A surprise twist in the Hong Kong protests as Cathay CEO Rupert Hogg resigns. Plus RFID for bags, VR for passengers and new aircraft types launching service soon. A busy week with plenty to uncover in this edition of PaxEx Update!
IATA
Air France goes all-in on RFID bag tracking
Wondering where your checked bag is? Air France will soon have more and better data to help answer that question for passengers as the carrier commits to RFID tracking of bags beginning in 2020.
Southwest expands distribution through NDC Exchange
Some Southwest Airlines customers will soon see expanded options when shopping for flights. The carrier announced today that it is joining the NDC Exchange platform, operated by ATPCO and SITA, modernizing the distribution of its air fare data.
Investment & Innovation: KLM’s sustainability initiatives
From biofuel investment to supporting crazy new aircraft design concepts, KLM is leading the charge in a push towards more sustainable operations. And there’s plenty more yet to come.
Solving the Codeshare Conundrum: Travelport, Routehappy, alliances weigh in
Codeshare flights: Great for airlines and confusing for passengers. Multiple groups across the industry are looking to clear up that confusion, exposing better data to travelers and smoothing the marketing message.
IATA Coin: A blockchain play by and for the airline world
Airlines transferring funds via blockchain? Turns out this is not a far-fetched, future vision. It is reality today thanks to a cryptocurrency known as the IATA Coin.
A few firsts on Juneyao’s premier Dreamliner
Adding a new type to an airline’s fleet is interesting in its own right. China’s Juneyao Airlines added the 787-9 Dreamliner last week and it is more significant than most similar expansions, both for passengers and China’s aviation industry growth.
IATA ratchets up rhetoric on Brexit negotiations
IATA issued updated guidance on the potential impact of Brexit this morning and the news is not good. The lack of agreement on the future of the air travel market presents massive challenges and IATA CEO Alexandre de Juniac predicts chaos if significant progress is not realized soon.
Taxes v Tourism: A battle for the Bahamas airports
Can the Bahamas pay for the necessary and significant airport upgrades without raising taxes or passenger fees? It seems that’s unlikely. And so the growth of the island nation’s tourism sector is at risk. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Hear from the Minister Tourism & Aviation Dionisio D’Aguilar on how the country plans to address these challenges.
SkyTeam grows a Digital Spine
How can global alliances increase their relevance to member airlines? Better data sharing is good but enabling ancillary sales on top of that is great. SkyTeam’s SkyLink Digital Spine delivers that new connectivity and sales opportunity.