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Building on its long-standing partnership with Dr. Jane Goodall, Air Canada is launching a new initiative to spotlight illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and its impact on global biodiversity. In collaboration with The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada (JGIC), the educational campaign will showcase animals endangered from IWT on the airline’s in-flight entertainment welcome screens, social media and more during Earth Month, along with a special message from Dr. Jane Goodall. “Air Canada plays an important role in protecting biodiversity around the world and I’ve been proud to see Air Canada team up with The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada to bring more awareness to this issue. Their significant commitment to not only fighting the illegal wildlife trade through their policies and procedures, but using their platform to educate on this very important issue is commendable,” said Goodall. “At Air Canada, our belief is while much of what we do to reduce our environmental footprint is about leaving less, we also need to do more to improve sustainability of the planet. As a global airline, we can use our platform to bring more awareness to the illegal wildlife trade and how that affects overall biodiversity. To further support this important work, we’re pleased to match all Aeroplan points donated to The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada. We are also honoured to celebrate Dr. Goodall’s 90th year through supporting her birthday tour across Canada to inspire the next generation of conservationists,” said Valerie Durand, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Sustainability at Air Canada. Air Canada actively participates in the IWT fight with a zero-tolerance policy on carrying banned species, hunting trophies or products associated with illegal wildlife activities. <br/>

Turkish Airlines continued its strong post-pandemic profit run, as double-digit increases in passengers and revenue pushed it to a full-year 2023 operating profit of almost $2.9b. That figure, which excludes the impact of investment activities, was up 3% from 2022. Turkish’s 2023 profit including investment activities hit $4b, up from $3.2b in 2022. While the airline doubled its net profit to more than $6b for the year, that includes a tax gain of $3b related to inflation accounting. Excluding that, the airline’s net profit climbed 7% to $2.9b in 2023. The results come off the back of surging revenue, which jumped 14% year on year to $20.9b in 2023. That was led by a 24% year-on-year jump in passenger revenue, which hit $17.7b last year. Turkish’s passenger numbers increased 16% in one year to 83.4m in 2023, surpassing its previous high of 75m passengers in 2018. Notably, international travellers comprised a greater proportion of the airline’s total passengers than before the pandemic. Turkish carried 53m international passengers in 2023, one quarter more than it did in its previous high of 2018. Cargo revenue, which climbed sharply during the pandemic, fell 30% year on year to $2.6b in 2023. That figure remains about $1b more than Turkish generated from carrying cargo in 2019, before the pandemic.<br/>

Ethiopian Airlines Group, the largest airline group in Africa, inaugurates its Jinka airport project, unveiling a new terminal and support facility buildings. The new state-of-the-art airport terminal is now open for service, following a grand celebration held today in Jinka, one of the emerging cities in the South Ethiopia Regional State. The two-and-a-half-year project covered the construction of a new terminal building having a total built-up area of 3,500 square meter, support facility building, and external facilities including exclusive VIP parking area and other facilities. Regarding the inauguration of the new Jinka Airport, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mr. Mesfin Tasew said, “We are truly delighted to witness the completion of the brand new Jinka Airport Terminal Building project that has been under construction for the last few years. As a national flag carrier, Ethiopian is playing its part in the country’s aviation transformation and Jinka is our latest contribution to Ethiopia’s modern aviation facility. The new Jinka airport will further offer a comfortable travel experience to/from the city thereby boosting trade and tourism in the region and beyond. Committed to enhancing customer experience, we will continue to invest in renovation and upgrading of domestic airports.” Following the finalization of the project with an investment cost of more than E8m for construction, Jinka Airport Terminal is now equipped with modern passenger service areas including departure and VIP lounges and other facilities that will enhance customer experience.<br/>

In the latest of a series of updates, Air India is rolling out significant changes to its Flying Returns frequent flyer program. The new simplified structure changes from distance-based earnings to one based on revenue and includes several updates and additional features. The most significant change for the new program is how miles are earned. From today, April 3rd, the number of Flying Returns Points Members will earn collect per flight will be based on the amount they spend on a ticket rather than the distance flow. A move the airline believes will provide its loyal passengers with a better return on investment. Flying Returns Points will never expire, regardless of Membership Tier level, provided the member takes at least one flight on Air India every 24 months. Points can also be redeemed on any flight with no blackout dates, thanks to the new ability to combine points and cash on ticket redemptions. Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial & Transformation Officer at Air India, detailed the research that went into the overhaul: “The revamp of Flying Returns is an important step forward in the way the ‘new’ Air India intends to serve and delight customers. We spent the past year listening, gathering insights from over 50,000 customers, and benchmarking our program against the best loyalty offerings out there. This deep dive, coupled with a complete digital overhaul, has resulted in a much stronger and value-delivering programme that we are proud to present today."<br/>

Air New Zealand has been named as having the best economy-class cabin in the world for the second year in a row at the 2024 Airline Excellence Awards. Judges remarked that the airline's innovative seating options, like the Skycouch and Skynest, helped it clinch the award once more. On long-haul flights, Air New Zealand allows passengers to book a 'Skycouch'. This comprises of three seats side-by-side which can transform into couch-style seating - perfect for solo travellers who want to stretch out or families travelling with kids. It launched back in 2011, and was revamped in 2018 to allow the seats to be used as a lie-flat bed while still wearing a seatbelt. The airline has announced that it will soon introduce sleep pods to its economy class on long-haul flights. Skynest will comprise of six bunk-style beds that passengers can rent for four hours during their flight. The bedding on each bunk will be changed between each passenger, and comes with USB charging ports, a reading light and ear plugs. Though they were set to be rolled out on flights to New York this year, they have been delayed to 2025. The gong for best first class cabin at the awards went to Singapore Airlines thanks to its new "Skyroom" Suites. Each seat has four square metres of cabin space, along with a plush seat and foldaway bed. Judges noted that Singapore Airlines is known for constantly pushing the boundaries of cabin design. This is the fifth time the airline has taken home the award in the past 10 years.<br/>