Airlines | Digital Crosstalk

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Brian and team, who work for a digital marketing agency run this Digital Crosstalk blog.
Occasionally we might blog about companies and people we work with but for the most part we'll simply be blogging about stories and events which we find interesting.

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14th
JAN

Germanwings announce new base and routes

Posted by Brian | Filed under air

: Image via Wikipedia

Germanwings, the low-cost German airline, has announced it will establish a base at Hanover airport from April and will operate routes to 15 cities including London, Rome, Barcelona and Milan.

Businesstraveller.com has details on each of the fifteen cities and flight routes that Germanwings will service when the new routes come into operation.

Germanwings’ Hanover-London route will see the airline service London Stanstead, which will pitch the airline into direct competition with rivals Air Berlin which offers the same flight frequency as that which will be offered by Germanwings – twice daily.

To celebrate the launch of its new hub, Germanwings is offering 50,000 flights for the new routes at €19.99, including taxes and charges. For more information, terms and conditions visit germanwings.com.

Tags: airlines, Aviation, Germany, Hanover, London Stansted

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5th
OCT

Air India provide novel take on on-flight entertainment

Posted by Brian | Filed under air, road

: Image via Wikipedia

The Air India airline introduced a novel breed of in-flight entertainment on their flight number IC-884 between the United Arab Emirates and Delhi on Sunday – an all-in brawl between the pilots and cabin crews!

A report in the Independent online claims that the punch up which happened at 30,000ft started after a stewardess refused to provide the pilots with ‘personal favours.’ The stewardess was, according to the report abused and pushed into the cockpit and it was when a male steward became involved that fisticuffs ensued – as the passengers looked on.

The plane was flying over Pakistan when the incident occurred after having left Sharjah but tales of arguments at the pre-flight briefing have also been alleged. The flight eventually landed safely, but Air India bosses have since grounded two pilots and two members of the cabin crew over the incident.

Delhi police have been quoted as declaring the stewardess at the centre of the incident had sustained bruises and injuries to her hands and had lodged a complaint after being ‘abused, manhandled in an undignified way.’

The pilots involved, however, counter claim that a male steward started the whole escapade, with his conduct putting the lives of 106 passengers and seven crew members on board the flight at risk.

“As there have been claims and counter-claims between the parties involved, the management has ordered an inquiry, which is still in progress. Further action will be decided based on the inquiry report.” said a spokesman for Air India.

Tags: air india, airlines, flight attendant

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22nd
SEP

Ryanair to allow passengers the chance to smoke on flights

Posted by Brian | Filed under air

: Image via Wikipedia

eTravel are reporting that budget Irish carrier Ryanair is to begin selling smokeless cigarettes on board its flights.

Despite a ban on smoking on commercial flights being since the 1990’s Ryanair’s cigarettes will, in fact, be smokeless, allowing passengers who smoke to feed their nicotine habit during the flight. The cigarettes, which will also be made of plastic will sell in packs of ten for around €6 and will supply only a small amount of nicotine when inhaled.

According to the airline the cigarettes will cause no discomfort to non-smoking passengers, while they will also contain no toxins or chemicals.

Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said of the new cigarettes: “As these cigarettes are smokeless they cause no discomfort to other passengers and can ensure a more enjoyable and stress free flight for all passengers as non-smokers will no longer have to cope with moody smokers in need of nicotine.”

One wonders how long it will be before Ryanair impose a smoking tax on flights where these cigarettes become available…

Tags: air travel, airlines, Ryanair, smoking

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24th
JUL

United Airlines don’t break guitars… oh yes they do!

Posted by Brian | Filed under air, blogging, hotels

Most people would have simply ranted and raved when their air carrier lost or damaged their luggage, but Canadian singer Dave Carroll went a step further than simply complaining to his carrier, United Airlines, when he penned his ditty ‘United Break Guitars’ in protest at the airline’s refusal to accept responsibility they had broken his prized Taylor acoustic guitar at Chicago’s O’Hare airport last year.

The song was accompanied by a video which went on to become an internet phenomenon, attracting four million views on video sharing website, You Tube, which is owned by Google. It was so successful that after nine months of trying and failing to gain admittance from United Airlines, the carrier has now paid up.

“You broke it, you should fix it/ you’re liable just admit it/ I should have flown with someone else or gone by car,” Carroll sings, “’cause United breaks guitars.”

However, sadly for United Airlines the damage isn’t going to stop there, despite the settlement as Dave is in the process of recording a second track, which will form part of a trilogy against the airline by the singer. The original song even managed to cause United Airline’s share price into a temporary drop, such was the publicity surrounding Dave’s ditty.

United Airlines aren’t the first company to become embroiled in an internet slanging match between customers and companies and they won’t be the last either as the upsurge in social media websites continues to create a rebalance in communication between consumers and businesses; helping to spread both the good and bad word about customer experience.

In a Twitter post, United Airlines admitted they made a mistake and would donate $3,000 to a music charity, but also that they liked the video if not the song. The carrier even hinted that they would like to use the video as a training aid to ensure a better level of service for their passengers.

United Airlines

Dave says he is no longer angered by the incident and he no longer cares about getting compensation, despite repairs to his guitar coming in at some $1200 – which still doesn’t play correctly. He will however press on with the second tune, which will feature his dealings with United Airlines’ customer service agent Ms Irlweg, who flatly refused Dave’s claim for compensation; with a third track following later.