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gettapflightinfo · 1 year

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Plan the Best Travel Vacation to Hamburg

Most tours to Germany include Hamburg, Munich, and perhaps the Black Forest or a trip along the Rhine. We’re sure that there are even more grounds to stop by, visit now and discover your own. when it comes to planning your German tourist destinations, however, this eclectic, industrial city needs to be added to everyone’s German bucket list

1. HafenCity

Encompassing the Speicherstadt, HafenCity is a brand new waterside area that turned into made professional in 2008.

Think smooth workplace blocks, rental complexes, and enjoyment amenities, all designed with actual panache and sensitivity for his or her waterfront location.

So a long way from the principal sight to peer is the Elbphilharmonie live performance hall, which merits its entry.

2. Port of Hamburg tour

Don't expect to see nature on these boat tours; instead, learn about what makes Germany's largest port tick.

The Port of Hamburg is a bustling sea superhighway with 9,000 ship calls per year

nearly 300 berths, and 27 miles of the wharf for seagoing vessels or Book Flight ticket on Tap air Portugal.

A barge tour, such as the Maritime Circle line, will bring you closer to the container ship action. Put another way, you could escape the confines of land with a floating techno party on the Love Boat. If speed is your thing, try RIB Piraten, the only speedboat operator permitted inside Hamburg book online flight on Book Tap Portugal.

On the final stretch of this tour, you'll reach top speeds on a rigid inflatable boat that skims the waves at 60 miles per hour.

3. St. Michael’s Church

St. Michael's Church is among the greatest things to do in Hamburg. The church was constructed in the Baroque style in the 1750s. It provides a stunning view over the city that is truly a feast for the eyes. In conclusion, you will undoubtedly have a nice day when visiting this church.

The best attractions in Hamburg

Strandperle

Just because you live in the city does not preclude you from visiting the beach. Strandperle is a fixture along Hamburg's sandy stretch of the Elbe river, which is popular with sunbathers and swimmers during the summer. Strandperle is a favorite hangout for locals and tourists alike, with a large deck of tables, chairs, and umbrellas, a bar, a kitchen, and the harbor in the background.

Open all day Friday through Sunday, you can stop in for a beer and a burger, catch up with cocktails and friends, or rent out the 'upper deck' for an intimate dinner party and fly with Tap air Portugal.

Jenischpark

Jenischpark has an English country feel to it, with its rolling green acres, woodland paths, and stately Jenisch House. The oldest landscaped park in Hamburg, it's a popular spot for summer picnics, but it's also a lovely place to visit all year, especially at dusk or dawn, when the sturdy oak trees become silhouettes against the setting sun.

Jenisch House, formerly the country residence of a wealthy Hamburg merchant, is now a museum specializing in Northern German art and culture, particularly of the nineteenth century, with a ground floor of original Empire and Biedermeier furnishings.

For those who prefer the twentieth century, the low-rise Ernst Barlach Museum down the slope is a tranquil modernist enclave showcasing the work of sculptor Ernst Barlach.

Schanzenviertel

Schanzenviertel, the traditional beating heart of Hamburg counter-culture and site of the much-publicized violent protests during the G20 summit, clings tenaciously to its alternative credentials. In reality, despite the smashed-up stores of summer 2017, the neighborhood is defined by third-wave coffee shops and vintage lamp stores rather than anarchic dissent hubs check tap airlines .

High-consuming hipsters and media professionals have long moved into the "Schanze," pricing out the anarchists and students who gave the district its interest and edge. Only the run-down Rote Flora, a former neighborhood theatre (now a long-contested squat and cultural space), remains a true center of activism and protest.

Nonetheless, Schanzenviertel remains a lively and charismatic district, with a thriving bar scene and several restaurants.

Fischmarkt

Depending on how late you slept the night before or whether you went to bed at all, a visit to the Sunday Fischmarkt is a legendary Hamburg experience. Since 1703, it's been doing brisk, fishy business, with raucous criers promising all the bargains and bawdy banter you could want.

Of course, there's plenty of fish—smoked, fresh, pickled—as well as flowers, fruit, vegetables, secondhand food, and even livestock. The adjacent Fischauktionshalle promises to keep the party going with beer and live rock bands for the tired Reeperbahn reveler and get your flight on Tap Portugal.

There are numerous cafés nearby for those seeking a more restorative breakfast. The Fischmarkt opens at 5 a.m. in the summer, 7 a.m. in the winter, and closes at 9:30 a.m. all year.

7 Hamburg Nightlife Experiences

1. Grosse Freiheit 36

The most well-known location for enjoying Hamburg's best nightlife is here. You will only hear about Grosse Freiheit 36 if you walk about asking people where they think is the best location to have a fantastic night in Hamburg. It is a live music venue that receives a number of visitors each night and is situated on the city's busiest boulevard, Reeperbahn. The Beatles also played here and check Flight to Hamburg!

2. Rote Flora

Various artistic inventories are housed in this theatre. So, if you're someone who wants to see some major and significant things happen late at night, this is the spot for you. Squatters have lived there for a very long time. Bring your crew of creatives here to enjoy the nightlife, meet new people, make art, and have a fun evening!

3. Herzblut

Make a good night's start! This is the ideal fusion of an opulent restaurant, bar, and club. Jordan Mozer's perfect interior design will astound you, but the outstanding dinner will quench your desire for foreign cuisine. You can head to the dance floor for some extra fun when you've finished the dishes and the specialty cocktail. The finest place to go for nightlife in Hamburg with a significant other or family is here.

4. Docks

Do you want to know why Metallica referred to this as the best freaking club in the entire world? Well, Docks used to be a very well-liked movie theatre. Later, it evolved into a club with seating for around 1500 music fans. The DJ here has seen live performances by David Bowie and more and plays all of your favorite music.

The fact that Docks is the center of the most well-known Reeperbahn festival is another major reason you must visit on TAP Flight Booking !

5 Alster Arcades

The Alster Arcades, Hamburg's premier shopping district, is situated along the city's numerous canals and bridges; the only distinction is that it has high-end and exquisite stores rather than streetwear. While strolling beneath the stars and taking in the smells of delicious food coming from across the street, you can peruse the chic jewelry or the cutting-edge fashion accessories available here. Small cafes on one side of the street and a few musicians nearby give the shopping experience here a hint of the Mediterranean.

6. Neuer Wall

Neuer Wall, a kilometer-long promenade, is the most opulent location to blow your savings.

This European luxury shopping boulevard has everything to captivate your eye and win your heart, from haute couture and the best jewels to personalized footwear and designer bags.

It's not unusual to see names like Armani, Jil Sander, Mulberry, Michael Kors, Prada, and Louis Vuitton here. If you're looking for mementos specifically, Neuer Wall's own Brahmfeld & Gutruf carries some of the most captivating jewelry designs. Oh, and don't forget to go across the street to Café Engelchen for your much-needed coffee fix in between and you can book flight on tap book flight.

7. Europa Passage

Do you prefer acquiring the finest jewelry from across the world or shoes? Regardless of which, the Europe Passage is one of Hamburg's best retail centers and a must-stop!

It provides guests with an all-inclusive entertainment center and has more than 100 stores under its roof.

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suusdot · 11 months

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Youth/student discounts for flights (Europe)

A lot of airlines offer student or youth discounts/benefits, but the airlines make it hard for you to find those discounts. So I made an overview of it (including links):

SAS: Who? SAS offers a discount for people between 12 and 25 years old.

What? SAS will automatically calculate a reduced youth fare, this fare is not available for all flights.

How? Choose the passenger type ‘youth’.

Link: https://www.flysas.com/en/fly-with-us/youth-tickets/ Norwegian Air: Who? Norwegian Air offers a discount for people between 12 and 25 years old.

What? Norwegian Air will automatically calculate a reduced youth fare, this fare is not available for all flights.

How? Use the campaign code UNDER26 when booking your flight.

Link: https://www.norwegian.com/uk/booking/booking-information/ticket-types/youth-ticket/ Ryanair: Who? Ryanair offers a discount for Erasmus students who have an Erasmus Student Network card.

What? Ryanair offers a 10% discount and a free 20kg checked in bag.

How? You have to login and then add the ESN card to your profile.

Link: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/plan-trip/explore/erasmus Lufthansa: Who? Lufthansa only offers student fares for students from France and the UK. For the UK it only applies if you fly to China, Korea, Hong Kong, India, Singapore or Thailand.

What? Lufthansa will automatically calculate a reduced student fare, this fare is not available for all flights. You can receive up to two free 23kg checked in bags.

How? Student fares are identified as "Student" with a blue dot on the flight selection page.

Link: https://www.lufthansa.com/sg/en/local-page/student-fares Iberia: Who? Iberia offers a youth discount for anyone under 30 years old.

What? Iberia offers for people under 30 a 10% discount, people under 30 who fly from/to Asturias or Mellila receive a 15% discount and people under 30 who make a reservation for 4 people or more also receive a 15% discount.

How? You have to make an account and add and verify your age.

Link: https://joven.iberia.com/en/under-30/ Air France: Who? Air France offers a youth pass for people between 12 and 24 years old.

What? The youth pass is 49 euros per year and gives you up to 30% discount on fares, flexible tickets and a free checked bag.

How? You can buy the youth pass online on the Air France website.

Link: https://wwws.airfrance.fr/en/information/offres/cartes-de-reduction/carte-jeune KLM: Who? KLM offers benefits for students between 18 and 29 years old.

What? KLM will automatically calculate a reduced student fare, this fare is not available for all flights. The reduced fares are only valid for trips of at least 21 days. KLM will let you check in one free 23kg bag.

How? Choose the passenger type ‘student’.

Link: https://www.klm.se/en/information/ticket-services/tickets-students Turkish Airlines: Who? Turkish Airlines offers discounts and benefits for students.

What? Turkish Airlines offers between 10% and 20% discount on fares, you will be able to check in two 23kg bags for free and will receive a one-time free ticket change.

How? Create an account and define your account as ‘student’.

Link: https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-int/student/ Pegasus Airlines: Who? Pegasus Airlines offers benefits for people between 12 and 24 years old.

What? You can earn extra BolPoints, get Pegasus Flex without an additional charge and cancel your booking without paying penalty fees.

How? Create an account and join BolBol Youth.

Link: https://www.flypgs.com/en/bolbol-youth The following airlines offer no youth/student discount or benefits: Aer Lingus, British Airways, LEVEL airline, Vueling, Easyjet, Wizz Air, Jet2, TAP Air Portugal, TUI Airways, Finnair, Smartwings, Icelandair and Air baltic

I recommend using google flights to find the best fare, I explained that method in another post (THE (google) travel hack). Combining that with this overview should get you the best deals!

#travel #travelhack #travelhacks #lifehack #lifehacks #traveltips #traveltip #traveltrick #traveltricks #travelhacking #flighthacking #saving #moneysaving #moneytips #suusdot

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reservationsmonk · 2 years

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Is TAP Portugal giving refunds?

Tap Portugal refunds its passengers in both cases, whether the flight is cancelled voluntarily or involuntarily. To get your refund, all you need to do is submit a refund request form to the airline online or call the Tap Portugal team.

In case you don't know How to get refund from TAP Air Portugal? Do not worry. Here you can find out the detailed procedure explained in the pointers below.

Follow the procedure below to get a refund from Tap Portugal.

To begin with, get on the official website of Tap Portugal

You need to look for the manage booking link under the heading Booking and Managing

Now go to the manage booking link on the right and hit the cancel/change link

On the new window, select the reason for your cancellation and click on the refund link there

Verify the payment mode for cancellation and refund

Click on the 'refund to original mode' button to get a refund

Now continue and then request the refund option on the next page

Provide your ticket number and last name, select 'I am not a robot, then click 'continue.'

Now follow the self-explanatory instructions on the window to complete the process.

After your refund request is shared, it takes around 7-10 business days to process it.

Reading the information above, you must be clear that Tap Portugal gives a refund. Besides that, make sure to go through the highlights of Tap Portugal Refund Policy online to avoid any hassle. You can also directly speak to the customer support team of the airline to avoid any penalty and hassle.

#Tap Portugal Refund Policy

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petkar56 · 3 years

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Tap Portugal is well-known for its excellence in magnificence and low-priced touring comforts that can be avail after booking a flight price ticket. Know about Tap Portugal 24 hour cancellation policy including Flight Change Fee & how to change Tap Portugal Air flight online.

visit - https://airlinespolicy.com/cancellation-policy/tap-portugal-cancellation-policy/

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thedesignair · 4 years

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TAP Air Portugal. One flight we're looking forward to in the future... and right now there's 15% off

TAP Air Portugal. One flight we’re looking forward to in the future… and right now there’s 15% off

We’ve covered TAP before on the site a few times, and even though some time has elapsed since they first took delivery of their A330Neo’s, this is the first time we’ve booked a ticket to experience this brand new Recaro hard product. While it isn’t the most spacious seat in the skies, we’re curious to see how it repositions the carrier against its competition – especially when they’ve got a disc…

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#Business class #discount #discount code #flytap #future flight #long haul #multi15 #TAP #TAP Portugal

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tapairline-blog · 4 years

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Wondering how to get rid of fluctuating airfares? What about using Tap Air Portugal? Tap Portugal is the leading low-cost carrier that offers you a chance to make your vacation budget-friendly. Tap Portugal has a wide range of discounted deals that you can grab to make your journey enjoyable. In fact, you can dial Tap Portugal airline Reservation Number to get your air tickets booked in no time.

#Tap Air Portugal #tap portugal airline reservation number #Tap Portugal Airlines #Tap #Tap Portugal airlines Official site

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cathrynstreich · 4 years

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7 Ways to Upgrade Your Flight Without Paying Full Price

(TNS)—For me, flying in business or first class is not about the extra attentive service or the meals—which are, let’s face it, still airplane food—or even about the endless supply of free booze (well, maybe a little about the endless supply of free booze).

It’s about comfort, especially on long-haul flights. It’s about being able to shift position, with the push of a button or two, from sitting upright to a much more comfortable lie-flat position. That’s when my spine and posterior go “aaaah.”

But airborne comfort comes at a cost. So I’m going to tell you how to fly flat for less than you might imagine.

1. Buy a Nonrefundable Business or First-Class Fare When It’s Low Airfares change moment to moment and day to day. Search for a Los Angeles to New York nonstop one-way in business class and the fare could be $499 one minute and $1,999 the next. It used to be that airlines gave away their premium seats as a perk for loyal customers, but now they prefer to get whatever the market will bear. I check multiple times as far in advance as possible and snag a deal when it appears. I’ve noticed recently that airline apps remember your last search so it’s as easy as hitting the search button again and again to see if fares have changed. Often, on domestic routes, nonrefundable business or first-class seats are just twice the cost of economy class rather than three or four times as much as they once were. As with nonrefundable economy class fares, you’ll pay $200 to change or cancel your flight.

2. Use Miles/Points to Upgrade From Economy American, Delta and United let passengers use miles (15,000 to 20,000) plus a copay of $75, on lower-48 domestic routes, to upgrade from economy. Sometimes an upgrade is available immediately when you call the airline’s award desk, but usually you’ll be put on a waitlist. How far in advance you book, the price of the economy fare and the time you check in for the flight may affect your chances. Upgrades on flights to Hawaii and international destinations will cost more miles and higher copays, and other airlines besides those mentioned also allow mileage upgrades.

3. Use Miles or Points to Upgrade As with airfares, the number of miles or points needed to book a frequent-flyer award seat will vary day by day. I recommend calling the awards desk rather than going online to search availability. Last year I was looking for business-class award seats on British Airways and found none online, but when I spoke to someone on the phone there were lots of options. That said, American was offering, on its app but not on its website, “online only” business and first-class awards at greatly reduced mileage, so it’s a good idea to try both methods. Check multiple times before committing.

If you have good credit but don’t have enough miles in your account, the fastest way to earn enough for a business-class ticket is to get a new credit card offering sign-up bonuses after you charge a specified amount to the card, usually $3,000 in the first three months after approval. Citibank, American Express and Chase typically award 50,000, 60,000 or more points or miles. British Airways has offered 100,000 points in the past.

But do us all a favor and apply for these cards directly with the issuing bank and not through websites that get millions in referral commissions since we consumers end up paying for these bounties in the form of higher interest rates and fees. In an attempt to circumvent those “points” websites, airlines are marketing credit cards onboard flights with added incentives not available online. On a recent American Airlines trip, the flight attendants handed out applications for a co-branded AA/Mastercard with no annual fee for the first year, and just a $1 minimum spend. Yes, I applied and got approved and used the miles for a free business-class trip.

4. Last-Minute Upgrade Offers Checking in online for an Alaska Airlines flight last year, I was offered a $50 upgrade to first class on a Seattle to Los Angeles flight. You’re darn right I took it. Waiting in line to board an Etihad Airways flight, I was approached by an agent who asked if I would like to upgrade from business to first class for $500. That one I didn’t take, but you get the point: Be alert to, and ask about, last-minute upgrades. Do it when you check in at the airport. And don’t ignore emailed upgrade offers: American sends me these all the time, mostly on shorter domestic flights. TAP Air Portugal sells upgrades to business class at the ticket counter or gate for about $400 to $500 per flight, depending on load factors.

5. Buy Through a Consolidator Consolidators are like the TJ Maxx of business and first-class airfares. I’ve never used one, but my friend Ken did recently on a New York to London trip in business class for 50 percent less than Virgin Atlantic was asking online. Consolidators have been known to cease operations without warning, but one that’s been in the business for decades is Planet Amex (planetamex.com, no relation to American Express). 6. Bid on an Upgrade Through an Auction Four dozen carriers (Air New Zealand, Etihad, Fiji Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Qantas, SAS and Singapore Airlines among them) offer upgrade auctions through PlusGrade.com. Check the site for the whole list, but you must bid on each airline’s site where you’ll see rules and procedures, with some allowing upgrade bids on award tickets and some offering instant upgrades as well as auctions. TAP Air Portugal runs auctions on flytap.com from 72 to 24 hours before departure and at Seatboost.com from 24 hours to flight closing.

7. Be Loyal to One Airline Although some airlines give away fewer free seats in business and first class than in the past, passengers with higher status in frequent-flyer programs do get upgraded for free at times, and those folks also have higher priority on waiting lists for mileage upgrades.

Oh, and one other way: Be nice, dress well. Time and time again, I’ve heard from friends and readers that they have been upgraded to business or first class simply because they made some effort to dress decently. It only happens occasionally, but what do you have to lose?

A British Airways employee whose job it is to escort VIP passengers confessed to me that, “Yes, we do take note of a passenger’s behavior and whether they’re presentable. When I was a check-in agent we would place a note in the comments section of the reservation: ‘This person was very nice, consider available upgrade, or this person was very nasty.'”

And several people I know have gotten Best Dressed Upgrades, most recently Susan Andrews, a real estate agent in LA, on a flight to London on British Airways, an airline on which she had zero status. It’s just human nature. Airline employees are required to dress smart when flying nonrevenue and they disdain passengers who dress like slobs.

I worked for Eastern Air Lines in the 1980s when it was company policy to fly employees in first-class if seats were available (back then, they almost always were). One day I showed up for a flight, in my best suit and good shoes, but no necktie, and was handed an economy-class boarding pass. When I asked why the gate agent scoffed, “Dressed like that you don’t deserve to fly at all!”

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tripstations · 5 years

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Review: United 787-10 Polaris Business Class

After flying from Hartford to Dublin on Aer Lingus and then from Porto to Newark on TAP Air Portugal, I spent a night at the Marriott Newark Airport. I’ve reviewed the hotel before, so won’t be doing so again.

The next evening it was off to Brussels on the United 787-10. I’ve reviewed United’s 777-300ER with the new Polaris seats, but was excited to check out the 787-10 for a couple of reasons:

This would be my first time flying a 787-10 on any airline (I had only previously flown the 787-8 and 787-9) This would be my first time flying a United 787 with new Polaris seats, because all of United’s 787-8s and 787-9s have their old business class seats

How I booked United Polaris with miles

United had a lot of award seats (more than nine) from Newark to Brussels for the date I was looking to travel. To see that kind of award availability during peak summer travel season is pretty awesome.

So I could have easily booked with with Air Canada Aeroplan miles, Avianca LifeMiles, or United MileagePlus miles. But I decided to have more fun instead.

Rather than just terminating in Europe, I decided to connect the same day to Bangkok. So for 77,500 Aeroplan miles plus about $150 in taxes and fees I was able to book a ticket from Newark to Bangkok.

I won’t reveal my connecting itinerary just yet, because what would be the fun in that? But you’re welcome to guess in the comments.

I’d say that was a great award redemption. Aeroplan would have charged 55,000 miles for a one-way ticket from the US to Europe, so for just 22,500 more miles I could continue all the way to Asia.

United 787-10 Polaris business class review

I stayed at the Marriott Newark Airport until 4PM, and then headed over to the airport. I reviewed United’s Newark Polaris Lounge last year, so won’t be doing so again this year. It’s an impressive lounge, though it was much busier than the last time I visited.

And it’s not just that it was more crowded, but it was also a very different crowd. Let me just say that I’m shocked that the seats weren’t stained from the degree to which many of the guests were spray tanned. Also, what is it with so many people from New Jersey not understanding the concept of inside voices?

Beyond the lounge, I have to note how good of a job has been done with United’s terminal at Newark. It’s a legitimately nice terminal, and the contrast between that and the other terminals at the airport is night-and-day.

There was lots of great plane spotting at the airport (assuming you’re like me and like seeing the same types of planes over and over), as 787s and 767s were all getting ready for their Atlantic crossings.

United 767 Newark Airport

I was surprised by just how many 787-10s there were, given that this is still a new plane type for them. As it turns out, United already has nine of their 14 787-10s, having taken delivery of their first one in March 2018.

United 787-10 Newark Airport

United 787 Newark Airport

My boarding pass indicated that boarding was supposed to start at 5:40PM, so I headed to the gate at around 5:20PM. At that point the crew was just getting on the plane.

Personally I find United’s boarding process rather confusing, especially given that they have signs for zones one and two, even though most people aren’t in those zones.

Newark Airport departure gate

I was standing near the gate agent, and overheard no fewer than a dozen people come up and ask her where they should stand since they were in other groups.

One other impressive thing about this flight — it wasn’t full in business class, even after all upgrades and even non-revs. The travel benefits offered to airline employees often aren’t quite as glamorous as they seem, though on this flight everyone got business class, and there were still 10 empty seats.

Boarding actually only started at 6:05PM. The gate agents didn’t make any sort of announcement about why there was a delay.

Boarding started with those who need extra time, followed by active duty military, followed by Global Services members, followed by families, followed by 1Ks, followed by Polaris. Yay, it’s fun to be the sixth group invited to board when you’re in the forward-most cabin on a plane.

United Airlines 999 Newark (EWR) – Brussels (BRU) Tuesday, August 6 Depart: 6:30PM Arrive: 7:45AM (+1 day) Duration: 7hr15min Aircraft: Boeing 787-10 Seat: 9L (Polaris Business Class)

I boarded through the second set of doors, and the first thing I noticed was just how massive the space between doors one and two is on the 787-10. The Polaris cabin consisted of 44 seats, all between doors one and two.

United 787-10 Polaris cabin

I’ve gotta give United credit, the 787-10 Polaris cabin is really, really pretty, and even prettier with mood lighting.

United 787-10 Polaris cabin

Polaris seats alternate in each row to maximize space:

In the center section in odd numbered rows there are “honeymoon” seats, where you’re seated very close to your seatmate, and far from the aisle In the center section in even numbered rows the two center seats are further apart from one another and closer to the aisle

United 787-10 Polaris business class center seats

The same concept is true in the window seats. In even numbered rows, seats are closer to the aisle, meaning that your seat is more exposed and the console is closer to the window.

United 787-10 Polaris business class seats

These would be my less-preferred seats, given that you’re much closer to the aisle, and it’s more difficult to look outside.

United 787-10 Polaris business class seats

The seats you want here are the “true” window seats, which are in odd numbered rows. These seats have better views out the windows and a lot more privacy. My seat, 9L, was one of those seats closer to the windows.

United Polaris business class seats 787-10

United 787-10 Polaris business class seats

United Polaris business class seats 787-10

These “true” window seats have a small walkway connecting the aisle to the seat.

United Polaris seat access 787-10

To the left of my seat was the console. United did a great job with the faux-marble they use, because it actually looks pretty nice in my opinion (for the avoidance of doubt, I’m not being sarcastic, as it’s rare I’d complement faux-marble and call it “classy”)

United Polaris seat counter & storage

Immediately above the counter were the entertainment controls, headphone jacks, and power outlets. Then above that was an enclosed storage compartment and reading light.

United Polaris seat storage

To the left of the seat below the counter was an armrest as well as a literature pocket.

United Polaris seat literature pocket

The seat controls were along the window-side of the seat, and were easy to use. I especially love the wheel you can turn to adjust the position of your seat.

United Polaris seat controls 787-10

The tray table folded out from underneath the personal television in front, and could be folded over in half. It was sturdy and easy to move around.

United Polaris seat tray table 787-10

Generally with staggered seats the biggest issue is that the footwells tend to be small, which can be uncomfortable when sleeping. The good news is that this footwell didn’t feel small at all.

United Polaris seat footwell 787-10

I was expecting the seat might feel a bit more compact than on the 777-300ER, given that the cabin isn’t quite as wide. However, I didn’t find that to be the case.

Each seat also had an individual air nozzle, which is much appreciated.

Already waiting at my seat upon boarding were a pair of headphones. While not Bose or Bang & Olufsen quality, they were pretty good.

United Polaris headphones

Also already waiting at my seat was United’s spectacular bedding. This is where Polaris really shines, as I think they have the best business class bedding in the world. This included a duvet, a light blanket, a regular pillow, and a cooling gel pillow. Not even pictured is the mattress pad, available on demand.

United Polaris bedding

Spoiler alert: I fear at this point the bedding is literally the only aspect of the Polaris soft product that still impresses.

Also at my seat was a Spider-Man amenity kit.

United Polaris amenity kit

The kit was well stocked, and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud when I walked to the bathroom mid-flight and saw someone with the Spider-Man eye shades on.

United Polaris amenity kit contents

United used to offer chocolates and pre-departure drinks of choice. This time I just had a flight attendant hold out a tray and say “water… orange juice… champagne.” That’s quite a generous pour! Apparently you can still request other pre-departure drinks, though champagne worked for me.

United Polaris pre-departure champagne

Also waiting at my seat was the menu.

United Polaris menu

At 6:35PM the main cabin door was closed, and at 6:45PM meal orders were taken. To my surprise I wasn’t even asked for a second choice.

Around the same time the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of 6h33min. At that point the Spider-Man safety video was screened.

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We pushed back at 6:50PM — a bit behind schedule — and started our taxi at 7PM. There were several United heavies at remote stands as we taxied to the runway.

United 787-10 Newark Airport

United 767-400 Newark Airport

We had a quick taxi to runway 22R, and surprisingly there wasn’t much of a queue. There was a La Compagnie A321neo taking off right ahead of us, which is another product on my review list.

La Compagnie A321 Newark Airport

Taxiing Newark Airport

Taking off from Newark

Our takeoff roll was pretty quick, and we had a smooth climb out.

View after takeoff from Newark

As we climbed out I played around with the entertainment system, starting with looking at the moving map.

United entertainment selection

Moving map enroute to Brussels

The entertainment selection was excellent, with a seemingly never-ending choice of TV shows and movies.

United entertainment selection

I also connected to the wifi.

United wifi 787-10

United had three pricing options for wifi:

One hour for $8.99 Two hours for $12.99 Full flight for $22.99

United wifi pricing

The internet speeds were good, and I didn’t notice any coverage gaps.

The crew was quick to start the service after takeoff. The menu read as follows (annoyingly they don’t publish a drink list):

Service began with warm towels being distributed, followed by tablecloths.

United Polaris warm towel

35 minutes after takeoff a flight attendant reached my seat with a cart to offer me a drink. I ordered some champagne and sparkling water, along with United’s signature warm nuts.

United Polaris dinner — warm nuts and drinks

There was a second flight attendant with another cart right behind her, so less than a minute later I was served the appetizer and salad on a tray.

The appetizer consisted of smoked duck, farro salad with dried cranberries, brined carrots, and whole-grain mustard, and just tasted a bit off to me. I also thought the salad of mixed greens, fennel, and bell pepper, was super bland. On the plus side, the pretzel bread was good.

United Polaris dinner — salad and appetizer

55 minutes after takeoff I was served the main course. United has switched from plating dishes onboard to already loading them pre-plated so that the crews just have to put them in the ovens. That most definitely shows when it comes to presentation. Like all changes that are made in the airline industry, United has assured me that this was due to customer feedback.

I ordered the seared lemon grass salmon with coconut red curry sauce, Thai coconut risotto, stir-fried bell pepper, carrot, and onion. The dish was alright.

United Polaris dinner — main course

Lastly the dessert trolly was rolled through the cabin about 75 minutes after takeoff. I asked for ice cream with nuts and strawberries.

United Polaris dinner — dessert

On the plus side, I appreciated that the meal service was done within 90 minutes of takeoff. Unfortunately the speed of the service was the only part of the meal that impressed me.

I’m not sure if this was just a bad flight, but I feel like Polaris has fallen quite a bit when it comes to food quality. They used to be above average for US airline catering, while now I think they’re on par with American (which is not where you want to be).

The flight attendants were fine-ish. Some were friendly-ish. Some were efficient but not friendly. Overall they went through the motions and that’s about it.

After the meal I checked out the lavatory — there were two in front of the cabin and two behind. I’m not sure if the ones behind are shared with premium economy, or what, because the curtains suggested they all belonged to business class (in which case four lavatories for 44 seats is an excellent ratio).

United 787 lavatory

United 787-10 Polaris cabin

I then reclined my seat all the way to get some sleep. After all, I had a long day ahead of me after landing in Brussels.

United Polaris business class bed 787-10

I fell asleep just under five hours from landing in Brussels.

United entertainment system

Progress enroute to Brussels

I got a solid 3.5 hours of sleep, and woke up just under 90 minutes before landing.

Progress enroute to Brussels

The sleep quality was excellent, and between United’s great bedding and having an individual air nozzle, the conditions were perfect.

The cabin lights were turned on a few minutes after I woke up, at which point breakfast service started.

A flight attendant walked by my seat and said “you’re not joining us for breakfast?”

This is ultimately minor, but I find this stuff happens on United more than any other airline. Like, I had indicated to the flight attendant when she took the meal order that I wanted to be woken for breakfast, and I was awake before they started serving anyone breakfast.

So was the flight attendant trying to discourage me from having breakfast, or wouldn’t the correct question be “would you care to join us for breakfast?”

Etihad has a partnership with Savoy for training their onboard butlers. Maybe United should have a partnership with McDonalds? In some cases it would represent an improvement in standards…

Anyway, the breakfast was quite large when you consider that this is a short transatlantic flight (many airlines just offer a continental breakfast).

For breakfast there was the choice between a fruit salad and a cream omelet. The omelet came with chicken sausage and potatoes. It also came with a side of fruit and a croissant.

United Polaris breakfast

it was a beautiful morning as we approached Brussels. At 7AM the first officer announced we were just starting our descent and would be landing in 30 minutes.

View enroute to Brussels

View approaching Brussels

Sure enough, we touched down at exactly 7:30AM, and from there had a 10 minute taxi to our arrival gate. I had a great view of the 787-10 upon deplaning.

United 787-10 in Brussels

United 787-10 Polaris bottom line

On the plus side, the 787-10 is a gorgeous plane, and in particular United’s Polaris cabins are very nice. While Polaris seats aren’t my absolute favorite business class seats out there, they’re near the top, and I’d say they’re on par with reverse herringbone seats.

United’s entertainment, wifi, and bedding are all very good. Furthermore, the pace of service was good, given the short overnight flight.

Everything else left a bit to be desired, though, from the food quality to the service.

Still, on balance I’d say this is a solid transatlantic product.

If you’ve flown United’s new Polaris, what was your experience like?

The post Review: United 787-10 Polaris Business Class appeared first on Tripstations.

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altertonative · 5 years

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How to book the cheapest flights?

I remember flying to the UK on average for one and a half months, being a student and not spending a fortune on flights. In fact, the trip to the house cost less then, for example, by train to a nearby city. These were beautiful times ... Until about 2010, the basic price of the ticket included small hand luggage, a suitcase of up to 10 kg and a laptop bag! Now you can only dream about such facilities. Last year I managed to fly with a trekking backpack as part of hand luggage, but now it is impossible. So are cheap air tickets a thing of the past? Of course not!

CHEAP FLIGHTS AND TRAVEL SEARCH ENGINES

1. SKY SCANNER - https://www.skyscanner.net

+ the advantage of this search engine is the ability to search within a specific month, + also has the ability to check the cheapest month relative to the whole year (counted from the current month), + you can select the option of direct flights only - the downside is that not always given prices after passing on the carrier's side they are 100% compatible (sometimes they are higher).

2. ESKY - https://www.esky.com/

+ I recommend checking the "Deals" and "Airlines" tabs because they show the cheapest months and dates of the flight.

- unfortunately, you have to select specific dates in the search engine, which makes it difficult to find the cheapest options.

3. KAYAK - https://www.kayak.co.uk/

+ allows you to specify the length of stay and on this basis searches for flights, + has the ability to search by interests, e.g. "beaches", "white madness", "for couples", etc. - allows you to select up to 4 airports once, if you mark in place departure country eg "Poland".

4. FLY4FREE - https://www.fly4free.com/flight-deals/uk/

+ most often searches for combined promotions, i.e. a flight with accommodation, or a flight with a car rental.

- the best promotions are quickly bought or outdated.

5. HOLIDAY PIRATES - https://www.holidaypirates.com/

+ current promotions, not only for cheap flights, but also combined packages - the best promotions are quickly bought or outdated.

6. AZAIR - http://www.azair.cz/index.php?lang=en

+ a simple, very good search engine that has the ability to search for flights "anywhere", + includes only low-cost airlines, + its minimalistic design streamlines the search. - it covers only Europe and Asia.

HOW TO BOOK THE CHEAPEST FLIGHTS?

OK, let's get to the details. Tracking search engines is one thing, but there are still a few tricks that help you find the best deals. Here are a few of them:

always search for flights from the incognito window, thanks to which the cookie will not be saved and the algorithm will not increase the price,

save flights that interest you and set alerts in search engines, thanks to which you will book your dream flight next year, if you miss it,

do not set yourself on a specific direction or date - being flexible makes it much easier to find tickets,

sign up for a club, for example at WizzAir Club: the annual fee for two people is 29.99 EUR, while for six people 59.99; the discount on flights is approx. EUR 10 + EUR 5 cheaper on checked-in baggage online; You can sign up HERE.

try to take as little luggage as possible, or share a large suitcase with a fellow passenger. How to pack a small backpack? You can find advice HERE or HERE,

the best time to buy tickets is usually 2-3 months before departure for Europe and 5-6 months for long journeys,

if you have the option, look for tickets at unusual times, e.g. on Monday at 8:00 or on Saturday at 5:00,

if you are interested in a specific direction, check what lines the airport serves in this place, and then follow the pages of given carriers,

in order to know the final price, go through the booking process as far as possible (usually until the data are provided), because the apparently low price at first glance, after adding luggage and other charges, may be much higher,

don’t worry about accommodation, renting a car and other aspects of the trip, focus only on flights, and maybe you will also get an opportunity for other things when buying tickets.

CHEAP AIRLINES

It is also worth checking the ticket prices on the websites of the carriers themselves. Here's a list of the most popular ones:

RYANAIR - https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/

WIZZAIR - https://wizzair.com/

EASYJET - https://www.easyjet.com/en

TAP (mainly Portugal) - https://www.flytap.com/en-gb/

NORWEGIAN (mainly Scandinavia) - https://www.norwegian.com/uk/

AEGEAN (mainly Greece) - https://en.aegeanair.com/

ENTER (Polish cheap airlines) - https://www.enterair.pl/en

BLUEAIR (Romanian cheap airlines) - https://www.blueairweb.com/en/gb/

CHARTER FLIGHTS

CHARTER FLIGHTS - https://www.charterflights.co.uk/

TUI - https://www.tui.co.uk/flight/

LILIGO - https://www.liligo.co.uk/charter-flights.html

That's all I use and what I'm suggesting when looking for cheap flights. I hope that the above tips will be helpful and you will save thanks to them for the next holidays! I realize that there are many more tricks of this type, so if you would like to share one of them, I encourage you to add a comment! :)

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endenogatai · 5 years

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GoEuro rebrands as Omio to take its travel aggregator business global

European multimodal travel booking platform GoEuro has announced a change of name and destination: Its new ambition is to go global, scaling beyond its regional grounding to tackle the challenge of intercity travel internationally — hence needing a more expansive brand name.

The name it’s chosen is Omio, pronounced with the stress on the ‘me’ sound in the middle of the word.

GoEuro unveiled a new brand identity late last year — which it says now was preparing the ground for this full rebranding.

So why Omio? CEO and founder Naren Shaam tells TechCrunch the new name was chosen to be memorable, lighthearted and neutral. A word that travels inoffensively across languages was also clearly essential.

“It took a while — probably eight months — to do the search on the name,” he says. “The hard thing about the name is a few criteria we had. One was that it had to be short, easy to remember, and four letter names are just non-existent now.

“It had to be lighthearted because travel inherently comes with a lot of stress to consumers… Every time you book travel it’s a lot of anxiety and then relief after you book it etc. So we want to change that behavior to customers; saying we will take care of your journey.”

The multimodal travel startup, which was founded back in 2012, also says it’s happy to have been able to retain a ghost of its old brand — thanks to the double ‘o’ in both names — which it intends to suggestively stand in for the beginning and end of a journey.

In Europe the travel aggregator tool that’s been known since launch as GoEuro — and soon, within a matter of weeks, Omio, everywhere it operates — has some 27 million monthly users tapping into the convenience of a platform that knits together train travel, bus trips, flights and most recently ferries to offer the most comprehensive coverage available of longer distance travel options in the region.

Europe is heavily networked for transport, with multiple intercity travel options to choose from. But it is also massively fragmented across a huge mix of providers (and languages) making it challenging for travellers to navigate, compare and book across so many potential options.

Taming this complexity via a multimodal search and comparison tool that now also integrates booking for most ground-based travel options (and some flights) on one platform has been GoEuro’s mission to-date. And now it’s Omio’s tackle globally.

“Global transport is not on a single product. What we bring is way more than just air, in terms of all ground transportation,” says Shaam. “So for me the problem of how do I get from Kyoto to Tokyo, or Rio to Sao Paulo. Or somewhere in Southeast Asia in Thailand is still a global problem. And it’s not yet solved. And so for us it’s the right time to evolve the brand… It’s definitely time to step out and say we want to build a global brand. We want to be that transport product across the world where we can serve all transport globally.”

While GoEuro is in some senses a quintessentially European business — Shaam says he “couldn’t have imagined” building a multimodal transport platform out of the US, for instance, where travel is so dominated by airlines and cars — he suggests that sets the business up to tackle similar complexity elsewhere.

Putting in the hard graft of negotiating partnerships and nailing technical integrations with multiple transport providers, large and tiny, also isn’t the sort of tech business prone to fast-following platform clones. So Omio suggests competition at a global scale will most likely be piecemeal, from multiple regional players.

“When I look beyond Europe the problem that I experienced in Europe in 2010 [which inspired me to set up GoEuro] is definitely a problem I experience still globally,” he says. “So when we can figure out how to bring 100,000 remote train and bus stations plugged into a uniform, normalized product and then give a single-click mobile ticket that works everywhere why not actually solve this problem globally?”

That translates into having “the engineering and the product and the means” to scale what GoEuro has done for travel in Europe internationally, moving to other continents with their own blend and mix of transport options and challenges.

Shaam notes that Omio employs more than 200 engineers within a company that has a staff of 300 — emphasizing also that the partnerships plus all the engineering that sits behind the aggregator’s front end take a lot of resource to maintain.

“I agree it is such a European startup. And it has served us well to get 27M monthly users traveling across Europe. Last year alone we served something like eight million unique routes. So the density of routes that we have is great. We already have global users; we have users from 100+ countries,” he says, adding: “If you look at Europe, European companies are starting to go on the global stage more and more now.

“You can see Spotify being one of the largest global tech companies coming out of Europe. You’ve seen some in the fintech space. Industries where there’s heavy fragmentation in Europe allow us to build global products because Europe is a great product market.”

GoEuro — now Omio — founder and CEO, Naren Shaam

On the international expansion horizon, Omio says its considering expanding into South America, Asia and the U.S. Although Shaam says no decisions have yet been taken as to the regions and markets it might move into first.

He also readily accepts the goal of building a global travel aggregator is a long term mission, with the partnerships, engineering and legacy technology integrations that will have to underpin the expansion all requiring time (and money) to work through.

There’s also no suggestion that Omio intends to offer a more lightweight transport proposition as a strategy to elbow its way into new markets, either.

“If we go into the U.S. the goal is not to just offer another airline product,” he says. “There’s enough websites out there that do exactly that. So we will offer something different. And our competition will also be regional companies that offer something similar in each market.”

In a year’s time, Shaam says he hopes to have further deepened the platform’s coverage and usage in Europe — noting there are more transport dots to connect in markets including Portugal, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, plus parts of Eastern Europe (as well as “very heavily fragmented” bus providers in Spain and Italy).

By then he says he also wants to have “a clear answer to what are the two next big continents we want to expand into and have people that are ready to do that”.

So connecting the dots of intercity travel is very evidently a far slower-paced business than heavily VC-backed innercity transport plays — which have attracted multiple billions in funding in very short order thanks to fast usage velocity and revenue growth vs GoEuro’s modest (by contrast) ~$300M.

Nonetheless Shaam is convinced the intercity opportunity is still “a big market”. Perhaps not as massive as micromobility, ride-hailing and so on but still big and relatively under-invested, as he sees it.

So how will GoEuro as Omio approach scaling a travel business that is, necessarily, so very grounded in fixed and non-uniform transport infrastructure? He suggests the business will be able to draw on what is already years of experience integrating with transport providers of various types and sizes to support the new global push.

It’s developed what he describes as an “a la carte” menu of products for different sized travel providers — arguing this established menu of tools will help scale into new markets in fresh geographies, even while conceding there are other aspects of the business that will not be so easily replicable.

“Over time we built a lot of tooling that adapts to the different types of suppliers. So, for example, if you’re a large state-owned operator… that has very different systems built for decades basically vs a tiny bus company that runs from Naples to Positano that nobody even knows the name of or no technology it stands on we have different products that we offer to each of them.

“We have all the tooling built out so it’s basically ‘plug and play’ for us to do. So this thing doesn’t change. That’s portable.”

What will be new for Omio is international product market fit, with Shaam saying, for example, that it won’t necessarily be able to rely on the same sort of network effects it sees in Europe that help drive usage.

He also notes mobile penetration rates will differ — again requiring a different approach to serving customer needs in new regions such as Latin America.

“It’s not quick,” he concedes. “That’s why we’d rather launch now because I can’t tell you that in three months we’ll have had four more continents covered, right. This is a long term play but we’ve raised enough capital to make sure we’re here for that long term journey.”

“We have a name that people know and we can build technology,” he adds, expanding on what Omio can bring to the table as it tries to sell its platform to travel providers everywhere. “We’ve worked with 800+ suppliers. So from a commercial standpoint, people know who we are and how much scale we can bring in terms of their fixed cost businesses — so we can sell a lot of tickets for all of them. We can bring international tourists from a global audience. And we can really fill up seats. So people know that you put your supply on our product and we instantly scale because the existing demand is just so large.”

The Berlin-based startup closed a $150M funding round last fall so it’s not short of immediate resources to support the new hires it’ll be looking to add to start building out its global roadmap.

Shaam also notes it brought in more Asian capital with its last round, which he says he hopes will help “with this globalization capital”. Most of the investors it added then are also geared towards longer term returns vs traditional VC, he adds.

Omio is not currently in the process of raising another funding round, according to Shaam, though he confirms it does plan to raise more in future as it works towards the global vision of a single platform to help travellers move all over the world.

“The amount of capital that’s gone into intercity transport is tiny compared to innercity transport,” he notes. “That means that if you’re still going after a global problem that we want to solve that means that we need to raise capital at some point in the future. For now we’re just very comfortable with what we have but it doesn’t mean that we’ll stop.”

One potential future market Omio is likely to approach only very cautiously is China.

A b2c partnership with local travel booking platform Qunar, which GoEuro inked back in 2017, to link Chinese consumers with European travel opportunities, means Omio has a commercial reason to be sensitive of any moves into that market.

The complexity and challenge of going into China as an outsider is of course another major reason to go slow.

“I want to say very carefully that China is a market we need a lot more time to understand before we go into, as I think there’s enough lessons learned from all the tech companies from the West,” says Shaam readily. “It’s not going to be a rushed decision. So in that case the partnership with have with Qunar — I don’t see any changes in the near term because going into China is a big step for us. And it’s not an easy decision anyway.”

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toomanysinks · 5 years

Text

GoEuro rebrands as Omio to take its travel aggregator business global

The name it’s chosen is Omio, pronounced with the stress on the ‘me’ sound in the middle of the word.

GoEuro unveiled a new brand identity late last year — which it says now was preparing the ground for this full rebranding.

GoEuro — now Omio — founder and CEO, Naren Shaam

There’s also no suggestion that Omio intends to offer a more lightweight transport proposition as a strategy to elbow its way into new markets, either.

By then he says he also wants to have “a clear answer to what are the two next big continents we want to expand into and have people that are ready to do that”.

“We have all the tooling built out so it’s basically ‘plug and play’ for us to do. So this thing doesn’t change. That’s portable.”

He also notes mobile penetration rates will differ — again requiring a different approach to serving customer needs in new regions such as Latin America.

The Berlin-based startup closed a $150M funding round last fall so it’s not short of immediate resources to support the new hires it’ll be looking to add to start building out its global roadmap.

One potential future market Omio is likely to approach only very cautiously is China.

The complexity and challenge of going into China as an outsider is of course another major reason to go slow.

source https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/14/goeuro-rebrands-as-omio-to-take-its-travel-aggregator-business-global/

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fmservers · 5 years

Text

GoEuro rebrands as Omio to take its travel aggregator business global

The name it’s chosen is Omio, pronounced with the stress on the ‘me’ sound in the middle of the word.

GoEuro unveiled a new brand identity late last year — which it says now was preparing the ground for this full rebranding.

GoEuro — now Omio — founder and CEO, Naren Shaam

There’s also no suggestion that Omio intends to offer a more lightweight transport proposition as a strategy to elbow its way into new markets, either.

By then he says he also wants to have “a clear answer to what are the two next big continents we want to expand into and have people that are ready to do that”.

“We have all the tooling built out so it’s basically ‘plug and play’ for us to do. So this thing doesn’t change. That’s portable.”

He also notes mobile penetration rates will differ — again requiring a different approach to serving customer needs in new regions such as Latin America.

The Berlin-based startup closed a $150M funding round last fall so it’s not short of immediate resources to support the new hires it’ll be looking to add to start building out its global roadmap.

One potential future market Omio is likely to approach only very cautiously is China.

The complexity and challenge of going into China as an outsider is of course another major reason to go slow.

Via Natasha Lomas https://techcrunch.com

#TechCrunch

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touristguidebuzz · 7 years

Text

Complications of Getting Catering to the Plane — Airline Innovation Report

A catering truck — called a high-loader in industry lingo — might cost $200,000, according to an executive with Gate Group. That's part of the reason airline food is so expensive. Gate Group

Skift Take: Are you upset some airlines charge $3 for a soda? There's a reason prices are higher than at a convenience store. It's not easy or cheap to get provisions onto an aircraft.

— Brian Sumers

The Skift Airline Innovation Report is our weekly newsletter focused on the business of airline innovation. We will look closely at the technological, financial, and design trends at airlines and airports that are driving the next-gen aviation industry.

We provide insights on need-to-know developments in passenger experience, ancillary services, revenue management, loyalty, technology, marketing, airport innovation, the competitive landscape, startups, and changing passenger behavior. The newsletter, sent on Wednesdays, is written and curated by me. We will look closely at the technological, financial, and design trends at airlines and airports that are driving the next-generation aviation industry. You can find previous issues of the newsletter here.

United Airlines has been around for 90 years, and yet it’s still not sure of the most efficient number of Coca-Cola cans to board for each flight.

I tweeted this recently, after someone at United forwarded me catering news. “To help reduce unnecessary soda overstock, beginning Dec.1, we will reduce the amount of soda provisioned on all single-segment domestic flights,” United told employees, while promising it still seeks to “provide the right balance of beverages to meet customer demand.”

I bring this up because this week we published an interview with Anne De Hauw, vice president of innovation for Gate Group, the world’s largest caterer and airline retail company. Part of her job includes bringing true innovation to airline catering and retail, but much of it has another purpose — to help carriers reduce costs. On each meal served to a passenger, she said, “every penny [airlines] can reduce is significant.” That includes drinks.

We spoke about how some U.S. airlines have resumed free food service on longer domestic flights. But mostly, she said, the trend is going in the other direction, with airlines charging for meals. Her research tells her passengers in their 20s and 30s — the next-generation of important executives — don’t mind. “Millennials want to have great food,” she said. “It can be simple, but it needs to be good. They would rather pay for good than get free food which isn’t good.”

We also discussed sodas. It’s a topic I’ve found fascinating since I interviewed then-Frontier Airlines President Barry Biffle a couple of years ago in Denver. He and I spoke about how passengers dislike paying for sodas, since most assume a Coke costs an airline 20 cents or less. But because of the supply chain expenses, he said, a Coke costs Frontier a lot more than passengers pay at Costco.

How much? This is an answer I tried to learn from De Hauw. She declined to give exact numbers, but defended Gate Group’s pricing.

“The cans need to be sorted in the catering unit at the airport,” she said. “They need to be sorted into trolleys. It is all planned in advance how much Coke goes into each trolley. The catering then needs to be driven by the high-loaders of the caterer at the airport and loaded on the airplane. That area is a highly secure area. And the price of a high-loader is around $200,000 — of one high-loader.”

For more catering tidbits, including her thoughts on the recent Listeria scare in at Gate Group’s Los Angeles facility, read the interview.

— Brian Sumers, Airline Business Reporter

News and Notes

Allegiant to Mexico: For roughly five years, executives at discount U.S. carrier Allegiant Air have said, on and off, that they want to fly to the Caribbean and Mexico. But it still hasn’t happened.

In occasional statements, they’ve suggested they have enough worthy U.S. markets, and don’t need to rush international expansion. But recently I spoke with Kristen Schilling-Gonzales, Allegiant’s director of planning, for my Airline Insiders interview series, and she told me part of the issue is airline’s technological system. It’s not ready to support international flights.

“Our website is also part of our booking engine and it’s all internally created,” she said. “The same thing goes with international. We’re looking to build our own departure control system, making sure that we’re sending all the right data to government agencies, all that stuff. We’re still working on that.”

She said she doesn’t know when the airline will be ready. But the airline’s planning team knows what routes it will suggest when, or if, the time comes.

“I’ve got a roughly five-year plan of several hundred routes that we could be running once international is up and going,” she said. “The routes aren’t the issue, it’s the infrastructure and updating our systems to handle it.”

Look for the entire interview after Thanksgiving.

Want to be the next interviewee for the series? Email me.

Stories of the Week

Airline Food Conundrum — Paid Meals Winning Out Over Freebies: Airline food isn’t always tasty, but passengers probably shouldn’t compare it to what they find in a restaurant. Delivering food to an aircraft is a logistical challenge, and it’s amazing the system works as well as it does.

Delta Puts a Better Business Class on Routes Where Travelers Will Buy It: When deciding which planes to send where, U.S. airlines usually keep it simple. Domestic routes, with few exceptions, get narrowbody jets with first class recliner seats. International routes get flatbeds, regardless of whether there’s a premium market. But this week, Delta said it will try something different in 2018. It’ll deploy flatbeds on more U.S. routes, while some flights to Iceland, Portugal and Ireland will lose them. It’s smart business since more passengers may buy first class on New York-San Diego, than from New York to Ponta Delgada, Portugal. (Did you know Delta flew to Ponta Delgada?)

United Is Making Tech Changes to Boost Wi-Fi Speeds on Many Planes: I heard for months United was having modem trouble on its Panasonic-equipped Boeing 777s, 767s, 757s, and Airbus A319s and A320s. But while I once received a $175 travel certificate after flying with broken Wi-Fi, I never learned the exact problem. Last week, though, United admitted it had an issue. “We are working with Panasonic to improve the quality of the wireless access points on all of our Panasonic aircraft,” United said, promising more travelers soon will be able to “….tap into a strong, steady connection at the same time.” The upgrade should be done by May.

Alaska Airlines Blames Trump Administration for Decision to Pull Out of Cuba: Our chutzpah award goes to Alaska Airlines, which blamed “changes in Cuba travel policies,” for why it canceled its Los Angeles-Havana flight. The Trump Administration’s recent regulatory changes may not have helped, but this was almost certainly a marginal route from the beginning. Remember, no other airline wanted to fly from the West Coast to Havana. In its release, Alaska said it would deploy the 737 to “markets with higher demand.” Blogger Brett Snyder tweeted, “not sure why they bothered saying ‘higher’ there, could have just said ‘Aircraft and crew will be re-deployed to markets with demand.'”

Airlines Personalize the Passenger Experience With New Apps and Devices: At almost every conference I attend, someone asks about the line between creepy and cool, when it comes to customer service. Do passengers want a flight attendant to wish them happy birthday? Do they want someone to bring them their favorite drink before they ask? Or might they want the airline to suggest where they should fly next, as Netflix recommends movies to subscribers? In many cases, airlines have the data they need. But they’re often not sure how, or when, to use it. Bloomberg’s Justin Bachman has details.

Why Airbus Lost Its Super Jumbo Deal With Emirates: Bloomberg’s Benedikt Kammel and Benjamin Katz report Airbus and Emirates recently shook on a deal that was to send 36 more A380s to the Dubai-based carrier. But it hasn’t happened. Why? “At the heart of the turnabout was concern at Emirates about the commitment of Airbus to carry on developing the A380, with the carrier loath to place on order only to see the program terminated a few years later,” the two reporters write.

‘Pay Least, Board Last’ — British Airways Unveils Its Newest Policy: Is any mainstream global airline brand mocked more than British Airways? The airline said it will require passengers buying its cheapest tickets to board last. It’s a similar strategy to what American, United and Delta use with basic economy. Many British newspapers, including The Telegraph, criticized the move, using colorful language to describe it. But this is a common business practice, right? People who pay less get less.

Airport to Pay Nearly $1.5 Million for Qatar Airways Flights to Pittsburgh: Over a one-year period, Pittsburgh International Airport could give Qatar Airways almost $1.5 million in exchange for twice-weekly cargo flights to Doha that began in October, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The airport may avoid some payments if the airline reaches its financial goals next year. But no matter what, the newspaper said, Pittsburgh’s airport will pay the airline about $15,500 per flight — or $744,000 total — to subsidize service for the first six months. Is that money well-spent?

Correction: Last week, I poked fun at Ed Wegel, founder of the reboot of Eastern Airlines in 2015. He has a new project, World Airways. In last week’s post, I suggested that the new Eastern is still flying, albeit under different management. Technically, that’s not true. There might be some planes in Eastern’s livery still operating, but the carrier no longer has an operating certificate. “Earlier this year, Swift Air acquired two Boeing 737-800s that Eastern Airlines Group was leasing,” an FAA spokesman told me. “Eastern Airlines surrendered its Part 121 certificate on Nov. 13, 2017.”

The Skift Airline Innovation Report is curated by Skift Airline Business Reporter Brian Sumers [[email protected]]. The newsletter is emailed every Wednesday. Have a story idea? Or a juicy news tip? Want to share a memo? Send me an email or tweet me.

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rollinbrigittenv8 · 7 years

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Complications of Getting Catering to the Plane — Airline Innovation Report

A catering truck — called a high-loader in industry lingo — might cost $200,000, according to an executive with Gate Group. That's part of the reason airline food is so expensive. Gate Group

Skift Take: Are you upset some airlines charge $3 for a soda? There's a reason prices are higher than at a convenience store. It's not easy or cheap to get provisions onto an aircraft.

— Brian Sumers

United Airlines has been around for 90 years, and yet it’s still not sure of the most efficient number of Coca-Cola cans to board for each flight.

How much? This is an answer I tried to learn from De Hauw. She declined to give exact numbers, but defended Gate Group’s pricing.

For more catering tidbits, including her thoughts on the recent Listeria scare in at Gate Group’s Los Angeles facility, read the interview.

— Brian Sumers, Airline Business Reporter

News and Notes

She said she doesn’t know when the airline will be ready. But the airline’s planning team knows what routes it will suggest when, or if, the time comes.

Look for the entire interview after Thanksgiving.

Want to be the next interviewee for the series? Email me.

Stories of the Week

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tapairline-blog · 5 years

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Traveling on a budget is always a major concern for travelers. If you are the kind of person, who loves backpacking, you might play a guessing game when it comes to booking flight tickets. No matter how desperate you are for a fun-filled experience, you should always make the right choice to travel smart. Of course, the right definition of a smart traveler is exploring more and paying less. Then, why don’t you prefer traveling by Tap Air Portugal? In fact, Tap makes reservations easier as you can visit Tap Portugal airlines official site or make a call to book your flight tickets in minutes.

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touristguidebuzz · 7 years

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Skift Forum Europe: Google Travel Exec Details Changing Consumer Behavior

Oliver Heckmann, who oversees Google's travel product, will discuss progress in Europe and the changing ways consumers are using Google on desktop and mobile. Skift

Skift Take: Companies often chase and vie to sign on influencers for marketing purposes, but all can agree that Google is one of the most powerful forces in travel. Despite Facebook's inroads, Google travel products are ascending and Heckmann will shed light on their trajectory.

— Dennis Schaal

On April 4 in London, hundreds of the travel industry’s brightest and best will gather for the first Skift Forum Europe. In only a few short years Skift’s Forums — the largest creative business gatherings in the global travel industry — have become what media, speakers, and attendees have called the “TED Talks of travel.”

This year’s event at Tobacco Dock in London will feature speakers including CEOs and top executives from InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Norwegian Air, Google, Lonely Planet, Momondo Group, and many more.

The following is part of a series of posts highlighting some of the speakers and touching on issues of concern in Europe and beyond. See the complete list of amazing speakers and topics at this year’s event.

Get Your Tickets Now

If you want to dig for new information about consumer behavior in travel and beyond it, Google’s a good place to start.

Oliver Heckmann, vice president of engineering for Google Travel, says one takeaway so far from its Google Trips app, which debuted in September, is that more than one third of the app’s users download destination data so they can use it offline later.

“Offline access is essential,” Heckmann says. “We see that more than a quarter of travelers do not have a stable connection when they use Google Trips in-destination.”

Travelers also like to build their own itineraries and download, on average, 12 starred items saved on Google Maps to refine their planned wanderings, he says.

What’s clear about the future of travel — and life — is that the tech revolution has inordinate sway over things to come. Heckmann says 20 percent of Google app for Android users opt for voice search instead of tapping on their phones or tablets. Separately, people accessing Assistant on Google Home are taking advantage of its translation services, and that’s a utility that is vital for everyone from travelers to refugees and aid workers.

On the competitive front, Heckmann won’t commit to launching tour, hotel or airline booking capabilities in the Google Trips app, although he adds this will be explored “in the future.”

While Heckmann won’t say much about Facebook’s launch of City Guides, which is a competitor to Google Trips, he does think competition makes the world go round.

“We view competition as a forcing function that spurs innovation and the development of amazing user experiences for travelers around the globe — which we think is a great outcome for everyone,” Heckmann says.

Heckmann will appear at Skift Forum Europe in London April 4, and will discuss how Google, and everything from artificial intelligence to machine learning and voice search, are rewriting the next acts of how people get around the globe.

We queried Heckmann via email about some of these topics, and the following is an edited version of his responses.

Skift: When is Google Travel, including Google Flights and Hotel Ads, going to get serious about Europe or do you feel constrained because of the regulatory environment?

Oliver Heckmann: We’re actually seeing a lot of momentum in Europe and are happy with the strong partnerships we’ve developed there. Google Flights is already available in many European countries including Portugal, Germany, France, Austria, Sweden, and many more. This region continues to be a focus for us. We’re constantly working on deepening our relationships with airlines like Lufthansa, and have plans to launch to more countries in the coming months.

With regards to hotels, we work closely with European hotel chains and groups like AccorHotels and Premier Inn, who used Google Hotel Ads to increase their overall bookings by 40 percent. Bedfinder, a business unit of the HotelPlan Group, is another great example. After launching in the U.S. in September 2016 and in UK in December 2016, Bedfinder acquired 25,000 new customers by using Hotel Ads and Book on Google.

We also have great partnerships with a number of hotel integrations partners like WIHP, who have been instrumental in getting European hotels of all sizes set up with Hotel Ads, and are extremely excited to grow these even further this year.

Skift: What have you learned from the Trips app? When and how are you going to introduce tours and activities bookings in it? Why stop there? Why not hotels too?

Heckmann: Since we launched Google Trips last September, we’ve been really excited and encouraged by all of the positive feedback we’ve received from travelers. In fact, we’ve learned a couple of key things so far.

Offline access is essential: We see that more than a quarter of travelers do not have a stable connection when they use Google Trips in-destination. And, more than one-third of Trips users download relevant city data expecting to not be online and connected at any given moment.

Travelers love to control their own destiny. With Google Trips, it was important for us to give travelers options: the ability to follow curated day plans based on what we at Google know about past trips to a particular destination, as well as the ability to create their own plans. We see that many travelers like to structure their own days, using on average 12 starred items that they saved on Google Maps to tailor their itinerary as they see fit.

As for integrating partner content and booking capabilities, this is absolutely something we’re open to exploring in the future. We’re just getting started with Google Trips and are excited about making the app even more useful for travelers in the months and years to come.

Skift: Do you have an artificial intelligence advantage over your competitors? How are you going to leverage that?

Heckmann: As a company, Google has been using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to create even better experiences for the people who use our products and enable capabilities that weren’t possible before, like voice-based interaction. For example, in the Google App on Android, 20 percent of U.S. searches are now made by voice. We’ve seen how powerful AI can be with tools like Google Translate, which became a critical tool during the refugee crisis in Europe, supporting the growth of translations between German and Arabic by 5X.

With regards to travel, we’re especially excited about how we’re using machine learning to make our tools more assistive and conversational. This means surfacing better recommendations, designing itineraries, improving user interfaces and processing information more efficiently. For example, people can already ask the Assistant a variety of travel-related questions and instantly get helpful answers. With the Assistant on Google Home, travelers can already translate languages (“how do you say good evening in German?”), ask about an upcoming trip (“when is my trip to Zurich?”), and get important details about a particular location (“is the Sagrada Familia open on Mondays?”).

Skift: Facebook just debuted a City Guides feature in the Facebook app that has some parallels to the Google Trips app. What’s better about the Trips app and isn’t it nice that Facebook is providing a little competition?

Heckmann:The online travel industry is always evolving, which is something we love and appreciate about the space. Right now, travelers have a variety of different options available to them. They can go to Expedia, TripAdvisor, Hopper, Facebook, and other partners to address their specific travel needs. We view competition as a forcing function that spurs innovation and the development of amazing user experiences for travelers around the globe, which we think is a great outcome for everyone.

As for Google Trips, I’m personally a big fan of the day plans feature, being able to quickly customize my plans has made planning the days of my vacations a lot easier, and much more fun.

Oliver Heckman will be speaking at Skift Forum Europe on April 4 in London.

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