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QATAR AIRWAYS CARGO ANNOUNCES TWO NEW PHARMA EXPRESS ROUTES FROM INDIA TO DOHA Qatar Airways Cargo today announced the launch of two new Pharma Express routes from India to Doha, providing a unique and dedicated service to the pharmaceutical industry. These additional routes to the airline‟s network have been added following the success of the Brussels-Basel-Doha Pharma Express route launched in January 2015. The first new Pharma Express route will commence on 10 November and will operate from Mumbai via Ahmedabad to Doha on Tuesdays and Fridays. The second new Pharma Express route will commence on 11 November and will operate from Hyderabad to Doha on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Both flights will offer connectivity across Qatar Airways‟ extensive global network. “We are delighted to launch two new pharma express routes from India,” said Mr. Ulrich Ogiermann, Qatar Airways Chief Officer Cargo. “To date, we are the only airline offering this dedicated service to the pharmaceutical industry. The Pharma Express flights will cater to the growing pharmaceutical industry in the region. Air cargo standards for handling time and temperature-sensitive commodities such as pharmaceuticals are becoming more stringent, with stricter guidelines on temperature control. Our thorough understanding of the intricacies involved in safeguarding the integrity of these commodities ensures that Qatar Airways Cargo continues to provide meticulous and uncompromised service standards in line with Good Distribution Practice requirements.”
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The QR Pharma service will also be provided on both these express routes. QR Pharma, which is an air freight service for pharmaceutical and healthcare products, offers both active and passive solutions. The active solution provides temperature-controlled containers, which are designed to maintain a constant temperature throughout the entire transportation chain. The passive solution keeps the product within a defined temperature band at all stages of the journey. As an industry leader, Qatar Airways Cargo offers the fastest airline transfer at Doha through its Quick Ramp Transfer (QRT) solution. It is the only carrier in the Middle East to offer refrigerated or „reefer‟ truck services for ramp transfers at its home hub. Sensitive commodities are collected from and delivered directly to the aircraft by specialised temperature-controlled vehicles to ensure that the cool chain process is seamless, thereby eliminating risk to temperature exposure. The Indian pharmaceuticals market is the world‟s third largest in terms of volume and 13th largest in terms of value, according to a report by Equitymaster. The Indian subcontinent is a very important market for air freight. With 27 freighter frequencies per week to India, serving seven destinations as well as belly-hold cargo capacity to over 10 destinations in India, Qatar Airways Cargo‟s presence in India is expanding to meet this growing demand. Qatar Airways Cargo recently announced at a packed cargo press conference in Doha that it is now the third largest international cargo airline in the world, according to the latest IATA international FTK figures. This is phenomenal growth for the rapidly expanding company, which has risen to the number three position from 16th place in just five years, and now boasts a freighter fleet of six Airbus 330s, eight Boeing 777s and one Boeing 747.
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Further announcements made at the press conference included plans to launch two new speciality products: QR Equine and QR Express. Qatar Airwaysâ€&#x; Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker also revealed plans for a new multi-deck cargo facility to be opened by 2018 at Hamad International Airport. When complete the new facility will increase the hubâ€&#x;s overall capacity to 4.4 million tonnes per year with the potential for further expansion to 7 million tonnes in the future
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Two new labour agreements signed between Air France and the unions Air France management welcomes the signature, on Friday 6 November 2015, of two agreements with the Company unions related to gender equality in the workplace and the complementary health insurance scheme. These two agreements are an illustration of the continuing social dialogue within the Company. Gender equality in the workplace Signed by 5 of the 7 Company unions (CFDT, CFE-CGC/UNAC, FOSNPNC, UNSA AĂŠrien and SNPL), this agreement is applicable to all Air France staff (Ground Staff, Cabin Crews and Pilots), for the period from 1st November 2015 to 31 December 2017. The successful outcome of these negotiations allows us to reactivate measures in support of staff who are parents, in accordance with more favourable terms concerning several aspects (paternity leave, flexibility for breastfeeding mothers, partial cover of childcare expenses and temporary access to a closer car park when pregnant).
This agreement also allows us to increase our actions in favour of gender equality in the workplace (analysing differences in pay and potential measures aimed at attaining equal pay, measures in support of staff returning to work after a parental leave, actions geared to achieving parity in terms of representation and access to positions of responsibility, actions aiming to promote a more gender-balanced workforce in certain sectors, internal awareness of equality in the workplace).
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Complementary health insurance scheme (Mutuelle Nationale des Personnels Air France): A second agreement was signed by 4 of the 7 company unions (CFDT, CFE-CGC / UNAC, FO-SNPNC, UNSA Aérien) the same day. It will be applicable to all Air France employees for the period 2016-2017. This illustrates the desire to comply with changes in legislation, reduce the employees‟ share in the financing of the scheme and optimize the services offered. “These two agreements illustrate the ability of Air France management and unions to move forward together in constructive dialogue in the interests of all employees, while preserving the economic balance essential to the sustainability and development of Air France”, declared Frédéric Gagey, Chairman and CEO of Air France.
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Three retailers share DF business at Cairo T2 The Chalhoub Group trading as „Cairo Airport Duty Free‟ has won one of Cairo Airport Terminal 2‟s five-year duty free departures concessions, while Egyptair and Dufry have been awarded departures and arrivals contracts which will all take effect when the expanded facility opens early next year. A soft opening of T2 for testing is expected over the next few months, with the new facility expected to open before March of next year. The cost of expanding and renovating Terminal 2 is estimated at around $436m, with the World Bank loaning Egypt $280m towards the project. The contract winners come as little surprise, following comments earlier this year from Cairo Airport Duty Free (CADF) General Manager Magued Mounir, who told TRBusiness that both Cairo Airport Duty Free and EgyptAir had already expressed keen interest in increasing their presences at the airport.
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Once the terminal is officially open it is expected to handle some of the highest spending passenger traffic at the airport, including various Russian carriers, Sky Team members such as Air France, KLM, Middle East Airlines and Saudi Airlines. It will also serve British Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, Gulf Air, Kuwait Air, Emirates, Oman Air and Etihad. These airlines will transfer from Terminal 1 where the total number of passengers currently served by the terminal is close to 4m. [For more information
click here:http://www.trbusiness.com/regional-news/middleeast/egyptair-eyes-more-space-as-cairo-issues-tenders/77393]. Responding to a series of questions from TRBusiness on the award to Cairo Airport Duty Free, Chalhoub Group‟s General Manager, Travel Retail, John Reynolds (inset, right) said: “Cairo International Airport‟s Terminal 2 is undergoing a major renovation and will have a capacity of 7.5m passengers a year. The project involves the construction of a new departure hall and a new airside pier, with the official opening expected after the first quarter of 2016.
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(3) “Cairo Airport Duty Free will have around 650sq m in Cairo Airport Terminal 2 and is currently working on the layout and designs for the shops. We also operate duty free shops in Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 and will benefit from our experience there in planning the product offering for T2, as most of the airlines currently operating in Terminal 1 will transfer to Terminal 2. “We review our offering on a regular basis to ensure that we match our passenger needs in terms of products, competitive prices, promotions and service levels.”
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A modern new international facility will be very welcome at Cairo Airport, although the airport authority and all of its retailers will be hoping that tourism will not be too badly impacted by the recent adverse publicity relating to the Russian plane crash in the Sinai area. For example, the Russian government has currently suspended all flights to all airports in Egypt and these passengers are well known to be very good spenders/duty free customers. Asked by TRBusiness whether it might not get a little crowded in T2 with three operators in one terminal, Reynolds responded: “Many airports have one duty free operator, some two – as in Cairo Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 at the moment – and relatively few with three operators, which will be the case in Terminal 3.
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Egypt crash to spur demand for strict aviation security: Emirates Emirates Airlines President Tim Clark said on Sunday he expected the crash of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt was a „game changer‟ for aviation that would result in demands for stringent aviation security worldwide. Speaking at the Dubai Airshow, Clark added that he had ordered a security review, but was not suspending any flights as a result of the disaster. "What happened in Sharm El Sheikh last week, and to a lesser extent with the ... (Germanwings) aircraft, are game changers for our industry," he said, referring to the crash of a Germanwings airliner in the French Alps in March. "They have to be addressed at industry level because no doubt the countries -- US, Europe -- I would think will make some fairly stringent, draconian demands on the way aviation works with security." The Airbus A321 crashed 23 minutes after taking off from the resort of Sharm El Sheikh a week ago, killing all 224 passengers. Clark added that taking measures to improve security was a job for „airports and countries.‟ "I think there will be some hard thinking to do if what is alleged to have happened in Sharm El Shaikh is correct."
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Lufthansa sees daily strike loss in double-digits FRANKFURT: Lufthansa's daily losses from the biggest strike in its 60year history are clearly in the double-digit millions of euros, a spokesman said on Monday. "The concrete damage will only be clear in the coming weeks when we know how many passengers claimed refunds, how many were rebooked, and how many passengers we accommodated at hotels," he told reporters at Frankfurt airport. Lufthansa shares fell 2.2 per cent to 13.64 euros by 1055 GMT and were the second-biggest decliners in a flat German blue-chip index. Cabin crew walked out for a third day in Frankfurt, Munich and Duesseldorf in a long-running row over early retirement benefits and pensions, causing the cancellation of 930 flights and affecting 113,000 passengers. "A strike of this proportion is unprecedented in the history of Lufthansa. A strike lasting eight days has never happened before," he said. The spokesman said the German flagship airline's management was consulting over its next steps and would issue a statement at 1700 GMT.
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No Philippine carrier in Star Alliance for now “There is no immediate need to be focusing on recruiting a member from the Philippines,” Star Alliance Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Goh told a media briefing yesterday in New World Makati Hotel. “Clearly, if you just think about the network of Philippine Airlines today, they have overlapping services with some of our members.” He said before the 28-member bloc accepts a new entrant, they ensure that it will not “cannibalize existing ones.” Philippine Airlines has yet to respond to a request for comment.
Star Alliance, which targets “high-value international travellers,” sees an opportunity to expand its network in the country, even if growth prospects lies mainly on low-cost carriers. Our members are constantly looking at ways to expand the network whenever that is possible,” Mr. Goh said. “Of course, Manila isn‟t the center of the earth in a way, that there has to be a very strong proposition for our members to operate in Manila.”
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Star Alliance, which is driven by network coverage, currently has no budget airline as its member as these are usually point-to-point carriers. However, Mr. Goh said they are planning to tie-up with low-cost carriers in India and Brazil under its “connecting partner model.� This is to boost coverage in huge markets where existing members are not present. The group provides frequent flyers with priority check-in, boarding, and baggage handling, as well as airport lounge access and extra baggage allowance, among others. At the same time, member airlines benefit through additional revenue generation and cost reduction. They also work on fuel, fleet coordination, co-location and information technology projects. -- Daphne J. Magturo
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Turkish Airlines to restart Sharm el-Sheikh flights As a result, only 115 of the 247 passengers booked on the plane took the flight Friday, with the rest refusing to leave without their check-in bags, security officials at the Cairo airport told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The investigators said the cockpit voice recorder of Metrojet Flight 9268 shows an explosion and the flight data recorder confirms the explosion is not accidental – there is no sign of mechanical malfunction during the initial part of the flight, France 2 reported. Early in the morning, the Egyptians carried out expanded security checks as dozens of busses, ferrying British and Russian tourists, waited outside the airport, the line stretching up to a kilometer (half mile) as police inspected each vehicle. Before Egypt‟s decision to suspend all flights from the resort on Friday, EasyJet had said it would run nine flights from the Red Sea airport to London and one to Milan, while Monarch would have two scheduled flights and three additional flights. In a statement, Hossam Kamal said Sharm el-Sheikh airport was not able to hold morethan 120 tons of luggage left behind by tourists to be flown separately to the United Kingdom by cargo plane. The Government gave approval for flights to resume after a day of intense negotiations with Egyptian leaders and the airlines. Denmark, Norway and Finland have joined several countries in telling their citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Egypt‟s resort city of Sharm elSheikh. For most of the week, the Russians played along with Egypt‟s obstinate resistance to any suggestion of terrorism and insisted on waiting for the official investigations before making any determinations.
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British, Irish and Russian officials have called on airlines to cancel all flights to the region, as many have postulated militants may have infiltrated the Sharm el-Sheikh airport and slipped explosives on board. If the plane had broken apart due to structural failure, there would have been more noise – and for a longer time, he said. A spokesman for Egypt‟s Aviation Ministry, Mohamed Rahma, dismissed the accounts of inadequate security, saying “Sharm elSheikh is one of the safest airports in the world”, without elaborating. But Muqaddam said Egyptian authorities have not been provided any information or evidence tied to reports suggesting that a bomb took down the flight. A spokesman for Mr Cameron said: “We have to be realistic that this is a complex and hard operation”. The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed it down the plane, without explaining how, saying it was retaliation for Russian air strikes in Syria. Norway‟s Foreign Ministry said Saturday it also urged people already in Sharm el-Sheik not to travel further around the Sinai Peninsula, where Egypt is fighting an Islamic insurgency. The Department of Foreign Affairs is continuing to monitor the situation in Egyptthrough the Embassy in Cairo and is in close contact with European Union colleagues. Air France partner company KLM announced Friday it is only accepting hand luggage on flights from Cairo, but Air France says it is still accepting checked-in luggage. All 224 people onboard a Russian jet en route from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to Russia‟s St. Petersburg were killed in Saturday‟s plane crash.
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Bull said she supported her government‟s decision to temporarily suspend flights fromEgypt but said officials didn‟t supply much information about what to do. “Their security is bad and they are completely overwhelmed”, he added. He stressed the advisory did not cover the whole of Egypt. The ban will continue until improved security arrangements have been put in place at the Red Sea resort‟s airport. The British government and the tourist agency Thompson say a plane carrying British tourists to Sharm el-Sheikh in August came within 1,000 feet (300 meters) of a rocket,according to reports. McLoughlin said hold luggage was “one of the big concerns” about security. Their arrival followed earlier confusion between British and Egyptian authorities over the timing of planned rescue flights.
ادارة العالقات العامة -الشركة القابضة لمصر للطيران