Airline Avenues

Concorde's cybersite marks jet's birthday

Thousands dream of flying British Airways' Concorde at twice the speed of sound - now those dreams have become "virtual" reality.

The world's only commercial supersonic aircraft jetted into cyberspace earlier this month with the launch of a dedicated web site to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Concorde's maiden flight.

Supersonic surfers can "fly" the aircraft from London to New York and experience the thrill of flying through the sound barrier at Mach 2 with their feet firmly on the ground.

And as a reminder of the ultimate experience, or as a means of keeping in touch, users can send a supersonic electronic postcard featuring Concorde via e-mail.

The site also will be useful for those who just want to learn about the unique engineering aspects of Concorde. Users can click on to different areas of the aircraft to understand how it works - its unique droop nose, or one of its four specially modified Rolls Royce/Snecma 593 engines, which give off more than 38,000 pounds of thrust each.

It was designed by Agency.com, which used advanced Macromedia Flash technology to ensure the best quality animation and sound. It can be accessed via the airline's award-winning web site at www.britishairways.com.

Concorde's maiden flight was on March 2, 1969, from Toulouse, France. Some 2.5 million passengers have flown supersonically on British Airways' seven-strong Concorde commercial fleet since the aircraft went into service in 1976.

British Airways operates twice-daily scheduled services in each direction between New York and London. Standard one-way fare is $5,620 plus taxes. A special round-trip fare for travel from New York to London and return is available at $9,807 plus taxes.

Concorde also operates weekly services between London and Barbados from November to April. This past February, Concorde operated four weekly charter flights between JFK Airport, New York, and Barbados.

The British Airways global web site has 90,000 visits a day and offers an on-line timetable, arrival and departures information, frequent flier mileage information and fares, availability and bookings to customers in 79 countries.

At the recent Revolution Awards in London, British Airways won the "Best Business to Consumer Marketing" category for its web site section for frequent fliers.

KLM gets new 737-800; orders nine more planes

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), flag carrier for The Netherlands, took delivery of its first Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 and ordered nine more airplanes, The Boeing Co. confirmed recently.

The newly delivered airplane is the first of 17 Next-Generation 737s KLM has ordered to expand its European network.

KLM named its new 737-800 "Swan," after the carrier's new logo.

The latest order is for five 737-800s and four 747-400s. In addition, KLM announced plans to lease a 767-300ER (Extended Range) from International Lease Finance Corp.

"This new airplane is a milestone in more ways than one: it is not only our first 737-800, but its delivery will also bring the total number of Boeing airplanes in the KLM fleet to 80 - a highly appropriate number of airplanes since we will be celebrating our 80th anniversary this year," said Peter Hartman, KLM managing director and chief operating officer. "In our opinion, a modern and flexible fleet is a key factor for success. Our Boeing 737s are instrumental in keeping the promises we make to our customers," he added.

KLM is the fourth largest airline in Europe and the only major carrier that operates an all-Boeing fleet. Based in Amsterdam, KLM has been a Boeing customer since December 1933.

United takes students to work for a day

United Airlines recently hosted students from grade schools and high schools throughout the United States and 17 International cities as part of its fourth annual "Take Your Community To Work Day."

This program provides young people from under-resourced environments with first-hand exposure to careers in the airline industry and the opportunity to learn from United Airlines employees who serve as mentors in the program.

United also will give all participating students worldwide a "Ticket to Tomorrow," which guarantees students, or another family member they may choose, a job interview with United after meeting all eligibility requirements.

"Our goal is to continue building on our commitment to providing students with long-term mentoring opportunities. Our employees welcome the opportunity to share their talents and expertise with students in their communities who need it most," said Gerald Greenwald, United Airlines chairman and chief executive officer. "This program is another example of the positive impact that public-private partnerships have on communities worldwide."

United employees in nearly 75 U.S. cities and 17 international cities spent the day working alongside thousands of students, grades 5-12, in a variety of jobs.

Northwest reveals improved web site

Northwest Airlines has unveiled a major upgrade to its award-winning web site.

The new design provides Northwest customers faster access to all of the site's key features and pages. The site's home page, for example, has been revamped to include direct links to the information and services that customers most frequently access such as the Airline's CyberSavers fares, flight information, WorldWeb Reservations and WorldPerks Direct (information on members' WorldPerks accounts) so that they are easier to find on the home page.

"Navigation speed is far and away the No. 1 issue with our internet customers," said Al Lenza, Northwest vice president - distribution planning.

"To better meet our customers' need for speed, we have cut back on graphics and made it easier and more intuitive for customers to find the information they most frequently request."

The new upgrade also introduces new features such as the airline's signature "What in the World" cartoons that integrate one of Northwest's best-known features into the site in a way that promotes buying travel online to the many Northwest/KLM destinations.

Many of the changes made to Northwest's website were based on customer surveys.

Northwest's award-winning site on the World Wide Web is located at www.nwa.com.

US Airways adds flights in 10 markets

US Airways is expanding daily service between its Philadelphia hub and the key business centers of Atlanta, Baltimore (BWI), Cleveland, Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Chicago (O'Hare), Pittsburgh, and Seattle.

An additional flight to each city from Philadelphia will give customers more choice and greater frequency when making their travel arrangements.

With the new nonstop schedule, effective May 4, US Airways will operate eight flights between Philadelphia and Atlanta; five flights between Philadelphia and Cleveland; three flights between Philadelphia and Denver; six flights between Philadelphia and Indianapolis; five flights between Philadelphia and Los Angeles; four flights between Philadelphia and Minneapolis; seven flights between Philadelphia and Chicago; eleven flights between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh; and three flights between Philadelphia and Seattle.

In addition, US Airways will operate three jet flights between Philadelphia and BWI, complementing its existing five US Airways Express flights in this market.

Information about Detroit Metro Airport or Wayne County may be found at: www.metroairport.com  or www.waynecounty.com.

Next Story >>