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What's News - Airlines
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Air New Zealand - A New Age in Air Travel
The excitement continues at Air New Zealand. While we were still celebrating the award bestowed upon us by Air Transport World for being the Best Airline in the World for 2010, the curtain was rising yesterday in Auckland, New Zealand, at Hangar 9 of Air New Zealand that will certainly change the way we travel going forward. A prototype of our soon to arrive B777-300 was unveiled to the press and staff members that included our new interior product. |
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Economy: “Skycouch” Lie down in economy now a reality with Air New Zealand. A specially designed row of three seats, has been engineered to create a lie-flat, flexible space all the way to the seat-back in front, providing a place for the kids to play, or the holy grail of economy travel – a flat surface for adults to relax and sleep.
Pacific Premium Economy: ‘Spaceseat’ is a totally new concept for Premium Economy in the airline industry, providing flexibility and privacy through the angle of the seats. They will be configured in a 2-2-2 layout, compared to the industry standard 3-3-3 in 777-200s. Premium Economy cabin with uniquely Kiwi designed “Spaceseats” will offer unparalleled comfort and legroom with new shared-meal experiences more familiar in tapas restaurants or bistros.
Business Premier: Business Premier cabin has also been enhanced with complete on-demand food and beverage service more akin to premium dining and an enhanced sleep experience to ensure travellers really do feel they’ve snuggled into their own bed.
CEO Rob Fyfe says each of the three zones in Air New Zealand’s long haul aircraft of the future will be a step ahead of competitors from a comfort perspective and the experience will be further underpinned by the world’s most innovative food and beverage service and state-of-the-art entertainment system.
“Being able to order a steak, medium rare in Business Premier, a pizza for two in Premium Economy or a late night snack in Economy, whenever you want, will be a very cool experience. New oven technology that will cook food from scratch rather than simply reheating and a new digital in-seat ordering service will make this truly the first time real food has been served at 35,000 feet.
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Air New Zealand Voted Second-Best Long Haul Airline in Condé Nast Awards - September 2009
Air New Zealand has been voted second best long-haul leisure airline, by readers of the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller magazine at an awards ceremony last Wednesday night in London, while New Zealand was voted the second best destination in the world (after Italy). For the sixth year in a row, New Zealand has been ranked in the top five best destinations. Queenstown’s Blanket Bay took first place in the in the ‘Best Leisure Hotel – Australasia’ category in the awards
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Condé Nast Traveller is a glossy lifestyle publication with an emphasis on luxury travel. It has a circulation of 85,000, with 91 per cent of readers holidaying three or more times a year.
Group General Manager International Airline Ed Sims, who accepted the award on behalf of Air New Zealand, noted that ‘walking away with one gold and two silver medals for New Zealand Inc against huge tourist nations like France, Italy and the US is a tremendous achievement for a small country at the other side of the world. For us all at Air New Zealand coming runner-up out of 300 airlines and over 40,000 votes is a tremendous achievement and accolade for all the dedication and hard work of Air New Zealanders'.
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Introducing the Qantas A380 - Sydney 24 July 2007
Qantas today unveiled the state-of-the-art interior and seating to be installed onboard its fleet of 20 Airbus A380 aircraft, which are scheduled for delivery from August 2008.
Qantas Executive General Manager John Borghetti said the airline’s fleet would be configured with 450 seats – 14 in First, 72 in Business, 32 in its new Premium Economy cabin and 332 in Economy. |
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“Qantas has combined intelligent design with functionality to deliver more space and comfort in every cabin”
“The design of our First cabin has evolved over five years to culminate in a
layout of 14 private suites, each featuring a 17 inch LCD wide screen video
monitor, an array of personal stowage options, a unique touch screen control
unit and a seat – that swivels into a comfortable armchair and a fully flat, extra long and very wide bed.
“The look and feel is one of understated luxury created through the use of custom designed fabrics, innovative materials and premium finishes.
“In the Business cabin, we have enhanced our popular, award-winning Skybed sleeper seat, which now offers a longer, fully flat bed with ergonomically enhanced cushioning, a larger in-arm entertainment screen and additional storage options.
A key feature of the Qantas A380’s Business cabin is the private lounge area on the upper deck of the aircraft featuring leather sofas, a self-service bar, large video monitor with laptop connectivity and a feature display cabinet.”
“Our new Premium Economy seats will offer extra width and recline, more legroom and a fully adjustable, in-arm, digital wide screen television monitor"
"For the new economy cabin we consulted ergonomic experts to conduct sleep comfort trials, which involved testing the positions passengers were most likely to adopt on long haul flights.
The innovative design also provides for the inclusion of a foot net to stop sliding during sleep, increased knee and shin room between seats as well as a larger seat back entertainment screen.”
“Customers in every cabin will also be able to remain connected throughout their flight with wireless connectivity, in-seat laptop power, USB and RJ45 ports allowing them to surf the internet or send and receive emails directly from their seat or personal laptop,” Mr. Borghetti said.
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United announce new international United Business® experience - July 2007
The international United Business cabin will feature a new seat that reclines to a 180º, 6-foot, 4-inch lie-flat bed and is designed to provide customers ultimate comfort with more features, space and personalization options during their international travel. Every inch of the innovative, forward- and rear-facing seat configuration is tailored to maximize personal space and privacy. |
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“At United, we're making the world truly flat for our first and business class customers," said Graham Atkinson, United executive vice president and chief customer officer. "Our customers will truly appreciate the 180º, lie-flat seating and world-class amenities being implemented on all international flights. We're committed to delivering an experience that makes our most valued guests feel more relaxed and rewarded."
The new international United Business seat is up to 23.5 inches wide and adjusts to a broad range of positions. The innovative forward- and rear-facing design will provide customers a sense of more space and privacy, as well as better access to the aisles. Extensive line-of-sight testing was conducted to ensure that the cabin design provides customers ample privacy, which is created by the height of the in-flight entertainment console and a side seat-divider screen.
Once the entire modification is completed in late 2009, customers can expect consistent lie-flat seating in United First and United Business across the carrier’s entire international fleet of 97 widebody B767, B747 and B777 aircraft.
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V Australia Launch delayed until 28 Feb 2009 -
Announcement 02Oct08
"The V Australia team and I are very sorry to have to tell you, that due to an ongoing strike at the Boeing Company's Seattle aircraft
factory, we have been forced to delay the launch of V Australia services which were planned to commence from 15 December 2008.
As you may be aware from media reports, Boeing has ceased assembling aircraft at its Seattle factory due to the fact that 27,000 members
of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers have been on strike since 6 September 2008.
We are one of a number of airlines impacted by the strike. V Australia has three Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in advanced production at the
factory. The strike has no bearing on services operated by Virgin Blue, Pacific Blue or Polynesian Blue.
Boeing has advised us that it cannot predict the duration of the strike. It is in these circumstances that we feel we have no choice but to
delay our V Australia launch and have nominated a revised V Australia launch date of 28 February 2009 to protect the interests of our
Guests.
While this is very disappointing news for us all and is a setback outside of our control, we will honour our commitment to you."
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INTRODUCING "V AUSTRALIA" -
VIRGIN BLUE ANNOUNCES THE NAME OF ITS NEW INTERNATIONAL LONGHAUL AIRLINE
- July 2007
Competition on the Trans Pacific route is a step closer with the official announcement in Sydney of the name of Virgin Blue's new long haul carrier and flagship aircraft.
Virgin Blue is also pleased to announce that yesterday it received formal confirmation from Australia's International Air Services Commission (IASC) that it has approval to operate return non-stop services between Australia and the United States commencing late 2008.
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"V Australia" will initially operate flights between the east coast of Australia and the west coast of the United States of America, with the first flight operated by a brand new B777-300ER launch aircraft named "Didgeree Blue".
The livery of "V Australia" was also unveiled today, keeping in touch with its Virgin Blue roots, but revealing a contemporary look which will launch a new era of competition on the Trans Pacific route. The airline will sport a smart silver fuselage with a red tail featuring the stars of the Southern Cross and elements of the Australian flag.
It will be the fourth airline in the Virgin Blue Group of Airlines including multi award winning domestic carrier Virgin Blue, New Zealand based airline Pacific Blue and Polynesian Blue, the joint venture airline between Virgin Blue and the Government of Samoa.
Virgin Blue Airlines Group Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said, "We had an amazing response to help name the airline and V Australia stood out. It is nice and simple, easily recognized, both understated and obvious and has a clear Australian identity".
"This is the first time in decades Australia has a start-up long haul international airline and we look forward to bringing competitive air fares and a new style of service to the Trans Pacific market."
Commenting on the new livery Brett Godfrey continued, "It is important for us to use the Southern Cross not only for its geographic connotations, but also for its place in Australian aviation folklore. Southern Cross was also the name of Charles Kingsford Smith's aircraft as the intrepid aviator who opened the world to Australia with his record breaking long distance flights and we think it appropriate to reflect the very best of a modern confident Australia taking to the skies."
V Australia has also applied for permission from the United States Government to commence services in November 2008 and is continuing its progress with the development of its launch route network, product and fare structure.
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Air New Zealand considering "sleeping pods" in flight - August 2007
Air New Zealand is reportedly considering an alternative economy-class sleeper configuration. “Sleeping pods.”
Air New Zealand strategic development general manager Nathan Agnew said the airline wants to introduce an entirely new type of economy cabin when it takes delivery of its fleet of Boeing 787-9 and 777-300ER long-range jets from 2010.
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Cabin crew already sleep in pods during long distance flights, usually hidden away at the rear plane or in the ceiling space above the passenger cabin. “Given that a lot of our long-haul flying is overnight, it might actually be preferable for our customers simply to have something like that rather than have a seat,” Agnew said. Because eating in a pod might be difficult, passengers may be served a meal at the airport before the flight, allowing them to immediately go to sleep once on the plane. Agnew said airfares would be similar to current economy fares. Agnew stressed that it was still a theoretical concept with no guarantees that Air New Zealand would ultimately provide them in its new planes. Interesting that design for crew seating, which often is found in narrow areas above or below the passenger cabin, is filtering back into passenger seating concepts. |
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Etihad and Virgin Blue form interline partnership - November 2007
Etihad Airways and Virgin Blue announced a comprehensive interline
agreement which will provide travellers with seamless connectivity to 22 Australian cities and from
Brisbane and Sydney to Abu Dhabi and beyond.
The deal, which came into effect on 4 November, offers a range of benefits for travellers
including full through check from point of origin to port of
destination. Guests will not have to collect and re-check baggage
along with the added convenience of complimentary Guest transfer
from Domestic to International airports.
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Virgin Blue Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said, “It is our ongoing commitment to add value for our Guests through interline agreements with like-minded quality airlines.” “The new interline partnership means Virgin Blue Guests who also choose to book international travel with Etihad can travel from anywhere on our network to any of Etihad’s 45 international destinations with ease.” |
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