Which Airline stops offering free food in flights from-to Greece?

Transcription

1 JUNE 2017 Dear colleagues, It is our goal to always keep our clients updated on any news/changes in the travel industry. (Travel regulations changes that include: passport, visas, penalties etc.). Additionally, you can find useful information in our website for the latest developments concerning Mta7, the global marine travel alliance, where Aspida Travel is a founding member ( Which Airline stops offering free food in flights from-to Greece?

2 British Airways announced that as of January 11th, for short-haul flights (those lasting up to 5 hours-including Greece) stops providing free meals and drinks in economy class. Following the policy of low-cost companies, it will start selling snacks (with Marks & Spencer's signature) and beverages at relatively expensive prices. As an example, one cup of tea will be offered at GBP 2,30 and the Gin and Tonic at GBP 6,00. Payment can only be settled with credit or debit cards. Cash is not accepted. A direct impact on customers regarding airline fares is not expected and it is a decision made by British Airways and its affiliated airlines such as Iberia,Finnair and Vueling. The policy of not offering free meals in Economy, is currently being implemented by other European airlines as well. SAS Scandinavian charges for meals, but offers free coffee and tea, Icelandair charges adults for food (if they so wish) and offers free meals to children up to 12 years old. Air France, KLM and Alitalia have replaced food in most of their flights within Europe with snacks and complimentary beverages while Lufthansa and its subsidiaries are still offering free meals. It seems that selling meals and drinks as extra revenue will be adopted sooner or later by all European airlines. Source : news247.gr Trump administration strengthens social media screening for US visa applicants Foreigners applying for a visa to enter the US will now be asked to turn over their social media handles for the past five years, as well as biographical information -including addresses and phone numbers -- for the past 15 years.

3 A new questionnaire, to be filled out by visa applicants, is part of an effort by the Trump administration to make good on its vow to implement "extreme vetting." The questionnaire was approved last month by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), according to Reuters, which is "required to confirm identity or conduct more rigorous national security vetting," according to a State Dept. spokesperson. The OMB said in a federal filing that it estimates 65,000 people will be affected by the social media screening process each year. The agency added that consular officials visa applicants will have free rein to demand applicants to turn over their information who they believe may "warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities." Consular officers will not request user passwords, the filing said. Immigration experts and attorneys have slammed the move, suggesting that the consular's power to arbitrarily require some applicants to fill out the form without any apparent checks could lead to an abuse of power. Although the form says that providing the information is "voluntary" and does not automatically bar the applicant receiving a US visa, the form does warn that failure to hand over the information may "delay or prevent" the application. US border officials already ask for social media handles when passengers arrive at the border, a recent change that was criticized as "highly invasive" by privacy and rights groups. The move comes as the Trump administration has pushed for greater scrutiny of visa applicants at US embassies abroad, where constitutional and legal protections against unreasonable searches and seizures typically don't apply. It's the latest policy in an array of measures aimed at curtailing immigration, including an executive order in late January that blocked migrants from seven majority Muslim nations, including Iraq and Syria -- an action that was quickly blocked by a federal judge. The administration has also reportedly considered additional screening measures for overseas visitors applicants, including those in Europe, by forcing applicants to turn over their phones and their passwords. Source : Qatar Airways Flight Interruptions

4 As you may be aware, we are experiencing restrictions on Qatar Airways flights to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. As such, we have implemented policies to support passengers flying into and out of these destinations, June 6, 2017, as outlined below. All QR Flights operating to/from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain (BHR) and Egypt (EGY) have been suspended until further notice. All bookings to/from aforementioned origin and destinations will be open for cancellations or refunds (157 documents), changes, including rerouting to other airlines (with the exception of EK and EY), free of charge for passengers holding a confirmed reservation and a confirmed ticket issued on/or prior to June 5, 2017, for travel from June 5, 2017, until further notice. The following options are available: Rebook on another QR service between DOH and original aforementioned origin/destination free of charge to the four affected countries. Only one change free of charge is allowed. Should the passenger wish to make further changes, if travel date is later than July 6, 2017, from original, normal fare rules apply. This is a constantly changing situation and we will be persistently monitoring for any additional changes; communicating them to you as quickly as possible. At a minimum, we will send out a daily update , similar to this one, outlining any known changes and policies for affected handling passengers. Additionally, updates can be found online here. Turkish Airlines Corporate Club - Where Business Meets Benefits Turkish Airlines Corporate Club is a corporate travel program that allows you to save on all business travel expenses. It offers a wide variety of cost-effective advantages for corporations looking to meet their needs quickly and easily. - Discounts for all your international travels.

5 - No penalties for changes to any reservation. - Take advantage of special baggage allowances for discounted tickets. - With your Corporate Club Card you and a guest have access to the comforts of our private airport lounge and check in through Business Class counters. - Corporate Club members and their employees may continue to accumulate miles for their Miles & Smiles account. Submit your application immediately to lower your travel expenses with Turkish Airlines. There's no commitment whatsoever to begin using the advantages offered by Turkish Airlines Corporate Club, so make your business trips more profitable and comfortable right away! Membership is absolutely free & no target to reach! Fly with the World s Best Business Class QATAR AIRWAYS is pleased to announce that, with immediate effect, all Marine fares will be eligible for miles accrual in the QBIZ corporate loyalty program. Airline Blue Air ( 0B ) Please be aware that MTA7 (Marine Travel Alliance) has now access to marine fares of Romanian carrier Blue Air ( 0B ). Blue Air is a low-cost airline headquartered in Bucharest, with its main hubs at Henri Coandă International Airport and Turin Airport. Since 2016, it has become the largest Romanian airline by scheduled passengers flown. In 2016, Blue Air carried 3.6 million

6 passengers, a significant increase over the 2 million passengers flown the previous year. As of May 2016, Blue Air flies to 48 destinations in 12 European countries. Check In Early to Avoid Angering the Drag-You- Off-the-Plane Gods Airlines are within their rights to kick you off an overbooked plane, even if you ve paid for a ticket and don t want to leave. According to United employees, a computer picked a man who said he was a doctor and needed to see patients in the morning to be dragged off a flight. How does the computer know who to pick? The airlines policies offer some clues. Each airline has a contract of carriage that lays out the rules you have to abide by. By law, if they bump you, you re entitled to a certain amount of compensation in cash unless you made a deal to take a voucher or less money. Refusing to get off the plane won t help you, since the airlines can deny boarding, anytime, to people who they deem are making trouble. United s policy is the vaguest of the four big US airlines. People with disabilities, and unaccompanied minors, get to keep their seats whenever possible. After that, it s all up to the mysterious computer: The priority of all other confirmed passengers may be determined based on a passenger s fare class, itinerary, status of frequent flyer program membership, and the time in which the passenger presents him/herself for check-in without advanced seat assignment. So you re the most screwed if you re flying coach, don t belong to the frequent flyer program, and checked in late. Because they mention itinerary, giving yourself less time between flights may mean you re less likely to be bumped but then you re at risk of missing flights due to delays. (You also might not have the option, depending on where and when you re flying.) Of all these factors, checking in early is the one thing within your control that doesn t involve forking over extra cash to the airline. Delta s policy spells out the details a little better. If you re elite status or have a firstclass, business-class, or corporate ticket, you get priority over the rest of us schlubs. Within any category, though, passengers are prioritized first by class of service and then by time of check-in.

7 American prioritizes people who would see hardships from being bumped, including children and people with disabilities. Then come first class and business class passengers, and so on. To decide among the people at each level, you guessed it: Passengers within any category will be boarded in the order of presenting themselves for check-in. Southwest is a little different: instead of check-in order, they use your boarding position basically, your place in the imaginary line for seats. Checking in early helps you get a good boarding position, so our advice still applies. Boarding position is the only thing that will save you, by the way: Carrier shall deny boarding in reverse order from the order in which the Passengers boarding positions were secured (i.e., the last Passenger who receives a boarding position will be the first Passenger denied boarding involuntarily in an oversale situation), with no preference given to any particular person or category of fares. If you check in early, walk nicely off the plane when asked, and request money, that s the best way to handle the situation. Sadly, there s no way to ensure that you actually get the same airplane ride you paid for. Enjoy your flight! Source : lifehacker.com