American Airlines employee insensitive note to deaf couple referring to them as Deaf and Dumb

A deaf couple is upset over a note that an American Airlines employee attached to one of their bags, referring to the pair as “deaf and dumb.”

James Moehle and Angela Huckaby were returning home to Houston from a vacation in Hawaii when one of their bags was misplaced by the airline.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

When it was delivered later, a handwritten note attached to the bag read, “Please Text Deaf And Dumb.” Moehle’s mother, Kaye Moehle, said the note was “outrageous and cruel and unnecessary.”

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

American Airlines was quick to send an apology.

'We apologize to Mr. Moehle and Ms. Huckaby. It was clearly a very poor choice of words. 

'We’re confident there was no ill will, but we’ll be looking into this further and will be following up with our team members at IAH and the contractor that provides our baggage delivery services,' the airline said in a statement to the couple.

But both James and his mother aren't satisfied that the airline has taken their request seriously enough.

Qatar Airways upgrades capacity on Melbounre route

Effective April 1, 2014, Qatar Airways, the Doha-based five-star carrier, will upgrade its capacity on its Melbourne - Doha route, with a Boeing 777-300 aircraft.

Source: Qatar Airways 

The introduction of the new long-range wide-body aircraft will result in a 30% capacity increase on the daily flights to Melbourne, which translates to 76 more seats per day. Qatar Airways also flies daily to Perth in Western Australia.

“Along with our daily flights to both Melbourne and Perth, the increase in overall capacity on our Melbourne route is further testament to our commitment to the Australian market,” said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, His Excellency, Mr. Akbar Al Baker. “We are pleased that we are able to meet the needs of our passengers and build on our current offerings by providing extra capacity along with our five-star service. The short connection times, along with our award-winning on-board service, makes Qatar Airways a favourite with our Australian passengers who are looking for both comfort and convenience on long-haul flights.”

With seven route launches already set to join the current network of 136 destinations in 2014, passengers will have numerous options when connecting through the airline’s hub in Doha, Qatar. Qatar Airways’ network is steadily increasing with new and exciting routes, such as Larnaca and Edinburgh both scheduled to launch soon, bringing the total number of destinations in Europe to 32.

Commencing May 15, Qatar Airways will be offering an all Business Class flight from Doha to London Heathrow. The A319 will accommodate 40 Business Class passengers throughout the aircraft and will be the sixth daily flight from Doha to London. Business travellers will be able to take advantage of the award-winning Premium Lounge in London Heathrow and Premium Terminal at Doha International Airport.

All flights on the Doha – Melbourne route will be operated with a modern Boeing 777-300, featuring a two-class configuration, with up to 42 seats in Business Class and up to 293 seats in Economy Class.  The aircraft offers seatback TV screens providing passengers with the next generation interactive on-board entertainment system and a choice of more than 1,000 audio and video on-demand options.

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 17 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 131 aircraft to 136 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas.

DOHA-MELBOURNE SCHEDULE

DOHA – MELBOURNE (DAILY)
Depart Doha on QR 904 at 0055hrs, arrive in Melbourne at 22:25hrs

MELBOURNE – DOHA (DAILY)
Depart Melbourne on QR 905 at 23:55hrs, arrive in Doha at 06:20hrs

Chinese online travel agents stop selling tickets to Malaysia

China's online ticketing sites have stopped booking on flights going to Malaysia.

This is the first major commercial backlash against Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur announced that there was no hope for passengers of the missing MH370 flight on March 24.

Online travel agencies eLong, LY.com, Qunar and Mango are among those who have imposed the ban. The move will mean cancellation of a large number of flights of Chinese and foreign airline companies because a major part of airline ticketing is done by online sites in the country with even agents using the service.

Read the complete story...

British Airways recommences its daily Gatwick – Malta flights

British Airways, today recommences its scheduled flights from Malta to London Gatwick. British Airways will transport up to 145 passengers daily on its Boeing 737 and Airbus 319/320 aircraft.

Peter Simpson, British Airways’ director Gatwick, said, “We are delighted to re-launch services to Malta, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Mediterranean, in advance of the peak summer holiday season. We believe the convenient timings, together with our range of highly competitive fares, generous hand baggage allowances and great on board service will make the route attractive to tourists, business travellers, as well as those visiting relatives and friends.”

This service will offer excellent connectivity between Malta and London especially for business travellers, and will thus support the growth of the conference sector from UK and beyond.

BA said that the “timings of the flights will be convenient, with morning or late afternoon departure times from London Gatwick, depending on the day of travel. Additionally, British Airways is offering free seat selection as well as airport, online or mobile check-in.”

“For customers travelling lightly, a hand-baggage only ticket in economy class will start from €54 one-way, including all taxes and charges. For customers with luggage, British Airways also offers a generous allowance of 23kg, along with one piece of hand baggage and one handbag or laptop for economy ticket holders. Customers travelling in Club Europe, the airlines business cabin can take two checked bags of 23kg each,” the airline said.

To book flights on British Airways’ route between London Gatwick and Malta, visit www.ba.com.

This post was originally published in www.gozonews.com

Emirates receives two new A380 superjumbos

Emirates Airline said on Sunday that it received two new A380 superjumbos over the weekend to add further to the world's largest fleet.

Emirates’ 46th and 47th A380 aircraft arrived in Dubai on Friday, the same day the airline released its new digital campaign featuring Pelé and Cristiano Ronaldo on board an A380.

The two new A380s – coded EEU and EET – are already in active service, having completed their first flights on Emirates’ Bangkok and Melbourne routes respectively, the Dubai airline said in a statement.

Emirates is the largest operator of A380 aircraft in the world with 44 in its fleet and 96 on order, after its historic announcement to add 50 more at the Dubai Airshow in November.

Last year, Emirates received 13 A380 aircraft which have been deployed to its network of 24 A380 destinations.

Emirates’ current A380 destinations are Amsterdam, Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, Manchester, Mauritius, Melbourne, Moscow, Munich, New York JFK, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney, Toronto, and Brisbane.

This news was originally posted at arabianbusiness.com

Airlines are slashing ticket prices to attract travellers in a lean season

Airlines are offering special and promotional fares to some European and Asian destinations. Low fares for passengers from Muscat to all gateway points in their home countries are also being offerd.

If you want to get 60 to 70 per cent discount for flying to some European destination, then book your ticket now as a large number of airlines have slashed their air fares to woo customers during the lean season.

Leading the race is Istanbul-based Turkish Airlines, which is offering special fares for key European destinations like Munich, Athens, Venice and Madrid where return fares start from as low as 89 Omani Riyal.

"The fare to Munich from Muscat always hovers around OMR300 all around the year, so it is straight 70 per cent cheaper," said a travel agent who sells tickets of Turkish Airlines. The special offer of Turkish Airlines is all inclusive (all taxes, fees and surcharges) and subject to availability (due to limited seat capacity), which makes the deal even sweeter. The catch here is that the outbound travel should be completed by May 31 and the tickets should be purchased by March 23. Not just for European destinations, air ticket prices have been slashed form several Asian countries as well.

"Air fares to several Asian destinations from Muscat are down by 30 to 40 per cent because of the low occupancy rates on most of the flights," said Sri Lankan Airlines manager, Oman, Lakshman Weerasooriya. Air India, the national carrier of India, is also offering promotional fares for passengers originating from Muscat to all gateway points in India.

The airline has also launched special add-on fares on domestic sectors. Passengers can now fly to Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore, and by paying as low as OMR10 extra, for one way and OMR20 extra for return travel to onward domestic destinations like Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Cochin, Goa, Jaipur, Lucknow, Pune, Udaipur, Trivandrum, Vizag, Calicut, Mangalore and Madurai, says Amaresh Choudhary, the country manager for Air India – Muscat. Similarly, passengers travelling to Mumbai on the above special promotional fare can also travel to Bhopal, Jaipur, Nagpur, Rajkot and Indore over Mumbai by paying additional OMR12 for one way and OMR24 for return.

"The traffic is less during this time of the year. Therefore, we are offering special airfares to our much valued customers," he added. However, booking early is the key as there are only few seats available in every flight. "In some flights, there are only four tickets available for these fares. So passengers should book early to avoid disappointment," a travel agent said.

BA Boosts East African Operations

With East African economies set for increased growth in 2014, British Airways is adding more flights and growing capacity to the region.

In Uganda it will increase services between Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and Entebbe International Airport from three to four a week from 31 March 2014.

 It is also maintaining its night time departures to improve connections at Terminal 5 to other international destinations including North America, where there is a choice of British Airways or American Airlines flights nearly every hour. At the same time, it will replace the Boeing 777s on the daily service between London and Nairobi with the larger Boeing 747-400s. This will add over 780 seats a week on the route. Edward Frost, the airline’s newly appointed commercial manager for East and Southern Africa, says the move is a response to continued robust economic growth in the region.

According to the United Nations’ world economic situation and prospects 2014 report, East African growth was 6 percent in 2013 and is expected to increase to 6.4 percent this year. “We adjust schedules and capacity to reflect demand and this is another example of just that. The new schedule and capacity increases provide customers with more choice and better connections,” says Frost.

The airline is backing the capacity and schedule increases with a series of special offers, with some fares discounted by as much as 42 percent and a choice of destinations in the UK, Europe and North America. World Traveller fares from Entebbe to London start from US$299, while seats from Nairobi to New York through Terminal 5 are priced from US$699, the offer selling period will start on 17th to 24th March 2014. Full details of the offers can be sourced from ba.com or travel agents.

Elsewhere in Africa British Airways is increasing capacity to Ghana, deploying a larger four-cabin Boeing 747-400 aircraft to replace one of the Boeing 777s operating its 10 weekly services to Accra. In early March it increased capacity to South Africa when it introduced six A380 services as part of its double-daily service to Johannesburg. In May, it will grow its winter schedule to Cape Town from daily to 10 a week.

Etihad Cargo enhances operations to China

Etihad Cargo, part of United Arab Emirates (UAE) national airline Etihad Airways, will enhance its Chinese cargo services later this month when it increases bellyhold cargo capacity between Abu Dhabi and Chengdu.

From 30 March, cargo capacity to and from Chengdu will grow 40% to 930 tonnes per month, a result of the current five times a week Airbus A330 passenger service between Abu Dhabi and Chengdu moving to a daily operation.

Chengdu is a leading economic, transportation and communications centre in China, where nearly half of the world’s Fortune 500 companies have operations.  Etihad Cargo is the only operator that provides a direct air link between Chengdu and the UAE capital, where cargo can connect seamlessly to destinations across the globe.

Lufthansa's new premium economy seat

Lufthansa, Germany's largest airline, has unveiled its new premium economy class, part of a €3 billion ($4.9billion) investment in seats to catch up with fast-growing rivals from the Middle East.

The airline said the new class would first be available on long-haul flights from November on its Boeing 747-8, flying to destinations such as Washington DC, Los Angeles or Hong Kong.

Lufthansa is following around 40 other airlines that already have a premium economy class such as British Airways, United or Qantas.

The premium economy concept has been around for more than a decade.

Lufthansa Passenger Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Jens Bischof said the airline had had sleepless nights about whether to introduce a premium economy class but was comfortable now the group had upgraded its business class, meaning there was enough of a difference between economy and business to justify the introduction of a premium economy.

He said he believed the product was of a high enough quality that the airline would be able to snatch customers from rivals.

A return flight in premium economy, which give customers more luggage allowance, more space and bigger entertainment screens among other benefits, will cost on average €600 ($979.5) more than a regular economy ticket, but far less the average €2,000 mark-up for a business class seat, Bischof said.

"The biggest question is whether businesses will now book the class for those travelling on business," airline consultant Gerald Wissel from Airbourne said.

Bischof said around 70 per cent of business travellers were travelling in economy these days.

"We believe the upsale potential for economy to premium economy is far bigger than the downsell from a full-class business with a flat seat," he told a packed crowd at the ITB travel fair in Berlin.

Bischof said the airline was investing €3 billion euros in improving its product for customers, not counting the 36 billion euros worth of new aircraft it has ordered.He put the investment in the premium economy at €170 million, compared with €1 billion for the business class refurbishment.

Davy analyst Stephen Furlong said it was important for Lufthansa to invest in its product, even as it cut costs.

"They want to be the first European five-star airline. Like a lot of German companies in other industries, they will never be the lowest on costs, so you'd better have a better product than anyone else," Furlong said, referring to Lufthansa's attempts to get a five-star rating from Skytrax, which reviews and ranks airlines.

Airlines with five-star ratings include Singapore and Cathay, among others.

Lufthansa said premium economy would make up around 10 percent of seat capacity on its long-haul flights, carrying around 1.5 million passengers a year in the class.

It will be fitted on all 106 of its long-haul planes within a year.

Bischof added the group had no plans at present to introduce it on short- or medium-haul, or on other airlines within the Lufthansa group, such as Austrian Airlines.

Qatar Airways to launch third daily Japan service

Qatar Airways announced Thursday the launch of daily flights to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) in June, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.

“The airline has pursued aggressive growth in the Asian market to cater to the demand of our business and leisure passengers,” Akbar al-Baker, Qatar Airways CEO said.

“Haneda is a key gateway into the city of Tokyo that will offer passengers a second option to arrive into making it more convenient,” al-Baker said.

The non-stop flights which will be operated by the Boeing 787 Dreamliner will start on June 18.

Haneda Airport will be Qatar’s Airways third route to Japan, after Osaka and Tokyo launched in March 2005 and April 2010 respectively.

Haneda International Airport is one of the two major airports that serve the Greater Tokyo area.

In 2012, Haneda was the second busiest airport in Asia with more than 66 million passengers.

Etihad Airways announces daily flights to Phuket

Etihad Airways has just announced that it will expand its network in South East Asia with the launch of non-stop daily flights to Phuket from Abu Dhabi, starting from the 26 October 2014.

We are happy to announce our non-stop daily service between #AbuDhabi and #Phuket. We will start flying to the island from the 26th Oct 2014
— Etihad Airways (@EtihadAirways) February 25, 2014

Phuket is the largest island in Thailand and is considered to be one of the world’s most popular holiday destinations, with hundreds of thousands of tourists flocking to the island’s pristine shores every year.
Phuket is the ninth route to be announced by Etihad Airways so far this year and will become the second destination in Thailand to be served by the airline giant.

While the first flight will leave on 26 October 2014, you can still book your flights to Phuket with Etihad Airways from today.