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Dave

United kicks off largest transatlantic expansion in its history

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United Airlines has kicked off the launch of its largest transatlantic expansion in its history, in anticipation of a strong recovery in European travel.

Patrick Quayle: We have long anticipated a strong demand recovery

In total, United will launch or resume 30 transatlantic flights from mid-April to early June. This includes adding new nonstop flights to five destinations no other North American airline serves including Amman, Jordan; Bergen, Norway; Azores, Portugal; Palma de Mallorca, Spain and Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands.

The airline is also launching five new nonstop flights to some of Europe’s most popular business and tourist hubs including London, Milan, Zurich, Munich and Nice. United is also resuming fourteen Atlantic routes the airline has historically served and adding frequencies in six others.

United’s transatlantic route network will be more than 25% larger than it was in 2019.

With this expansion, United will serve more transatlantic destinations than every other U.S. carrier combined and will be the largest airline across the Atlantic for the first time in history.

Patrick Quayle, senior vice president of international network and alliances at United said,

We have long anticipated a strong demand recovery, evidenced by our large, strategic expansion in Europe, and with these new flights, we’re proud to offer our customers more options and access than ever before. United continues to leverage its leading global network in new and exciting ways to help our customers make meaningful memories and experience new cultures around the world.

In light of the increased demand for European travel, United is also launching new services to some of Europe’s most iconic cities, including:

  • New daily flights between Boston and London Heathrow, which began on 14 April, and is United’s only trans-oceanic point-to-point flight from Boston. This flight complements United’s nonstop service to London Heathrow from all seven of United’s hubs.
  • New daily flights between Denver and Munich, which began April 23 and joins existing service from Denver to Frankfurt and London. United is the only U.S. airline to offer transatlantic service from Denver.
  • New daily flights between Chicago and Zurich, which began April 23. United now offers more nonstop service between Switzerland and the U.S. than any other U.S. airline, and is the only U.S. airline with nonstop service to Geneva.
  • New daily flights between New York/Newark and Nice, beginning April 29. United will offer more premium seats to Nice than any other U.S. carrier.
  • New daily flights between Chicago and Milan, beginning May 6, joining existing seasonal flights between Chicago and Rome. United will be the only airline to offer nonstop service between Chicago and Milan, adding to its existing service between New York/Newark and Milan.

In addition to these new flights, United is increasing service to popular European travel destinations, including:

  • Second daily flights between New York/Newark and Dublin, which began 23 April.
  • Second daily flights between Denver and London Heathrow, beginning 7 May.
  • Second daily flight between New York/Newark and Frankfurt, beginning 26 May.
  • Second flight between New York/Newark and Rome five times weekly, beginning 27 May.
  • Adding a third daily flight between San Francisco and London Heathrow and increasing service between New York/Newark and London Heathrow to seven daily flights, beginning 28 May. With this additional service, United will offer 22 daily nonstop flights from the U.S. to London Heathrow.

To help generate excitement about these new routes, earlier this month United launched two unique out of home campaigns, including digital billboards in downtown Boston to highlight the airline’s new Boston-London Heathrow service. United also teamed up with Saks Fifth Avenue for a series of window displays featuring fashion inspired by United’s five unique transatlantic routes.

In addition to these European routes, United is also growing its presence in Africa as part of this transatlantic expansion. On 8 May, United will increase its service to offer daily flights between Washington/Dulles and Accra, Ghana. The airline will also extend its existing seasonal service to Cape Town to year-round, with nonstop flights from New York/Newark resuming 5 June, subject to government approval.

Dave

KLM mandates face masks and increases daily flight capacity

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KLM has become the latest airline to mandate the use of face masks by passengers.

In a statement released on 4 May, the carrier stated that the requirement for masks starts on 11 May.

The statement said:

Since the Covid-19 outbreak began, KLM has introduced many measures around screening and hygiene to protect customers and KLM staff, on board and at airports. KLM’s policy is based on national (RIVM) and international (WHO, IATA) guidelines, and complies with international law and regulations. In situations where social distancing cannot be guaranteed, the wearing of face masks will be recommended or made compulsory. Some destinations already require face masks to be worn on board flights.

Starting 11 May, masks will be compulsory on board and during boarding.

The airline also clarified that passengers will be responsible for providing their own face masks.

The announcement comes as KLM confirmed the reintroduction of a number of flights. One, daily flight will operate to Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Milan, Budapest, Prague, Warsaw and Helsinki, operating from 11 May. This will meet KLM’s target of reintroducing 15% of the airline’s pre-pandemic capacity.

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.

Paul

National Strikes in Italy.

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Local public transport strikes may affect travel at short notice in the main Italian cities of Milan, Rome, Florence, Naples, Turin and Genova tomorrow,
Tuesday 2nd October.

The strike will start at 08:30 to 17:00 and from 20:00 until end of service, with commuters guaranteed public transport during peak travel times
in the morning and evening.