The airline, subsidiary of Taiwan’s flag carrier China Airlines, becomes a new ATR operator and will mainly reinforce and expand regional connectivity across the island

Toulouse, July 19, 2017 – ATR and Taiwan’s Mandarin Airlines, a regional subsidiary of Taiwan’s flag carrier China Airlines, today signed a contract for the purchase of six ATR 72-600s, valued at some US$ 160 million.

With the acquisition of these brand new ATR -600s, Mandarin Airlines becomes a new member of the ATR family. The aircraft will operate within Taiwan’s domestic network, featuring the highest standards of passenger comfort and the most advanced technologies. With its new fleet of ATR 72-600s, Mandarin Airlines will benefit from the lowest operating costs among all 70-seat regional aircraft, and will be able to compete in a highly challenging market with cutting-edge and affordable air services.

Besides the contract signing, ATR is also willing to provide engineering and technical support to China Airlines and its subsidiaries to set-up in-house capabilities for ATR heavy maintenance, up to C-checks.

Commenting on this deal, Christian Scherer, Chief Executive Officer of ATR, declared: “We are honored by the decision of China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines, who have conducted a very thorough and comprehensive evaluation of alternatives for their regional network in Taiwan. The outcome proves once again that when assessed competitively, the ATR 72-600 logically prevails in the eyes of the most discerning airlines. We look forward to our partnership with Mandarin, and to supporting a stellar operation.”

About the ATR 72-600:
Passenger capacity: 68-78 seats
Engines: Pratt & Whitney 127M
Maximum power at take-off: 2,750 horse power per engine
Maximum weight at take-off: 23,000 Kg
Maximum load: 7,500 Kg
Maximum range with full passenger load: 900 nautical miles (1,665 Km)

About Mandarin Airlines:
Mandarin Airlines was established on June 1991, and was initially a joint venture by China Airlines (67%) and Koos Group (33%). The establishment of Mandarin Airlines is closely related to the unique status of Taiwan. At the time, Mandarin Airlines’ parent company, China Airlines, still served as the flag carrier of the Republic of China. Today, China Airlines is the flag carrier of Taiwan, and owns 93.99% of Mandarin Airlines.

About ATR:
Founded in 1981, ATR is the world leader in the market for below-90-seat regional aircraft. Since its creation, ATR has sold over 1,500 aircraft. ATR aircraft equip the fleets of some 200 airlines in nearly 100 countries. ATR is an equal partnership between two major European aeronautics players, Airbus and Leonardo. Based in Toulouse, France, ATR is well established worldwide with a large customer support and sales network, including Customer Service Centers, training centers and warehouses. For more information, please visit http://www.atr-aircraft.com

Fin des frais supplémentaires pour les bagages à main à partir du 29 octobre

Wizz Air, la plus grande compagnie aérienne à bas prix d’Europe centrale et orientale, annonce aujourd’hui la suppression du supplément pour l’embarquement de grands bagages à main. Cette mesure entre en vigueur sur tous les vols de Wizz Air à partir du 29 octobre 2017.

• Les passagers pourront emporter en cabine un bagage jusqu’à 55 x 40 x 23cm. Ce bagage cabine est inclus dans le prix du billet d’avion.
• Ceci représente une augmentation de 50% en volume par rapport aux dimensions précédentes auxquelles les passagers avaient droit sans paiement de supplément.
• A tout client, ayant déjà payé le supplément de bagage à main par les canaux Wizz Air*, sera remboursé un montant de 120% du prix payé, porté sur leur compte WIZZ.

Il ressort de l’enquête de satisfaction auprès de la clientèle que plus que 80 % des passagers** attribuent une note élevée pour le service à bord, l’amabilité et le professionnalisme du personnel. Wizz Air reste constamment à l’écoute des remarques de sa clientèle.  Voilà pourquoi Wizz Air est persuadée que la nouvelle politique de bagage à main améliorera l’expérience de voyage Wizz davantage.

Aujourd’hui la compagnie aérienne annonce également le WIZZ Priority : une nouvelle option de service pour les passagers. Cette option sera valable sur tous les vols dès à présent, comprenant :

• L’embarquement prioritaire
• Les passagers peuvent emporter en cabine un petit bagage à main supplémentaire (dimensions maximales 40 x 30 x 18cm)
• À partir du 29 octobre, Wizz Air offre la garantie que le bagage à main sera placé dans la cabine (également offerte aux passagers ayant acheté le WIZZ Go, le WIZZ Plus et le WIZZ Privilege Pass)

Lors de l’annonce des résultats financiers pour le premier trimestre de l’exercice 2017-2018, József Váradi, Chief Executive Officer de Wizz Air, a déclaré : « La présente annonce souligne l’engagement de Wizz Air d’assurer une expérience excellente continue à la clientèle lors de chaque étape du voyage. Wizz Air est fière de ses solutions de logiciel convivial, de sa technologie de pointe, de l’efficacité de sa flotte, de son service à bord excellent et du professionnalisme de son personnel. Nous faisons tout pour que l’expérience WIZZ soit aussi paisible et parfaite que possible. Par conséquent l’annulation des frais supplémentaires pour les bagages à main sur tous les vols Wizz Air à partir du 29 octobre soulignera notre engagement à l’égard de cette mission. »

* via le site Internet wizzair.com, l’application WIZZ ou le centre d’appel
** enquête Kantar-Hoffman pour Wizz Air – avril 2016–juillet 2017

À propos de Wizz Air 
Wizz Air, la plus grande compagnie aérienne à bas prix d’Europe centrale et orientale, propose des vols vers plus de 500 routes depuis 28 bases aériennes. Elle relie 142 destinations dans 43 pays. La flotte compte 84 Airbus du type A320 et A321. Wizz Air embauche près de 3300 personnes. Entre le 1er avril 2016 et le 31 mars 2017, Wizz Air a transporté 23,8 millions de passagers.

WIZZ offre actuellement des vols vers 9 destinations depuis Brussels South Charleroi Airport, à savoir : Bucarest, Budapest, Cluj-Napoca, Gdansk, Ljubljana, Skopje, Sofia, Timisoara et Varsovie.

Wizz Air est une société cotée à la Bourse de Londres sous le symbole WIZZ et fait partie des index FTSE 250 et FTSE All-Share. Wizz Air a remporté avec succès le IATA’s (International Air Transport Association) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), un standard international en matière de sécurité aérienne. Wizz Air a été nommée ‘Value Airline de 2016’ par Air Transport World (ATW), l’une des principales revues aéronautiques internationales, et ‘compagnie aérienne à bas prix de l’année 2016’ par le Centre d’Aviation (CAPA), le principal fournisseur indépendant d’informations sur le marché aéronautique.

http://www.wizzair.com

Leanne Harwood, IHG VP Operations, South East Asia & Korea

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world’s leading global hotel companies, has announced that it is gearing up for growth in Korea. The hotel group cites the success of its existing brands and identifies opportunities to expand it footprint in the market
Leanne Harwood, IHG’s Vice President Operations, South East Asia and Korea said: ‘On a regional level, we have our eyes firmly set on Korea. With a robust domestic market and a steady flow of foreign leisure and business visitors, our brands cater to guests from winter sports fans in the mountain resort town of Alpensia Pyeongchang, to corporate travellers in some of the major cities. Korea also represents a substantial outbound market for us, where Korean business and leisure travellers make a sizeable contribution to our network across South East Asia.”

Recent data from the Union of International Associations (UIA), which annually publishes the statistics of world conferences, identified Korea as the top ranking market for international meetings in 2016, achieving a market share of 9.5 per cent globally. Of the 997 international meetings in South Korea, more than half (54 per cent) were hosted in the capital of Seoul.

Commenting on the figures, Leanne said: “Korea has been stepping up its campaign to attract travellers and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions and we are well placed to serve this market.”

Next year, Korea’s profile will be raised as the world turns its head to the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. “As well as putting the country front of mind amongst overseas travellers, the games are expected to attract 20 million tourists1 in 2018 and will see us welcome members of the International Olympic Committee to our hotels,” added Leanne.

IHG newly appointed development representative Korea, Steven Choi

IHG currently operates nine hotels across three brands in Korea – InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, with a further hotel in the pipeline. To drive development opportunities, IHG has recently appointed Steven Choi as the group’s in-market Development Representative.

Steven will be responsible for expanding IHG’s presence in Korea and brings more than 20 years’ experience in hotel development, strategic planning, and consultancy. He will be working closely with the group’s newly appointed Vice President of Development in South East Asia and Korea, Serena Lim, to identify strategic growth opportunities and strengthen relationships with local developers.

Steven Choi, Development Representative, Korea commented: “I am excited to be back with IHG where I started my professional career back in 1993. There is huge potential for IHG in Korea. The scale and diversity of IHG’s brands means that our hotels can meet a variety of guests needs – whether attending a conference or even an Olympic event. I’m really looking forward to welcoming more hotels to IHG’s Korea portfolio in the near future.”

Too much time spent checking social media whilst on holiday could result in arguments and even complete relationship breakdowns for couples this summer, a new survey has revealed.

The online survey of over 1000 married individuals* was commissioned by London-based family law firm Brookman last month and revealed that whilst many expected their partner to take work calls or emails whilst on holiday, their biggest frustration came from their partners often constant use of social media.

Although over half of respondents said their partner had sent an email or made a work-related phone call during a holiday and over a third said their partner often takes a laptop or phone with them on holiday, almost 80% felt that their partner had actually had a good work-life balance.

However, when it came to their use of social media whilst on holiday, the results showed a very different story. Over 60% said their partner checked social media at least once a day whilst on holiday, a quarter said that their partner checked emails or social media several times a day, with a further 2.6% stating ‘10x + a day’ and 6.8% saying ‘all the time’. Over a quarter of participants said they felt frustrated or angry that their partner wasn’t engaged, or seemed ‘distracted’ from the family whilst on holiday.

It is estimated that the average Internet user is now on social media and messaging services for over 2 hours per day and the issue of being ‘physically present’, but ‘emotionally distant’ is a growing problem for couples. [1] In fact, technology addiction has been claimed to be as damaging as other addictions that have traditionally been considered as severely detrimental to a relationship, such as alcoholism and drug addictions [4]. More alarmingly, excessive use of social media is now being used as grounds for divorce.[2]

Brookman commissioned the survey to explore this area further after noticing a rise in the number of people who were including excessive use of technology in their divorce petition statements. Senior Partner, Henry Brookman, says, ‘Addiction to technology is a growing problem for couples, as people spend more time in ‘virtual relationships’ with friends, followers and even complete strangers.
Unfortunately, we are seeing a rise in the number of people who consider this problem to be a contributing factor to their marriage breakdown. Often, by the time they turn to us, the problem has spiralled into an irreconcilable state, and divorce has become the only feasible option’.

Obviously, if the problem is tackled early, then divorce doesn’t have to be the answer. Here are a few simple ways of reducing the use of technology so that your holiday is a dream and your relationship remains intact.

Leaving your phone or tablet behind when you go out –

Where possible, don’t take your phone with you when going out for day trips or even for just a short walk across the beach. You’ll not miss anything for a couple of hours and your partner will value the opportunity to talk and have your full attention. Take a camera with you for snapping those happy memories.

Use Flight Mode –

If you’ll want to take photos whilst on holiday, put your phone on Flight Mode for short periods so that you can use the usual phone functions, but without the risk of distraction from endless social media updates.

Short and Sharp –

If you really do have to check social media, make sure you do so for only a minute or two and no more than twice a day (once in the morning and once in the evening). Most things don’t need an immediate reply, so don’t give yourself time to get caught up in unnecessary conversations whilst your partner is sat there waiting for you!

Sources

[1]http://blog.globalwebindex.net/chart-of-the-day/daily-time-s…
[2] http://metro.co.uk/2017/05/19/excessive-use-of-social-media-…
[3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37468560
[4] http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170417-the-addiction-that…

UIA is bewildered by Ryanair’s press release stating that Irish low-cost carrier decided to cancel its entry into Ukraine due to Kiev Boryspil International airport’s intention to “protect high fare airlines (including Ukraine International Airlines) and deprive Ukrainian consumers/visitors access to Europe’s lowest air fares”.

The assumption is in opposition to the fact since UIA offers passengers the widest selection of ticket fares starting from 249 UAH (approximately 10 USD) and 587 UAH (approximately 23 USD) for domestic and international services respectively.

Responding to numerous charges of preventing new carriers from entering Ukraine’s aviation market, UIA denies being part of negotiations between two business entities, namely Kiev Boryspil International Airport and Ryanair. Therefore, it is not in a position to affect the negotiation process by any means. Hence, UIA is taken aback with emotional and unreasonable rhetoric by Volodymyr Omelyan, Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, who states that UIA is the major obstacle for Ryanair to enter Ukraine and instead of finding an alternative solution attempts to rehabilitate himself in the public spotlight.

Indeed, there are plenty reasons for mitigation as the Minister’s activities trigger questions. Specifically, one of the numerous latest press materials publish right after the lofty rhetoric contains the Memorandum between the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine and Ryanair. According to its provisions, the authority undertook a commitment to guarantee Irish carrier Boryspil airport charges at the rate of 7.5 USD per passenger. The issue of whether a government official is eligible to sign commercial documents is quite controversial. Moreover, Ryanair that must strictly comply with European legislation signed the Memorandum as well.

Additionally, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine that is obliged to guarantee equal playing field for all business entities unreasonable offers a single player a number of preferences that contradict the provisions of the current legislation. Notably, according to the Decree of the Ministry of Transport Ukraine #337 adopted on March 26, 2008, the minimum amount of charges for passenger handling, take-off/landing, and aviation security measures equal to 25.6 USD. In the case of non-standardized aircraft parking, the total amount of airport charges escalates respectively.

As soon as the Decree of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine #211 adopted on June 13, 2017, had taken legal effect, the minimum amount of airport charges was decreased down to 17 USD which outnumbers the charges fixed in the Memorandum by over 100%. Therefore, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine attempts to create preferences for a single carrier in violation of the current legislation.

 It should be noted that Ryanair launched ticket sales prior to obtaining international flight permits, signing an agreement with the airport, and receiving airport slots. Having already purchased tickets, Ukrainian passenger turned out to be hostages of circumstance – the fact that competent authorities should investigate on.

UIA welcomes newcomers to Ukrainian aviation market since competition contributes to market recovery and gradual economic upturn. Moreover, new market players tend to encourage governmental authorities to meet industry-specific challenges. Notably, UIA has long offered a number of efficient solutions that were being continuously ignored by state officials. In case all the challenges are met, Ukrainian passengers will be offered reasonable and attractive ticket fares.

Finally, UIA urges the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine and Ryanair to be scrupulous about public statements. UIA is open for constructive dialogue and eager to assist the State of Ukraine in meeting modern industry-specific challenges.