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New airline is now a member of oneworld

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Air & Sea Air & Sea; Published: 02 April 2021 02 April 2021

Marking a milestone in its 89-year history, Alaska Airlines this week celebrated its first day as a member of oneworld. Alaska becomes the 14th full member of the global alliance, just eight months after receiving a formal invitation from oneworld in July 2020.

"Joining oneworld is joining a family of the best airlines in the world," said Ben Minicucci, Alaska's CEO. "Being a part of the alliance allows us to provide fantastic global connectivity, a seamless travel experience and more valuable loyalty offerings for our guests. This alliance transforms Alaska into a truly global airline, connecting our strong West Coast network and destinations across North America with the worldwide reach of our oneworld partners."

With safety protocols in place due to the pandemic, Alaska and oneworld hosted a virtual celebration and news conference on March 31st in Seattle, the airline's hometown. Fellow airline members from around the world welcomed Alaska to the alliance with video greetings and provided versions of employees performing the Alaska Safety Dance, briefly renamed the Global Safety Dance.

"With Alaska Airlines now part of oneworld, we are excited to offer to customers even more destinations and flights, strengthened by Alaska's leading network on the U.S. West Coast," said oneworld CEO Rob Gurney, who joined Minicucci in Seattle for the event. "For oneworld top-tier customers, the joining of Alaska will provide even more opportunities for their status to be recognised as we look forward to a recovery in international travel."

For Alaska and its guests, oneworld provides a global network of flights to as many as 1,000 destinations across more than 170 countries and territories*. With its membership in the alliance, Alaska will add seven new airline partners and enhance its six existing partnerships with oneworld members.

"We're delighted to welcome Alaska to the oneworld family. As the industry recovers from COVID, airline alliances are going to be more important than ever. Alaska will be an asset to the alliance, positioning oneworld to deliver even more value to our customers and member airlines," said oneworld Governing Board Chairman and Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce.

Effective today, all Alaska Mileage Plan members can earn miles when they fly any of the other 13 member airlines. Mileage redemption for flights on airlines that Alaska did not have previous partnerships with will occur in the coming months.

Alaska's elite Mileage Plan members automatically receive matching oneworld tier status: MVP Gold 75K = oneworld Emerald; MVP Gold = oneworld Sapphire; and MVP = oneworld Ruby. Depending on tier status, those passengers can enjoy a variety of privileges, including access to more than 650 international first and business class lounges*, fast track through security and priority baggage benefits. Guests with Emerald, Sapphire or Ruby status in any oneworld member airline's frequent flyer program will be able to use priority check-in desks, where available. Also, guests with Emerald or Sapphire status will be offered priority boarding.

"If you've been a frequent flier who has earned status with us, all that loyalty will go even further with benefits in oneworld to make your journey even more enjoyable," said Minicucci.

Flight connectivity becomes easier with Alaska's membership in oneworld, especially on international bookings, which includes a long-standing partnership with American Airlines. American, a oneworld founding member, sponsored Alaska's membership into the alliance.

"Alaska has been an outstanding partner to American for nearly 40 years and we're excited to do even more together in the years to come," said American Airlines President Robert Isom. "By connecting American's strength in long-haul international flying and Alaska's strong presence along the West Coast, we're building a better network for our customers than either airline could build alone."

The 14 full members of oneworld are: Alaska Airlines; American Airlines; British Airways; Cathay Pacific Airways; Finnair; Iberia; Japan Airlines; Malaysia Airlines; Qantas; Qatar Airways; Royal Air Maroc; Royal Jordanian; S7 Airlines and SriLankan Airlines. Fiji Airways is a oneworld connect partner offering select alliance benefits to frequent flyers from any oneworld member airline travelling on their flights.

United Airlines permanently eliminates change fees

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Air & Sea Air & Sea; Published: 31 August 2020 31 August 2020

United Airlines announced yesterday that it is permanently getting rid of change fees on all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S., effective immediately. And starting on January 1, 2021, any United customer can fly standby for free on a flight departing the day of their travel regardless of the type of ticket or class of service, a first among U.S. carriers, while MileagePlus Premier members can confirm a seat on a different flight on the same day with the same departure and arrival cities as their original ticket if a seat in the same ticket fare class is available.

United is also extending its waiver for new tickets issued through December 31, 2020, to permit unlimited changes with no fee. This policy applies to all ticket types issued after March 3, 2020 and is valid for domestic and international travel. With these improvements, no U.S. airline gives their customers more flexibility when booking – and changing – their travel plans than United Airlines.

"Change is inevitable these days – but it's how we respond to it that matters most. When we hear from customers about where we can improve, getting rid of this fee is often the top request," said Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, in a video message to customers. "Following previous tough times, airlines made difficult decisions to survive, sometimes at the expense of customer service. United Airlines won't be following that same playbook as we come out of this crisis. Instead, we're taking a completely different approach – and looking at new ways to serve our customers better."

The new change fee policy applies to all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S. 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and customers will not be limited in the number of times they adjust their flights.

Additionally, United is giving customers more flexibility to change their flights on the day of their travel so they can head home if a meeting ends earlier or enjoy a few more hours on vacation. With the ability to list for same-day standby for free, customers will now have an option to take a different flight with the same origin and destination airports as their original itinerary if space is available at departure. This enhanced option will be available to all customers for travel within the U.S. and to and from international destinations beginning on January 1, 2021. Customers who want to switch flights will be able to add themselves to the standby list through United's award-winning mobile app, on united.com or at the airport no later than 30 minutes prior to departure for domestic flights and one hour before departure on international flights.

The carrier is also improving the travel experience for its MileagePlus members including waiving all redeposit fees on award travel for flights changed or cancelled more than 30 days before departure and allowing all MileagePlus Premier members to confirm a different flight on the day of their travel. As a way to thank MileagePlus Premier members for their loyalty, beginning January 1, 2021, all Premier members will be able to confirm a seat for free on a different flight with the same departure and arrival cities as their original ticket. This expanded option will allow MileagePlus Silver members and above to confirm a new seat in the same ticket fare class if space is available. Earlier this year, United announced that it will extend status for MileagePlus Premier and Global Services members through January 2022. United also reduced thresholds for Premier qualification by 50 percent for each status level, to make reaching an even higher status tier easier.

SAS reopens routes

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Air & Sea Air & Sea; Published: 27 May 2020 27 May 2020

More and more countries are easing their travel restrictions, which enables SAS to resume flights to many destinations from June onwards. This primarily includes domestic flights within and between the Scandinavian countries, but flights to New York, Chicago and Amsterdam from Copenhagen are also set to resume.

In Sweden, SAS is adding four destinations from Arlanda; Malmö, Ängelholm, Kalmar and Skellefteå. SAS is also resuming flights from Stockholm to Helsinki and Turku, in Finland. In Norway, where SAS is already serving all domestic destinations, it will now be possible to fly from Bergen and Stavanger to Copenhagen and from Stavanger to Aberdeen.

From Copenhagen, SAS is resuming international flights to Amsterdam, New York and Chicago.

In addition to the destinations and routes which are now being added to the traffic program, SAS plans to offer more flights and destinations as the recommendations issued by different countries are relaxed and demand for travel in Scandinavia and globally increases.

SAS’ decision to resume flights and scale up existing services in all three countries means that SAS is set to double its capacity in June, from the equivalent of 15 to 30 aircraft in service.

Lufthansa Group significantly expands service with June flight schedule

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Air & Sea Air & Sea; Published: 16 May 2020 16 May 2020

With the June flight schedule, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group are significantly expanding their services compared with the previous weeks operation.

Lufthansa, SWISS and Eurowings are again adding numerous leisure and summer destinations to their flight schedules in June, as well as more long-haul destinations.

With over 106 destinations in Germany and Europe and more than 20 intercontinental destinations, the range of flights on offer for all travellers will be greatly ex- panded by the end of June.The first batch of flights will be available for reservation in the booking systems 14 May.

By the end of June, the Lufthansa Group airlines plan to offer around 1,800 weekly roundtrips to more than 130 destinations worldwide.

"With the June flight schedule, we are making an important contribution to the re- vitalisation of the aviation infrastructure. It is an essential part of the German and European economic power. People want to and can travel again, whether on holiday or for business reasons. That's why we will continue to expand our offer step by step in the coming months and connect Europe with each other and Europe with the world," says Harry Hohmeister, Member of the Executive Board of German Lufthansa AG.

Lufthansa’s additional flights that are resuming in the first half of June, in Germany and Europe, are from Frankfurt: Hanover, Majorca, Sofia, Prague, Billund, Nice, Manchester, Budapest, Dublin, Riga, Krakow, Bucharest and Kiev. From Munich, it is Münster/Osnabrück, Sylt, Rostock, Vienna, Zurich, Brussels and Majorca.

In the first half of June, the flight schedule also includes 19 long-haul destinations, fourteen more than in May. In total, Lufthansa, SWISS and Eurowings will thus be offering more than 70 weekly frequencies overseas until mid-June, almost four times as many as in May. Further resumption of Lufthansa long-haul flights is planned for the second half of June.

Lufthansa's long-haul resumption of flights from Frankfurt in detail (subject to possible travel restrictions): Toronto, Mexico City, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Tel Aviv, Riyadh, Bahrain, Johannesburg, Dubai and Mumbai. The destinations Newark/New York, Chicago, Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Bangkok will continue to be offered.

Lufthansa's long-haul return flights from Munich in detail (subject to possible travel restrictions): Chicago, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv. All destinations can be booked on lufthansa.com.

The flight schedules of the Lufthansa Group airlines are closely coordinated, thus enabling reliable connectivity to European and intercontinental destinations once again.

Austrian Airlines has decided to extend the suspension of regular flight operations for a further week, from 31 May to 7 June. A resumption of service in June is being considered.

SWISS is planning to resume services to various destinations in the Mediterranean region, and other major European centres such as Paris, Brussels and Moscow will also be added to the programme.

In its long-haul operations, SWISS will again offer its passengers new intercontinental direct services in June, in addition to its three weekly services to New York / Newark (USA). The Swiss carrier plans to offer flights from Zurich to New York JFK, Chicago, Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Johannesburg.

Eurowings had already announced last week that it would be expanding its basic program at the airports of Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Hamburg and Stuttgart and gradually adding 15 further destinations within Europe from May onwards. With flights to Spain, Greece, Portugal and Croatia, the focus is on destinations in the Mediterranean region. Furthermore the island of Mallorca will again be offered from several German Eurowings gateways

Brussels Airlines plans to resume its flight operations with a reduced network of- fer as from 15 June

When planning their trip, customers should consider the current entry and quarantine regulations of the respective destinations. Throughout the entire trip, restrictions may be imposed due to stricter hygiene and security regulations, for example due to longer waiting times at airport security checkpoints. The catering services on board will also remain restricted until further notice.

In addition, passengers will continue to be asked to wear a nose-and-mouth cover on board during the entire journey.

How this Nordic airline will make air travel safer?

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Air & Sea Air & Sea; Published: 12 May 2020 12 May 2020

Air travel will gradually start to recover as travel restrictions are lifted. To make flying as safe as possible, Finnair is preparing for gradually growing passenger numbers with several new measures.

"Now that air travel gradually begins to recover and passenger numbers start to grow, we want everyone to be able to fly with confidence," says Piia Karhu, SVP, Customer Experience at Finnair. “With these additional measures, we are supporting the health of our customers and employees at the airport and onboard.”

Finnair has already earlier this spring implemented several changes to protect the health of customers and employees. The service process and in-flight service have been amended, customers are seated as far away from each other onboard as possible, there are plastic shields at service points and aircraft cleaning has been further intensified. Customer service personnel follow a no-touch policy with customers’ travel documents and baggage.

The most visible change to customers now is the requirement wear a mask for the entire duration of the flight. This measure is in effect from May 18 to at least until the end of August.

"Customers will board the flight with their own mask and wear it throughout the flight,” Piia Karhu tells. “Also, Finnair’s customer facing staff at the airport as well as the cabin crew will wear surgical masks. We decided to introduce this measure because the usage of masks is becoming more widespread and they protect passengers from possible droplet infections. When everyone wears a mask, we’re able to protect each other.”

"We recommend that customers acquire a mask that fits them already before their flight, pack as little as possible and check in online or with a mobile app – all of these reduce waiting times and contacts at the airport”, Piia Karhu continues. “I’m confident everyone also understands that they won’t be able to board a flight if there is the slightest suspicion of a Covid-19 infection or if they have respiratory symptoms.”

In addition, Finnair will implement several changes in its processes. We have taken into account the regulations and instructions by authorities as well as general developments in the industry. They will take effect latest on May 18:

– Customers are asked to maintain a minimum social distance of 1 meter at the airport
– All Finnair customer facing staff at the airport will wear a mask
– Onboard, customers are seated apart from each other whenever possible; seating arrangements are reviewed by our staff at the gate before boarding
– Customers will board the aircraft starting from those seated at the rear of the cabin
– In bus transportation, max 50% of the capacity of the bus is used
– Finnair cabin crew will wear surgical masks during the flight
– All customers are required to wear a mask from boarding to leaving the aircraft.
– Customers are asked to bring their own masks that cover both nose and mouth.
– Children under the age of 7 are not required to wear a mask.
– Other exemptions from the mask rule are subject to prior clearance from Finnair Medical desk.
– Aircraft cleaning has further been intensified, with a special focus on high-touch areas
– Sanitising wipes are available for customers onboard.
– An adjusted in-flight service concept will help to decrease contact between customers and cabin crew.
– Customers are asked to travel light to minimise the amount of hand-baggage in the cabin and avoid unnecessary movement in the cabin.
– Disembarkation will happen from front to rear by groups.

Finnair will review these measures on a regular basis and update them as needed. Finavia, the Finnish airport operator, has also introduced new measures at Finnish airports. Customer facing employees at the airports will wear surgical masks, floor stickers mark social distancing rules at airports, customer service points are equipped with plastic shields and hand sanitiser is available in various locations.

According to medical experts, an aircraft is not a particularly risky environment to get an infection due to the highly efficient air conditioning and filters that keep the air very clean.

As you’re planning your travel, it’s a good idea to find out about possible restrictions and guidance at your destination. Many countries require people to wear a mask at airports or public transport, so travellers should make sure they have enough masks for the entire duration of the trip. It’s also important to take care of hand hygiene, so packing your own sanitiser and disinfecting wipes makes good sense.