Japan Airlines Increases Service From LA With Return Of Nonstop To Osaka-Kansai

Japan Airlines (JAL) just celebrated the return of daily nonstop service between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Osaka’s Kansai International Airport (KIX) –strenghening the airline’s network across the Pacific and increasing its frequency to and from Los Angeles. The service is also the latest transpacific joint business route offered together with fellow oneworld® alliance member American Airlines.

“Japan Airlines is pleased to further expand its trans-Pacific network,” said Yasuhiro Nakamura, Senior Vice President – the Americas for Japan Airlines. “The increase in service also strengthens JAL’s presence in Los Angeles and offers our customers more choice and convenience when traveling to Japan and destinations throughout Asia.”

“Japan Airlines resumption of nonstop service from LAX to Osaka will strengthen business, tourism, and cultural ties with one of the most desirable cities in Asia,” said Gina Marie Lindsey, Executive Director of Los Angeles World Airports. “The new route will offer LA travelers more choices in reaching the economically important Kansai region, as well as destinations beyond.”

The nonstop service becomes the only and most direct link from Los Angeles to Japan’s Kansai region, which is the country’s second largest economy and population. The flight is also convenient for travelers bound for the many cultural and historic destinations throughout the area including Kyoto, Nara and Kobe.

Japan Airlines will operate the Los Angeles to Osaka nonstop with the state-of-the-art Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which provides a heighted inflight cabin experience. The aircraft is fitted with a total of 186 seats including 42 JAL SHELL FLAT NEO seats in Business Class. In JAL Economy, the 144 seats are configured in a spacious 2-4-2 layout rather than the standard 3-3-3 configuration for a more comfortable inflight experience.

Travelore News: Air China Announces Expansion Of Nonstop Services Between Los Angeles And Beijing

 Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti joined Dr. Zhihang Chi, Air China’s Vice President for North America, in a press conference this morning at Tom Bradley International Terminal announcing Air China’s third nonstop service between Los Angeles and Beijing starting May 2, 2015. Consul General Jian Liu of the Chinese Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China; Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin and Los Angeles World Airports’ Deputy Executive Director Samson Mengistu also welcomed the news of the expanded services from China’s exclusive national flag carrier in their brief remarks.

Air China’s third service will start with four flights per week on May 2, 2015 and will increase to daily on July 1, 2015. Dr. Chi also announced Air China’s move from Terminal 2 at LAX to Tom Bradley International Terminal on July 1, 2015.

“I’m pleased to welcome Air China’s new service between LAX and Beijing,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “Tourism from China has quadrupled over the last four years, and Air China’s new service puts us well on our way of meeting our goal of 50 million visitors a year by 2020 and creating more good jobs in the City of Los Angeles.”

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, 100 million Chinese are expected to travel overseas in 2015 and Los Angeles is one of their top favorite destinations.

More important, the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation has determined that every daily round-trip international flight on a wide-body aircraft at LAX generates $623 million annually and provides 3,120 local jobs to the regional economy.

Dr. Zhihang Chi remarked on Air China’s growth in North America since he took the helm of the company in 2004. “The unprecedented increase in connectivity will facilitate travel from China to the United States and strengthen the bilateral trade, tourism and cultural ties between the world’s two largest economies,” Dr. Chi said. “Travelers to cities in China and other fabulous destinations in Asia will find added convenience, more flexibility and options in booking their business trips or holiday visits with our new service.”

The additional third service (CA887/CA888) will be operated by Air China’s new generation Boeing 777-300ER. Featuring state-of-the-art green technology, the triple seven delivers better fuel burn performance and is much quieter than any other aircraft. With a spacious three-cabin interior, ambient lighting and an enhanced entertainment system, the B777-300ER provides transpacific passengers with a smooth, comfortable experience. It features eight luxury suites in the Forbidden Pavilion (first class), 41 fully-flat sleeper seats in the Capital Pavilion (business class) and 259 economy seats with individual TV monitors and in-seat audio-video on demand.

Air China is the only airline with nonstop services between Los Angeles and Beijing. It is also the only Chinese carrier with more-than-once daily frequency from the United States to China.

Details of Air China’s Los Angeles-Beijing services can be found in the chart below. Note: This is for reference only and the schedule may be subject to change. All times are local. *+1 = Next Day.

Flight # Origin-Destination Departure - Arrival Frequency Aircraft
CA887 Beijing-Los Angeles 12:00 - 09:00 T T S S (May 2-June 30, 2015) B777-300ER
CA888 Los Angeles-Beijing 11:30 - 15:10 +1* T T S S (May 2-June 30, 2015) B777-300ER
CA887 Beijing-Los Angeles 12:00 - 09:00 Daily (Starting July 1, 2015) B777-300ER
CA888 Los Angeles-Beijing 11:30 - 15:10 +1* Daily (Starting July 1, 2015) B777-300ER
CA983 Beijing-Los Angeles 21:00 - 18:00 Daily B777-300ER
CA984 Los Angeles-Beijing 01:40 - 05:20 +1* Daily B777-300ER
CA987 Beijing-Los Angeles 15:00 - 12:00 Daily B777-300ER
CA988 Los Angeles-Beijing 14:20 - 18:00 +1* Daily B777-300ER

Air China offers nonstop services to Beijing from its seven gateways in North America: Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington Dulles, Houston, Honolulu and Vancouver. In addition to Los Angeles, Air China is also the only airline with nonstop services to Beijing from New York and Houston. It offers double daily services from New York’s JFK International; daily services from Houston, Vancouver and San Francisco; four times weekly service from Washington Dulles and three times weekly from Honolulu to Beijing.

On January 6, 2015, CA981/CA982 between New York and Beijing was upgraded to Boeing’s newest and largest passenger wide-body aircraft, the B747-8i. On May 1 this year, the aircraft for Air China’s daily nonstop San Francisco-Beijing service will also be upgraded to the iconic B747-8i. Air China’s B747-8i is the first in Air China’s fleet with a four-cabin configuration: Forbidden Pavilion, Capital Pavilion, Premium Economy and Economy. Air China is the launch carrier in Asia for Boeing’s 747-8i.

Travelore News: Norwegian Launches New US Routes And More Departures On Existing Connections Between Europe And The US

Norwegian continues to expand its long-haul network with new routes and more departures on existing connections. A non-stop service will launch between London Gatwick and Orlando as well as between Copenhagen and Orlando. In addition, there will be more weekly departures between London Gatwick and New York (JFK), London Gatwick and Los Angeles (LAX), Oslo and LAX, as well as Stockholm and San Francisco. Following Norwegian´s success offering non-stop routes between Europe and the U.S., more routes and departures will be offered next spring.  ”We´re happy to announce that we will offer Orlando as a new destination from London and Copenhagen. Orlando is already a very popular destination being offered from Oslo and we are looking forward to giving even more passengers the chance to visit this great area of Florida,” said Chief Commercial Officer Thomas Ramdahl of Norwegian. ”As we are taking delivery of our eighth 787 Dreamliner next spring, we will also have the capacity to add more departures on existing routes that have been very well received,” he added. London Gatwick  New route: London Gatwick – Orlando – one weekly departure on Saturday. Start date: April 4, 2015. Launch fare: 199 GBP Norwegian will increase its number of weekly flights between London Gatwick and New York (JFK) from three to six weekly as of May, 2015 (all days except Sundays).   Copenhagen New route: Copenhagen – Orlando – one weekly departure on Mondays. Start date: March 30, 2015. Launch fare: 1299 DK Oslo Norwegian will offer two weekly flights between Oslo and LAX from late March, 2015. Stockholm Norwegian will offer three weekly flights between Stockholm and Oakland/San Francisco from late March, 2015. Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, commercially branded “Norwegian”, is a low-cost airline listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Norwegian is the second largest airline in Scandinavia and third largest low cost carrier in Europe. More than 20 million passengers fly on its network per year. Norwegian has a route portfolio that stretches across Europe into North Africa and the Middle East, as well as long-haul flights to the US and Southeast Asia. The company has a total of 417 routes to 126 destinations and employs approximately 4,500 people in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, UK, Spain and Thailand. The company has 258 undelivered aircraft on firm order. Norwegian was founded in 1993 and its headquarter is in Fornebu, Norway. In 2013 and 2014, Norwegian was voted Europe’s best low-cost carrier of the year by the renowned SkyTrax World Airline Awards. Norwegian offers better leg room than most competitors, in-flight WiFi, world-class punctuality and a fleet of 98 aircraft with an average age of only 4.8 years

Travelore News: Etihad Airways Opens New Arrivals Lounge At Its Home Airport In Abu Dhabi.

Contributed by Milly Stilinovic 

Image Source: Onemileatatime.com

In a first for the airline, Etihad Airways has announced the launch of its new Arrivals lounge at its home airport base in Abu Dhabi.

The Arrivals Lounge is for the exclusive use of the airline’s first and business class passengers.

“The airport lounge is a milestone for Etihad Airways and has been launched following extensive market research into the requirements of our first and business Class guests,” Peter Baumgartner, chief commercial officer of Etihad Airways told Emirates News Agency (WAM).

While the airline operates 11 lounges globally, this is the first specifically catering for Arrivals.

Image Source: Onemileatatime.com

Located directly after customs, the lounge provides guests with a freshen up area, that includes 10 revitalising shower units and a complimentary steaming service that promises to have guests ready for their exit within 10 minutes.

The freshen up area also includes a ‘SHAVE by Etihad Airways’ service which provides guests with a complimentary refreshing wet shave by fully-qualified barbers.

For those wishing time-out after their flight, the Arrivals lounge features a relaxation area.

Guests will enjoy watching TV or browsing through the many local and international newspapers, magazines and book shelves, while reclining in specifically-designed high-comfort seating.

Those feeling peckish will enjoy an array of café-styled food, served throughout the day, which includes a gourmet breakfast selection, hot and cold beverages, and an abundant array of canapés, snacks and sweets.

The food offering is all freshly prepared by a culinary team and inspired by gourmet flavours from around the world.

Travelore News: All Lufthansa Long-Haul Flights From Frankfurt To Depart Today, 9/16, Despite Strike

Departure times of some long-haul flights changed / Passengers will be informed as early as possible

After announcement from the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union that they will boycott the long-haul flights from Frankfurt today, /16.  The plan is for all 40 long-haul flights scheduled to depart tomorrow during the strike to take place. It is thus expected that the strike will not lead to any flight cancellations tomorrow, rather just to a change in the departure times of 24 long-haul flights from Frankfurt. The amended flight times will be published on www.LH.com at present.

Passengers booked on a long-haul flight from Frankfurt tomorrow are requested to inform themselves of the changed flight times as early as possible. Lufthansa is sending text messages and emails to those passengers who registered their preferred method of contact as such.

About Lufthansa

One of the world's largest and most prestigious airlines, Lufthansa currently flies to 253 destinations in 103 countries, with hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, and with the Lufthansa Group acquisition of Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and SWISS – Vienna, Brussels and Zurich.  From its 20 North American gateways, Lufthansa and its partners serve over 450 destinations in more than 120 countries.  An industry innovator, Lufthansa has long been committed to environmental care and sustainability, operating the most technologically-advanced and fuel-efficient fleet in the world.  Its long-haul fleet to and from North America includes the Boeing 747-400 and the 747-8, as well as the Airbus A330, A340 and A380.  Currently, Lufthansa has nearly 300 new aircraft worth about $48 billion on order.  Lufthansa is the largest European operator of the A380 and was the launch customer for the new Boeing 747-8, the industries’ two most fuel-efficient passenger aircraft.  Known for its premium services, Lufthansa continues its $150 million program earmarked for building new or upgrading existing lounge facilities across its worldwide network and will spend more than $3.6 billion in new onboard products and services by 2015.  In 2010, Lufthansa re-launched its broadband wireless Internet service onboard, FlyNet.  For more information or reservations, visitwww.LH.com.