AirAsia strengthens regional connectivity with new route from Kota Kinabalu to Ho Chi Minh City

                         AirAsia continues to strengthen its regional presence with the launch of a new route from Kota Kinabalu to Ho Chi Minh City starting 3 December 2024.

Ho Chi Minh City marks the airline’s 16th international destination operated by AirAsia Malaysia (AK) from Kota Kinabalu hub.

The introduction of this new route aligns with the increasing number of direct flights between Malaysia and Vietnam, supporting Tourism Malaysia’s goal of attracting 475,000 Vietnamese visitors this year and contributing to the broader objectives of the “Visit Malaysia 2026” campaign, which identifies Vietnam as one of the first-level priority markets.

To commemorate the launch of the route, AirAsia is rolling out special fares for flights between Kota Kinabalu and Ho Chi Minh City starting from RM199 all-in* one way and from VND 1,399,000.00* all-in one-way from Ho Chi Minh City to Kota Kinabalu. The promotional fares are available from today until 22 September 2024 exclusively on the AirAsia MOVE app (formerly airasia Superapp) or airasia.com for the travel period between 3 December 2024 to 29 March 2025.

Ho Chi Minh City, more popularly known as Saigon, is Vietnam’s vibrant heart, blending old-world charm with modern dynamism. Nestled in the south, this bustling metropolis of over nine million residents is a lively mix of trendy shopping centres, iconic eateries, and hip cafes. Beyond its bustling streets, Saigon pulses with culture and creativity, hosting countless festivals, art shows, and live performances making it a must-visit destination for travellers around the world.

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Air France will inaugurate a new non-stop service between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Manila

3 flights a week on Airbus A350-900 as of December 7, 2024

Air France is expanding its Asian network, starting 7th December 7, 2024, the French national carrier will link Manila in the Philippines to its global hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle. Manila is also a KLM destination, with 4 flights a week from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. By coordinating their respective flight schedules, Air France and KLM ensure a combined daily service to Manila.

Air France will operate an Airbus A350-900 on the route, featuring  34 seats in the Business cabin, 24 seats in Premium, and 266 in Economy. The schedule will see three flights a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. The outbound flight, AF208 will leave Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 23:20 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, arriving in Manila the next day at 19:30.  The return flight, AF209 departs at 21:50 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, arriving at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 05:50am. 

Manila, the Pearl of the Orient Seas

The vibrant capital of the Philippines, Manila, offers a skilful blend of tradition and modernity. Sleek new skyscrapers rise above the remains of the country's long colonial past, including Fort Santiago and the baroque San Agustin Church. This cultural melting pot has also produced a unique and renowned culinary tradition. Forming an archipelago of 7,000 islands, the Philippines also offers breathtaking scenery, turquoise lagoons, limestone cliffs, white sand beaches, and emerald rice terraces.

"We are delighted to add three weekly non-stop Air France flights between Manila and Paris-Charles de Gaulle, complementing KLM's four weekly flights from Manila to Amsterdam offering a daily service", says Femke Kroese, General Manager Air France KLM South East Asia & Oceania. "This will allow our customers from Manila to benefit from our strong network in Europe and beyond."

In addition to Manila, Air France will also serve the following Asian destinations this winter: Tokyo Haneda (up to 15 flights a week), Osaka (up to 3 flights a week), Beijing (up to 7 flights a week), Shanghai (up to 7 flights a week), Hong Kong (up to 7 flights a week), Seoul (up to 7 flights a week), Bangkok (up to 13 flights a week), Singapore (up to 10 flights a week), and Ho Chi Minh City (3 flights a week).

The introduction of Manila marks Air France's 5th new route for the winter 2024-2025 season. During this period, the airline will inaugurate new routes to Salvador de Bahia (Brazil, 3 flights a week from October 28, 2024), Kilimanjaro (Tanzania, 3 flights a week from November 18, as an extension from Zanzibar), Malé (Maldives, up to 2 flights a week from December 20) and Kiruna (Sweden, 1 flight a week from December 21).

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‘Swiss all the way’ – SWISS’s new marketing campaign

SWISS is launching a new ‘Swiss all the way’ marketing campaign which highlights the seamless and genuine travel experience that it offers its customers. The campaign, which has been developed in collaboration with the thjnk agency, puts a particular emphasis on SWISS’s Swiss service quality and is centred on a series of emotive visual worlds, including a film illustrating the sheer lightness of the SWISS travel experience.

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is launching a new marketing campaign under the ‘Swiss all the way’ claim. The campaign, which has been developed in collaboration with the reputed thjnk agency, puts the spotlight firmly on Switzerland’s leading airline’s comprehensive product promise of a unique travel experience that begins long before departure and extends well beyond landing. SWISS has also refined its brand identity to put its Swiss service quality USP firmly centrestage.

“With this campaign we are affirming our credentials as a host that offers every traveller its utmost attention and its warmest hospitality down to the finest detail,” explains SWISS Head of Marketing Stefan Vasic. “‘Swiss all the way’ means a seamless, comfortable and genuine travel experience – from the booking on the app to moments of delight on board and all the way through to a warm ‘Uf Wiederluege’ goodbye.”

SWISS has been working for some time now on substantially further enhancing its customer experience both in the air and on the ground. ‘Swiss all the way’ is an expression of these endeavours and a promise to the traveller.

A creative interpretation and an emotive visual world

The new campaign is being brought to life through a warm and cinematic visual language. At its heart is a film that captures the sheer lightness of flying with SWISS: a couple dancing from home via the SWISS Lounge and all the way to their flight to New York, symbolizing the smooth and effortless SWISS travel experience. Five shorter films serve to spotlight various SWISS services.

A series of 26 different motifs emphasize the variety and the quality of the SWISS service product and make the new ‘Swiss all the way’ claim a perceptible customer reality at numerous touchpoints along the travel chain.

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IBS Software transforms airline operations for Fuji Dream Airlines with Cloud Native Partnership

Fuji Dream Airlines Japanese regional carrier and IBS Software, a global leader in SaaS solutions for the travel industry, have collaborated to transform and seamlessly migrate airline operations to a cloud-native platform. This partnership is a significant step in IBS Software's mission to modernise airline operations in APAC and underlines its commitment to cloud nativity and innovation in aviation technology.

With a focus on enhancing operational efficiency and scalability for the airline, IBS Software has championed the migration of Fuji Dream Airlines to the AWS cloud. This migration from the on-premises Tokyo data centre to the AWS environment unlocks a multitude of benefits for Fuji Dream Airlines. It ensures higher availability, reliability, and business continuity through multiple zones of availability in the region with AWS's public cloud infrastructure.

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The move to the cloud also facilitates dynamic hardware and software resource availability required to support flexible business operations, and provides reliable central monitoring of KPIs, visibility, and control over technical disruptions, thus enabling proactive management of issues. Additionally, it offers enhanced performance and responsiveness during mission-critical business operations, giving Fuji Dream Airlines the tools to deliver on-time performance to passengers and reduce operational costs.
IBS Software's Aviation Operations Solutions (AOS) team accomplished the SaaS uplift for Fuji Dream Airlines with minimal disruptions to the operations, wrapping up the entire process within just 48 hours without any outages.
Mr. Satoshi Unno, General Manager, Flight Operation Department, Fuji Dream Airlines, said, "IBS Software's commitment to excellence and expertise has played a pivotal role in ensuring a seamless migration process. We eagerly anticipate harnessing the advantages of cloud nativity to elevate our operations and provide extraordinary experiences for our passengers. It's a pleasure to embark on this journey with a partner who shares our unwavering passion for innovation."

At IBS Software we are actively working to phase out our physical data centres, as we transition our infrastructure towards public cloud. With these steps, not only will we enhance operational efficiency for our customers, but we will have a positive impact on the individual passenger," said, Julian Fish, IBS Software's Senior Vice President & Head of Aviation Operations Solutions. "Through cloud-native delivery and collaborations, IBS Software equips airlines to focus on their customers, while we handle the maze-like complexity of aviation technology ecosystems."

Fuji Dream Airlines Co., Ltd. (FDA) is an airline headquartered in Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture. As a regional airline directly connecting various regions, FDA began operations in July 2009 with two Embraer aircraft. Currently, FDA operates 15 Embraer aircraft on 26 routes nationwide, with 94 regular flights daily, based at Nagoya Airport, Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport, and Matsumoto Airport. Additionally, FDA operates up to 1,400 charter flights annually, ranging from Wakkanai in Hokkaido in the north to Yonaguni Island in Okinawa in the south. One of the FDA's unique features is that each of its 15 aircraft has a different colour.
To learn more about how iFlight is transforming aviation operations management, visit webpage.

Inauguration of the upgrade work at Belgrade airport

On 30 August 2024, the French President, Emmanuel Macron and his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vučić, celebrated the official completion of the work to extend and upgrade Belgrade airport.

The project has furthered the airport’s transformation to become a major air hub in south-east Europe, where passenger numbers have risen 42% since 2018. Financed and designed by VINCI Airports (VINCI Concessions), the work began in 2019 and was conducted in partnership with VINCI Construction Grands Projets in order to increase capacity, improve the quality of service and enhance comfort at the airport. The work involved refurbishing and extending the terminal (40,000 m2), adding 12 boarding gates, installing 11 additional aircraft parking bays, as well as reconfiguring access routes to the city, parking facilities, the promenade and the retail offer. A second 3.5-km runway was also built to renovate the main runway. In addition, a new boiler room, photovoltaic production unit, wastewater treatment plant and solid waste separation centre were built.

Cathay Pacific introduces complimentary Wi-Fi for First and Business class passengers

Cathay Pacific keeps its customers connected with complimentary Wi-Fi in First and Business class

Free Wi-Fi services will also soon be extended to Cathay Diamond members

Customers travelling in First or Business class onboard connected Cathay Pacific aircraft can now enjoy complimentary Wi-Fi service on their flight – the latest enhancement the airline is making to the inflight customer experience.

Cathay Pacific has been providing complimentary Wi-Fi services to First class customers since 2022. Following successful trials on selected flights, the airline has now extended complimentary Wi-Fi to Business class customers on all connected aircraft, and will be further extending it to Cathay Diamond members travelling in all cabins in November this year.

Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said: “At Cathay Pacific, we are committed to investing in and further elevating the experience we provide for our customers. With complimentary Wi-Fi now available to customers travelling in First and Business class, and coming soon to our Cathay Diamond members, they can stay connected in the air whether travelling for business or leisure.’’

Customers using Cathay Pacific’s complimentary Wi-Fi service can enjoy the same experience as paid Wi-Fi, enabling them to check emails, browse the internet, stream audio, use social media and messaging apps, and access cloud storage services and other professional applications. Customers can connect with one device at a time, and can switch between devices at any time during their flight.

Customers in all cabins can enjoy complimentary access to all pages on cathaypacific.com and the Cathay Shop during their flight.

​Over 90% of Cathay Pacific’s fleet is already equipped with Wi-Fi, including all long-haul aircraft. The airline plans to extend connectivity across its entire fleet by mid-2025.

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American welcomes fall travel season with specialty Stand Up To Cancer kits

Summer fun may be ending, but it doesn’t mean the travel memories have to stop. During the next few weeks, customers flying on American Airlines will enjoy a new limited-edition specialty kit highlighting the airline’s longstanding fundraising campaign with Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C).

Customers traveling in premium cabins on Flagship® long-haul international and transcontinental flights will receive the limited-edition SU2C specialty amenity kit featuring new skincare brands and products. This kit marks the second limited-edition specialty kit in a line of rotating amenities American introduced earlier this year.

These specialty kits further celebrate the SU2C fundraising campaign that launched last month. American’s customers and team members have supported the organization and its life-saving cancer research since 2016.

What’s in your kit?

In addition to featuring a QR code that gives customers an opportunity to donate to the SU2C campaign, the specialty kits introduce customers to new designer and skincare brands that have not flown with American before.

American collaborated with sustainable fashion brand Raven + Lily and the SU2C team to create the unique design of these kits. Featuring SU2C’s well-known colors of red, orange, yellow and black, along with the organization’s logo, the kits are a standout item customers will use well beyond their flight.

The limited-edition kits feature skincare brands Macabalm and Pholk Beauty.

Customers in Flagship® Business and Premium Economy will receive Pholk Beauty hand lotion and Macabalm lip balm, while customers in Flagship® First will receive hand lotion and facial mist from Pholk Beauty and lip balm and a towelette from Macabalm.

Inflight skincare routine? We’ve got you covered.

These exclusive products support a growing trend in travelers emphasizing the importance of inflight skincare routines to hydrate and nourish the skin.

The Pholk hand lotion featured in all kits is a vegan, multi-tasking and lightweight lotion that hydrates and smooths the skin with lasting moisture that won’t clog pores.

Customers flying in Flagship® First Class can take their inflight skincare one step further by using the Pholk facial mist, which is deeply hydrating, soothing and rich in Vitamin C.

The Macabalm lip balm featured in all kits can be used to hydrate lips, soften hands and cuticles, eliminate dryness, tame eyebrows, highlight cheekbones and temples, soothe irritations and protect the skin barrier thanks to hero ingredients such as shea butter, rosehip and jojoba.

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Air Samarkand to increase services to Istanbul, starting this Saturday

Air Samarkand is adding a third weekly scheduled return service from Samarkand to the Turkish capital of Istanbul, starting on Saturday, 14th September.

The new weekly Saturday service will regularly use an Airbus A321 aircraft, adding to existing scheduled return services operating every Monday and Thursday from Samarkand International Airport (SKD) to Istanbul International Airport (IST). These are operated with the airline’s Airbus A321neo aircraft on the scheduled 5 hour flight.

Air Samarkand’s Airbus A321 provides 12 Business Class and 182 Economy Class seats.

Zafar Butaev, CEO of Air Samarkand, says: “This third weekly rotation on the Samarkand-Istanbul service will deliver increased flexibility to our customers and help to satisfy the growing demand from business and leisure travellers on this route, with further increases likely very soon.”

The expanded service to Istanbul marks the continued and steady expansion of Air Samarkand’s route network. In late July the carrier began flying to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to support religious pilgrims, increasing the frequency to five per week by September – with two services departing from Samarkand and one each week from the Uzbek cities of Termez, Fergana and Namangan. Air Samarkand also serves Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt and Nha Trang in Vietnam, using Airbus A321neo and A330-300 aircraft.

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Online travel scams are on the rise......Here’s how to stay safe.

Cybercrime and online fraud is not new, and is something many companies from across a wide range of industries have to contend with as a persistent reality of our increasingly digital lives. In fact, according to the Identity Theft Resource Centre, data compromises were up 14% YOY in the first half of 2024 and phishing is the single most common form of cybercrime with an estimated 3.4 billion emails being sent every day.

 

Cybercriminals are targeting consumers every day, attempting to gain access to personal or financial information through a variety of (seemingly) trustworthy and sophisticated methods. This means that vigilance is more important than ever to avoid falling victim to a scam. Thankfully, with a little knowledge on what to look out for, travelers can protect themselves against common tactics.

 

Your data is sensitive. Treat it that way.

When sharing personal data and/or financial information, ensure it’s on a reputable site that is trusted by consumers. Look for trustworthy indicators like a padlock symbol in the browser's address bar (indicating the site has an SSL [Secure Sockets Layer] certificate, search the site on Google for reviews or red flags, and of course, heed any browser warnings that a site is potentially harmful.

 

Keep a skeptical mindset.

Cybercriminals exploit their victim’s trust, so proceeding with caution when asked for personal data can help thwart potential scams. Techniques like social engineering and phishing see fraudsters attempt to gain personal data by pretending to be from a trusted organization or individual. In these cases, do not share any information and instead contact the organization or individual through official channels to be safe. Additionally, consumers should be skeptical of any suspicious emails with links and/or attachments that request the recipient to log in or provide sensitive data.

 

Know the red flags.

Travelers should familiarize themselves with some of the common tactics used by cybercriminals which are relatively easy to spot. These can include: emails, texts or phone calls with urgent language/payment requests, with threats of financial consequences or trip cancellation should the recipient not reply; spelling/grammatical mistakes or a mix of different languages in the same email; a suspicious sender email address – just to name a few.

 

Keep your money safe.

Travelers should check policy details of the property carefully before booking, including the payment and damage deposit policies and additional fees section. If travelers receive urgent payment requests (e.g. money that needs to be transferred to a bank account within 24 hours to prevent the booking from being canceled), or if the property insists on communicating/sending payment on a 3rd party platform, the advice is not to make payment and contact the relevant customer service department for advice. No legitimate transaction (eg. payments and/or reservation changes) will ever require payment with gift cards or credit card details via phone, text message or email.

Marnie Wilking, Chief Security Officer at Booking.com.

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Air Canada's Best New Restaurants 2024 Longlist is unveiled

The 30 nominees for Air Canada's Best New Restaurants 2024 were unveiled today, celebrating new culinary talent across Canada. Since 2002, Air Canada has championed the country's distinct culinary scene through the longest-running Canadian restaurant ranking and its signature program, Air Canada's Best New Restaurants. 

"We're thrilled to shine a light on Canada's emerging culinary talent through Air Canada's annual Best New Restaurants list," said Andy Shibata, Vice President, Brand, Air Canada. "Food is an important part of culture and heritage, and by sharing the very best of Canada's creative culinary scene, we hope to inspire people to seek out great food experiences across our country. In doing so, we are proud to celebrate the best of Canadian talent and support the vitality of Canada's restaurant and hospitality sector."

Air Canada's Best New Restaurants is the only cross-country restaurant ranking to use a single, anonymous reviewer who sets out to dine across Canada. Based on the recommendations of a coast-to-coast panel of food experts, Air Canada sends one undercover writer on a month-long culinary marathon to sample the offerings from notable openings across the country, all of which are now contenders for the coveted Top 10 list.

ICEYE to deliver SAR satellites and data to Greece’s National Satellite Space Project in collaboration with the European Space Agency

SAR satellites and data enable Greece to monitor their areas of interest and improve their natural catastrophe detection and maritime awareness capabilities.

 

       

ICEYE, the global leader in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite operations for Earth Observation, persistent monitoring, and natural catastrophe solutions, has today announced signing the contract for the Greek National Satellite Space Project Axis 1.2 (radar program) for the Greek Space Agency and Greek Ministry of Digital Governance, together with the European Space Agency.

 

Axis 1.2 covers the Greek SAR Space Segment and includes both radar imagery and the development of a Greek Observation System with two ICEYE SAR satellites, and their launches. In addition to sovereign satellites, Greece will also have access to ICEYE’s existing SAR satellite constellation, the largest in the world, and can start monitoring its areas of interest already while building its space capabilities. Since 2018, ICEYE has launched 38 satellites for its own constellation and for the use of its customers internationally.

 

Delivery of the ICEYE SAR imagery to the Government of Greece is expected to commence immediately, providing quick access to monitor the relevant areas of interest. Following that, the satellites are scheduled for a rapid delivery enabled by ICEYE’s fast production capabilities and booked launch schedule for many years to come.

 

ICEYE is establishing a stronger presence in Greece to accelerate the growth of the Greek space sector, and the satellites will be assembled in a new ICEYE facility to be opened in Greece.

 

Malaysia Airlines to launch flights to Charles de Gaulle Airport

              Malaysia Airlines has confirmed the launch of flights to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, marking a key milestone in the airline's European expansion plans.  The airline will commence the route on 22nd March 2025 and will be the carrier's 68th destination.     

                The service will operate four times a week, operating directly from Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 using the Airbus A350-900 aircraft, the route will ramp up to a daily operation from 29th March 2025.

Datuk Captain Izham Ismail, Group Managing Director of Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), said, "Our expansion into Europe marks a significant milestone for Malaysia Airlines. With the arrival of additional widebody aircraft starting this Quarter 4, we are ready to bring this long-awaited city back into our network. While the European market is highly competitive, we see tremendous potential for this route to attract key travellers, not just from Malaysia but also from neighbouring regions.

By launching services to Paris, we reaffirm our position as the flagship airline and strengthen our role as the gateway to Asia and beyond. This route will be served by our state-of-the-art A350-900 aircraft, which already operates on key routes like London and Doha, delivering a world-class travel experience to our passengers."

Delta aircraft involved in taxiway incident in Atlanta

At approximately 10:07 this morning, the wing of a Delta Airbus A350 taxiing out as DL295 from Atlanta to Tokyo-Haneda made contact with the tail of an Endeavor Air CRJ-900, DL5526 to Lafayette, Louisiana, on an adjacent taxiway, resulting in damage to the tail of the regional jet and the wing of the A350. 

There have been no reported injuries at this time and customers were transported back to the terminal. There were 221 customers on DL295 and 56 customers on DL5526. At this time, no additional operational adjustments are expected. Delta worked with each customer from flights DL295 to Tokyo-Haneda and DL5526 to Lafayette, Louisiana, to provide accommodation on alternate aircraft scheduled to depart Tuesday afternoon. The carrier apologized to all the customers for the experience. 

Delta is cooperating with the NTSB and other authorities on this incident, while Delta TechOps teams prepare to safely move both aircraft to maintenance hangars.

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Finnair names Simon Large as Chief Customer Officer and Christine Rovelli as Chief Revenue Officer

Finnair has appointed Simon Large as Chief Customer Officer and Christine Rovelli as Chief Revenue Officer.  The carrier's current Chief Commercial Officer Ole Orvér will leave his position in Finnair Executive Board and work as executive advisor at Finnair until 31 December 2024.

Simon Large will head Finnair’s new Customer Experience, Loyalty and Marketing Unit and be responsible for driving Finnair’s product offering, marketing and brand, global sales, and a part of customer service functions, as well as Finnair’s Aurinkomatkat package tour business.

Christine Rovelli will head a new Network, Fleet and Sustainability unit, comprising fleet, network, revenue management, alliances and airline partnerships functions, and sustainability.

“Finnair has emerged from the double crisis as a strong airline, and a strengthened focus on customers and revenue will serve us well as we move to the next phase in Finnair’s 100-year-old history”, says Turkka Kuusisto, Finnair CEO. “I warmly welcome Simon to his new role in the Finnair family and wish him and Christine the best of success in their new roles. With a laser focus on understanding and responding to customer needs, and on using our revenue generation assets in an optimal way in every situation, we will support enhanced value creation both to our customers and to our shareholders.”

JetBlue reducing transatlantic Gatwick flights to limited seasonal services.

New York's self-proclaimed hometown airline, JetBlue will be reducing its transatlantic services to London Gatwick from year-round operations to a limited seasonal service. 

The carrier that is struggling to get back into profitability since its very expensive takeover of Spirit failed to get government approval is set to junk the daily flights next month.  The service between Boston and Gatwick will cease on 1st October while the New York - Gatwick route will stop on 26th October,

The airline has been removing a number of routes from its schedule this year, with at least 50 facing the axe and another 15 being planned. All of the carrier's transatlantic services are currently being re-evaluated and staff expect two more cities to be dropped before the end of the year. 

Currently, JetBlue says the flights to Gatwick from both Boston and New York will recommence on 13 June 2025. 

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