Wednesday, November 2, 2011

World's largest airlines

Singapore Airlines:


Singapore Airlines may be based in a small country, but it covers a lot of international destinations and flies more passengers every year than the entire population of Singapore.



The fallout from Qantas's A380 mid-air emergency has escalated after Singapore Airlines today took three of its superjumbos out of service to replace their Rolls Royce engines.


Singapore Airlines grounded the aircraft for "precautionary engine changes" over concerns raised during inspections, an airline spokeswoman said today.
One aircraft in Melbourne, one in Sydney and another in London have been forbidden to fly until the engines are replaced.




Cathay Pacific:


Cathay Pacific Airways is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its main hub at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline is privately-run and owned by parent company Swire Pacific Limited. Cathay Pacific operations include scheduled passenger and cargo services to 115 destinations in 36 countries worldwide, including code shares and joint ventures.




 Cathay Pacific is one of only six airlines worldwide to carry a five-star rating from Skytrax, a United Kingdom-based consultancy. Cathay Pacific has also won three  "Airline of the Year" awards by Skytrax, in 2003, 2005 and 2009.The airline is a founding member of the one world global alliance.




Cathay Pacific is also a member of the Oneworld alliance and is the top ranked Asian-based airline by Skytrax.


Qantas:


Qantas Airways is the largest Australian airline company that provides luxury travel with style and comfort. The airways is well known for being one of the leaders when it comes to long distance luxury flights. 
The giant A380 Airbus passenger  plane under operation by Qantas has a seating capacity of 450 passenger and offers four different luxurious classes. The First Suite class has just 14 seats, Business class 72, Premium-Economy 32 and Economy class has 332 seats in it.


The company was founded on 16 November 1920 as "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited", but soon became known simply as Qantas, and adopted that name officially.
Qantas was nationalised in 1947 by the Australian Labor Party Federal Government when Ben Chifley was Prime Minister. It remained in public ownership for over four decades until the 1990s, and was successfully privatised, with British Airways now owning a significant stake.




Since the merger with Australian Airlines in 1995, it has flown an extensive schedule between all Australian capital cities, as well as many regional cities and towns. It also flies many international routes to and from Australia.




Thai Airways:



Thai Airways is the top ranked airline affiliated with Star Alliance. Thai is known for its inflight service, and its flight attendants wear traditional Thai clothing during their flights.


In 1960, the year the company was founded, THAI served 10 regional destinations within Asia, using three aircraft. We handled over 700 tons of air cargo from our own flights at our tiny facilities at Bangkok International Airport. The dynamic growth and commercial success of THAI became almost a legend. 


By 1980, our fleet of 21 aircraft served 34 destinations and carried 95,000 tons of cargo. THAI understands the special air cargo needs of a rapidly changing economic world, working closely with customers at home and abroad to create maximum benefits from new opportunities. 


Thai have helped to create new markets by improving transportation for commodities as varied as fresh fruit and flowers, fashions and electronic components from the region. We also have introduced competitive freight rates, helped to speed airport facilitation procedures, while providing the fastest, most direct routes from producers to consumers.


Asiana:



Asiana, took that first step in 1988 when it was introduced as the second flag carrier in Korea. On the occasion of its 15th Anniversary in 2003, Asiana took its next major step in joining the Star Alliance network.For more than two decades, Asiana's main goal has been to offer its passengers the highest safety and service standards.


 With the aim of guiding every thought and action of its employees, Asiana adopted the term "Uncompromising Safety" as its mission statement. In keeping with this target of uncompromising safety, Asiana maintains the most modern fleet worldwide and was the first airline in the world to be granted ISO 9002 certification on aircraft maintenance.



Asiana's dedication to in-flight and ground service makes you feel at home while in the air. This resulted in Asiana receiving the ATW Passenger Service Award for 2001. Also, a Customer Satisfaction Survey carried out over a few years by several renowned research companies, declared Asiana to be the most satisfactory airline in 2001.




Malaysia Airlines:





Malaysia Airlines is the national carrier of Malaysia and has been recognized as the largest in Asia. It flies more than 48,000 passengers over 110 destinations across 6 continents everyday.
 Malaysia Airlines has its primary hub at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and secondary hub in Kota Kinabalu.


Malaysia's national carrier, with a history stretching back over sixty years, has won more than 100 awards in the past decade alone, including 'Best Airline to Asia' in 20061 and 'World's Best Cabin Crew' in 20072. It also remains one of only six carriers globally to be accredited as a 'five-star airline'3.


Through a radical programme of business transformation, Malaysia Airlines went from record losses in 2005 to record profits in 2007, and was recently awarded the 2008
'Phoenix Award' by Air Transport World magazine - having already won the Centre of Asia Pacific Aviation's 'Airline Turnaround of the Year' award in 2006.


Qatar Airways:



Qatar Airways is the flag carrier of Qatar and one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. The airlines main hub lies in Doha International Airport. Qatar Airways flies to over 80 destinations around the world. It is one of the six airlines in the world to have received 5-star rating from Skytrax. Qatar Airways is committed to providing its passengers with high quality service and efficiency on board.

Qatar Airways was founded in 22 November 1993 and started its operations on January 20, 1994.The airline was formerly owned by the Royal family of Qatar and then re-launched under a new management team in 1997.The Government of Qatar is a 50% stake holder while the remaining is owned by private investors.


Qatar Airlines is equipped with one of the youngest and modern fleets in world. Its current fleet consists of Airbus A340-600s, A340-600s, A320-200s, A340-600s, A300-600s, A330-300s, A319LR and A 321-20.The long haul aircrafts A330 and A340 feature in-flight audio and video options. Qatar Airways plans to expand its fleet to double its size in the future.


Qatar Airways currently flies to over 80 destinations across Europe, North America, the Middle East, North Africa and the Far East.

Air New Zealand:





Air New Zealand's story began in April 1940 when it's forerunner airline, Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) was incorporated. TEAL began its first trans-Tasman services with flying boats, and over the years steadily expanded the size and scope of its operations and the extent of its international network. The route network was expanded from Australia and the Pacific to Asia, the USA, the UK and Europe. In October 1953 TEAL became jointly owned by the New Zealand and Australian Governments, and in April 1961 the New Zealand Government assumed full ownership.

In addition to TEAL operating international services, the New Zealand Government established NZ National Airways Corporation (NAC) which began operations in 1947.  NAC was the primary operator of domestic air services between major centres and provincial cities and towns, and along with TEAL would later form the basis for today's Air New Zealand.

In the meantime, NAC's early piston-engined aircraft such as the DC3, were replaced by turbo-props, and in 1968 the jet age for domestic aviation was ushered in by the Boeing 737.During the 1980s and 1990s Air New Zealand continued to expand its international network, particularly to Asian cities like Taipei, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka.


In February 2000 Air New Zealand announced the conditional purchase of the remaining 50% of Ansett Holdings Limited from News Corporation Limited for A$580m.


Emirates:



The airline was established on 25 May 1985 by the Dubai government. It started operations with flights to Karachi and Mumbai followed by Delhi in September. Two Airbus A300 and Boeing 737-300 were leased from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Subsequently two Boeing 727-200 Advanced were acquired from the UAE's Royal Flight. 




These aircraft were used until Emirates began taking delivery of a fleet of newly built Airbus A300-600R and Airbus A310-300 wide-body aircraft. The first European destination to be added in July 1987 was London Gatwick and Far Eastern operations commenced to Singapore in June 1990. Emirates acquired a financial stake of 43.6% and a management contract for Air Lanka on 1 April 1998, which subsequently changed its name to SriLankan Airlines.




 In January 2008, Emirates announced that it will pass the management of SriLankan Airlines to the Sri Lankan government in April 2008. There are no plans to remove or decrease the stake in the airline.The Emirates Group is a public international organization holding company headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Emirates Group is the parent company of the Emirates Airline airline and Dnata, an aviation services company.




 Emirates Group also used to own a 43.6% stake in SriLankan Airlines, until they sold it back to Sri Lankan Government. Emirates Airline has 35,000 employees, and is wholly-owned by the Government of Dubai.


Etihad Airways:





Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates and is based at Abu Dhabi Airport. It has been in operation since 2003, when it was set up by royal decree. Etihad won the World’s Leading New Airline of the Year Award at the World Travel Awards in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Etihad began flying to Australia in 2007 and since then the service has carried over 145,000 passengers. From October 2008, Etihad will increase the frequency of its Sydney flights from daily to eleven times per week.
Etihad Airways offers a chauffeur service to First and Business Class passengers joining or departing from its flights. The service is currently available in various countries including the UK, Australia and the UAE, with plans to expand the service further.





Etihad has three guest zones on its international flights. These are Diamond (First), Pearl (Business) and Coral (Economy).


Diamond:


In First Class, seats recline into fully flat beds with a length of 6ft 8in. They also rotate 180 degrees to allow meals and conversation to be more easily shared with fellow travellers. The new Air Theatre system offers travellers 23 inch screens to watch over 350 hours of entertainment.




Pearl:


Seats in Business class recline to become 6ft 1in beds which lie fully flat. Each seat has easy access to the aisle, along with individual lighting and a personal reading lamp. Personal 15 inch screens are provided for the personal inflight entertainment systems.




Coral:

Seats in Economy Class have up to a 33 inch seat pitch, and provide headrests, footrests and lumbar support to ensure that travel is done in comfort. 10.4 inch personal entertainment screens are provided to enjoy the entertainment on offer. Meals and beverages are complimentary.



Tuesday, November 1, 2011

International Air Transport Association




IATA:
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is an international industry trade group ofairlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport Switzerland.


IATA's mission is to represent, lead, and serve the airline industry. IATA represents some 230 airlines comprising 93% of scheduled international air traffic. The Director General and Chief Executive Officer is Tony Tyler. Currently, IATA is present in over 150 countries covered through 101 offices around the globe.



History:


IATA was formed on 19 April 1945, in Havana, Cuba. It is the successor to the International Air Traffic Association, founded in The Hague in 1919, the year of the world's first international scheduled services. At its founding, IATA had 57 members from 31 nations, mostly in Europe and North America. Today it has about 230 members from more than 140 nations in every part of the world.




Mission:



IATA’s started mission is to represent, lead and serve the airline industry. All the Airline rules and regulations are defined by IATA. The main aim of IATA is to provide safe and secure transportation to its passengers.

Price setting:


One of its core functions was to act as a price setting body for international airfare. In an arrangement going back to 1944, international fare prices have been set through bilateral governmental agreements rather than through market mechanisms. Airlines had been granted a special exemption by each of the main regulatory authorities in the world to consult prices with each other through this body.


In recent years the organization has been accused of acting as a cartel, and many low cost carriers are not full IATA members. The European Union's competition authorities are currently investigating the IATA. In 2005, Neelie Kroes, the European Commissioner for Competition, made a proposal to lift the exception to consult prices. In July 2006, the United States Department of Transportation also proposed to withdraw antitrust immunity.IATA teamed with SITA for an electronic ticketing solution.