Airline Innovation

MAS to introduce new cell phone service

Matthias — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:24:08 +0000

MALAYSIA AIRLINES (MAS) will introduce a new mobile phone technology which will enhance its Passenger Services Systems (PSS) from October this year.

The MAS Mobile Suite, jointly developed with airline IT specialists Sita, promises to be a boon for travellers.

It will ease travelling procedures by allowing users to access information concerning flight bookings, check-ins, flight status updates, flight schedules and directions on mobile phones.

“Among other things, it will enable travellers to book flights and check-in at airports using their mobile phones,” said MAS distribution assistant general manager Abdul Mutalib Ishak when giving the media a sneak preview of the MAS Mobile Suite.

He said once a flight has been booked and paid for by contacting the MAS call centre or by accessing the nearest MAS ticket office, a 2D bar code will be sent to the mobile phone.

The passenger would then flash the bar code to be scanned by a Sita machine at the airport, which will then issue a paper slip containing the seat number and other flight details.

The airports that will first be equipped with the Sita scanners are Penang, Kota Kinabalu and KL International Airport (KLIA).

Worst. Airport. Ever.

Matthias — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:27:57 +0000

Prague’s Franz Kafka International Named World’s Most Alienating Airport

KLM chief Hartman on the Delta JV and the Premium-Economy

Matthias — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:59:34 +0000

A nice video interview with Peter Hartman, KLM chief, on the Airline Business Blog :

Yesterday, at the launch of Air France-KLM’s new transatlantic joint venture with Delta Air Lines, we caught up with KLM chief executive Peter Hartman.

In this three-minute video clip, he talks about the joint-venture and discusses a new long-haul ‘economy extra’ product, which KLM is planning to roll out in October 2009 to draw back business travellers.

Through ‘economy extra’, which is only a tentative name, KLM will charge passengers a premium for long-haul economy seats with a 35″ (89cm) seat pitch. Unlike Air France’s new long-haul premium-economy offering, it will not be a separate cabin. The new product is also likely to include on-ground extras, such as lounge access.

L’avenir des transports

Matthias — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:57:17 +0000

A Leipzig ville de Leibniz, Fichte, Wagner et Nietzsche, l’OCDE organisait cette semaine un sommet passionnant de ministres des transports venus du monde entier. Assistaient aussi à cette réunion les principaux chefs d’entreprises des industries automobiles, ferroviaires, navales et aériennes.
Rien n’est plus important que les transports pour comprendre l’avenir de l’économie : ils entrent en crise avant les autres ; et ils en sortent avant les autres. Aussi, cette réunion constituait-elle un très précieux baromètre de notre avenir et elle devait indiquer la profondeur, la durée et la nature de la crise.
L’ambiance n’était pas au beau fixe : L’industrie des chantiers navals a expliqué qu’elle savait depuis 2006 qu’une crise arrivait parce qu’une surcapacité se formait, indépendamment de la crise financière ; les responsables de l’’industrie automobile ont expliqué qu’ils ne vendaient que la moitié des véhicules que leurs usines étaient capables de produire ; ceux de l’industrie des camions ont expliqué que la chute de leur marché était de l’ordre de 80%, parce que tout se cumule pour qu’on ne les remplace pas : les véhicules sont plus solides; le commerce se ralentit ; les banques ne financent plus . Enfin, les responsables du transport aérien n’étaient pas plus optimistes : Le PDG de Turkish Airlines a même expliqué que, pour le présent, il allait supprimer toutes les prestations à bord non directement liées au vol ( comme les ventes de duty free) et que, à l’avenir, il réduirait massivement le nombre de fauteuils de business class dans ses avions.

Read more on Conversation avec Jacques Attali …

Delta launches new luxury lounge

Matthias — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:03:16 +0000

If you’re traveling from London’s Heathrow Airport aboard Delta Air Lines or one of its SkyTeam partners, you’ll soon be able to take advantage of a futuristic and luxurious new lounge that looks like something out of “The Jetsons.”

Delta Air Lines and the Air France KLM group unveiled the two-level minimalist styled lounge —- its first ever co-branded alliance lounge —- on Friday , nearly a week before its official opening Thursday.

Boasting a spa, restaurant, wine bar, oxygen bar and entertainment hub complete with computer games, the premium lounge will provide a respite for all international first- and business class passengers, as well as SkyTeam Elite Plus passengers, traveling through Heathrow’s Terminal 4.

Most striking is an indoor “living wall” composed of more than 60 different species of plants, a green mix woven together by French botanist Patrick Blanc into a kind of vertical “jungle” that rises up from behind the various seating areas.

4 Innovations That Could Make Long-Distance Air Travel Greener

Matthias — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:22:56 +0000

Though air travel represents only about 3% of total world emissions, traffic is increasing quickly even as concerns over climate change multiply. To make matters worse, because airplanes fly at high altitudes, they give off large amounts of nitrous oxide, which is estimated to produce double the warming effects of carbon dioxide.

Plane travel is more energy efficient than car travel per passenger mile, but far less so than going by train, leading some advocates to push for the outright elimination of airline flights. But with transcontinental and transoceanic flights still facts of life and few options for their replacement, environmentalists, government regulators, and manufacturers are considering improvements to aircraft that will reduce emissions.

Here we’ve detailed a number of advances that may make airplanes a more acceptable mode of transport in a carbon-reduced future.

SITA creates first ‘Live Record’ of passenger experience for Airlines

Matthias — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:10:37 +0000

Airlines will now be able to get a lot closer to their passengers including their likes and dislikes, thanks to an innovation called Customer Journey, from the airline IT specialist, SITA, which provides a “live” record of the passenger’s experience with the airline right down to seat preference, meal choice and the last time they made a complaint.
SITA is the first airline passenger management system provider to migrate from the use of a legacy Passenger Name Record (PNR) – the historical standard for data storage – to a new generation Customer Journey record which provides reservations agents with real-time customer data through a single open integrated data base.

No geek licence needed for latest innovations in technology at airports

Matthias — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:31:27 +0000

Self-serve ticket kiosks and other electronic screens and gadgets aren’t exactly new at airports around the world, but some travellers are hesitant – maybe a little scared – about using them. They prefer the old-fashioned comfort of face-to-face contact with an agent, even if waiting in line slows them down.

But there are a growing number of ways to cut time and hassle out of a trip to the airport, from new kiosks to boarding passes scanned directly from your cellphone screen. There is, airports insist, no reason to be afraid.

Using electronic methods on your way to the gate can also save you money, as more airlines begin charging for contact with a living, breathing human.

The Best Companies on Earth

Matthias — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 18:53:19 +0000

Let’s get one thing straight: To get incredibly rich in the stock market with a buy-and-hold strategy, you need to own the best companies. There’s no way around it. But how can you determine what the truly best companies are? I’m here to tell you that there are five simple characteristics shared by every single one of the best companies on Earth. If you can identify these five traits and have the discipline to invest at the right times (and perhaps sell if things change), you’ll never have to worry about money again.