Airlines
Lufthansa Ready For The Future
Christoph Franz is stepping down as the CEO and chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, but he's leaving the post as the carrier posts an operating profit of EUR 697m in the books for 2013. Adjusted for non-recurring items from the realignment of several corporate divisions, profit totals more than EUR 1bn. Compared with the adjusted prior-year figure, the operating profit for 2013 increased by 62%. The Group managed to achieve stable revenue of EUR 30.0bn despite a lower number of flights. Net profit for the Group was EUR 313m. All of the business segments were...
Fears For Tiers
Close to one-third (32%) of U.S. and Canadian consumers can't identify which tier they belong to in their favourite loyalty rewards programs, according to a newly released study by COLLOQUY. The stunning lack of awareness of basic tier status is a key finding in "Fears for Tiers: 2014 COLLOQUY Study on Membership Status In Loyalty Programs." Study findings are based on a February 2014 survey of 3,077 U.S. and Canadian consumers. COLLOQUY's research reveals that the familiar gold, silver and bronze tier system no longer works; showing that the three-tiered structure is outdated as a...
Sabre Now Selling Etihad Ancillaries
Sabre Corporation is now selling Etihad's Extra Legroom Seating and pre-paid bags in the Sabre global distribution system. Shelly Terry, vice president of Supplier Merchandising for Sabre Travel Network, said the sale of ancillaries, such as pre-reserved seats continue to be a valuable revenue stream for airlines and provides travellers with more choices for their flight experience. "Sabre has been investing in technology to support airlines' merchandising strategies for many years," Terry said. "The Sabre travel marketplace provides an invaluable platform for airlines to market and...
Mayday, Mayday!
Usually Canada's tourism types can find something positive in just about anything relating to the tourism business. It's a positive industry. It makes dreams come true. Of course, then there's Ontario's May 1, 2014 budget. Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) president and CEO, David Goldstein doesn't pull any punches as to the industry's reaction to the 2014-2015 budget: "Canada's travel and tourism industry couldn't be more disappointed and urge the Ontario Government to reconsider its short-sighted decision to increase the aviation fuel surcharge by 150%." And...
Hooray For TA’s
WestJet has launched its travel agent appreciation month to recognize and thank its valued travel agent partners across the country. Travel agents make more than 40% of air bookings and more than half of WestJet Vacations' reservations. Bob Cummings, WestJet executive vice-president, sales, marketing and guest experience, said: "Travel agents and the many partner agencies we work with have been behind us from the day we took off 18 years ago, and we want them to know how much we value this critical relationship." Cummings observed: "We continue to grow and evolve our brand to...
A Year Of Anniversaries For KLM
Wasn't that a party! KLM Royal Dutch Airlines recently celebrated the first King's Day in the Netherlands in each of its 4 Canadian stations, and this week, it marked 40 years of service to Toronto -- where its first flight landed on April 29, 1974. The first King's Day honours The Netherland's new King -- Willem-Alexander -- who ascended to the throne in 2013 on Queen Beatrix 'last' Queen's Day. To mark the occasion, KLM surprised some 80 travel agencies in the Greater Toronto area with a birthday cake for their team and a special thank you postcard. Fabien Pelous,...
Unity Of Purpose
IATA is calling on all aviation stakeholders to stay focused and unified to deliver a vision for a sustainable aviation future. At the 7th Air Transport Action Group Environmental Summit in Geneva, IATA's director general and CEO, Tony Tyler said: "Throughout the first 100 years of commercial passenger flight, aviation has demonstrated a proud history of teamwork and delivered innovation that has changed our world dramatically." Tyler continued: "The strength of the aviation industry's response to the environmental challenge has been founded on our unity of purpose. The industry has...
Good News, Bad News
In this week's Travel Courier, Mike Dunbar reports that it appears that the wheels have fallen off a five-year travel surge to the United States, with early year statistics showing cross-border overnight demand dropped 3% in February, following a 0.3% decline a month earlier. But there's still good news for the travel trade in the latest crop of numbers released by the US Department of Commerce. The air travel segment, which accounts for one-third of all arrivals, continues to hold up, posting a gain of almost 2% in the first two months of 2014. In his analysis of the figures,...