Etihad is trying to seriously wrestle Qantas and Emirates for some international traffic out of Australia. Until 6th August, they are have a deal to extend Gold status in their Etihad Guest” Frequent Flyer program to any Australian who holds Gold (or higher status) with any international airline but Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines. Gold with Etihad gets you: 50 precent more miles on every Etihad flight access to business class lounges run by Etihad, Virgin Australia, Air Berlin, Singapore airlines and other carriers for the Gold card holder and guest 15kg additional baggage allowance priority baggage handling Business Class…
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Air New Zealand’s new 787-9 takes flight
Wishing desperately I was in Seattle this week when Air New Zealand’s first Boeing 787-9 took off from Paine Field airport north of Seattle for a three hour and ten minute flight. It reached an altitude of 11,800 metres (39,000 feet) and an airspeed of 360 knots during its B1 test flight during which the two pilots throughly checked all systems to ensure performance while simultaneously checking full cabin functionality of every aspect of the cabin is tested in-flight. Air New Zealand is the launch customer for the Boeing 787-9 and this aircraft (tail registration ZK-NZE) is the first of…
My “Scoot” to Singapore!
Singapore airline launched Scoot in 2011 as a low cost carrier. I think their intention is to position Scoot between ultra low cost Tiger and regional subsidiary Silk Air. Late last year, Scoot announced an arrangement with Thailand’s Nok air to extend the brand from Thailand so I think Scoot is here to stay for a while. Scoot has gone with a vibrant youth focused vibe. It feels somewhat more “hip” than its parent. For example, they refer to “cuddly” passengers who they encourage to buy two seats. Booking: 10 out of 10 Their booking engine (www.flyscoot.com), available in Cantonese, English,…
My Top Airlines for 2012
This last year, I flew 121 times for a total distance of 331,127km (205,753 mi). This is eight and a quarter times around the earth. I was inside planes for a whopping 19 days of the year. Some airlines made my time with them a delight – and some made it not so fun. I rate each flight I take for every factor from Booking to Check-in to deplaning. and keep a tally of my rating using Flightmemory.com. The scores averaged out give me the ranking of flights, airlines and airports. I have placed my score for each airline…
Qatar 787 -at last!
One hundred passengers joined Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker for the delivery flight of their 787 from Seattle to Doha on November 17. I am in no way envious! Qatar are the Middle Eastern launch customer for the 787 having ordered 60 of the planes – 30 firm with options for 30 more. Qatar is rated a five star airline and has been nominated airline of the year twice by Skytrax. They are the newest entrant to One World. I have yet to fly them. Qatar Airways had refused to take delivery of the first five of their 787s…
Turkish Delight -Great Trip + Best Economy Meal Ever!
Turkish airlines are the 83rd airline I have ever flown. Member of the Star Alliance since 2008, they have been expanding rapidly in the last eight years and now fly to over 200 destinations with 160 aircraft. Turkish Airlines have been awarded Europe’s Best Airline and Southern Europe’s Best Airline twice in 2011 and 2012. Interestingly, this week, Lufthansa expressed an interest in either merging with or forming a closer alliance with Turkish Airlines. Booking 5 out of 10 I booked through online travel agents who were offering the same flights at a much reduced cost compared to the Turkish Airlines own website. I also…
Changement d’Air France
Air France announced this week, a series of changes designed to reposition its products and services at the best possible level in the industry” . These changes are all designed to attract custom back to an airline which has been hit by the global economic downturn and volatile oil prices. Under a three-year plan dubbed “Transform 2015,” Air France- KLM is seeking to reduce operating costs by two billion euros ($US2.59 billion) with the proceeds going to pay down debt. This includes cutting more than 5,000 jobs by 2015. Alongside this, is a new focus on attracting…
LAN gets 787
Boeing keeps churning out the 787s! LAN Airlines, received delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner yesterday. The new plane arrived in Santiago, Chile September 1st, making it the first airline in the Americas to receive the new airplane. LAN is one of my favourite airlines. I have always found them a delight to travel with. LAN has ordered 32 planes that will be phased in over the next 10 years at a cost of almost five billion dollars. The destinations the 787 will fly to during its first year of operation will be Santiago, Buenos Aires, Lima, Los Angeles,…
Virgin Australia A330 Per – Syd Business
In aviation, a year can make a huge difference. A year ago Virgin Australia was Virgin Blue. They did not have A330s and they had no business class. All that changed in May, 2011 when the discount carrier became “ahem” less discount. Since then, my observation is that Virgin have continued to improve their product. Significantly, they managed to increase profits by 118 per cent last year. Not an easy feat in this industry. Today, I review their A330 Business Class product. Booking: 9 out of 10 Virgin Australia has a very simple and straight forward booking system at www.virginaustralia.com.au All…
Malaysian Kids Free Zones -Wacky or Wise
I have flown 842 times. In that time, one child has kept me irritated for an entire flight. As he bounced up and down the seats with his oblivious mother staring at her video screen, an exasperated fellow passenger asked if she had brought anything for her child to do. She looked up and shrugged her shoulders, saying “No” and went back to watching her screen. A few babies have disturbed my takeoffs and landings but not enough for me to want children removed from my aeroplane. Most I have met on board have been well behaved or in awe…
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