Sensational-Adelaide.com

Jetstar in Air France/KLM deal
Steve Jones

Jetstar Group has signed its first non-Qantas interline deal after striking what it described as a “landmark” agreement with Air France and KLM. The deal will encompass all Jetstar brands and cover all its ports and Air France and KLM’s hubs in Paris and Amsterdam. It is the first time all Jetstar branded airlines have struck a single interline arrangement with a carrier outside of Qantas. Jetstar executive manager commercial, David Koczkar, said: “This partnership with one of Europe’s most established carriers will provide new opportunities for customers to more easily travel to the almost 60 destinations across the Asia Pacific region that Jetstar services, including our growing Singapore hub. “Importantly I also expect that this partnership will have a positive impact on increasing accessibility for customers within our domestic networks in Australia and New Zealand and Vietnam, leading to significant benefits for each of these local tourism industries.” Paul Rombeek, Air France/KLM general manager Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, said it will offer passengers “unprecedented and convenient” flight connections throughout East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.” The move was also branded as a “strategic move” by Air France/KLM with the aim of improving its reach in Asia Pacific.

Travel Today

Malaysia Airline's new flight boost

by Emily Charrison

MALAYSIA Airlines will all but double its direct flights to Adelaide next March, in what tourism industry leaders say is a major fillip for the city.

Airline chairman Munir bin Abdul Majid has told the aifCity Messenger aif the company will increase its in-bound flights to Adelaide from four times a week to at least six, with the aim of offering daily flights by the end of 2011.

The news comes just weeks after the City Council and SA Tourism Commission endorsed a “City of Adelaide Action Plan”, which lists extra direct flights as a key driver for attracting more visitors to town. Mr Majid was in town last week for the Asian Studies Association of Australia Conference. He said Adelaide’s wine regions and lush city Parklands were a drawcard for Malaysian tourists, while South-East Asia was also becoming more popular with the state’s ageing population.

“South Australia is a bit quaint, it’s the garden state, the pretty state and there’s so much space and freshness here,” he said.

“When I saw the River Torrens and the green around it, people looked so happy.”

“And then you have all these cultural offerings there’s the Convention Centre, the (Festival) theatre and then on the other side the museum and art gallery.”

SA Tourism Commission acting chief executive Jo Podoliak said the increase in direct flights would help make Adelaide more “cost competitive” as a holiday destination, and more attractive for international visitors.

Australian Hotels Association SA general manager Ian Horne said it was “great news” for city businesses.

“We’re not a major gateway, we’re not Sydney, Melbourne or Perth, so it’s a great endorsement of SA’s product.”

‘It will ensure the current stock of accommodation like the new Crowne Plaza is not only viable but they prosper.”

Council applauds plan

TOWN Hall has welcomed Malaysia Airline’s plan to bring direct daily flights to Adelaide, saying it will raise the profile of the state and help SA compete with Australia’s more popular destinations.

Lord Mayor Michael Harbison - who is now in Malaysia as part of the World Heritage celebrations for Adelaide’s Sister City George Town in Penang - said the extra flights would significantly boost tourist numbers to the city.

“This is great news for South Australia as airline infrastructure and capacity makes a huge difference for trade and tourism,” he said from Penang.

City councillor Francis Wong, a chaperone for Mr Majid during his three-night stay, said it was “fantastic” to get the executive in town for the first time.

As for the extra flights, Cr Wong said: “It will not only benefit tourism and international relations but it will enrich SA because Adelaide is a gateway to the state.

“Without international airlines our state cannot prosper.”

rogue wrote:For those interested, Adelaide Airport have updated their website...

http://www.aal.com.au/

bm7500 wrote:I wish that the new site was optimised for widescreen format monitors though with the option to 'dumb down' for 4:3 format screens.

Another suggestion would be an iphone/android app for the site.. could be very handy for travellers especially with respect to Departure / Arrival information.

Nathan wrote:An iPhone/android app would be overkill. You could serve up an optimised webpage of the departure/arrival information with minimal effort.

Nathan wrote:

bm7500 wrote:I wish that the new site was optimised for widescreen format monitors though with the option to 'dumb down' for 4:3 format screens.

Another suggestion would be an iphone/android app for the site.. could be very handy for travellers especially with respect to Departure / Arrival information.

I'd say the site width (which is a perfectly acceptable 980px wide - when the largest percentage of users is still on a 1080px wide screen) is the least of the updated site's issues. The home page alone is a mess - trying to cram too much into the smallest space possible, with a clear lack of hierarchy.

An iPhone/android app would be overkill. You could serve up an optimised webpage of the departure/arrival information with minimal effort.

muzzamo wrote:

Nathan wrote:An iPhone/android app would be overkill. You could serve up an optimised webpage of the departure/arrival information with minimal effort.

Or you could use one of the many apps that already do this? Or you could just view the normal page and pinch to zoom in? its not that hard.

crawf wrote:That is alot of flights for a small town...

ozisnowman wrote:Anyone know whether they have started the new Adelaide Airport Control Tower? it was supposed to have started.

Passenger growth for FY10 has been recorded at 3.2%. Domestic passengers were up 3.1% in the 12 month period to June, with passenger traffic demand serviced by the continued expansion of Tiger Airways. International passengers continue to perform strongly, in particular benefiting from heavy competition on price amongst the airlines coupled with the strong Australian dollar. Regional passengers have started to recover, with the new Qantaslink Port Lincoln route being very successful, and a strengthening in the mining sector generally.