THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE I 39
➔ Lufthansa's cabin overhaul THE REVIEW ›› IN THE AIR
LUFTHANSA will roll out its new business class seat when the airline introduces the first of 20 new Boeing 747-8 aircraft in May, writes Steve Hartridge. The seats, the result of five
years of research and consultation with its frequent flyers and trials that included an eight-week stint on the Frankfurt-New York route, features a 1.98metre lie-flat sleeping surface, additional storage space and an enhanced entertainment system. “The final design tweaks were made after we received feedback from our passengers,” Jens Bisshof, a member of Lufthansa board said at Berlin's ITB travel show in March. “We changed many details
including ergonomically improved cushioning to ensure a high degree of comfort in both a sitting or horizontal position. In addition, each passenger has additional storage compartments in the seat,” he said. Another innovation is the
seating arrangement in the form
IN BRIEF
• ICELANDAIR will launch a twice-weekly service from London Gatwick to Kefl avik International Airport this winter. The new operation is due to take off on October 18th with fl ights timed to connect into the Icelandic national carrier's network of fl ights to the US and Canada.
• SLOVENIA'S national carrier, Adria Airways, has launched a four-times- weekly service between London Luton and capital city Ljubljana. The two-class service is operated by a 135-seat Airbus 319, with fl ights on Wednesday, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
of a ‘V’, with two adjoining seats angled towards one another along a central axis, which lets passengers sit or lie facing the direction of travel. The entertainment system,
featuring 15-inch screens and sound-reducing Sennheiser headsets, will be available immediately after boarding. The new seats are part of a
three-billion-euro investment in inflight product over the next four
MALAYSIA'S A380 REVOLUTION
years. The airline will also spend more than 1.5 billion euros on new aircraft this year alone. Retrofitting the new seats across
Lufthansa’s long-haul fleet of over 100 aircraft would take up to four years, Bisshof added. There will be 98 of the new business class seats on the 747-8s and 92 on its A380s. Business class passengers contribute around 50 per cent of the carrier's revenue, a figure the airline is looking to grow.
ALL CHANGE AT SINGAPORE
IT'S OUT with the old and in with the new at Singapore Airlines as it waves goodbye to its fleet of Boeing 747s and makes its London service an all-Airbus A380 operation. The airline marked 38 years
MALAYSIA Airlines has unveiled the design and specification of its Airbus A380, the first of which will enter service in July on its London to Kuala Lumpur service. The 494-passenger aircraft will
have eight first class seats and 350 economy seats on the main deck, plus 66 business class seats and a further 70 economy seats on the upper deck. First class seats transform into
87-inch flatbeds and have 23-inch entertainment screens, while the business class cabin features 72-inch flatbed seats.
Malaysia Airlines’ group CEO,
Encik Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, says, “We are the first to introduce the A380 into service using a uniquely refreshed look and feel, instead of the regular corporate identity, to showcase our latest premium offering in products and services. This will be our flagship aircraft to launch our exciting new levels of comfort, luxury and convenience. “This is the identity that will
move us from traditional classic to premium contemporary in our efforts to position Malaysia Airlines as a preferred premium carrier.”
of B747 passenger services with a special commemorative flight from Singapore to Hong Kong in April. It took delivery of its first Jumbo in 1973 and by 2003 operated a record 51 Boeing 747s. SIA was the launch airline
for the Airbus A380 'Super Jumbo' in 2007, which from June 1st will operate all flights on the airline's three-times- daily operation between Heathrow and Singapore. The switch to the larger aircraft – from B777s previously – will result in a capacity increase of 17 per cent a day. The airline currently operates 17 A380s, with two more on order.
• AIR FRANCE introduces a daily service from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Nigerian capital city, Abuja, on June 4th. The three-class operation is in addition to daily fl ights to Lagos and Port Harcourt.
• BRITISH Airways is on track to become the fi rst airline in the world to operate both the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Build has now begun on the fi rst of its 12 A380s it has on order, with delivery of the fi rst due next year. Keith Williams, BA chief executive, says, “They represent a signifi cant part of a huge investment by British Airways of £5billion over the next fi ve years in new aircraft, smarter cabins, elegant lounges, and new technologies to make life more comfortable in the air and on the ground.” Routes for the airline’s fi rst A380 and B787 will be announced in due course.
• LONDON City Airport has appointed Declan Collier as its new chief executive offi cer, taking over from Richard Gooding who joins the company's board as a non-executive director. Collier joins LCY from the Dublin Airport Authority where he has been CEO for seven years.
• DELTA Air Lines has launched a second daily fl ight from London Heathrow to Atlanta’s Hartsfi eld-Jackson International Airport, with onward connections to over 150 destinations in the US, Latin American and Caribbean.
• ATLASJET launches daily fl ights from London Stansted to Istanbul in May. The privately owned Turkish airline operates a two-class service, with EkonomiPlus fares from Stansted to Istanbul Atatürk starting from £138 return including all taxes and charges.
50 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
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