British Airways offers its customers a new fast bag-drop before check-in to avoid queues

AirPortr

  • British Airways customers travelling from Heathrow Terminal 5 will be able to drop off and check in their luggage with partner AirPortr as soon as they step off the Heathrow Express from July 19
  • The new fast bag drop service is free of charge to customers who have already checked in at home.
  • AirPortr also offers customers the opportunity to have their luggage collected and checked in from their home or office up to 24 hours before their flight, from ยฃ19
  • Luggage can be checked in at designated fast bag drop points* as soon as customers reach the airport, or alternatively they can pre-book a collection from their home or office online if preferred
  • The airline will continue to explore options for bag drop areas at other key locations

British Airways has teamed up with AirPortrย to create new convenient fast bag drop areas before heading to the departures concourse at British Airwaysโ€™ London flagship Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport.

With the first drop-off point planned at the Heathrow Express train platforms, customers will be able to quickly and securely drop-off their luggage at peak times**, before traveling bag-free straight through to security. AirPortrโ€™s team seal, secure, and check in bags for customersโ€™ flights, before being collected from the reclaim at their destination.

Customers can also choose to book luggage collections from their home address, from ยฃ19*. This service allows travelers to check in their bags from the comfort of their own doorstep, with a vetted delivery driver. AirPortr ensures that once collected, bags are sealed and monitored throughout the delivery process.

Passengers can track their luggage online from the moment it leaves their doorstep, or at the T5 key access areas, right up to the bag being loaded onto the aircraft. Customers using the services also receive digital bag tag receipts.

Tom Stevens, British Airwaysโ€™ Director of Customer Experience said: โ€œAhead of July 19, we have been busy investigating and trialling ways to ensure that we can offer our customers the smoothest journey through the airport possible.

We believe this contactless initiative with AirPortr allows our customers to avoid baggage check-in queues and move through the airport without the hassle of carrying luggage, as well as offering the reassurance that we are doing everything we can to ensure the safe delivery of their bags from doorstep to destination.โ€

Randel Darby, CEO and Founder of AirPortr Technologies said: โ€œWeโ€™re proud to be able to play our part in helping British Airways and its customers with the restart of international travel this summer. Seamless, contact-free journeys through the airport are in everyoneโ€™s best interests and removing bags from the equation makes this possible for many more people. As the specialist in this space, weโ€™re excited to be working with British Airways once again to lead development of innovative new baggage solutions, for the benefit of customers traveling in a post-pandemic world.โ€

As well as the AirPortrโ€™s luggage service, British Airways also offers a special twilight baggage drop service the night before travel from Heathrow Terminal 5, when customers are able to deliver their bags to the airport terminal between 4 and 9pm the day before they travel.

The airline is continuing to explore how it integrates other technologies to further streamline the customer experience, including trialling digital travel apps to ensure customers meet the entry requirements for their destination before arriving at the airport. Customers can currently useย VeriFLYย on all flights to the US, Canada and France as well as on all inbound flights. The airline has also recently announced its involvement inย IATAโ€™s Travel Pass. The digital travel solution will begin on British Airwaysโ€™ flights from Heathrow to Geneva and Zurich.

British Airwaysโ€™ customers traveling to Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal, can now also upload their negative Covid-19 test result and other documentation directly into ba.comย for verification before travel.

Elsewhere the airline is trialling new intelligent queuing technology fromย Qmatic, that enables customers to virtually queue at check-in by pre-booking their slot time in advance of arriving at the airport.

IATA calls on states to follow WHO guidance on cross-border travel

IATA issued this statement:

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on states to follow newย guidanceย on travel from the World Health Organization (WHO). The guidance recommends a โ€œrisk-based approachโ€ to implementing measures related to COVID-19 and international travel.

Specifically, WHO recommended that governments:

  • Do not require proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a mandatory condition for entry or exit
  • May relax measures such as testing and/or quarantine requirements for travelers who are fully vaccinated or have had a confirmed previous COVID-19 infection within the past six months and are no longer infectious.
  • Ensure alternative pathways for unvaccinated individuals through testing so that they are able to travel internationally. The WHO recommends rRT-PCR tests, or antigen detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) followed by confirmatory rRT-PCR tests of positive samples, for this purpose.
  • Implement test and/or quarantine measures for international travelers โ€œon a risk-based mannerโ€ with policies on testing and quarantine regularly reviewed to ensure they are lifted when no longer necessary.

โ€œThese commonsense, risk-based recommendations from WHO, if followed by states, will allow for international air travel to resume while minimizing the chance of importing COVID-19. As WHO notesโ€”and as the latest UK testing data provesโ€”international travelers are not a high-risk group in terms of COVID-19. Out of 1.65 million tests carried out on arriving international passengers in the UK since February, only 1.4% were positive for COVID-19. Itโ€™s long past time for governments to incorporate data into risk-based decision-making process for re-opening borders,โ€ said Willie Walsh, IATAโ€™s Director General.

WHO also called on states to communicate โ€œin a timely and adequate mannerโ€ any changes to international health-related measures and requirements. โ€œConsumers face a maze of confusing, uncoordinated and fast-changing border entry rules that discourage them from traveling, causing economic hardship across those employed in the travel and tourism sector. According to our latest passenger survey, 70% of recent travelers thought the rules were a challenge to understand,โ€ said Walsh.

Additionally, WHO encouraged states to look at bilateral, multilateral, and regional agreements, particularly among neighboring counties, โ€œwith the aim of facilitating the recovery of key socioeconomic activitiesโ€ including tourism, for which international travel plays a vital role.

โ€œThe pandemic has put more than 46 million jobs, normally supported by aviation, at risk. By incorporating these latest WHO recommendations into their border opening strategies, states can begin to reverse the economic damage of the past 18 months and put the world on the road to recovery,โ€œ said Walsh.

Our Take:

International airline travel is increasingly becoming more reactive to where COVID-19 cases are rising or in decline. The roll-out of vaccines on a worldwide basis will also affect each country. International airlines therefore will become more reactive to the various changes country by country.

The WHO COVID-19 Dashboard.

The BBC monitors the worldwide situation:

Covid map: Coronavirus cases, deaths, vaccinations by country – BBC News

The New York Times also monitors the worldwide situation:

 

Coronavirus World Map: Tracking the Global Outbreak – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Finally the John Hopkins University has been the standard for worldwide tracking:

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

 

Jet2.com adds more capacity to Green List destinations

Jet2.com and its Jet2holidays package division are trying to react to the changes made to the UK’s travel list due to COVID-19. The airline has cut back on flights to destinations that suddenly change from Green to Amber List status.

Meanwhile when a country goes green the airline adds flights. Croatia and Bulgaria have been added to the UK’s Green List for travel.

As a result, Jet2.com is adding two new routes to Bourgas (Bulgaria) from Glasgow and Leeds-Bradford for the summer.

The airline will add add additional summer service to Dubrovnik (from Birmingham, Leeds-Bradford, Manchester, London Stansted and Newcastle) and Split (Birmingham, Leeds-Bradford, Manchester and London Stansted).

International travel everywhere remains fluid as COVID-19 cases ebb and flow.

Air Arabia to help launch a new national airline in Armenia

Air Arabia has made this announcement:

The Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) and Air Arabia, the Middle East and North Africaโ€™s first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) operator, have announced the signing of an agreement to launch Armeniaโ€™s new national airline. The agreement will see the establishment of an independent joint venture company that will operate as a low-cost passenger airline with Yerevanโ€™s Zvartnots International Airport (EVN) as its base.


The announcement was made following a signing ceremony and a press conference held at Yerevanโ€™s Zvartnots International Airport and attended by H.E Tigran Avinyan, Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia and H.E Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia.

The new national airline will serve the strategic vision of Armeniaโ€™s fast-growing travel and tourism sector as well as contributes to the countryโ€™s economic growth, while providing Armenians with a reliable and value for money air travel.

The name of the airline will be decided by the people of Armenia through an open competition that starts today and lasts for four weeks, whereby Armenianโ€™s wishing to participate can send their name suggestions to nametheairline@anif.am. The last day for participating is August 14, 2021 after which the companyโ€™s board of directors will go through received suggestions and select the
final name.

Based in Yerevan, the new company will adopt the low-cost business model operated by Air Arabia. Work on securing the Air Operating Certificate (AOC) – which allows the airline to start operating- will commence shortly. More details about the launch date, fleet, and destination network will be announced in due course.

Over the course of the past decade, Armenia has recorded some impressive gains as its tourism industry begins to recognize its full potential. The Armenian travel and tourism sector contributed to nearly 11.8 percent of the countryโ€™s GDP in 2019 and accounted for 12.5 per cent of the total employment.

KLM network in Caribbean and South America returns to 2019 strength

KLM has made this announcement:

The KLM network in the Caribbean and South America has regained its 2019 strength and is serving 17 destinations. New destinations, Port of Spain (Trinidad & Tobago) and Bridgetown (Barbados), will be added to the winter 2021 schedule.

Only essential travel is currently permitted to many countries in the Caribbean and South America; considerable travel restrictions remain in place. Mandatory quarantine is also required for travelers arriving from some countries.

KLMโ€™s global network of destinations is at the heart of KLMโ€™s strategy to emerge stronger and more competitive from the Covid-19 crisis. KLM has maintained this network as much as it could since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, making it possible for customers to make (essential) journeys and allowing the transportation of cargo, such as medical supplies, to continue. This strategy will enable KLM to scale up frequencies and capacity as further rules are relaxed.

The most important changes compared to 2019

  • The summer 2021 KLM network to the Caribbean and South America comprises 17 destinations, the same number as summer 2019.
  • The new destinations of Port of Spain (Trinidad & Tobago) and Bridgetown (Barbados) will be offered from the winter of 2021.
  • San Josรฉ (Costa Rica) and Liberia (Costa Rica) were added to the summer schedule in 2021. These destinations were previously only offered during the winter season. Services to Havana (Cuba) and Fortaleza (Brazil) are temporarily suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • During the high season, 24 flights a week depart for Aruba, Bonaire and Curaรงao. This is substantially more than in 2019, when there were 17 flights a week to the islands.

 

Pittsburgh International Airport goes live with first-of-its-kind microgrid powering airport with natural gas and solar energy

Pittsburgh International Airport made this announcement:

Pittsburgh International Airport on Wednesday became the first airport in the world to be completely powered by natural gas and solar energy as part of its newly live microgrid.

The first-of-its kind microgrid increases resilience and maximizes public safety and makes PIT one of the most site-hardened airports in the world.

Airports across the country have been exploring ways to increase power resilience and reliability after several high-profile power outages resulted in thousands of cancelled flights and passenger disruptions. As PIT is set to break ground on building the smartest airport in the world through its new terminal project, creating smart power infrastructure is a key step that can serve as a blueprint for others.

Photo: Tom Reinsel.

The power generated at PIT is the primary supply for the entire airport, including the terminals, airfield, Hyatt hotel and Sunoco. The airport will remain connected to the traditional electrical grid as an option for emergency or backup power if needed. The microgrid will generate power, in part, through onsite natural gas wells and 9,360 solar panels across eight acres.

The Allegheny County Airport Authority Board of Directors in 2019 awarded Peoples Natural Gas a 20-year contract to build, maintain and operate the microgrid at no cost to the airport. In addition to boosting power resiliency and redundancy, the microgrid will achieve savings on electricity costs for the airport and tenants.

Crews started construction in July 2020 and completed the project on schedule even as the pandemic stalled the aviation industry last year.

What is a microgrid?

A microgrid is an independent electricity source that can operate autonomously while maintaining a connection to the traditional grid. It will be powered by natural gas drilled on-site by CNX Resources, in addition to gas from the interstate pipeline system and solar generation. The project will offer a more efficient, sustainable and resilient source of energy.

The microgrid will consist of five natural gas-fueled generators and nearly 10,000 solar panels, capable of producing more than 20 megawatts of electricity, the equivalent of powering more than 13,000 residential homes. The airportโ€™s current peak demand is approximately 14 megawatts.

In addition to Peoples, other firms involved in the development of the microgrid included CNX Resources, IMG Energy Solutions, EIS Solar, PJ Dick, LLI Engineering and Duquesne Light Company.

Photos: Pittsburgh International Airport.

Video:

PIT Microgrid

Delta reports second quarter GAAP pre-tax income of $776 million

Delta Air Lines reports its financial results for the second quarter:

Delta Air Lines today reported financial results for the June quarter 2021 and provided its outlook for the September quarter 2021. Highlights of the June quarter 2021 results, including both GAAP and adjusted metrics, are on page six and are incorporated here.

  • June quarter 2021 GAAP pre-tax income of $776 million and earnings per share of $1.02 on total revenue of $7.1 billion
  • June quarter 2021 adjusted pre-tax loss of $881 million and adjusted loss per share of $1.07 on adjusted operating revenue of $6.3 billion
  • With an improving demand environment, achieved a solid pre-tax profit in the month of June and recently announced the opportunistic addition of seven A350s and 29 737-900ERs to our fleet

โ€œWith the best employees and operation in the industry and an accelerating demand environment, we achieved significant milestones in the quarter including a solid pre-tax profit in the month of June, positive free cash flow for the June quarter, and our people and our brand being recognized with the top spot in the J.D. Power 2021 Airline Study,โ€ said Ed Bastian, Deltaโ€™s chief executive officer. โ€œLooking forward, we are harnessing the power of our differentiated brand and resilient competitive advantages to drive towards sustainable profitability in the second half of 2021 and enable long-term value creation.โ€

โ€œDomestic leisure travel is fully recovered to 2019 levels and there are encouraging signs of improvement in business and international travel. With the recovery picking up steam, we are making investments to support our industry-leading operation. We are also opportunistically acquiring aircraft and creating upside flexibility to accelerate our capacity restoration in 2022 and beyond in a capital-disciplined manner,โ€ he said.

June Quarter Financial Results

  • Adjusted pre-tax loss of $881 million excludes $1.5 billion of benefit related to the first and second payroll support program extensions (PSP2 and PSP3, respectively) and mark-to-market adjustments on our investments
  • Adjusted operating revenue of $6.3 billion, which excludes refinery sales, declined 49 percent on 39 percent lower sellable capacity (see Note A) versus June quarter 2019
  • Total operating expense, which includes $1.5 billion of benefit related to PSP2 and PSP3, decreased $4.1 billion relative to the June quarter 2019.ย  Adjusted for the benefit related to the PSP programs and third-party refinery sales, total operating expense decreased $3.3 billion or 32 percent in the June quarter 2021 versus the comparable 2019 period
  • Generated $1.9 billion of operating cash flow, $1.5 billion of free cash flow and $195 million of free cash flow, adjusted in the June quarter
  • At the end of the June quarter, the company had $17.8 billion in liquidity, including cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and undrawn revolving credit facilities. The company had total debt and finance lease obligations of $29.1 billion with adjusted net debt of $18.3 billion

Aircraft Acquisition

The company recently announced it will add seven A350s and 29 737-900ER pre-owned aircraft to its fleet. This follows the announcement in April to exercise 25 A321neo options. The A350s and 737-900ERs will enter service over the next 24 months, starting in summer 2022. These fleet decisions align with the fleet renewal strategy and will drive improved unit costs going forward by replacing older, less efficient aircraft. The company will lease the seven A350s and acquire the 29 737-900ERs, driving incremental capex of approximately $700 million in the second half of this year. The company now anticipates full year 2021 total gross capex of approximately $3.2 billion

British Airways customers can now order food and drink in the air directly to their seat

In flight digital ordering system

  • British Airways has introduced a digital ordering platform for customers to purchase food and drink from its Speedbird Cafรฉ menu in the air, directly to their seat on board
  • The service will initially be available on selected routes from July 19, before rolling out across the rest of the short haul network on flights from LHR*
  • Service will run alongside the airlineโ€™s pre-purchase menu, including items from its Tom Kerridge range

British Airways has today unveiled its new inflight digital ordering platform, giving customers traveling in Euro Traveller the option to order additional snacks and drinks mid-flight, directly to their seat.

The new inflight ordering system will complement the airlineโ€™s current โ€˜Buy Before You Flyโ€™ offering, where customers are encouraged to order from the airlineโ€™s full Speedbird Cafรฉ menu, including items from its Tom Kerridge range, in advance of travel.

The new digital ordering system means that customers who wish to add to an existing pre-order, or for those who did not place an order before travel, can do so at any point during their flight. The proposition will initially be available from July 19 on selected routes before rolling out across other eligible services.

To place an order, customers simply connect to the on board Wi-Fi service free of charge viaย shop.ba.com, click on the โ€˜shopโ€™ option for their flight, and a virtual menu will display the range of drinks and snack options on offer. Orders can be made via all major credit and debit cards or through Avios. The service will be available on most short haul routes operating from LHR**.

British Airwaysโ€™ Speedbird Cafรฉ menu is still available to pre-purchase atย highlifeshop.comย for short haul flights in Euro Traveller, and the airline will also continue to offer a complimentary bottle of water and snack to all customers on board.

The introduction of in-seat ordering follows the successful launch of โ€˜Your Menuโ€™ in British Airwaysโ€™ Heathrow lounges, the new digital table service which requires only the scan of a QR code to enable orders to be delivered to each individual customer.

 

United to acquire 100 electric 19-seat ES-19 airliners from Heart Aerospace

United Airlines Ventures (UAV) has announced it, along with Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) and Mesa Airlines, has invested in electric aircraft startup Heart Aerospace.

Heart Aerospace is developing the ES-19, a 19-seat electric aircraft that has the potential to fly customers up to 250 miles before the end of this decade. In addition to UAV’s investment, United Airlines has conditionally agreed to purchase 100 ES-19 aircraft, once the aircraft meet United’s safety, business and operating requirements.

 

 

Mesa Airlines, United’s key strategic partner in bringing electric aircraft into commercial service, has also agreed to add 100 ES-19 aircraft to its fleet, subject to similar requirements.

UAV is building a portfolio of companies that focus on innovative sustainability concepts and create the technologies and products necessary to build a carbon-neutral airline and reach United’s net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goals. With this new agreement, United is deepening its bold commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 100% by 2050 without relying on traditional carbon offsets, as well as enabling the growth of Heart Aerospace and participating in the development of aircraft that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from flying.

Mock-up of the cabin:

UAV and BEV are among the first investors in Heart Aerospace, demonstrating confidence in Heart’s design and creating potential for Heart to fast track the ES-19 introduction to market as early as 2026.

By utilizing electric motors instead of jet engines, and batteries instead of jet fuel, Heart’s ES-19 aircraft will have zero operational emissions. Seating 19 passengers, the ES-19 aircraft will also be larger than any of its all-electric competitors and will be designed to operate on the same types of batteries used in electric cars. ย Once operational, the ES-19 could operate on more than 100 of United’s regional routes out of most of its hubs. Some of these routes include Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) toย Purdue Universityย Airport (LAF) andย San Franciscoย International Airport (SFO) to Modesto City-County Airport (MOD).

Once operational, Heart’s ES-19 could give customers access to the convenience of flight without contributing to carbon emissions that cause climate change.

 

Ethiopian continues to lead Africa in passenger and freight traffic during the COVID crisis

Ethiopian Airlines made this announcement:

Ethiopian Airlines Group, the largest Pan-African airline, has become Africaโ€™s topย airline in passenger and freight traffic retaining its leadership position in the continent.


According to the African Airlines Associationโ€™s (AFRAA) report, Ethiopian has beenย ranked first by passenger and cargo traffic in 2020. Ethiopian carried 500 thousand tonsย of freight and 5.5 million passengers through its main hub, Addis Ababa Boleย International Airport.

Ethiopian Airlines topped the list with the highest passenger traffic transported through Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. A total of 5.5 million passengers have been transported through the airport. Of this traffic, Ethiopian transported 5.2 million passengers and the remaining passengers were transported by other airlines. The cargo terminal has handled more than 500 thousand tons of freight during the year 2020.

A look back: