http://www.themalaymailonline.com/
British Airways launches Concorde Bar in Changi Airport SINGAPORE, Oct 1 — If you’ve heard about British Airways’ Concorde Room — a lounge for its first-class passengers at London’s Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 and New York’s John F Kennedy Airport that comes complete with complimentary treatments from Elemis Spa — you might be interested to know there is a “mini version” of it here at Changi Airport. Called Concorde Bar, it is a first in Asia and was unveiled on Tuesday as part of the airline’s official launch of its new lounge at Changi Airport Terminal 1. The bar has a seating capacity of 41 and is only accessible with a passcode. It is designed by Mike Crump of Honour Branding to be a sleek restful oasis. Digital walls showcase a view of the Singapore skyline that reflects the time of the day outside, while a dedicated attendant is there to see to passengers’ needs. Another highlight is the bar, crafted in darkened oak cabinets with a black marble counter, that serves up a “premium selection” of drinks and food such as the Joseph Perrier Cuvee Royale Brut NV. “The Concorde Bar is about having an exclusive environment for our first-class passengers, and our Concorde Rooms have been very well received so far. As our lounge in Changi is being refurbished at this time, it was also an opportune moment to bring the Concorde Bar to Singapore and reward our customers with the very best we’ve got to offer,” said Robert Williams, British Airways head of Asia Pacific sales. The entrance to the Concorde Bar where first class travellers can key in their passcode on the side of the door to enter. — TODAY picThe main lounge now sports a fresher look with an increased seating capacity of 42 per cent. A smarter layout also provides seating for different needs. For example, there are sofas for those travelling together while there are high tables for those who prefer to work over quick bites. Artworks by Singaporean and British artists, such as Simon Wee and Dr Brendan Neiland, add to the warmth of the space; and British dailies including The Daily Mail are available for your perusal as you help yourself to the bubbly at the Champagne Bar. While there is no Elemis Spa here, there are Elemis products in the washrooms. To celebrate this milestone, the airline is offering its Club World travellers (from Singapore to London) a complimentary one-way upgrade to First Class to experience its Concorde Bar if they book by October 13. TODAY
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/
Middle East airlines drive global August air traffic surge Air passenger traffic of the Middle East carriers jumped 13.7 per cent in August with capacity nearly keeping pace to drive a global traffic surge of 7.1 per cent. The International Air Transport Association, or Iata, said August results continue the trend of strong demand for air travel, despite some softening in global economic growth, particularly in emerging markets. "August international passenger demand rose 7.1 per cent compared to the same month last year, with airlines in all regions recording growth, led by Middle East carriers. Total capacity climbed 5.8 per cent pushing load factor up 1.0 percentage point to 85.2 per cent," Iata said in a statement. "Middle East carriers' August demand jumped 13.7 per cent over the same month in 2014. Major economies in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have experienced slowdowns in non-oil sectors but the growth rates remained robust. Capacity nearly kept pace at13.5 per cent and load factor edged up 0.1 percentage points to 83.7 per cent," Iata said...Tony Tyler, Iata's director-general and CEO, said airlines are committed to meeting growing demand sustainably. "The record high load factor of 83.7 per cent is a great indicator of improved efficiency - a 17 percentage point increase over the industry's performance a decade ago. This is just one indicator of the aviation industry's determination to achieve carbon neutral growth from 2020." On Wednesday, Iata was among the signatories at the Global Sustainable Aviation Summit of an open letter from the industry to governments. The industry called on governments to agree on the implementation of a simple, global offsetting scheme which will enormous infusion of spending possible," said Tyler.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/ stabilise air transport carbon emissions, and to endorse a global CO2 standard for new aircraft. Asia-Pacific airlines' August traffic surged 7.7 per cent compared to the year-ago period. Capacity rose 5.8 per cent and load factor increased 1.5 percentage points to 82.5 per cent. While emerging Asia has experienced notable declines in trade activity this year as well as slower than expected growth in China, neither factor appears to be impacting international air travel on the region's carriers.
European carriers saw traffic increase by 5.7 per cent. Economic recovery in the Eurozone is supporting demand for international travel. Capacity climbed 4.1 per cent and load factor rose1.3 percentage points to 88.3 per cent, highest among the regions. North American airlines 'traffic rose 4.5 per cent year-overyear. Capacity climbed 3.7 per cent and load factor rose 0.6 percentage points to 87.2 per cent. Latin American airlines experienced a 6.7 per cent rise in traffic compared to Augusta year ago. African airlines' traffic rose 3.6 per cent, which was the slowest growth among the regions but the second consecutive month of growth. Domestic travel demand rose 7.1 per cent in August compared to August2014, with double-digit growth occurring in India, China and Russia while both Brazil and Japan saw declines compared to the year-ago period. Domestic capacity was up 6.1 per cent, and load factor improved 0.8 percentage points to 83.8 per cet. "Although the global economic outlook is decidedly mixed, demand for aviation connectivity remains strong. We are seeing the benefits of that connectivity play out at the Rugby World Cup taking place in England. Over 450,000 international fans are expected to attend the six-week pinnacle event of the sport. Aviation is helping to make this
http://www.business-standard.com/
Airlines attract Indian flyers with premium economy Offerings International airlines are luring Indian customers with premium economy seating, which offer more leg room, better meal options and bonus miles for frequent flyers. Singapore Airlines unveiled its premium economy product in Mumbai today and will roll out the service on Singapore-Delhi route from October 25 and on Singapore-Mumbai route from January 2. From October 25, Lufthansa and Air China will also offer premium economy service on the Mumbai-Munich and Mumbai-Beijing routes respectively. Singapore Airlines will introduce premium economy seating on Mumbai route from January 2. Last month, Lufthansa introduced premium economy service on Mumbai-Frankfurt route. Singapore Airlines will have the premium economy seats on its existing 38 Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-300 ER planes and new 20 A350 planes which will enter into service from 2016. On the India routes, Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 aircraft will feature 36 premium economy seats. The A380 has 471 seats including 399 economy seats. While the airline has retained the number of first class and business class seats (12 and 60 respectively) it has reduced the number of economy class seats to 333 and added 36 premium economy seats. Its inaugural offer premium economy return fare on Mumbai-Singapore route is Rs 45,000 which is 60 per cent higher than its economy class fare. Business class fares are nearly four times the economy class fares on the route.
http://www.business-standard.com/ “The premium economy product offering has been specifically tailored to provide economy class passengers an alternative for medium-long haul travel with extra comforts,” said David Lau, general manager (India), Singapore Airlines. The changes in configuration will help Singapore Airlines boost its yield on long haul routes. Singapore Airlines is a network carrier and about half of passengers it flies from India travel onward to Australia, New Zealand, East Asia and the US. The airline faces competition on these routes from Air India and other East Asian carriers and thus its premium economy seat would be a service differentiator and the airline hopes economy class passengers will switch to the premium economy seats. On Indian routes, Air France, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic also offer premium economy seating. Cathay Pacific, however, withdrew the premium economy service on Indian and Gulf routes earlier this year. “The Premium Economy offering will be ideal for leisure travellers with higher budget and for business travellers with constrained budgets,” said Lufthansa’s director (South Asia) Wolfgang Will. Lufthansa already offers premium economy service on its flights to Delhi and Bengaluru. “We are hopeful that more and more corporates include premium economy in their travel policy and with both international and domestic airlines introducing the cabin on their flights we definitely see bright prospects for this cabin. We don’t see a drop in Upper Class passengers (equivalent to a business class) as that segment will continue to travel upper but more and more leisure travellers, students and passengers from small and medium enterprises are opting to buy premium economy on London and US routes,” said a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson.
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