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Lufthansa presents strong balance sheet for 2010
6 April 2011, 11:00 pm

        The Lufthansa Group has ended the 2010 business year with a strong balance sheet. The Group earned an operating profit of 876 million euros for 2010, which was equivalent to a more than fivefold increase of the previous year’s figure of 130 million euros. The Group’s net profit rose to 1.1 billion euros, which marked an increase of 1.2 billion euros.The figure includes a positive one-off tax effect of around 400 million euros from the financial restructuring of the Catering business segment. The Group therefore compensated the negative one-off effects on the result, such as the hard winter in January and December, the pilots’ strike and the airspace lockdown for several days as a result of the volcano eruption on Iceland, better than could have been expected at the mid-year point. This was mainly due to a rise in demand and sales in international passenger traffic and freight traffic, as well as the successful implementation of cost reduction measures in all of the Group’s business segments and the realization of synergy potentials within the Passenger Airline group.

All of the business segments contributed to the Group’s good result by posting operating profits. Lufthansa plans to let its shareholders share in the Group’s success with a dividend payment of 60 cent per share. Chairman and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG Christoph Franz described the year 2010 as an eventful and challenging, yet ultimately successful one and said speaking about the full-year figures: “We can be highly satisfied with this result; it shows that we have learned from the crises of the past. We maintained our financial and operational flexibility as well as our usual cost discipline and convincingly mastered the past year – not least thanks to a strong team performance by all of our staff and management on the ground and in the air. And most importantly, Lufthansa has widened the gap to its competitors. That makes us proud and spurs us on to perform even better in 2011.”

During the past business year, the Lufthansa Group’s largest business segment, the Passenger Airline Group, benefited particularly from the recovery in demand in long-haul traffic and the realization of synergy potentials within the airline group. The operating profit of 436 million euros included a substantial contribution from Lufthansa Passenger Airlines, which recorded an operating profit of 382 million euros. During the previous year, Lufthansa Passenger Airlines had posted an operating loss of 107 million euros. Cost reduction measures, for example the phasing out of the 50-seater fleet, which were implemented within the framework of the Climb 2011 programme to safeguard earnings, contributed to the improvement of the result. Lufthansa Passenger Airlines will continue with the Climb 2011 programme until the end of the year as planned. The taking into service of four A380 with the new First Class product, the introduction of the new Europa cabin on continental routes and the re-introduction of the on-board Internet system “Flynet”, were just a few of the past year’s investments in Lufthansa’s on-board and ground products.

Swiss International Air Lines tripled the previous year’s figure to record an operating profit of 298 million euros. The overall result of the Passenger Airline Group also included operating losses of 66 million euros from Austrian Airlines and 145 million euros from British Midland. Both airlines continue to consistently implement the introduced restructuring measures. Germanwings continued on its course of growth; however, the one-time special effects of the past year resulted in a negative operating result of 39 million euros.

Lufthansa Cargo increased its traffic revenue and benefited from strict cost management, higher prices and good competitive positioning, to record a higher than average success as a result of the economic recovery. The company posted a record result in 2010, closing the year with an operating profit of 310 million euros. As expected, the MRO business segment benefited from the economic recovery later than the Group’s other business segments. However, Lufthansa Technik was able to earn an annual operating profit of 268 million euros despite the decline in revenue it faced at the beginning of the year. The IT Services business segment also recorded a positive operating result at 10 million euros; however, Lufthansa Systems was only partially able to compensate the decline in revenue in this business segment. The company therefore plans to achieve a sustainable improvement of its revenue and result with the implementation of its “LSY Now!” programme. LSG Skychefs increased its operating profit in the Catering business segment to 76 million euros.

The Executive Board of the Lufthansa Group views the economic development of the current business year with confidence. The company expects a further increase in revenue and the operating result, and as things currently stand, the conditions for a dividend payout should also be fulfilled for this year. Christoph Franz emphasized that: “2011 will not be a walk in the park. The headwinds of competition are becoming rougher on the European routes and long-haul routes to Asia and the Americas. The German air traffic tax hits the German and European airlines, as well as their passengers, where it hurts. The fuel prices are at record levels. And we are not immune to the consequences of political unrest, terrorist attacks and natural disasters. The Lufthansa Group will face up to these challenges and maintain its successful course in 2011; after all, the past year has shown that we possess the necessary expertise.” The company currently expects its revenue and result to also develop positively in 2012. However, the conditions for this would be that the forecast economic developments come true and the Group’s business is not affected by a disproportionately high increase in fuel prices or other unforeseeable events.

Annual figures 2010

During the year 2010, the Lufthansa Group generated revenues totalling 27.3 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 22.6 per cent. The traffic revenue rose by 26.5 per cent to 22.3 billion euros. During the reporting period, the Group’s operating income increased by altogether 20.4 per cent to 30.1 billion euros. The adjusted figures without the consolidation effects increased by 14.4 per cent (revenue), 16.2 per cent (traffic revenue) and 12.6 per cent (operating income).

Operating expenses rose by 16.7 per cent to 28.9 billion euros during the course of the year. One important reason for this, besides the consolidation effects, were the fuel costs, which rose by 1.5 billion euros to a total of 5.2 billion euros, equivalent to a year-on-year increase of 41.5 per cent, which was both price and volume related. The fees and charges were 21.8 per cent above the previous year’s figure.

The Lufthansa Group posted an operating result of 876 million euros for the full year, which marked an increase of 746 million euros in comparison to the previous year’s figure. The Group posted a result of 1.1 billion euros; the net loss for the previous year had stood at 34 million euros.

Lufthansa's capital expenditure during the reporting period totalled 2.3 billion euros, of which two billion euros were spent on the expansion and modernization of the fleet. Operating cash flow totalled 3.1 billion euros and the free cash flow (operating cash flow minus net investments) stood at 1.6 billion euros. At the close of the year, the Group's net debt stood at 1.6 billion euros. In comparison to the figure at the end of 2009, the positive development of business and portfolio measures saw the Group’s equity ratio increase from 23.5 to 28.4 per cent.

         

Source: Travel Daily News Feed

Airlikes.com launches airlines reviews on mobile phones
6 April 2011, 11:00 pm

        Don’t know what to do while waiting at the airport? New mobile Airlikes website is now released at mobile.airlikes.com and enables travellers to easily check out airlines and airports reviews and to post their own with their smartphones from any location.Airlikes.com, the airlines and airports reviews website, announced that it released the mobile version of its website.

As mobile web use in the UK is on the increase (+78% between May 2009 and May 2010), it had become absolutely necessary for Airlikes to optimize its website’s content for british users that browse the Internet from their smartphones and particularly when they are travellers spending hours in airports and airplanes.

British business travellers or leisure passengers will now be able to check out reviews on British Airways, Easyjet, bmi or hundreds of other airlines, and post their own with their mobile device and rate the airline they’ve just flown with while waiting for their luggage at Heathrow Airport’s baggage delivery, for example.

The new mobile website provides convenient access to online functions such as airlines information, news and customer reviews, airport travellers’ reviews, hotels and flights searches. Users can also sign up to be part of Airlikes community and receive the weekly newsletter.

The mobile version is available at Mobile.Airlikes.com and the full version of the site remains at Airlikes.com. However, the system will detect whether the visitor uses a mobile device or not and automatically redirect to the appropriate site.        

Source: Travel Daily News Feed

TripAdvisor partners with HSMAI Europe to present the Young European Hotelier of the Year Award
6 April 2011, 11:00 pm

        TripAdvisor has partnered with HSMAI Europe, a hospitality and travel industry organization, to select and announce the first-ever Young Hotelier of the Year at HSMAI’s award ceremony on May 5th in London.“We’re pleased to be working with HSMAI Europe in recognising the great achievements of an outstanding hotelier over the past year,” said Christine Petersen, president, TripAdvisor for Business. “We hope to continue to collaborate with HSMAI Europe on future projects and help showcase the best talent the industry has to offer.”

Ingunn Hofseth, President of HSMAI Europe, says about the partnership: "We are looking forward to working with a partner that has such a great knowledge base about our members' clients. With our knowledge and industry network, and their consumer competence, we are confident that this will be a fruitful relationship."

The Young European Hotelier award will be given to a leader who has set themselves apart from their peers through great achievement, either through exceptionally good results, or who has been especially innovative in their business and role as a leader.

TripAdvisor will also be joining the HSMAI European Advisory Board.        

Source: Travel Daily News Feed

Qatar Airways takes delivery of 25th Boeing 777
6 April 2011, 11:00 pm

        Qatar Airways has reached another milestone in its short history with the delivery of its 25th Boeing 777 aircraft. The aircraft, a Boeing 777-300 Extended Range (ER) version, arrived in the airline’s hub city of Doha following the overnight delivery flight from Boeing’s manufacturing factory in the US west coast city of Seattle.The latest acquisition is the 15th 777-ER in Qatar Airways’ Boeing fleet which also includes eight B777-200 Long Range versions and two 777 freighters. Qatar Airways, which began taking deliveries of the Boeing 777s in November 2007, now operates a mixed fleet of 97 Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier aircraft.

The Boeing 777-300ERs are used on services across Europe, Middle East, South Asia, Far East and North America. The Boeing 777 is one the world's most technologically advanced aircraft, and will help Qatar Airways to further expand its business and support projected growth in long-haul markets.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker commented: “The Boeing 777 forms the backbone of our long-haul and ultra-long-haul fleet. The latest delivery further cements our strategy in operating one of the youngest fleets in the sky with an exciting and diverse global route network covering all six continents.”

The Boeing 777 offers a combination of economics and passenger comfort that will continue to give Qatar Airways a competitive advantage in the marketplace. The Boeing 777-300ER is significantly lighter than similar aircraft types, greatly reducing its fuel requirement. It produces 22 percent less carbon dioxide per seat and costs 20 percent less to operate per seat. The Boeing 777 is distinguished by its fuel efficiency, spacious cabin interior, range capability and service reliability.

Qatar Airways’ two-class Boeing 777-200ER features 42 Business Class seats in a 2–2–2 configuration with each offering a generous seat pitch of 78-inches – or 6.5ft of leg room. Each seat converts into 180 degree horizontal flat beds. The aircraft also features 293 Economy seats in a 3–3–3 layout offering up to 34-inch pitch. All seats provide personal touch screen seat back TV screens offering more than 900 interactive audio and video entertainment options, regardless of which class passengers are travelling in.

The new aircraft deliveries, averaging more than one per month, are part of Qatar Airways’ long-term growth strategy to expand and modernise its fleet with newer and more fuel-efficient aircraft. In the next three years, the airline will launch flights to over 20 new destinations.

For Qatar Airways, 2011 is an outstanding year of milestones in network growth and fleet expansion just 14 years after starting operations. On April 6, the airline will launch its 100th destination to the Syrian city of Aleppo.

In the summer, Qatar Airways will reach yet another key milestone when its fleet strength will reach 100 aircraft.

Qatar Airways’ fleet is one of the youngest in the skies, with an average age of less than 4 years, and this figure will fall further each month as it takes delivery of almost 200 aircraft, worth over $40 billion over the next few years.

Qatar Airways is in the middle of an expansion drive that includes opening seven new routes over a six-month period. Apart from the 100th destination Aleppo, six further routes are scheduled to be launched over the coming months, taking the airline’s passenger network to 106 destinations. The additions of Shiraz (June 5), Venice (June 15), Montreal (June 29), Kolkata (July 27), Sofia (September 14) and Oslo (October 5) will continue Qatar Airways’ successful business model of targeting new routes in both popular and underserved markets.

Four new routes have been launched since January 2011, including Budapest, Bucharest, Brussels and Stuttgart.        

Source: Travel Daily News Feed

HAC launches Green Key Meetings
6 April 2011, 11:00 pm

        The Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) and MPI Foundation Canada announced the launch of the Green Key Meetings Program, a comprehensive assessment tool for hotel and resort properties that host meetings of any size. The assessment has been designed as a tool to provide Travel, Meeting and Conference Planners with the hotel’s level of commitment to environmental issues.“HAC is delighted to be partnering with MPI Foundation Canada on this initiative. Meeting Professionals International is widely recognized as the global leader in the meeting and event industry. We are confident that the Green Key Meetings Program will become an important part of the hospitality industry’s efforts to protect and preserve the environment,” said Anthony Pollard, President of the Hotel Association of Canada. “Working with MPI will ensure our sustainability requirements will be realized well into the future”.

The Green Key Meetings Program evaluates a hotel’s meeting and convention operations on a scale of one to five, with five being the highest ranking. Results are based on a thorough evaluation of the hotel’s sustainability efforts. Upon completion of the Green Key Meetings assessment, the property is awarded a ranking and is listed on www.greenkeymeetings.com, a valuable resource for environmentally conscious event planners.

“On behalf of MPI and the MPI Foundation, we thank HAC for recognizing the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in our industry. It is extremely encouraging for the Foundation to align itself with an association which treasures the principles of people, planet and profit. Green Key Meetings will deliver an effective program that meeting professionals look for in the area of sustainability,” said Didier Scaillet, Chief Development Officer of MPI.

The Green Key Meetings Program has been created with meeting planners in mind. The program identifies a hotel’s commitment to sustainability and answers the needs of meeting planners. The Green Key Meetings Program is about sustainable meeting operations, adding value to the bottom line through conservation and brand management, and positively influencing the supply chain and relationships.        

Source: Travel Daily News Feed

British Airways increases flights to Tampa
6 April 2011, 11:00 pm

        British Airways has opened up its Gatwick gateway with a growing route network that has firmly established it as the airport's leading long haul carrier. The latest addition is the increased frequency of flights to Tampa in Florida. A daily flight will now operate rather than 5 times weekly, allowing customers more choice when it comes to their family holidays in Florida.Tampa is the perfect gateway to holidays in Clearwater, St Petersburg and Sarasota, as well as a host of other holiday hotspots on the Gulf coast. Tampa airport has recently being voted the third best airport in the USA by readers of Conde Nast Traveller magazine and with its small size and quick transition it makes an ideal entry point in to the US. British Airways is the only international carrier to fly to Tampa which reduces immigration queues significantly for UK visitors.

Tampa is also a leisure destination in its own right and has a distinct Caribbean influence due to the large influx of immigrants over the years. The cities multicultural heritage can be found in Ybor City, home of the Tampa Latin Quarter and the centre of the Cuban cigar boom in the early 20th century.

Tampa also provides an easy gateway to Orlando with Tampa airport a great alternative to the much busier Orlando International. Orlando is less than an hour and a half drive from Tampa airport and quicker airport transition offers a stress-free start for family holidays in Orlando. British Airways offers a great variety of hotels in Orlando suitable for all ranges of budgets and tastes.

Florida offers some incredible scenery and attractions, and is ideal for car rental holidays. Explore beaches, theme parks and natural surroundings all easily accessible with car rental. British Airways works in partnership with Avis to provide quality reliable car hire in Florida.

In addition to increasing its flights from Gatwick to Tampa, British Airways has enhanced its Gatwick presence further during the last few months. The airline has launched flights to Cancun in addition to the routes it added in 2009 - like Male, in the Maldives, Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and Montego Bay in Jamaica. British Airways now operates a total of 47 flights out of London Gatwick, 33 domestic and European destinations plus 14 long haul destinations. In November this year, the airline is planning to move its flights to Mauritius from Heathrow to Gatwick.

The airport experience is further enhanced as British Airways' customers will benefit from the

TravelSort introduces online travel concierge for popular destinations
6 April 2011, 11:00 pm

        TravelSort, the free travel concierge service that helps savvy travelers travel well for less, today announced that it has formally launched its service in over 100 travel destinations, from perennial favorites such as Paris to hidden gems such as Molokai, Hawaii. TravelSort combines high-touch, personalized travel recommendations with access to like-minded travelers, destination experts, and exclusive hotel deals of up to 90% off in popular destinations such as New York and San Francisco. With TravelSort, members are able to create their own travel profile, connect with travelers who have similar interests, get a guaranteed personalized answer to their travel questions from destination experts, share insider travel tips, and save up to 90% off top-rated hotels.“TravelSort was born out of many years of personal frustration stemming from planning leisure and business travel,” said Hilary Stockton, CEO and Founder of TravelSort. “As a frequent international business traveler, I loved having the chance to squeeze in leisure travel, but hated the long, inefficient planning cycle that was usually required to set it up. I’d find myself spending countless hours sifting through the continuous glut of misinformation and irrelevant or bogus online travel content. In 2010, I finally decided to create an entirely new and more personalized approach to travel planning, and founded a team to build the TravelSort service.”

After a successful beta launch in October 2010, TravelSort currently has over 2,000 members in over 200 cities and 30 countries across the globe. The web site’s growing member base represents an incredibly diverse range of travel tastes, destinations and styles—whether it’s trekking Cotopaxi Volcano in Ecuador, sampling foodie delights in Tel Aviv, or exploring New York or San Francisco with kids in tow. With its personal travel style profile, online community and hotel deals, TravelSort’s unique personalized approach helps travelers fine-tune their options from one mile away or 10,000 miles away.

For many travelers, using the Internet to plan leisure travel is both tedious and time-consuming—there’s a plethora of information and advice available, but much of it is poor quality, unreliable, or irrelevant to the traveler’s specific interests. Paying a travel expert is costly, but free information is often too anonymous to trust, and it can take countless hours to sift through online content.

TravelSort breaks through the noise to offer personalized travel recommendations, deals, and access to a vibrant community of like-minded travelers. Unlike other online travel services, TravelSort’s personalized approach allows members to receive specific travel recommendations and advice. Specifically, TravelSort offers:

• Up-to-date travel recommendations: Once a member completes a profile, TravelSort provides a member with continuously updated recommended travel guides and TravelSort members.
• Traveler compatibility: TravelSort helps each member receive relevant travel advice by assessing how similar other TravelSort members are, so they know whom to seek advice from.
• Exclusive hotel deals: TravelSort provides select deals at top 4-5 star hotels, based on exclusive reverse auctions and flash sales that are available only to members. TravelSort’s reverse auctions provide the best deal anywhere for the featured hotels, with average discounts of 80-90% off.
• Destination Q&A: TravelSort members can easily see other members who live in, or loved the destination, and pose questions to them via private messaging. Members also have the option of posting their question on a destination’s Q&A page to get a guaranteed, personalized answer from a TravelSort destination expert.
• Curated travel guides: These guides, available only on TravelSort, are written with a specific interest in mind, such as adventure travel, foodie travel, family travel, romantic travel, budget travel or business travel. Popular topics have included how to select the best travel credit card, tips for fine dining with toddlers, and incredibly delicious, can’t-miss restaurants in Paris.

       

Source: Travel Daily News Feed

RwandAir and Amadeus sign strategic partnership
6 April 2011, 11:00 pm

        RwandAir, the national carrier of Rwanda, and Amadeus announce that they have entered into a strategic partnership for the distribution of Amadeus products in the Rwanda market effective 1 April 2011.

Speaking to guests during the signing ceremony held at Serena Kigali, RwandAir CEO John Mirenge, said: “We are pleased to enter into this strategic partnership that will see Travel Agents in the country, RwandAir, and Amadeus work together towards better distribution of airline products. We are convinced that we are the perfect fit to bring Rwanda’s travel agent community the latest technology and the right tools for them to increase profitability and efficiency, while reducing costs in the course of serving client travel needs.”

“We are positive that Rwanda’s travel sector will greatly benefit from this new partnership by which RwandAir takes the lead in making accessible the Amadeus service and technology to the country’s travel players,” commented Aymeric Lanez, Sub-Sahara Africa Regional Business Development Manager, at Amadeus. “We see a lot of opportunities ahead for the Rwanda travel sector to further grow and succeed hand-in-hand with RwandAir and Amadeus”.

Amadeus started operations in Rwanda in 2006 through the Amadeus’ East Africa Regional Office based in Nairobi (Kenya).  Since then travel agents in the country have become familiar with Amadeus’ extensive content and cutting-edge technology. As a result of the strategic partnership just signed, RwandAir will be the official distributor of Amadeus in the Rwanda market. A fully dedicated team at RwandAir has been put in place and thoroughly trained so that travel agents will have timely and comprehensive support to benefit from Amadeus products. Counting on the Amadeus East Africa Regional Office first level support, RwandAir will secure seamless IT and customer support on the ground. The dedicated team at the carrier will also provide travel agents with specific training on the wide range of Amadeus’ solutions and services.        

Source: Travel Daily News Feed

Yachting sector boost can propel growth for Greece and East Med tourism industry
6 April 2011, 11:00 pm

        The yachting industry is a key enabler and important revenue generator for Greece and Eastern Mediterranean economies according to Greek and international experts who will participate in the Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum scheduled for 21-22 June in Athens. The Posidonia Forum will examine the growth potential for the Cruise, Yachting and Passenger shipping industries in the region.

As ‘yachting economics’ take centre stage in a sea region blessed with the natural beauty and weather conditions which are conducive to the growth of yachting, competition in the hotly contested sector between neighboring sea tourism destinations has intensified.

In Greece, demand for yachting activities has waned hit by unimaginative bureaucratic government measures and overall dwindling inbound tourism volumes, as well as increased competition posed by nearby destinations that have given birth to new, ambitious and cost efficient yachting experiences.

Experts agree that the sustainable development of yachting activity can have a game-changing impact on local economies through creation of new jobs across a number of sectors such as sports, education, commerce, food and beverage.

“With its endless coastline, thousands of islands and long summer Greece is an ideal destination for yachting, a sector which in Catalonia, for example, generates nine jobs for every one marina worker. In Barcelona, for every 100 berths the local economy generates 4.4 workers in marinas and 40 workers in other sectors,” said Mr Oscar Siches, Partner and Manager of Pantalan del Mediterraneo marina in Mallorca & member of ICOMIA Marinas Group, who will be joining the Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum this summer.

"A study made by the Spanish Federation of Tourist Harbors in 2010 shows that a yachting tourist who spends

Hotels benefit from improved merchandising terms through preferred agreements
6 April 2011, 11:00 pm

        evolution, the hospitality e-commerce and e-distribution provider has announced a new service enabling hotels to manage their contracts with online travel agents (OTA’s) including Expedia more efficiently. Hotels now have the opportunity to take advantage of evolution’s own chain level agreements with OTA’s thereby immediately opening up incremental demand and improved merchandising terms.Vanesha Ramsamy, e-commerce Manager at evolution comments “We realise the difficulty independent hotels can have in contracting and maintaining relationships with the big OTA’s. In today’s competitive market hotels need to feature prominently on these sites with the correct rates, policies and offers in place. evolution offers hoteliers access to our pre-negotiated preferred agreements with OTAs including Expedia, and the relationships we have in place guarantee hotels a framework to better sell their inventory. We will manage the hotels presence on the sites for the hoteliers so it’s no extra work for them”.

evolution works with the OTA’s on the hotels behalf ensuring that they are promoted effectively online including setting up the hotels rate plans, improving their ranking position on the OTA website and promoting special offers. Hotels wanting to attract a specific market can also promote niche offers which will be highlighted in certain sections of the website and in e-newsletters. evolution also has chain-level agreements with ebookers, lastminute, Travelocity, Orbitz and many more.

evolution is an e-commerce and e-distribution provider who has introduced the most innovative CRS and Channel Manager hybrid for rate distribution to the GDS’s and OTA’s.        

Source: Travel Daily News Feed