Tag: Masks (Page 1 of 2)

Austrian Airlines to Add Montreal and New York JFK Flights Starting in May

March 1, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Austrian Airlines is expanding its long-haul services in the upcoming summer flight schedule. From May, Austria’s home carrier will once again be flying three times a week to Montreal and New York JFK. As Newark was already in service up to now, the total number of flights to New York will increase to eight connections per week as of May.

“With five destinations in North America and three in Asia, including Tokyo and Bangkok, our long-haul services are back on a slight climb this summer. Unfortunately, we are still a long way from reaching cruising altitude. We hope that a rapid increase in the vaccination rate and a corresponding relaxation of travel restrictions will give us a further boost in the future”, says Austrian Airlines CCO Michael Trestl.

Austrian Airlines was already able to announce an increase in its summer flight schedule last week. From the end of March, various destinations will be resumed, including Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Florence. Hanover will be served by Austrian Airlines again for the first time since 2009. In addition, numerous vacation destinations are back on offer, for example in Greece, Italy and Spain. In the intercontinental route network, Amman, Bangkok, Chicago and Tokyo are back in the flight schedule.

On the Austrian Airlines website, passengers will find information on travel in times of corona, mandatory wearing of masks, country-specific travel regulations or flexible rebooking arrangements. The information is updated on an ongoing basis.

Air New Zealand Updates Covid-19 Alert Levels Following New Cases in Auckland

February 14, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that New Zealand is going back into lockdown following reports of 3 new Covid-19 cases in the south Auckland area. Following the press release earlier today, Air New Zealand (OTC: ANZLY) is asking that customers traveling to and from Auckland check they are eligible to travel under the new Alert Level 3 restrictions. Customers travelling from Alert Level 2 regions on our services are able to transit through Auckland on their way to other Alert Level 2 regions.

Food and beverage service onboard domestic flights had already been suspended in response to the latest community cases and this suspension will remain in place until further notice. Water is available on request on all flights.

From tomorrow, Air New Zealand’s Auckland lounges and valet parking will close. Due to capacity restrictions under Alert Level 2, the maximum number of people able to access the airline’s lounges in other regions is capped at 100.

While the country is at elevated Alert Levels, Air New Zealand will be taking extra precautions to keep its staff and customers safe. Air New Zealand front line staff and cabin crew will be wearing masks and gloves and customers are required to continue to wear face coverings onboard.

Customers with existing bookings between Monday 15 February and Sunday 21 February who wish to rebook to travel before Sunday 7 March will have any fare difference waived, and customers can call the contact centre to arrange this.

In addition to this, customers who hold a ticket for a domestic flight scheduled to depart up until 30 March 2021 and no longer wish to travel are able to opt in for credit and can do this via the airline’s online booking tool. Customers who are unable to manage their booking online do not need to contact Air New Zealand immediately or prior to their flight’s departure – assistance will be provided at a later date to find an alternative flight option or a credit note can be arranged.

The Air New Zealand contact centre and social media team are currently experiencing very high demand and the airline is grateful to customers for their patience while it works through these changes.

For the latest information, customers can check the Air New Zealand COVID-19 Hub and travel alerts page.

Emirates Re-Opening Worldwide Lounges Beginning With Cairo

November 28, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

**Throughout the day, lounge staff will sanitise each seat and table after customers leave. In addition, the lounge will be sanitised and fumigated regularly.**

Emirates is re-opening its lounges around the world, beginning with the Emirates lounge in Cairo International Airport. In the coming weeks, Emirates’ customers can look forward to once again enjoying Emirates lounge services in other destinations including New York’s JFK International and Manchester Airport.

The airline has redesigned its lounge offering and introduced additional health and safety measures. The new protocols will be rolled out in each lounge.

The buffet offering will be changed to an a la carte service with contactless menus activated by QR code. Throughout the day, lounge staff will sanitise each seat and table after customers leave. In addition, the lounge will be sanitised and fumigated regularly.

All employees working in the lounge will be wearing masks and social distancing protocols are in place throughout the lounge. Seating capacity will be halved as every other sofa seat is left unoccupied. To ensure food safety, catering staff will be wearing masks, gloves and personal protective equipment (PPE). Newspaper, magazines and other reading materials will not be available to minimise the risk of infection by touch.

The Emirates lounge in concourse B in Dubai International airport is also open with a redesigned service and designated First Class area. In the recent months, Emirates has been introducing services aimed at providing customers with a safe and seamless airport experience. The integrated biometric path at Dubai International airport is the latest in a host of initiatives by Emirates, allowing customers to go from check-in to boarding purely by facial recognition.

Emirates continues to gradually reinstate its signature services after rigorous review and careful redesign to ensure the health and safety of customers and employees.

On board, the celebrated A380 Onboard Lounge and Shower Spa have resumed operations, while Emirates’ onboard dining experience has returned to its signature service while observing strict hygiene protocols.

Emirates customers can travel with peace of mind with the airline’s flexible booking options and multi-risk travel insurance, including COVID-19 coverage on every flight. Emirates has also implemented a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey to ensure the safety of its customers and employees.

Emirates is re-opening its lounges around the world beginning with the Emirates lounge in Cairo International Airport. The airline has redesigned its lounge offering and introduced additional health and safety measures. The new protocols will be rolled out in each lounge.

Aer Lingus Launches Summer 2021 Schedule with Flexible Options

October 6, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

– You and your family can travel safely and with flexibility with Aer Lingus

– Free Unlimited changes on all routes and all fare types

– Guaranteed Voucher and Cash Refund option on certain fare types

Aer Lingus today launched its summer 2021 schedule offering a range of fare options so customers can book that long-anticipated summer holiday with confidence. Aer Lingus is ensuring families can look forward to traveling safely and with flexibility in summer 2021, and today it introduced new ways to keep bookings flexible should travel plans change with its ‘Book with Confidence’ proposition. With direct flights to Europe starting at €25.99 and US and Canada at €159, now is the time to start planning summer 2021.

Chief Commercial Officer, Dave Shepherd said: “We are offering customers a range of choices. There are free unlimited changes on all routes and all fare types*. There is the option of a full cash refund** on our Advantage/Flex fares. And from today, our Smart / Plus fares includes a new feature so that customers can avail of a voucher up to 14 days before travel to any destination or within 14 days if a country’s travel guidance changes*** from just €25.99. Aer Lingus is giving our customers the confidence to dream, so you can start to plan next summer’s adventure today with confidence.

“With flights up to August 2021 available for sale, you can start planning a reunion with friends in the Algarve, a sunny beach break with family in Malaga, or a romantic adventure in a European city and have something great to look forward to next year with Aer Lingus. For those looking to travel across the Atlantic in 2021, we have 12 direct North American routes to choose from including New York, Florida, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto, ”

With Aer Lingus, customers can book with the confidence that the airline prioritises the safety and wellbeing of our customers and our people at all times. Earlier this year Aer Lingus introduced a range of safety measures in line with the guidance provided by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control). These measures include the mandatory wearing of face masks at all times by all customers and crew. Social distancing is practiced at check in, boarding gate, boarding and disembarking the aircraft. These measures, along with an enhanced cleaning system and our state-of-the-art air filtration technology as standard on our Airbus aircraft, ensure customers have a safe and comfortable flight.

For more information on the Aer Lingus summer 2021 sale, please visit www.aerlingus.com.

Notes to Editor:

*A fare difference may apply. Unlimited changes can be made on all bookings until 31st May

** Requests for vouchers and refunds can be made up until 14 days pre-departure

***Should a country move to red on the imminent EU Travel Framework

Terms & Conditions

Vouchers are valid for 5 years and can be used on the entire Aer Lingus network.
Change Fee Rules apply and fare difference may apply.
Change or Voucher requests must be made in advance of travel or these options will not apply.

Short Haul Fare Types
	Saver	Plus	Advantage
Free Unlimited Changes*	✅	✅	✅
Guaranteed Voucher**		✅	✅
Cash Refund			✅

North Atlantic Fare Types
	Saver	Smart	Flex	Business	Business Flex
Free Unlimited Changes*	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Guaranteed Voucher**		✅	✅	✅	✅
Cash Refund			✅		✅

DHL Shows How Delivery of COVID-19 Vaccine Partners for Success

September 7, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

– In the paper, DHL evaluates how the transport of vaccines as highly temperature-sensitive product can be managed effectively.

– Global delivery of 10 billion doses of serum needs scaled-up medical supply chains

– White paper identifies critical challenges in COVID-19 logistics

– A framework is provided to tackle future health emergencies beyond COVID-19

With first emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 vaccines expected to be effective in the last quarter of 2020, logistics providers are challenged to rapidly establish medical supply chains to deliver serums of unparalleled amounts of more than ten billion doses worldwide. DHL, working with McKinsey & Company as analytics partner, is therefore publishing a white paper on delivering stable logistics for vaccines and medical goods during COVID-19, and future health crises.

Currently, more than 250 vaccines across seven platforms are being developed and trialed. As COVID-19 vaccines have leapfrogged development phases, stringent temperature requirements (up to -80°C) are likely to be imposed for certain vaccines to ensure that their efficacy is maintained during transportation and warehousing. This poses novel logistics challenges to the existing medical supply chain that conventionally distributes vaccines at ~2-8°C. In the paper, DHL evaluates how the transport of vaccines as highly temperature-sensitive product can be managed effectively to combat the further spread of the virus. The scope of this task is immense: To provide global coverage of COVID-19 vaccines, up to ~200,000 pallet shipments and ~15 million deliveries in cooling boxes as well as ~15,000 flights will be required across the various supply chain set-ups.

Future public health crisis management to include public-private partnerships

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, demand for medical supplies has surged. For example, UNICEF sourced 100 times more face masks and 2,000 times more medical gloves than in 2019. Bringing medical supplies from their distant sources to use at the frontline has been one of the most crucial activities in pandemic response management in the first phase of the health emergency. For PPE specifically, inbound logistics were a major challenge due to geographically concentrated production, limited airfreight capacity and a lack of inbound quality checks. To ensure stable medical supply in a future health crisis, a comprehensive setup of public health crisis strategies and structures needs to be established by governments with partnerships from both public and private sectors.

To kick start the dialogue among the different actors and improve pandemic resilience in medical supply logistics, DHL provides a framework for the cooperation of logistics companies with authorities, politicians, NGOs as well as the life sciences industry. The framework helps to establish measures to ensure the most stable and safe supply chains possible. Besides an emergency response plan, this includes a partnership network, strong physical logistics infrastructure and IT-enabled supply chain transparency. Lastly, a response unit with a clear mandate should be put in place to implement all critical activities at short notice.

Ford Announces Goal to Donate 100 Million Masks

September 4, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

– New Documentary Celebrates Workforce Response to Covid-19

https://youtu.be/lYHgV2u1T2Y

DEARBORN, Michigan, Sept. 4, 2020 – Following completion of its 50,000th ventilator to help clinicians treat COVID-19 patients, Ford is pivoting to target production of 100 million masks through 2021 for communities across the U.S. with limited access to personal protective equipment. The company, currently manufacturing 2.5 million medical-grade masks a week for its employees and at-risk communities, is growing the number of mask-making machines by mid- to late-October to increase production and deliver on its goal.

Ford is working with Ford Motor Company Fund, the company’s philanthropic arm, to identify donation recipients across the U.S. through a network of nonprofit and state and local partners. The company is focusing on military veterans, schools, food banks and African American communities, among others.

This announcement comes ahead of a new short documentary by award-winning director Peter Berg (“Friday Night Lights,” “Patriots Day,” “Lone Survivor”) titled “On the Line.” Premiering on YouTube at 2 p.m. EDT today, the documentary focuses on Ford’s Project Apollo, the internal codename for the company’s all-out effort to design and manufacture personal protective equipment, including powered air-purifying respirators, face shields, medical gowns for healthcare workers and first responders, plus ventilators for COVID-19 patients.

Berg’s deep dive into the story features members of Ford’s Project Apollo team – from the engineers who led the project to the UAW team members who volunteered to work at the height of the pandemic.

Last week, Ford Motor Company Fund shipped 10 million face masks to the National Urban League, American Red Cross, Disabled American Veterans and other local organizations to protect against COVID-19.

Ford, in partnership with the UAW, has produced more than 72 million pieces of personal protective equipment to meet the enormous demand. Altogether, this amounts to:

– More than 45 million face masks and 20 million face shields

– 50,000 patient ventilators

– More than 32,000 powered air-purifying respirators in collaboration with 3M

– 1.4 million washable isolation gown

Air New Zealand Update Following Alert Level Announcement

August 24, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

– Air New Zealand is supportive of today’s news mandating the wearing of masks or face coverings on public transport, including aircraft, from Monday 31 August due to Covid-19

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says customers flying from Auckland have been required to wear masks while it has been at Alert Level 3 and it has been recommended for customers travelling from other ports.

“We will now start to review our domestic network and will be contacting customers who may be affected by the extension of current Alert Levels.

“We understand the impacts these disruptions cause to our customers and we’ll do our best to get our customers to where they need to be.”

Fare flexibility is still in place and the airline encourages those who no longer wish to fly to opt to hold their fare in credit through its online booking tool.

The airline has been operating a reduced domestic schedule to and from Auckland while it has been at Alert Level 3. The majority of the rest of Air New Zealand’s network has remained unchanged but with physical distancing in place.

Delta Brings Back Flights Across Atlantic and Pacific for 2021

August 23, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

As Delta works to restart service in line with the lifting of travel restrictions, potential vaccine availability and the gradual return of demand, customers will see more trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific flights to top business and leisure destinations for the winter 2020-2021 and summer 2021 seasons. While the airline expects pre-COVID level recovery for international flying to continue to lag U.S. domestic, Delta plans to add over 50 transoceanic flights next summer, compared to the summer 2020 schedule.

Delta will focus its strengths in its core markets and with the support of its partners, offer customers a wide array of onward connections.

“While significant hurdles remain in the global fight against the pandemic, we are ready to connect customers to the people, places, opportunities and experiences they’re longing for,” said Joe Esposito, S.V.P. – Network Planning. “Customers flying internationally can look forward to a modernized fleet featuring our latest cabin products and a travel experience that prioritizes their health and the health of our employees from check-in to baggage claim.”

As customers consider future travel, whether international or domestic, Delta’s multi-layered approach to their health and safety ensures peace of mind throughout the travel journey. These include, but are not limited to:

– Sanitizing all aircraft with electrostatic spraying before departure and extensive pre-flight disinfection of high-touch points throughout the aircraft interior.

– Using state-of-the-art air circulation systems with HEPA filters that extract more than 99.99% of particles, including viruses.

– Blocking all middle seats and limiting the number of customers per flight through Jan. 6, 2021.

– Requiring face masks throughout the airport, in Delta Sky Clubs and on board the aircraft

Click the link below for the full story and more details!

https://news.delta.com/delta-brings-back-more-flights-across-atlantic-and-pacific-winter-and-summer-2021

Swiss Air Lines Cleared For More Types Of Cabin Cargo

August 8, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Swiss International Air Lines is carrying a greater variety of cargo in passenger cabins after four months of only being allowed to use the upper deck for shipments of COVID-19-related medical supplies.

Swiss Air Lines’ cargo division said it recently received approval from the Swiss aviation agency to transport general cargo in the cabin. Swiss flew its first flight a week ago from Dubai International Airport to Zurich with garments and other fashion-related goods in the passenger area.

The Lufthansa Group subsidiary has used widebody aircraft exclusively for cargo purposes since late March, but nontraditional use of cabin space was limited to medical supplies such as face masks and surgical gloves, as well as medicines and related humanitarian goods used to combat the novel coronavirus.

Swiss WorldCargo has the option of putting boxes of personal protective equipment, and now other products, in the seats and overhead bins of many aircraft or on the floor of three Boeing 777-300s that have had their Economy seats removed.

Click the link below for the full story!

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/swiss-air-lines-cleared-more-110000954.html

‘Consumers Can Fly With Confidence and Safety Today’

June 9, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

In a recent appearance on the “Conversations with Mike Milken” podcast, Delta CEO Ed Bastian shared with the Milken Institute founder how the global airline is providing a safe travel experience for customers and employees, while also moving toward recovery amid the worldwide pandemic.

“In my opinion, consumers can fly with confidence and safety today,” he said. “We are taking the same measures towards the personal safety of our customers on board our planes, just as we do the flight safety of the experience.”

Bastian continued to highlight the many steps being taken to give customers confidence when traveling, including electrostatic spraying, back-to-front boarding, capping load factors at 60 percent and requiring masks for employees and customers.

“The reason I go through all those steps is that security and safety is in our DNA,” Bastian shared. “That’s the core of our franchise.”

The May 21 interview, which aired June 4, is part of Milken’s pandemic podcast series featuring notable industry leaders and medical experts. A replay of the complete interview is available.

Archives