Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Korean Air has been presenting its image song. 'For Our Dreams', (written and sung by Shin Seung Hun) as in-flight music since 26 January 2009. It represents the friendly image of Korean Air and the affinity with its customers, while sending out a hopeful message to the public.
Written and sung by Korea's leading singer and songwriter Shin Seung Hun, 'For Our Dreams' is a pop song with its theme centering on memories, happiness, and traveling, together with its lilting, beautiful, and catchy melody. It is Shin Seung Hun's first corporate image song.
Korean Air recognized the conformity of Mr. Shin's wide popularity abroad as a Hallyu star with Korean Air's corporate image as a rising global airline, and thus requested an appealing image song from Mr. Shin in celebration of Korean Air's 40th anniversary.
In its gently flowing introduction, 'For Our Dreams' reminisces about the past, and proposes to move beyond the present into the future. In the climax, it delivers an image of flying high up into the sky, portraying Korean Air's future-oriented image as a rising global airline.
Pierre Vellay, VP for new aircraft and fleet planning (centre) is pictured with Boeing’s Aldo Basile (left) and Larry Loftis.
Air France has taken delivery of the industry’s first B777 freighter at a ceremony in Washington State, US. The aircraft, registration F-GUOC, landed at Paris-Charles de Gaulle after its ferry flight from Seattle.
The airline has ordered five of the 100-tonne payload aircraft to replace older B747 freighters within its fleet.
Fuel consumption is estimated to be 18% less than that of the B747-400, with an equivalent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
Air France already operates over 50 passenger B777s, bringing economies of scale through introducing the freighter version of the same type.
They can be flown by the same flight deck crews and for the most part use the same spare parts.
Air France currently operates five custom-built B747-400 extended range freighters and four B747-400 converted freighters.
Delta Air Lines has announced that they are no longer outsourcing reservation calls to India.
This decision was taken after the company received too many complaints from their customers.
The airline company added that they are in the process of bringing all customer calls back in-house to USA and has hired about 4,500 call-center workers in the US after it ended its current outsourcing operations in India.
They are still using some of their centers based in Jamaica and South Africa.
Airline Chief Executive Richard Anderson added: “The customer acceptance of call centers in foreign countries is low, and our customers are not shy about letting us have that feedback.”
After the merger of the Northwest Airlines, Delta is now the world's largest carrier. It had sent its call centres to India in 2002 to save money, which at that time was estimated to be about $25million a year.
Vietnam Airlines has signed a “preliminary agreement” to join SkyTeam, adding to the alliance’s south-east Asian network.
SkyTeam says that the agreement “outlines Vietnam Airlines’ intentions to undertake discussions to become a part of SkyTeam during the year 2010, pending fulfillment of the alliance’s membership requirements”. This suggests there is still a way to go before any definite joining date is announced, but if successful the carrier would become the second south-east Asian airline to join SkyTeam (Korean Air being a founder member), and would add to the alliance’s network within the region.
As a former French colony Vietnam continues to have strong ties with the country, so it’s no surprise that the airline has chosen to join an alliance founded by Air France. Vietnam Airlines serves cities including Paris, Beijing, Guangzhou, Melbourne, Moscow, Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo, and would add 17 unique destinations to the SkyTeam network.
Currently, SkyTeam members China Southern and Korean Air have codeshare agreements with Vietnam Airlines, and Air France has engaged in strong bilateral cooperation with the airline.
About Vietnam Airlines
Vietnam Airlines is the national flag carrier of Vietnam headquartered in Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. Vietnam Airlines serves its 9 million annual passengers with 64 routes to 44 destinations including 28 domestic routes to 20 destinations and 36 international routes to 24 cities with more than 200 daily flights. With recent purchase orders of more than 50 aircraft mainly including A350/321s and B787-9s and future orders, the airline expects to expand its fleet to 104 and 150 aircraft by 2015 and 2020, respectively. http://www.vietnamairlines.com/
It is the 54th Boeing 777 to join the Air France fleet and the first to be painted in the new livery. It is configured for 245 seats spread over three cabins - Première, Affaires and Voyageur - and will go into service on Thursday 16 April on flight AF292, taking off from Paris for Osaka at 1:55pm.
10am at Boeing's Future of Flight Aviation Center.
Everything's ready. The speeches by Jean-Cyril Spinetta, Larry Loftis and Pierre Vellay are now over. Each company thanks the other for their contribution to this remarkable joint achievement. All that's left to do is to unveil the first aircraft to sport the new Air France logo.
D-1: arrival of the 54th Boeing 777 at Boeing's delivery center in Everett. The U.S. Authorities have just issued the required certification for this aircraft. Watch the second episode
Payment can now be made. At 12:14pm, the transfer call between the bank and Boeing's delivery center confirms the payment. Air France now owns the aircraft.
One pilot and two pursers board the aircraft, parked a few metres away, to check that it is in perfect condition.
In less than 24 hours, they will form part of the crew who will be flying the plane to Paris-Charles de Gaulle.
Tomorrow, third episode: ”Boeing hands over the keys of the aircraft”
6:30am D-2 Boeing’s delivery center at Everett. Some ten people are preparing for what should be the last test flight for Air France’s 54th Boeing 777 before delivery on Friday.
Pilots, engineers and technicians go through the last technical data and set the objectives for the test flight. The plane takes off facing south at 7:30am with a mixed Boeing/Air France crew at the controls. After only 40 minutes flying at an altitude of 12,000 metres, the 777 comes back to land. «The tests went fine – the plane is ready for delivery. Next stop Paris!» exclaims George Adams, test pilot for Boeing.
A team of Air France mechanics then go through the plane with a toothcomb for the last time to point out to their Boeing counterparts any nuts and bolts to tighten – any final détails to settle – the last clean-iup of the cabin, galleys and toilets. «Mission accomplished. Air France will be taking delivery of this aircraft in a few hours. All that’s left are the final touches» said one of Boeing’s mechanics while adjusting the remote control for the on-board vidéo system.
All in all, it took less than 30 months to assemble this Boeing 777-300ER from the moment the parts were delivered to Boeing until actual delivery to Air France. Thirty months to build and assemble the 777th Boeing 777, which the aircraft manufacturer had specially reserved for Air France.
Registered as F-GZND and with 8 hours on its log book, the plane is ready to fly to Paris to join Air France’s long-haul fleet.
Tomorrow, second episode: "Air France takes possession of the aircraft"
• 777th Boeing 777 manufactured by Boeing
• First aircraft to sport new Air France livery
To mark the arrival of its 54th Boeing 777 in its fleet, Air France will air five episodes telling the story of the delivery of this aircraft, the first to sport the Air France’s new livery.
On Friday 10 April 2009, in Everett, Air France will take delivery of its 54th Boeing 777, registration F-GZND.
This aircraft is the 777th Boeing 777 produced by the manufacturer Boeing at its workshops in Everett, near Seattle.
Air France’s 54th Boeing 777 will be the first aircraft in the fleet to sport Air France’s new livery and will land at Paris-Charles de Gaulle on Saturday 11 April 2009, at 6:45 am, after a nine-hour flight.
On this occasion, Air France will be broadcasting five programmes telling the story of the delivery of this aircraft on its corporate website.
Constantino de Oliveira Júnior, da Gol, e Jean-Cyril Spinetta, do Grupo Air France-KLM, assinam a parceria; acima, eles se cumprimentam pelo acordo comercial firmado no hotel Sofitel em São Paulo
Em comemoração ao acordo, entre 1º de maio e 31 de julho os participantes do Smiles acumularão o dobro de milhas em vôos da Air France e KLM. Os membros do Flying Blue terão o mesmo benefício nas viagens pela Gol e pela Varig.
Já o code-share tem início apenas no segundo semestre – a data precisa não foi divulgada. Nesse sentido, a Air France vai adicionar o código da empresa aos voos oferecidos pela Gol desde São Paulo e Rio de Janeiro para 13 cidades brasileiras: Belém, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Campinas, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Foz do Iguaçu, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador e Vitória.
A expectativa é atingir 140 mil passageiros por ano, sendo 100 mil voando pela Air France e 40 mil pela pela KLM.
Acredita-se que isso será superado, pois há muitas empresas francesas no Brasil e a França é o quarto maior investidor no país.
Mais cidades brasileiras e outras cidades sulamericanas atendidas pela Gol também poderão entrar no code-share no futuro.
O presidente da Air France-KLM, Jean Cyril Spinetta, apontou ainda que há possibilidade de estender o acordo para a Alitalia, empresa da qual a empresa francesa adquiriu uma fatia de 25% em janeiro.
L'arrivée de Premium Voyageur est également l’occasion de faire évoluer les marques des cabines qui seront progressivement mises en place à partir d’avril 2009:
Pour un tarif très compétitif, Air France permet à ses clients de passer du confort de la cabine économique à l’espace dédié et privatif de la Premium Voyageur qui se caractérise par:
40% d’espace supplémentaire : en moyenne, 22 sièges Premium Voyageur seront disponibles sur un espace occupé auparavant par 40 sièges de la cabine Economique;
un tout nouveau siège spécialement conçu pour Air France et doté d’une coque fixe qui préserve l’espace et l’intimité de chacun. L’assise est large, 48 cm, et l’inclinaison du dossier est importante, 123°, sans être intrusive pour le passager situé derrière, grâce à la coque fixe. De larges accoudoirs en cuir (10cm) permettent à chacun de poser les coudes sans se gêner;
un espacement entre les sièges de 97 cm et un espace pour étendre les jambes totalement préservé, grâce à l’intégration du boîtier vidéo dans le siège;
un large écran vidéo individuel de 10,4 p (26 cm) qui permet de profiter de près de 500 heures de programmation à la demande qu’Air France propose sur les vols long-courriers;
des éléments de confort de la cabine Affaires comme une trousse de voyage,une bouteille d’eau, un casque audio réducteur de bruit, un coussin de plumes ou encoreune couverture en pure laine vierge.
Dans cette gamme de cabine intermédiaire, Air France est la première compagnie européenne à proposer des sièges à coque fixe, et la première compagnieau monde à libérer autant d’espace pour les jambes.
La restauration est celle de la cabine Economique: apéritifs, Champagne, repas élaborés par Michel Nugues - membre des « Toques du ciel » - avec un choix de deux plats chauds, digestifs, vins sélectionnés par Olivier Poussier - meilleur sommelier du monde 2000 - et sur les vols les plus longs, un buffet offrant, entre autres, des mini-sandwiches et des bâtonnets glacés Häagen Dazs (hors Caraïbes et océan Indien).
A l’aéroport, pour plus de rapidité et de commodité, un service inspiré de la classe Affaires: comptoirs d’enregistrement prioritaires, franchise bagages gratuite de 30 kg, embarquement à convenance et livraison prioritaire des bagages.
Les clients voyageant en cabine Premium Voyageur bénéficient également de tous les avantages et services du premier groupe aérien mondial, comme le programme de fidélité européen, Flying Blue. Un voyage en cabine Premium Voyageur permet d’accumuler plus rapidement des miles: un billet plein tarif en cabine Premium Voyageur (modifiable, remboursable…) rapportera 25% de miles en plus par rapport à un même billet plein tarif en cabine Economique.
A Air France vai lançar uma nova cabine economy premium chamada “Premium Voyageur”, que será gradualmente introduzida em vôos de longa-distância operados com aeronaves B777, A340 e A330. As primeiras rotas a oferecer a nova configuração serão as de Paris/CDG para Nova York/JFK, Tóquio/Narita e Osaka/Kansai. A nova classe vai requerer uma redução na oferta de assentos. Em média, uma área com 40 assentos de classe econômica será convertida em cabine “Premium Voyageur” com 22 assentos.
A nova classe premium da AF tem como característica uma nova poltrona especialmente desenvolvida pela companhia, com 48 cm. de largura, 97 cm de pitch (distância entre assentos) e reclinação de 123º, além de um vídeo individual com tela de 26 cm - nas costas do assento. A nova cabine terá amenities de classe executiva – kit de viagem, garrafa de água, fones de ouvido com redutor de ruído, travesseiro de penas e um novo cobertor de lã. No aeroporto, os passageiros da “Premium Voyageur” terão prioridade nos balcões de check-in, gratuidade para despacho de 30 kg. de bagagens e prioridade na entrega delas.
Un espace personnel préservé par un siège à coque fixe
Air France continue d’innover en introduisant sur ses vols long-courriers, à compter de l’automne 2009, une nouvelle cabine privative, située entre les cabines Affaires et Economique: la Premium Voyageur. Cette cabine sera progressivement disponible sur l’ensemble du réseau long-courrier international d’Air France desservi par des Boeing 777, Airbus A340 et A330.
Dès le 1er avril 2009, les clients d’Air France pourront réserver et acheter leur siège en cabine Premium Voyageur. Les premières destinations disponibles seront New York-JFK, Tokyo et Osaka.
A guy that feels passion for aviation who loves Air France and her lovely dutch sister KLM.
I've created this blog to post all SkyTeam airlines analysis, news and events in just one place.
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