Corporate Travel News

South African Airways, via its official Facebook and Twitter accounts, announced (07-Nov-2023) it commenced twice weekly Johannesburg-São Paulo service on 06-Nov-2023. As previously reported by CAPA, the airline commenced twice weekly Cape Town-São Paulo service on 31-Oct-2023.

South Australian Tourism Commission confirmed (08-Nov-2023) Singapore Airlines plans to increase Singapore-Adelaide frequency from daily to 10 times weekly from Oct-2024. The increase is expected to create 105,000 seats between the destinations p/a. Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison stated: "It is essential that we continue to strengthen our relationships with leading airline providers and pursue new opportunities for South Australia to secure new airlines, increase number of flights and reinstate flights that link South Australia with key tourism markets interstate and international business hubs". Eight international airlines currently operate 45 flights each week to Adelaide, with additional capacity already confirmed for the coming months. The international incoming flights are currently bringing just over 11,000 passengers per week into South Australia. [more - original PR]

Lufthansa announced (08-Nov-2023) it will offer unlimited free messaging on its short and medium haul flights from mid Jan-2024. The service will be available to passengers on A320 family aircraft equipped with WiFi. In addition, the carrier will reduce the tariff for all other onboard internet packages by almost 50% from the same date. The prerequisite for using the new free service is logging into FlyNet with a Miles & More service card number, or with an email address registered with the Lufthansa Group Travel ID. A new login or registration is also possible during the flight. [more - original PR]

PLAY announced (07-Nov-2023) it has started selling its new 'Space seat' product. As previously reported by CAPA, the Space seats offer increased legroom, seated by a window or aisle, with a side table placed in the middle seat. The product will reduce the availability of seats in the A321neo from 214 seats to 200 seats, enabling the carrier to reduce costs as fewer crew members will be needed to service passengers. PLAY added "this will also increase side income and it will be easy to increase the supply again when the demand increases again after the winter". [more - original PR]

Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport announced (08-Nov-2023) Singapore Airlines plans to increase Singapore-Sydney frequency from four to five times daily from 27-Oct-2024. The increase, to over 12,000 seats per week to Sydney, makes it the largest port outside Singapore for the carrier. [more - original PR]

Vistara commenced (06-Nov-2023) offering complimentary WiFi connectivity onboard international services operated by Boeing 787-9 and A321neo equipment for all members of its Club Vistara loyalty programme. [more - original PR]

TravelBank announced (07-Nov-2023) it now has Lufthansa Group's NDC booking features live in its platform. TravelBank users will be able to avoid the distribution cost charge (DCC), as well as access NDC features from Lufthansa Group, including being able to search, book, cancel, and modify flights. Within the TravelBank app, travellers can also select and purchase premium seats. Lufthansa Group head of digital retailing Johannes Walter commented: "Partnering with TravelBank allows even more corporate customers and their travellers to access our broad range of NDC exclusive offerings". [more - original PR]

SAS announced (04-Nov-2023) it entered into an investment agreement with the winning bidder consortium in its exit financing solicitation process, consisting of Castlelake, Air France-KLM and Lind Invest, together with the Danish state. As part of the agreed transaction structure, SAS has also entered into a new debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing credit agreement for USD500 million with Castlelake to, among other things, refinance SAS' existing DIP term loan, increase liquidity, and support SAS' path to exit from its voluntary restructuring proceedings. As previously reported by CAPA, the transaction structure agreed on in Oct-2023 included a USD1175 million investment. The consortium has now increased its proposed investment by USD25 million to USD1200 million, which includes USD475 million in new unlisted equity and USD725 million in secured convertible debt, and a USD500 million refinancing by Castlelake of SAS' DIP term loan. The agreed transaction will need to be approved in connection with the confirmation of the Chapter 11 Plan, for which SAS currently aims to receive approval from the US court in early 2024. This is to be followed by obtaining regulatory approvals and the implementation of a Swedish company reorganisation at the SAS AB level, likely to be filed during 2024. CEO Anko Van der Werff commented: "By entering into this investment agreement, SAS is taking the next step in its Chapter 11 process in the US. The investment is a key milestone in our SAS FORWARD plan, and it shows that our new investors believe in SAS and our potential to remain at the forefront of the airline industry for years to come". [more - original PR]

Changi Airport Group reopened (01-Nov-2023) Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2 after 3.5 years of engineering and expansion works. The reopening restores four terminal operations to the airport. The T2 expansion project has added over 21,000sqm to the terminal building and five million passengers p/a to Changi's capacity. T2 is the first terminal in Changi to have automated special assistance lanes for persons with disabilities and young children at both arrival and departure immigration. A new early baggage storage system has also been installed that is fully automated with the capacity to handle up to 2400 bags. The expanded terminal also features a 14m digital display and a new garden. [more - original PR]

Malaysia Airlines announced (31-Oct-2023) plans to provide unlimited complimentary WiFi to passengers travelling in all cabin classes from 01-Nov-2023. The service will initially be available on 20 select widebody aircraft and will subsequently be rolled out on select narrowbody aircraft in phases. The enhancement follows the carrier's complimentary inflight WiFi offering introduced on 01-Jul-2023 for Business Suite and business class passengers, as well as Enrich Platinum members. [more - original PR]