Brighter Planet, a consultant on carbon accounting and mitigation, has rated the carbon efficiency of U.S. domestic and international airlines. The top three among U.S. domestic carriers: Continental, JetBlue and Frontier. In last place was American Eagle. The international winners were Ryanair, Singapore Airlines and Delta. SAS Scandinavian was the least environmentally friendly.
source: northjersey.com
Frequent flyers who have achieved ‘Senator ‘status now have an opportunity to relax in style at Lufthansa‘s largest airport lounge. In the Departures area of Terminal 1 at Frankfurt, top customers can for the first time enjoy a modern wellness area with luxury facilities that include ten showers and two spa rooms.
Additionally, now there is free Internet access in all Lufthansa’s lounges worldwide.
source: media-newswire.com
Airport operator BAA said 6.1 million passengers travelled through Heathrow in June, 6.3% more than the same month a year earlier.
That made June the London airport’s busiest on record, although its comparative figure was partly due to British Airways strikes hitting traffic last year. Without that impact, Heathrow’s growth was up 3.8% on the year.
However, BAA added: “‘In contrast to the rise in passenger numbers, growth in the global air freight market continued to slow as the strong post-recession recovery phase comes to an end.'”
source: thisislondon.co.uk
The delicate work of a sommelier has become more important as U.S. airlines fight for premium passengers willing to shell out up to thousands of dollars to fly business class on international and transcontinental flights. The idea isn’t to make money on the wine ” the passengers in those seats drink for free ” but rather to keep those customers coming back and encourage their well-heeled friends and co-workers to join them.
According to the ‘International Air Transport Association’, through the first four months of this year, there was an 8.5 percent increase year-over-year in premium passenger traffic, which includes business class and first class seats. Those seats are among the most pricey and profitable for airlines. The trade group expects fuel costs to weigh on premium traffic, and stronger growth in the second half of the year will depend on how well the economy holds up.
source: AP
One of EasyJet‘s biggest institutional shareholders has called on Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the airline’s founder and largest shareholder, to either stop attacking the company or make a bid for it if he is not happy with the way it is run.
Sir Stelios, who controls 38 per cent of the airline’s shares, has reignited his dispute with EasyJet by demanding the board call a shareholder vote over the airline’s plans to buy new aircraft from Airbus.
He demanded it halt any payments to the European aircraft maker for those aircraft until it has addressed his concerns.
International tourism continues to rise around the world, with only the Middle East and North Africa lagging, and even those regions expected to improve later this year, according to the latest United Nations figures.
The World Tourism Barometer, released recently by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) at its headquarters in Madrid, shows that international tourist arrivals rose by 4.5 per cent in the first four months of this year compared to the same period of 2010.
About 268 million tourists travelled between January and April, up from 256 million last year, which was affected by the closure of much of European airspace because of the ash cloud resulting from the eruption of an Icelandic volcano.
source: UN News Centre
Lufthansa has become the first airline to run regular commercial flights powered partially with biofuel.
Airlines have flown many demonstration biofuel flights, but Lufthansa’s LH013 11:15am Hamburg to Frankfurt flight will start the first passenger service to run on a blend of biofuel and conventional fuel.
The company will use the novel fuel mix for six months on eight of its 28 daily 50-minute flights between the two German cities – a distance of 244 miles each way. The German airline says the 1,200 flights will save 1,500 tonnes of CO2.
source: Guardian.co.uk
Businessman Andrew Gaule invented this coat with huge pockets in frustration at seeing fellow budget passengers charged over the odds for their luggage.
”This jacket allows you to carry on board everything that you would otherwise have to pack in the hold. The pockets are big and strong enough to take 10kg of luggage, including even laptop computers or bottles of wine.”
A recent study showed that the budget airline’s extra luggage charges have resulted in a dramatic change in the way people pack for holidays. The ‘Co-operative Travel’ study found that a quarter of all leisure budget air passengers now either take only hand luggage or share a hold bag.
source: dailymail.co.uk
A US businessman has been told he will never again have to queue at an airport he racked up 10m air miles over nearly 20 years of business travel.
Thomas Stuker, a sales consultant, is also to have a plane named after him and will always be upgraded as a reward for his loyalty to United Airlines.
The frequent flyer has taken off with the airline 5,962 times and flown the equivalent of 400 trips around the globe.
But he reached the sacred 10m mark yesterday, after flying from Los Angeles to his native Chicago.
source: Telegraph.co.uk
Dubai-based Emirates Airline and TUI Travel Plc have teamed up to launch ‘Emirates Live’, a package of services offering customers easy-to-book access to major international events.
In partnership with TUI Travel’s Sport Division, Emirates Airline now offers packages to tournaments such as the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, the F1 British Grand Prix in Silverstone and the England v India npower Test Series in Birmingham.
Via Emirates Live, customers can book event tickets, flights, hotels and transport and tailored individual and group packages can also be arranged.
source: hoteliermiddleeast.com
