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International airline partnership Star Alliance will likely tender for a broker this year to help its members buy CO2 permits, while Air France, a member of rival group SkyTeam, said its alliance partners would give first refusal to each other when selling allowances.

From January 1, around 4,000 airlines that fly to and from EU airports were included in the bloc’s Emissions Trading Scheme ETS and must next year surrender carbon credits against their 2012 emissions.

The carrier expects fleet emissions of 16-17 million tonnes in 2012, meaning it would need to buy around 4 million permits on top of its free allocation of 12.6 million EUAAs, the aviation CO2 units distributed under the ETS.

Rival coalition Star Alliance, which boasts members Lufthansa, United Airlines and U.S. Airways, does not have a similar arrangement, its director responsible for emissions trading told Point Carbon.

source: Reuters

Travelling alone on an aircraft can be a lottery. But now the Dutch airline, KLM, is offering passengers the chance to pick who they sit next to by using Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.

It is developing an internet service known as “‘meet and seat’” which will give fliers access to to their fellow travellers’ Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.

The scheme will be launched next year and KLM admitted that many details still have to be worked out.

source: Telegraph.co.uk

Dutch airline KLM will start the installation of full flat beds in its Business Class long-haul fleets in May 2013.

The airline’s Boeing 747 fleet will be the first planes to be retrofitted with full flat beds, to be followed by B777s and Airbuses. Each full flat bed will be equipped with inflight entertainment (IFE) screens in portable tablets.

The new flat beds will allow passengers to fully recline their seats horizontally, mirroring the comfort of a real bed.

fuente: flightcentric.com

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and WestJet operated their first code share flights on September 26, 2011. The code share agreement between the two airlines will allow KLM to market and distribute WestJet operated flights under KLM flight numbers. This will enhance the travel possibilities for our customers, giving them access to 30 domestic Canadian routes.

source: traveldailynews.com

KLM challenges Facebook fans to convert their Facebook profile pictures into a ‘Delft Blue tile’ with an inspiring message. The most inspiring “‘Dutch Delft Blue tiles'” will be placed on the body of a KLM-plane Boeing 777-200. This worldwide campaign is named Tile & Inspire and starts today.

Erik Varwijk, Managing Director KLM says: “‘With this new campaign, KLM takes its Journeys of Inspiration strategy a step further. Tile & Inspire is another initiative to inspire our passengers and to actively engage customers around the world, like we did with the successful KLM surprise and our worldwide Luggage tag campaign'”.

source: Reuters

Xcor Aerospace‘s push to launch a commercial suborbital flight service from Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles is to get a boost from KLM. The carrier has agreed to promote and sell tickets for the 30min rides to space and back, which are scheduled to begin in January 2014.

KLM’s support will include purchases, inclusion in its frequent-flyer programme, inclusion in future KLM vacation packages to Curaçao, and other yet-to-be-named arrangements.

Mojave-based Xcor is developing a rocket-powered spaceplane, called Lynx, capable of runway lift-off and landing, with launch power from “‘non-toxic'”, reusable rocket engines. The vehicle is being designed for wet-lease operations, to carry to altitudes in excess of 100km (62 miles) a pilot, one passenger, and engineering and scientific payloads. Xcor intends Lynx to be able to fly up to four times a day with “minimal” between-flight maintenance.

source: flightglobal.com

Air France, KLM and American Airlines  all launched new mobile travel services this week, proving that the race to add new functionality to mobile travel is far from over.

The new mobile websites from Air France and KLM include the ability to change tickets (for flexible bookings) – something which the airlines say is a world first.

Like competitors’ services, passengers can also check in, choose seats, add bags, check timetables and flight status and receive their boarding pass.

source: independent.co.uk

Air France KLM said it is looking at the possibility of a tie-up with Spanish airline Iberia, which is already a takeover target.

Air France KLM could team up with private equity company Apax in a consortium that was ready to bid 3.8 billion euros ($5.24 billion) for Iberia.

Air France KLM, the world’s biggest airline in terms of revenue, repeated it intended to play an active role in the consolidation of the airline industry.
source: Reuters

Cabin staff working for KLM, the Dutch unit of Air France-KLM, have rejected the airline’s final offer in a dispute over their general workers agreement, the FNV Bondgenoten union said.

The union claims that cabin staff are overworked due to past cost-cutting measures and says KLM’s latest offer has not addressed the situation to their satisfaction.

An ultimatum will be issued next week and the union said that if its demands are not met, strikes may be called in the first labour action ever taken by cabin personnel.

source: hemscott.com