News in Brief: Wednesday November 27

News in Brief: Wednesday November 27
By admin


The domestic subsidiary of Fiji Airways, Pacific Sun, will become as Fiji Link in 2014 with new livery to bring it in line with the Fiji Airways brand.

“As we’ve stated previously, Pacific Sun hasn’t had a brand alignment with its commercial position since its inception,” Fiji Airways managing director and chief executive Stefan Pichler said.

“Following the rebranding of Fiji Airways, we made it a priority to create a new identity for our regional carrier. ‘Fiji Link’ will fulfil its role as an extension of the Fiji Airways network, carrying our customers throughout Fiji and beyond within the Pacific. Importantly, it will deliver all the Fijian hospitality and warmth customers expect when visiting our region.”

 

Qantas will enhance its fleet of 30 Airbus A330 aircraft with new cabin interiors, with the work to be undertaken at its Brisbane heavy maintenance and engineering facility.

The airline will also recruit 30 apprentice engineers, with the majority to be based in Brisbane.

In Brisbane to officially open the $30 million upgrade to the hangar, chief executive Alan Joyce said the announcement “further cements” Qantas’ commitment to engineering and maintenance in Australia.

"Qantas is extremely proud of our state-of-the-art Brisbane heavy maintenance facility, which is ideally suited to undertake the upgrade of our Airbus A330 aircraft," he said.

 

China Southern Airlines will operate the first commercial flight using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Christchurch, as part of a one-off charter program to operate next February for Chinese New Year.

“This charter flight will be the first Dreamliner to fly to Christchurch commercially, the first Chinese airline to fly to New Zealand’s second largest city and the first China Southern charter flight to the South Island,” Christchurch Airport chief executive Jim Boult said.

 

The mobile check-in feature on hotel firm Marriott’s mobile app has been expanded beyond the US and Canada to be available for 20 additional Marriott hotels in 19 countries, including the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay.

Thailand, Singapore, India, Australia and Philippines are the five Asia Pacific countries to be added to the program which will also be extended to China in early 2014.

Using the app, Marriott Rewards members can check-in through a smartphone from 4 pm the day before arrival, receiving an automatic notification once the room is ready. On arrival, they collect their key from the expedited mobile check-in desk.

Marriott expects to complete the full global rollout of mobile check-in at all 500 hotels, with check-out functionality also included, in the first half of 2014.

The Marriott Mobile App has been downloaded over 2.5 million times, and Marriott.com receives over 4.5 million visitors a month from smartphones.

 

Expedia has announced an Australian partnership with review service Feefo so customers can offer their feedback on the service they received from the site.

Since the launch of the review feed just over a week ago, Expedia Australia has received more than 2,600 reviews with 93% of respondents rating its service as "good" or "excellent", it revealed.

"We understand the importance of reassuring customers through feedback from fellow travellers," customer experience director Justin Lee said.

"Feefo provides an independent public platform where our customers and visitors can share their feedback on our site, which enables us to better anticipate our customers' needs and helps us deliver a better customer experience."

 

Insight Vacations has appointed of Amy Haughley, most recently of Flight Centre Limited, to the role of New South Wales Sales Manager for the Sutherland Shire, Wollongong,  Newcastle and Grafton areas.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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