Korean Air plans major upshift in operations after big aircraft order

 

Korean Air is planning major increases in its services after announcing ts largest-ever order of new aircraft.

The airline has this week ordered 103 planes from Boeing in a deal that travel news hub Travel Mole reports is worth about $US36 billion.

The order includes narrow and wide bodies with Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 777 and 737 jet aircraft.

Boeing’s commercial planes chief, Stephanie Pope, called it a "landmark agreement".

Korean Air will buy 50 Boeing 737-10 jets and 45 787 and 777 long-range jets.

The airline has also ordered eight 777-8 Freighter cargo jets.

Boeing says the order will provide work for about 135,000 people across the US.

Korean Air has placed orders for more than 150 planes with Boeing so far this year.

Do you get confused between Sweden and Switzerland?

You would think that only a moron in a hurry would struggle to tell the difference between Switzerland and Sweden.

Other than the fact that both countries are in Europe and have names that begin with the same letter, they are fairly easy to tell apart.

But they are apparently being mixed up all the time, perhaps by the same folks who cannot get their heads around the fact that Australia and Austria are different countries.

Incredibly, about 120,000 people each year Google the question: “Are Sweden and Switzerland the same?”.

Now tourism officials in Sweden want to end the confusion, Travel Mole reports.

The Visit Sweden tourist board wants to make the distinction between the two clear and the first draft of a proposed  agreement between Sweden and Switzerland has been drafted.

Research from Visit Sweden suggests that over two-thirds of British people were unable to locate Sweden on a map. But that is not really a surprise. I suspect many could not find London on a map either.

The survey found 13% of Britons thought Sweden and Switzerland were the same place and that 50% of American respondents confessed to a lack of confidence in distinguishing between Swedish and Swiss cultures.

A number of Brits also wrongly highlighted Ikea (15%) and Abba (13%) as things they loved about Switzerland.

“If people struggle to separate our two countries, we need to help them," said Susanne Andersson, CEO of Visit Sweden.

"We can’t change the names of our nations, but we can become more distinct.

“It’s time to decide who promotes what, and hopefully we can reach an agreement.”

Check out https://visitsweden.com/sweden-not-switzerland/

Image: Stockholm Old Town in Sweden, not Switzerland. Credit: Visit Sweden  

Leading Asian airlines agree to link up

Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines have joined forces to form a new strategic airline partnership.

The pair will phase in codesharing more extensively on each other’s services, Travel Mole reports.

The two carriers will also collaborate on commercial activities.

Thai and SIA will initially codeshare on flight services between Singapore and Bangkok.

Thai will also codeshare on SIA’s flight services to Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa as well as codesharing on North America flights including Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Newark.

The airline partnership will explore additional codeshare arrangements.

Goh Choon Phong, CEO, Singapore Airlines said: “This is a win-win opportunity to support the growth of our respective hubs.

"Both airlines have a loyal customer base, as well as extensive operations within south-east Asia and around the world."

Thai Airways acting CEO Suvadhana Sibunruang said "the codeshare arrangements will greatly benefit our customers in a range of service areas including [loyalty programs], customer experiences, lounge access and airport ground services.”

The agreement includes “wide-ranging commercial co-operation” the airlines said in a joint statement.