Corporate Travel News For The Americas

Condor Airlines announced (10-Oct-2017) plans to launch twice weekly Frankfurt-New Orleans service operating with 259 seat Boeing 767-300ER equipment, effective 17-May-2018. Condor currently operates 16 EU-North America services and also plans to launch Phoenix service in 2018. According to OAG, Condor will be the sole operator on the route. [more - original PR]

Brussels Airlines announced (09-Oct-2017) 10 new destinations for winter 2017/18, with the biggest winter season expansion in the carrier's 15 year history. The airline will serve 80 destinations from Brussels Airport, including 21 long haul destinations. New destinations from Brussels include:

• Agadir: Weekly;
• Almeria: Weekly;
• Boa Vista: Twice weekly;
• Enfidha: Weekly;
• Fuerteventura: Weekly;
• Hurghada: Twice weekly;
• Lanzarote: Three times weekly;
• Marsa Alam: Weekly;
• Palma de Mallorca: Weekly;
• Sal: Weekly.

The carrier also extended summer service to Bordeaux and Funchal into winter 2017/18. [more - original PR]

Ivory Coast's Minister of Transport Amadou Kone said the Government is in talks with Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways and South African Airways to launch direct Abidjan-US service by late 2017 or Jan-2018 (Bloomberg, 09-Oct-2017). Discussions with Ethiopian Airlines are more advanced than those with the other carriers. Mr Kone said: "I'm pushing for it to happen, that we have a flight at the end of the year or in January 2018. That's my objective. I'm not saying it will be easy but I'm working on it".

Munich Airport stated (06-Oct-2017) intercontinental routes posted a "somewhat stronger growth rate" than traffic within Europe in Sep-2017. Munich Airport handled 5.5 million passengers in the first nine months of 2017, an increase of 7.5% year-on-year. Traffic to North America saw "double digit" growth, while traffic to Delhi and Mumbai posted a 20% increase and Singapore a 62% increase. Traffic on domestic routes increased 3.6% to about 7.4 million. [more - original PR - English/German]

CAPA - Centre for Aviation, in a report entitled: 'Virgin Atlantic: Air France-KLM relationship may help in improving network coverage', stated (05-Oct-2017) Virgin Atlantic's anticipated entry into the North Atlantic JV based around SkyTeam members Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM will probably not immediately change the shape of its network in a significant way. It will certainly not directly alter its competitive position on its routes from the UK. Virgin Atlantic's new relationship with Air France-KLM should improve Virgin's access to wider markets in the future. Air France-KLM has a much more geographically balanced network and, over time, this should help to widen Virgin's global commercial footprint, particularly if the new Air France-KLM shareholder China Eastern is also brought into its sphere of influence. [more - CAPA Analysis]

Boeing VP Sales for Middle East, Turkey, Russia and Central Asia Marty Bentrott confirmed Emirates will be the launch customer for the 777X (Gulf News/The Seattle Times, 04-OCt-2017). Mr Bentrott said Emirates is "actually ahead of its original mid-2020 schedule to receive its first 777X aircraft". Emirates displaces Lufthansa as launch customer for the aircraft. Emirates ordered 150 777X aircraft in 2013, comprising 35 777-8Xs and 115 777-9Xs.

LATAM Airlines Group launched (06-Oct-2017) three times weekly Melbourne-Santiago service with two class 304 seat Boeing 787-9 aircraft, effective 06-Oct-2017. Premium cabin features priority airport services, full-flat beds, food menu showcasing Latin American cuisine paired with premium Chilean and Argentinean wines. The carrier estimates handling 77,000 passengers p/a on the new route. LATAM CEO Enrique Cueto stated: "LATAM not only demonstrates its commitment to Australia and Asia-Pacific, but also to offering unrivalled connectivity to, from and within Latin America". LATAM also operates daily Santiago-Auckland-Sydney service, handling approximately 190,000 passengers p/a. [more - original PR - English][more - original PR - English][more - original PR - Portuguese]

Air France announced (04-Oct-2017) plans to commence five times weekly Paris CDG-Seattle service with Boeing 777-200 aircraft from 25-Mar-2018. The aircraft is equipped with the latest long haul travel cabins in Business, Premium Economy and Economy. This new destination in the USA is in addition to the flights operated as part of the joint venture with Delta Air Lines. [more - original PR - English/French]

Qantas Business Rewards and American Express launched (03-Oct-2017) their first charge card, offering Australian small and medium businesses (SMEs) the opportunity to earn Qantas Points directly via their everyday business spending. [more - original PR]

Air Cargo Netherlands estimates up to 37 of the 150 full freighter landing slots per week will be cut at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport during the upcoming winter season, due to slot restrictions (Hangar.no/Air Cargo News, 03-Oct-2017). AirBridgeCargo Airlines, Cargolux Airlines International, Emirates SkyCargo, Kalitta Air, Singapore Airlines Cargo and Qatar Airways Cargo all stand to lose Schiphol slots and several cargo operators are reportedly exploring plans to shift operations from Schiphol to Maastricht Airport, Frankfurt Airport, Brussels Airport or Liege Airport.