Over the xmas period and generally throughout the year you have clients, certain clients that leave message, please call me back it is URGENT, or at the bottom of the email it says: URGENT. This is the same email that they have taken 3 days to respond to, or when you call them back the urgent flight they need is for 6 months time. The term URGENT could mean anything really and guess it is relative to the person/ company that you send it to. In Travel and certainly in my agency Urgent is generally for light leaving within an 1 for domestic or same day for international – or you know even within 24 hours or same week. Now for example if you send it to another field lets say Appliance repairs – a same day reply would be considered urgent, Government would be Urgent if you actually required a response. People and I know I do at times take it the wrong way, it can happen especial when a client takes 3 days to respond for an email and now it is urgent, who knows maybe they had problems and now it is urgent, I understand that however the same would come into play, ie flight is only for 3 months time. So please for certain extremely efficient people saying URGENT could imply that they do not treat all enquirer as URGENT and could get you off on the wrong footing with your client / agent right on the word go.
Late on Wednesday night, the SA Civil Aviation Authority said the fleet was grounded following a CAA audit after “a series of serious aircraft incidents and accidents” had occurred over the past three months, with another incident in Nelspruit on Wednesday.
SA airlink flies in South Africa to some of the smaller destinations on the map, here is their route network:
So what does this mean:
Well from the report that have be read we have learned that only the Jetstream 41 planes have been grounded and not the whole airline. This means that other planes from SA airlink will still fly. This is very early days as this ruling happened late last night. Bottom line – if you have a ticket that makes use of the services of SA airlink you can expect some disruption.
More info on SA airlink from their website:
Privately owned South African Airlink was restyled in 1995 from a history book dating back to the formation of Midlands Aviation in 1967 incorporating Lowveld Aviation Services, Magnum Airways, Border Air, Citi Air and Link Airways. The airline has developed into South Africa’s first feeder network, specifically aimed at linking the smaller towns, the regional centres and hubs throughout South Africa.
In 1997 SA Airlink joined SAA and SA Express in a powerful strategic alliance which led to the establishment of the leading aviation network in Africa.
Today, Airlink flies to more local destinations than any other airline, operating over 3500 flights per month in servicing more than 25 destinations in Southern Africa. Airlink, having standardised their fleet, became the 3rd largest Jetstream 41 operator in the world.
Our passenger profile represents 30% leisure and 70% business. Airlink carries over 65 000 passengers every month utilising a fleet of Jetstream 41 aircraft, ERJ 135 jet aircraft, BAe 146-200 aircraft and BAe 146-RJ85 aircraft.
Airlink successfully completed the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and were placed on the IATA Register on 6 February 2008. So you’re assured of the highest possible standard of service whenever and wherever you fly Airlink.
This is somethingw e have touched on before here:
http://www.travelblog.co.za/travel/my-agent-says-the-flight-is-full/
However as w are in peak season we encountered many questions as to why the fare levels are different. Airlines have a system in place that is called yield management. This is for the airlines to maximize their earning potential on flights. So in a nut shell they want to fill up their planes with the best possible paying passengers. Hence airlines only opened up full Y class for world cup 2010. So they anticipated fill their planes with the highest possible paying passengers. So what happens is the airline has various fare levels, each fare level is governed by a fare basis – this fare basis attaches the fare notes and rules to a particular fare or fare level. Here is a display from an airline showing availability from the cheapest fare upwards – note the fare basis:
As you can see from the above – certain rules and booking classes show various fares and immediately various rules, ie minimum stay at destination can be 6 days or less. Also notice the NRF attached – this means that the fare has cancellation fees attached to it and in some cases the ticket is non refundable.
Now that we have a basic understanding of fares lets have a look at availability:
And have a look here when it is really busy:
And now when the flights are not busy at all – wil almost full availability:
So when you are told this is the cheapest available fare you have some understanding as to why.
Here is an elaboration from BA.com
We are delighted for our customers that the threat of a Christmas strike has been lifted by the court.
It is a decision that will be welcomed by hundreds of thousands of families in the UK and around the world.
There was never any need for a strike and we hope that Unite will take this opportunity to reflect before deciding its next steps. We believe the public would want that too.
In recent days, we believe Unite has formed a better understanding of our position and of the ways in which we could move forward.
It has also become very clear that our customers do not believe that old-style trade union militancy is relevant to our efforts to move British Airways back toward profitability. Financial success is essential to build the kind of business our customers want and provide long-term opportunities for our staff.
Here it is:
We are aware that Unite, the trade union that represents British Airways’ (BA) cabin crew, has today, 14 December 2009, announced that its strike ballot has closed with a vote in favour of industrial action between 22 December 2009 and 2 January 2010.
We are currently reworking our flight schedules for the strike period and aim to announce them as quickly as possible.
Our intention is to inform affected customers directly if we have their e-mail address or by SMS text if we have their mobile phone number.
“Despite rumours to the contrary, El Al Israel Airlines wish to make it clear that they have no intention to suspend or cease operations to South Africa.
The Government of Israel and the Government of South Africa are in the process of negotiations to maintain the best security for our passengers which will always be of a very high standard.
El Al Israel Airlines Limited has a strong affinity with the South African Jewish Community. We have been flying to and from Israel for the past 59 years and look forward to continuing to operate for many years to come.”
This was circulated today – interesting that it is signed by: ELAL SPOKESMAN – no one want to stand by this press release?
Book and pay – This generally is not a term invented in the travel trade to try and get clients to book and pay as a sales technique. This is enforced by the airlines themselves. I do say generally as yes some agents do this to force a sale, however there is generally no way in saying. You see when you book for example Cathay Pacific within 7 days of departure if you do not issue the tciket the same day they cancel the booking. Seriously! There are numerous other airlines that do this, it can depend on the airline, time before departure and the fare level. So when an agent says this take them seriously as there generally is no way in knowing and yes the airlines are that ruthless.
While on this point – quotes – take these seriously – if an agent gives you a quote and says the fare and booking is valid for 24 hrs then it really is. With some airlines the taxes can change daily! This effects the final price that you will pay. Also different fare levels and different airlines have different rules on when you need to puchase the ticket by and how long the fare is valid for.
Why is this I hear the questions – well it is to keep the integrity of the flight inventory. Further to say that in the past agents would make bookings that would never turn into a sale and often forget to cancel – end result is the airline flying with empty seats – costly undertaking. With the airlines increasing efficiency and tightening their belts – the whole sales and ticketing process is far more controlled.
How? Sure good question – all electronically – there is a robot that scans and checks bookings, when they were made, if they are ticketed, the fare level of the booking and when the booking should have been ticketed by. If it fails any of these checks then it is canceled. – yes seriously this happens, these robots are so clever they even pick up if you are booked with another agency – if this happens they tend to cancel both bookings – Duplicate bookings – also know as a Dupe Booking.
So please agents – have integrity with your clients and advise them correctly, and clients out there please listen to your agent and when they say the booking is book and pay listen to them.
Today Emirates celebrated its commitment to the African continent with the official inauguration of the airline’s first exclusive lounge in Africa, at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport.
“At Emirates, we are constantly investing in the comfort of our passengers and rewarding loyalty by providing high quality service offerings. This lounge is another example of our dedication to offering the best to our customers” said Mohammed Mattar, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President, Airport Services, in Johannesburg for the official opening.
The lounge at O.R Tambo International Airport is one of five lounges to be launched this year and is open to Emirates’ First and Business Class passengers, along with Gold Skywards members. True to Emirates mantra of excellent service, the new Johannesburg lounge offers luxurious leather armchairs for the ultimate in relaxation, flat screen televisions to watch the latest TV news, an extensive collection of international and local newspapers and magazines, shower facilities to refresh and revive and a well-equipped, state-of-the-art business centre.
Customers will enjoy an extensive menu of complimentary hot and cold gourmet dishes, as well as a complimentary full bar service. Gracious service from dedicated lounge staff completes the trademark Emirates experience that passengers have come to expect.
Passengers in transit will arrive to a haven of peace, away from the hustle and bustle of the airport, where a view of activity on the airport apron can be enjoyed in the airy, light and spacious lounge. The facility brings seating for 135 guests and is located on the Mezzanine level at O.R Tambo International Airport’s Duty Free Mall, between boarding gates A4 and A7.
In addition to Johannesburg, Emirates offers dedicated lounges in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Auckland, Bangkok, Dubai, Mumbai, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Manchester, Munich, New York JFK, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Hamburg, Singapore, Beijing and Zurich and soon Birmingham.
To date, Emirates has invested around 539 million Rand (US$72 million) in expanding its lounge network worldwide, 74 million Rand of which (US$ 10 million) was invested in the Johannesburg lounge. This comes at a time of further investment around the launch of Emirates’ Durban and Luanda routes, which took place in October.
The airline’s prominent support on the ground to premium passengers also includes complimentary chauffeur-drive services, exclusive First and Business Class check-in desks and priority baggage handling.
For more information on Emirates visit www.emirates.com/za from your PC or mobile phone.
ACSA is on the ball, yesterday a post was made on the inadequacies of their website, a copy of this was forwarded on to them. I am really impressed to say that they addresses the query with hours and within 24 hrs the problems I had found were rectified.
Here is the post for reference
Well done ACSA!
To view the acsa website go here: www.acsa.co.za there is certainly a wealth of info on the site.
Allot has changed for the better wrt parking at the airports, some still have a way to go. The ACSA website has a great tool where you can see where to park at the airport and what the various costs for doing so are:
Ok I really wanted this post to be a great feather in the cap for the ACSA website. In reality though the web site is very unfriendly. Here are some examples:
When going into the Johannesburg parking availability section, it says try again in a few minutes!
Then while running a search: I tried 2 terms: 1 – Johannesburg 2- Ortambo – and on the website neither terms can be found!
Bottom line ACSA – You have a great website idea that fails to deliver!