United Airlines will fly to 38 European destinations during the 2024 northern hemisphere summer travel season, launching the only flight between the New York City metropolitan area and Faro, Portugal, and adding new connections to Reykjavik, Brussels, Rome and Malaga. The Chicago-based carrier said on 26 October it will begin the four-times-weekly Faro flight from its East Coast hub in Newark on 24 May. Faro will be United’s fourth destination in Portugal. United will resume daily seasonal flights between Reykjavik and Newark for the first time since 2022 on 23 May, and plans to add more flights on existing routes to Brussels, Rome and Malaga. “United has the most flights to the most destinations across the Atlantic and we’re now giving our customers even more flexibility and choice when planning their trips abroad,” Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice-president of global network planning and alliances, says. Demand for summer travel to Europe “remains at an all-time high” and customers are increasingly booking such trips earlier in the year, United says. Between March and May this year, the airline flew 33% more customers across the Atlantic than in 2022. It anticipates “the demand will only continue to grow in spring 2024”. United next year intends to begin operating some seasonal routes earlier than typical. For example, it will start flights fom Washington, DC to Barcelona, Lisbon and Rome on 15 February. Also next summer the airline will expand its network across the Pacific Ocean by more than 30%, with nonstop service to 15 destinations, and grow its Latin American network 10%.<br/>
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Thai Airways International (THAI) on Wednesday unveiled the stunning new uniform for female cabin crew, which combines the essence of Thai identity with its commitment to sustainable development. The stylish transformation will start on January 1, 2024. Under the concept “From Purple to Purpose”, THAI’s iconic Thai Ruean Ton uniform, symbolising grace for over six decades, now boasts a sustainable twist with a blend of recycled materials and Thai silk. “THAI is committed to minimising its environmental impact with a focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Chai Eamsiri, the airline’s CEO. “Through our “Zero Waste Living” approach, we are proud to introduce projects like ‘From Planes to Planet’, ‘From Waste to Wealth’, and ‘From Purple to Purpose’, as we strive towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050,” he said. Chai went on to say that to promote the circular economy, the airline will be recycling plastic water bottles used on flights into materials for making the new uniform, which will use 70% plastic fibre and 30% silk. Not only does the new uniform enhance aesthetics, but it also ensures practicality, easy maintenance, and adherence to safety standards, he added. The national flag carrier expects to complete the transformation by having its female cabin crew, totalling about 2,100 persons, wear the new uniform by the end of 2024.<br/>
Air New Zealand is temporarily outsourcing some call centre roles to the Philippines due to a shortage of staff. But a call centre industry commentator says if companies continue to outsource to other countries, the industry will struggle with shortages and low salaries. Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said it had contracted an Australian call centre company with a base in the Philippines, where a team of up to 100 staff would be dedicated to handling online inquiries from Air New Zealand customers. This was on top of the more than 500 call centre staff already in New Zealand. “This is more than pre-Covid, but we’re still not providing the level of responsiveness we’d like to give our customers.” The airline was continuing to recruit within New Zealand was finding it difficult to recruit people for customer care roles. “We are not sending jobs offshore, we are retaining all of our employees and our service partner employees and looking to hire more here locally. “Our intention is to recover our service in the short term and ensure a level of ongoing stability for our customers. Once we recover, and as we continue to enable more capability for customers to self-serve, we will review our resourcing strategy. This includes considering whether this offshore team would be needed in the long term.” Geraghty did not disclose how much the New Zealand or Philippines call centre staff were paid – but according to Seek NZ the roll of call centre operator had an average salary of $55,000 to $60,000.<br/>