Lufthansa jet service attracts corporates
Five companies are already interested in signing up for Lufthansa's new personalised jet service, Thierry Antinori, the airline's executive vp marketing and sales, said at ITB Berlin.
Lufthansa Private Jet was launched last week at Munich and Mr Antinori said it aimed to attract companies' top executives.
Under the joint scheme with NetJets, individuals can hire a personal jet into Munich or from there from a 1000 European airports.
Mr Antinori said the concept would be tested fro six months and “if it works, it will be extended to other airports.”
In his annual report to the world's press, he said that Lufthansa had had a successful 2004 but saw 2005 as a year of consolidation although there would be new routes to Hyderabad in India, Port Harcourt in Nigeria and from Munich to Washington.
KDS signs deal with Sixt
KDS has signed a deal with Sixt which will give its customers direct access to the car company's
reservation system.
Hans-Norbert Topp, board member at Sixt, Germany's leading car rental company, said the aim was to give his corporate customers a better online service.
Jean-François Vergnangeal, senior vp marketing and strategic alliances at KDS, a major European travel and expense management solutions provider, said his company's technology would bring Sixt a quicker and more efficient wasy to book cars within travel policy and more services for business customers.
Great challenges facing aviation industry – Bisignani
Travellers expect not only cheaper flights but quality service, Giovanni Bisignani, director general of IATA said in his key Aviation Day speech at ITB. It was one of the great challenges facing the industry in which more people than ever were flying.
“We need to become a low cost industry. Our partners and governments must understand this and do this and do their share,” he said.
There were four ways to cut passenger costs, he said: global e-ticketing by 2007, bar-coded boarding passes, improved baggage management and self-service check-in.
Germanwings aims to double business travellers
Dr Andreas Bierwirth, ceo of low cost carrier Germanwings, said his airline aimed to double its number of business travellers from the current 1m a year to 2m by 2006.