KLM offers 73 direct intercontinental flights and 69 direct European flights from her home port, Schiphol, and Air France offers 98 direct intercontinental flights, 75 direct European flights to Paris-Charles de Gaulle or Orly Airport as well as 77 routes within France. Air France & Klm Global Meetings offer a simple to use online program - www.airfranceklm-globalmeetings.com - for organizers to coordinate conventions, conferences and seminars. After registration the participant can log in with the assigned ID-code to book discounted flights (discounted fares are available 5 days before, during and 5 days after the event date(s)) online. ++++ more info ? ++++ globalmeetings.nl@klm.com

PB Air launched its first flight service to Bagan from Bangkok in November using the Embraer 145 with 50 Y-class seats and operating three times weekly. It also plans to increase its Bangkok to Danang service from thrice weekly to five times weekly later in the year. Lao Airlines' (QV) has taken delivery of its first commercial jet aircraft, an Airbus A320, which is already operating on its major Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Siem Reap and Hanoi routes. The airbus is configured with 130 Y-class and 20 business-class seats. This is a key component of the flag carrier's overall reconstruction, which is receiving technical assistance from a former Air France Consulting executive and from Vietnam Airlines. We are also pleased to inform our customers that Lao Airlines have retired their Chinese-made Y7 aircraft, replacing them with ATRs on all domestic routes. Thai Airways introduced flights from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang and Yangon. Actually there is a thrice-weekly service. Vietnam Airline: Hanoi/Siem Reap Route. Vietnam Airlines is now offering direct flights from Hanoi to Siem Reap, using the Airbus A320. For more information, please contact your reservations officer. Phuket Air suspends flight. Phuket Air is suspending its BKK-MDL-BKK flight for the time being, and will resume operation later on.

Dragonair has been voted Best Airline in China for the 5th consecutive year in the Skytrax passenger survey. Conducted by Skytrax Research of the UK, the world's largest passenger survey was undertaken over the 10 months from June 2010 to March 2011, with the number of eligible nominations for Airline of the Year totalling 10.8 million. To be voted Best Airline - China for a 5th consecutive year in the Skytrax survey is a huge compliment by the travelling public to all the staff at Dragonair, said Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui. The results reaffirm that Dragonair remains the airline of choice to the China Mainland.

Nav Canada has published results from its Collaborative Initiatives for Emissions Reductions (CIFER) programme. CIFER aims to reduce aviation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through safe and more efficient air traffic flows. As a flight transits the ocean, fuel is consumed and the weight of the aircraft decreases, resulting in the most efficient flight level becoming higher (assuming zero wind). Therefore, an efficient flight profile would include a progressive or continuous altitude change and corresponding change in Mach. Assessments show that oceanic flights can save approximately 250 litres of fuel and 650 kilograms of GHG emissions per flight by varying Mach and altitude and more than 350,000 flights per year transit the North Atlantic airspace. If only three per cent are able to vary Mach and altitude in a way that improves flight efficiency, that would result in an annual reduction of approximately 7,200 metric tons of GHG emissions and a savings of 2.7 million litres of fuel. ++++ http://www.atcglobalinsight.com ++++

Severe winter weather and the ash cloud contributed to a 4.3 per cent decrease in the number of aircraft in UK controlled airspace in 2011. NATS reported 2.1 million flights compared with 2.2 million in 2010. Of all market sectors, only transatlantic over flights posted positive growth over the course of the year with an increase of 0.1 per cent. BAA's UK airports handled 7.2 million passengers in December 2011, a decrease of 10.9% on December 2010. The drop in passenger traffic is almost entirely due to the disruptive effects of the coldest December since records began in the UK, which affected much of North West Europe and latterly the North Eastern seaboard of the US. Compared with December 2010, Heathrow’s passenger total fell 9.5%. Without the passenger losses as a result of the snow, it is estimated that underlying performance was broadly flat. At BAA’s other airports, Edinburgh and Southampton experienced the largest percentage declines as a result of the bad weather (18.4% and 22.0% respectively). For the year as a whole the headline result was a group total of 103.9 million passengers. The year was marked by a series of exceptional events. Apart from severe weather late in the year, there were the effects of two extended periods of BA strikes. Taken together these events are estimated to have caused the loss of 3.6 million passengers at BAA’s UK airports. In their absence, it is estimated that instead of an actual drop of 2.8% in passenger volumes there would have been a 0.6% increase. +++++ http://www.baa.com/ ++++++

Construction of the 233 ft control tower at New York LaGuardia Airport is complete, ready for fitting out with the latest tower equipment including the Airport Surface Detection System Model X (ASDE-X), and the Integrated Control and Monitoring System (ICMS), which consolidates information including navigational aid displays into one screen. The tower has an 850 square ft tower cab. The total cost to design, equip, and construct the new tower was approximately USD100 million. LaGuardia Airport (LGA), also in Queens (on the Grand Central Parkway) mainly handles domestic flights. If you're flying in from anywhere in the U.S., chances are you'll come through here. Particular exceptions include Continental Airlines. The airport has a Ground Transportation Desk where you can get information when you arrive. The easiest route is the M60 bus which picks you up at the airport and drops you off at 116th and Broadway in front of the gates of Columbia University. From here you can take a bus, taxi or subway to anywhere in Manhattan; we don't suggest riding the subway at night if you are new to New York. +++++ http://www.panynj.gov/airports/laguardia.html ++++++

The whole of humanity is coming to terms with the issue of climate change, and the role of carbon emissions as a cause. Airport Carbon Accreditation is the European airport industry’s response. Along with other aviation industry stakeholders, european airports are seeking to address the challenge of climate change and have developed a wide range of activities to reduce carbon emissions linked to airport operations. These emissions are mainly stemming from energy use in airport buildings and infrastructure, transport to/from airports, airside vehicles, aircraft ground movements and energy consumption and refrigerants. Beeing Airport Carbon Accreditation the European carbon standard for airports, the programme assesses and recognises the efforts of airports to manage and reduce their carbon emissions with four levels of award: Mapping - Reduction - Optimisation - Neutrality. Actually only Goteborg Landvetter Airport, Stockholm Arlanda, Bromma Stockholm and Umea City Airport (Swedavia) got NEUTRALITY level. At OPTIMISATION level we can find Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (over 45 million passengers a year) and Munich Airport, another of Europe's top 10. REDUCTION level for Gatwick Airport - the busy single runway airport in the world, Frankfurt Airport, Hamburg Airport and Brussels Airport. Starting level ( MAPPING) for Ana Airports (Portugal), Dubrovnik Airport and Chisinau Airport (Moldova) +++++ http://www.airportcarbonaccreditation.org +++++

Singapore Airlines is actually the only carrier to run thrice-weekly flights to Shenzhen. Shenzhen is a very popular destination for business activities, ranking 3rd after Hong Kong and Guandong. This new flight service is available on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays and takes just under four hours from Singapore. Since 28 March 2009, Sia has also commenced thrice-weekly services to the Chinese city of Nanjing, gateway to the rest of the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu.

Singapore Airlines increased the frequency of its Singapore - Milan - Barcelona service from four times weekly to daily . The flights are operated by the new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, featuring the new, luxurious cabin products across all three classes. This includes the ultra-wide Business Class seat, configured in a 4-abreast, 1-2-1 setting. All seats feature the new KrisWorld, with over 1000 entertainment options, with full audio and video on demand, and a suite of office applications. SQ378 will depart Singapore daily at 23.35hrs and reach Milan Malpensa Airport at 05.55hrs the next morning. The flight will continue on to Barcelona El Prat Airport, touching down at 08.35hrs. On the return journey, SQ377 will leave Barcelona at 09.55hrs and reach Milan at 11.35hrs. The flight then departs Milan at 12.45hrs, arriving into Singapore at 07.35hrs the next day.

Berlin is growing considerably faster than the average pace of the other German airports, commented airport director Dr. Rainer Schwarz, but in order to answer the many questions by travellers, employees, business partners and all interested parties the opening of Berlin Brandenburg Airport has been postponed to October 2013. More than 20 million passengers passed through the three Berlin airports last year, and is is now clear that all airlines will depart from the airport at which they were previously based.

Following positive feedback from passengers during the first half of the trial, Air France was the first carrier in the world to offer the full capability of the inflight mobile phone service, and is able to do so because of OnAir SwiftBroadband solution. Air France had the first inflight mobile phone service to offer the full range of mobile communications services, including voice, SMS and email.

Frankfurt Airport (FRA) was among the first airport's in the world to be served regularly by the A380. This did not require any construction work on the exisiting runway system. Taxiways was already designed to allow for A380 operations without any problems. At Terminal 1, Frankfurt Airport now also offers a docking position with telescopic passenger bridges for the Airbus superjumbo: At Gate B46, two boarding bridges for the main deck and a third one for the upper deck are available as of immediately. Also Gate B26 is A380-compatible. Three additional docking positions for the Airbus superjumbo are provided at the new Pier C/D in the redeveloped terminal section between Terminals 1 and 2. The planned new Pier A0 (which will extend westward from Terminal 1) will offer four more A380 positions by 2012. Furthermore, the planned new Terminal 3 at the southern side of FRA will feature six positions for the A380. The goal is to ensure that the A380 and its 555 passengers are handled just as fast and efficiently as the B 747 jumbo jet. This requires optimization of boarding procedures, gate allocation, and handling procedures as well as construction of new passenger boarding bridges and larger gate rooms. The new spacious gate waiting rooms at Terminal 2 can accommodate up to 800 passengers.

Zoom Airlines Limited has gone into administration, along with its sister Canadian airline Zoom Airlines Inc. Zoom operated scheduled services from London Gatwick to New York, Fort Lauderdale, San Diego and Bermuda, as well as flights to destinations in Canada from Gatwick, Bristol, Cardiff, Belfast, Manchester and Glasgow. The Civil Aviation Authority understands that there was 4,500 UK passengers abroad and approximately 60,000 passengers with forward bookings with Zoom Airlines Limited and Zoom Airlines Inc. The 60,000 breaks down into 45,000 direct with the carrier and 15,000 booked through tour operators (both UK & Canada). Non-UK customers still waiting for remboursement are advised to contact aviation/consumer protection organisation in their home country or their credit card company for advice and information about whether they are able to obtain refunds or assistance.

Stakeholders in both airlines approved the merger last year as the sayd the action would help - not hurt - U.S. air travel and is likely to produce substantial and credible efficiencies that will benefit U.S. consumers and is not likely to substantially lessen competition. Although Northwest is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta, Delta plans to maintain the airlines' separate Web sites, operations and customer loyalty programs for the immediate future. This is the most successful merger in airline history - said Delta President and Chief Financial Officer Edward Bastian - who is now also president and CEO of Northwest Airlines. ++ more info ? +++++ http://news.delta.com ++++

Continental Airlines launched daily nonstop service between its New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and Munich. Flight CO106 departs Newark Liberty daily at 5:25 p.m. and arrive in Munich at 7:50 a.m. the next day. The return flight, CO107, leaves Munich’s Franz Josef Strauss International Airport daily at 9:20 a.m. and arrive at Newark Liberty at 12:35 p.m. the same day. The Continental flights are operated by Boeing 767-200ER aircraft, seating 25 passengers in BusinessFirst and 149 passengers in economy class. ++++++ www.continental.com +++++++

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) in Norway has once again won the prestigious award for Best Intercontinental Airline in the Norwegian Grand Travel Award 2011. For the seventh consecutive year Thai Airways International in Norway has won this award. The 16th Annual Grand Travel Award was attended by leading Travel Agencies and key decision makers in the travel trade. A travel trade jury elected the nominees, and the voting was by random selection from more than 400 travel agents all over Norway. Mr. Pricha Nawongs, THAI General Manager for Denmark and Norway, received the award on behalf of THAI at the ceremony in Oslo. In the category ++ Best Tourist Country ++, Thailand was the clear winner, once again, from more than ten countries nominated. Mrs. Nalinee Pananon, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand in Scandinavia, received the award on behalf of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. ++++ http://www.prthaiairways.com ++++

Etihad Airways expects to cater to seven million passengers this year from 6.3 million at the end of 2011. Despite last year being tough on airlines due to the global financial crisis and the Hini pandemic, Etihad passenger numbers rose from 6 to 6.5 million. The airline currently has a fleet of 53 aircrafts and an international network of 61 destinations in 40 countries.

Emirates is currently the largest operator of the A380, with 15 of the superjumbos in its fleet. Flights from Emirates’ Dubai hub to Kuala Lumpur and Rome will be operated using the aircraft from December 1. Flight EK346 departs Dubai at 04.05am, arriving into Kuala Lumpur at 2.55pm. From Kuala Lumpur flight EK347 leaves at 7.30pm and arrives in Dubai at 10.30pm. ++ One of Emirates’ two daily flights to Rome will be served with an A380 – flight EK97 departs Dubai at 9.10am, arriving into Rome at 12.35pm. From Rome, flight EK98 leaves at 2.35pm and arrives in Dubai at 11.05pm. Other destinations the airline serves with the A380 are: Manchester, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Toronto, Seoul, Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai, Jeddah, New York, Hong Kong, Sydney and Auckland. Johannesburg will join the list on October 1, followed by Munich on January 1, 2012. +++++ http://www.emirates.com +++++

80 flights per week carrying an estimated total of 600,000 passengers for 2012 from Paphos to 14 European destinations. This is a big news for the Cyprus economy since the new routes will increase its exposure to tourism from the new destinations. The low-cost carrier will be the first airline to take advantage of the government's new incentives to boost tourism, which includes a substantial drop in landing fees. Ryanair had four routes from Larnaca airport: Brussels, Barcelona, Dusseldorf and Bologna and now will join Patra , Chania, Thessaloniki in greece, Frankfurt and Memmingen in Germany, Kaunas in Lithuania, Krakov in Poland, Londo, Oslo, Stockholm and Rome, Pisa, Treviso an Milan (Orio al Serio airport).

A new iPad solution has been tested by Airbus pilots in order to ensure its compliance with Airbus EFB standards, and airlines will soon be able to download the first apps as part of its "FlySmart with Airbus" EFB portfolio from the App Store. Headquartered in Toulouse, France, Airbus is actually the world's leading commercial aircraft manufacturer producing the most modern and efficient airliners in every category, from the single-aisle A320 Family up to the world’s largest airliner, the A380.

The Hong Kong-based airline will convert 16 of its existing orders for the A350-900 to the larger A350-1000 and placed a new order for 10 airplanes. The acquisition of the A350-1000 will bring the total number of A350 XWB aircraft ordered by Cathay Pacific to 48. The A350-1000 is the largest version of the A350 XWB family and typically seats 350 passengers in a three class layout and can fly 8,400 nautical miles non-stop and will be operated by Cathay Pacific on higher density routes, including its longest non-stop flights to Europe and North America. The aircraft will be powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB, the most powerful engines ever developed for an Airbus aircraft. The A350-1000 will be a game changer in the 350-seat category, offering outstanding payload-range capability and a 25 % reduction in fuel burn.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol handled 49.8 million passengers, a 10.2 % increase on the previous year when the airport welcomed 45.2 million passengers. In terms of passenger volume, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has recaptured its ranking as Europe's fourth-largest airport. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines added a number of major intercontinental markets network, including Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Havana and Orlando, while European destinations grew from 162 to 169.

Royal Jordanian Airlines has increased the frequency of its flights between Amman and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from seven to nine per week. The additional services are operating on Thursdays and Sundays and provide an afternoon and evening option to complement the existing daily morning flights.

Qatar Airways increased its flights into Italy by adding an additional three weekly rotations between Doha and Milan Malpensa. Actually seven flights are operated with widebodied A330 equipment (both -200 and -300 variants) and seven using an A320. The Gulf airlines already have a strong presence in the Italian market. Qatar Airways already flies double daily to Rome Fiumicino and daily to Venice from Doha; Emirates Airline also serves the same three markets from Dubai; Gulf Air has links from Bahrain to Milan and Rome, while Etihad Airways and Oman Air serve Milan from Abu Dhabi and Muscat, respectively.

Delta Air Lines added a third daily rotation on the New York JFK – San Juan and maintained the expanded schedule increasing competition with American Airlines and JetBlue Airways on the route. Actually the carrier offers morning, afternoon and evening rotations using Boeing 737-800 and 757-200 equipment. In the past year an estimated 880,000 O&D passengers travelled on this route.

Hong Kong Airlines inaugurated four daily passenger flights and all-cargo services with 650 tonnes of freight per week to Taipei or Kaohsiung. The announcement follows the signing of a revised Air Services Agreement between aviation authorities in Taiwan and Hong Kong which will further liberalise the market between the two countries. This will permit passenger flights to increase from 170 to 205 per week and cargo tonnage from 1,700 tonnes to 3,000 tonnes per week for each side. There are currently five airlines offering flights between Taiwan and Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific (37.6%) China Airlines (30.3 %), Dragonair 15.4 %), EVA Air (13.7%) and Mandarin Airlines (3.0 %).

ANA is ordering eleven additional Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and the new order today will take ANA’s fleet of this innovative and fuel-efficient airliner to 66 in total. All eleven aircraft will be the B787-9 model and will be delivered between fiscal year 2018 and 2021. ANA’s future fleet plans involve the gradual replacement of the Boeing 767 and Boeing 777-200 with the 787, also considering the fuel efficiency. ANA is the launch customer for the Dreamliner and currently has 55 Dreamliners on order, thirteen of which have so far been delivered.

The IATA Passenger Distribution Group approved a new model, a framework and principles, for air travel distribution. Airlines distribute their products either through travel agents (around 60%) or via their own websites, reservations centers and sales offices. Customers have the ability to shop and purchase tickets at their convenience and to comparison shop. Travel agents rely on Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) to compare airline offers and book tickets, but these GDSs were built on 1970s technology standards well before the internet existed. The goal was to find an itinerary to a destination, at a time and price that was acceptable to the passenger. Because this model focused on finding the lowest fare and not on the attributes of the product being sold, it contributed to the commoditization of air travel. Beginning in the 1990s, the emergence of the internet enabled airlines to develop their own websites introducing ancillary services and empowering customers to choose and purchase only those services they desire. However, actually airlines do not have an industry solution to offer the same options for these products via travel agents using GDSs, and IATA new goal is to develop new distribution standards to enable airline product differentiation. IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents some 240 airlines comprising 84% of global air traffic.

Daily connections for all with the New Aeroflot (Sky Team member) who changed the image and Now only fly Boeings & Airbus - no more Russian Aircrafts and maybe with the most updated fleet in the world consisting of over 105 aircrafts formed by modern Airbus A320-family, A330 and Boeing B767 airliners. In 2007, Aeroflot signed multi-billion US dollar deals to buy 22 Airbus A350 jets and 22 Boeing B787 DreamLiner with deliveries in 2016. Daily flights to/from all destinations to Moscow, and Aeroflot is also the official Olympic Carrier for Winter Olympics 2014

Also Canada's flag carrier must compete in the growing leisure travel sector, and Ben Smith, Air Canada's Executive Vice President unveiled the new leisure airline Air Canada Rouge. New destinations - starting from July 2013 - will be Venice, Edinburgh, Athens, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Costa Rica. (main hub in Canada at Toronto's Pearson International Airport). The Air Canada rouge fleet will initially be comprised of two Boeing 767-300ER and two Airbus A319 released from Air Canada's existing fleet, waitig for two new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in 2013.