JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 19
configuration, it falls short of some of
their desires but exceeds many of their
desires. What we are doing today is
looking at what knobs we can twist,”
Teal said.
- China Southern has commenced year-
round nonstop flights between Cairns
and its Guangzhou hub. The service
will operate three times a week
with Airbus A330 equipment. The
Skyteam alliance member and Qantas
codeshare partner had previously
served Cairns on a seasonal basis,
most commonly during the Chinese
new year period.
Qantas has opened the doors to its new
premium passenger lounge at London
Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 3. The
split-level lounge with seating for
230 people is another element of
its product offering for upcoming
nonstop flights from Perth to the
United Kingdom capital due to launch
in March 2018.
Former Jetstar Group chief executive
Jayne Hrdlicka has resigned from the
Qantas Group, where she currently
serves as chief executive of Qantas
Loyalty.Hrdlicka joined Qantas in
2010 as group executive of strategy
and technology before being
appointed as CEO of Jetstar in 2012.
Hrdlicka became CEO of Qantas
Loyalty on November 1 this year as
part of a management reshuffle at the
Qantas Group that saw former Qantas
International chief Gareth Evans take
on the Jetstar CEO role.
Still on Qantas, actor John Travolta
plans to personally deliver the ex-
Qantas Boeing 707 he is donating to
the Historical Aircraft Restoration
Society. The 707-138B, registered
N707JT, is expected to arrive at
Albion Park from his Florida home
some time in late 2018.
Further, Qantas has increased the
number of codeshare flights on LATAM
Group Airlines’ services in South America,
with the airline’s QF airline code to
appear on 74 nonstop flights a week
between Santiago and the two largest
Brazilian cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de
Janeiro, as well as on 34 flights a week
between Santiago and Lima in Peru.
In more codesharing news, Qantas
and SriLankan have also expanded
their codeshare agreement, with
the Australian carrier adding its
QF airline code on SriLankan
nonstop flights between Colombo
and Bangkok, as well as between
Colombo and Hong Kong. Meanwhile,
SriLankan will add its UL airline
code on Qantas-operated flights from
Melbourne to Adelaide, Brisbane and
Sydney, as well as from Melbourne to
Auckland.- Virgin Australia has announced plans for
a sweeping upgrade of its facilities
at Melbourne Airport’s Terminal 3
over the next three years that will
focus on more self-service facilities, a
dedicated premium entry for eligible
travellers and the relocation of some
security screening facilities to improve
passenger flows. Construction work
was expected to begin in 2018 and be
fully complete by mid-2019.
Still on Virgin Australia, group
executive for airlines Rob Sharp
told a CAPA – Centre for Aviation
conference in Sydney the airline
planned to launch new Android
and iOS apps in early 2018 to bring
together its existing separate flight
specials and inflight entertainment
apps. There would also be a new
app for its Velocity Frequent FlyerDebrief
QantasLink has returned to
Kangaroo Island for the first
time in more than a decade,
resuming services between
Adelaide and Kingscote Airport
on December 4. RYAN HOTHERSALLAir Canada began services
between Vancouver
and Melbourne in early
December. DAVE SODERSTROMBeechcraft 1900 Leasing
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