United Airlines expects to receive its first Boeing 767-300ER with an expanded business class cabin in February. The first aircraft in the configuration, which is dubbed the "76L" by the carrier, is due for completion in mid-February after an initial target date of Jan 18. Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company is handling the reconfiguration work. The 767-300ER will have 167 seats, split between 46 Polaris business-class seats, 22 premium-economy seats and 99 economy seats, a staffing guide sent to flight attendants this month shows. The number of Polaris seats has increased slightly since the configuration was first reported in April 2018. Currently, United configures its 767-300ERs with 214 seats, including only 30 in business class. <br/>
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A year ago, United Continental startled the airline world with an aggressive growth agenda aimed at bolstering hub profits and reclaiming traffic. One-third of the way into its 3-year plan, United has declared the project a success and is plotting the next phase. Now comes the hard part. United’s overall expansion involves adding as much as 6% of capacity annually. In 2018, much of that growth came from beefing up its schedule in Hawaii and larger US cities, said one airline analyst. But in 2019, the carrier is concentrating on its hubs. While Delta and American have been minting money at their respective bases in Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth, United hasn’t been as successful with its hubs in Chicago, Denver and Houston. One of United’s top priorities is to close that gap. <br/>
SAS is to introduce a new carbon-offset scheme which will encompass all tickets booked through its loyalty programme EuroBonus. The company says the scheme, which commences Friday, will mean 40% of all passenger-related carbon dioxide emissions will be offset. SAS had indicated such plans in its newly-published sustainability report for 2017-18, following its decision to offset all youth tickets from April last year. The company already offsets its own business trips. The company aims to cut total carbon emissions by 25% by 2030, compared with 2005, a measure which, it says, “goes beyond” targets set by IATA. “We reckon that around half of these reductions will be achieved through fleet renewal and other improvements, and the rest through the adoption of biofuels,” states the sustainability report. <br/>
An emphasis on customer service as well as the "iconic" Singapore Girl remain "current" and continue to set SIA apart in its industry, the airline said Thursday as it announced the appointment of 2 agencies to work on its branding. The company announced it had selected 2 agencies under the Omnicom group - TBWA and PHD - for creative and media services following a 6-month pitch process. "As we carried out our review it was clear that our underlying branding approach, which consists of the iconic Singapore Girl and an emphasis on customer service as a crucial differentiator, remains current and continues to set us apart in our industry,” said Campbell Wilson, SIA's senior VP of sales and marketing. The Singapore Girl, conceptualised by Batey Ads in 1972, has been the face of SIA for more than 40 years. <br/>