36 SPECIAL FEATURE ADVERTORIAL CITY TRANSPORT BREAKS According to the latest statistics released by IATA, North American airlines saw demand rise 3.2% in 2015, broadly unchanged from the growth achieved in 2014. Capacity rose 3.1%, edging up load factor 0.1 percentage points to 81.8%. US domestic traffic climbed Premium Economy on international routes with the delivery of its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner - raising the bar even higher and providing more choices for global travellers. The airline is investing more than billion in fully lie-flat seats; international Wi-Fi; more in- GOING THE EXTRA MILES United Airlines has announced that it will introduce daily nonstop flights between its San Francisco International Airport hub and Singapore’s Changi Airport, effective June 1, 2016, subject to Gatwick will soon be able to wing their way directly to the US East Coast as the airline starts direct flights to New York in May this year. From May 1st, British Airways will fly customers in style from less than £400 return, to the city that never sleeps. North America Leads in Airline Profitability Innovations, efficiencies and savvy promotion – a good recipe! 4.9% last year, helped by solid economic growth. This was the fastest rate of increase since 2004 and the first time since 2003 that domestic traffic growth surpassed international growth. The load factor reached a domestic record high of 85.4%. The recently released IATA report on airline profitability indicates that North American carriers are leading the industry’s performance and are expected to generate considerably more than half the industry’s total profits in both 2015 (.4 billion) and 2016 (.2 billion). On a per passenger basis, profits of .44 in 2016 also place their performance at the top of the industry. This is as a result, says IATA, of a strong US economy, the appreciating US dollar, lower oil prices and a restructured industry. Capacity growth by North American airlines is expected to accelerate from 3.7% in 2015 to 4.8% in 2016 on the strength of the US economy. AMERICAN AIRLINES INTRODUCES PREMIUM ECONOMY ON INTERNATIONAL ROUTES Later this year, American Airlines will introduce flight entertainment options and power outlets; a new, modern design for Admirals Club lounges worldwide; and an upgraded assortment of complimentary healthy food, cocktails and more. This is in addition to American’s historic fleet renewal, which has delivered 215 new aircraft since 2014 and more than 90 new planes are expected in 2016. SURFING MID ATLANTIC Since last month, Delta Air Lines have been offering a high-speed internet connection on board all their transatlantic flights between the United States and Europe, Israel and West Africa. “We already offer Wi-Fi on all our domestic flights and we are delighted to extend this service to our transatlantic passengers, providing them the opportunity to work, to stay connected and surf the internet throughout their flight,” said Nat Pieper, Senior Vice President Europe, Middle East and Africa. “More than 93% of our international fleet provides access to the internet and we will continue to use technology to make the flights more productive for our customers when they travel with Delta.” government approval. United will be the first airline to offer nonstop service between San Francisco and Singapore, and this will be the only nonstop service to the U.S. from Singapore. United will use the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, to operate the service. Measured by distance, the San Francisco - Singapore service will be the longest scheduled 787 flight operated by any airline and the longest scheduled flight operated by any U.S. carrier, at 8,446 miles. BRITISH AIRWAYS ANNOUNCES NEW US ROUTES Sun-drenched Silicon Valley is to get a direct service to Heathrow when British Airways starts offering nonstop flights to San José in Summer 2016. British Airways (active partners of Brand USA in its now famed MegaFams) will offer daily flights on the only service between Europe and San José, the airline’s fourth Californian destination, after Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, on its brand new 787-9 Dreamliner. The new service - BA279 - starts on May 4, 2016. Meanwhile, British Airways customers flying from Customers will travel on a three-cabin Boeing 777, offering a choice of 40 seats in Club World, 24 in World Traveller Plus and 216 in World Traveller. It will make British Airways the only airline to offer flights to New York from all three of London’s main airports; Gatwick, Heathrow and London City. American Airlines 787-9 Dreamliner CAPACITY GROWTH BY NORTH AMERICAN AIRLINES IS EXPECTED TO ACCELERATE FROM 3.7% IN 2015 TO 4.8% IN 2016 Hall 2.1 / Stand 480 ITB BERLIN NEWS • Wednesday 9 th March 2016 www.itb-berlin-news.com
TRANSPORT SPECIAL FEATURE 37 EMPOWERING CAR RENTAL COMPANIES TO MONITOR COMPETITION AND INCREASE MARKET SHARE! Present at ITBBerlin this year is PriceGain-Car: a comparative price intelligence solution that assists car rental brand companies as well as OTAs to: Regine Sixt Senior Executive Vice President, Sixt International Feel The Motion Regine Sixt – on what’s moving and shaking her business… • Continuously track their car rental rates and offerings on GDS’s, OTAs and brand websites; • Analyze, compare and implement intelligent pricing & contracting terms; • Understand current and future market positioning with rate information that enables strategic pricing planning. PriceGain-Car, with its advanced price intelligence technology offers interactive data that enables your business to make those important strategic decisions on a daily basis and in addition, keeps you abreast of your competitor’s moves, by proactively notifying you when your competitor’s rates are higher or lower, depending on your defined simple rules. Hall 8.1 / Stand 115 Winner in 2015 of the Victress Award for Lifetime Achievement, Regine Sixt is back at ITBBerlin this year heading up her dynamic team at Sixt Rent a Car. We asked her how the past year has been for Sixt, and what the main factors are behind her success. We’ve been pushing really hard and doing so in many countries. Business has been really pleasing, including in Western Europe and the USA, and also in many other parts of the world. Our success is very much an achievement of our committed staff who share the special Sixt Spirit. That means we give everything to become better. We also put a lot of emphasis on customer orientation. We offer many innovations, products and services in order to fulfil our customers’ mobility needs in the best possible way. Where have your main investments been? We have been pushing ahead with our expansion, especially in the USA, where we are now represented at lots of popular destinations. We are also working constantly on new, pioneering mobility concepts that go beyond conventional car rental. For instance, we offer our customers products like our premium carsharing service DriveNow, and the professional chauffeur service myDriver, which customers can use for things like plannable, convenient airport transfers. What innovations are you highlighting at ITB? Sixt offers its customers throughout the world a wide range of premium services and a big fleet of high quality vehicles. But that’s not all. For instance, at the ITB we will be presenting fastlane, a pilot project from Switzerland. It offers customers features such as keyless access to their rental car using their smartphone. That means customers do not have to bother going to the counter and can go instead straight to the car park and pick up the vehicle they want. Over the past year you have had some interesting promotional activities (billboards etc.). Can you please tell us a little more? We often refer to current themes in our marketing and we like to try out new things. We want to attract attention, which after all is what advertising is for. Sixt currently has giant display boards on one of the multi-storey carparks at Munich Airport, showing a moving pair of eyes which pan to the left and right. Underneath them it says: Better than Sixt? Can’t see anything. We’ve also been quick in taking up the possibilities of social platforms like Facebook and Snapchat. Hall 9 / Stand 121 ITB BERLIN NEWS • Wednesday 9 th March 2016
