Air New Zealand is continuing to experience disruption to its operations following a temporary shut-down of Refining New Zealand’s pipeline into Auckland.
The shut-down is currently impacting all airlines operating into and out of Auckland Airport and limiting the volume of jet fuel able to be uplifted to 30% of normal usage. It’s estimated around 2,000 Air New Zealand customers will be affected by flight cancellations today as the airline works to consolidate passenger loads and minimise fuel usage.
In addition to the cancellations, some long-haul services to and from Asia and North America will undertake refueling stops at selected Pacific or Australian airports. To date, three North America services have refueled in Nadi, Fiji. Today flight NZ99 from Auckland to Narita, Tokyo will make a refueling stop in Brisbane, Australia.
he airline is also ensuring domestic jet services uplift maximum fuel limits when operating out of Wellington or Christchurch to limit refueling in Auckland.
Air New Zealand Chief Operations Integrity & Standards Officer Captain David Morgan says the refueling stops completed overnight went well and the practice will continue to alleviate pressure on fuel supplies in Auckland.
“Aviation is a critical transport industry and the lifeblood for tourism and we are naturally extremely disappointed with this infrastructure failure,” Captain Morgan says.
Based on information available at this stage, Air New Zealand believes the fuel supply issue is unlikely to have a material impact on the FY18 annual result.
Any necessary schedule changes are being communicated to affected customers directly. A full list of flight cancellations is available on the Air New Zealand Travel Alerts page and will be updated regularly.
The following flights have been cancelled for today, Monday 18 September:
NZ722 – Melbourne to Auckland
NZ543 – Auckland to Christchurch
NZ550 – Christchurch to Auckland
NZ413 – Auckland to Wellington
NZ420 – Wellington to Auckland
NZ437 – Auckland to Wellington
NZ444 – Wellington to Auckland
Customers currently booked to travel into or out of Auckland over the coming week are advised to keep an eye on the Travel Alerts page of the Air New Zealand website for the latest information.
| An AirNZ Travel Alert || september 18, 2017 |||
Associate Tourism Minister Nicky Wagner today announced a funding boost of more than $2 million for safety improvements on four Great Rides in Waikato, East Coast, Hawke’s Bay and West Coast.
The funding is part of a $25 million investment announced in Budget 2016 to further enhance and extend the Great Rides of Nga Haerenga, the New Zealand Cycle Trail.
“The Great Rides are such a fantastic resource — not only are they a fun and healthy way for Kiwis to enjoy the outdoors, but they’re also a means of attracting high-value visitors to our regions,” Ms Wagner says.
“The Government is committed to continually improving the trails for everyone’s benefit. That’s why we’ve allocated this funding to seven safety projects across four trails.”
The trails are:
In addition, $469,000 has been granted through the Maintaining the Quality of Great Rides Fund to help the Alps 2 Ocean and the Clutha Gold trails repair damage caused by the heavy rainfall and flooding in late July.
For more information, visit: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/tourism/nga-haerenga-new-zealand-cycle-trail
| A Beehive release || September 14, 2017 |||
Emirates is set to introduce a fourth daily service between Sydney and Dubai from March 25, 2018, complementing its existing three daily A380 services.
The new service will be operated by Emirates’ iconic A380 aircraft and will increase passenger capacity on the route by 6,846 seats a week, inbound and outbound between Sydney and Emirates’ hub in Dubai, and represents a 7.3% increase in capacity for Emirates’ Australian services.
It also builds on Emirates’ partnership with Qantas, meeting continued demand for services to Dubai and complementing Qantas’ re-routing of its current Sydney to London service via Singapore (instead of Dubai).
From Auckland Emirates has three daily A380 services to Dubai – non-stop, via Melbourne and via Brisbane – and also a daily A380 flight from Christchurch.
Emirates’ new Sydney-Dubai service will offer passengers an afternoon departure from Sydney and a convenient arrival in main European cities the following morning. It also introduces a new option for passengers to depart London and main European cities in the morning with an afternoon arrival in Sydney the next day with a short connection in Dubai.
Emirates customers will also be able to enjoy seamless “A380 to A380” connections to 48 destinations within Emirates’ global network via its hub in Dubai.
Earlier this year Emirates announced plans to enhance its Australian services, with a third daily service set to be introduced between Dubai and Brisbane from 1 December 2017 and operated by a B777-200LR. Emirates will also upgauge its third daily flight between Dubai and Melbourne from a B777-300ER to an A380 from 25 March 2018. This change will ensure all three of Emirates’ daily flights to Melbourne will be serviced by A380 aircraft.
All passengers can enjoy over 2,500 channels on Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system ice, gourmet food and wine across all classes and generous baggage allowances. Emirates recently improved its onboard connectivity with up to 20MB of complementary onboard Wi-Fi.
Between 26 March to 31 March 2018, the outbound service EK417 will depart Sydney at 17:05, arriving in Dubai at 00:25 the following day. Due to daylight saving changes from 1 April, the outbound service EK417 will depart Sydney 16:15, arriving the same time the following day. All services will be operated by an A380 aircraft.
Between 25 March and 30 March 2018, the inbound service EK416 will depart Dubai at 20:40, arriving in Sydney at 17:20 the following day. Due to daylight saving changes from 31 March 2018, the arrival time changes to 16:30 the following day.
The A380 aircraft offers 489 seats in a three-class cabin configuration with 14 private suites in First Class, 76 flat-bed seats in Business Class and 399 spacious seats in Economy.
| An emirates release || September 14, 2017 |||
Auckland Airport | As part of its major upgrade of the international departure experience, Auckland Airport has opened a new $4 million, 185-seat lounge for international passengers, known as the “Strata Lounge”.
Richard Barker, Auckland Airport’s general manager retail and commercial, says, “the Strata Lounge is an exciting part of the upgrade of Auckland Airport’s international departure area – which creates a new and uniquely New Zealand departure experience.”
“We have already opened the first stages of our new and expanded security screening and processing area for all passengers, as well as part of the new stores for our two duty free operators. The rest of the international departure area upgrade – including a reconfigured landside farewell portal, a new retail hub and a new passenger lounge – will be unveiled over the coming 12 months.”
“Auckland Airport’s new Strata Lounge replaces our Emperor Lounge and provides a comfortable and relaxed space for travellers who do not belong to an airline lounge programme and 13 airlines that choose to use the lounge to accommodate their premium passengers prior to boarding.”
“Our new Strata Lounge means that no matter which international airline or class you are flying, before boarding your flight you can enjoy a modern lounge – with a fresh range of international food, beverages, work stations, shower facilities and a separate children’s space for families to use. In the future the lounge will also have sleeping pods and a beauty spa.”
International passengers can purchase entry into the Auckland Airport owned and operated Strata Lounge for $49 online or $55 on the door. The Strata Lounge also welcomes members of Diners Club International, DragonPass, Lounge Key and Priority Pass.
The Strata Lounge was designed by Ignite architects and constructed and fitted-out by Alaska.
| An AucklandAirport release with MSCNewsWire || September 6, 2017 |||
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SAN FRANCISCO — Uber chose Dara Khosrowshahi, who leads the online travel company Expedia, to be its chief executive on Sunday, two people with knowledge of the decision said. The selection capped a contentious search process as the ride-hailing company seeks to move past a turbulent period.
Mr. Khosrowshahi emerged as the leading candidate from a field of three finalists over a weekend of Uber board meetings, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details were confidential.
Continue to read the full article here on the NYTimes | August 28, 2017 |||
According to the CWT Connected Traveler Study, released today by Carlson Wagonlit Travel, business travelers are bringing more devices, and feel more productive as they are on the road conducting business. The survey of more than 1,900 business travelers found that travelers on average carry four different types of technology (mobile phone, tablet, laptop, etc.), with the smartphone being the one “travel tool they can’t live without,” as more than 80% of travelers across the globe rely on their phone to conduct business.
Global findings
With technology, most travelers (88%) believe travel is easier to navigate today. This has led a significant majority of travelers (78%) to seek opportunities to travel for work and nearly as many find business travel to be stimulating (72%). Today’s travelers are experienced and use that knowledge to plan their trips. More than half (55%) of travelers rely on prior travel experience while planning trips, in addition to hotel websites (54%) and airline websites (50%). Airline and hotel apps make up the bulk of app usage for travelers (45%) while map apps also see heavy use (41%).
“The business traveler can be so much more productive than even five years ago thanks to technology,” said Simon Nowroz, chief marketing officer, Carlson Wagonlit Travel. “Think about the advances where a business traveler used to have so much down time between a flight, taxi and hotel. Now, they can login and work while on the plane or wherever they happen to be. With the continued emergence of the tablet, as well as numerous apps, travelers don’t feel out of touch as they carry out business.”
According to the study, work-based relationships and productivity are strengthened through business travel. Nearly 9 in 10 business travelers (86%) said travel helped them build new knowledge and perspective, while 80% said business travel boosted their productivity. Additionally, more than 9 in 10 (93%) said that travel positives outweighed negatives when it comes to building and maintaining relationships at work, while nearly 8 in 10 (77%) say the same about their home lives.
Business travelers did have two key areas of concern.
Two-thirds (67%) of travelers said they believe travel is safer today. However, nearly half (46%) remain concerned about their safety. This has led more travelers (68%) to “sometimes or always” purchase travel insurance. Business travelers also have difficulties maintaining routines and wellness. More than half of travelers (54%) say that their exercise and wellness habits are disrupted when they travel.
According to the study, as travelers connect with co-workers or family, they often use different methods. With family or friends, travelers chose calling (44%), Skype (24%) and text (17%) as their preferred communication methods. However, they connect with co-workers differently: email (44%), calling (24%) and texting (14%).
Regional differences
There were similarities across the Americas, EMEA and APAC. However, APAC travelers felt more in control (84%) in being able to manage their responsibilities compared to Americas (76%) and EMEA (73%) travelers. Travelers from APAC (53%) were also more likely to say that travel took time away from other work, causing their co-workers to pick up some of the slack.
When it comes to personal relationships, around a quarter of travelers from the Americas felt that travel strained their relationship with their spouse or significant other (27%), more than their EMEA and APAC counterparts (22%). This is likely the reason that travelers in the Americas tried significantly harder to stay connected with family (50%) than APAC (31%) and EMEA (27%) travelers. APAC travelers were more likely to miss important events – with more than half (51%) missing at least two social events or occasions within the past 12 months compared to EMEA (44%) or Americas (42%) travelers.
“There are many variables that can make a business trip a success or a failure in the eyes of the traveler,” said Nowroz. “The easier we can make it for travelers to be organized, the more we help them have a better overall experience.”
About the survey
The CWT Connected Traveler Study was created by Carlson Wagonlit Travel and conducted through Artemis Strategy Group March 30-April 24, 2017. Survey data was collected from more than 1,900 business travelers between the ages of 25-65 from the Americas (Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico and the United States), EMEA (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) and APAC (Australia, China, India, Japan and Singapore). To participate in the study, business travelers were required to have made more than four business trips within the past 12 months. The purpose of this study is, to understand how business travelers stayed connected to both work and home while on the road.
About Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Companies and governments rely on us to keep their people connected. We provide their travelers with a consumer-grade travel experience, combining innovative technology with our vast experience. Every day we look after enough travelers to fill almost 200 Boeing 747s and around 100,000 hotel rooms, and handle 95 corporate events. We have more than 18,000 people in nearly 150 countries, and in 2016 posted a total transaction volume of US$ 23 billion.
The Power Farming Euro Tour saw 63 New Zealand farmers, contractors and dealers hit Italy and Germany to see the latest tractor technologies from the SDF Group including production of the series 6, 7 and 9 Deutz Fahr. The Power Farming Euro Tour saw 63 New Zealand farmers, contractors and dealers hit Italy and Germany to see the latest tractor technologies from the SDF Group including production of the series 6, 7 and 9 Deutz Fahr.
While the All Blacks were well into planning their end-of-year tour, another group of Kiwis headed to the northern hemisphere in the middle of July during the European summer.
The Power Farming Euro Tour saw 63 New Zealand farmers, contractors and dealers hit Italy and Germany to see the latest tractor technologies from the SDF Group, which recently commissioned the most modern tractor factory in the world.
First stop was at the SDF headquarters in Treviglio, east of Milan in northern Italy.
This is the home of Deutz Fahr tractors up to 130hp and the capable and versatile Series 5 tractors. Guests could take in the heritage of a business that saw the Cassani brothers build their first diesel tractor in 1927, and the SAME DA, the world’s first 4WD tractor, launched in 1952.
On the production lines an upgrade is underway to produce automated guided vehicles (AGV) that carry the emerging tractors around the site and allow the factory to build up to 100 tractors each day.
Following a trip to a local dairy farm, which supplemented milk production with a large biogas plant, the party headed over the Alps to Munich and on to Lauingen, the home of Deutz Fahr.
Said to be the fastest growing brand in Europe, Deutz Fahr has recently commissioned a state-of-the art tractor assembly plant aptly named Deutz Fahr Land. In a building of 42,000sq.m on a site of 160,000sq.m and built at a cost of NZ$145 million, the mission is to build tractors right first time (RTF). A completed tractor leaves the production line every 12 minutes; the factory is said to be capable of producing up to 6000 units per annum on a one-shift basis.
Continue to read the full article here | A Rural News release || August 28, 2017 |||