Kenya Airways and its subsidiary Jambojet were found to have been at fault by the competition watchdog for cancelling tickets that had been booked in the period when the country effected travel bans to curb spread of the coronavirus disease.

In its latest annual report tabled before Parliament, the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) says that it forced Kenya Airways to refund customers for tickets cancelled in the period under review and ordered Jambojet to renew others bought in March following customer complains. The tickets were for Nairobi-Mombasa and Nairobi-Eldoret routes.

The CAK said Kenya Airways had unilaterally cancelled tickets and rescheduled flights without notifying passengers in the wake of the Covid-19 induced travel bans that had forced travellers to halt their flight plans.

Jambojet rejected customer requests to renew tickets following the presidential ban on domestic and international flights, exposing customers to losses running into thousands of shillings.

The airline then went ahead and fined the customers cancellation fees saying that tickets could only remain valid if cancelled within seven days of the travel date prompting disgruntled customers to seek redress at the competitions watchdog.

Kenya banned domestic and international flights in March and restricted movement into four counties including Nairobi and Mombasa to curb spread of the coronavirus disease, forcing travellers to change their plans or risk losing their tickets.

“Lydia Seurei booked a return air ticket from Nairobi to Eldoret, however she could not travel due to the presidential directive regarding cessation of movement due to Covdi-19,” CAK says in its verdict on one of the cases.

“She requested her tickets to be kept open which was declined by the service provider and was charged cancellation charges.”

Jambojet had also declined a customer request to keep tickets valid for travel at later date as passengers waited on the State to lift the flight bans.

Jambojet then extended validity of the tickets for six months and one year, giving reprieve to the customers who had incurred cancellation charges in addition to losing thousands of shillings.

Kenya Airways and Jambojet escaped punishments for the breaches on customer rights after the two accepted liability and agreed to extend validity of the tickets.

This was the second time in two years that Kenya Airways was on the spot for breaching customer rights. In December, CAK ordered the national carrier to refund a customer more than Sh400, 000, for an overbooked flight from Kigali, Rwanda to Nairobi.

CAK carried out investigations after a customer filed a complaint about an incident that occurred in February 2018 where a passenger found that the flight from Kigali to Nairobi that he had booked was already full.

The passenger was denied boarding on arrival at the Kigali International Airport prompting him to seek redress at CAK.

Source: Business Daily

Holiday bookings surged following the announcement of a road map out of lockdown, airlines and travel firms have said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s road map for easing coronavirus restrictions states that hotels can reopen and foreign travel will be permitted from May 17 at the earliest.The Government’s Global Travel Taskforce will reconvene to issue a report by April 12 recommending how international trips can be safely facilitated.

Mr Johnson said this will “give people time to make their plans for the summer”.

Tui reported that they had had their best day of bookings in more than a month ahead of the summer, with strong interest in Greece, Spain and Turkey.

Thomas Cook told the BBC that bookings were “flooding in” for countries like the Dominican Republic, Greece, Cyprus and Mexico.

EasyJet also reported a 337 per cent surge in flight bookings, according to the broadcaster.

It saw a 630 per cent jump in holiday bookings for locations like Alicante, Malaga, Palmo, Faro and Crete.

Travel industry leaders have expressed relief at the prospect of people in England being allowed to take summer holidays.

Mark Tanzer, chief executive of travel trade organisation Abta, said summer holidays will be crucial for both “travel businesses whose revenues have been wiped out” and for “millions of people who are desperate to travel again”.

But he urged Chancellor Rishi Sunak to use next month’s Budget to provide “tailored financial support” to travel agents and tour operators to enable them to “come through the weeks ahead”.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency – who co-founded the Save Our Summer campaign, said the announcement was “the news the travel sector really wanted”.

He went on: “It means more consumers can be reassured that their 2021 summer trip can take place, or they can get a refund or refix their travel date.

“They can book knowing that this summer will be even safer than last.

“We will need to see the finer details in the future reviews for the sector’s restart but the Prime Minister’s comments are certainly far more positive and realistic than those made by some ministers just two weeks ago.”

Earlier this month, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said foreign holidays will remain banned until “everybody” has had a coronavirus vaccine.

His comments sparked an angry response from the travel industry, which accused him of undermining consumer confidence.

British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle said it is “critical we start looking at a way to restart travel”, adding that he is “pleased the Government has acknowledged that”.

He went on: “We support a data-led approach that protects public health. We want to work with Government’s taskforce on a road map now to ensure that aviation is in a strong position to support the UK as we emerge from the pandemic.”

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of trade body Airlines UK, said: “We’re grateful to the Prime Minister and Department for Transport for providing the clarity the whole sector was looking for that international travel can reopen this summer, as soon as it is safe to do so.

“This will provide much-needed reassurance not only to airlines in desperate need of a summer season but families looking to visit friends and family and take a long-awaited holiday, and we know there is enormous pent-up demand for when we can restart operations.”

Source: Evening Standard

Some consortia have noticed increases in traffic to their websites that house travel advisor profiles and information on connecting to travel professionals. 

Virtuoso said consumer inquiries via Virtuoso.com doubled from June to September 2020, and January saw a 50% increase over December in requests to connect with an advisor. Virtuoso attributed the increase to consumers having more money to travel after skipping 2020 trips, heightened desire to get away from home and an increased appreciation for what travel advisors do for their clients.

Organic traffic to Agent Profiler pages — online profiles that Travel Leaders Group (TLG) advisors can create — has increased, according to TLG chief marketing officer Stephen McGillivray and vice president of marketing Brian Hegarty.

Many have predicted that once consumers feel confident traveling again, they will flock to advisors to help meet pent-up demand.

“We give some credence to that thought,” McGillivray said. “But we think what dominates that uptick in people searching for travel advisors is the fact that travel is more complex right now, and all these things just beg for the use of a travel advisor.”

TLG uses keyword analysis on leads that come through its website to gauge consumer sentiment. In 2019, “cruise,” “Disney” and “Europe” dominated, Hegarty said.

But keyword analysis on more than 12,000 leads TLG has fielded since Jan. 1 paint a much different picture for 2021. Things like “plan,” “help,” “confusing,” “complicated,” “please” and even “hope” dominate the list. Other previously popular terms, like those indicating a consumer is looking for a deal or promotion, have fallen off the list.

TLG marketers have, in particular, mulled the term “please,” Hegarty said. It either means consumers are getting more polite, or, more likely, they are confused by rules and regulations and are asking an advisor to “please, help me,” he said.

To McGillivray, that indicates more than just pent-up demand. 

“This is great news for the human touch, [for] us,” he said, referencing the entire industry, not just TLG. “Consumers looking to book travel are looking to us.”

Tara Hyland, owner of Tara Hyland Travel, a Travel Edge affiliate based in League City, Texas, agrees that consumers will be increasingly drawn to advisors. Tracking and complying with different regulations in different countries is confusing and time-consuming, she noted.

“And potentially, it could be very unpleasant if things aren’t done correctly, so I just think that professional guidance is going to be key to having a seamless trip,” she said.

Hyland also believes do-it-yourself travelers who found themselves untangling canceled trips and chasing refunds and vouchers after the pandemic hit will also seek the guidance and advocacy of advisors going forward.

She just recently got a new lead via Virtuoso.com that led to a booking. It also holds promise for a year-long relationship.

The client is a single grandmother preparing for retirement in around six months. She plans to travel on solo trips as well as with her grandchildren.

“She said she was really interested in aligning herself with a professional travel agent,” Hyland said. She found Hyland on Virtuoso’s website and was drawn to her because of the places Hyland has traveled, her comments in her biography and the fact that the two live in the same community.

The new client just put down a deposit for herself and her granddaughter on an Eastern Europe river cruise to celebrate the grandchild’s 18th birthday.

“It’s a nice booking, and we really hit it off. I think she’ll become a good client,” Hyland said.

Hyland even discussed linking the new client with some of her other clients who are solo female travelers.

MAST Travel Network has not seen online traffic increase to pages that enable consumers to search for a member travel agency, but members are talking with more consumers interested in working with a travel advisor, president and COO John Werner said. Some are new to working with advisors, and some have used them only occasionally in the past, he added.

MAST members are also noticing another change: Customers are calling agencies for help with trips that they had already booked themselves, ranging from using future travel credits to navigating Covid-19 restrictions.

“Most of our members are taking this as an opportunity to [establish a relationship with] a future client,” Werner said. “While they don’t have access to a booking they did not make, our advisors are answering what questions they can and leaving a good impression for next time these travelers plan a trip.” 

Source: Travel Weekly

Dubai Expo 2020 is now giving people a sneak peek inside the event that will officially open in October. Despite the pandemic, the World Expo is set to see more than 190 countries showcase innovations around the themes of sustainability, mobility and opportunity.

The Sustainability Pavilion will be a centerpiece of the event. Called “Terra” — meaning planet Earth — the building generates fresh water from the surrounding humid air. Its 130 meters-wide roof canopy and surrounding “Energy Tree” structures are fitted with more than 1,000 solar panels, which will provide some of the energy needed to host this massive event.

“We’re trying to showcase that humanity can build buildings that do live in harmony with the environment around them, that do manage to grab the resources around them whether that’s sun or water,” explains John Bull, director of the Sustainability Pavilion.

“Even in this environment, which is somewhat dry, we’re still able to get enough water which allows this building to be self-sufficient.”

This pavilion is the first of the Expo structures to be completed. Until April 10, residents and visitors will be offered a glimpse inside, where a range of interactive experiences are intended to help people understand their impact on the environment.

“Through those immersive and interactive experiences, that’s how we can really connect to people. That’s how you start conversations that matter, rather than just giving information,” says Bull.

Expo will run from October 2021 to the end of March 2022. Once the event is over, the Sustainability Pavilion will form part of a science center in District 2020 — a new residential and business development that will evolve from the Expo site.

Source: CNN

The Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) held a successful webinar with travel agents in Kenya and Rwanda on Thursday last week following a partnership agreement signed in January 2021 with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), East African Tourism Platform (EATP) and Rwanda Chamber of Tourism (RCT) to promote business and leisure travel in the East African Region.

The webinar was aimed at sensitizing travel agents on destination Rwanda and promotion of awareness of the #VisitRwanda campaign. The webinar highlighted the various opportunities available in Rwanda for business, leisure and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) travel.

As EAC countries begin to resume normalcy, there is need for travel agents to rebuild their businesses that have been hit hard by COVID-19, and travel within the region is a critical starting point.

Mr. Mohamed Wanyoike, the chairperson for the Kenya Association of Travel Agents and a passionate proponent of intra-regional travel, said that the East African market is critical to Kenyan travel agents’ rebuilding process. In this context, he urged Kenyan travel agents to establish B2B linkages with their Rwandan counterparts and come up with creative travel packages that will spur regional travel.

“I encourage you to continue to focus on the opportunities in the Rwandan market, and encourage travellers to venture out to spectacular regional destinations in Rwanda,” he said.

He also emphasized that travellers in the Post Covid-19 era will be keen on security, wellness, and comfort and said that the three aspects that must be maintained in order to revive the spirit of travel in a post-COVID-19 situation. “These aspects will be a benchmark to gain the confidence of the domestic and regional traveller in order to revitalize travel,” stated Mr Wanyoike.

He urged all the regional stakeholders, business travel actors, as well as the travel industry to also be cognizant of the travel health protocols both in Kenya and Rwanda and the entire EAC, as strict adherence will be key restarting the travel industry.

Mr Wanyoike’s sentiments mirror the findings of the Travellers Readiness to Travel Post Covid-19 Survey that was conducted by KATA in partnership with the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre. The survey, that sought to gather insights on the travel habits of travelers, and how travel has been impacted by Covid-19, showed that 65 percent of travellers are willing and ready to start domestic travel with 34 percent willing to travel regionally.

This means that the efforts of KATA and its partners in boosting regional travel is a realistic expectation of the travel trend in the near future. KATA has been keen on creating partnerships that will enable her members establish business linkages and aid in the resumption of travel.

Following the successful webinar, KATA and her partners will be hosting subsequent B2B engagement sessions with travel agents from both countries that will go a long way in deepening business engagements among the agents. The Association will later conduct familiarization trips for her members to Rwanda to facilitate the much-needed destination knowledge and experience.

Robert Okumu, Country Manager RwandAir said that the airline will be sponsoring familiarisation trips into Rwanda for the travel agents in Kenya with a view of giving them an opportunity to experience the Business and Leisure travel products in Rwanda. He also said that they will be offering and competitive holiday packages and experience ahead of Easter Holidays for the Kenyan public to visit and explore the beauty, serenity and tranquility of Rwandan destinations.

Addis Ababa | Ethiopian Airlines has partnered with UNICEF to become its global distributor in the transportation of vaccines and other life-saving supplies. In a statement to the press, Ethiopian committed to prioritize the transportation of the life-saving supplies while ensuring measures such as temperature control, security and freight capacity are adhered to. 

This partnership follows the formation of the UNICEF Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative between UNICEF and leading global airlines to support the COVAX Facility, a global solution to the COVID-19 pandemic that ensures participating countries have fair access to vaccines, regardless of their income level.

Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, lauded the partnership as a great move towards ensuring the safe, timely and efficient transportation of life-saving supplies globally, thereby supporting access to essential services for children and families. 

That Ethiopian was among the airlines selected by UNICEF comes as no surprise. The African Carrier has been working round the clock since the outbreak of the pandemic to ramp up its cargo capacity and deliver PPEs and other medical supplies around the world.

As countries began placing orders and administering COVID-19 vaccines, the big question that emerged was “who will handle the logistical nightmare that is transportation and distribution of the vaccines especially in Africa?”. But Ethiopian had demonstrated a remarkable agility in its response to the increased cargo demand in the wake of the pandemic.

The Airline reconfigured 25 passenger aircraft into freighters using its own internal MRO capabilities besides deploying all its 12 dedicated cargo aircrafts. By ramping up its cargo handling capacity, Ethiopian became the obvious preferred logistics partner for Africa (with Addis Ababa as its distribution hub) by the Jack Ma foundation, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) and the African CDC.

The carrier also operated more than 360 charter flights to transport PPE and other supplies to more than 100 countries across Africa, Europe, US and Asia.

While highlighting its readiness for the distribution of Covid-19 vaccine across Africa and the rest of the world, Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services, in November 2020, announced the launch of a cold chain air freight that will be equipped with a temperature control system that monitors the cabin’s temperature in real-time.

So far, almost all vaccine candidates available need ultra-cold temperatures to transport or store.

Ethiopian Airlines has the largest cargo terminal in Africa, with an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes. The facility now comprises of a 54,000sqm Pharma Wing that has been outfitted with compartmentalized cold storage facilities with temperature between -23°C to 25°C. The Pharma Wing also comes with dedicated cool dollies, a dedicated pharma team, and lease/handling for Envirotainer and DoKaSCH-TS containers.

“We have invested heavily in our cargo capabilities and launched a new cold chain cargo transport equipped with simultaneous cabin temperature controlling system to efficiently distribute life-saving supplies across the world and we will discharge the global mission,” said Mr. GebreMariam.

Last month, Ethiopian Airlines Cargo was fated as the Best Cargo Airline in Africa at the 36th Air Cargo News Awards.

Qatar Airways is set to increase Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg frequencies from March.

The airline said in a statement that it has “applied unrivalled knowledge of global passenger flows and booking trends” to rebuild its South Africa network.

By March 2021, Qatar will operate 28 weekly flights from South Africa.

The airline will operate seven weekly flights from Cape Town, which begin on March 1. It has already increased its weekly flights from Durban (3) and Johannesburg (18).

Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said South Africa is a top market for the airline.

“We continue to demonstrate our commitment to the region by adding new routes and steadily increasing frequencies across the continent.

“As global travel recovers in 2021, we look forward to further expanding our network and offering more connections to and from Africa via the best airport in the Middle East, Hamad International Airport (HIA), to our global network of over 120 destinations,” he said.

South African Tourism chief executive Sisa Ntshona said the news demonstrates that South Africa has put measures in place for safe travel during Covid-19.

“We are delighted at the confidence shown by Qatar Airways by increasing its air capacity to South Africa in these challenging times.

“This increase demonstrates to the world that South Africa has put the necessary measures in place to ensure that it is safe for travel in the Covid-19 environment.

“Air access is important for South Africa, as we to look to recovery post-Covid.

“Qatar Airways has an extensive global network that links travellers via Doha from our source markets.

“As we embark on our tourism recovery strategy, having airlines such as Qatar Airways play a supporting role by increasing its capacity will go a long way in assisting us to regain the international arrival numbers,” Ntshona said.

Qatar Airways has become the first global airline in the world to achieve the prestigious 5-Star Covid-19 Airline Safety Rating by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax.

This follows HIA’s recent success as the first airport in the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star Covid-19 Airport Safety Rating.

Source: IOL

The Covid-19 vaccine is being rolled out at an precedented pace in human history. The world will be a safer place thanks to this, when millions of people gather in Dubai during the Dubai Expo 2020 this year, said a top official.

Reem Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director-General of Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau, said: “The rollout of Covid-19 vaccine globally is unprecedented in human history, a testament to human ability and human progress and also to human dignity.

“It is also happening at an astonishing pace, facilitated by the huge strides forward that travel and transport infrastructure has achieved in recent months.”

The UAE on Tuesday announced that over 40 per cent of the country’s population has received the vaccine.

Globally, 176 million shots have been administered in different countries, with Israel and the UAE leading when it comes to doses per 100 population.

Al Hashemi praised the role played by the UAE airlines and other government bodies in delivering Covid-19 vaccines to different parts of the world.

“Earlier this month, an Emirates plane touched down in Johannesburg, bringing with it South Africa’s first consignment of Coivid-19 vaccination – a historic moment in the country’s fight against the pandemic. And that story is being repeated on every continent,” she said.

In Abu Dhabi, the Hope Consortium is leveraging the expertise and infrastructure of Etihad Cargo and Abu Dhabi Ports Company to deliver billions of vaccine doses around the world by the end of this year,” she said during the Expo Talks – Travel and Connectivity webinar held on Tuesday.

UAE top donor

“Furthermore, we are proud of delivering more foreign aid per capita than any other nation because that means we are making a real difference in corners of the globe. That is what we do, because that’s who we are.

“Every time one of those doses makes its way into the arms of the recipient, this marks a victory not just for medical science, but for our shared commitment to human life and societal progress,” she added.

“And when millions of people from all corners of the globe gather in Dubai this October, it will be safer and healthy and fully immersed in the culture and wonders of the countries from all reaches of the globe,” she said.

Source: Khaleej Times

A major winter storm is impacting travel from Texas to the Northeast, causing widespread snowfall and ice that has forced thousands of flight delays and cancellations over the holiday weekend.

As of Monday morning, airports in eastern Texas, including Dallas/Fort Worth International and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental, continue to be hit hard by Winter Storm Uri, canceling hundreds of flights due to the inclement weather conditions. IAH was even forced to close its airfield.

Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines canceled all flights to and from St. Louis on Sunday and scrapped more flights on Monday.

“We did cancel the remaining flights at STL today to avoid passengers and airplanes being stranded as we track the winter storm that’s impacting a number of our airports,” the airline said in a statement.

According to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com, airports in Chicago, Denver and Nashville are also being heavily impacted by the wintry weather Monday, reporting dozens of flight cancellations. As of 9:30 a.m. ET Monday, the website is reporting more than 2,800 flight cancellations nationwide.

“Snow, possibly heavy at times, may fall Monday from eastern Texas into parts of northern Louisiana, Arkansas, the mid-Mississippi and Ohio valleys and southern Great Lakes. Some snowfall or ice will expand as far east as the Northeast,” according to Weather.com. “Freezing rain and sleet will occur just to the east of the area of snow from southern and central Louisiana to the Tennessee Valley and the central Appalachians. The ice will make travel dangerous and could also damage trees and knock out power in some areas.”

The storm is expected to finish up in the Northeast on Tuesday, bringing snow and ice to parts of upstate New York and into western and northern New England but only rain to the busy I-95 corridor.

Major airlines, including American, Delta, United, Southwest, Frontier and JetBlue have issued waivers so passengers in affected areas can avoid traveling and becoming stranded without penalty.

As always, travelers impacted by the latest winter storm are encouraged to check their flight status with their airline prior to arriving at the airport and are advised to leave themselves extra time to reach the airport as roadways may be hazardous.

Source: Travel Pulse