Air France-KLM, Etihad and Airberlin Join Forces

Air France-KLM, Etihad Airways and airberlin have agreed on a new commercial partnership. As of 28 October, the airlines will offer their customers more destinations, thanks to mutual code-share agreements. On the routes between Europe and Abu Dhabi, Etihad customers will be able to fly on the Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi daily flight operated by KLM. Air France customers will be able to travel every day between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Abu Dhabi, on Etihad-operated flights.
 Beyond their gateways, this code-share agreement offers five destinations each to Air France and KLM passengers on the Asian and Australian market, and 10 European destinations to Etihad passengers on Air France and KLM. Air France passengers will be able to connect through Abu Dhabi for flights to Colombo, Dhaka, Katmandu (subject to government approval), Mahe, and Male. KLM passengers will be able to connect through Abu Dhabi for flights to Colombo, Islamabad, Lahore, Melbourne and Sydney.
Etihad passengers will be able to connect through Paris-CDG for flights to Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Madrid, Nice and Toulouse, on an Air France-operated flight, and through Amsterdam-Schiphol to Billund, Cardiff, Newcastle, Oslo, and Stavanger, on a KLM-operated flight. Further to that, Air France and airberlin customers will be able to fly on all the routes operated by the other between France and Germany. Passengers will also be able to connect to some selected destinations via Paris for airberlin, and via Berlin or Düsseldorf for Air France.
 Air France passengers will be able to connect through Berlin-Tegel airport to Krakow, Gdansk, Graz, and from Düsseldorf to Dresden, on services operated by airberlin. Airberlin passengers will be able to transfer through Paris-CDG and Paris-Orly to Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, and Toulouse, on services operated by Air France. Additionally, KLM and airberlin will co-operate on routes between the Netherlands and Germany. KLM will code-share with airberlin on three destinations beyond Berlin, namely Krakow, Gdansk and Kaliningrad. Airberlin will code-share on Berlin-Amsterdam routes as well as on Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester, beyond Amsterdam.

Gigaba Appoints New SAA Board

Members Following the resignation of chairwoman, Cheryl Carolus and six other members last week, South Africa’s Public Enterprises Minister, Malusi Gigaba has appointed a new South African Airways board. The new members are Vuyisile Kona, Andile Mabizela, Andile Khumalo, Bongisizwe Mpondo, Dr Rajesh Naithani, Carol Roskruge, Raisibe Lepule and Nonhlanhla Kubeka. Kona has been appointed as the new chairperson. His spokesperson, Mayihlome Tshwete, said the board members who resigned would have finished their terms in October and were not going to be re-appointed. The new board members had already been selected by Gigaba and approved by cabinet in a meeting held on 19 September.

KQ Fly to Eldoret

Kenya Airways will commence flights to the Kenyan town of Eldoret, on the 17th of October. Located in the western region of the Rift Valley Province, KQ will operate 10 flights into Eldoret every week.
 Eldoret, taken from the Masai word “eldore”, meaning “stony river” due to its proximity to the Sosiani River, is currently the fifth largest town in Kenya. It houses one of Kenya’s seven public universities, Moi University, as well as its own international airport.
The Trans-African Highway forms a 10,269km east-west crossing of the African continent, with this frequented transit road network also passing through Eldoret. Major industries in the area include textiles, wheat, corn and pyrethrum, a natural insecticide made from the dried flower heads of the Chrysanthemum plant genus.

SAA Board Members Quit

Chairwoman Cheryl Carolus and six others have resigned from the board of South African Airways. This comes after a decision by South Africa’s Public Enterprises Minister, Malusi Gigaba to cancel SAA’s AGM this week and his request to parliament for a two-month postponement of the tabling of its annual report. Carolus was quoted as saying that “there has been a breakdown in the relationship with the shareholder. I thought we had agreed on a strategy.
I’m finding it frustrating that this notion continues to exist that there is no strategic vision on the table at SAA." The board members who told Carolus they were leaving with her are Bonang Mohale, David Lewis, Jabulani Ndlovu, Louis Rabbets, Margaret Whitehouse and Teddy Daka.
The first board member to go, Russel Loubser, resigned with immediate effect on Wednesday, citing a lack of support from the Department of Public Enterprises - the airline’s shareholder. Earlier this year, it emerged that SAA was looking for up to R6-billion in extra funding from the South African government. Eight of SAA's 14-member board have resigned so far.

UNIGLOBE Launches New Product

UNIGLOBE Travel International has launched a new global travel management service. Global Solutions is a business travel division of UNIGLOBE, designed for a growing segment of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with multinational travel management demands.
Membership consists of an elite roster of UNIGLOBE experts in business travel management services, strategically located in key markets. Global Solutions uses a consultative approach to tailor programmes to clients’ needs.
Teams work with SME leadership to determine scope of services, monitor travel expenditure, recommend cost-savings, and provide emergency support to employees travelling across multiple countries. Global Solutions members work on a common technology platform to ensure seamless data collection and reporting.

Cathay Pacific Unveils New Business Product

Cathay Pacific Airways has unveiled its new Regional Business Class product. The principal feature of the new product is the seat, which offers an extensive recline, extended leg rest and innovative cradle motion. The seat pitch has been increased from 45 to 47 inches, whilst the in-seat width has also been increased from 20 to 21 inches.
 Each seat is encased in a fixed shell, ensuring that passengers’ living space is not encroached upon by the passenger in front. The ergonomically designed seat articulates into a comfortable ‘lazy-Z’ position, which allows passengers to be cradled in the optimum position for relaxation. Passenger comfort is further enhanced by a six-way movement headrest and an extended leg rest.
Each seat is equipped with a universal power supply outlet. A multi-port connector includes an USB port and an iPhone/iPod/iPad. Other highlights include the introduction of the Studio widescreen on-demand entertainment system, whilst each seat is equipped with a new and enlarged 12.1-inch, touchscreen monitor, which is mounted into the back of the fixed seat, a large meal table, and an extendable cocktail table.
Cathay Pacific Airways’ new product enhancements can be experienced on flights departing from Johannesburg. The Johannesburg - Hong Kong route is one of the first routes within the global network to feature the newly-launched Premium Economy Class cabin, and, as of 2013, passengers can sample the new regional Business Class product within Asia Pacific destinations, by connecting through the Hong Kong hub.

Air France Extends Seasonal CT Flight

Air France will resume flights to Cape Town, with three flights per week between 25 October and 12 May, 2013. This offers passengers an additional six weeks to the previous year’s schedule. Passengers can fly direct from Cape Town to Paris Charles de Gaulle in Air France's 309-seater Boeing 777-200, which features 35 of the airline's new full sleep Business Class seats, which are more than two metres long and 61cm wide, 24 seats in the Premium Economy cabin and 250 seats in Economy. Flights from Cape Town will depart at 19h35, arriving in Paris at 05h55. Services will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Air France-KLM offers passengers 24 weekly flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol.