Bids and last-minute reduced fees prove popular
SOME airlines have
introduced a facility that
either allows passengers
to bid for upgrades or to pay
a last-minute reduced fee
for business-class tickets.
According to both the airlines
and agents, these services
are being received very well by
passengers.
South African Airways and
Ethiopian Airlines are two
carriers that have introduced
a bid for upgrades facility.
Both of their systems work in
the same way. The passenger
simply makes the airline an
offer by selecting the amount
they are willing to pay for an
upgrade, enters their payment
details and then waits for the
airline to advise them if their
offer was successful.
According to Tlali Tlali,
spokesperson of SAA,
Step-Up, SAA’s bid for upgrades
facility, has become incredibly
popular over the past two
years.
Yusuf Moola, owner of
Travel Fresh, says some of his
clients were sceptical when
SAA and Ethiopian Airlines
first introduced their bid for
upgrades services but are now
making use of them regularly.
Michelle Bergset, area leader
for Transformers of Flight
Centre Travel Group, says her
clients use these facilities
regularly too. “They are really
great – corporate and leisure
travellers love
them!”
Air Mauritius
has introduced
Last-Minute
Airport Upgrade, a
facility that allows
passengers to
pay a last-minute
reduced fee to
upgrade. Wouter
Nel, sales and
marketing manager
for Southern Africa
of Air Mauritius, explains
how it works. “On the day of
departure, subject to seat
availability, passengers can pay
a fee to upgrade from economy
class to business class. The
cost to upgrade is R1 500 on
the Airbus A340-
300 and R1 800
on the Airbus
A319-100 aircraft.
The upgrade fee
is one-way from
Cape Town, Durban
or Johannesburg.”
Wouter says
passengers have
shown great
interest in this
facility, perhaps
because Air
Mauritius offers competitive
business-class fares to
Mauritius and destinations
beyond.
Priti Ramikssoon, travel
consultant of Thompsons
Travel, says most of her clients
enjoy this facility. Wally Gaynor,
md of Club Travel, believes a
lot of his clients make use of
it too. Marco Tomasicchio, gm
of XL International Travels, says
this facility is probably popular
because the last-minute
reduced fees are nowhere near
the cost of an actual businessclass
ticket.
Agents agree that the
only downside to these
facilities is that they do not
receive any kind of fee when
passengers upgrade. “It
would also be fantastic if
agents could access these
facilities to accommodate the
comfort needs of our clients,”
concludes Michelle.
Most booked for premium class
In a recent eTNW survey,
agents were asked on
which three airlines they
most frequently booked
premium class. Emirates
came out on top, with 52%
of agents mentioning the
airline, followed by British
Airways, booked by 47%,
and SAA, 30%. Virgin
Atlantic followed in fourth
place, with 27% of agents
mentioning the airline,
while Lufthansa and Air
France KLM followed in
joint fifth place, at 24%.
Other airlines mentioned
by a high number of agents
included Qantas (20%),
Cathay Pacific (13%),
Singapore Airlines (11%)
and Qatar (11%).
Convincing the leisure traveller to step up
THE dogma of the travel
industry is that the
corporate traveller is the
steadfast and profitable
customer when it comes to
premium-class air tickets.
According to agents,
corporate travellers fly out
of necessity and will pay
whatever fare it takes to get
to their next meeting. Also
out of necessity, they will
pay a premium price to sit
in a seat that keeps them
productive and refreshed to
do business after landing.
“Generally, corporate
travellers are premiumclass
passengers,” says
Marco Tomasicchio of XL
International Travels.
In contrast, the leisure
traveller is not inclined to
book premium class. “It
is very difficult to convince
the leisure traveller to step
up from economy class to
premium class, as the price
difference between the two
classes is so vast,” says
Marco.
That said, there are ways
agents can convince the
leisure traveller to take
that step up. According to
agents, there are a number
of key selling points that
they can use as part of their
upselling strategy.
Before flying
Chauffeur service
Candice Perry, marketing,
media relations and
social media co-ordinator
of Thompsons Holidays
points out that there are
benefits of flying premium
class before the client
even leaves the house,
allowing them to go into
‘holiday mode’ before
they even arrive at their
destination.
Angela McLoskey, md
of Sure Dynamic Travel,
says airlines like Emirates,
Etihad and Virgin Atlantic
offer a private chauffeur
service that will fetch
the client from their
front door and take them
to the airport terminal
completely free of charge.
These transfers are done
by professional drivers in
state-of-the-art vehicles.
Vicky Steinhardt, product
manager of Pentravel, and
Candice both say these
private chauffeur services
have seriously impressed
their clients.
Priority check-in and
boarding
Priority check-in and
boarding appeal to clients
who do not want to arrive
at the airport only to be
greeted by massive checkin
lines, says Tony King,
senior travel adviser of Go
Travel. “A dedicated checkin
and boarding line make
the client a priority so
they can skip the regular
queue, receive efficient
service and be on their
way. What’s more, some
airlines even offer priority
security screening for
premium-class customers.
Lounge access
Salma Mansuri, travel
consultant of A2Z Travel
Services, says automatic
entry to private airport
lounges isn’t only
appealing to corporate
travellers who want to
remain efficient and
productive while waiting to
board the flight.
“These luxurious lounges
offer comfortable seating,
private sleeping, shower
facilities, exclusive meal
offerings and concierge
services and can therefore
help leisure travellers relax
before boarding.”
In the air
Space and comfort
Yusuf Moola, owner of
Travel Fresh, says the
amount of space you get in
premium class compared
with economy class is a top
selling point.
“Assure the client that
premium class won’t leave
them feeling huddled in
by the person sitting next
to them like economy
class can.
“Instead, they will be able
to stretch out their legs as
far as they can and, most
of all, enjoy some personal
space.”
Angela emphasises how
extra space will ensure
that the client travels
comfortably and will, in turn,
arrive feeling refreshed for
their holiday.
Tracy says older or very
tall clients could really do
with this extra space.
For this reason, she
suggests telling them about
the spacious seats that fold
down in comfortable beds
in premium class.
Fine dining
Erik Dedekind, Travelbar
Team Leader of Travelstart,
says award-winning menus
crafted by famous chefs,
boutique wine lists and
an on-board café service
rather than out-of-thebox
aeroplane food may
convince some clients.
Salma agrees: “After all,
dining in premium class
is a culinary experience
designed to entice.”
In-flight entertainment
Tony says clients who enjoy
the in-flight entertainment
element of long-haul
journeys should be told
that it only gets better in
premium class.
There are extra channels
and much bigger screens.
Furthermore, they can keep
in touch with their friends
and family from take-off
to touch-down with a wide
range of connection ports
and WiFi connectivity at
their fingertips on -board
some airlines.
KLM introduces ‘Anytime For You’ dining option
KLM has launched its
‘Anytime For You’ dining
option for business-class
passengers, which allows
them to choose what and
when they eat on board.
Anytime For You initially
launched on flights
between Amsterdam and
Johannesburg. The carrier
says the service will be
phased in on various flights,
with a second yet-to-bedetermined
route being
added in October.
Passengers are presented
with a new menu at the start
of their flight, showing the
regular three-course dinner
or lunch options plus the
new Anytime For You range.
Passengers can order from
the standard menu during
the regular meal service,
after which they can choose
from the Anytime For You
menu throughout the flight.
The Anytime For You range
consists of eight freshly
prepared courses ranging
from hot and cold, sweet
and savoury, and healthy
choices and ‘special treats’.
Two stand-out courses are
the ‘In-Between Dish’, a
warm caramel waffle, and the
‘Goodbye Drink’, a healthy
energy drink made from
fresh fruit and vegetables.
“The Anytime For You
service allows us to fulfil
passengers’ personal
preferences and to take
their individual biorhythms
into account,” says Miriam
Kartman, executive vp of
KLM Inflight Services. “The
extra care and attention
given by KLM cabin crew,
who are specially trained to
offer this service, ensure
that this is a personal
and flexible product – a
memorable experience for
our World Business Class
passengers.”
New premium lounge for LHR
The new Plaza Premium Lounge in Heathrow’s
Terminal 3 brings the company’s total to
150 lounges in 36 international airports, with
its next opening planned for Leonardo da
Vinci airport in Rome, due for completion in
October. Plaza Premium, which already has
lounges in Heathrow’s Terminals 2 and 4
departures and arrivals areas, says it has
worked to improve its facilities for Heathrow
passengers by investing heavily in the design
of its showers. The new T3 lounge includes
11 shower rooms, with other facilities
including a seating area for 28 passengers,
food and beverage facilities, a variety of
international newspapers and magazines,
satellite television channels, unlimited WiFi
and a clothes pressing service.
British Airways partners with luxury brand
BRITISH Airways has partnered with
the luxury lifestyle brand, The White
Company, to give premium-class
passengers a great night’s sleep in
the sky.
The White Company will supply
bedding as part of the airline’s
customer investment plan, with a
focus on excellence in the premium
cabins and better choice and quality
for all.
The British retail company has
exclusively designed a bespoke,
luxuriously soft large pillow and
white cotton pillowcase to enhance
passengers’ comfort and to help
them sleep well on board.
Later this year, passengers
travelling in business class between
Heathrow and New York JFK will also
be given a new elegant day cushion,
which will double up as a lumbar
support to use when working or
relaxing on board.
Passengers will also be given a
soft woven blanket with satin trim
and a specially developed luxury
duvet to improve the quality of
sleep, as well as a padded mattress
cover for an extra layer of comfort.
This new bedding will be gradually
rolled out across BA’s other longhaul
routes.
“Our investment in Club World
has started and we’re kicking off
by helping our customers sleep
even better in the skies. Partnering
with The White Company, another
quintessentially British brand
renowned for quality and style,
is the first step in a multimillionpound
investment for our premium
customers,” says Alex Cruz, ceo
and chairman of BA.
Ethiopian introduces new Airbus on Johannesburg route
ETHIOPIAN Airlines has introduced
one of its brand-new A350 aircraft
to the Johannesburg- Addis Ababa
route, replacing the Boeing-777.
The current schedule of two daily
flights remains unchanged.
Ethiopian took delivery of five new
A350s over the past year and has
ordered a total of 24.
The new aircraft are configured
with 30 business-class seats, also
referred to as ‘Cloud Nine’ and
313 economy-class seats. The
business-class seats are flat beds
with spacious leg room and the
latest in-flight entertainment. The
airline also plans to soon start
offering WiFi on all its flights.
“Passengers will be met with a
unique African-flavoured Ethiopian
hospitality,” says Abel Alemu,
regional manager: Southern
Africa for Ethiopian Airlines. “The
airline has received a number of
prestigious awards for its on-board
service including ‘Best African
Airline’ by Skytrax in June 2017,”
he adds.
