A snapshot of the week's airline news
Two Kenyan airlines join Sabre
TRAVEL agents can now shop and book Five Forty Aviation (Fly540)
and East African Safari Air (Fly-SAX) fares via Sabre. Both Kenyan
low-cost airlines, which are based in Nairobi, have signed multi-year
technology agreements with Sabre, making their content available
on the GDS. Dean Bibb, vp of Sabre Travel Network for Eastern
Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “Africa is poised for rapid
growth and development in the coming years and Sabre is eager
to support this by providing our airline partners with the latest
technology to expand their reach and brand awareness with leisure
and corporate travel agencies around the world.” Five Forty Aviation
operates under the code 5H and East African Safari Air, B5.
Emirates to go double daily to DAR
EMIRATES will operate a double-daily service from Dubai to Dar es
Salaam from January 1. The airline currently operates 12 flights
a week on the route. “Our move to a double daily shows the
importance of Tanzania as a key tourism and business market,” said
Orhan Abbas, Emirates senior vp of Commercial Operations, Latin
America, Central and Southern Africa. The second daily service will
be operated with an A330-200 with 12 seats in first class, 42 in
business class and 183 in economy class.
Etihad expands Alitalia codeshare
ETIHAD Airways and Alitalia recently signed a major codeshare
expansion that, subject to government approval, will result in Etihad
Airways placing its EY code on Alitalia’s new daily service between
Venice and Abu Dhabi. The flights launch on March 29. In addition,
the code will be placed on Alitalia’s daily service between Abu Dhabi
and Milan, which launches on the same day. The flights will combine
with Etihad Airways’ existing daily service for double-daily frequency.
Air Canada expands new seating offering
AIR Canada has added two new Boeing 777-300ERs to its widebody
fleet and will expand the introduction of its new international
business-class product to include all B777-300ER aircraft. It
will also reconfigure the aircraft to include its new premium
economy-cabin. Air Canada’s three-cabin international product
and seating standard will be extended to its 25 B777-300ERs
and B777-200LRs, consistent with seating on its new B787-8
and -9 Dreamliner fleet. The fleet of eight A330-300s will also be
reconfigured with a premium economy cabin. The economy- and
business-class cabins of its A330-300 fleet will be unchanged.
Conversion of the B777s and A330s is planned to begin in the
fourth quarter of 2015 and is expected to be completed by the
second half of 2016. Air Canada’s new international product will
offer 180-degree lie-flat seats in business class, and up to 30 lieflat
executive pods on its B787-8 and -9 aircraft and 40 on B777-
300ER and 200LRs
