The CEOs of Scandinavian Airlines and Singapore Airlines, Rickard Gustafson and
Goh Choon Phong, today signed a joint venture agreement in Singapore. This
follows the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed in January and covers
routes between Scandinavia and Singapore.

With a signed joint venture agreement, the Star Alliance carriers can now move
forward to plan further business opportunities within the partnership, such as
the co-ordination of flight schedules and joint sales activities, all of which
is subject to regulatory approval. Regulatory approval will now be sought from
authorities in Singapore and Europe.

The partnership is expected to lead to growth in existing air services between
Singapore and Scandinavia, and, subject to market conditions at the appropriate
time, pave the way for a new route between Singapore and Stockholm. Singapore
Airlines currently operates three weekly flights between Copenhagen and
Singapore in a code-share partnership with SAS.

“We are pleased that the joint venture agreement is now signed and we can
proceed with expanding our partnership and thereby also improve the service and
benefits for Scandinavian travelers. Singapore Airlines will be a vital part of
our Asian strategy and we look forward to jointly explore further growth
opportunities in this exciting and important market,” said Rickard Gustafson,
President and CEO, SAS.

“This agreement is a win-win for SIA and SAS, and benefits our customers by
making air travel more convenient between Asia and Scandinavia. We look forward
to co-ordinating schedules to enable more seamless connections to points in
Northern Europe, as well as Asia and Southwest Pacific, through our respective
hubs. When market conditions allow for it we also look forward to expanding
frequency between Singapore and Copenhagen, and adding new destinations in
Scandinavia,” said Goh Choon Phong, CEO, Singapore Airlines.

SAS and Singapore Airlines sign joint venture agreement between Scandinavia and Singapore is a post from: Aviation news - Planegrazy

JetBlue Airways is launching its second route to Colombia’s vibrant capital city of Bogota with a daily nonstop flight from South Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Flights to the modern business center and one of South America’s most acclaimed cities are just a click away on www.jetblue.com.

In addition to its new Fort Lauderdale route, JetBlue has offered a successful daily service between Bogota and Orlando International Airport for more than three years.

“The growing Colombian community in South Florida has very strong ties to their country and we’re pleased to offer them this comfortable and convenient service home,” said John Checketts, director of route planning for JetBlue Airways. “We’re happy to continue expanding our service to Bogota, a community that has embraced our value proposition of additional legroom, free snacks and drinks and exceptional service.”

“With the growing Colombian population in South Florida, JetBlue’s new service to Bogota will offer travelers a wonderful low cost option to one of South Florida’s most popular destinations,” added Kent George, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport Aviation Director.

“We celebrate this second route from JetBlue to our country, connecting a second Florida destination with Bogota, which will surely increment passenger traffic between the United States and Colombia and just in time to coincide with the Free Trade Agreement between both countries,” said Oscar Rueda Garcia, Colombia’s Vice-Minister of Tourism. “We hope for more routes and additional frequencies from JetBlue.”

JetBlue’s schedule between Fort Lauderdale and Bogota:

In addition to its nonstop service to two popular Florida cities, Bogota customers can conveniently connect to other destinations in the United States and the Caribbean via Fort Lauderdale and Orlando including New York, NY; Boston, MA; Hartford, CT; Washington DC; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

JetBlue’s flights between Fort Lauderdale and Bogota will be operated with its comfortable Airbus A320 fleet and award-winning service featuring convenient, assigned seating; a first-checked bag free (a); complimentary and unlimited name brand snacks and drinks; comfy leather seats; and more legroom than any other carrier in coach (b).

JetBlue Launches Second Route to Colombia with Bogota – Fort Lauderdale Flights is a post from: Aviation news - Planegrazy

Hawaiian Airlines today announced it will add the northern city of Sapporo to its growing network of destinations in Japan.  The airline is set to begin service between Honolulu International Airport and New Chitose Airport on the island of Hokkaido three times per week in November 2012, pending Japan government approval.

Sapporo will be the fourth Japanese destination that Hawaiian has introduced recently to its route network, following the launches of service to Tokyo in November 2010, Osaka in July 2011 and Fukuoka in April 2012. It will be the airline’s sixth new destination in two years, including the launch of service to Seoul, South Korea in January 2011 and the upcoming June 4 inauguration of service to New York City.

“This new service builds on our strategy to diversify our revenue base and strengthens Hawaiian’s presence in one of our most important visitor markets,” said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian’s president and CEO.  “The addition of Sapporo to our network will allow our customers in Japan to fly directly to Hawaii from Japan’s three largest islands and, at the same time, give our customers in Hawaii a convenient connection to one of Japan’s largest inbound tourist markets.”

Sapporo is Japan’s fifth-largest city, with a population of 1.9 million. The capital city of Hokkaido, it is known for its ski resorts and world-famous Sapporo Snow Festival, an annual event showcasing breathtaking snow and ice sculptures.  “Sapporo is already a popular vacation destination for residents of Hawaii, and we expect this new service to help introduce the wonders of Sapporo to many more of our customers,” said Dunkerley.

Hawaiian Adds Sapporo as Fourth Japan Gateway is a post from: Aviation news - Planegrazy

“While we did very well in Ocean Freight, gaining market share, we knew that the first quarter would be a difficult one for Air Freight, especially in comparison to last year’s exceptional first quarter. In anticipation of the difficult market environment and a challenging 2012 we already reacted last year and introduced cost containment measures. This led to a flat development of the operating expenses quarter-on-quarter“, said CEO Monika Ribar. The Group has decided to appeal the European Commission’s decision on the antitrust fine. “We believe the amount is not justified, which is why we are going to appeal the decision to the European General Court”, said Ribar.

Provisions resulted in loss of CHF 40 million

On March 28, 2012, Panalpina, along with its major competitors, was reportedly fined by the EU Commission for antitrust violations related to isolated air freight surcharges for certain European trade lanes during limited periods of time prior to 2008. Provisions of CHF 59 million for the EU and the Swiss antitrust fines together resulted in a group loss of CHF 40 million in the first quarter. Net forwarding revenue in the first quarter was down by 7% to CHF 1,540 million (-3% currency adjusted). Gross profit amounted to CHF 364 million, a decrease of 3%. Currency adjusted, gross profit was up by 1% despite a negative air freight market. Gross profit margin increased to 23.6% (22.6% in Q1 2011).

EU fine turns operating profit into loss is a post from: Aviation news - Planegrazy

Flights and airline travel is about getting from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient manner. What the airlines need the most is excellent customer service. With the advent of customer relation software such as Microsoft CRM, airlines can tailor experiences and eventually avoid bad experiences resulting in a tarnished brand.

The way a business focuses on the customer is first understanding the customer base. For example, Jessica is interested in traveling and visiting new places. She also enjoys scrapbooking and spending time outdoors. How does an airline cater to her experiences, while still providing excellent customer service to other travelers?

Customer Focus

The key to a successful CRM strategy is to align the efforts of the business with the customer. The marketing strategy aligns the valuation of the customer with the needs of the customer. The end result is excellent customer service and building a brand. Taking an aligned approach to customer service as it relates to the airline industry involves personalizing the experience.
Companies must use services such as flight alert systems, handheld devices and self-service kiosks to personalize the experience as well as reduce labor costs. Although the options are not all inclusive, the personalization of services is based upon customer information and related trends. Airlines have to realize that when a customer feels appreciated, they’re more likely to return to the brand.

Social Integration

Social media is more than just sending tweets and acquiring “likes” on Facebook. Understanding the customer involves integrating social media in a manner that allows customers to be involved in the decision process. Social media is a part of the customer’s everyday life. When the message is delivered traditionally, awareness of the services is high, but the end result is a reduced loyalty.
When a business incorporates social media strategies, the opportunities are endless as is the spectrum of interaction. For example, Jessica sends out a tweet to Southwest Airlines concerning a lack of customer service. Southwest Airlines has approximately 1.2 million followers, so the chances of the company addressing the concern are relatively high, considering the amount of subsequent followers. Add to that the small amount of time it takes to respond to Jessica, and the high rewards of all of her followers (and all of the airline’s) seeing that Southwest really does care about the individual flyer.

Marketing Wheel

How a business transforms an efficient CRM marketing strategy involves three components: marketing, sales and service. All three strategies focus on the lifecycle of the customer. The marketing and sales involve taking customer information and historical data and transforming it into efficient workforce scheduling, service request management and self-service Internet solutions. The end result is high quality service.
The goal of any airline, big or small, is customer service. Without the customer, the future of the airline is in instant turmoil. The only way to fully address customer service concerns is to understand the customer base and make them an integral part of the decision process. CRM marketing allows businesses to embrace the ever changing customer and customize/personalize the experience. The end result is a customer base that has loyalty to the brand and increased profitability for the business.

Jessica is interested in business and marketing. She enjoys online shopping and learning new technology.

Airline Marketing Up in the Air is a post from: Aviation news - Planegrazy

Delta Air Lines reported strong financial and operating performance for April 2012.

Delta’s consolidated passenger unit revenue (PRASM) increased 11 percent for the month of April as compared to the prior year.  During the month, Delta saw strong unit revenue improvement across all entities, driven by capacity discipline, corporate booking strength, and benefits from investments in products and services.

System traffic increased 1.1 percent on a 1.3 percent reduction in capacity, resulting in a 2.0 point improvement in load factor.

The company’s fuel price per gallon was $3.44, consistent with expectations underlying recent second quarter fuel guidance.  Delta expects to realize the majority of June quarter’s hedge benefits in May and June.

Delta continued to make significant improvements in its operational performance during the month.  Delta’s completion factor of 99.8 percent was 0.8 points higher than prior year, and its on-time performance improved 12.6 points to 90.9 percent.

The company’s financial and operational performance is detailed below.

Delta Reports Strong April is a post from: Aviation news - Planegrazy

easyJet, the UK’s largest airline, has announced it will launch nine new routes across its UK network from Winter 2012.  All are key city pairs which are popular with business travellers.

The airline has added flights to Tel Aviv, Tallinn, Turin, Amsterdam, Geneva, Venice, Isle of Man and Copenhagen across its UK network of bases and a domestic routes connecting Birmingham to Belfast.

The route expansion means more than 230,000 affordable seats have been added to easyJet’s Winter schedule which now extends to a total of 280 routes. All new routes will go on sale next week.

Paul Simmons, easyJet’s UK Director, comments:

“The launch of these nine new routes cements our promise to offer business and leisure passengers the best schedule and availability of flights from our network of 11 UK bases.”We’re committed to expanding our route offer to ensure we deliver the best value fares to the places our customers tell us they most want to visit.”

Paul Simmons concludes: “Our schedule has been increased across the network to ensure our passengers can visit the most popular city and sun destinations. I’m confident our addition of nine new routes further opens up the best European and mid-haul destinations making travel easy and affordable for all.”

easyJet launches nine new routes is a post from: Aviation news - Planegrazy

Leaders of the Association of Flight Attendants representing pre-merger America West and pre-merger US Airways Flight Attendants, issued the following statement on a potential US Airways/American deal.

“A contract for Flight Attendants at US Airways must be completed prior to any new merger deal.  We appreciate innovative efforts for an airline business model that supports jobs with good wages, work rules, benefits, and a secure retirement.  In that spirit, any new deal must first acknowledge the contributions of US Airways Flight Attendants through a single contract with job security and improvements promised to Flight Attendants involved in the last merger initiated by US Airways management.  Seven years later that deal still isn’t done.  There is a small window of opportunity for US Airways management to get this right,” stated Deborah Volpe, AFA president of pre-merger America West Flight Attendants, and Mark Gentile, AFA president of pre-merger US Airways Flight Attendants.

“Flight Attendants across the industry have a long history of working together to defend and advance our profession.  We will continue to work with our sisters and brothers at American Airlines for the best outcome for all Flight Attendants,” stated Volpe and Gentile.

Flight Attendant Contract First in a US Airways/American Deal is a post from: Aviation news - Planegrazy