Lufthansa Group carrier Swiss International Air Lines will take five Airbus A350-900 aircraft into its fleet from 2025, which are slated to replace its ageing A340-300 fleet on long-haul routes. The Zurich-based carrier said on 12 December that the new aircraft will ”help Swiss substantially further improve its carbon emission credentials”. “We are very pleased to have achieved our turnaround after the coronavirus crisis and be back on a sound financial track,” says Swiss CE Dieter Vranckx. “With this planned substantial modernization of our long-haul aircraft fleet, we are setting a vital course to sustainably maintain our competitive edge over the longer term.” The five aircraft are part of an order of 25 A350-900s placed by parent company Lufthansa Group in 2019, Swiss says. ”Our decision to acquire the Airbus A350-900 is a clear commitment to further enhancing the sustainability of our flight operations,” Vranckx adds. “Our new long-haul twinjet will play a substantial part in achieving our ambitious climate goals.” According to Cirium fleets data, the airline currently operates 12 Boeing 777s, 11 A330s and four A340s for its long-haul operations. <br/>
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Travellers who are part of Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) frequent flier programmes will get another extension of the expiry dates of their miles and rewards. SIA said on Monday that all KrisFlyer miles that are expiring between January and June 2023 will be automatically extended by six months. For example, KrisFlyer miles due to expire in January will be valid till July. The deadline will be extended at the end of January and the new expiry date will be reflected in the traveller’s February account statement. PPS Rewards and KrisFlyer Milestone Rewards that are due to expire will have their expiry date automatically extended to Dec 31, 2023. The rewards may be used on flights departing after Dec 31, 2023, as long as they are applied on or before the extended expiry date. In January this year, SIA announced similar six-month extensions for its frequent flier programmes amid ongoing border restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. PPS Club and KrisFlyer Elite statuses that are due to expire between March this year and February 2023 will be automatically extended for another year as well. In addition, SIA announced that KrisFlyer members will get additional rewards when they fly on Scoot.<br/>
Starting 1 April 2023, travellers flying with Singapore Airlines will no longer be allowed to bring their emotional support dogs on flights. The airline defines emotional support dogs as “ companion dogs that alleviate psychological disabilities.” Before the ban, emotional support dogs were allowed to fly with their owners without additional charge as long as they complied with “specific conditions, regulations of departure, transit, or destination country.” Meanwhile, the airline said assistance dogs will still be allowed on flights. SIA defines assistance dogs as dogs “trained to perform certain tasks to assist persons with disabilities.”<br/>
Air New Zealand is advising Kiwis to expect “packed flights”, delays and queues over the Christmas period, calling upon travellers to be patient with airline and airport staff as they grapple with sickness and staff shortages. The shortages across the aviation sector are set to coincide with what the airline said “will be an extraordinarily busy time to fly”. This summer will be the first in three years with the airline’s full network operating, and it expects to fly 2.8m customers around New Zealand and overseas. Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said flights will be packed “with lots of queues and extra baggage. ”As we prepare for a bumper summer, we’re pulling out all the stops to take the friction out – with new aircraft, hiring 2200 more people, 300 airport volunteers and contingency plans in place for disrupts.” Even so, the entire airport community will be under pressure, she said. “Airports, security screening and check-in areas are going to be much busier than usual. We’re asking customers to allow additional time to get to and through the airport they are travelling from and to be as patient as possible as our staff who are working to get everyone to their holiday destination.” December 23 is shaping up to be the airline’s busiest day of the year with more than 55,000 customers set to fly – a 77% increase on the 31,000 who flew on the same date last year. More than 50,000 customers are expected to fly on December 15, 16, 22, 27 and 28. Auckland to Christchurch is set to be the busiest route this Christmas, and the airline is using its new A321neo aircraft to provide extra seats.<br/>