“The new routes represent the single largest expansion of the bmi brand in the history of the airline, and mark our continuing transition into a truly global airline.”
Nigel Turner, chief executive, bmi Group Bmi adds 17 destinations to its network at the end of October, the culmination of its integration of BMED, the British Airways' franchise operator
purchased earlier this year. New destinations from London Heathrow include Baku, Tehran, Beirut, Amman, Almaty and Yerevan. At the same time, the airline is to introduce major enhancements to its in-flight product. An upgraded catering service on all mid- and long-haul routes, new amenity kits, and in-flight entertainment with up to 22 films, including the latest blockbuster movies, are among the planned improvements. From mid-September, bmi will be phasing in new lie-flat beds on services from Heathrow to Riyadh and Jeddah, as well as to the Caribbean and the United States on flights from Manchester. They will be accompanied by a much enhanced Premium Economy product on services to the US and to the Caribbean. This will provide travellers with a genuine Business Class seat with a generous 49-inch seat pitch – 11 inches greater than that offered by competitors. “The new routes represent the single largest expansion of the bmi brand in the history of the airline, and mark our continuing transition into a truly global airline,” says the carrier’s group chief executive Nigel Turner. “Ten years ago, we had a network that was 100% short-haul domestic and European. From the end of October, more than half of our destinations from Heathrow will be in the mid-and long-haul markets.” Going green – painlessly
AirPlus is this month launching the first fully automated carbon offsetting facility to be offered by the payment industry. Currently being rolled out on a global basis, it enables the company’s lodge and corporate cardholders to make payments automatically with their chosen carbon offset partner. Payments are based on data captured by AirPlus when processing transactions for air ticket purchases. “Implementing it for clients is as easy as flicking a switch – all they need to do is choose their carbon offset provider,” explains Yael Klein, AirPlus International's London-based managing director. “We will provide them with all the relevant data that they have come to expect from us; they will be able to draw effortlessly reports on their carbon offsetting from our management information (MI) system and charges will be easily identifiable on the invoices. “It’s the easiest and most convenient way for corporates to offset their business travel carbon emissions and we are proud to be able to offer this service – an industry first – to our clients.” The new scheme has the benefit of working across borders and will be of particular interest to those companies with global interests. “It is totally flexible and is not dependent on which travel management company a client is using,” adds Yael. Adding more class
Air China is rolling-out its upgraded First and Business Class cabins to a further four international routes. It is part of the airline's US$90 million investment to convert 15 of its longhaul aircraft to a three-class configuration Flights from Beijing to London and Madrid/Sao Paulo, and from hanghai to Paris and Milan/Rome now feature the 6ft 3in flat beds in First, while in Business Class the improved seats have a 60-inch pitch. In both classes, seats are equipped with power sockets for laptops, and passengers have a choice of 60 movies, almost 100 music CDs and various games on 10.5 inch personal monitors. The new cabins have already been introduced on the Beijing to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Frankfurt routes, as well as Shanghai-Frankfurt. Door-to-door transfers
National Express Group launches the UK's first door-to-door airport transfer service in November. Initially operating between Heathrow and Gatwick and central London hotels, it will make a maximum of four stops on any route for each shuttle, at what is claimed will be half the price of a taxi. The service will be bookable online or via travel agents, airlines and other partners
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