easyJet holidays and University of Oxford announce partnership to establish Sustainable Development Goals Lab

UK tour operator, easyJet holidays and the University of Oxford announced today they are partnering to establish the Oxford SDG Impact Lab. The two will work together to identify challenges and opportunities for sustainable tourism. This will help easyJet holidays pursue its aim to be an industry leader in sustainable tourism that has a positive impact on the environment and local communities.

The holidays company recently launched its sustainability strategy, aligned with the sustainable development goals (SDG) of the United Nations. It has now become the industry partner at the Oxford SDG Impact Lab, where selected students will be mentored and trained to deliver academically rigorous, evidence-based reports whose aim is to improve key areas of social and environmental development in a number of destinations where easyJet holidays operates.

The Oxford SDG Impact Lab will be made up of 20 graduate students, mainly from the social sciences and humanities, and will get underway in January 2022. Students will identify challenges and opportunities to develop sustainable tourism in the focus destinations, supported and mentored by Oxford University staff, as well as a dedicated team of experts from easyJet holidays.

The students will employ a range of research methods to develop a proposal for their destination that advances at least one of the SDGs. The program will include a four week research trip to destinations across Europe in the summer of 2022, to help develop proposals. Throughout the program, easyJet holidays will support students, providing industry and business knowledge to help shape their proposals.

The program will culminate in September 2022, when the students will deliver their recommendation reports. easyJet holidays will then decide which projects it will champion, to develop and support sustainable practices in its focus holiday destinations. At the end of the program, easyJet holidays may ask one of the students to join the organization to pilot one or more of the proposed projects.

Matt Callaghan, easyJet holidays Director of Customer & Operations, said:

“We only launched easyJet holidays in 2019 but we were always clear that when it comes to sustainability we want to lead the industry and we want to integrate sustainability into every aspect of our business, because, now more than ever, purpose beyond profit is essential.

“Which is why we’re so pleased to be working with the University of Oxford, combining our deep industry expertise with some of the brightest minds in the country, to help us identify where we can have a real impact and make meaningful change on the people and places that make our destinations so special.

“This is the first partnership of its kind and we’re really excited for the program to get underway. We’ll be part of it at each and every step to provide our support and expertise, and we look forward to seeing the recommendations from the SDG Impact Lab students on what we can do to deliver on our commitment to providing holidays that don’t cost the earth.”

Professor Alexander Betts, who is Co-Founder of the SDG Impact Lab, and responsible for graduate training across the social sciences at the University of Oxford said:

“We are delighted to be able to partner with easyJet holidays to launch the new SDG Impact Lab. It will offer our brilliant graduate students a unique opportunity to acquire practical skills and apply their talents to advance the UN sustainable development goals. The Lab represents a leap forward in our ability to support experiential learning and enable our students to change the world for the better.

“It’s important that our students can complement their academic studies with the acquisition of transferrable skills in areas such as leadership and project management. They need to be able to work within interdisciplinary teams and collaborate with business, government, and third sector organization. The combination of a 16-weeks skills training program with a field-based research internship makes this a pioneering step-forwards in how we deliver graduate education.”

Earlier this year easyJet holidays launched its inaugural sustainability strategy and became the first major UK tour operator to offset the carbon emissions directly associated from its package holidays, comprising the fuel used for flights and in-destination transfers, as well as the energy used from hotel stays. The new strategy focuses on three core pillars – create better holiday choices which is about making sustainable travel affordable and accessible to everyone; keep our holidays special which is maximizing the benefits and minimizing the negative impacts of travel and tourism including a commitment to support hotels it works with to achieve certification by a GSTC accredited certification body or certification to a GSTC recognized standard, and transform travel for everyone which means embedding sustainability into business decisions and behaviors and driving meaningful change in the industry.

Demand for sustainable aviation fuel is on the rise

Lufthansa Group made this announcement:

CO₂-neutral flying is already possible today. The Lufthansa Group is pursuing an ambitious path for more climate friendly aviation and, since spring 2021, in addition to private travelers, has also been offering companies the option of using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for their flights. Steadily more of the Lufthansa Group’s corporate customers are interested in this climate friendly form of business travel or freight transportation. After the insurance company AXA Deutschland, the logistics service providers DB Schenker and Kuehne+Nagel, Kearney has now also become the first internationally active management consultancy to invest extensively in SAF. As a result, Kearney is now using the Lufthansa Group’s “Compensaid Corporate Program” to make the majority of its business flights CO₂-neutral.

“As Europe’s largest purchaser of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, we already enable CO₂-neutral flying. Among our corporate customers, we are seeing increasing interest in using this genuine alternative to fossil aviation fuel. Every company that already invests in Sustainable Aviation Fuel spurs the market ramp-up and thus makes an important contribution on the way to CO₂-neutral air transport,” says Christina Foerster, Member of the Lufthansa Group’s Executive Board responsible for Customer, IT & Corporate Responsibility.

Lufthansa Group continues to invest in Sustainable Aviation Fuel

A few days ago, the Lufthansa Group secured sustainable kerosene for a quarter of a billion US-Dollars in order to be able to meet the foreseeable increase in demand in the coming years. This is the largest pure sustainability investment in the history of the Lufthansa Group to date.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel is currently produced mainly from biogenic residues, for example from used cooking oils. This means that the new aviation fuel can, in perspective, enable nearly CO₂-neutral aviation. The Lufthansa Group has been involved in SAF research for many years and has built up an extensive network of partnerships. The company is already the largest buyer of SAF in Europe, a pilot customer of the first industrially produced Power-to-Liquid fuel worldwide, and also aims to be among the world’s leading airline groups in the use of sustainable kerosene.

Currently, very little SAF is available on the global market and it is significantly more expensive than conventional kerosene. The Lufthansa Group is therefore working on various projects to advance the development and availability of SAF including, in particular, SAF produced from renewable electrical energy. In addition to the use of more efficient, latest-generation aircraft, SAF are the most effective lever on the path to a CO₂-neutral aviation industry.

Lufthansa Group joins SBTi initiative

The Lufthansa Group has set ambitious climate protection goals and aims to halve net CO₂ emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 and to achieve a neutral CO₂ balance by 2050. To further specify these net targets, it has joined the so-called Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) to bring its CO₂ reduction path in line with the United Nations Paris Climate Agreement. Based on scientific calculations, CO₂ emissions will be continuously reduced with the help of fleet renewal and optimization, improved operational efficiency and the use of SAF. The official validation will take place in 2022.

Lufthansa Group airlines offers 440 additional flights for Christmas and New Year’s Day

The airlines of the Lufthansa Group (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings) are offering around 80,000 additional seats on 440 extra flights for the upcoming holiday season and New Year. The airlines are now responding to the weeks-long increase in demand for flights during the Holiday vacations by resuming destinations and increasing the frequency of existing connections or deploying larger aircraft.

From its hubs in Munich and Frankfurt alone, Lufthansa is offering more than 120 additional flights with a capacity of 25,000 seats during the Christmas period.

In the U.S., New York and destinations in the state of Florida are booked particularly often. In Europe, destinations on the Spanish mainland and the Canary Islands, Portugal and other sunny destinations in the Mediterranean region as well as Scandinavia are in particularly high demand. In addition to these destinations, the snow-sure ski resorts in Lapland (northern Finland) are back on the flight schedule. Thus one reaches over the holiday season and New Year from Frankfurt Ivalo and Kuusamo as well as from Munich Kittilä in Lappland and Tromsö in Norway – Northern Light inclusive.

All flights are immediately bookable. With planning air travelers should consider in each case the appropriate current entry and quarantine regulations.

Flying CO₂ neutral today

Travelers can make a personal contribution to climate protection and make their air travel CO₂ neutral. In addition to the option of offsetting the flight via high-quality climate projects, Lufthansa guests can already fly with sustainable fuel today. The airlines of the Lufthansa Group have integrated the options into the booking process. Frequent flyers can find them in the Miles & More app.

Qatar Airways welcomes first Boeing 777-9 aircraft to Doha

Qatar Airways on November 17 showcased its role as a global launch customer for the latest generation Boeing 777-9 aircraft after welcoming the ultra-modern, fuel efficient jet to Doha International Airport (DIA).

A host of VIP guests joined Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, to share in the arrival of the aircraft, which will remain in Qatar before returning to Seattle’s Boeing Field to continue its rigorous test program.

The aircraft, which is anticipated to join the award-winning airline’s fleet in the near future, will be the world’s largest and most efficient twin-engine jet, delivering 20 percent lower fuel consumption and emissions than previous generation aircraft. Key technologies enabling this efficiency are its new carbon-fibre composite wing, new engines and natural laminar flow nacelles.

Brussels Airlines introduces a new brand and livery on Airbus A319 OO-SSO

As planned, today, Brussels Airlines made this announcement:

Today, Brussels Airlines presents a new brand identity, confirming its position in the market as Belgium’s home carrier. Updated colors, a new logo and aircraft livery are the visual token of the airline’s new chapter, stating its readiness for future challenges and re-emphasizing on the importance of the Belgian brand. A chapter with a strong focus on customer experience, reliability and sustainability while keeping a competitive cost-structure.

As a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis, Brussels Airlines accelerated and intensified in 2020 its transformation plan Reboot Plus, in order to pave the way for a future-proof company that is able to face the competition, with a sound and healthy cost structure.

After the restructuring, the company started the second phase of its Reboot Plus plan: the build-up and improvement phase. Brussels Airlines now turns its attention to the future with strategic investments in an improved customer experience, new technologies, digitization, new ways of working, and the development of its employees.

The Belgian company is transforming to become a healthy, profitable airline that offers perspectives to its customers, partners and employees; an airline with a constant focus on the environment and the reduction of its ecological footprint. A New Brussels Airlines.

“We want to clearly mark the start of the New Brussels Airlines. For our customers, who deserve the best, but also for our employees, who are committed to the transformation that we’re pushing forward and to which they contribute every day. That is why today we present the visual translation of our new start. With this new brand identity, we are ready to show our customers, our employees, our partners and all other stakeholders that we are turning a page. As one of the four Lufthansa Group network airlines, we are building the way towards a promising future. We see this new brand identity as a symbol of confidence in our company, re-emphasizing our identity as Belgium’s home carrier.”

– Peter Gerber, CEO of Brussels Airlines

The new brand identity includes a new version of the Brussels Airlines signature red and blue colors, now a deeper red and a darker shade of blue. The dotted “b”, which today adorns the tails of its fleet, makes way for 9 dots of different sizes in the form of a square, to represent the diversity of its customers, its destinations and its employees. No dot is alike. The updated logo also makes use of a new, more modern type font. The two words of the brand name are now stacked, with the word “brussels” gaining more importance with its larger size to emphasize the airline’s Belgian identity. The new aircraft livery, shows a zoom on the dotted logo on the tails, a fresh white body and a continuation of dots in different shades of blue and grey.

Next to the new visual identity, the new brand identity also translates into a new tagline: “You’re in good company”.“We have chosen for a tagline that underlines our most valuable asset; the hospitality brought to our passengers by our incredible staff. Their way of working, on and behind the scenes, ensures that our passengers are in good hands. By committing to transparency, by investing in a greener and more comfortable fleet, by being 24/7 available and by making sure that our passengers sit together without an extra charge, we want to offer our customers what really matters to them. No small print, just common sense.”

– Michel Moriaux, Head of Marketing at Brussels Airlines

“I wish to sincerely thank all the Brussels Airlines colleagues who have contributed in any way to today’s important milestone in our history. While going for a New Brussels Airlines, our focus on cost and sustainability remains of utmost importance to us. To avoid creating waste and high production costs, our new brand identity will be implemented in a phased approach. Our aircraft will for instance not be repainted before their painting due date, as to not waste money, resources, nor paint. As a consequence, the repainting of the fleet will take several years. This also means that you will still bump into our “old” branding, as we commit ourselves to using resources until they are depleted or have reached their expiry date.”

– Wencke Lemmes, Head of Customer Experience, Product and Marketing at Brussels Airlines

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WestJet’s global network expanding to include London Heathrow from Calgary

WestJet has announced it will add nonstop service to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) beginning in early Spring 2022.

As WestJet continues to increase global connectivity from Western Canada, the addition of nonstop service between Calgary and London-Heathrow signals confidence in the recovery of business and leisure travel between both destinations.

Flights will be operated with Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

With the addition of Heathrow to WestJet’s network this spring, WestJet will connect Calgary to 77 nonstop destinations throughout the year. WestJet will also continue to offer non-stop flights between Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax to London, Gatwick.

Additional network details for travel between Calgary and London-Heathrow including frequency, timing and introductory pricing will be available, and for sale, in the coming weeks.

Finnair to start flights to Bergen and Tromsø in Norway in collaboration with Widerøe

Finnair will start flying between Helsinki and Bergen and Tromsø in Norway on December 14, 2021. The routes will be operated by Norwegian regional airline Widerøe, and the flights are sold and marketed by Finnair.

During the winter season until the end of March, flights from Bergen to Helsinki are operated on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. In the summer season from the beginning of April, Finnair will fly to Bergen daily. The flight between Tromsø and Helsinki takes place on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The flight schedules will offer customers convenient connections to Finnair’s European network, as well as Finnair’s extensive connections to Asia and the United States.

The flights will be operated with DHC-8-400 aircraft. The onboard service will be based on the Finnair dual-class service concept

Vietnam Airlines is coming to San Francisco

Vietnam Airlines (Hanoi) will launch its first flights to the United States on November 28.

The flag carrier will operate two flights a week between Ho Chi Minh City and San Francisco (above) with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

Top Copyright Photo: Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner VN-A870 (msn 39289) LHR (Keith Burton). Image: 955861.

Vietnam Airlines aircraft slide show:

Vietnam Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

IAI to convert Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft to cargo configuration for Emirates

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) signed an agreement to convert four Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft to cargo configuration for Emirates. The aircraft will be converted at the new site established in Etihad Engineering’s MRO center in Abu Dhabi, and the first conversion of the Emirates plane is expected to begin in early 2023. The agreement has potential to provide passenger-to-freighter conversion services to more aircraft.

Dubai-based Emirates is the largest operator of Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in the world and Emirates SkyCargo is a leading player in the global air cargo industry. This agreement between IAI, the global leader in the cargo conversion industry, and the cargo division of Emirates is a testament to the strong ties between IAI and the UAE.

Emirates announces a major retrofit program for 105 aircraft

Emirates made this announcement:

Airline to install Premium Economy cabins in 53 Boeing 777s and 52 more A380 aircraft, considering upgrades to 777 Business Class cabin with new seats in 1-2-1 configuration
18 month retrofit program at Emirates Engineering Centre in Dubai to commence at the end of 2022

At the Dubai Airshow 2021, Emirates announced that it will retrofit 105 of its modern wide-body aircraft with its Premium Economy product, in addition to other cabin enhancements.

The 18-month retrofit program, scheduled to begin at the end of 2022, will be entirely conducted at Emirates’ state-of-the-art Engineering Centre in Dubai. It will see 52 Emirates A380s and 53 Boeing 777s fitted with a new cabin class – the airline’s highly lauded Premium Economy. The airline is also considering installing a brand new Business Class product on its Boeing 777 aircraft, with customized seats in a 1-2-1 layout.

Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline, said: “Emirates is investing in this retrofit program to ensure that we continue to serve our customers’ needs, and provide the best experiences in the sky. Since we introduced our Premium Economy seats a year back, we’ve received a hugely positive response. Customers have been amazed by the quality and comfort. As Emirates has done with our signature First, Business and full-service Economy travel experiences, we intend to further develop our Premium Economy into a distinctive Emirates experience that is unmatched in the industry. We are also considering a brand new Business Class product. More details will be revealed in due course.”

Sir Tim added: “It is also a source of pride that the entire retrofit project will be conducted at our home base in Dubai. It demonstrates the strong aviation capabilities that has been built up within Emirates airline and the broader UAE ecosystem to support such a highly specialized and technical program.”

At the end of the retrofit program, Emirates will have a total of 111 Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft offering Premium Economy seats, including the 6 A380s that would have been delivered to the airline with four cabin classes by December 2021.

On the Emirates Boeing 777, 5 rows of Economy class seats located just behind Business Class will be removed to install 24 Premium Economy seats laid out in 2-4-2 configuration. On the Emirates A380, 56 Premium Economy seats will installed at the front of the main deck also in 2-4-2 configuration.

Emirates Premium Economy

Emirates’ Premium Economy is in a class of its own. Covered in the finest quality anti-stain leather with stitching details and a wood panel finishing, each seat is designed to provide optimal comfort and support with 6-way adjustable headrests, calf rests and footrests. Offering a generous pitch of up to 40-inches, each seat is 19.5 inches wide and reclines 8 inches into a comfortable cradle position with ample room to stretch out. Other thoughtful touches include easily accessible in-seat charging points, a wide dining table and side cocktail table.

On their 13.3-inch personal seat-back screen, one of the largest in its class, customers can enjoy the unmatched array of music, movies, TV, news and other content on Emirates’ award-winning ice.

By end of December 2021, Emirates’ A380s with Premium Economy will be operating on the airline’s flights to Frankfurt, London Heathrow, New York JFK and Paris.