We spent far too long loitering around the coffee machine this morning, so if you spot anything wrong in this wrap, just keep it to yourself.

Jetstar ups baggage price-tag

Brisbane Airport welcomes Singapore Airlines’ A350 Trifecta

Days ahead of Singapore Airlines increasing services from 24 to 28 flights per week (four times daily) between Singapore and Brisbane Airport, the airline has announced it will operate the brand new A350-900 aircraft for three of its four daily flights.

The introduction of the three new aircraft will occur over a four month period starting from Monday 16 October 2017, when SQ235/256 will change from an A330-300 to the new A350-900.

The A350 will bring to Brisbane Singapore’s new Premium Economy cabin (24 seats per flight; 52,416 seats per year), and a 42 per cent increase in Business Class capacity to nearly 100,000 weekly seats per annum.

Compared to current operating capacity, by January 2018 Singapore Airlines’ overall Singapore-Brisbane capacity will increase by 53,040 seats per annum (two way).

Additionally, premium flight options attract premium visitors seeking high-end experiences which significantly contribute to a vibrant growth in tourism, with the benefits rippling through the entire state.

Singapore Airlines is the only international carrier to offer four daily return frequencies on a single route from Brisbane.

Last financial year it carried more than 690,000 passengers to/from Brisbane and, from January 2018, will be offering 750,000 seats over 2,900 annual aircraft arrivals/departures, reinforcing Singapore Airline’s major presence in Brisbane.

Qantas to open direct online booking presence on Fliggy

Travellers are set to benefit from a new agreement between Qantas and Alibaba Group’s online travel service platform, Fliggy, which will allow customers to book Qantas flights directly on the site.

Qantas International CEO Gareth Evans and Fliggy Vice President Jerry Hu have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a strategic relationship, which also has scope for joint marketing campaigns to Alibaba Group’s 507 million mobile active users.

As part of Alibaba Group’s ecosystem, Fliggy is a major direct sales platform for airlines targeting the China market, with more than 20 international carriers running online booking stores, called Fliggy flagship stores, on the platform.  Currently, around 75 per cent of Alibaba Group’s users are aged 35 years and younger.

Evans said a partnership with Fliggy makes it easier for a large number of potential customers to purchase Qantas flights.

“With travel between China and Australia booming, a Qantas booking page on Fliggy is an exciting opportunity for us to have a connection with younger Chinese travellers, who increasingly turn to mobile applications like Fliggy and online sites to research and purchase travel,” he said.

“Qantas’ partnership with Fliggy forms another part of our growth strategy for China and the broader Asian region.”

Together with its partners China Eastern and China Southern, Qantas operates more than 130 weekly return flights between Australia and China, plus close to 250 connecting services to domestic destinations within China.  The Jetstar Group of airlines offers more than 30 return flights a week into six Chinese cities from Singapore, Vietnam and Japan.

Jetstar announces flights between Adelaide and Hobart

Jetstar has today announced new direct flights to Adelaide will take off later this year, the only services between the two cities.

Up to 55,000 people are expected to travel annually on the new Hobart to Adelaide flights, which will operate three times per week from 14 November.

Jetstar Group Chief Commercial Officer, Catriona Larritt, said Jetstar will be the only airline to connect the two cities.

“Thousands of travellers already fly from Hobart to Adelaide via Melbourne, so we are excited to offer direct low-fares between the two cities, making it even easier to travel.

“Both Hobart and Adelaide are experiencing record tourism numbers, and we expect inbound tourism to the two cities to further strengthen with the addition of our new direct flights.

“Tasmanians love our low fares and last year alone, Jetstar transported over 2 million customers in and out of Tasmania and 70 per cent of those passengers flew for under a $100. That’s 1.3 million fares sold for under $100.”

Adelaide marks the fifth destination that Jetstar flies to from Hobart, and offers travellers the opportunity to enjoy the city’s world-class festivals, eco-adventures and nearby wine regions.

Jetstar operates more flights to and from Tasmania than any other airline with 170 weekly services, 65 of those from Hobart. Combined with the Qantas Group we serve 3 destinations in Tasmania connecting our customers to the groups’ extensive domestic and international network.

AirAsia X Introduces Check-In Kiosks at Gold Coast Airport

AirAsia X, the long haul affiliate of AirAsia Group has introduced check-in kiosks at Gold Coast Airport as part of the airline’s continuous quest for innovation to enhance the guest experience.

As part of Gold Coast Airport’s roll out of Common Use Passenger Processing Systems (CUPPS), allowing travellers to check themselves in and tag and drop their own bags, facilitating faster passenger processing and reducing queuing and congestion – Gold Coast Airport has been selected to be the first station in Australia by the airline to implement self check-in kiosks for a faster and more convenient way to check-in. The next stations to be equipped with kiosk facilities are Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

All AirAsia X guests travelling from Gold Coast Airport are required to use the kiosks for check-in, printing of boarding passes and self-tagging of baggage before proceeding to the baggage drop counter. This also applies to guests who have completed the web or mobile app check-in process, and for premium flatbed guests.

In addition, guests flying to Kuala Lumpur and beyond with multiple destinations under the same booking number will be issued another boarding pass for the end destination. Guests with multiple booking numbers may repeat the check-in kiosk process for each booking number.

Guests are advised to arrive three hours before departure to allow plenty of time for first-time use of the check-in kiosks. Passengers that require additional assistance such as group bookings or passengers with reduced mobility or special needs may proceed to the service counter for assistance.

Alitalia: third most punctual airline in Europe

Alitalia ranked third most punctual airline in Europe and tenth in the world in the first two quarters of 2017, according to the report published by FlightStats (flightstats.com), the US independent data services society specialized in commercial aviation.

According to the chart, 84 per cent of Alitalia flights arrived on schedule from January to June. Flighstats follows the “A14” method, monitoring flights arriving at the gate less than 15 minutes after the scheduled arrival time.

The largest airline in Italy has ranked third in Europe – behind Iberia and Austrian Airlines, with higher scores than the three major European carriers – British Airways (82%), Lufthansa (80%) and Air France (78%) – and the low-cost carrier easyJet (78%). Alitalia has ranked tenth in the world ahead of the main US carriers: Delta Air Lines (82%), American Airlines and United Airlines (80%).

A major improvement compared to the past two years when Alitalia’s arrival performance was 83 per cent in 2016 and 76 per cent in 2015 (the last figure was affected by the incident occurred at Fiumicino on May 7).

Considering that Alitalia has operated over 93,000 flights in the first two quarters of 2017, the improvement of one percentage point means that almost 1,000 flights more have arrived on time compared to same period last year.

ISLAND AIR NAMES CHRISTOPHER GOSSERT VP OF FINANCE

Island Air has appointed Christopher Gossert as its vice president of finance. Gossert will oversee all finance functions of the airline and will be part of Island Air’s leadership team as it works to continue expanding its services and growing the business.

“We are fortunate to have someone with Chris’ proven experience in finance management and his knowledge of the airline industry,” said David Uchiyama, president and CEO of Island Air. “Going forward, he will play an important role in managing our financial operations and helping to implement our long-term growth and expansion strategy.”

Gossert brings extensive experience in financial management to his new position at Island Air. Most recently, he served as audit senior manager at Ernst & Young LLP and was one of the leading members of the firm’s assurance practice. He was responsible for the management, coordination and oversight of financial statement audits for various public and private companies. He also handled management and execution of other non-audit projects, including assessment and evaluation of internal controls over financial reporting, system implementations and process improvements.

He has over 12 years of experience within Ernst & Young’s airline industry practice, where he was involved in accounting and operational areas including revenue recognition and sales programs, lease accounting standards, derivatives, debt and equity financing transactions, frequent flyer programs and maintenance. His airline clients have included Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., Virgin America, Inc., Avianca Holdings S.A. and Virgin Australia.

Gossert also worked at Hawaii National Bank in its management trainee program.

Gossert is a graduate of the University of San Francisco. He is a Certified Public Accountant, State of Hawaii, and a member of the American Institute of Public Accountants. He previously served on the board of directors of the Pu‘u Ali‘i Community Association.

Emirates ramps up services to Cairo

Emirates will increase capacity on its services to Egypt from 29th October 2017, with the launch of four additional scheduled flights every week to Cairo.

The four new flights will increase the number of frequencies between the two cities to three each day, and take the total number of weekly Emirates flights serving Cairo to 21.

Similar to the current service between the two cities, the new flights will be operated by a 360-seat Boeing 777-300ER in a three-class configuration featuring 8 private suites, 42 Business Class and 310 Economy Class seats; adding 1,440 seats each way per week on the route as well as 23 tonnes of additional capacity for cargo per flight.

The additional Dubai – Cairo flight EK 925 will leave Dubai at 2050hrs and will arrive in Cairo at 2305hrs. The return flight, EK926, will depart Cairo at 0045hrs and arrives in Dubai at 0615hrs.

South African Airways Perth PEAK Specials Economy & Business Class

There are two new peak specials for departures ex Perth to Africa.

• Perth Business Class specials to Africa

Sale to 30 September 2017
Outbound departures: 01 Dec 2017 – 10 Jan 2018
Base fare starting from: $4200- $5100*
Prime booking classes: D
Featured destinations: EBB & MRU!
FARE SHEET

• Perth  Economy XMAS Day Specials to South Africa

Sale to 30 September 2017
Outbound departure: 25 Dec 2017 only
Base fare starting from: $1470-$1570*
Prime booking classes: L then V.
FARE SHEET

Sarajevo The Latest Eastern European Destination On Qatar Airways’ Route Map

The historic city of Sarajevo is set to join Qatar Airways’ expanding global network as the award-winning airline announces the famous Balkan city will now launch in October as part of Qatar Airways’ expedited expansion plans.

The capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina is now becoming the latest must-see destination for leisure travellers, combining its rich history with a modern atmosphere to offer a unique cultural mix.

Visitors can experience stunning views of the city and surrounding mountains from one of Sarajevo’s many viewing platforms, and visit Baščaršija, an Ottoman bazaar in the heart of the city boasting many remarkable historical and cultural sights.

Today’s announcement of the new four times-weekly service, set to begin on 31 October, is part of the airline’s expedited expansion into Eastern Europe, with the recent launch of four times-weekly service to Skopje as well as daily flights to Prague, Czech Republic and Kyiv, Ukraine set to begin later this month.

The service between Doha and Sarajevo will be operated four times a week by an Airbus A320, featuring 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy Class. As well as enjoying the award-winning in-flight service on board the Skytrax Airline of the Year 2017, passengers flying on board will also have access to Oryx One, Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system offering the latest blockbuster movies, TV box sets, music, games and much more.