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Costa Cruises partners with KLM on new Amsterdam-Genoa flights

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Air & Sea Air & Sea

Published: 26 April 2016 26 April 2016

Costa Cruises is taking full advantage of KLM’s new Genoa-Amsterdam flight, inaugurated last week at the Cristoforo Colombo Airport in Genoa.

In fact, the Italian company will use the daily flights KL 1564 from Genoa to Amsterdam and KL 1563 from Amsterdam to Genoa to bring its Dutch guests, but even Belgian and North European travellers thanks to connections with other airports, on cruises on board the flagship Costa Diadema and the Costa Fascinosa, with weekly departures from Savona on 7-day cruises to the western Mediterranean. The “flight&cruise” package being proposed is what Costa was the first to introduce already in 1968.

“We are delighted to be able to work together with such an excellent partner like the KLM Air France group. We are focusing on these new flights because they represent an excellent opportunity for us, allowing our Dutch guests to get to our ships with a convenient and high-quality service. Costa Cruises also confirms its leading role for the economy of Genoa, where it has been headquartered for 68 years, and of the entire Ligurian region. Thanks to these flights, we will increase our contribution to the growth in tourism in Liguria, where our ships generated a flow of 1.2 million cruise passengers in 2015, 60% of which came from abroad”. – declared Norbert Stiekema, Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing of Costa Cruises.

The Costa Diadema and the Costa Fascinosa will depart from Savona every Saturday throughout 2016. The Costa Diadema will visit destinations like Marseilles, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Civitavecchia/Rome and Cagliari from June to September, and Marseilles, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Civitavecchia/Rome and La Spezia the other months of the year. Instead, the Costa Fascinosa will offer a summer sea-and-fun itinerary that includes visits to Barcelona, Ibiza, where the ship will remain until late at night, Palma de Mallorca, Palermo and Naples; instead, in the spring, fall and winter she will visit Barcelona, Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Palermo and Naples.

Delta to suspend New York-Istanbul service

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Air & Sea Air & Sea

Published: 20 April 2016 20 April 2016

Due to increased security concerns in Turkey, including a travel warning issued by the State Department, and weaker demand for air travel to this market, Delta has taken the decision to suspend its New York-JFK-Istanbul service due to start in May 2016. Customers can go to www.delta.com for more information on re-accommodations.

During the last few months several cruise lines have suspended their calls in Istanbul.

Tiger Airways now available at the Cruise/Fly service at Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Air & Sea Air & Sea

Published: 14 April 2016 14 April 2016

Starting Friday 15th April, Tiger Airways will join the Cruise/Fly service at Marina Bay Cruise Centre.

"Any passenger disembarking at MBCCS and taking a flight the same day with one of our airline partners (Singapore Airlines, Silk Air, Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Jet Airways, Qantas, Tiger Airways), can check-in for the flight at the terminal and enjoy its time in Singapore luggage free before going to Changi airport," says Norma de la Fuente, Head of Marketing and Business development.

Dubai International opens new $1.2 billion concourse

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Air & Sea Air & Sea

Published: 26 February 2016 26 February 2016

Dubai International, the world’s number one hub for international passenger traffic, increased its capacity from 75 million to 90 million this week with the opening of Concourse D, the result of a US$1.2 billion investment to enhance service and boost capacity for the more than 70 international airlines that will now call it home.

“We continue to invest in the development of top-flight infrastructure to augment service levels for our international airlines and their customers while providing the capacity needed to meet growing demand,” said HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports; President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group. “Concourse D has been designed with the customer at its heart. Shorter walking distances, more comfortable seating areas, more choice in lounges and a world-class retail and F&B offering are sure to impress and delight our passengers and our airline partners.”

The first flight to be welcomed at the facility was today’s British Airways’ flight 105. This historic first operation followed months of intensive testing and a successful operational trial involving 2,000 members of the public earlier this month. The trial volunteers played the role of passengers arriving at, departing from and transiting through Concourse D, testing way-finding signage, food and retail outlets and the flow of passenger traffic within the new building. Two airlines will operate from Concourse D on day one (British Airways, Royal Jordanian) with the remainder phasing in operations over the next several weeks.

“Aside from its many customer-centric features, Concourse D continues our legacy of providing timely capacity,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports. “Today we also announce our 2016 forecast which projects 85 million passengers will visit Dubai International this year. With the addition of Concourse D, Dubai International is getting both bigger and better.”

The concourse is linked to the newly renovated Terminal 1 by a dedicated airport train that can transport 300 passengers per trip. Designed around a central atrium, Concourse D offers short walks to open gates, which will allow travellers to board directly from the waiting area, giving them more freedom and time to enjoy the full array of exciting food and beverage outlets.

A number of world renowned brands will be introduced to Dubai and the region for the first time – including a casual dining concept The Kitchen which will offer passengers creations from the renowned celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck. Dubai Airports will also introduce the first Pret a Manger in a Middle Eastern airport. Other firsts for DXB include Butlers Chocolate Café and Camden Food Company which will bring healthy yet tasty dining options using organic and natural products. For those who enjoy a little theatre with their food, YO! Sushi will be a popular addition to the airport, while the CNN News Café will be a favourite for news junkies who want to stay connected to world affairs over coffee. Other new outlets include Lebanese favourite Sharwarmanji and Taqado Mexican Kitchen, both popular local examples of street food, in addition to a second Masale by Taste of India outlet but on a larger scale. Concourse D will also have established traveller favourites such as Giraffe – which will open its second outlet at Dubai International – Starbucks, KFC, Krispy Kreme, McDonald’s, Brioche Doree, The Noodle House, Cavier House & Prunier, Draft House sports bar, and Costa Coffee.

The new concourse will offer plenty of comfortable seating spaces and wellbeing concepts such as Be Relax and the ever-popular ‘SnoozeCubes’ which provide a convenient way to rest between flights. It will also feature a total of nine lounges spread over 6,926m2, including five airline lounges, a new Al Majlis lounge, two Dubai International Hotel lounges and a Marhaba VIP lounge.

JC Decaux will exclusively operate Concourse D's advertising concession, introducing Dubai International's largest provision of digital and other advertising structures to date. In addition, the existing successful partnership with JTI will see the provision of three additional smoking lounges in Concourse D.

Dubai Duty Free has a total of 175 vendor installations in Concourse D spread over an area of 7,000m2, bringing the operation’s total retail space at DXB to 33,000m2. Fashion offer covers a total of 1,000m2 divided into two zones, perfumes and cosmetics cover a total area of 1,500m2 while liquor and food occupies nearly 1,000m2.

On the apron, Concourse D provides 21 contact stands, of which four will be able to accommodate Airbus A380 or Boeing 747 aircraft, and 11 remote stands with a design capacity for 18 million passengers.