Global Travel Management | Business Travel Specialists

Luton boosts digital services for passengers

28, May 2021/in News /by Dave

London Luton Airport has announced a range of new digital services to improve the passenger experience as travellers return to the airport.

The new services include

Unlimited Wi-Fi across the terminal building
LLA Market Place, which enables passengers to pre-order food and drink contact-free
Portable mobile chargers that can be rented for the duration of a trip
Digital kiosks have also been introduced to help passengers navigate the airport and locate shops, restaurants and services

LLA Market Place allows passengers to pre-order food and collect it from stores contact-free, helping to reduce unnecessary queueing. To access the service, passengers can scan a QR code from the armrest of their seat in selected areas or visit marketplace.london-luton.co.uk on their mobile devices.

Passengers will be able to access LLA Market Place, as well as the rest of the internet through the introduction of free and unlimited Wi-Fi available throughout the airport.

Newly installed digital kiosks allow passengers to scan their boarding passes for personalised flight details including boarding time, gate number and the quickest route to the gate and average walking time.

With travellers relying more heavily on mobile devices for boarding cards and contactless payments, the airport has launched a partnership with Europe’s largest phone charging network, ChargedUp. The partnership makes portable power banks available to rent from eleven stations throughout the terminal – the first time the service has been installed at any airport in the UK. Travellers can rent a power-bank, take it on-board their flight, and either return it to LLA upon their arrival back in the UK or automatically purchase it after 10 days.

Clare Armstrong, Head of Passenger Services at LLA, said:

As well as improving the passenger experience, these new services are part of the airport’s efforts to keep passengers safe. Pre-ordering food via a mobile device reduces the number and duration of face-to-face interactions passengers need to make while ordering food. Our fast, unlimited wi-fi and portable chargers allow passengers to move about the terminal knowing that they can rely on their mobile device while travelling, while our digital kiosks provide all the information a passenger needs for their journey.

London Luton Airport (LLA) remains one of the UK’s busiest airports despite COVID-19, carrying 5.4 million passengers in 2020. Airlines include easyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Tui, Sun Express and El Al.

Passengers travelling by rail will benefit from upgraded rail links to Luton Airport Parkway station as part of a partnership agreement with East Midlands Railway. A half-hourly express rail service between London and Luton Airport Parkway will launch in May 2021.

11mph £70m Stansted baggage system

26, May 2021/in News /by Dave

The pandemic may have brought airports to a standstill, but beneath London Stansted’s terminal a £70m baggage system revamp has been driven to the finish line.

The project, which took four years to complete, is the largest upgrade to the airport’s baggage network since the terminal opened in 1991. It involved replacing the ageing set-up of conveyor belts and chutes with 2.4km of track and 180 automated carts.

Designed by airport luggage experts, Beumer Group, the new low energy, fully automated system is faster and more efficient than the one it replaces.

The airport claims that it is the longest system of its type in the world. At speeds of up to five metres per second, bags will take around six minutes to travel from check-in to being ready to load onto an aircraft.

Steve Radford, Hold Baggage System Programme Lead, who oversaw the project, said:

We’re delighted to reach this very important milestone in the hold baggage system project. While passengers simply hand their baggage in at check-in for their journey, below the terminal is a highly automated and complex system that seamlessly and safely ensures the right bag reaches the right flight. The system uses the latest digital technology, which will future-proof London Stansted’s baggage operation for years to come, improving performance for both our passengers and airlines.

The work was initially carried out in stages to minimise disruption. However, the drop in traffic because of coronavirus pandemic meant the airport could speed up the project and complete it ahead of schedule.

Steve Radford added,

We would have much rather have welcomed the numbers of passengers we were expecting, but under the circumstances, the team took advantage of the situation and did a brilliant job. Despite the challenges that we’ve all faced in the last 12 months, it’s been encouraging to work on a project that’s going to have such a positive impact on passengers when they return to the airport.

Klaus Schäfer, CEO, BEUMER Group UK, said:

We commend Stansted Airport in following their strategy and identifying the perfect window of opportunity for remodelling their baggage handling system setup. This now means the airport has a future proof system and a great deal of built-in flexibility for years to come. The integration of an end-to-end baggage handling system not only allows Stansted Airport to grow and service their airline customers and passengers, but it also places Stansted in the league of modern airports known for operating with a very efficient baggage handling design to increase baggage traceability and security at every stage of the handling process.

The work also included linking the new system with a new check-in area that opened in 2019 and the installation of new hi-tech ‘Standard 3’ baggage scanners which are required under new EU regulations.

Avanti West Coast introduces Standard Premium class

19, May 2021/in News /by Dave

Avanti West Coast is set to ‘transform UK rail travel’ with the launch of a new Standard Premium class.

Avanti West Coast is the first UK rail operator to offer the new class
The new product has been introduced after successful trial and research with customers
This move is intended to complement an enhanced First Class offering and the refurbishment of the Pendolino fleet

Avanti West Coast has become the first UK train operating company to offer an additional class of travel as part of its services.

Standard Premium will give customers greater choice and is available on all the West Coast Main Line operator’s Pendolino services.

*Avanti West Coast operates a fleet of 56 Pendolinos, 31 of which are 11 carriages.*

Sitting between Standard and First, customers will enjoy roomier seats, greater space and a guaranteed table. They will also have the option to purchase refreshments via the new ‘At-Seat Order’ feature where customers can have items delivered to them without moving from their seat. The new class is initially available to buy as an upgrade on the day of travel, with Advance purchase tickets on sale from July for travel from September. Single journey upgrade prices range from £15 for Birmingham to London to £30 for Glasgow to London.

Standard Premium was developed following initial market research and then successful trials last year and more recently, with customers taking part in the trials asked to rate their experiences and help shape the new product. Figures showed 96% of respondents said they were either “highly likely” or “likely” to upgrade to Standard Premium for future journeys, citing extra space as a key benefit.

As part of further improvements, Avanti West Coast will launch an enhanced First Class offering with improved catering and more bespoke customer service later this year, with the enhanced service available seven days a week.

Work is also due to start next month to fully refurbish the entire Pendolino fleet of 56 trains as part of a £117m deal signed with Alstom who maintain the operator’s fleet.

New seats, with leather headrests, will be installed in Standard Premium and First. All 25,000 Standard seats will be also be replaced, with customers also benefiting from a new look onboard shop, as part of the biggest ever fleet upgrade.

In addition, one carriage on all 11-coach Pendolinos (the existing Coach G), will be converted from First to Standard, increasing each train’s seating capacity by 5%. The first refurbished set is due to enter service in November 2021.

Phil Whittingham, Manager Director at Avanti West Coast said,

This is the first major step in our transformation of services on the West Coast. Together with our upcoming First Class service which will lead the industry, and the complete refurbishment of the Pendolino fleet, Standard Premium will set a new benchmark for UK rail travel.

Our new class of travel will offer greater choice and provide a unique offer which meets customers’ changing needs as they return to rail. This new feature is another step in raising the bar for excellence on the railway.

Avanti West Coast has recently introduced At-Seat Order for Standard Class passengers

‘At Seat’ service on Avanti West Coast Main Line trains

‘At Seat’ service on Avanti West Coast Main Line trains

19, May 2021/in News /by Dave

Avanti West Coast has rolled out a new service across its UK network where customers can have food and drink delivered to their seat.

Introduced on trains operating across the West Coast Main Line, this new feature follows a successful trial onboard last year.

Whilst customers in First Class have always enjoyed being served at their seat, this will enable customers in Standard to order refreshments and have it delivered to them.

*Customers in Standard can now order food and drink delivered to their seat*

Known as At-Seat Order, this additional customer benefit has been introduced across services on Avanti West Coast’s routes. Customers can log on to the onboard Wi-Fi using their mobile phone, tablet or laptop and then visit the dedicated page in their browser to choose their items.

Payment is through debit or credit cards and PayPal. The order is then delivered to their seat by an onboard Customer Service Assistant.

As part of At-Seat Order, a click and collect function has also been introduced on Pendolino trains – giving customers the option to choose food and drink at their seat before collecting from the onboard shop. A notification will be sent to customers on their phone when their order is ready to collect.

Feedback for At-Seat Order has been overwhelmingly positive with customers rating the service as good or excellent.

Accessibility groups also welcomed the new service, citing it was helpful for disabled customers who find it difficult to leave their seat.

At-Seat Order will also run alongside the onboard shop on Pendolino services if customers prefer to buy their food and drink in the more traditional way.

The onboard shop on Pendolinos have been installed with protective screens and safety lines in place to enable social distancing.

Sarah Copley, Executive Director, Commercial at Avanti West Coast said,

The results of our trial proved At-Seat Order was a great addition to services and a perfect solution for customers who did not want to leave their seat. It’s a new, easy way for those travelling to enjoy great food and drink with us and to pay digitally, providing extra reassurance during a journey so customers can travel with confidence.

British Airways trials ‘world first’ 25-second Covid-19 test

13, May 2021/in News /by Dave

British Airways is the first airline in the world to conduct a trial with medical tech company Canary Global, to assess how its Pelican Covid-19 Ultra Rapid Covid-19 test, which displays a result within 25 seconds, can play a role in opening up travel.

The airline will be inviting flight and cabin crew to take the Pelican Covid-19 test and will compare the performance of the result against existing tests that they are already taking. Recently approved for use in Europe and UK, the test is currently going through U.S. FDA approval and the airline is the first in the world to trial the new technology. Subject to successful evaluation the airline hopes to be able to offer the test technology on applicable routes where tests have to meet the stated specificity and sensitivity standards.

***Pelican Covid-19 Ultra Rapid Covid-19 test:*** *Highly intelligent saliva test can detect symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2, including variants*

The test is a non-invasive saliva ultra-rapid digital antigen test that delivers 98% sensitivity and 100% specificity in symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2. Users simply take a sample of their saliva into a disposable sensor unit, shake and insert it into a re-usable digital reader which is connected to a blue-tooth enabled device like a smartphone, and then wait for the results that appear through a mobile app. The test which probes for both the S and N SARS-Cov-2 protein is optimized to detect variants that have originated across the globe.

Sean Doyle, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said:

As we start to see the opening up of travel we remain committed to exploring easy and affordable testing solutions to help our customers travel again, whether it’s for business, to reunite with family and friends or take a much-needed break abroad. We think this new ultra-rapid test is a game changer so we are delighted to work with the team at Canary to begin initial trials with our flight and cabin crew, before exploring what role it could play as a customer testing option.

Raj Reddy, Canary’s CEO and inventor of the technology said:

**Raj Reddy** is CEO of
Ontario-based Canary Global

Combining the power of nanosensor and digital detection technology, the Pelican CV19 test is the first ultra-rapid test that can return a PCR-like accuracy of 98% sensitivity and 100% specificity. We developed the test with the travel industry in mind where speed, accuracy and ease of use are paramount. We are very excited to partner with BA as pioneer and industry leader to trial this test; and we hope the Pelican test can soon be used as a standard test for travellers and crew around the world.

Canary Global is in discussions with other travel, hospitality and events organisers around the world to help them safely open up with the Pelican ultra-rapid Covid-19 test. The test could also help to safely open up other business and schools. Canary is currently ramping up its production to meet the global demand.

British Airways has consistently championed testing as a way to re-open travel safely, and has ensured its customers have access to a wide range of discounted Covid-19 pre-departure, return to the UK and arrivals testing options.

BA trials Qmatic queueing

12, May 2021/in News /by Dave

British Airways will be trialling new intelligent queuing technology from Qmatic, that will enable customers to queue, virtually, at check-in by pre-booking their slot time in advance of arriving at the airport.

The technology, that is optional for customers, will be trialled by British Airways for three months on selected flights departing from Heathrow Terminal 5. Customers will be sent an email before travel inviting them to book their personal check in time.

When it is time for a customer to check-in, the Qmatic system will notify them that it is their turn, allowing them simply to go to the dedicated desk and the airline’s customer service team will be able to assist. Customers who have not booked a check-in slot through Qmatic, can proceed as normal, or have the option to join a virtual queue when they arrive at the airport by scanning a QR code.

*Jade Solutions is the exclusive supplier of Qmatic’s intelligent journey management solutions into the UK*

British Airways will be the first airline to trial Qmatic, which is currently used extensively in public sector, retail, healthcare and financial organisations around the world, including BP Service Stations, Tate Modern and the Post Office, to help manage the flow of customers.

Declan Pollard, British Airways’ Head of Heathrow Customer Experience, said

In this new Covid-19 era we know that customers have been travelling less frequently than they normally would, and in most cases not at all. We understand many people will feel unfamiliar with the airport journey, so we are committed to exploring how technology can simplify that experience for them. This technology means that our customers can plan their departure knowing that they have a personalised check-in time. We think this technology, coupled with digital travel apps, will help efficiently manage the flow of customers in the airport at any one time and give our customers reassurance.

Mark Brackley, Managing Director of Jade Solutions, the exclusive supplier of Qmatic in the UK, added

The intelligent queuing solution will provide British Airways’ customers with the ability to add themselves to a virtual queue and see their position change in real-time, all from their phone. We are excited to be working with British Airways to trial this technology.

Elsewhere, British Airways is also trialling digital travel apps to ensure customers meet the entry requirements for their destination before arriving at the airport. The airline’s customers can currently use VeriFLY on all flights to the US, Canada and France as well as on all inbound flights and the airline has been assisting in the development of IATA’s Travel Pass.

British Airways says that it will continue to explore how it integrates other technologies, such as VeriFLY, into its systems ‘to further streamline the customer experience’.

American releases revamped amenity kits

11, May 2021/in News /by Dave

American Airlines is introducing new onboard amenity kits for premium cabin customers in partnership with Shinola and D.S. & Durga.

These thoughtful and creative partners will help keep memories of customers’ travels top of mind, even when customers aren’t flying 35,000 feet in the air.

Clarissa Sebastian, Managing Director of Premium Customer Experience and Onboard Products for American Airlines, said

American often seeks brands that are rooted in creativity, especially those that celebrate travel before, during and after the actual journey. D.S. & Durga and Shinola underscore what we value in our partners at American — the ability to inspire connection with people or places that matter and experiences that enrich us.

Founded in Detroit, Shinola is a luxury design brand with an unwavering commitment to crafting products that are built to last, including world-class watches and premium leather goods. The new amenity kit bag was meticulously designed exclusively for American to get customers from place to place in style, while also offering the functionality to be repurposed post-flight to collect keepsakes or organise essentials for future journeys.

New York-based D.S. & Durga are perfumers known for ‘transportive’ fragrances with rich narratives. The amenity kits include aromas Rose Atlantic and Radio Bombay in lip balms and lotions. Rose Atlantic is inspired by summers on the New England coast with aromas of wild rose and the salty sea. Radio Bombay is described by the perfumers as a journey to the old days of Mumbai as ‘hot copper tubes warm the soft wood releasing the blooms of musk, cream, peach, ambrette, coco and cedar distillates’.

The new amenity kits, which are pouches of personal care items wrapped in sustainable packaging that American provides for premium customers on long-haul international and transcontinental flights, begin rolling out flights operating between the United States and Heathrow. This includes service to Heathrow from Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, Charlotte, New York City, Philadelphia and Seattle.

The kits will roll out across other long-haul international and transcontinental flights throughout the summer.

Shinola has a reputation for assembling world-class clocks with an affinity for unique design. As an extension of AA’s partnership, Shinola is creating a desk clock featuring a dial made entirely from the original metal of American’s iconic, but now retired, fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft.

The MD-80s were the long-time backbone of American’s fleet, carrying customers for more than 35 years before it was retired in 2019.

Each dial is unique and bears small markings from the aircraft’s decades of service. Clock dials are hand-cut and re-polished under the watchful eye of Moto Art in California, with final assembly in Shinola’s Detroit factory.

Shinola is creating a limited 1,000 desk clocks, and later this summer, Shinola wall clocks will be featured in select Admirals Club lounges.

British Airways is flying 27 tonnes of medical aid to Delhi

5, May 2021/in News /by Dave

As the humanitarian crisis in India worsens, British Airways has announced it will fly a Boeing 777-200 aircraft loaded with emergency aid to Delhi to support the Indian government as the country continues to battle rising Coronavirus cases with dwindling oxygen supplies.

1,349 items of aid will depart on an aircraft specially chartered by British Airways and supported by volunteers from the airline to ensure life-saving supplies reach the country urgently. British Airways Chairman and CEO Sean Doyle says the airline has offered the support free.

Khalsa Aid is an international NGO with the aim to provide humanitarian aid in disaster areas and civil conflict zones around the world

The airline commissioned a special project team to organise the flight, due to leave on Wednesday 5 May at 5pm, landing in Delhi at 5.45am (local time) on Thursday 6 May. The aircraft is loaded with more than a thousand items from the High Commission of India and charities including Khalsa Aid International and the largest Hindu Temple outside of India, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, in Neasden, London.

The load includes hundreds of urgent life-saving oxygen cylinders and shipments of oxygen concentrators, respirators and blood oxygen saturation monitors. British Airways is also donating care packages for families in need.

While IAG Cargo and British Airways have maintained a vital air link between London and India throughout the pandemic, sending aid on scheduled flights, this air lift is a special charter, fully funded by the two companies.

*Captain Minesh Patel, commanding the relief service, is a member of the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir temple*

Sean Doyle, British Airways’ Chief Executive and CEO, said:

The British Airways family has been deeply affected by the terrible scenes in India of the deepening humanitarian crisis that has impacted the lives of many of our people. We are fortunate to be in a position to help transport aid and I am so proud of the volunteers from across the airline and IAG Cargo who have stepped up to make this happen. We continue to stand with our friends in India as the country endures one of the worst crises it has ever known.

British Airways works in partnership with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which is organising the UK’s humanitarian response. Saleh Saeed, Chief Executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee, said:

The DEC brings together 14 leading UK aid charities to respond quickly and effectively to disasters, with the fantastic support of partners in the corporate sector, including British Airways. We are hugely grateful to British Airways for springing into action to support our emergency appeals, enabling us to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to people in India and elsewhere across the world when disaster strikes.

Captain Minesh Patel has been instrumental in helping to organise the flight and is commanding the relief service. He said:

It seemed natural to connect British Airways with the wealth of aid and relief material amassed by BAPS in the UK to enable the medical supplies to reach the organisation’s volunteers in India who can provide relief, medical and social aid to the victims in the worst affected regions.

The airline’s people have also raised several thousand pounds for the DEC’s appeal through internal online donations.

You can find out more about the Disasters Emergency Committee coronavirus appeal here:
www.dec.org.uk/appeal/coronavirus-appeal.

Finnair to accept Covid-19 vaccination certificate as an alternative to negative test result or an immunity certificate when travelling to Finland

26, April 2021/in News /by Dave

Finnair will start accepting a Covid-19 vaccination certificate from the first vaccination dose as an alternative to a negative test result or a certificate of a previous Covid-19 infection, on Finnair flights to Finland from 11 May, 2021.

Since late January 2021, Finnair has required that all passengers travelling to Finland – excluding transfer passengers – present either a negative test certificate or an immunity/recovery certificate as a prerequisite for boarding, in line with the recommendation by the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare.

In addition, from 11 May, there is no requirement for children under the age of 16 to present a health certificate, but Finnair recommends children between 12 and 15 years of age arrive with proof of a negative test result. This is to speed up the arrival procedure at Helsinki Airport, where passengers with a negative test result are exempt from testing on arrival.

Kimmo Ketola, Finnair Medical Director said,

Vaccines have proven their power in fighting the pandemic, and vaccination certificates will play a key role in the upcoming EU Digital Green Certificate to ensure the health and safety of travellers.
The likelihood of a vaccinated person being infected and transmitting Covid-19 is very small.

Finnair will accept vaccination certificates for all Covid-19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organization or the European Medical Agency. The vaccine needs to be administered at least 21 days before the travel date. The certificate needs to include the customer’s name, date of birth, the name of the vaccine producer, the time and place the vaccine was administered, as well as the issuer of the certificate.

As an alternative to the vaccination certificate, customers can present proof of a negative Covid-19 test result or a certificate of a previous Covid-19 infection.

Paul Baker, Sales Director of GTM explained what this can mean for UK-based business travellers,

Finnair specialises in traffic between Europe and Asia, because the fastest connections between many European destinations and Asian megacities fly over Finland. Finnair’s requirement of a Covid-19 vaccine certificate as an alternative to a negative Covid-19 test will be useful for British business travellers, since the vaccine rollout has been so successful in the UK so far.

Finnair closely follows the development of health and safety measures in travel, and regularly updates its own procedures. Finnair flights have comprehensive health and safety measures in place, including a requirement to wear a mask during the flight. Measures are also in place when boarding and disembarking the aircraft, as well as during the flight.

Passengers will need to be sure of the travel restrictions in place between the UK and Finland and should check with GTM before travelling.

Uneven effect of Covid-19 shakes up the lists of busiest airports

23, April 2021/in News /by Dave

Airports Council International (ACI) World has published its preliminary world airport traffic rankings – covering passenger traffic and aircraft movements for 2020 – showing the dramatic impact of Covid-19 on what are ordinarily the world’s busiest airports.

Global passenger traffic at the world’s top 10 busiest airports decreased by 45.7% in 2020. Overall, passenger traffic at the world’s airports decreased by 64.6% which shows that the impact of the pandemic and the early stages of recovery in air travel has not been uniform around the world.

According to the preliminary data, Guangzhou Bai Yun International Airport in China recorded the most passenger traffic in 2020, with Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in the United States just behind.

Seven of the top 10 airports for passenger traffic are in China with three in the United States. In most cases, domestic air travel is beginning a modest rebound while international air travel remained depressed because of travel restrictions.

Luis Felipe de Oliveira, Director General of ACI World said,

The impact of the COVID-19 on global passenger traffic pandemic brought aviation to a virtual standstill in 2020 and we continue to face threat. The data reveals the challenge airports continue to face and it remains imperative that the industry is supported through direct support and sensible policy decisions from governments to ensure that aviation can endure, rebuild connectivity, and fuel a global economic recovery.
The findings show that the impact remains uneven with different regions experiencing different challenges and requiring different policy decisions and support from governments to lay the foundation for recovery.
With some positive signs of recovery, especially in countries with high rates of vaccination, a sustained global recovery will only be realized with an escalation of vaccination campaigns, the continued development of digital health passes, and coordinated and cohesive policy support from governments.

Air cargo was less impacted by COVID 19, with volumes decreasing by only 8.9%, to an estimated 109 million metric tonnes in 2020, equivalent to 2016 levels (110 million metric tonnes).

For airports, revenues are tightly correlated to traffic levels but, like many other capital-intensive businesses, a large proportion of airport costs remain fixed and do not fall at the same level as traffic throughput and revenues during the crisis. Even with reduced operations, the closure of terminals and staff layoffs, this imbalance remains.

Interesting links