Kelly

British Airways opens luxurious Club lounge at JFK

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British Airways has opened its doors to the highly-anticipated new Club lounge at New York’s JFK airport.  It completes a £50 million investment, following the unveiling of a plush new space for First customers in autumn last year.  Customers at JFK Terminal 7 have also seen changes to the public areas and gate spaces to make them more appealing, welcoming and comfortable.

As British Airways’ flagship US lounge, the carefully curated space will play host to the hundreds of business and leisure customers that travel between New York and London on up to twelve Transatlantic flights a day.


Elemis JFK spa

Spread across 22,000 sq. ft. (spanning over half acre), the Club lounge is carefully laid out to offer designated areas that are designed to meet different customer needs. The new space includes elegant, relaxed seating areas as well as ample work stations with power outlets to maximise time in the office.  Other spots include an entertainment room with state-of-the-art entertainment and sound from Sony, and the reopened Elemis Spa offers a range of treatments to help travellers relax and recharge ahead of their journey.

For Club customers that plan to take advantage of their flat bed and luxurious White Company bedding on board, the new lounge offers the ultimate pre-flight dining experience with a brasserie-style dining room where travellers can enjoy freshly prepared dishes from an extensive menu or a range of smaller items chosen to allow customers to ‘grab and go’.


Quaich Bar

There will be a granite topped Quaich Bar, created in partnership with the Quaich bar at the Craigellachie Hotel in Speyside, Scotland. 

An experienced bartender will be on-hand at peak times to serve a full range of fine wines and cocktails such as the Broadway Copper Cup made with Copper Dog whisky, orange bitters and berries. 

An innovative new addition to the lounge is a BrewDog craft beer room, in partnership with the brand, a beer has been designed specifically for British Airways, named after its flight call sign – Speedbird 100. The beer is available on flights from tomorrow, 1 May.

JFK airport is like a second home to Heathrow so it’s great to mark the final step in our significant customer investment with the opening of our new Club and First lounges.

Every detail has been carefully designed and we’ve created a space to meet our customers’ needs – whether they want to relax and have a meal or enjoy a craft beer and catch up on the world news.


Carolina Martinoli, British Airways’ Director of Brand and Customer Experience

This is the third lounge to feature British Airways’ contemporary and luxurious design, following the lounge openings in Rome and Aberdeen last year.  It is part of the airline’s five-year £6.5 billion customer investment programme.  The airline is also bringing changes to its First, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller cabins, delivering exceptional new restaurant-style catering from Do&Co, rolling out industry-leading Wi-Fi on board.  New routes already launched this year include Charleston, Pittsburgh and Osaka.


JFK Club Lounge


The First lounge at JFK opened in October last year after a complete renovation.  It offers an opulent bar and bespoke zones to provide different seating areas.  The kitchen features a boutique pre-flight dining service, and the state-of-the-art wine room offers an enomatic dispenser so that each glass of wine is served at exactly the right temperature and oxidized to the precise level.  The wine list has been expertly curated by London-based Borough Wines with a variety of wines from across the world, introducing customers to a range of new wines.

Customers flying in First and Club World can enjoy an enhanced check-in experience at the exclusive Premium Zone.  The First Wing and First check-in are also open to ensure a smooth start to the journey.

Kelly

British Airways is the first UK airline to use biometric technology to board flights from the US

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More than 250,000 British Airways customers have experienced a glimpse of the journey of the future by using their face as their identity to board a flight from the US in the last 18 months.

The introduction of new biometric facial recognition technology has transformed the airport experience for customers travelling from Orlando, Los Angeles and New York, JFK by streamlining the boarding process and halving the amount of time it takes to board an aircraft. 

The technology means that customers no longer need to present their passport or boarding pass at the departure gate – only when they check in and go through Security. Instead travellers simply look into a camera prior to boarding, wait for their biometric data to be verified and then walk onto the aircraft.

The commitment to this technology is part of the airline’s £6.5bn investment for customers. British Airways was the first UK airline to use biometric technology to board flights from the US, working in close partnership with the US Customs and Border Protection to implement the technology, which has enabled the airline to hugely speed up its boarding process.

At Orlando, British Airways is boarding almost 240 customers in 10 minutes – becoming the first carrier to set up permanent facial recognition gates at the airport.

British Airways was also the first UK airline to use the technology on UK domestic flights. More than 3,000,000 customers have boarded an aircraft this way – with all domestic departures from Heathrow Terminal 5 now boarded biometrically.

For international flights, self-service boarding gates have now been installed at the terminal, allowing customers to scan their own boarding cards to gain access to their flight. It’s the first step towards biometric boarding on international flights from the UK.

Raoul Cooper, British Airways’ Senior Digital Design Manager, said:

We are continuing to pioneer the use of technology and automation to enhance the airport experience and ensure that our customers’ flights depart on time.

The airport of the future will be built upon biometric technology, from check-in and baggage drops to security checks and boarding.

These days, automation is a part of everyday life, as is biometric technology via our mobile phones.

We’re working with our technology partners and the US government to explore how we can use this technology in new and innovative ways to give our customers the stress-free, easy airport experience they tell us they want, while ensuring security is always our top priority.

Kelly

Bristol: easyJet launches second daily Paris flight, increases aircraft count and adds Milan, Brindisi and Biarritz flights

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easyJet has announced a number of expansion developments at its Bristol base. The airline will position a 17th aircraft at its South West base and has added three brand new routes to the Bristol network. easyJet will also provide even more frequent flights to some of Bristol’s most in demand destinations, providing great value trips or low-fared commutes for even more passengers.

Brand new easyJet routes to Milan and Brindisi in Italy and Biarritz in France will launch in July. The airline will add a second daily flight between Bristol and Paris from July to allow day trips for business travellers

A further 186-seat Airbus A320 aircraft will now be based in Bristol and joins seven 156-seat Airbus A319 and nine 186-seat A320 aircraft currently serving the airline’s customers in the South West. The additional aircraft will provide 93,000 additional seats for customers looking to travel to and from Bristol this summer.

Three new routes have joined the easyJet Bristol network, bringing the total routes now available to 74.

A route between Bristol and Milan Malpensa will operate four times a week throughout the year on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, with first flights taking off on 1 July. Flights between Bristol and Brindisi in Southern Italy will operate twice a week on Wednesdays and Sundays and will launch on 3 July and flights between Bristol and Biarritz in the South of France will operate twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays with flights launching on 2 July, both operating throughout the summer season.

easyJet will also increase its Bristol – Paris Charles de Gaulle frequency, adding an additional daily flight to and from the French capital, providing even more opportunity for customers to enjoy a city getaway and a convenient schedule will allow for great value day trips for commuters from businesses across the South West.

The airline now operates up to 770 flights a week from Bristol across 74 routes, 10% more flights compared to summer 2018.

Ali Gayward, easyJet’s UK Country Manager, said:

We are absolutely delighted to be celebrating further expansion at Bristol Airport. The addition of another aircraft and even more routes will help us to deliver long term, sustainable growth at the base providing passengers with an even greater range of convenient flights to a fantastic variety of destinations across our network – all with low fares and great service.

We’re putting flights on sale, allowing our customers to book early and take advantage of our lowest fares to some of our most popular business and leisure destinations.

Our ongoing growth at Bristol demonstrates easyJet’s long-term commitment to providing connectivity for the South West. We continue to be the largest airline at Bristol and in the coming weeks we will carry our 55 millionth passenger, showing that our customers continue to book with confidence.

Nigel Scott, Business Development Director for Bristol Airport said:

This is fantastic news as easyJet continues to invest in Bristol Airport and basing seventeen aircraft at its second largest base. The additional aircraft will provide extra flights to Paris, and an additional three new destinations of Milan, Brindisi and Biarritz to the route network from Bristol Airport. The additional flight to Paris will provide twice daily flights to this hub city, particularly required by businesses in the region for the long-haul route connectivity. These new routes increase the choice of destinations available to passengers in the South West and Wales region, selecting to fly from their local airport.

Paul Baker, Sales Director of Global Travel Management commented:

Paul Baker, Global Travel Management Sales Director

easyJet’s expansion at Bristol gives passengers greater flexibility and more options. At Global Travel Management, we take care to create the most efficient flight itineraries for customers. These added services will mean we can create travel itineraries that match our customers’ requirements even better. So, as well as the great value that low-cost airlines like easyJet provide, we can tailor trips that perfectly match customers’ travel requirements by combining routes across any carrier.

easyJet’s expansion gives Global Travel Management even more opportunities to create cost-saving, time-saving trips for customers.

Contact your GTM Account Manager next time you need to book an easyJet flight, or when you have a trip from, to or via Bristol.

Kelly

JetBlue to launch services from London to Boston and New York

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JetBlue has announced it intends to launch multiple daily flights from New York and Boston to London in 2021.

The new routes, which will be served by Airbus A321LR single-aisle aircraft, will mark the first-ever transatlantic service offered by the award-winning airline.

Joanna Geraghty, president and chief operating officer of JetBlue, explained how the airline came to the decision to start services to London:

Twenty years ago, our founders had a simple formula for choosing a new market – it had to be overpriced, underserved, or both.

London is the largest metro area JetBlue doesn’t yet serve from both Boston and New York, and we could not be more thrilled to be changing that in the years ahead.

The fares being charged today by airlines on these routes, specifically on the premium end, are enough to make you blush.

Known in the U.S. for having the most legroom in economy, live television at every seat, free Wi-Fi internet, complimentary snacks and soft drinks, and great customer service, JetBlue’s entrance into the transatlantic market should introduce a new era of customer-focused, low-fare travel for both business and leisure travellers. The airline’s Mint premium experience, which disrupted transcontinental travel in the U.S. with accessible fares and a thoughtful reinvention of the business class cabin, promises to offer transatlantic customers a fresh choice.

Some of JetBlue’s 22,000 crewmembers

Growth into Europe seems to be the next natural step in JetBlue’s focus city expansion strategy. The new service will strengthen JetBlue’s relevance in its two largest focus cities while also answering calls from loyal business and leisure customers who have, until now, been forced to fly other carriers to and from London.

According to JetBlue, the airline is “developing a reimagined, transatlantic version of its premium Mint product” which will feature more lie-flat seats than currently offered on the airline’s existing A321 aircraft. Transatlantic Mint product features and design elements, combined with JetBlue’s specially trained Mint inflight crewmembers, will “create an intimate and exclusive travel experience”. And, like its transcontinental Mint business model, “JetBlue will offer the elevated flying experience for a fraction of what other airlines are charging today for premium seats”.

JetBlue’s domestic U.S, customers in JetBlue Mint are used to the longest lie-flat seat (6’ 8”) on domestic premium flights, featuring a massage function, adjustable cushions and the only private suite among U.S. airlines.

Joanna Geraghty commented further:

The success Mint has had on driving down the exorbitant airfares that our competitors were charging, stimulating new demand, and forcing the entrenched carriers to up their game, is a big reason we believe London is the next natural market for JetBlue to be successful and make a positive impact on consumers.

JetBlue will initially convert 13 aircraft in its existing Airbus A321 order book to the LR version with the ability to convert more. The A321LR will allow JetBlue to tap into new long-haul markets that were not previously accessible with its current single-aisle aircraft.


JetBlue is converting its orders of Airbus A321 to the longer-range A321LR.

Commenting on the new JetBlue relationship, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer, Christian Scherer said:

JetBlue has pioneered new travel possibilities for their customers for years,” said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer. “All of us at Airbus are honoured to provide the strategic aircraft platform to enable this next chapter in the story of our partners at JetBlue.

Today, JetBlue serves nearly two dozen countries. The airline has been flying internationally for nearly fifteen years with a significant portion of its operations in the Caribbean and Latin America with flights reaching as far south as Ecuador and Peru.

Paul Baker, Sales Director of Global Travel Management commented:

Jetblue’s entry to the transatantic market will be a boost for UK-based companies doing business in New York or Boston.  They will bring a fresh approach to the market and we look forward to making their offer available to our clients.

JetBlue will be a new name to many businesses in the UK, but, at GTM, we have years of experience with the airline: they’re one of the best-known airline brands in the United States. They make more than 1,000 flights a day, to more than 100 destinations, serving 42 million passengers annually. We book passengers on JetBlue flights very frequently and we have done for years. More competition on transatlantic routes will be of great benefit to our clients. 

GTM’s clients will benefit not just from the new service from London to Boston and New York, but also to JetBlue’s extensive onward network connections.

We will be able to pass on more information about these services – including prices and London airport details – when they become available.


Kelly

New concept of “social space” for ultra-long-haul flights launched

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Airline cabin design company AIM Altitude has unveiled its ULTRAFLEX interior and evolved concept galley.

ULTRAFLEX is a “visionary lifestyle concept space”providing a social destination on board ultra-long-haul flights, with themes of wellness, fitness and stimulation, in an adaptable environment. ULTRAFLEX aims to make in-flight socialising, dining, working and even exercising possible.

AIM Altitude claim that, while passengers can see the benefits of skipping the traditional stopover, ultra-long-haul flights will not really be an attractive proposition until the flight experience is appealing enough to counter the length of time passengers are cabin-bound. But ULTRAFLEX aims to make ultra-long-haul flights enjoyable and desirable.

The patent-pending ULTRAFLEX provides a visionary, lifestyle social space. Multi-functional destination monuments allow themes of wellness, fitness and stimulation, in a flexible and adaptable environment, to push the boundaries and open new horizons within the world of premium travel.

Zones within the ULTRAFLEX concept include:

  • Flex Booth Monuments – multi-versatile booths, which give the cabin interior key flexibility for the airline and the passenger. These booths can be used in various modes such as relax, dine, wellness and focus.
  • Exercise Stations – a productive workspace with incorporated movement stimulation, ULTRAFLEX has three exercise stations where low-resistance exercises can be performed whilst continuing to work or sit at a desk. These stations encompass a cycle seat, step plates and a massaging muscle-roller, providing an easy and fun way to keep blood circulating well and reduce stiffness and discomfort during the flight. Exercise-released endorphins should improve mood and lessen fatigue. As well as the health benefits, these areas offer a greater degree of privacy, away from the passenger’s seat.
  • Entertainment Galley – to the rear, the units can transform into entertainment opportunities with a pop-up bar for watching live sporting events. A refined rail system allows food displays / bar snacks / glasses etc to be presented easily and securely. This can then be flipped, turning the chilled café area into an exciting cocktail bar.
  • Deli Galley – the forward centre Deli Galley has been conceived to tackle a growing concern that passengers feel uncomfortable approaching a traditional galley monument. They want to interact with a dedicated unit that feels designed for them.
  • Social space – the central half-height monuments are key social pillars linking the floorplan together. Their natural height promotes open standing conversation and social interaction to take place over a wider distance. AIM Altitude has introduced bold perching pads, that mix both practicality and elegance in a familiar, contemporary interior-design styling, as well as cleverly hiding additional half-cart stowage.

These concepts have not yet entered production. But contact your GTM Account Manager next time you need to book an ultra-long-haul flight.

Kelly

Scott Pawley receives Outstanding Achievement award

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Scott Pawley, Managing Director of Global Travel Management, has received an award for his outstanding contribution to business travel innovation from Advantage Focus Partnership.

The award came during the Advantage Focus twentieth anniversary celebrations, presentation ceremony and conference at a central London hotel.

The presentation came as a complete surprise to Scott, who said afterwards:

I was completely bowled-over. It is very flattering to be put forward by the team at Advantage Focus for an award like this. I had no idea at all.

The award is in recognition of Scott’s contribution to Advantage Focus and its member companies for a number of years. Most recently, Global Travel Management developed Focus Fare Finder – a tool to ensure business travellers get the best-priced fare on every flight booking – and made it available to every Advantage Focus member.

Scott explained why he does this:

It’s for the greater good. We know that, when we develop a piece of technology that benefits Global Travel Management and share that with the wider membership of Advantage Focus, we are doing one really important thing: making the marketplace bigger.

Ultimately, if a business is well-served by an Advantage Focus member company, every Advantage Focus member benefits.

Abby Penston is Head of Focus. She took time to explain why Scott received his award and what it means:

It was an absolute pleasure to present Scott Pawley with this Focus Partnership award for his Innovative contribution to Business Travel Technology at our 20th Anniversary celebrations.

The ethos of Focus is a Partnership run by the Partners for the Partners and Scott is an absolute example of this in practice. Scott’s commitment to the Partnership is evident to everyone who works closely with us, our Panels and the Focus Central team. He is respected not just within the Partnership but also with our Supplier Partners for being a progressive innovative leader.

Scott has played a lead role in many of our products within our technology suite including implementing and maintaining our award winning Focus Fare Finder product, affording the Partnership the ability to stay competitive and efficient. This product strengthened our Technology portfolio and is utilised throughout our Partnership, daily.

Scott and his team at Global Travel Management were instrumental in our latest data project which again revolutionises the way we operate, allowing us to utilise our data to drive our businesses forward.

It’s this innovative approach to Business Travel that places The Focus Partnership and its technology as leaders within the Business Travel sector.

Well Done Scott, thank you once again for always going above and beyond!

Kelly

Dinosaur lands at Heathrow

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A 13 metre skeleton of a 155 million year old diplodocus will be exhibited from the first week of April, before being sold by the French auction house Aguttes for an expected £2million.

Heathrow will see over 4.5million passengers travelling through the airport over Easter and Terminal 5 passengers will have the chance to step back in time to experience this historical figure. 

The unique skeleton shows significant impressions of the skin of the dinosaur, never before discovered on this dinosaur type, with a new scientific study indicating the skeleton is from a new species and is a cousin of the diplodocus.

Ross Baker, Chief Commercial Officer at Heathrow said,

What a sizeable welcome for customers travelling this Easter! We’re excited to see the ‘roar-some’ reaction from our passengers, as they encounter this completely unique specimen before heading on their travels with loved ones.

Archaeologist and special adviser to Aguttes Auction house, Eric Mickeler said,

This original skeleton is remarkable. It is currently the only diplodocus in the world with the imprint of its skin and therefore a world first.

The sheer size of dinosaurs awes people, they are immense, and that is part of their fascination for collectors.  Buyers look for big impressive aesthetically attractive and well-preserved examples. It is also a case of supply and demand. There are very few found and so prices grow because there is a strong demand for them.

Scott Pawley, Managing Director of Global Travel Management said,

Heathrow is the most popular international departure airport for our business travellers and I am sure they will welcome the opportunity to see a monster up close and personal.

We help thousands of passengers a day with their journeys to, from and through the airport. Although we typically only deal with humans.

If a diplodocus wanted to book a flight, we would recommend one of our competitors who usually have skeleton staff and are a bit like dinosaurs.

Contact your GTM Account Manager the next time you need to fly from Heathrow Airport.

Kelly

Finnair introduces new business class amenities by Marimekko and L:A Bruket

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Finnair has introduced a new range of amenities for business class passengers, designed by world-famous Finnish design house Marimekko.

The amenities will be rolled out for all trans-continental flights on Airbus A350 and Airbus A330 aircraft. They are designed to complement the new sleep textiles in Finnair’s long-haul business class, which feature the classic Kaivo print in a dark blue tone on tone colourway, designed by Maija Isola, one of the most iconic Marimekko designers.

The amenity kits and eye shades feature four different Maija Isola designs from the 1960s – Rautasänky, Joonas, Jenkka and Pieni Melooni, with each pattern in two different colourways.

Finnair will introduce two new designs at a time, changing them for another two every six months.

David Kondo, Head of Cabin Interior Development at Finnair said:

We wanted to introduce more patterns more often, so there is something new and fresh for our frequent flyers. The new kits have also been sized so they can live on after the flight for a variety of uses.


Finnair and L:A Bruket are both Nordic brands that value sustainability.

We view this partnership as a great initiative to increase the appeal of our amenity kit. We’re also trying to connect the lounge and in-flight experience more and more for our customers, and offering organic and natural L:A Bruket products both on the ground and in the air is a great step in that direction.

As sleep is such an important part of the business class experience, Finnair has also upgraded the business class eye shades with soft-touch fabric and higher-quality straps and the ear plugs in the kit are designed to be more effective too.

Each new amenity kit comes wrapped in a cardboard band – instead of plastic – with a QR code that customers can scan with a personal mobile device to read more about Isola’s inspiration for the patterns.


L:A Bruket skin care products in lounges, aeroplane cabins and amenity kits

Improved sustainability with recycled plastic, bio plastic and on-demand concept Sustainability in all its forms is key for Finnair, and environmental considerations have played a big part in the product design of the new amenity kits as well. The toothbrush is made from bio-plastic containing cornstarch, and plastic wrappings for the earplugs have been replaced with wax paper. In addition, the new business class slippers are a Nordic-style design made entirely from recycled PET plastic bottles.

As with the amenity kit, each new pair of slippers comes wrapped in a cardboard band instead of the previous plastic packaging.

With these changes, Finnair will be able to reduce plastic waste by almost 4,500 kg per year.

Finnair also provides an on-demand concept for some of the less commonly used amenity items, including razors, socks and combs. Memory-foam pillows are available on demand too, along with shawls made of a modacrylic-wool-blend with a soft and warm feel.

The new amenity kits will have products from L:A Bruket – the natural and organic skincare brand from Sweden. Each amenity kit includes aluminium tubes of almond-coconut lip cream and a chamomile-lavender facial hydrator from L:A Bruket.

Finnair will also offer L:A Bruket hand soap and hand cream in its on-board business class lavatories, as well as L:A Bruket products in its airport lounge bathrooms and shower suites.

Scents of cucumber-mint, lemongrass and grapefruit leaf have been chosen to help customers feel refreshed and invigorated.

Contact your GTM Account Manager next time you need to book a business class flight on Finnair.

Kelly

Manchester Airport completes first phase of £1bn transformation

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Manchester Airport is celebrating the completion of the first major phase of its £1bn transformation programme this month.

Passengers flying out of the UK’s third largest airport are able to use a giant new pier, which connects to Terminal 2, for the first time.

The 216 metre pier provides extensive, panoramic views of the airfield and will be used by all airlines currently operating out of T2. The first flights to depart were operated by TUI Airways and went to Madeira and Naples.

Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport, said:

This is a significant milestone for Manchester Airport as we deliver the first phase of the biggest investment we have made in our 80 year history.

We’re delighted to wave off the first handful of flights from the new pier, as we build up to bringing it into full operation in the days ahead.

What that means is our customers can start to enjoy the new facilities, at the same time as getting a taste of what to expect from the next stages of our £1bn transformation programme.

Over the coming years we will transform the airport for all of our customers, giving the North the world class airport it deserves. The investment we are making and the range of destinations we connect to, in all corners of the world, underlines the vital role Manchester Airport plays in creating jobs and driving growth across the North of England.

Having first put a spade in the ground in July 2017, a huge amount of work has gone into getting our new pier and multi-storey car park ready to open and I would like to thank all of our colleagues and delivery partners for their efforts.

The new pier was opened at around 4.30am on Monday, with passengers treated to entertainment by the NoTTwins, who featured on Britain’s Got Talent, the Loose Change Buskers who are raising money for Cancer Research, guitarist Jack O’Malley and Christian Marshall, a caricaturist to mark the occasion.

Also, attending the celebrations was TUI Airways crew member Caroline Cox from Bolton. She operated on the first flight out of Terminal 2 to Alicante when it opened back in 1993. Having worked for the company for 33 years, her elder son is now following in her footsteps and is a First Officer for the airline.

The opening marks the next phase of the airport’s transformation programme that will see Terminal 2 become the focal point of its operations. More than 1,750 people are currently working on the project which recently welcomed its 100th apprentice as work gathers pace. Over the coming weeks more and more flights will gradually move over to the new pier as it becomes fully operational.

Manchester Airport’s new pier is the first phase of a £1 billion transformation

The next phase of the £1bn transformation is the extension to the existing Terminal 2. Work is well underway and will see the terminal more than double in size. The extension will open in summer 2020 with 40 plus new food and beverage outlets and shops, followed by a further 40 when the existing building is fully refurbished

Peter Jones, Operations Leader for Laing O’Rourke, said:

It is a significant achievement to have the pier, link bridge and multi-storey car park ready for airport guests within 18 months. The project’s design, construction methods and logistics were all planned digitally before construction on the edge of the live airfield began. Our digital engineering approach meant we, and our project partners were able to work together efficiently; putting productive solutions in place to minimise disruption to passengers and staff, while delivering new facilities for Manchester Airport on time.

The opening comes as the airport continues to see passenger numbers continue to grow as it attracts further long-haul routes to likes of Addis Ababa and Seattle. The transformation will ensure the Northern hub can continue to play its role as a global gateway and economic and employment generator, as it plugs the region into key global destinations and widens UK connectivity.

Contact your GTM Account Manager when you next need to fly into – or out of – Manchester Airport.

Paul

Austrian Airlines is turning plastic cups into fuel

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Since the end of 2018, Austrian Airlines flight attendants have been separating the plastic cups used by passengers from the rest of the waste. A disposal company then cleans and shreds them before delivering them to the ReOil pilot plant at the Schwechat Refinery. A process known as thermal cracking is used to produce synthetic crude from plastic waste.

This crude is then processed in the Schwechat Refinery into fuel or other raw materials for the plastics industry. With this recycling initiative, Austrian Airlines is supporting a circular economy that conserves resources.

The OMV ReOil pilot plant has been processing drinking cups used by Austrian Airlines passengers since January 2019.

Vera Renner, Vice President Cabin Operations of Austrian Airlines, commenting on the cooperation with the home carrier as part of OMV’s ReOil pilot project said,

Austrian Airlines is consistently striving to reduce waste on board our flights. Our flight attendants have been making a key contribution for many years by recycling. I am delighted that – together with OMV – we have been able to take another crucial step towards this goal on the initiative of the crew members from the Austrian Airlines “Fly greener” team“. 

Thomas Gangl, OMV Senior Vice President Refining & Petrochemicals said,

The exceptional properties of plastic as a material mean make it hard to imagine life without it. In the ReOil plant, we are able to turn the AUA drinking cups into synthetic crude and then process them into fuel or back into plastics. Our OMV research project allows us to close the circle and reduce waste. These joint efforts send a clear signal of how important conserving resources is to both of our companies. 


OMV has been exploring the potential of used plastics since 2011. After a test unit in the technology centre of the Schwechat Refinery yielded successful research results, the significantly larger ReOil pilot plant started operations in early 2018 in the Schwechat Refinery. 100 kilograms of used plastics can produce 100 litres of synthetic crude. 

The cooperation with OMV on the ReOil® project can be traced back to the initiative of the Austrian Airlines team from “Fly greener”. “Fly greener” is a project spanning the entire Lufthansa Group. Its goal is to reduce waste volumes and mitigate the environmental impact while optimizing the requisite processes on aircraft. Every Lufthansa Group airline is developing its own ideas and concepts to this end. Several years have already passed since Austrian Airlines started to sort various materials on board and send them for recycling. This involves PET bottles, glass bottles, tetra packs, cans, paper and newspapers. Various projects are currently underway to make air travel more efficient and more environmentally friendly across the group. 

To book your next flight on Austrian, contact your GTM Account Manager.