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Dave

Virgin Atlantic and Korean Air announce codeshare agreement for seamless travel to Asia and Australasia

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Virgin Atlantic has exciting news for its customers as it announces the launch of a new codeshare agreement with Korean Air.

This will offer customers more opportunities to fly seamlessly to South Korea and beyond. The agreement is set to launch on 25 March, and customers booking through Virgin Atlantic will have the opportunity to travel directly to Incheon Airport, in South Korea’s capital, Seoul.

But that’s not all, as the agreement will be expanded to include further destinations in Asia and Australasia from June. Customers will be able to connect onwards from Seoul to a variety of destinations throughout Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand. Virgin Atlantic is confident that this codeshare agreement with Korean Air is the first step towards its entry to Seoul and is set to enhance the airline’s network in Asia.

Virgin Atlantic’s recent enrollment into the SkyTeam alliance further enhances customers benefits. Customers can earn and redeem Virgin Points and take advantage of SkyPriority benefits. As one of the founding members of the SkyTeam alliance, Korean Air is an excellent partner for Virgin Atlantic in the codeshare agreement.

From May, services to Shanghai, China will resume, alongside an expanded codeshare with IndiGo throughout India and beyond. Flying Club members will be able to take advantage of SkyPriority services at Seoul Incheon, including priority check-in, baggage handling, and boarding.

Virgin Atlantic Chief Commercial Officer, Juha Jarvinen, said,

We’re pleased to launch a codeshare with Korean Air, as we know such agreements bring an array of benefits to our customers.  As one of Asia’s major carriers, Virgin Atlantic customers can benefit from its extensive route network, that will offer more choice throughout Asia and Australasia. 

Our enrolment into SkyTeam, of which Korean Air is a founding member, enhances customers benefits further. Our Flying Club members can enjoy SkyPriority benefits at both London Heathrow and Seoul Incheon as well as earning and redeeming miles across Korean Air’s network.

This codeshare agreement between Virgin Atlantic and Korean Air is something for business travellers to look forward to.

Paul

British Airways News.

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British Airways and Japan Airlines (JAL) have recently announced the start of a joint business agreement which will involve both airlines sharing revenue on certain flights between Europe and Japan. 

The joint business will benefit customers by providing better links between Europe and Japan, greater choice of flights to more destinations, enhanced frequent flyer benefits and the potential to launch new routes as well as improved transfers for customers to destinations in Europe and within Japan, through enhancing and expanding the codeshare network beyond the two airlines’ respective hub cities. 

As a result of the joint business, JAL will offer new codeshare destinations to Belfast, Helsinki, Frankfurt and Gothenburg on British Airways operated flights. British Airways will extend its reach to more destinations in Japan by codesharing on flights to Kansai, Okayama, Izumo, Okinawa, Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Kagoshima. 

Customers participating in JAL and British Airways’ loyalty programmes will continue to enjoy reciprocal benefits as customers of oneworld®, and are expected to further benefit from future opportunities to earn and redeem miles on each airline’s flights more easily as a result of the increased codesharing and joint promotions.

Complimentary Porter Trial – British Airways is currently running trials of a complimentary porter service for all First and Gold card holders flying from London Heathrow Terminal 5. The trial has aleady started and will finish on October 17th, if successful the service will be made permanent.

New Alicante Route – British Airways is launching another new route from London Gatwick, with the start of services to Alicante from 31 March 2013.

The London Gatwick to Alicante services will commence from the beginning of the Summer 2013 season, in addition to the 3 services per week already operating during the Winter 2012 season from London Heathrow.

Services are already on sale.

 

 

Paul

Super Typhoon Jelawat.

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Super Typhoon Jelawat is forecast to bring rain and heavy winds to Taiwan and China’s eastern coastal areas over the next couple of days. When last tracked yesterday, Jelawat’s center was located about 770 kilometers southeast of Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving northwest at 15 kilometers per hour.

Strong winds are forecast to begin hitting Taiwan as well as coastal Fujian province during the next 24 hours. The Washington Post has also reported that the typhoon could hit Okinawa before a possible encounter with mainland Japan, depending on how the storm tracks.
 
Jelawat is currently a Category 4 storm, however, it is expected to gradually weaken because of decreasing water temperatures and should be a Category 1 or 2 storm as it nears the vicinity of Okinawa on Saturday, before weakenning further to a minimal hurricane or tropical storm with a possible landfall south of Tokyo on Sunday and into Monday.

As Jelawat may cause flight delays or cancellations travellers are advised to monitor local media and remain aware of further devleopments.