Tag Archives: British Airways

Cruise staff urged to take part in research to help boost sales

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A university researcher is calling on cruise operators and agents to take part in a study on the most effective ways to communicate with passengers in the Covid-19 era in order to boost sales.
Senior teaching fellow Liz Sharples, of the University of Portsmouth, who has previously worked at British Airways, P&O Cruises, Thomas Cook and Thomson, is looking to interview cruise specialists, from tour operators or agencies, as well as passengers who have had their cruise holiday cancelled due to the pandemic.
Sharples is hoping to interview around 20 cruise industry staff and 20 passengers and has urged anyone interested to get in touch by the end of October. Interviews will be on Zoom and take 40 minutes.
She said: “I would really appreciate elite cruise practitioners and passengers who have had their trips cancelled to get in touch. Your input and comments will really help inform this research.
“I am ex-industry and passionate about this sector and hope that this work, which looks the most effective messages to help boost sales in the Covid-19 era, will play a small part in helping to rebuild the cruise sector.”
She is hopeful her research will be used by ocean and river cruise lines in their passenger communication strategies to help ensure they use the right tone and get across the key messages that passengers want to hear. These could include reassurance, safety, what happens if they fall ill and the fact they can still have fun by in a safe environment.
The research is split into two parts, the first of which is asking agents, head of sales, managing directors, cruise business owners what their key messages are and how they plan to change this in the Covid-19 era.
She added: “I hope the research will provide cruise lines with clear detail on what communication strategies their passengers want and how it compares to their current Covid-19 approach.
“I hope it will boost cruise lines’ sales by helping to ensure that the messages being sent by cruise lines are what their passengers want and need to help them rebook and re-engage with the sector.”

Iata: ‘Widespread use’ of vouchers will accelerate cash burn

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Iata: ‘Widespread use’ of vouchers will accelerate cash burn

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has highlighted how the extensive use of refund vouchers will accelerate cash burn for airlines.

The association warned that the “widespread use” of vouchers in Europe is “one of the difficulties airlines will be facing as they are slowly moving towards restarting their operations”.

With the grounding of fleets in mid-March, as the pandemic crisis began to hit revenues, airlines opted to provide vouchers to passengers rather than immediate refunds.

“This proved useful in slowing down their cash burn and helped prevent bankruptcies,” reported Iata Economics in its latest Chart of the Week.

“However, airlines’ liability to transport these passengers was only deferred but did not disappear.

“A month after the easing of travel restrictions on intra-EU routes, we can already observe that passengers have used a large number of vouchers to pay for their travel.

“This means that airlines now incur the cost of transporting these passengers – against no or limited new revenues.

“Whilst the issuance of vouchers helped decelerate cash burn a few weeks ago, their use will now accelerate cash burn in the coming months.”

Iata also said the booking behaviour of passengers has changed “dramatically”, with 41% of global travellers booking up to three days before travel in June, compared to 18% last year.

“This makes it difficult for airlines to plan and optimise their schedules, crew and fleet,” said the association.

In April, Alexandre de Juniac, Iata’s director-general and chief executive, said airlines owed $35 billion for cancelled flights, so the use of refund vouchers would buy the industry “vital time to breathe”.

Last week, the Iata Economics chart showed how intra-Europe routes were leading the initial recovery in international flights after border restrictions were eased.

Most passengers were travelling to visit friends and family or going on holiday, rather than going on business trips.

BA’s 747 retirements ‘should bring forward aircraft scrappage scheme’

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End of the BA jumbo jets: British Airways scraps ENTIRE FLEET of ...

The government must use British Airways’ retirement of its 747 fleets to bring forward aircraft scrappage scheme, says union Unite.

BA announced this morning that it is to retire its Boeing 31-strong 747 fleets as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The move was brought forward from 2024.

Unite national officer Rhys McCarthy noted the nostalgia of the aircraft but called on the aviation industry to use the landmark to move towards cleaner aircraft.

“While the 747 jet is held in high regard, it is time for the ‘queen of the skies’ to relinquish her throne,” he said. “The entire aviation industry’s stock of older more polluting planes needs to be replaced with the next generation of cleaner and quieter aircraft built and maintained in the UK.

“Other European countries, including France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, have already committed to scrappage measures that will see their aviation industries invest in greener aircraft and help re-kickstart aerospace manufacturing so badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It is now time for the UK government to do the same and put together a sector-based strategy for the long-term future of our world-leading aerospace industry, and the thousands of highly skilled jobs it supports.

“Investment in research and development is vital if zero and ultra-low emission planes are to be built. However, this must be accompanied with an immediate industry-wide scrappage scheme so that the newest planes, which emit 25 per cent less Co2, are 25 per cent more fuel-efficient and 50 per cent quieter, can replace more polluting aircraft as quickly as possible.”

This week Boris Johnson said he would ‘examine’ the idea of an aircraft scrappage scheme. Transport secretary Grant Shapps recently announced a Jet Zero Council to work towards carbon-neutral transatlantic flights.

McCarthy said: “British Airways’ retirement of the 747 should be the impetus he needs to put such a [scrappage] scheme into action.”

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ chairman and chief executive, said: “This is not how we wanted or expected to have to say goodbye to our incredible fleet of 747 aircraft. It is a heartbreaking decision to have to make. So many people, including many thousands of our colleagues past and present, have spent countless hours on and with these wonderful planes – they have been at the centre of so many memories, including my very first long-haul flight. They will always hold a special place in our hearts at British Airways.

“We have committed to making our fleet more environmentally friendly as we look to reduce the size of our business to reflect the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on aviation.  As painful as it is, this is the most logical thing for us to propose. The retirement of the jumbo jet will be felt by many people across Britain, as well as by all of us at British Airways.  It is sadly another difficult but necessary step as we prepare for a very different future.”