star

Air Canada is preparing a next-generation business class for its Boeing 787 jets with a spacious ‘business plus’ suite at the front of the cabin. That detail comes from a layout for the Boeing 787-10 revealed at the Star Alliance member’s 2024 Investor Day held earlier this week, where Air Canada talked up its shift towards a “premium product leadership position.” On its aircraft, this will take the form of new seating layouts to “reflect our focus on premium revenue” by an “increase (in) premium seating capacity” and “new layouts to optimize revenue.” Showcasing the layout of its forthcoming Boeing 787-10 jets, due from 2026, Air Canada revealed the first row of its Signature Class business class cabin boasts additional space compared to the seats behind. This suggests Air Canada will follow the lead of several other airlines – including Air New Zealand, JetBlue, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic – in transforming the first row of the business class cabin into a series of upgraded suites. These ‘business plus’ suites give passengers more privacy, more space, more features, ranging from personal wardrobes to bigger video screens and dining for two. Travellers have to pay for this privilege, of course, with airlines adding a special surcharge on top of the standard business class fare.<br/>

Ethiopian Airlines has confirmed it is to manage a newly-launched carrier, Air Congo, for the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It will hold a 49% share in the airline while the government will have the 51% balance. Air Congo emerged in early December and its initial Boeing 737-800 aircraft are painted in the carrier’s colours. Both aircraft – 9S-AGA and 9S-AOA – have been sourced from Ethiopian Airlines. The aircraft have been serving key routes from Kinshasa, including Lubumbashi and Goma, and Air Congo aims to operate initially to seven domestic airports. “This partnership will provide greater connectivity for the DRC and Central Africa, facilitating investment, trade, and tourism, thereby contributing to socio-economic growth of the region,” says Ethiopian Airlines Group chief Mesfin Tasew. He says the launch of Air Congo is a “significant step” in its strategy to establish a hub presence at several cities across the African continent. It already has partnerships with Togo’s Asky, Malawi Airlines and Zambia Airways.<br/>

Stories of baggage going lost, when the world started travelling again in 2022 saw an increase in people putting Apple AirTags and other location devices in their bags. The trackers gave travellers peace of mind when their luggage landed with them. If the bag went on a holiday of its own, passengers would have to tell the airline where it was. But now, the airlines themselves are going to be able to track a passenger’s lost bag if it has an AirTag inside, with a new shareable link. Air New Zealand has enabled Apple’s Find My Share Item Location feature, available on running iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, or macOS 15.2 or later. Travellers with an AirTag or other Find My network accessory in their bag will be able to generate a live location link in the Find My app and share it with the airline’s customer service team. By sharing a location link, Air New Zealand’s team will be able to see not only where the bag was last scanned at the airport but also its recent location. For Air New Zealand passengers, a new option to "Add AirTag location to existing report" was available within the "Delayed or Damaged Bags" section of the Air NZ app. Once submitted, this information is securely shared with the airline's Baggage Tracing team.<br/>