Air – The News Desk

Air Astana eyes joint venture with Italy’s Neos – Business Traveller

16Apr

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Air Astana eyes joint venture with Italy’s Neos – Business Traveller

Air Astana Group, the largest airline group in Central Asia and the Caucasus regions by revenue and fleet size, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Neos, the second largest airline from Italy and part of the Alpitour group, to enter a strategic partnership. The deal will encompass several areas of cooperation, including a codeshare agreement under which Air Astana will apply its ‘KC’ denominator to Neos-operated flights between Milan Malpensa (MXP) and Almaty (ALA) and vice versa. Moreover, the airlines plan on collaborating on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner technical and operations performance sharing when Air Astana gets its first 787-9s in 2025, with Neos being a current Dreamliner operator. Furthermore, Air Astana and Neos say are considering and evaluating the formation of a j...

Pet Policies for Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines and Other Domestic Carriers

15Apr

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Pet Policies for Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines and Other Domestic Carriers

Flying with a pet can be expensive and confusing, with fees, weight limits, carrier size rules and the need to make sure there’s no loud barking (or meowing) on board.Recently, American Airlines relaxed its pet policy to allow passengers to bring a carry-on bag in addition to a pet in a carrier, and more private flight options have been emerging in recent years for pet owners who can afford them.Still, flying with large or medium-size dogs can be tricky, and many travelers are wary of leaving a pet in the plane’s cargo hold.For those traveling on the major carriers with their pets as carry-ons, here’s what to know about each major domestic airline’s policy.Southwest AirlinesOn Southwest, a Dallas-based carrier, two checked bags can fly at no cost, but not pets. Southwest charges $125 per ...

Air Canada returns to Singapore’s Changi airport – Business Traveller

7Apr

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Air Canada returns to Singapore’s Changi airport – Business Traveller

Singapore’s Changi airport this week celebrated Air Canada’s inaugural service between Singapore and Vancouver with a water cannon salute. Now operating four times a week, this is the only nonstop flight connecting Singapore and Canada. Singapore Airlines launched service to Vancouver during the pandemic as a tag-on to its Seattle flights. However, the airline terminated the route last October. From Vancouver, the Air Canada flights will depart on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 0015, arriving in Singapore at 0710 the following day. From Changi, the flights will return to Vancouver on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 0910, arriving back in BC at 0845 the same day. Air Canada deploys its three-class Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft to Singapore, including l...

Air New Zealand trials removal of single-use cups inflight – Business Traveller

6Apr

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Air New Zealand trials removal of single-use cups inflight – Business Traveller

Air New Zealand has carried out a trial of “single-use cup free flights”, as it explores how to reduce the millions of cups used on its aircraft each year. The carrier trialled the initiative on six domestic flights last week, with customers being encouraged to bring reusable cups with them, or being provided with one for use during onboard service. ANZ said that “knowledge gained from customer feedback, operational logistics, and impact will help to determine the viability of implementing the initiative in the long term”. The airline recently removed all single-use cups from its domestic airport lounges – equating to the saving of around one million single-use cups per year – but admitted that doing the same inflight “is a much greater challenge”. Back in 2019 the carrier trialled an ed...

Air France-KLM unveils refurbished Air-Rail Terminal at Brussels-South station – Business Traveller

3Apr

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Air France-KLM unveils refurbished Air-Rail Terminal at Brussels-South station – Business Traveller

Air France and KLM have opened a fully refurbished Air-Rail Terminal at Brussels-South (also known as Bruxelles-Midi or Brussel-Zuid). The revamped facility is open daily between 0530 and 1830, and comes ahead of a seventh daily high-speed rail service being added between Brussels-South and Paris CDG this summer. The group’s Air&Rail offering enables customers to purchase combined train and air travel under one booking, with a guaranteed seat on the next available flight or train if either service is delayed. Flying Blue members also earn miles on the rail section of the booking, and elite members get benefits including priority check-in, additional luggage allowance, and access to the Eurostar lounge at Brussels-South. Air France and KLM have offered integrated air-rail services for...

Air France to serve 23 North American cities this summer – Business Traveller

2Jan

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Air France to serve 23 North American cities this summer – Business Traveller

Air France has outlined plans to serve a total of 23 cities across the US, Canada and Mexico this summer. The carrier will resume daily flights between Paris CDG and Minneapolis on May 13 – a route served by joint venture partner Delta in summer 2023. It will also extend its Paris-Raleigh-Durham service (which it took over from Delta in October last year) into summer 2024, with up to seven flights per week operated by A350-900 aircraft. The full list of Air France’s North American destinations for summer 2024 is as follows: United States Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York JFK, Newark, Raleigh-Durham, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC Canada Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto and Vancouver Mexico Cancun and Mexi...

Air India takes delivery of first A350-900 – Business Traveller

27Dec

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Air India takes delivery of first A350-900 – Business Traveller

Commenting on the news Campbell Wilson, chief executive officer and managing director, Air India, said: “This moment marks a red-letter day for all of us at Air India. The A350 is not just metal and engines; it’s the flying embodiment of the relentless efforts of all Air India employees towards our airline’s continuing transformation and of our commitment to setting new benchmarks. It is also, in many ways, a declaration of Indian aviation’s resurgence on the world stage.” “As a symbol of the new age of flying, the A350 promises a world-class, long-haul travel experience on our non-stop routes, providing an unparallelled level of comfort. Its excellent flight economics and state of-the-art technology underscore our dedication to commercially successful operations and to achieving our sus...

Air India commences Phuket service – Business Traveller

19Dec

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Air India commences Phuket service – Business Traveller

Air India has launched a new nonstop service between Delhi and Phuket, its second destination in Thailand. The inaugural flight departed the Indian capital on 15 December. Star Alliance member Air India says that the new route is further bolstering its expansion plans in the Far East and Southeast Asia. Air India operates an Airbus A320neo on Delhi-Phuket, featuring 12 2-2 configured recliners in business class and 150 seats in 3-3 configured economy class. The flights currently run four times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, but will be upgraded to a daily service from January. AI 378 will depart from Delhi at 0110 to arrive in Phuket the same day at 0710. The return flight AI 379 will take off from Phuket at 0810 and land in Delhi at 1050. “Phuket is a popular...

Air India unveils new Manish Malhotra-designed uniforms – Business Traveller

13Dec

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Air India unveils new Manish Malhotra-designed uniforms – Business Traveller

The uniforms will be phased in over the next few months starting with crew on the carrier’s first A350-900 aircraft – the first of which is expected to be delivered before the end of the year. Malhotra has also designed uniforms for Air India’s ground staff, engineers, and security personnel, with these set to be unveiled “in due course”. Earlier this year Air India unveiled its new livery and brand identity featuring a chakra-inspired pattern and a custom-made ‘Air India Sans’ font. Air India unveils new livery and brand identity In February the carrier announced record orders for 470 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and a US$400 million refurbishment of existing widebody fleets is set to start in 2024 Commenting on the news Campbell Wilson, chief executive officer and managing director, Ai...

Air France, Etihad and Lufthansa ads banned over misleading environmental claims – Business Traveller

7Dec

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Air France, Etihad and Lufthansa ads banned over misleading environmental claims – Business Traveller

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that Air France, Etihad and Lufthansa must stop showing “misleading” adverts promoting the airlines’ environmental impact. In three separate rulings the ASA said that the adverts in question “must not appear again in the form complained about”. In the case of Air France the ASA challenged an ad which stated “Manchester to Bangkok […] Air France flights […] Air France is committed to protecting the environment: travel better and sustainably”. The Authority said that the ad “would be understood by consumers to mean that Air France offered a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to travel by air”, and that it “therefore expected to see a high level of evidence which demonstrated how Air France were protecting the environment and mak...