May 23

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May 23

Air Baltic receives 35 Airbus A220-300

A few days ago, the Latvian airline welcomed its 35th Airbus A220-300 jet, registered as YL-ABI, in Riga. This is the third of eight planned deliveries of Airbus A220-300s for this year. The aircraft is part of the 50 Airbus A220-300s that Air Baltic has ordered. In addition, the carrier holds 30 options and purchase rights for the same aircraft type, the airline announced in a press release. Since May 2020, the airline has operated all of its flights with a single aircraft type - the Airbus A220-300.

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Alpen-Sylt Night Express starts the new season

The Alpen-Sylt Night Express of Bahntouristikexpress GmbH has started the new season. On Friday evening, the train set off from Salzburg and Basel to the north, where it reached Sylt on Saturday as scheduled at lunchtime. To date, the Alpen-Sylt Night Express is the only passenger night train that offers a direct connection from Austria and Switzerland to the North Sea and to Sylt (and back). "With our Alpen-Sylt Night Express, we courageously launched the first German passenger night train in the summer of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, and thus successfully initiated the renaissance of night trains in this country," says Markus Hunkel, Managing Director of BTE. In its third season, which has now started, the Alpen-Sylt Night Express offers five comfort levels to choose from for the first time. The ticket price is based on the desired level of comfort and not on the distance. Price-conscious travelers can book a single bed in a couchette car from just EUR 39 and travel comfortably stretched out to the final stop or their desired destination along the route; A single seat is available from just EUR 29 for the entire journey. If you are travelling with family or friends, you can travel with up to five people including a couchette private compartment from EUR 199. The COMFORT sleeping car compartment for up to three travellers is available from EUR 449, the DELUXE sleeping car compartment with private bathroom, double bed and champagne breakfast costs EUR 949 (including up to four people). The new couchette PLUS compartment ticket is available from EUR 299 for up to four people and offers even more space and bedding.

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Easter Island will reopen to tourists after two years of pandemic

After more than two years of the coronavirus pandemic, tourists will soon be allowed to travel to Easter Island in the Pacific again. The borders of the volcanic island, which is popular with travelers, will reopen to foreign visitors from August 1st. In March 2020, Easter Island, which is called Rapa Nui in the language of the indigenous population, was closed to travelers due to the first corona cases in Chile. For this reason, there were only a few cases of infection on the island in the southeast Pacific. As of August 1st, foreign visitors will be allowed to come to Easter Island again. However, it is not yet known whether entry to the island is subject to conditions such as vaccinations or tests, according to the ORF. No proof is currently required to enter Chile, but proof of vaccination is necessary to be able to move freely around the country. PCR tests are carried out at airports on a random basis. Tourism on a significant scale has only existed since 1967, when the first passenger plane landed on the island. Even today, Easter Island can only be reached by plane with LATAM Airlines from Santiago de Chile or Tahiti. Easter Island is about 160 square kilometers in size and is isolated in the southeast Pacific, 3.500 kilometers from the Chilean mainland. Since 1995, the Rapa Nui National Park on the island has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monumental Moai statues that can be found on the island are particularly popular with tourists, and their purpose is still disputed in research circles. The island has been politically part of Chile since 1888, but geographically it is considered part of Polynesia. Travelers are allowed to

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Onur Dedeköylü becomes the new CCO at Pegasus Airlines

Onur Dedeköylü is the new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Pegasus Airlines. He is responsible for sales, network planning, marketing, revenue management, pricing, customer experience and cargo. Onur Dedeköylü has headed the commercial department of Pegasus Airlines since May 13, 2022. As Senior Vice President Marketing, he has made a key contribution to the airline's digital transformation, brand building and product management of the additional product since 2010. The industrial engineer holds an MBA in Marketing and Finance from Georgia State University in Atlanta. He began his career at Gillette in sales and marketing. After working at the global headquarters of Kimberly Clark's healthcare products division in Atlanta, USA, he continued his career in the United Kingdom, where he worked in market research, product development and brand management at Hasbro's European headquarters in the UK. He then moved to Turkey, where he headed the country company of the Coca-Cola Company. In 2010, Onur Dedeköylü joined Pegasus Airlines as Senior Vice President, as reported by the Swiss travel portal About Travel.

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FRA: Condor flies to Phoenix and Anchorage again

Condor is resuming connections from Frankfurt to Phoenix and Anchorage. Twice a week, on Saturdays and Thursdays, there will now be flights to Arizona's capital. Anchorage is also back on the program three times a week, on Saturdays, Sundays and Thursdays. The flights will be operated with a Boeing 767, with guests able to choose between Economy Class, Premium Economy Class and Business Class. Both destinations were paused due to the pandemic before they are now flown to again several times a week as part of the Condor flight schedule. In addition to Phoenix and Anchorage, Condor will fly to a total of 2022 destinations in the USA and four destinations in Canada in summer 12.

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Air France-KLM sells stake in Apollo Global

Air France-KLM took out billions in state aid to survive the CoV crisis relatively unscathed. This is also to be repaid. For this reason, the airline is selling shares in a maintenance division to the financial investor Apollo Global. A partial sale of a maintenance division to Apollo Global is expected to bring in a total of 500 million euros, as aero.de reports. Specifically, the "exclusive negotiations" with Apollo are about a corresponding capital injection into a technology division in which Air France manages replacement engines. The proceeds will be used to repay bonds with which France had ensured Air France's liquidity during the crisis and at the same time to facilitate the financing of new replacement engines.

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Chamber of Commerce: Viennese hotels are back in the black

According to the Chamber of Commerce, the Viennese hotel industry has returned to profitability. April 2022 would have been extremely strong, and in May 2022, which is still ongoing, accommodation establishments are also recording high numbers of overnight stays. However, room prices have risen, which the Chamber of Commerce blames on the lockdowns and increased energy prices. Currently, occupancy is said to be around 70 percent citywide, which is why the break-even point has been reached despite the unfavorable cost situation. "We have passed the low point," says Dominic Schmid, chairman of the hotel industry group in the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. After more than a million overnight stays were again achieved in Vienna in April, more strong months are now to follow: "In May, things are going excellently with 74 percent occupancy, and the booking situation for the following months is already very good again, we are above the 70 percent that is so important for us," says the hotel industry chairman. The fact that the last entry restrictions have now been lifted has given a further boost: "The guests react very quickly. If they are allowed to travel without restrictions again, then they will come." The fact that prices are also rising in the hotel industry due to the current energy price crisis is a necessary step for Schmid, with positive consequences for employees: "The hoteliers are not only paying more for gas and electricity, they have also recently increased salaries. New contracts are being funded with a salary increase of around 10 percent. And the guests also accept and understand the higher room prices."

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Carsten Spohr: Lufthansa with strong demand in summer 2022

Lufthansa would be "fully booked" for flights to North America in summer 2022, says CEO Carsten Spohr, pointing out that even in First Class, which costs around 22.650 euros, pretty much everything would be sold out. In Washington, the manager also explained, according to the German Press Agency, that they were generally seeing very strong booking numbers for flights to the USA. He believes that in the current summer season, "they are already fully booked anyway, to be honest." A significant increase in demand has been felt since Easter 2022. From that point on, there was a significant turnaround, so that the entire industry went from "too many staff" to "too few staff" in many areas. Spohr is of the opinion that all airlines, including the Lufthansa Group, airports and service providers have to recruit new employees in almost all areas. This is not going to be easy, because jobs in aviation are not particularly in demand at the moment given the history of Corona. Many airlines, including Lufthansa, and airports have also laid off many employees. Often too many, which now seems to be taking its toll.

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Expensive rental cars: ÖAMTC expert gives valuable tips

Many travelers want to explore their vacation destination flexibly by car or plan a round trip by rental car. However, the prices for rental vehicles have continued to rise this year and are higher than ever. "The providers' fleets have been greatly reduced and cars sold over the past few years due to the corona pandemic and the resulting lack of demand, especially in vacation regions. Now demand is rising again - but the providers are lacking vehicles, so prices are rising rapidly," explains Thomas Oppenheim, head of the ÖAMTC travel agency. Since buying a car is generally difficult at the moment due to a chip shortage and long delivery times, the high rental prices will continue, according to experts from the mobility club. Tips from the expert on booking a rental car ÖAMTC travel expert Thomas Oppenheim gives tips for everyone who does not want or cannot do without a rental car on this year's vacation: Check prices before booking your vacation: "Before booking a flight, hotel, etc., you should find out about the prices from the respective providers. Once the flight is booked and the trip is planned, you have to accept the prices and can no longer simply switch to an alternative destination," advises Oppenheim. Booking early is worthwhile: "Last-minute bargains are the exception this year. Even if the rental prices currently seem expensive, it is worth booking now," says the travel expert. Compare prices and providers: The ÖAMTC expert advises: "Compare the prices and rent from reputable providers. In terms of price, large companies often offer an advantage over smaller ones, as they usually have fewer vehicles available." Read the terms and conditions and check the services: Before booking, you should

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UN mission: Federal army sends 100 soldiers to Lebanon

On Friday, Austria's Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) bid farewell to 100 soldiers at the Götzendorf barracks who will be serving in Lebanon as part of a UN mission. At the same time, a minute's silence was held for fallen blue helmets. "Over the past 60 years, more than 100.000 soldiers and civilian helpers have made an indispensable contribution to world peace in over 100 international peace support and humanitarian missions. Austria helps and ensures stability where crises arise or have already broken out. I would like to thank all soldiers and civilian helpers who are actively contributing to world peace in very challenging situations - often at the risk of their lives. They are the ones who carry Austria's reputation as a reliable peacekeeper even to countries affected by disasters, war or devastation," said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner. The 100 soldiers come from all over Austria: 24 come from Lower Austria, 19 from Styria, 14 from Vienna, 13 each from Upper Austria and Tyrol, seven each from Carinthia and Salzburg, two from Burgenland and one soldier from Vorarlberg. In the Austrian contingent, three women are deployed as deputy commanders of the construction pioneer group, as economic sergeants and as bus drivers. The rotation contingent consists of 79 professional soldiers and 21 members of the militia. The soldiers form the "Multi Role Logistic Unit", a transport unit for logistical operations at UNIFIL. This ensures the transport of people and material, repairs vehicles and supplies the UN troops with fuel. The soldiers of the Austrian fire brigade also guarantee fire protection at the headquarters. The Lebanon contingent consists of

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