http://www.themalaymailonline.com/

ChangiBritish Airways launches Concorde Bar in

AirportSINGAPORE, Oct 1 — If you’ve heard about British Airways’ Concorde Room

— a lounge for its first-class passengers at London’s Heathrow Airport Terminal

5 and New York’s John F Kennedy Airport that comes complete with

complimentary treatments from Elemis Spa — you might be interested to know

there is a “mini version” of it here at Changi Airport.

Called Concorde Bar, it is a first in Asia and was unveiled on Tuesday as part of

the airline’s official launch of its new lounge at Changi Airport Terminal 1. The

bar has a seating capacity of 41 and is only accessible with a passcode. It is

designed by Mike Crump of Honour Branding to be a sleek restful oasis. Digital

walls showcase a view of the Singapore skyline that reflects the time of the day

outside, while a dedicated attendant is there to see to passengers’ needs.

Another highlight is the bar, crafted in darkened oak cabinets with a black

marble counter, that serves up a “premium selection” of drinks and food such

as the Joseph Perrier Cuvee Royale Brut NV.

“The Concorde Bar is about having an exclusive environment for our first-class

passengers, and our Concorde Rooms have been very well received so far. As

our lounge in Changi is being refurbished at this time, it was also an opportune

moment to bring the Concorde Bar to Singapore and reward our customers

with the very best we’ve got to offer,” said Robert Williams, British Airways head

of Asia Pacific sales.

The entrance to the Concorde Bar where first class travellers can key in their

passcode on the side of the door to enter. — TODAY picThe main lounge now

sports a fresher look with an increased seating capacity of 42 per cent. A

smarter layout also provides seating for different needs. For example, there are

sofas for those travelling together while there are high tables for those who

prefer to work over quick bites.

Artworks by Singaporean and British artists, such as Simon Wee and Dr

Brendan Neiland, add to the warmth of the space; and British dailies including

The Daily Mail are available for your perusal as you help yourself to the bubbly

at the Champagne Bar. While there is no Elemis Spa here, there are Elemis

products in the washrooms.

To celebrate this milestone, the airline is offering its Club World travellers (from

Singapore to London) a complimentary one-way upgrade to First Class to

experience its Concorde Bar if they book by October 13.

TODAY

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/

Middle East airlines drive global August air traffic

surge Air passenger traffic of the Middle East carriers jumped 13.7 per cent

in August with capacity nearly keeping pace to drive a global traffic

surge of 7.1 per cent.

The International Air Transport Association, or Iata, said August

results continue the trend of strong demand for air travel, despite

some softening in global economic growth, particularly in emerging

markets.

"August international passenger demand rose 7.1 per cent compared

to the same month last year, with airlines in all regions recording

growth, led by Middle East carriers. Total capacity climbed 5.8 per

cent pushing load factor up 1.0 percentage point to 85.2 per cent,"

Iata said in a statement.

"Middle East carriers' August demand jumped 13.7 per cent over the

same month in 2014. Major economies in the Middle East, including

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have experienced slowdowns in non-oil

sectors but the growth rates remained robust. Capacity nearly kept

pace at13.5 per cent and load factor edged up 0.1 percentage points

to 83.7 per cent," Iata said...Tony Tyler, Iata's director-general and

CEO, said airlines are committed to meeting growing demand

sustainably. "The record high load factor of 83.7 per cent is a great

indicator of improved efficiency - a 17 percentage point increase over

the industry's performance a decade ago. This is just one indicator of

the aviation industry's determination to achieve carbon neutral growth

from 2020."

On Wednesday, Iata was among the signatories at the Global

Sustainable Aviation Summit of an open letter from the industry to

governments. The industry called on governments to agree on the

implementation of a simple, global offsetting scheme which will

enormous infusion of spending possible," said Tyler.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/

stabilise air transport carbon emissions, and to endorse a global CO2 standard

for new aircraft. Asia-Pacific airlines' August traffic surged 7.7 per cent

compared to the year-ago period. Capacity rose 5.8 per cent and load factor

increased 1.5 percentage points to 82.5 per cent. While emerging Asia has

experienced notable declines in trade activity this year as well as slower than

expected growth in China, neither factor appears to be impacting international

air travel on the region's carriers.

European carriers saw traffic increase by 5.7 per cent. Economic recovery in

the Eurozone is supporting demand for international travel. Capacity climbed

4.1 per cent and load factor rose1.3 percentage points to 88.3 per cent, highest

among the regions. North American airlines 'traffic rose 4.5 per cent year-over-

year. Capacity climbed 3.7 per cent and load factor rose 0.6 percentage points

to 87.2 per cent. Latin American airlines experienced a 6.7 per cent rise in

traffic compared to Augusta year ago. African airlines' traffic rose 3.6 per cent,

which was the slowest growth among the regions but the second consecutive

month of growth.

Domestic travel demand rose 7.1 per cent in August compared to August2014,

with double-digit growth occurring in India, China and Russia while both Brazil

and Japan saw declines compared to the year-ago period. Domestic capacity

was up 6.1 per cent, and load factor improved 0.8 percentage points to 83.8

per cet.

"Although the global economic outlook is decidedly mixed, demand for aviation

connectivity remains strong. We are seeing the benefits of that connectivity

play out at the Rugby World Cup taking place in England. Over 450,000

international fans are expected to attend the six-week pinnacle event of the

sport. Aviation is helping to make this

http://www.business-standard.com/

Airlines attract Indian flyers with premium economy

OfferingsInternational airlines are luring Indian customers with premium

economy seating, which offer more leg room, better meal options and

bonus miles for frequent flyers.

Singapore Airlines unveiled its premium economy product in Mumbai

today and will roll out the service on Singapore-Delhi route from

October 25 and on Singapore-Mumbai route from January 2.

From October 25, Lufthansa and Air China will also offer premium

economy service on the Mumbai-Munich and Mumbai-Beijing routes

respectively. Singapore Airlines will introduce premium economy

seating on Mumbai route from January 2. Last month, Lufthansa

introduced premium economy service on Mumbai-Frankfurt route.

Singapore Airlines will have the premium economy seats on its

existing 38 Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-300 ER planes and new 20

A350 planes which will enter into service from 2016.

On the India routes, Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 aircraft will

feature 36 premium economy seats. The A380 has 471 seats

including 399 economy seats. While the airline has retained the

number of first class and business class seats (12 and 60

respectively) it has reduced the number of economy class seats to

333 and added 36 premium economy seats. Its inaugural offer

premium economy return fare on Mumbai-Singapore route is Rs

45,000 which is 60 per cent higher than its economy class fare.

Business class fares are nearly four times the economy class fares

on the route.

http://www.business-standard.com/

“The premium economy product offering has been specifically tailored to

provide economy class passengers an alternative for medium-long haul

travel with extra comforts,” said David Lau, general manager (India),

Singapore Airlines.

The changes in configuration will help Singapore Airlines boost its yield

on long haul routes. Singapore Airlines is a network carrier and about half

of passengers it flies from India travel onward to Australia, New Zealand,

East Asia and the US. The airline faces competition on these routes from

Air India and other East Asian carriers and thus its premium economy seat

would be a service differentiator and the airline hopes economy class

passengers will switch to the premium economy seats.

On Indian routes, Air France, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic also offer

premium economy seating. Cathay Pacific, however, withdrew the

premium economy service on Indian and Gulf routes earlier this year.

“The Premium Economy offering will be ideal for leisure travellers with

higher budget and for business travellers with constrained budgets,” said

Lufthansa’s director (South Asia) Wolfgang Will. Lufthansa already offers

premium economy service on its flights to Delhi and Bengaluru.

“We are hopeful that more and more corporates include premium

economy in their travel policy and with both international and domestic

airlines introducing the cabin on their flights we definitely see bright

prospects for this cabin. We don’t see a drop in Upper Class passengers

(equivalent to a business class) as that segment will continue to travel

upper but more and more leisure travellers, students and passengers from

small and medium enterprises are opting to buy premium economy on

London and US routes,” said a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson.

الشركة القابضة -ادارة العالقات العامة

لمصر للطيران