What’s New in the Flying Business 

This industry is in constant improvement. The times change, necessities are different, and evolution takes part. It’s not only about planes themselves, but everything that takes part in this business, from airports to lounges, to aeroplanes and to security measures. Not only due to technological evolution, but also because of the current world’s state, it is necessary to take different precautions when you find yourself in the necessity of flying, as you want to feel protected and safe. This year has brought so many alterations to airports, and even though many are still closed, next time you travel, be aware of these next trends I’ll be going through, which will make flying so much more comfortable, easier, and even more pleasant.

Private Jet Charter Companies

Even though these companies have existed for quite a while now, they’re still new for some people. Private jets came to make life easier for those who are constantly travelling, and it looks like they’re here to stay. This industry took private jets and made them more accessible to a larger number of people, easing up their trips. This way, for those travelling a lot, it becomes an option to have in mind. Not only more comfortable, but sometimes cheaper than regular plane tickets, with companies offering monthly subscriptions, which in some cases might be beneficial and help save you some money. If you’re interested in finding out more about their cost and average prices, click here.

 

One important reason why people are choosing this service is the safe feeling it offers its passengers. A global pandemic it’s not something you should take lightly, and if there’s a way to avoid taking risks, it’s always better. This said, a private jet will always be safer than a commercial plane, full of people, even if they follow all the safety measures. So, next time you travel, keep this option in mind. 

United teams up with GoHealth Urgent Care and Color to make COVID-19 testing easy to obtain for customers traveling from San Francisco International to Hawaii

                   

                   United Airlines today became the first U.S. airline to launch a COVID-19 pilot testing program for travelers that could make it easier for them to manage quarantine requirements and entry conditions of popular destinations around the world. Starting on October 15, customers traveling on United from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Hawaii will have the option to take a rapid test at the airport or a self-collected, mail-in test ahead of their trip.

The rapid Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 test – administered by GoHealth Urgent Care and their partner Dignity Health – provides results in approximately 15 minutes and will be available to United customers on the same day as their flight departing from SFO. The mail-in test option will be administered by Color and it is recommended that customers initiate testing at least 10 days prior to their trip and provide their sample within 72 hours of their trip.

The airline worked closely with Hawaii officials to ensure that any United customer – both visitors and Hawaiian residents returning home – who tests negative on either test would not be subjected to the state's current 14-day quarantine requirement. United currently offers more flights to Hawaii than any other major network carrier including daily service between San Francisco and Honolulu (HNL), Maui (OGG) and Kona (KOA). The carrier plans to increase service to Hawaii on October 15, including the resumption of service between San Francisco and Lihue (LIH) and additional flights between San Francisco and Maui and Kona.

"Our new COVID testing program is another way we are helping customers meet their destinations' entry requirements, safely and conveniently," said Toby Enqvist, Chief Customer Officer at United. "We'll look to quickly expand customer testing to other destinations and U.S. airports later this year to complement our state-of-the-art cleaning and safety measures that include a mandatory mask policy, antimicrobial and electrostatic spraying and our hospital-grade HEPA air filtration systems."

SEOSAT-Ingenio starts its journey to space

Earlier this week, the Spanish satellite SEOSAT-Ingenio, built by Airbus, was loaded at the Torrejón de Ardóz air base, near Madrid, on board an Antonov 124 cargo plane to fly to the Kourou launch site. SEOSAT-Ingenio shares the flight to Guyana with the French satellite Taranis from CNES.

Once in Kourou, the launch campaign will begin including functional tests, integration on the launcher adapter and encapsulation into the launcher for final inspection. Launch is scheduled for 18 November aboard a Vega launcher. As both SEOSAT-Ingenio and Taranis are destined for similar orbits, at an altitude around 700km, they will ride-share on this launch. A VESPA payload dispenser, produced by Airbus in Madrid for Avio, will enable Vega to accomplish this dual launch.

Lufthansa to carry out coronavirus tests during flights?

Associated Press is reporting that Lufthansa is going to be offering on-the-spot coronavirus COVID-19 tests before boarding before some long-haul flights as it desperately tries to entice flies back on its international routes. 

The German mega-carrier will be working with pharmaceutical industry partners to buy up tests that are able to provide results within 15 minutes for a cost of  €10 euros / £9.15 /  $12 per person.   According to AP,  the airline will deploy the tests on some routes to the U.S. which are to begin in next month.  With the caveat of government approval.

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Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Harare and Mauritius are all added to Emirates schedules.

The Dubai based mega-carrier Emirates has confirmed today that it will be restarting flights to five key destinations next month as it boosts its schedule to 92 places.

The airline will resume flights to Harare, Johannesburg and Cape Town from 1st October, Durban  will rejoin the route network from 4th October.  Mauritius will also be added back into the Emirates growing schedule from 3rd October, meaning the carrier's African network will then extend to 19 cities.

Lufthansa Supervisory Board extends Harry Hohmeister's contract

The supervisory board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG decided in a meeting today to extend the contract with Harry Hohmeister (56) ahead of schedule for three more years until 30 June 2024.

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Dr. Karl-Ludwig Kley, says: “Harry Hohmeister’s vast experience and expertise are more important than ever in these times of great challenges. He has the confidence of the Supervisory Board and we are delighted that he will continue his successful work within the Executive Board.”

Harry Hohmeister has been a member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG since July 2013. He is in charge of the Executive Board department "Commercial Passenger Airlines" and is responsible for the coordination of Network Planning, Revenue Management, Distribution and Sales for all passenger airlines in the Lufthansa Group.

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More countries added to the UK's quarantine list

The UK's Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced another four countries will be placed on the UK's quarantine list from 4am on this Saturday. 

Arrivals from Denmark, Iceland, Slovakia and the Caribbean island of Curacao after 0400 Saturday 26 September wil be required to self isolate for 14 days.   The new rules apply to the whole of the UK after discussions with the devolved administrations.

The UK's government has previously stated that nations with infection rates of  above 20 per 100,000 head of population would face quantiene restrictions 

In the most recent figures, Slovakia's rate was 25, Denmark was at 65, Curacao is on 66, with  Iceland up to 80.   Fines for breaking the self isolation go up from £1000. 

Data shows we need to remove DENMARK, SLOVAKIA, ICELAND, and CURACAO from the Travel Corridor list. If you arrive in the UK from these destinations after 4am this Saturday, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days. [1/3]

— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) September 24, 2020

 

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Ryanair will open a base at Beauvais, Paris this winter

Europe's biggest low-fare-high-fee carrier, Ryanair is to open a new base at Paris Beauvais this coming December, the airline confirmed this week.  Ryanair will open the base on 3rd December 2020, with 2 based aircraft and operate 32 routes from the airport, connecting it to 13 countries across Europe.

Ryanair’s new Paris Beauvais base will deliver:

2 based aircraft (the airline says this is a $200m investment - but offer no calculations to back that up)

2 new routes to Paphos & Manchester (both with twice-weekly services)

Connections to business hubs such as Barcelona, Dublin, Lisbon, Madrid & Milan; holiday destinations including Alicante, Bari, Faro or Thessaloniki; and city break options such as Krakow, Rome & Porto.

32 routes in total

Over 105 weekly flights

Over 2,300 direct and indirect jobs - (Not fact,  just guesswork) 

Ryanair’s Director of Commercial, Jason McGuinness wasted no time in attacking rival carrier Air France “This development will create over 2,300 direct and indirect jobs at a time when other airlines, including Air France retrench and reduce capacity and investment, despite receiving €7bn in discriminatory State Aid.

VistaJet enters new partnership with SkyNRG for sustainable aviation fuel

Photo VistaJet

VistaJet, the business aviation company with a fleet of over 70 silver and red business jets, has released details of its Sustainability in Aviation pledge this week, including announcing the new partnership with  SkyNRG, pioneer and global leader for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The SAF industry has made advancements since its inception, yet the availability of sustainable fuels for jet aeroplanes is still limited due to financial, technical, and regulatory reasons. With air travel centred around hubs and the 20 busiest airports in the world handling nearly one-fifth of all air passenger traffic, this should make it easier for the new energy source to be fully adopted by operators*. However, a decade after their introduction, there are only a few hubs globally where sustainable biojet fuel is available and it still only accounts for less than 0.1% of total aviation fuel consumption.

Qantas cuts Rugby Australia from sponsorship list to cut costs.

The Australian airline Qantas has dropped Rugby Australia from its five key sporting sponsorship deals as it continues to cut costs in the wake of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

Michael Hooper Photo Rugby Australia 

Qantas has been forced to review all its spending,  including that it is vast sporting sponsorship acctivites.  This review examined how its could continue its association with existing partners using in-kind support (for example, commercial flights as well as access to Qantas-owned channels for marketing), given its need to conserve cash while travel restrictions remain in place.

As a result of the review and negotiations with partners, Qantas will continue its association with Cricket Australia and the Football Federation of Australia on an in-kind basis over the next 12 months, with a further review at that time.

HMS Queen Elizabeth has embarked the largest number of warplanes ever onto her deck as she prepares to take her place at the heart of a UK-led NATO Carrier Strike Group.

HMS Queen Elizabeth has embarked the largest number of warplanes ever onto her deck as she prepares to take her place at the heart of a UK-led NATO Carrier Strike Group.

Photo Royal Navy / Crown copyright

Two squadrons of F-35B stealth jets, the RAF’s 617 Squadron (The Dambusters) and the US Marines Corps VMFA-211 (The Wake Island Avengers), have joined the 65,000-tonne carrier as she sails for exercises with allies in the North Sea.

With a total of 14 jets and eight Merlin helicopters, it’s the largest concentration of fighter jets to operate at sea from a Royal Navy carrier since HMS Hermes in 1983, and the largest air group of fifth-generation fighters at sea anywhere in the world. 

New online 'Map Search' feature arrives on United Airlines systems .........view multiple destinations at once!

The U.S. mega carrier, United has introduced a new digital tool feature that lets travellers see a map-view of multiple destinations at once filtered by price, destination type, travel preferences or departure city!

Let's say you live in Chicago, have $250 to spend on a flight and are looking to go somewhere warm for the holidays. Or you're on the east coast and want to head west for a last-minute getaway to visit a national park. Now, instead of doing multiple, time-consuming searches online, United Airlines has launched a quick and easy way to see all your travel options in one place.

KLM prepares for winter schedule - route network in September and October remains stable compared to August

Owing to adjusted travel warnings, prompting Code Orange (essential travel only) designations for the UK, Spain, parts of France and other countries, the planned upscaling of KLM’s European network in September has been put on hold. The quarantine rules in the United Kingdom have had a particularly marked impact on KLM’s network. For the period thereafter, KLM will keep close tabs on the developing situation with regard to travel warnings issued by the authorities in the Netherlands and elsewhere.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, KLM’s winter schedule will be a lot more restricted than it was in the same period last year. The timetable for the European network in November is currently around 55% of capacity in 2019.

KLM was gradually and responsibly expanding its European and intercontinental network after the corona crisis had prompted severe restrictions on destinations and frequencies. KLM’s primary aim is to offer customers the widest range of destinations, after which we will consider increasing the number of frequencies or expanding capacity by deploying larger aircraft.