Ed Bastian at CES: Deltaโ€™s goal is to make travel ‘magical’

Delta Air Lines has made this announcement:

Delta CEO Ed Bastian told the tech world Tuesday that Delta’s goal is to make travel something customers don’t have to endure, but aย magical experience.

He shared some of the ways Delta is making that happen with a capacity crowd of 2,600 at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s largest and most influential technology event.ย Ed joined Ginni Rometty, President and CEO of IBM, in Las Vegasย as part of her opening keynote addressย on what’s next in the world of data.

Watch the CES opening keynote with Bastian and Rometty

Bastian said data is helpingย Deltaย to build relationships with its nearly 200 million annual customersย by givingย the airline’sย 80,000 employees more meaningful information at their fingertips about any customer.

“We have a culture of service that’s in our DNA, and our people love to serve people,” he said. Offeringย  personalized service to customers isย core to Delta’s brand, he said.

Delta’s Nomad and SkyPro tools deployed to agents and flight attendants are examples of how Delta is arming employees with information that helps themย better serve customers

Bastian and Rometty also talked about the impact of weather on global business. After Romettyย announced an innovative weather platform to improve forecasting around the world, she and Bastian talked about the benefit of reducing turbulence: a safer, more comfortable flight.

RELATED:ย Delta’s flight weather viewer app is an industry-only game changer for mitigating turbulence during flight

Romettyย invited Bastian to share Delta’s perspectiveย on revolutionizing the airline industry through technology that supports both employees and customers. Topics included projects IBM and Delta have explored together, including RFID bag tracking technology, using the power of machine learning to serve up customer insights to employees so they can engage more meaningfully with customers, and ways blockchain technology could benefit temperature-sensitive cargo shipments.

The duo’s conversation attracted attention on social media.

CES Tweet

CES tweet

โ€‹Separately, โ€‹Bastianย shared thoughts on innovation with Nicholas Thompson, Editor-in-Chief of Wired, who posted a video of their chatโ€‹ on LinkedIn.

Under Bastian’s leadership, Delta is transforming the air travel experience with generational investments in technology, aircraft, airport facilities and Delta’s employees worldwide. The global carrier has led the industry on a number of customer solutions including launching the first biometric terminal in the U.S. that uses facial recognition at each checkpoint,ย automatic check-inย andย RFID bag trackingย via the Fly Delta mobile app, assistance and recognition on the go with mobile agent and flight attendant tools,ย a cross-industry alliance that will empower customers with a seamless in-cabin connectivity experience, and aย groundbreaking appย that helps Delta pilots avoid turbulence for a more comfortable flight.

During Bastian’s tenure as CEO, Delta has been named the Wall Street Journal’s top U.S. airline; Fortune’s most admired airline worldwide; the most on-time global airline by FlightGlobal; a Glassdoor Employee’s Choice company; a Fast Company Most Innovative Companies Worldwide, and more. In 2018, Fortune magazine named Ed among “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.”

Other speakers joining Rometty on the CES main stage included Charles Redfield, E.V.P. of Food for Walmart; and Vijay Swarup, V.P. of R&D for ExxonMobil.

British Airways identifies its fastest growing travel routes for small-medium businesses (SME)


Picture by: Stuart Bailey

British Airways has revealed some of its fastest growing travel routes for small-medium businesses (SME) over the last year.ย  The 2018 data suggests that British SMEs looked beyond traditional markets to do business with routes across South America, Africa and Europe all featuring.

The airlineโ€™s top 25 fastest growing routes include Santiago with 18% more bookings than 2017 – based on bookings through its SME loyalty programme On Business – suggesting SMEs are looking beyond traditional markets to do business. Equally surprising was On Business bookings between Gatwick and JFK in New York rising 10% on what is traditionally a leisure route.

This trend was mirrored in Europe, with On Business bookings to Keflavik, Iceland up 39% and Krakow, Poland up 12% indicating that SMEs are looking to even more locations to travel for work. Meanwhile, strong business links between the UK and Abuja and Lagos โ€“ both in Nigeria โ€“ saw SME travel on these routes rise 10%.

Carolina Martinoli, British Airways’ Director of Brand and Customer Experience, said: โ€œWe fly to over 200 destinations around the world.ย  While booking to our traditional business routes remain strong, itโ€™s interesting to see that SMEs, through our On Business programme, are looking to different global destinations to travel to for work.โ€

James Ashton-Bell, CBI Head of International Trade, said:ย โ€œ2018 was a great year for UK exports, with new records set for innovative British goods and services reaching overseas destinations.ย  Small and scale-up firms are powering this drive, breaking into new markets and discovering that demand for British expertise is ever-growing.โ€

British Airways is dedicated to helping promote business growth through its On Business loyalty programme.ย  This enables companies to collect On Business points each time a Member of their company travels. Points can be spent on Reward Flights or on a cabin upgrade. On Business travellers still collect Avios, if they are a Member of the British Airways Executive Club alongside the company collecting On Business Points.

  • Data taken from On Business bookings, comparing bookings travelled in 2018 vs 2017. It excludes routes with low numbers of journeys due to the skew this causes on growth percentages.
  • British Airways is investing ยฃ6.5 billion pounds for its customers over the next five years. This includes the installation of the best quality WiFi and power in every seat, fitting 128 long-haul aircraft with new interiors and taking delivery of 72 new aircraft. The airline will also be introducing new Club World seat with direct aisle access later this year.

Sun Country Airlines announces 19 new seasonal routes and 6 new destinations

Sun Country Airlines has announced their largest addition of routes in the companyโ€™s history as a scheduled service airline – 19 new seasonal nonstop routes and seven new airports.

The network expansion includes eight new nonstop routes for the airlineโ€™s home base of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and eight new nonstop routes in recently expanded markets Nashville, Tennessee, Dallas Fort Worth and Portland, Oregon. The airline will also expand nonstop destinations from Las Vegas, and welcome San Antonio and Providence, Rhode Island to its growing network.

 

The new routes are part of an overall growth plan for the airline that will include aircraft growth and increase the companyโ€™s Twin Cities workforce by 10 percent in 2019. The additional eight routes from MSP will be a nearly 20 percent increase in destinations the airline offers local flyers. The announcement was made by Sun Country Airlines CEO Jude Bricker at a press conference at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airportโ€™s Terminal 2 alongside Metropolitan Airports Commission CEO Brian Ryks, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Councilmember Chris Tolbert.

The airline has been experiencing record growth over the past year. Sun Country first added new routes beyond the MSP market in June 2018, bringing on service from Dallas Fort Worth, Madison, Wisconsin, Portland, Oregon and St. Louis, which brought the network at the time from 53 to 64 nonstop routes. Nashville was added in August 2018, and after todayโ€™s announcement, the airline will operate a total of 86 routes across 53 airports, which marks a nearly 40 percent growth in routes served since June 2018. The announcement is the largest addition to the network in the companyโ€™s history as a scheduled service airline. Sun Country operated as a charter airline until 1999, at which time it launched scheduled service with an initial 22 routes offered.

The new airports being added to Sun Countryโ€™s network are Dulles International Airport (IAD), T.F. Green Airport in Providence (PVD), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Chicago Oโ€™Hare International Airport (ORD), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Sacramento International Airport (SMF) and San Antonio International Airport (SAT).

The full list of new seasonal routes:

From Minneapolis (MSP)

  • Dulles International Airport (IAD)
    • Service starts April 25, 2019
    • Operates 4x/week initially on Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, with daily service beginning June 10, 2019.
    • One-way fares start as low as $69*
  • T.F. Green Airport, Providence (PVD)
    • Service starts April 8, 2019
    • Operates 4x/week on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday
    • One-way fares start as low as $79*
  • Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
    • Service starts April 11, 2019
    • Operates 4x/week initially on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, with daily service beginning April 29, 2019
    • One-way fares start as low as $99*
  • Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
    • Service starts April 19, 2019
    • Operates 4x/week initially on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, with daily service beginning May 27, 2019
    • One-way fares start as low as $49*
  • Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
    • Service starts April 18, 2019
    • Operates 4x/week initially on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, with daily service beginning June 3, 2019
    • One-way fares start as low as $79*
  • St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL)
    • Service starts June 7, 2019
    • Operates 4x/week on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday
    • One-way fares start as low as $69*
  • Sacramento International Airport (SMF)
    • Service starts May 23, 2019
    • Operates 4x/week on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday
    • One-way fares start as low as $119*
  • San Antonio International Airport (SAT)
    • Service starts May 23, 2019
    • Operates 4x/week on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday
    • One-way fares start as low as $89*

From Nashville (BNA)

  • Portland International Airport (PDX) one-way fares start as low as $109*
  • Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) one-way fares start as low as $89*
  • T.F. Green Airport, Providence (PVD) one-way fares start as low as $69*

From Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)**

  • Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay (MBJ) one-way fares start as low as $249*
  • Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport, St. Kitts & Nevis (SKB) one-way fares start as low as $219*

From Portland (PDX)

  • San Antonio International Airport (SAT) one-way fares start as low as $89*
  • St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) one-way fares start as low as $99*

From Las Vegas (LAS)

  • Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) one-way fares start as low as $159*
  • Los Cabos Mexico International Airport (SJD) one-way fares start as low as $129*
  • Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR) one-way fares start as low as $139*

From San Francisco (SFO)

  • Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Honolulu (HNL) one-way fares start as low as $259*

Routes from MSP:

Hawaiian Airlines operates the last Boeing 767 revenue flight

Hawaiian Airlines on Monday, January 7, 2019 operated the last Boeing 767-300 revenue flight.

The pictured N594HA named ‘Ulili, operated flight HA 19 from Sacramento to Honolulu ending an era at the airline.

The airline issued this report:

On January 7, 2019 we bid a fond aloha to the last of our Boeing 767-300ER โ€“ the aircraft that propelled Hawaiian Airlines to far-reaching destinations, empowering us to share our authentic hospitality with millions of guests from around the world. The widebody twin-engine jet joined our fleet in 2001, replacing our DC-10s by heralding a new era of aviation engineering at the start of the 21st century.

last Boeing 767 flight + retirement

Hawaiian Airlines hosted a retirement ceremony for the last Boeing 767 in its fleet at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL). Employees, executives and the last flight’s pilots and crew members came together on the tarmac for one last aloha.

 

After flying the Pacific skies for over a decade, aircraft tail number N594 โ€“ named โ€˜Ulili after the Wandering Tattler bird โ€“ completed its final scheduled commercial flight this afternoon when it arrived at Honoluluโ€™s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) from Sacramento International Airport (SMF) at 1:30 p.m. HST. Our agents welcomed the 258 guests and 10 crew members with celebratory lei as they deplaned from our historic HA19.

HA ohana at gate

Our Hawaiian Airlines โ€˜ohana, including Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Snook and President and CEO Peter Ingram (pictured center), line up to greet on flight HA19 with fresh lei.

 

โ€œThe Boeing 767 was instrumental to our transpacific growth, international expansion and success in introducing millions of guests to this special place we call home,โ€ Peter Ingram, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, remarked following a Hawaiian blessing of N594 alongside the pilots and crew of HA19. โ€œTodayโ€™s 767 retirement marks another chapter in our ongoing fleet modernization program as we continue to take more deliveries of Airbus A321neos and prepare to welcome the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in 2021.โ€

 

The pilots and flight crew who operated our last Boeing 767 flight today from Sacramento to Honolulu.

 

Over the years, our fleet expanded to a total of 18 Boeing 767 aircraft, which would lead to the launch of 16 new, nonstop routes throughout the Pacific region, including service between Honolulu and Sydney and Brisbane in Australia, Osaka, Tokyo and Sapporo in Japan, and Seoul in South Korea.

767_Oahu

Boeing 767 flying over Oโ€˜ahu

 

As Hawaiian entered new markets, its passenger count grew from 5.8 million in 2001 to 8.4 million in 2010, when the airline began introducing another wide-body aircraft type, the Airbus A330, to its fleet. Since 2016, Hawaiian has topped 11 million annual guests.

 

A photo of the three pilots who flew our first scheduled Boeing 767 flight on Nov. 15, 2001, from HNL to SAN.

 

โ€œThe Boeing 767 changed the game in the medium widebody market. The airplane enabled Hawaiian to efficiently serve its unique routes and achieve impressive growth over the years,โ€ said Randy Tinseth, vice president of commercial marketing, Boeing. โ€œIn 2021, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner brings more range and much greater fuel efficiency. It will again transform Hawaiianโ€™s ability to efficiently and comfortably bring people to and from the beautiful islands of Hawaiโ€˜i.โ€

012011 Incheon Launch

Our flight crew in front of the Boeing 767 before we inaugurated nonstop between Honolulu and Seoul, South Korea in 2011.

Type Retired: January 7, 2019 (flight HA 19 Sacramento - Honolulu with N594HA)

Above Copyright Photo (all others by the airline):ย Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 767-332 N594HA (msn 23275) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 945232.
Hawaiian aircraft slide show:

Please join us in recognizing the milestones made by the B767-300ER and a warm mahalo for over 17 years of service to our Island home.

Cargojet retires the last Boeing 727, the end of an era

Type Retired: December 28, 2018 (flight W8 582 Vancouver - Hamilton with C-GCJZ)

Cargojet Airways ended an era at the end of 2018.

 

According to the company, on December 28, 2018 Cargojet operated the last revenue flight with its last Boeing 727.

The pictured Boeing 727-225 C-GCJZ (msn 21854) (top) operated cargo flight W8 582 from Vancouver to the Hamilton base on December 28.

The airliner flew 56,577.7 hours in its long career with 41,476 cycles.

The airframe was originally delivered to Eastern Airlines as N8885Z on October 17, 1979. Msn 21854 would later serve with Orion Air, Continental Airlines (N8885Z), Miami Air International (N889MA) and Capital Cargo Airlines. It was delivered to Cargojet on May 16, 2003.

That is over 39 years of faithful service for the airframe.

Top Copyright Photo:ย Cargojet Airways Boeing 727-225 (F) C-GCJZ (msn 21854) YHM (TMK Photography). Image: 945231.

Cargojet aircraft slide show:

Bottom Copyright Photo:ย Cargojet Airways Boeing 727-225 (F) C-GCJB (msn 21855) YVR (Ton Jochems). Image: 913314.

Airline Color Scheme - Introduced 2002

 

Boeing sets new airplane delivery records, expands order backlog

Boeing delivered 69 737 airplanes in December and set a new annual record of 806 deliveries in 2018, surpassing its previous record of 763 deliveries in 2017. Even as Boeing delivered more jetliners, the company again grew its significant order book with 893 net orders, including 203 airplane sales in December.

 

With a seven-year order backlog, Boeing increased production of the popular 737 in the middle of 2018 to 52 airplanes per month. Nearly half of the year’s 580 737 deliveries were from the more fuel-efficient and longer-range MAX family, including the first MAX 9 airplanes.

At the same time, Boeing continued to build the 787 Dreamliner at the highest production rate for a twin-aisle airplane to support high demand for the super-efficient jet. The Dreamliner program finished with 145 deliveries for the year.

Deliveries of various 777, 767 and 747-8 models rounded out the total of 806 airplanes for the year. 767 deliveries include the transfer of 10 767-2C aircraft to Boeing Defense, Space & Security for the U.S. Air Force KC-46 tanker program.

On the orders front, Boeing achieved sales success across its airplane portfolio with 893 net orders valued at $143.7 billion according to list prices. While growing the order backlog for nearly every program, the company showed particular strength in the twin-aisle category with 218 widebody orders last year.

The 787 Dreamliner extended its status as the fastest-selling twin-aisle jet in history with 109 orders last year or about 1,400 since the program launched. Highlights include Hawaiian Airlines switching from the Airbus A330 to the 787 and Turkish Airlines becoming a new customer. American Airlines and United Airlines added to the growing list of repeat Dreamliner purchases with 47 and 13 additional jets respectively.

The 777 family continued its steady sales momentum with 51 net orders in 2018, driven by sales of the 777 Freighter to DHL Express, FedEx Express, ANA Cargo, Qatar Airways and other major freight operators. With additional sales in December, the 777 program exceeded 2,000 orders since its launch.

The 737 MAX family also achieved a major sales milestone in December, surpassing 5,000 net orders with 181 new sales during December. For the full year, the 737 program achieved 675 net orders, including sales to 13 new customers.

 

Qatar Airways to bring the Airbus A350-1000 to Dallas/Fort Worth

Delivered on June 30, 2018

Qatar Airways has announced that its ultramodern Airbus A350-1000, equipped with the airlineโ€™s luxurious, award-winning Qsuite, will be available on flights to and from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) starting July 1, 2019. Dallas will be the second U.S. gateway to feature this revolutionary aircraft.

The worldโ€™s most technologically advanced passenger aircraft will also commence service on Qatar Airwaysโ€™ second JFK route, which currently operates an A350-900, starting March 31, 2019. The award-winning airline first launched the A350-1000 on its New York to Doha route on October 28, 2018, marking the historic entry of the A350-1000 aircraft on U.S. routes.

One of the latest additions to the Airbus family of twin-aisle, widebody jetliners, the A350-1000 offers 327 seats across two cabins โ€“ 46 Qsuite Business Class seats and 281 extra-wide 18-inch seats in Economy Class. Similar to the A350-900 โ€“ for which Qatar Airways was also the global launch customer โ€“ the high-performance A350-1000 boasts an advanced airframe with extensive use of composite materials. Coupled with a fuselage innovatively built with carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, the jetliner burns lesser fuel, reducing harmful effects to the environment. On the inside, LED mood lighting mimics a natural sunrise and sunset to help reduce the effects of jet lag.

Qatar Airwaysโ€™ A350-1000 features the airlineโ€™s patented, award-winning Business Class experience, Qsuite, which offers the industryโ€™s first-ever double bed in Business Class, as well as privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private room, a first of its kind in the industry. Qsuite is currently available on flights to and from JFK, as well as Washington, D.C., Chicago, Houston, with upcoming launches in Dallas and Los Angeles.ย 

One of the worldโ€™s fastest-growing airlines, Qatar Airways launched a host of exciting new destinations in 2018, including: Cardiff, United Kingdom; Canberra, Australia; Mombasa; Kenya; Gothenburg, Sweden; Da Nang, Vietnam; and Thessaloniki, Greece. The airline also launched seasonal services to Mykonos, Greece; Bodrum and Antalya, Turkey; and Mรกlaga, Spain.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline):ย Qatar Airways Airbus A350-1041 A7-ANB (msn 102) JFK (Fred Freketic). Image: 943705.

Qatar Airways aircraft slide show:

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Delta to add Atlanta – Hilton Head Island service

Delta Connection-Republic Airline (2nd) Embraer ERJ 100SE N869RW (msn 17000133) DCA (Jay Selman). Image: 403806.

Delta Air Lines is again adding Delta Connection service connecting the Atlanta hub with Hilton Head Island, SC.

The route will be operated daily by Republic Airline (Republic Airways) with Embraer 170 aircraft starting on May 23, 2019 according to Airline Route.

Top Copyright Photo:ย Delta Connection-Republic Airline (2nd) Embraer ERJ 100SE N869RW (msn 17000133) DCA (Jay Selman). Image: 403806.

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American to add two American Eagle routes to Florida

American Eagle Airlines (2nd)-Republic Airlines (2nd) Embraer ERJ 170-200LR (ERJ 175) N447YX (msn 17000463) MIA (Jay Selman). Image: 403927.

American Airlines according to Airline Route is adding two new routes in May 2019 to Florida:

New York (LGA) – Daytona Beach – twice-weekly effective May 4, operated by Republic Airline (Republic Airways)

Washington (Reagan National) – Melbourne, FL – twice-weekly effective May 4, 2019, operated by Republic Airline

Both routes will be operated with Embraer 175 aircraft.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Republic):ย American Eagle Airlines (2nd)-Republic Airlines (2nd) Embraer ERJ 170-200LR (ERJ 175) N447YX (msn 17000463) MIA (Jay Selman). Image: 403927.

American Eagle-Republic aircraft slide show:

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Delta opens its new Phoenix Sky Club

Deltaโ€™s brand new Delta Sky Club at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), opening today, is ready for guests to enjoy.

Conveniently located near the Delta gates on the new South Concourse โ€“ Terminal 3, the Delta Sky Club is 7,500 square feet and offers guests a relaxing retreat during their travel journey.

Here are five features Phoenix travelers can look forward to at the new Club:

  • Design inspired by the Southwest desert landscape, with earth tones and rich colors
  • Fresh, locally inspired cuisine and healthy food offerings
  • A full-service bar that features seasonal cocktails, the Agave Experience โ€“ an extensive selection of tequila and mezcal that can be sampled in individual pours or tasting flights โ€“ and wine selected by Delta’s Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson
  • Artwork throughout the Delta Sky Club, including pieces from regional artists
  • Comfortable seating, high-speed Wi-Fi and easily accessible power outlets at nearly every seat

All photos by Delta.