businesstraveller.asia JUNE 2016Upfront I 15Qatar Airways switches to
A380 for Guangzhou route
QATAR AIRWAYS WILL UPGAUGE its Doha–Guangzhou service by replacing Crown unveils new brand
the incumbent B777-300ER with the A380 from July 1. Service times will however
remain unchanged.
The aircraft change will result in a significant capacity increase, with the
superjumbo offering a total of 517 seats – 159 more than the B777-300ER. The
A380 will also feature a three-class configuration, with eight seats in first, 48 in
business and 461 in economy. In comparison, the B777-300ER (358 seats) only
has a two-class layout.
The superjumbo offers greater comfort in business class than the Boeing
aircraft. Unlike the 2-2-2 business class layout on the B777, the A380’s business
seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, ensuring direct aisle access to all
customers. qatarairways.comDelta introduces
premium economy
United f lies direct to Xian
DELTA AIR LINES’ NEWLY
APPOINTED chief executive Ed
Bastian has announced that the carrier
will launch an international premium
economy product in 2017.
The new cabin class will be
introduced on the A350 when Delta
takes delivery of the aircraft in spring- It will also be progressively rolled
out onto the carrier’s international B
fleet, as well as its A330-200s and
B767-400s.
delta.com
CROWN GROUP HAS UNVEILED its new “Skye
Hotels Suites” brand, which will debut as a new hotel
in Parramatta, Sydney in early 2017.
Skye Hotels Suites will form part of the 29-storey
V by Crown Group development, which is located
near the Parramatta Square precinct and train station.
It will feature 72 studios, as well as one-bedroom and
two-bedroom suites.
More Skye Hotels Suites properties are being
planned in Sydney’s CBD and Green Square in the
future. crowngroup.com.auUNITED AIRLINES HAS
LAUNCHED a direct flight
service between San Francisco
and Xian, the capital of Shaanxi
province in north-central China.
This is Xian’s first non-stop
transpacific route. The service
operates three times weekly:
flight UA853 departs San
Francisco every Tuesday, Thursday
and Sunday at 1325 and arrives
in Xian at 1730 the following day.
The return flight, UA852, takes
off from the Chinese city on
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
at 0930 and touches back down
in San Francisco at 0635.
The San Francisco–Xian
service is operated using a B787-
8, which features a two-class
configuration, with 36 seats in
business and 183 in economy.
united.com