Economy Class & Beyond

Airbus A350XWB to be delayed further

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In what should surprise no-one, the new Airbus A350XWB is going to be delayed further. A three month delay has been announced, with the predicted entry into service now pushed into the second half of 2014. The A350 was already suffering a year of delays as it goes from concept, to a real aircraft. The delay has been caused by a production problem involving drilling … [Read more...]

American Airlines to withdraw lounge access to Oneworld Elites on US Domestic/North America itineraries?

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UPDATE: It's confirmed as a mistake on the oneworld site - see Update from AA: Oneworld Lounge Access has NOT Changed for Emerald/Sapphire, Mistake on Oneworld site.   It seems American Airlines forgot to read the bit about alliances being their for customers as well themselves, with AA  making a small change that will have visiting Oneworld Elites (Sapphires … [Read more...]

Kulula launches their 737-800 service… the posh way.

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Kulula of South Africa has recently taken delivery of it's first Boeing 737-800 with the flash Boeing Sky Interior. Now that's not much to write about normally, except Kulula does has a sense of humour - I think we all remember Kulala's Flying 101: Image -  Hansueli Krapf via Wikipedia … [Read more...]

BAA looses appeal in Stansted Airport sale

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Stansted Airport. For most - it's the low cost airline hub where Ryanair, EasyJet and the charter carriers reign supreme.  For BAA it is their other holdout airport where they reigned supreme. In 2009, the Competition Commission ruled that BAA had too dominant position over aviation in the UK, and was told to sell Gatwick, Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh … [Read more...]

Qantas to throw in the London/Frankfurt towel and tie up with Emirates?

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Never state the impossible, as that is what could well be happening according to the Australian Financial Review. Qantas and Emirates are edging together in a move to counteract the losses that the international division of Qantas makes, whilst taking a defensive posture over Etihad Airways with its recent increase in Virgin Australia. The plans include a lot of Emirates … [Read more...]

AeroMexico opens its wallet to Boeing

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SkyTeam member AeroMexico has been working with Boeing, and has today announced it has signed a letter of intent for a fleet of aircraft. The letter of intent is up for the following: A mix of 90 737-MAX 8 Series and 737-MAX 9 Series (To be powered using CFM International LEAP-1B engines) Ten Boeing 787-9's (To be powered using GE Aviation GEnx-1B engines) At list … [Read more...]

ANA to boost New York – Tokyo Services

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ANA is in a push at the moment to expand services -  and for those who want to visit the land of the rising sun from the big apple (or vice versa), ANA is operating a second service from Tokyo Nartia to New York JFK. The new combined timetable goes into effect on the 28th October 2012: Tokyo Narita -  New York JFK International NH010 DEPART NRT 11:00  ARRIVE JFK … [Read more...]

More free WiFi in City of Westminster* (London)

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If you're in London* for the Olympics - or for any other reason and need some free WiFi with Internet Access (without resorting to a Starbucks, Cafe Nero or Costa Coffee), O2 and Westminster City Council have activated their new WiFi network. The access points will be free for all, with coverage targeted in the following places: Leicester Square Parliament … [Read more...]

AirAsia X puts in Samsung Galaxy tablets on its services

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The march away from custom IFE units to tablet based solutions continues with AirAsia X  to use Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 as their new in-flight entertainment system (IFE) on flights to and from Australia, Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan, replacing its existing portable e-Player device. AirAsia X has turned to TuneBox (a subsidiary of Tune Group, who Air Asia X itself is a … [Read more...]

Air New Zealand refreshes its livery

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In what can be seen as one of the simpler rebrands of the year, Air New Zealand have decided to abandon the blues and greens it had on its tails, and go for Black and White. Whilst the famous Koru remains intact instead, it's now on a black background. The typeface is also "modernised" as well. Well. It does look smart. Also probably a lot cheaper to paint on … [Read more...]