November 19, 2020

More articles from the category

November 19, 2020

Government pumped seven billion dollars into Saudi Arabian Airlines

Saudi Arabian Airlines received strong financial support from the government even before the corona crisis: last year, the state pumped 3,6 billion US dollars into the airline and in spring 2020 added another 1,8 billion US dollars. But these direct subsidies are not everything: the carrier is said to have received further money from the Saudi Arabian government. Reuters reports that significantly more funds were raised through guarantees and the purchase of new shares. Saudi Arabian Airlines' flight operations were already loss-making long before the corona pandemic. In total, the government is said to have made around seven billion US dollars available to save the company from collapse.

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Plus ultra: seats out of the A340, cargo in

The Spanish charter airline Plus Ultra is converting one of its Airbus A340-600s into a freighter. To do this, the passenger seats will be removed. According to the carrier, the aircraft is the EC-NFQ, whose 376 seats will be removed. Plus Ultra has been in the freight business with passenger aircraft for some time. Due to a lack of demand, it accepted cargo orders. Now the capacity of this aircraft is to be increased through a temporary conversion. In total, it will then be able to transport around 328 cubic meters or up to 68 tons of cargo.

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El Al and Etihad agree intensive cooperation

The ice between the United Arab Emirates and Israel continues to melt, as El Al and Etihad Airways have now signed a letter of intent that is intended to lead to in-depth cooperation. The new friendship between the two airlines is another highlight in the still young diplomatic relations between the two countries. Specifically, Etihad Airways and El Al want to work together in the areas of cargo, maintenance and frequent flyer programs. They will also cooperate in the passenger sector and establish codeshares on numerous routes. In future, passengers of the Gulf carrier will be able to change to El Al flights in Tel Aviv, and vice versa, those of Israel's largest airline will be able to change to Etihad connections in Abu Dhabi. The starting signal for the cooperation has now been given with the mutual signing of the letter of intent; the details will be negotiated in the coming weeks and months and then implemented together.

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DER travel agencies are now charging money for advice

Until now, advice was free in almost all travel agencies and arranging package holidays was almost never associated with costs due to the commissions. However, when booking other services, such as flight tickets, most agencies charge a fee. Now the DER travel agencies are moving ahead and generally making advice subject to a fee. While package holidays are a reliable mainstay, tourism professionals working in a wide variety of agencies have observed a phenomenon in recent years: customers have sought advice from travel agencies, had hotels shown to them and so on. But then they have booked online with low-cost airlines and through booking portals. This is of course not forbidden, because comparing prices and simply finding out about the offer does not mean that you are obliged to buy. The crisis is now leading many travel agencies to consider flat-rate advice fees. If the customer does not buy anything, these should at least cover the personnel costs. Many are still struggling with the decision, but the DER travel agencies are now moving ahead and have announced that two paid advice packages are being introduced. If the travel price is up to 500 euros, DER charges a fee of 15 euros. From 501 euros, 30 euros are due. This is the service fee for the basic package, which according to the statement includes, among other things, individual travel components, price comparisons, entry information, use of the app with a contact function for the consultant and a luggage tag. However, if, for example, seat reservations are to be made, special requests are to be made to hotels, the electronic travel documents are to be handed out on paper or approvals are to be obtained, 500 euros are charged for orders up to 34 euros. From 501 euros, the Plus package costs even more.

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Despite the crisis: IATA demands higher bank guarantees from travel agencies

The travel agencies had actually expected support from their umbrella organization IATA, but now the agencies are apparently being put under further pressure. The aviation association is currently checking whether the amount of the bank guarantees or sureties is still appropriate and whether the travel agency's liquidity is sufficient. Agencies that have a full IATA license are allowed to issue tickets themselves in the name of the respective airline. Billing is done, among other things, via the IATA's so-called BSP system. In order to avoid having "black sheep" as partners, a fully licensed travel agency must have sufficient financial resources, bank guarantees, etc. According to a report by the tourism portal FVW, they are now taking a closer look and checking the partners. This comes at a very inopportune time, because many agencies have come under pressure due to the corona crisis. It is well known that many travel agencies are just fighting for survival due to a lack of new bookings and demand. In Austria, the industry also wrote an open letter to the government, as it is expected that many companies will not survive the crisis. According to media reports, however, the IATA is demanding higher guarantees in many cases, as otherwise they face expulsion from the BSP and, in extreme cases, even the withdrawal of their agency license. This poses major problems for travel agencies, as many credit institutions and insurers are particularly reluctant to grant guarantees and loans to the travel industry. The result is that it is becoming a veritable "mission impossible" for agencies, but also smaller tour operators: The banks are refusing to provide higher guarantees because the

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Austria: Eurowings extends flight breaks until at least February 1, 2021

The Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings is extending the flight breaks in Austria-Germany traffic by several weeks. From Vienna, the destinations affected are Hanover, Cologne/Bonn and Stuttgart. There are no plans to fly to Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony before February 1, 2021. The service to Cologne/Bonn will also be paused until at least this date. Düsseldorf and Hamburg have not been suspended and are still in operation. On those routes served by Austrian Airlines, passengers are now offered AUA tickets on the Eurowings homepage. In Klagenfurt, individual rotations to Cologne/Bonn are planned in December 2020 and January 2021 around Christmas and New Year. Otherwise, this route is to be paused until February 1, 2021. In Salzburg, the Cologne route is suspended until the beginning of February 2021. However, occasional flights with a change in Hamburg are offered, as this route is to be served with low frequency in December 2020 and somewhat more frequently around Christmas/New Year. However, from January 9, 2020, Salzburg-Hamburg will also be paused again until at least February 1, 2021. The Berlin route will also continue to be paused, although there will occasionally be transfer offers via Düsseldorf and, for a short time, Hamburg. Düsseldorf is currently offered continuously from Salzburg, but outside of the Christmas and New Year period, the number will be greatly reduced. After January 10, 2021, as was the case until December 11, 2020, there will only be two weekly rotations in the flight schedule.

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Easyjet converts in-flight sales to an app

Easyjet and caterer Gategroup plan to launch a new solution for onboard sales in winter 2020/21. Passengers will be able to place their orders via a smartphone app. Payment can also be made via this app. The aim of this solution is to further reduce contact in order to keep the risk of infection from Covid-19 even lower. "For the first time in the world, passengers can access a complete onboard retail offering from their personal device in one place, thus keeping physical contact with devices or materials on board to a minimum," Gategroup writes in a media statement. The solution is called "Epax" and will also be used by other airlines in the future. The caterer envisages that sales menus on seat screens available on some airlines will become obsolete. The connection to the crew will be maintained via an onboard WiFi network. Put simply: after ordering via the app, a flight attendant receives a notification on their device and then serves the drinks or snacks. Gategroup highlights that Epax can also be used to promote destination-specific special offers. In addition, important information such as flight duration, weather reports and so on can be displayed. The core purpose, however, is to replace printed menus. This would also save fuel costs as these no longer need to be carried. "We are delighted to be working with Easyjet to work on this innovative, industry-first solution and test an end-to-end mobile retail experience in the cabin. At Gategroup, we are committed to data-driven innovation in our retail offerings that

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Munich closes Terminal 1 again

Munich's Franz Josef Strauss Airport, Germany's second-largest airport, is closing Terminal 1 again. From December 1, 2020, all flights will be handled in Terminal 2, which is otherwise primarily used by Star Alliance members. During the first wave of lockdown, the older of the two buildings was already closed for about ten weeks. This measure is being taken again, as all flights will use Terminal 1 from December 2020, 2. A date for a possible reopening has not yet been set. The Airliners.de portal initially reported on the impending closure of Terminal 1, and a spokesperson confirmed the media report.

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Legal protection: Vienna Court of Justice cancels Uniqa’s “exceptional situation clause”

After the start of the corona pandemic, many airlines delayed refunding unusable tickets. Anyone with legal protection insurance with general contractual legal protection thought they were on the safe side. But some insurers got creative and tried to avoid coverage with flimsy excuses. The Vienna Commercial Court has now put a stop to this. The Association for Consumer Information filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs against one of Austria's largest providers, Uniqa Insurance. The reason for this was that, according to the VKI, there were increasing complaints in spring 2020 that the company had refused to provide cover in the area of ​​legal protection, citing an "exceptional situation clause". Other insurers also tried to avoid it. Uniqa was not an isolated case here, as Aviation Direct has a case in which another insurer refused cover for legal action against Laudamotion GmbH in May 2020. The passenger had a return ticket for mid-April 2020, which was booked in January 2020, but could not be used due to a lack of flight operations. Lauda did not refund the money, but the chat customer service pulled a special "bear" on the consumer: Due to capacity reasons, a maximum of 10.000 tickets could be refunded per month. However, the passenger did not have a super-cheap ticket, but paid around 250 euros per person for his trip. The Lauda customer lost his temper and asked his legal expenses insurance for coverage, as all attempts - including by registered mail with return receipt - did not lead to a refund. The nasty surprise then came from the insurance company: Rejected, because Lauda would not have been able to fly due to official orders. That was

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EM 2021: Wizzair will take off special football flights

Due to a lack of demand, the Hungarian low-cost airline Wizzair currently only serves the Vienna-Tenerife South route and only once a week. However, the company emphasizes that it wants to expand again as soon as possible. The low-cost airline is now offering special flights to Eindhoven and Bucharest for the 2021 European Football Championship. Flights to the two host cities will be offered twice a day on match days when the Austrian national team will be playing in the stadiums. The first offers have already been loaded to Eindhoven and Bucharest. The carrier writes that after the final whistle in Amsterdam or Bucharest, the return journey can be made on the same day. Similar offers will be loaded to the other venues shortly. The European Football Championship, which has been postponed to 2021, will not be held in any particular country, but will be spread across Europe. "Our additional flight offer is aimed at all die-hard fans of the Austrian national football team. With flights from Vienna and our extensive Covid-19 protection measures on board, nothing stands in the way of the red-white-red fans if they want to cheer on their team on site," said Wizzair spokesman András Rado.

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