Lufthansa Introduces Sleepers Row
Beginning next week, Lufthansa will offer economy passengers an entire row of three or four seats, pillow, blanket, mattress topper, and goodnight story from a flight attendant as part of a new Sleeper’s Row product it’s rolling out on selected long-haul flights.
The product, which will cost between €159 and €229, will be available on flights of 11 hours or more to destinations in the Far East, Central & South America, southern Africa, and the western United States. The seats can only be reserved at check-in or at the gate – not in advance – and there will be a maximum of three offered per flight.
An average three seat row on Lufthansa is about 54 inches long, so the bed won’t be long enough for most passengers without some high-altitude yoga to fold your body in a way to fit the “bed,” but it is a reasonably priced alternative for more room. By keeping it for sale at check-in or later, Lufthansa can keep the price down by only offering inventory that would otherwise go empty.
JetBlue Defers E190 Retirements
JetBlue Airways is deferring the retirement of 30 E190 aircraft because it sees an opportunity to use the planes as a part of its Northeast Alliance with American.
JetBlue will likely use the aircraft on new routes for the airline out of New York/LaGuardia, made possible because of the agreement with American. JetBlue can use the aircraft on longer regional routes previously flown by American, freeing up AA to utilize its LGA slots for bigger planes and longer-haul flying. JetBlue had planned to retire its E190 aircraft by 2026, but it now has no firm date for their retirement.
The aircraft, which JetBlue operates in a 100-seat, one-cabin layout, was to be replaced by the A220 as it comes online for JetBlue. It will now move ahead only with the the retirement of the E190s it has on lease, with those leaving the fleet between 2023 and 2026.
Qantas Auctions Off Business Class Seats – Literally
Qantas points auctions begin this Monday, August 2, and the airline is offering up impressive #AvGeek options including A380 business class seats, a private plane for a day, and a session in one of the airline’s B787 simulators.
The airline will offer up one premium item a day each weekday next week. The auction will allow the airline to reduce its liability on some large loyalty accounts, getting customers to spend their points on items that cost the airline nothing – or close to it.
The private aircraft auction is access to a Qantas Dash-8 for up to 30 people to fly a one-day roundtrip on one of three itineraries. The flight comes with pre-flight lounge access and full hospitality on-board which means a small soda and mini-bag of peanuts. The starting bid for the trip is 1.2 million Qantas points, which is a good deal when compared to Delta, where 1.2 million SkyMiles would get you a one-way main cabin award between Dayton and Cincinnati.
Alaska Expands Dining Options
Alaska Airlines is expanding its meal options in first class and refreshment options in all classes on flights of at least 400 miles.
It’s offering of freshly prepared, west coast-inspired meals will be served in first class on all flights of 670 miles or more, despite the fact the meals will no longer be freshly prepared by the time they reach the passenger. Flights longer than 1,100 miles will receive hot meals in first which are guaranteed to be at least lukewarm by the time they’re served.
Alaska will add a full beverage service in all cabins on flights of 400 miles or longer. For flights less than 400 miles, passengers are advised to bring their own non-alcoholic beverage on board or get in their damn car and drive.
Brad Airline Struggles to Get Funding
Brad, a new entrant into the airline space in Australia, is badly falling short of its goals to be a crowdfunded startup.
The head of the startup, whose name is – Brad – is attempting to raise A$1 million ($740,000) through crowdfunding for his new airline. Brad (the guy) needs the cash by December 31 to fund the costs of Brad (the airline) and isn’t even close. Brad (the guy) had his hopes up for a fleet of narrow-body aircraft with three classes: Brad basic, Brad +, and Brad. This is real.
An initial investment of A$200 entitles investors to four Brad basic flights under three hours which is ridiculous. It seems the appeal of four Brad basic flights isn’t getting the job done as the fundraising drive has brought in just A$3,821 of the A$1 million it was shooting for. Contributions are non-refundable, although Brad says it will offer refunds (minus credit card fees) on December 31 when if the drive falls short. Whether that’s a real refund or an Air Canada “refund” remains to be seen.
Brad is also seeking investors willing to invest as much as A$100,000 to fund the airline and Brad (the guy) has offered – get this – generous luggage allowances to potential investors at this level for providing funding.
- Air France will be able to keep the €7 billion in aid it received from the French government although the EU did attach more conditions to approve the deal including ensuring Air France is the only beneficiary of the aid package.
- Air India is hanging onto its fleet of 4 B747 jets for the time being, despite previous reports.
- El Al has asked the Israeli government for permission to delay its $105 million share offering.
- Fiji Airways is returning two leased A330-200 aircraft a few months before the end of their lease.
- IAG Cargo reported revenues of €419 million for the second quarter of 2021.
- Regent Airways of Bangladesh plans to restart scheduled operations using ATR Turboprop aircraft only.
- SpiceJet and Go First were granted $20.5 million in state aid from the Indian government between them, with $17.1 million going to SpiceJet and $3.4 million to Go First.
- Ukraine International Airlines will resume flying to Nice with twice weekly service between August 8 and September 29.
How do you tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile? You will see one later and one in a while.