Air Asia combines with Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines (MAS), the national airline, and budget carrier Air Asia, together with long haul, sister operator AirAsia X, have entered into a comprehensive collaboration framework that will see the airlines exploring opportunities to co-operate on a broad range of areas.  

AirAsia shareholders will hold 20.5% of Malaysia Airlines and in the other direction the interest will be 10%.

Many see the MAS-AirAsia partnership as a way to help stop MAS from plunging further into the red, while others feel AirAsia will benefit as much as the national carrier from the alliance.  Whether Tony Fernandes, the British-educated Malaysian entrepreneur behind the partnership, can make it work remains to be seen.  His foray into Formula One with Team Lotus has not as yet seen the cars anywhere near the front of the grid even with another venture, Caterham, blazoned on the cars.

Under the arrangement, rationalisation is expected especially in the domestic market.  The airlines’ networks overlap directly on 38 routes, while there are some indirect synergies in some markets.  These include London, where Malaysia Airlines serves Heathrow and Air Asia X flies to Stansted (Gatwick from the end of October) and Paris with Malaysia Airlines to CDG and Air Asia X Orly. www.malaysiaairlines.com www.airasia.com

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Boeing 747-8 completes certification flight testing

A major milestone for both freighter and passenger versions of the ‘all new’ Boeing 747-8 has been reached with the successful completion of the freighter variants flight test programme.

The first 747-8 Freighter is scheduled to be delivered to launch customer Cargolux in September after certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The 747-8 Freighter has flown more than 1,200 flights and 3,400 hours since its first flight on 8 February 2010.  During that time, the five-aeroplane test fleet was used to gather data for more than 1,700 FAA certification requirements.  Boeing tested the capabilities of these aeroplanes far beyond what they are expected to encounter in normal service.  The new aircraft is 18ft 4ins (5.6m) longer than the current 747-400 Freighter.  The stretch provides customers with 16% more revenue cargo volume compared to its predecessor.  That translates to four additional main-deck pallets and three additional lower-hold pallets.

The current order book stands at 114, including 78 of the freighter version, and 36 of the passenger version.  Lufthansa, is expected to receive its first aircraft towards the end of the year or early 2012 and offer a three class format. www.boeing.com/commercial

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Changi Airport service gets even better

Service at Changi Airport Singapore is set to be further enhanced with the introduction of the Changi Experience Agents (CEA) initiative, where roving customer service officers are deployed airport-wide to help visitors and passengers with assistance, as well as the Changi Contact Centre, a 24/7 one-stop centralised call centre facility which consolidates all telephone lines for the airport into a common number.

Both brand-new initiatives are aimed at enhancing what is termed “The Changi Experience” and have been introduced to augment and strengthen the airport’s efforts to provide a stress-free, personalised and positively surprising passage for passengers.

The task of the CEAs includes assisting passengers with special needs, and helping everyone with way finding at the airport.  Locating missing luggage, facilitating passengers with check-in needs and assisting transit or transfer passengers with their onward connections also form part of the CEAs’ duties.  Working in shifts, 90 CEAs are deployed across all four terminals.  They speak a total of more than 20 languages and dialects which include French, Hindi, Japanese, Tagalog and Thai, a reflection of Changi’s top passenger markets. www.changiairport.com

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Dreamliner update

The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner that will enter into service with launch customer ANA has rolled out of the paint hangar.  The aeroplane bears a special livery signifying the core elements of ANA's service brand – innovation, uniqueness and the inspiration of Japan.  The aircraft is somewhat late, it was supposed to go into service in time for the Beijing Olympics, nevertheless its introduction is being watched with bated breath by the whole industry.

"Our teams are making outstanding progress in completing the first airplane to be delivered and achieving certification of the 787," said Scott Fancher, Vice President and General Manager of the 787 programme.  "We are inspired by the airline's enthusiasm for this airplane and look forward to the day when we make our first delivery to ANA."

ANA's first 787 features a short haul international interior design with Business and Economy Class cabins.

"ANA's passengers will be the first to experience the 787 Dreamliner's comfortable interior environment," said Mitsuo Morimoto, ANA Senior Executive Vice President and Member of the Board of Directors.  "Combined with ANA's superior levels of service, passengers will enjoy a spacious interior, larger windows, comfortable seats and touch-panel in-flight entertainment screens."  Current order book stands at 827 firm for the 787. www.ana.co.jp

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Gatwick introduces family arrival procedures

Endeavouring to make arrivals at Gatwick Airport a simpler task, officials have introduced, along with the UK Border Agency, new procedures to reduce queue times and provide better service for those with children or reduced mobility. 

Geoff Williams, security chief at Gatwick said: “We understand that the return journey can often feel long and exhausting.  This is especially true if you are travelling with young children and you just want to get back home as quickly as possible.  That is why we have become the first UK airport to introduce lanes in the immigration halls dedicated entirely to families, and those who might need a bit of extra support.  Staff who man these lanes have received extra training in customer service so that they know how to provide the right level of help.”

The immigration halls now also have a selection of ePassport gates that enable EU passengers with biometric passports to get through passport control much more quickly and conveniently.  The gates use facial recognition technology to compare a passenger’s face to the photograph recorded on the chip in the passport.  Once the checks are made, the gates open automatically.  www.gatwickairport.com

AERBT would be delighted to hear from families who have experienced the new procedures.

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Open all hours car hire!

From September 2011 busy travellers will be able to benefit from seven-day opening at more than 60 Europcar locations across the UK, allowing them to pick-up and return hire vehicles on the day that suits them – even if that’s a Sunday! 

“Conventionally, the car hire market comes to a halt for the weekend after 1pm on Saturdays,” explained Ken McCall, Managing Director, Europcar Group UK.  “So customers either have to use an out of hours service or take another day’s hire, which is not always convenient and adds to the cost.  And this is pretty inconvenient for customers who are used to accessing most other consumer and retail services seven days a week.  Therefore we are extending the opening hours of these key locations to make hiring a car even more convenient for our customers.”

The new opening times included 22 airports and 38 city centre branches, as well as 24-hour opening at six major airports.  Europcar’s remaining 128 locations will be open six days a week, 08:00-18:00 Monday to Friday and 08:00-13:00 on Saturdays.  Seven-day openings in these locations will be rolled out to respond to customer demand. www.europcar.co.uk

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Tiger Airlines returns to the air

The Australian offshoot of Asian budget carrier Tiger Airways has been given the green light to resume flights after the enforced five-week grounding.  However, the airline’s wings have been severely clipped as it will be restricted to operating just 18 sectors a day (nine return flights) for the remainder of August.  The budget carrier had its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) revoked by Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) on 2 July due to concerns that serious safety issues posed an imminent risk to air safety.

Tiger Airlines is an offshoot of the Singapore-based carrier of the same name, whose shareholders include Singapore Airlines.

The agency has confirmed a subsequent thorough investigation into safety issues within the carrier and said last week that it had developed a new set of conditions addressing key areas of operational importance.  “To continue to operate, Tiger Airways Australia must comply with the conditions while they are in place,” it said.

The airline is now operating what it calls “a simplified flight programme” initially between Melbourne (Tullamarine) and Sydney, with more to follow.

Prior to its suspension Tiger Airways Australia operated more than 450 weekly flights on 42 routes with a fleet of 10 Airbus A320s. www.tigerairways.com

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AND FINALLY: Where is central London?

It is not for AERBT to argue where is the centre of London but according to the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) it could be London Bridge, that is on the south side of the Thames close by where HMS Belfast is moored. 

Now knowledgeable readers may be aware that Shangri-La Hotels will soon be promoting the Shard as the middle of the universe but we are not so sure if most people would agree on Bermondsey as the centre of town.

In any event the ASA has now wrapped the knuckles of Gatwick Express for promoting their service from Gatwick Airport to Victoria as the quickest route to London.  The ASA seem to think that Capital Connect's trains to London Bridge is shorter.  Southern's Gatwick Express claim is 'misleading' according the agency.

At the end of the day the choice is yours but at least the Gatwick Express is a true non-stop express, unlike some other so-called expresses that stop twice on the way to an airport.

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2010 airport figures

ACI (Airports Council International) has released World Airport Traffic Report 2010 which indicates that a strong traffic rebound demonstrates the industry’s resiliency.

Launching the statistics Director General Angela Gittens said: “This annual Report is ACI’s flagship publication, a unique and comprehensive industry reference presenting data from over 1,300 airports in 157 countries.  The Report for 2010 documents a strong rebound from the two-year industry slump.  Global passenger traffic rose by 6.6%, topping the 5bn passenger mark for the first time.  Cargo volumes also hit a record, surging past 91m tonnes with 15.3% growth.  Once again, our industry has shown its resiliency in recovering from a downturn and resuming its historical trajectory of impressive growth.”

In more detail the growth was Middle East (+12%), Asia-Pacific (+11.3%) Africa (+9.5%) and Latin America-Caribbean (+13.2%) showed high growth.  Increases in the mature North American and European markets were 2% and 4.3% respectively; but they remain the top two regions for market share, although Asia-Pacific is rapidly closing the gap.

Worldwide domestic traffic increased by 5.8% while international traffic jumped by 7.7%.  Worldwide aircraft movements increased 1.1% to 74m a very strong indication that airlines were using larger, and hence more efficient, aircraft. www.aci.aero

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Airport retail experience

Retail Eyes, the store knowledge operator, is currently looking to expand its database of mystery shoppers to take part in an ongoing customer experience research programme at airports across the UK and Europe.  Travellers taking part in the scheme are not only relieved of boredom whilst waiting at an airport but given the opportunity to earn extra cash too.

Retail Eyes is working with a large number of retailers and operators in airports to help them understand and improve their customers’ experiences.  This is where Retail Eyes and its mystery shoppers get involved.  Whether travelling for business or leisure, Retail Eyes is looking to pay genuine members of the public to visit the airports and use their spare time at the airport to shop and get paid for the pleasure of it.

The mystery shoppers provide feedback about their experiences by answering a short questionnaire and are reimbursed for any purchases and can be paid anything from £10 to £60 for taking part.  Visits range from grabbing a quick drink or meal, purchasing a gift from one of the many retail outlets or even a drink or two at a Champagne & Caviar bar.

Readers may have heard about mystery shopping before but never known how to get involved.  The process to register with Retail Eyes is simple and completely free. www.retaileyes.co.uk/flyer

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Car rental disabled criticism

A report by Professor Peter Cook, Buckingham University, on how the rental market is serving the disabled community has been acknowledged by Lorraine Farnon, Managing Director of leading adapted vehicle hire specialist, AVH. 

“I am not surprised by the findings of Professor Peter Cooke’s research,” she said “Many of the major vehicle rental companies are very keen to integrate the services we can provide to enable them to serve the disabled community and their carers.  The challenge is ensuring that staff at all levels of the business – in call centres and branches – fully understand what their company’s obligations are in line with the Equality Act and what services they can access.”

“All too often disabled people who rely on an adapted vehicle as their only means of transport are left in the lurch when that vehicle needs servicing or repairs after an accident.  Disabled people have the same rights as the able bodied and the organisations serving them.”

Professor Cooke commissioned research of the major rental companies to find out how they responded to requests for adapted vehicles.  The findings suggest that the understanding of what can be offered is inconsistent and even across different contact points within individual companies.  The result is that disabled motorists are often left feeling that their vehicle hire option will be complex and expensive. www.buckingham.ac.uk www.adaptedvehiclehire.com

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Docklands Light Railway news plus World Travel Market

World Travel Market 2011 (7-10 November) is poised to benefit from a number of transport improvements including a 50% increase in Docklands Light Railway capacity.  Trains will run every 2mins 30secs during peak periods.  New escalators are being introduced at Custom House (for Excel).

Other news for DLR users in East London is that the new line from Canning Town to Stratford International has still not opened with a date expected imminently.  With this extension West Ham will open as a DLR station,  for the first time providing an interchange with the District, Hammersmith & City and Jubilee lines and also easy access to Upton Park, the home of Championship side West Ham United. 

Readers who have used Pudding Mill Lane DLR in the past, with its splendid views of the Olympic site, should note it will be closed for the period of the Games.  It will also become part of Crossrail.

Visitors to the exhibition (and London City Airport too) will also benefit from a major increase in Jubilee line capacity and a general upgrading of Canning Town station, a vital interchange between the Underground system and DLR. www.tfl.gov.uk/modalpages/2632.aspx

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easyJet launches 2012 schedule with 300 destinations

Whilst most of us are still taking our 2011 summer holidays, or at least planning a winter break, easyJet, which claims to be UK’s largest airline, has launched its spring schedule with around 300 low fare destinations.

More than 60,000 flights are now on sale until 24 June 2012, enabling passengers to secure the best fares.  With budget carriers the earlier you book the better with 10m seats available for travel from 25 March through to 24 June 2012.

Additional flights have been added to popular destinations including Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid and Rome.

Seats are also now on sale from easyJet’s newest base, Southend Airport, with a choice of eight new destinations: Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast, Faro, Ibiza, Malaga, Mallorca. www.easyjet.com

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Manchester to Knock

Flybe is to introduce, at the start of the winter season 30 October 2011, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday flights from Manchester to Knock, in the west of Ireland.  The route will be operated by a 78-passenger single class Bombardier Q400 with a flight time of 1hr 10mins.  At the same time the airline will resurrect a previous service (by other carriers) from Manchester to Newquay – Cornwall, also on a four times per week basis with a flight time five minutes longer at 1hr 15mins. 

Together with its Loganair franchise connections Flybe now offers 44 destinations from Manchester, making it the carrier’s largest hub. www.flybe.com

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Stansted to Barcelona

Ryanair, the world’s most annoying airline, is to introduce a twice daily Stansted to Barcelona (El Prat) service from 1 December 2011 in direct competition with easyJet, long established on the route.  The Irish airline already flies to Girona from Stansted, which it also calls Barcelona, the infuriating renaming practice this time working against the carrier.

London – Barcelona is one of the UK’s most popular air routes, worth 1.3m passengers last year.  It is fiercely competitive with flights offered from all four London airports and Southend joining in next year. 

easyJet has services from Gatwick, Luton and, as mentioned, Stansted, whilst BA/Iberia offers both Heathrow and London City.  Barcelona is also connected to most UK regional airports. www.ryanair.com

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MOTORING UPDATE by Ted Wilkinson

Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.4 TB Lusso
No More Sporting Than This Alfa!

Alfa Romeo cars are always stylish, its designers apt at creating a practical saloon that usually has the looks of a head-turning coupe.  No more so than the latest Giulietta, a five-seat compact sized car that has the looks and performance to enable any driver to feel young at heart.

So clever has been the styling of this car that when I offered a colleague a lift he called out that there were no rear door handles! In fact, they were incorporated in the rear window frame posing as small quarter lights.

Yes, you would be excused for thinking that this Giulietta was a sporty 3-door coupe though those who had knowledge of the illustrious line of previous Alfa Romeos bearing this name would appreciate that even Alfa Romeo has had to move with the times and accommodate the requirement to provide a practical model of family sized transport though with a product that has enormous doses of the required street credibility.

Additionally this famous car maker has clearly managed to create a car that projects a lot of the DNA of the traditional Alfa Romeo while incorporating state of the art engineering to meet the requirements of a more environmentally friendly world.

To achieve this there is a range of highly efficient power units, no more so than the 1.4-litre 4-cylinder multi-air petrol engine in the mid-range Lusso specification test car.

Would you credit it?  A power output of 120 bhp at a relatively relaxed 5,000 rpm, a carbon footprint of a sensible 149 g/km and a combined fuel consumption figure of 41.mpg.  And this is from a car that is claimed to be good for a top speed of 121 mph and able to reach 62 mph from rest in 9.4 seconds.  In town one can capitalise on the latest stop+start technology so that no fuel is wasted when at a stop and no emissions are leaked into the atmosphere.

What is more there is that familiar free-revving nature of this newly developed power unit and, I gladly experienced, a little suggestion of the ‘Alfa music’ in the exhaust note.

Of course this car is no pussy, it provides the driver with sufficient satisfaction, a touch of involvement when desired but also the ability to provide an easy drive, the enjoyment of a firm and positive changing 6-speed gearbox, potent braking without sharpness and a ride that is sufficiently compliant on the medium profile Pirelli tyres to enable passengers to travel in relaxed comfort…and get out of those rear doors with ease.

The driver’s lot is a good one as I would expect from this maker, the driving seat is of good dimensions with support in the right places, ample adjustment and a adjustable steering column to ensure both comfort and a ‘with it’ driving position.  All seats are part leather upholstered.

Alfa heritage is emphasised by the Italian language on the large clear faced instrument dials…Geri on the rev. counter, Benzina on the fuel gauge and for good measure there is a big round alloy gear knob.

Build quality and finish reflect that strong progress that has been made across the Alfa range in recent years.  Very good I would say, close to the premium grade and equipped to a comprehensive standard.  This model comes with cruise control, a superb BOSE audio system, alloy wheels (space saver spare), very efficient air conditioning and a fabulous panoramic glass roof.  Lacking is satellite navigation.

I don’t think that Alfa Romeo has compromised at all with the Giulietta, it is an individualistic car like its forebears that manages to provide a practical lifestyle (boot capacity is sensible and aided by 60/40 folding rear seats) and above all, a lot of enjoyment. What more do you want?

Rivals include: Audi A3, Honda Civic.

STAR RATINGS (out of 10)
Performance 9
Handling 9
Transmission 9
Noise 8
Economy 9
Ride and Comfort 9
Accommodation 9
Styling 9
Brakes 9
Finish 9
TOTAL: 89 %

Price from £18,605.

NOTES FROM TED WILKINSON’S MOTORING DIARY

AUDI: Order books have now opened for the 2012 speciation Audi A5/S5 in Sport hatch, Coupe and Cabriolet forms.  Prices start from £25,540 on the road.  Audi is claiming high efficiency figures for the range with fuel consumption at 60 mpg and emissions at 122 g/km. www.audi.co.uk

MITSUBISHI: Potential purchaser of the pure electric Mitsubishi iMIEV can create their own vehicle by logging into a special customer website. www.Mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/customer/graphics.aspx

PROTON: the Malaysian Proton car range has broken into the top ranks of the most reliable cars in the UK.  According to reports from the Direct Line Breakdown organisation Proton ranked fifth behind Honda, Toyota, Mazda and Nissan. www.proton.co.uk

SKODA: A new sales record for the Czech Skoda car range – first 6 months sales worldwide were 454,700 vehicles, a 20.1% increase over the same period in 2010.

Ted Wilkinson is a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers

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