China declared a temporary trade truce.

Strong gains in Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and other technology stocks pushed Nasdaq futures NQc1 up more than 2 percent, while S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 touched a near 1-month high. Gains in Dow futures set the blue-chip index up for a near 450-point gain at the open.

Washington and Beijing agreed to a 90-day trade ceasefire during the G20 summit in Argentina on Saturday and U.S. President Donald Trump said China has agreed to “reduce and remove” tariffs below the 40 percent level that the country is currently charging on U.S.-made vehicles.

However, the White House also said that the existing 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would be lifted to 25 percent if no deal was reached within 90 days.

The trade optimism spilt over to shares of Apple, which gained 3.3 percent in premarket trading.

Trump had said last week that the next round of tariffs could also be placed on the company’s iPhones, as part of the $267 billion list of goods not yet hit by tariffs.

Trade-sensitive Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), Boeing Co (BA.N) gained over 4.5 percent each, while U.S. carmakers General Motors Co (GM.N), Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) rose between 3 percent and 4 percent.

Shares of energy companies also rose as crude prices surged, helping lift Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) up by 2.1 percent and Chevron Corp (CVX.N) by 2.4 percent. [O/R]

“Most of us were hoping that we would come out of these discussions with no new tariffs and a pause, which is ultimately what we got,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

Image from RT.com

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