service – The News Desk

Now Arriving at an Airport Lounge Near You: Peloton Bikes, Nap Pods and Caviar Service

11Apr

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Now Arriving at an Airport Lounge Near You: Peloton Bikes, Nap Pods and Caviar Service

A handful of new lounges opened by credit card issuers, including Capital One and American Express, have recently landed in airports across the United States, promising posh spots of refuge for select travelers awaiting their flights. At La Guardia Airport, caviar service will be available for pre-order. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, travelers can get complimentary massages, and at Denver International Airport, there are nap pods. In addition to amenities, the new lounges provide an ambience reminiscent of a luxury hotel lobby, both in interior design and scale, and fit several hundred people at a time.“Lounges have certainly gotten busier, so we’ve expanded our footprint,” said Audrey Hendley, president of American Express Travel, which in February opened its large...

29Dec

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LATAM to suspend Heathrow-Lima service – Business Traveller

LATAM has announced plans to suspend its flights between London and Lima from 2 February, 2024. The route was only launched at the start of December, and Business Traveller’s Hannah Brandler reviewed the carrier’s business class service on the London-bound leg. Flight review: LATAM Boeing 787 Premium Business Lima-London As flagged on our forum, the latamtrade.com website has published an alert confirming that the route will be suspended between 2 February and 20 March, 2024, with the carrier citing “commercial adjustments”. In addition to the confirmed suspension dates, LATAM said that flights on subsequent dates “will be closed for sale in the system until further notice”. LATAM has provided Business Traveller with the following statement: “From December 1, 2023 we began our direct Li...

Asiana Airlines starts Melbourne service – Business Traveller

28Dec

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Asiana Airlines starts Melbourne service – Business Traveller

The year is ending on a high for Melbourne airport with a record number of international airlines now flying to Victoria’s capital airport. On 27 December, South Korea’s Asiana Airlines started seasonal services to Seoul’s Incheon airport, making it the 38th international carrier to serve Melbourne airport. The airline is operating two direct flights a week between Melbourne and the South Korean capital using a state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900 aircraft, fitted with 311 seats in a two-class configuration with 28 in 1-2-1 configured business class and 283 in 3-3-3 economy class. With a population of more than nine million people, Seoul is a global economic hub and the gateway to one of the world’s manufacturing powerhouses as well as being the home of K-Pop. Flights will operate every ...

Starlux inaugurates San Francisco service – Business Traveller

20Dec

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Starlux inaugurates San Francisco service – Business Traveller

Taiwan-based Starlux Airlines has launched a new nonstop service between its Taipei base and San Francisco, its second US gateway after Los Angeles. Initially, Starlux will operate the Taipei-San Francisco service three times a week, Flight JX011 will leave San Francisco each Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 2340 and arrive in Taipei at 0530 two days later. Flight JX012 will leave Taipei at 2320 and arrive in San Francisco at 1815 on the same days. Starlux will upgrade the Airbus A350-900 service to daily flights from 20 March, 2024. The carrier’s inaugural celebration took place at SFO International Terminal Gate B5 prior to the flight’s departure. The gate-side event included ribbon- and cake-cutting ceremonies, specially crafted cookies, refreshments, special gifts and a renditi...

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...

Singapore Airlines to launch London Gatwick service – Business Traveller

18Dec

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Singapore Airlines to launch London Gatwick service – Business Traveller

Singapore Airlines (SIA) will launch its inaugural nonstop flights between its Singapore hub and London’s Gatwick airport in June 2024, operating the five-times a week service with the long-haul variant of its Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Together with its current four-times daily services to London’s Heathrow airport, this will bring the total number of flights to the United Kingdom’s (UK) capital to 33 weekly services from today’s 28 weekly services. Star Alliance member SIA also operates five-times weekly services to Manchester airport. Subject to regulatory approval, flight SQ310 will operate on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The inaugural flight will depart Singapore for Gatwick at 2355 on 21 June 2024 and arrive in London at 0625 on 22 June 2024. The return leg, ...

Emirates adds chauffeur drive service at Jakarta airport – Business Traveller

20Nov

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Emirates adds chauffeur drive service at Jakarta airport – Business Traveller

Emirates has further extended its premium chauffeur drive service to include arrivals and departures at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International airport. First and business class customers now benefit from a complimentary chauffeur drive for both departures and arrivals within an 80km radius of the airport. Bookings must be made at least 12 hours before scheduled flight times, and eligible passengers wishing to book longer journeys can pay a fee for additional mileage. Customers arriving into the airport will be greeted at gate 1 and assisted in transferring to Zone 2 for their chauffeur drive pick-up, and similarly those departing the airport will be dropped off at gate 2, enabling them to proceed to the carrier’s check-in counters at C Island. Emirates uses Mercedes E class vehicles at J...

Pegasus Airlines launching Birmingham-Istanbul service – Business Traveller

11Nov

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Pegasus Airlines launching Birmingham-Istanbul service – Business Traveller

Pegasus Airlines has announced a new service between Birmingham and Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen International airport for this winter. The Turkish low-cost carrier will offer three flights per week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) on the route from 21 December, with one-way fares starting from £39.99. The new service will provide competition for Turkish Airlines, which operates flights between Birmingham and Istanbul airport. Pegasus already flies from both Manchester and Stansted to Sabiha Gokcen International, as well as from Stansted to Ankara and Izmir, and from Manchester and Stansted to Antalya. Commenting on the news Nick Barton, CEO of Birmingham airport, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Pegasus Airlines into the BHX fold. Pegasus is a very impressive low-cost carrier whose com...

Vistara introduces complimentary wifi service

7Nov

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Vistara introduces complimentary wifi service

Vistara has begun offering complimentary wifi internet connectivity onboard its international flights (operated on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and Airbus A321neo aircraft) for all members of its loyalty program, Club Vistara. This complimentary wifi service is available to all Club Vistara members, regardless of their membership tier, accumulated points, tenure of membership etc. This makes Vistara the first Indian airline to offer free unlimited wifi to its customers onboard. Enrolment in Club Vistara does not require any charges or fees. This offering includes unlimited data ideal for messaging apps (WhatsApp, Messenger, iMessage and similar services) for all Club Vistara members. Furthermore, Platinum members and Business Class customers get additional 50MB of data, which can be used for ...

Etihad adds third daily A380 service on London route – Business Traveller

3Nov

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Etihad adds third daily A380 service on London route – Business Traveller

Etihad Airways has further increased capacity on its London route, by adding a third daily A380 service. Effective 1 November, three of the carrier’s four daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Heathrow are now being operated by the superjumbo. It means that Etihad is now offering a total of 1,726 seats per day on the key London route. Flights EY17 (departing Abu Dhabi at 1405) and EY18 (departing Heathrow at 2055) join existing A380 services EY11/12 and EY19/20. Etihad announced plans to bring four of its superjumbos back into service in December 2022, with A380 flights returning to the Abu Dhabi-Heathrow route in July this year. Etihad’s A380 returns to London Heathrow The carrier’s superjumbos are configured with 337 Economy Smart seats, 68 Economy Space seats, 70 Business Studios, nine...