Airline news
29.09.15 | Nathan CollinsThe airline industry seems to be beginning a new chapter in its history. With the recession years in the past, heavy investment is now being undertaken to improve services and offer new routes around the world – 2016 for example is set to be an exciting year already with a new route to Costa Rica announced by British Airways.
The recession certainly meant a difficult few years for the airlines but in recent years services have definitely improved. New aircraft have been introduced including the double-decker super jumbo A380 by Airbus and the ultra-efficient 787 Dreamliner by Boeing which is now being operated from Birmingham Airport. Birmingham even welcomed the giant A380 from Emirates a few years ago for a special anniversary celebration. In-flight services have also improved with the refitting of older planes too.
Virgin Atlantic are completely refitting all of their existing planes with new Economy, Premium and Upper Class cabins and have welcomed a number of Dreamliners to their fleet too. Interiors are looking sleek and sharp with mood lighting and improved cabin pressure which can help reduce jet lag. Norwegian Airlines even offer free wi-fi on board plus you can watch a handful of TV programmes from your device for free too.
Norwegian are among the latest budget airlines to be welcomed to Birmingham and are now offering flights to Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Tenerife and Gran Canaria. They are certainly one to watch with new planes and an ever-growing route network – plus they have retained the Skytrax award for best low-cost European airline three years in a row.
Premium cabins on long-haul routes are proving increasingly popular. A level of service originally introduced by Eva Air in 1991 and later Virgin Atlantic; British Airways, Air France, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand, Qantas and now Singapore Airlines have all followed suit with the latter introducing Premium soon on their Manchester to Singapore route. Other airlines that don’t quite offer the full Premium cabin are getting in on the act by spacing out their economy seats to offer slightly more legroom for a supplement, a move welcomed by travellers who don’t want to stretch to the Premium or Business/First rates.
In Business and First there have been some fantastic prices offered by the larger carriers such as British Airways, allowing our customers to travel to Japan for example in First Class for the same as Business. These special sales come and go very quickly and it is a case of luck sometimes to take advantage of them.
The expansion of Birmingham Airport in recent years has shown they mean business, and a third direct service to Dubai with Emirates offering a First Class cabin for the first time from the Midlands is now operated using one of their 777 aircraft. A second service to New York is now available too, this time into JFK, and improvements have been made on board United services who have been operating the Birmingham to New York (Newark) route for many years. These include a completely new healthy meal service and wine or beer with meals.
Further afield, one of the more exciting routes to commence in 2016 is London to Costa Rica. This will begin in May next year and depart on Wednesdays and Saturdays from Gatwick. Located in Central America, Costa Rica is a peaceful and small country that shares its borders with Panama and Nicaragua. A range of active and dormant volcanoes separate the lowlands facing the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by mountain cloud forest, savannah grasslands and lowland tropical jungle. Plantations of its world famous coffee blanket the sunny slopes, while orchid-laden trees are home to quetzals, trogons and hummingbirds. The jungle creeps down to the shoreline on the Pacific coast, enlivened by the chattering of monkeys and parrots, and the Caribbean shore offers volcanic beaches and palm-sheltered coves lapped by a turquoise sea.
It is a unique destination and one which we are looking forward to offering our clients as a more convenient destination thanks to the new direct flight.
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