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Finnair Freshen Up With New Long-Haul Look
FINNAIR has launched the airline’s new spacious, long-haul look with a brand-new Business Class and exciting new Premium Economy cabin as part of a major investment to enhance the customer experience. Te Finnish flag carrier, known for connecting Asia
and Europe via the short northern route, unveiled the €200 million investment at a press conference in Helsinki this morning. Tis complete cabin renewal covers all Finnair Airbus
A350 and A330 long-haul aircraſt. Te new cabins will be fitted over the next two years,
featuring an entirely new Business Class, a brand-new Premium Economy cabin, and a refreshed Economy Class. Customers will be able to enjoy the full experience,
complete with renewed service concepts, from spring 2022 on selected routes
across Finnair’s long-haul
network. Te routes will be announced on March 1, 2022, when
the new Premium Economy cabin becomes available for customers to book. Topi Manner, Finnair CEO, said: “Our investment enhance
to the long-haul customer experience
demonstrates the continuing commitment of the whole Finnair team to deliver a premium experience in every cabin on our aircraſt.” “Te pandemic has had a dramatic impact on our
industry, but it has not changed our ambition to offer a modern premium experience as we continue to be the first choice for travellers connecting Europe and Asia.” Finnair is the launch customer for a brand-new
concept in Business Class seats, developed in close collaboration with Collins Aerospace, maximising customer space and the freedom to move. Te unique fixed shell lounge space enables a wide
variety of sitting and sleeping positions, allowing customers to make the space their own during a relaxing long-haul flight. Ole Orvér, Finnair Chief Commercial Officer, said
“Space is today’s luxury, and we have put a lot of thought and attention to detail into creating the best Business Class seat for our customers. “Both the seat and the whole new Business Class
experience is centered around customer comfort, space, and choice and is the culmination of our design ethos which will appear throughout our long-haul aircraſt to redefine modern premium travel.” Adding that, “We look forward to welcoming our
customers to experience the new Finnair, as we roll out the cabin renewal across our long-haul fleet over the next two years.” Finnair’s Nordic design language and the warm, dark,
comforting colour scheme throughout the Business Class and Premium Economy follow the palette and design of Finnair’s renewed non-Schengen lounges, unveiled at Helsinki Airport in 2019. Customers for all cabin classes board through a stylish
new entry area and a refreshment bar, creating a striking first impression as well as new service opportunities for Cabin Crew. Te Business Class cabin renewal also comes complete
with renewed service concepts to further enhance the customer experience. Customers will enjoy a choice of dishes, focusing on
the very best in Nordic cuisine, served on new chinaware designed by top Finnish designer Harri Koskinen and Iittala specifically for Finnair. Finnish design house Marimekko has also designed
a new collection of unique textiles to complement the warm and inviting onboard atmosphere to create a premium customer comfort experience. Finnair’s new Premium Economy cabin is being
installed on all its long-haul aircraſt for the first time, offering the airline’s long-haul customers a comfortable and stylish new cabin choice. “Premium leisure is a trend that has been significantly
accelerated during the pandemic, so we are confident our new Premium Economy travel class with its comfortable seats and more space will prove very popular with customers looking for an upgraded experience from Economy”, added Ole Orvér. Finnair has also invested in a refresh of its long-
haul Economy Class, with new seats and larger Inflight Entertainment (IFE) screens with an updated more customer-friendly interface,
three A350s. Sixteen of Finnair’s A350 aircraſt will see their
Economy cabins receive new seat covers and an updated IFE user experience to bring them in line with the designs of the new Business and Premium Economy cabins. Long-haul flights are key to Finnair’s strategy, with the
Finnish carrier specialising in connecting Europe and Asia via the short, fuel-efficient northern route, as well as offering excellent connections to the US. In summer 2022, Finnair plans to serve nearly 100
destinations in Europe, Asia and the US including new long-haul routes to Busan, in South Korea, Tokyo Haneda in Japan as well as Dallas and Seattle in the USA. For further information about flights and destinations, please visit
finnair.com
for its A330 aircraſt and Due to the NI Executive collaspe, NI’s Travel sector is having to wait on recieving funds
THE Scottish government have announced a further support package for Scottish Travel Agents- we spoke to Damian Murphy from ANITA for an update on progress here in Northern Ireland.
“We are of course absolutely delighted for agents over in Scotland at news of this latest round of support for the travel industry there. Im not quite sure yet what It equates to per branch- but it seems to be quite similar to the last grant they received. Our own push for a further support package continues here and we are awaiting a further update on the situation. The economy
UK Flight Bookings Take Off As Travel Tests Are Removed
FOLLOWING research conducted by ForwardKeys, it has been revealed that flight bookings to and from the UK have soared following the government’s announcement that COVID-19 testing would no longer be required for fully vaccinated travellers entering the UK.
The day after the announcement by UK Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, which was made on 24th January, combined inbound and outbound flight bookings jumped to 84% of pre-pandemic levels, outbound to 106% and inbound to 47%. On 5th January, the UK said that from Sunday 9th January, fully vaccinated travellers would be able to take a lateral flow instead of a PCR test on or before day two of their arrival in England. UK Outbound Tourism
Benchmarked against pre-pandemic levels, the
five destinations for which bookings recovered most strongly in January, were: 1. Mexico, 72% up on 2019; 2. The Maldives, 54% up; 3. Greece, 22% up; 4. Cyprus, 20% up; 5. Barbados, 16% up.
The typical seasonality patterns have returned and are evident in the recent recovery, with peaks showing for the forthcoming half-term break in February and the Easter holiday period, when looking at flight tickets confirmed in January.
In relative terms, the demand to travel abroad during the extended holiday weekend to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, in early June, is already 13% ahead of 2019. The destinations which are doing best
for the
upcoming half-term break are now all ahead of where they were at the end of January 2019.
In the lead is Mexico, 68% ahead; it is followed
by Pakistan, 60% ahead; The Maldives, 55% ahead; Barbados, 32% ahead; Qatar, 28% ahead; Bangladesh, 16% ahead; the UAE, 8% ahead and Portugal, 2% ahead. Bookings for Easter and summer holidays are relatively stronger than they are for the upcoming half- term break.
Benchmarked against the end of January 2019, half term bookings are 33% behind, whereas Easter bookings are 29% behind and summer is 16%
behind.Compared to this time last year, when the UK was in a state of limited lockdown, bookings are, unsurprisingly, much healthier, 59% ahead for Easter and 82% ahead for summer. UK Inbound Tourism
The recent surge in outbound bookings has been
closely followed by a modest revival in inbound demand. As of 31st January, the strongest origin markets were led by Nigeria at 73% of pre-pandemic (2019) levels. It was followed by Ireland, 47%; 3. The U.S.A, 47%; 4. Brazil, 47%; 5. Saudi Arabia, 45%; 6. the UAE, 44%; 7. South Africa, 40%; 8. Spain, 40%; 9. Kuwait, 37% and 10. Sweden, 36%. Olivier Ponti, VP of Insights at ForwardKeys, said “Chocks away!”, a term used by WW2 pilots to remove the blocks in front of their undercarriage so they could take off, is the ideal metaphor to describe what’s happening right now in the market for travel to and from the UK. By withdrawing the impediment of testing and the risk of quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers, flight bookings are surging ahead.” “What I find particularly interesting is the continued dominance of classic sea and sun destinations. A clear sign that the pandemic is still very much with us is the absence of a revival in city tourism or travel to airports strongly associated with skiing. However, if we see Continental European countries relaxing their travel restrictions in the way the UK has just done, I expect to see a flood of holiday bookings that could exceed pre- pandemic levels, thanks to a release of the huge pent-up
demand.”
committee agreed in principle last week to forward A new package to the Finance Minister but the very next day our First Minister resigned and i’m not quite sure yet what sort of a delay that will cause us. We have been in constant touch with senior executive members and they have assured us they are doing all they can to get this package through. I know it has to be agreed and signed off no later than 31 March- but I would like to have confirmation before that. Everyone involved in the industry here should continue to ask their own MLAs to keep pushing on our behalf”
France Removes Testing For Vaccinated UK Arrivals
Scottish Outbound Travel Sector Given £3.5 Million Boost
THE Scottish government have agreed to provide Scottish outbound travel agents with a £3.5 million boost as part of a recovery budget. Inbound travel sectors will receive a larger £7.5
million to help boost the entire economy in Scotland. Mike Tibbert, the SPAA President said: “We are delighted that, aſter two years of fighting the
Te French Government have announced that fully- vaccinated travellers from the United Kingdom can now enter France without providing a Covid-19 test result. Terefore, travellers entering France will not be
required to test so long as they are fully-vaccinated according to current European regulations.
Unvaccinated 12-17 Year Olds Welcome In Spain
The Spanish Government have announced that Spain will grant unvaccinated children entry into the country, given a negative PCR test result is provided. This PCR test must be taken within 72 hours after the traveller’s arrival in Spain.
This change is set to come into force on from midnight on Monday 14 February. Taking to twitter, the Spanish Ministry of Tourism announced that “The government updates the health requirements for entry to Spain for the group between 12 and 17 years of age from non-EU countries… Starting at 00:00h. on Monday 14 may submit negative NAAT test (RT-PCR or similar) made 72h before”
corner of travel agents and the travel industry in Scotland, our efforts have paid off with the announcement of £3.5 million in direct business support for travel agents.” ABTA Director of Public Affairs, Luke Petherbridge,
said: “We’re pleased to see that the Scottish Government has confirmed further financial
support for travel
companies. ABTA and individual Members, as well as industry partners, have been lobbying to secure this additional money for a number of weeks and it is welcome that Ministers have now recognised the detrimental impact that Omicron travel restrictions had on businesses in our sector. “ABTA’s lobbying is also focused on ensuring future
travel rules provide the stability required to rebuild confidence and get people travelling again in greater numbers, and we’ll continue to make that case to Governments across all parts of the UK. Tis news is very welcome, but we’re not out of the woods yet and we’ll continue to work hard to represent ABTA Member interests over the weeks and months ahead.” Northern Ireland Travel Agents have been pushing
for a similar approach for a number of months from the Northern Ireland Executive and recently believed they had found a breakthrough in funding; this, however, has been put on further hold with a non-working Executive
to push funding such as this through. Head Down Under As Emirates Increase Flight Schedule
Starting 1 March, Emirates are offering a second daily flight on the Sydney-Dubai route, served by the iconic A380 aircraft. This will offer customers an additional seven flights per week, to reach fourteen weekly services from Dubai to the News South Wales capital.
With the re-opening of Australian borders set for 21 February, Emirates is increasing services to meet market demand and offer customers greater flexibility, choice, and connectivity. Australia has long been a popular destination for leisure travellers and those visiting family and friends from Ireland.
The additional daily frequency between Sydney and
Dubai will operate as EK412/413 and will offer 14 First Class suites, 76 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 426 ergonomically designed seats in Economy Class. In addition to the capitals of New South Wales and
Victoria, served by the iconic A380 aircraft, Emirates also provides passenger services to Brisbane with five weekly flights as well as three flights per week to Perth, both with the airline’s other wide-body aircraft in its fleet, the Boeing 777-300ER.
Customers of Emirates and Qantas have access to an expansive network of destinations thanks to the codeshare partnership between the two airlines. In addition to over 120 destinations that Emirates
flies to, its customers currently have access to nearly 30 Australian destinations though the partnership, while Qantas customers are able to fly on Emirates to Dubai and access over 50 cities in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Tickets can be booked on
emirates.com, the Emirates App, or via local travel agents.
Belfast City Airport Signs Groundbreaking Net Zero Agreement
GEORGE Best Belfast City Airport joins forces with a record number of airports across Europe to sign the ‘Toulouse Declaration’, reinforcing the industry’s commitment to a net zero future. The Toulouse Declaration, established by Airport
Council International (ACI Europe), marks the first time that European Governments, the European Commission, industry, unions, airports, and other key stakeholders formally align on aviation decarbonisation. It is a highly significant moment, paving the way for concrete next steps, both in the establishment of an EU pact for aviation decarbonisation and globally, with eyes turning to the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to set a global goal for international aviation later this year.
Belfast City Airport’s signing of this new agreement follows its public pledge in 2020 to reduce its carbon emissions, when it became the first airport in Northern Ireland to participate in ACI Europe’s ‘Airport Carbon Accreditation’ programme. Speaking of environmental efforts at Belfast City, the UK and Ireland’s most convenient airport, Environment and Sustainability Manager, Ian Nuttall, said: “By providing vital connectivity to the UK and Europe for both business and leisure passengers, we know the value we add to the regional economy, but remain conscious of any operational impact.
“That is why, as a responsible business, we are dedicated to doing all we can to minimise our carbon footprint and play our part in the pursuit of net zero by 2050.”
Ian continued: “Having already achieved Level 2 in the Airport
Carbon Accreditation programme, Belfast City Airport aims to continue to work towards eliminating our carbon emissions, and our signing of the Toulouse Declaration will keep us focused on making that happen.” ACI Europe’s signing of the Declaration, both in its own right and as a partner in the Destination 2050 aviation industry roadmap, is now complemented by the individual undertaking of over 200 airports across the continent adding their signatures. Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe
said:
“Each and every airport undersigning this Declaration is making a tangible difference to our future as an industry, as an economy and as a society. They continue to demonstrate ambition, vision and excellence in their sustainable actions. I admire and applaud each and every one of them.” For more information on the sustainability efforts of George Best Belfast City Airport, please visit www.
belfastcityairport.com/sustainability
March 2022 Travel News
ANITA Welcome News of Support for Scottish Agents
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