Corporate Travel News

Joon announced (30-Nov-2017) the following new destinations to be operated with 174 seat Airbus A320 and 212 seat A321 aircraft from 25-Mar-2018:

• Paris CDG-Istanbul: Seven times weekly from EUR39;
• Paris CDG-Naples: 14 times weekly from EUR39;
• Paris CDG-Oslo: 18 times weekly from EUR39;
• Paris CDG-Rome: 49 times weekly from EUR39.

The carrier also announced the following new long haul destinations with A340 aircraft from spring 2018:

• Cairo: Seven times weekly from 25-Mar-2018. Fares start from EUR149;
• Cape Town: Three times weekly from 01-Apr-2018. Fares start from EUR279;
• Tehran: Three times weekly from 02-Apr-2018. Fares start from EUR149.

Joon commences operations on 01-Dec-2017 with services from Paris CDG to Barcelona, Berlin, Lisbon and Porto. [more - original PR - English/French]

SmartLynx signed (30-Nov-2017) a long term wet lease contract with easyJet. Under the agreement, SmartLynx will lease six A320 aircraft to easyJet (YL-LCT, YL-LCU, YL-LCS, YL-LCN, ES-SAO and ES-SAQ) from 07-Jan-2018 to 31-Mar-2018. All aircraft will operate from Berlin Tegel Airport. [more - original PR]

Norwegian Group signalled (30-Nov-2017) its intent to expand into Asia following the launch of London Gatwick-Singapore service. Norwegian global head of sales Lars Sande stated: "It's a pleasure to open the door to Singapore's travel industry which will help make our new low cost long haul service a success. With more than 200 aircraft on order, Asia will be a key part of our future growth and Singapore offers a springboard to more competition and affordable fares in the market". As previously reported by CAPA, Norwegian Air UK operates four times weekly London Gatwick-Singapore service with Boeing 787 equipment. [more - original PR]

Travelport concluded a distribution agreement with IAG carriers British Airways (BA) and Iberia to avoid a GBP8 surcharge on GDS bookings (Buying Business Travel, 29-Nov-2017). Under the agreement, Travelport clients who have secured a "private channel agreement" will avoid the surcharge. As previously reported by CAPA, Travelport CEO Gordon Wilson described IAG's new distribution capability as "not fit for purpose", adding: "I don't know of a single agency of any size that has signed up to BA's NDC capability".

Fly Baghdad CEO Ali al-Hamdany said the airline aims to commence Europe and India services in 2018 (Reuters, 29-Nov-2017). The carrier intends to commence Delhi, Frankfurt and Malmö services with leased Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 aircraft. European services will target the Iraqi diaspora. The network expansion would support plans to increase passenger numbers from 300,000 in 2017 to one million in 2018. The carrier intends to expand its fleet to six to eight aircraft by 2020. Mr al-Hamdany commented: "There is a huge population which are cash rich and are not too many places to visit in Iraq. Everyone is talking about travelling". The carrier also aims to achieve profitability in 2018 and list on a stock market in 2020.

Ethiopian Airlines partnered (29-Nov-2017) with global payments provider Paysafe to offer customers the option of paying with the Skrill and NETELLER digital wallets when booking outbound services from Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE through the airline's website. The partnership is enabled by pan African payments network FloCash Limited. The product includes full chargeback protection and customer support in 16 languages, including Arabic. [more - original PR]

Virgin Australia announced (30-Nov-2017) the Plane Pal, Fly Tot, and JetKids Bedbox guest comfort items will be permitted across its entire fleet of aircraft, effective immediately. The devices are only permitted to be used when sitting in a window seat or in the middle seat of the centre block and must be included as part of the 7kg carry on baggage allocation. They are not permitted to be used in exit rows. Any other products passengers wish to use onboard will need to comply with a list of guidelines which can be found on the Virgin Australia website. Tigerair, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Virgin Australia, is undergoing its own assessment of the devices. [more - original PR]

ICAO council president Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, speaking during the ICAO World Aviation Forum, reported global investment needs for airport infrastructure are estimated at USD1.8 trillion over the next 15 years, and noted that air transport development projects "receive barely 5% of official development assistance globally" (Aviation Today, 29-Nov-2017). Mr Aliu voiced concerns that African airport and air navigation infrastructure will struggle to keep up with global requirements without significant investment. ICAO intends to cooperate closely with African states, in line with the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the priorities of ICAO's 'No Country Left Behind' initiative in order to meet its long term aviation growth forecasts.

Avia Solutions Group stated (29-Nov-2017) the Gulf region remains one of the most attractive destinations for aviation specialists, adding: "Dubai remains one of the top players in the industry and still attracts a significant amount of qualified specialists". The company stated: "The Gulf region is still one of the strongest competitors in the aviation industry and specialists from all over the world still choose to work there". [more - original PR]

Athens International Airport, via its official Twitter account, announced (29-Nov-2017) Volotea plans to base one Boeing 717-200 at the airport in summer 2018 (news247.gr/metaforespress.gr, 29-Nov-2017). The base will be Volotea's 12th and first in Greece. Volotea will launch daily Athens-Heraklion service and twice weekly Athens-Verona service in summer 2018, complementing existing planned summer seasonal services to Bari, Genoa, Mykonos, Palermo, Santorini and Venice. Volotea MD Lázaro Ros said another two destinations are planned to be announced from Athens ahead of summer 2018.