AIRLINE NEWS

QATAR AIRWAYS will launch its new daily Cardiff service on May 1 using a B787. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, flights will depart Doha at 0725, arriving at 1250, before returning from Cardiff at 1555 and landing at 0050. On other days, flights will leave Qatar at 0115, arriving at 0640, then leave Wales at 0810, landing at 1705. EMIRATES will add a fourth daily A380 service to Sydney on March 25, offering passengers an afternoon departure from Sydney and an arrival in main European cities the following morning. It also makes it possible for passengers to depart Europe in the morning with an afternoon arrival in Sydney the next day and a short connection in Dubai. GARUDA INDONESIA is to upgrade its Jakarta-London route to a nonstop one from October 31. Currently, its Heathrow flights route via Singapore, but the nonstop service will depart Jakarta at 1205, landing at 2000. The Heathrow-Jakarta leg (already nonstop) departs London at 2155, arriving at 1855. The route will remain thrice weekly, but its Sunday service will swap to Thursday. AER LINGUS has introduced a new Saver fare for transatlantic services, unbundling “extras” such as checked luggage, seat selection, blankets and headphones. Customers receive a 10kg one-piece hand-luggage allowance, a meal and in-flight entertainment, with other services and amenities available on a paid-for basis. Saver fares start from € 169 each way when booked as a return, and are available only on point-to-point fares from Dublin. EASYJET has added a “Hands Free” option allowing customers to check in their hand luggage. Available at all airports except Gatwick, it costs £4 per person. Passengers will be among the first to board, after Speedy Boarding customers, while Hands Free luggage will be among the first to be delivered at the baggage carousel. VIRGIN ATLANTIC has become the first European carrier to offer wifi across its fleet, powered by a combination of Panasonic and Gogo technology. All of its 39 B787, B747, A330 and A340 aircraft now provide the service. IAG CARRIER LEVEL has launched “Pair and Pay”, allowing passengers to pay for in-flight services using their devices. Customers can connect their devices to their seat-back screen to pay for food, drinks, wifi and duty-free products. This will be extended in the future to allow for the payment of IFE content such as movies and music. FINNAIR will launch nonstop flights to Nanjing on May 13 next year, using an A330-300. The thrice-weekly service will drop to twice-weekly during the winter.