Airline briefs 10Dec12
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A round-up of airline news
Royal Brunei rebrands
Royal Brunei launched its new branding and restructure in London last week. Revealing its new look at The Dorchester in London, the airline is aiming to position itself as a boutique “stylish small airline with a mid-range service” taking inspiration from Brunei itself. Its new livery and logo will be followed by new uniforms, lounge, ticket offices and website and comes as it prepares to receive its Boeing 787 Dreamliner in October 2013.
Qantas drops onboard Wi-Fi
Qantas has scrapped its plans to provide wireless internet access on flights, citing a lack of interest from customers during a trial. The trial, announced by chief executive Alan Joyce in December last year, ran for nine months and allowed passengers to access the internet on six of the airline’s A380 superjumbos on long-haul flights to London and across the Pacific to Los Angeles. A spokesman said that customer take-up of the Wi-Fi service on flights during the trial, which ended last month, was extremely low at around 5%, and very expensive to provide.
Vueling announces London-Florence
Vueling has announced it will fly between Heathrow and Florence next year as part of its expansion plans at the Italian airport. The Spanish carrier will operate the route daily from March 2013 alongside services from Florence to Copenhagen, Berlin and Hamburg.
CityJet announces new routes
CityJet has added two German cities to its network from London City Airport. The airline will operate flights to Dresden and Paderborn from 1 April and 22 April 2013 respectively. Both routes will operate six times a week. “There is a strong inbound demand for direct routes to the heart of London from Germany both from a business as well as a leisure perspective. By expanding our German network to four destinations, including Munster and Nuremberg, we are answering that demand at a time when Germany continues to remain Europe’s economic powerhouse,” said Christine Ourmières, CEO of CityJet.
easyJet ups Birmingham-Belfast frequency
easyJet is to increase flights between Birmingham and Belfast International Airport following high demand. A second Sunday flight from Belfast to Birmingham will commence on 31 March 2013 departing at 13.25. The carrier has already flown 14,000 people on the route since its launch this October. “Sunday is a strong travelling day for both business commuters and people on weekend breaks, therefore doubling our Sunday offering will give our passengers,” said Ali Gayward, head of Northern Ireland at easyJet.