Amadeus signs carbon deal with ICAO
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is to supply Amadeus with data from its Carbon Emissions Calculator under a new agreement.
The information will enable clients of the travel IT firm to estimate the carbon footprint of their air travel.
The ICAO said it uses the "best publicly available" information in its calculations.
David Jones, Amadeus' president and ceo, said: "We are delighted to support the industry in its effort to address the complex issue of calculating individual carbon footprints from air travel and we believe ICAO is the right partner to bring a unified and common approach."
www.amadeus.com www.icao.int
Gemkow predicts Austrian profit by 2011
Stepahn Gemkow, Lufthansa's chief financial officer, said he expected his carrier's new acquisition Austrian Airlines to make a profit by 2011.
Speaking to a German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Mr Gemkow said he also expected Brussels Airlines to make a profit next year.
But he said its new UK acquisition bmi first needed a new management and to be re-structured before it would make a profit.
He also did not rule out future acquisitions.
He told the newspaper: "If a good acquisition opportunity comes up, we look at it very closely. But right now, no such steps can be expected."
www.lufthansa.com
BAR UK appoints two new board members
The Board of Airline Representatives in the UK (BAR UK) has appointed two new members to its board.
Cathay Pacific Airways' general manager for Europe, Philippe de Gentile-Williams, will represent the Far East region.
Suzanne Faithful, TAM Airlines' general manager for the UK and Ireland, will represent the Latin America region.
Mike Carrivick, BAR UK's ceo, said: "The BAR UK board is representative of the global nature of aviation and we welcome the expertise of Suzanne and Philippe especially at such a vital time for the industry."
BAR currently represents 93 scheduled airlines in the UK.
www.bar-uk.org
Survey reveals travellers' eco tendencies
Environmental awareness is having an impact on travellers' behaviour in hotels, according to a survey by Samsung Electronics Europe.
The Korean conglomerate, which surveyed 5,000 consumers across Europe, found that nearly a third would choose a known eco-friendly hotel if it were offered by an online booking system.
Travellers expectations are high, according to Samsung, with nearly two thirds (65%) saying all hotels should install low flow toilets designed to save water.
More than half (54%) also said that sustainable energy sources, such as wind, solar or hydro-electric power, should be used while almost a half (48%) said hotels should use more efficient electrical appliances.
Guests' behaviour in hotels echoed this demand for green credentials with more than three quarters (76%) as conscious or more conscious of the impact they have on the environment when staying in hotels compared with their behaviour at home.
Some 88% switch off the lights when they leave their hotel room and 63% use towels more than once.
Pammi Mudhar, Samsung Electronics Europe's B2B sales and marketing director, said: "Environmental awareness is on the rise and playing an increasingly significant role in the hotel booking process.
"Hoteliers can appeal to the ‘green' consumer by responding to their expectations; putting in water-saving toilets, using sustainable energy or installing eco-friendly appliances like energy efficient flat screen TVs."
www.samsung.com
BA leaves T4
British Airways has ceased operations out of Heathrow's Terminal 4, after more than 23 years.
The final flight from the terminal was bound for Australia.
British Airways and Qantas have now started joint operations in Terminal 3.
The refurbished terminal is now home to around 8% of BA's Heathrow flights and is the designated home for the oneworld alliance at the airport.
Peter Lynam, BA's head of network operations, said: "We have had an operation at Heathrow split between three different terminals for the past two decades and it is great to finally be able to say goodbye to Terminal 4 and consolidate our operations in Terminal 5 and with our oneworld alliance partners in Terminal 3.
"Terminal 3 is the closest facility to Terminal 5 and this will help make it a smoother experience for customers transferring between British Airways flights and oneworld alliance partners."
British Airways' long haul destinations from Terminal 3 are Sydney, Bangkok and Singapore, while its short haul destinations are Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Gibraltar, Lisbon, Vienna and Helsinki.
www.ba.com www.heathrowairport.com
Iberia revamps longhaul business class
Iberia is remodelling its Business Plus section on its A340 fleet.
The Spanish airline is reconfiguring the business class cabin so the seats can become fully lie flat beds.
By removing an entire row of business class seats, the space between rows is being expanded by more than 30cm, from 152cm to 183cm.
The changes will give each passenger will have more than 2.2m of personal space.
But the number of business class seats in the A340-600s will be reduced from 52 to 42, and in the A340-300s from 42 to 36.
The refurbished planes will be used on routes between Spain and the United States, Latin America, South Africa and Tel Aviv.
Iberia is also designing a new product for its long-haul Business Plus class, which is due to launch in 2012.
www.iberia.com