February 2011

W debuts in London

Starwood’s first W Hotel in the UK has opened its doors on London’s Leicester Square.  The 10-storey hotel is the 40th W to open worldwide, and marks an important milestone in the development of the brand. The opening also marks a new phase in the redevelopment of Leicester Square, which is currently undergoing a facelift.  W London has 193 bedrooms, including 21 suites, plus Spice Market – a signature restaurant from the three Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.  The hotel also features the Wyld bar, a Sweat gym, an Away spa, and a 3D state of the art screening room with seating for 38 people.

Bigger B747 unveiled

A new longer version of the Boeing 747, which Boeing says boasts many of the benefits of the B787 Dreamliner, has been unveiled in Washington.  The high capacity Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental has been designed to serve the 400 to 500 seat market, flying on long-haul, heavily travelled routes.

KLM upgrades European business class

KLM is poised to offer full fare passengers a better deal within Europe with more spacious seating and improved catering.  The new “Europe Business Class” will debut on 27 March across KLM’s large fleet of B737s which form the backbone of its European operation including Tel Aviv.  What KLM has done is to bring its European product in line with what is offered by its partner Air France and its main rivals British Airways and Lufthansa.  Besides standard benefits like extra baggage allowance and FFP miles, speedier ground handling, lounges and so on, the big news is that KLM will guarantee the middle seat of three remains unsold.  It means that passengers will always get a window or an aisle seat and will have more space to work on board.

BA crew faces fresh strike ballot

BA cabin crew members of the Unite union are to be balloted again after a “legal blitz” by the airline highlighted alleged flaws in the previous one.  The last ballot of 10,220 saw 75% turn out to vote, with 78.5% of these voting in favour of further strikes. However, Unite said it could not call industrial action based on this ballot and is calling for a new one, postponing a decision on strikes that threatened travel plans over the half term and Easter holidays.

Delta confirms Economy Comfort launch

Delta is to launch a “premium economy” product this summer, featuring extra legroom and recline similar to the KLM offering of the same name.  The Economy Comfort zone will be installed “in the first few rows” of the carrier’s economy cabins on over 160 of its aircraft.  As the name suggests, the new offering is an upgraded economy product, rather than a fully blown premium economy seat. The offering is comparable with KLM’s Economy Comfort offering, which makes sense as Delta has a joint venture partnership with the Air France KLM group on transatlantic flights.  The seat will feature up to four inches (10cm) of additional legroom, and 50 per cent more recline that Delta’s standard international economy seats. Travellers will also be able to “board early”, and will enjoy complimentary spirits in-flight.

Etihad and Air New Zealand to codeshare

Etihad Airways and Air New Zealand are to codeshare on flights to Sydney, Auckland and Heathrow as part of the upcoming summer schedule.  Etihad’s EY code will be added to ANZ’s flights between Sydney and Christchurch, Rotorua, Wellington and Queenstown, and also on services between Brisbane and Auckland, Brisbane and Christchurch, and Beijing and Auckland.  ANZ’s flights into Melbourne from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch will also carry the EY code.  ANZ will add its NZ code on all Etihad flights to London Heathrow, plus its 11 flights per week from Abu Dhabi to Sydney, three flights to Brisbane, seven to Melbourne and three from Beijing to Abu Dhabi.  As part of the deal, the Air New Zealand Airports and Etihad Guest frequent flyer programmes will be integrated allowing members to earn points when flying on either airline.

Ritz-Carlton unveils plans for world’s highest spa

When The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong opens this month it will not only be the tallest hotel in the world, it will also house the world’s highest hotel spa. The company has announced details of the new Ritz-Carlton Spa by ESPA, which will be located on the hotel’s 116th fl oor – 465 meters above the ground. The 860m² will offer nine deluxe treatment rooms, two couples’ suites, and eight relaxation lounges. All rooms will feature fl oor-to-ceiling windows offering views across Hong Kong and Victoria Harbour. Other facilities will include the ‘Heat Experience’ with aroma steam, stone saunas and showers, a ‘Finishing Studio’ offering manicures and pedicures, a fitness centre with Technogym equipment, an indoor swimming pool and an outdoor whirlpool.