Putting together our weekly Aviation Wrap is our favourite thing to do on a Tuesday. Well, besides not working at all, obviously.

Qantas magazine launches 100 inspiring Australians campaign

In celebration of Qantas’s centenary year, Qantas magazine and Travel Insider have partnered with celebrated Australian winemaker Penfolds to launch the 100 Inspiring Australians campaign.

The campaign will run in the lead-up to the airline’s 100th birthday in November, recognising 100 extraordinary people who embody the spirit of Australia in 2020. Key talents include tennis champion Ashleigh Barty, NASA scientist Abigail Allwood, wildlife conservationists Robert and Bindi Irwin, and restaurateur Rinaldo Di Stasio.

This campaign kicks off in Qantas magazine’s March 2020 issue, which features the first 11 people. The list of 100 includes unsung heroes, national treasures, future leaders and game-changers across a variety of fields – from environmentalists to designers and teachers to entertainers. Those recognised in the March issue are:

• Abigail Allwood: geologist, astrobiologist and principal investigator on NASA’s Mars
  2020 rover mission
• Ashleigh Barty: tennis champion and world number one
• Brendan Cullen: Broken Hill grazier and rural mental health advocate
• Rinaldo Di Stasio: restaurateur at Citta and Cafe Di Stasio
• Robert and Bindi Irwin: wildlife conservationists
• Louis Li: entrepreneur and hotelier at Jackalope
• Glenn Murcutt: architect, lecturer and author
• Judith Neilson: founder and owner of White Rabbit Gallery and founder of the Judith
  Neilson Institute for Journalism & Ideas
• Dina Petrakis: global manager of Ignite Small Business Start-Ups
• Yasodai Selvakumaran: humanities teacher at Sydney’s Rooty Hill High School, who
  was short-listed for the 2019 Global Teacher Prize

LATAM and Delta to offer reciprocal frequent flyer benefits with loyalty program agreement

LATAM Airlines Group (‘LATAM’) has announced that it has signed a loyalty program agreement with Delta that will enable reciprocal frequent flyer benefits, starting April 1, 2020.

Once the agreement is implemented, LATAM Pass members will be able to accrue and redeem miles on Delta flights across its network of over 300 destinations worldwide.

Likewise, Delta SkyMiles members will be able to earn and use miles on LATAM flights to 145 destinations in 26 countries across five continents. The carriers are also working to expand reciprocal lounge access benefits to more airports in the Americas and establish mutual top tier recognition during the first half of 2020.

Air Vanuatu expands services from Brisbane

Air Vanuatu is gearing up for a big year with increased frequencies from Brisbane and the launch of the A220 months away.

From 8 July 2020, Air Vanuatu will operate four weekly services between Brisbane and Port Vila, Vanuatu with one direct service to Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.

The new Wednesday service will depart Brisbane at 18:20, arriving in Port Vila at 22:10. The return service will depart Port Vila at 15:10, arriving in Brisbane at 17:20.

Brisbane will also be the first destination in Australia to have service by Air Vanuatu’s latest generation A220 aircraft, which will arrive in Brisbane for the launch on 6 July 2020.

Solomon Airlines announces new domestic schedules

Solomon Airlines has announced new domestic schedules pledging greater reliability, maintaining schedules to Seghe and increasing air access to Western Province destinations including Munda, Gizo, Choiseul Bay and Ballalae and Mono.

Effective from 3 May to 24 October, 2020, Solomon Airline’s new schedule is a result of reassignment of the airline’s Dash-­‐8-­‐100 and DHC-­‐6-­‐300 Twin Otter aircraft types. Solomon Airlines operates to 22 domestic destinations using four Twin Otter aircraft and a single Dash 8.

The airline has recently signed an agreement to purchase a further Twin Otter to join the fleet in 2020.

Fiji Airways & Tourism Fiji Partner to Bring the Bulanaires onboard

Fiji Airways has partnered with Tourism Fiji for the next phase of its Bulanaire campaign. Travellers can experience the famed Fijian hospitality of the cabin crew and learn about the happiest parts of Fiji via the Bulanaires.

Throughout the months of March and April travellers onboard Fiji Airways flights will be able to engage with the Bulanaires through the inflight entertainment system and the airline’s award-winning magazine, FIJITIME.

Air New Zealand launches bespoke itinerary to support latest safety video

To complement its latest safety video created in partnership with the Department of Conservation (DOC), Air New Zealand has today unveiled an itinerary developed to encourage visitors to experience New Zealand’s wildlife and natural landscapes firsthand.

The 14-day journey showcases how Air New Zealand is working with DOC to protect native species and their habitats.

Limited time offer from Aircalin sees kids snag return flights to New Caledonia for less than $200

Aircalin is offering return airfares from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to Noumea for kids under 12 at just $199 (including taxes) with the purchase of every adult ticket, which is only $579 return.

Finnair adds frequencies to Delhi and Los Angeles for peak summer 2020 season

Finnair is adding three weekly frequencies to Delhi once the peak travel season for summer 2020 begins at the end of June. Finnair currently flies four weekly frequencies to Delhi. As of July 1, the route will be operated daily for the remainder of the summer season as well as for the upcoming winter season. Finnair’s Delhi route is operated with an Airbus A330 aircraft and connects well to Finnair’s wide European and transatlantic networks.

Finnair is also adding a weekly frequency to its popular Los Angeles route. The new frequency, which will be operated with an Airbus A350, will be flown on Fridays as of July 3 and will be operated until the end of the 2020 summer season which concludes on October 24, 2020.

Currently, Finnair operates three weekly flights year-round to Los Angeles, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. In addition to its year-round Los Angeles flights, Finnair flies to four additional transatlantic destinations, including year-round service to New York JFK as well as seasonal flights to Chicago O’Hare, San Francisco and Miami.

Finnair’s transatlantic routes are operated within the Atlantic joint business between Finnair, American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia. The joint business offers customers additional flight choices, better connections and better pricing on transatlantic routes. Currently, the four airlines operate over 100 daily return flights between Europe and North America.

Melbourne Avalon Airport encourages surfers to vacay in Bali this March

Surfers and families across Victoria can now catch waves in Bali with their own gear, thanks to a great new Avalon Airport exclusive deal in partnership with Citilink Indonesia, offering passengers the opportunity to bring their surfboards on board the flight at no cost until the end of March 2020.

Citilink Indonesia’s all-inclusive fares begin from $168 one way. Taxes, 10kg luggage (and 7kg hand luggage) and standard meal are included in this fare, and until the end of March surfboards are included for free.

Qantas’ newest aircraft celebrates Indigenous origins of airline’s kangaroo emblem

Qantas has named its newest international aircraft Gangurru after one of Australia’s most iconic animals, celebrating the Indigenous origins of the airline’s own kangaroo emblem.

The latest Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to join the airline’s fleet has been named Gangurru, meaning ‘kangaroo’ in the traditional language of the Guugu Yimidhirr people of Southern Cape York.

This aircraft will take a piece of Indigenous language to the world, seen by travellers around the globe from London to Los Angeles, New York and Singapore.

Air Europa strengthens partnership with Amadeus to accelerate its digital transformation

Air Europa has strengthened its technology and distribution partnership with Amadeus to improve retailing and payments with Amadeus Digital Experience Suite, Altéa Inventory,

Altéa Reservations Desktop Web, and Amadeus B2B Wallet Partner Pay, in addition to renewing its current Altéa solutions, Departure Control and Reservations.

The Digital Experience Suite allows airlines to connect with Amadeus and third-party providers to develop and share technology in a simple, agile and open way. This suite will give Air Europa incredible flexibility, while removing complexity from existing systems, to easily integrate and collaborate with other partners and developers. Combined with the newly signed Altéa modules, and leveraging the existing Altéa technology, the airline will further boost its retailing capabilities through a more personalized offer and improve back-end efficiency.

Immersive artwork inspired by KATSUSHIKA Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji showcased at Narita International Airport

Immersive artwork titled “360°Around Mt. Fuji ~NAKED meets Hokusai~”, which is inspired by KATSUSHIKA Hokusai’s ukiyo-e piece Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, will be showcased at Narita International Airport starting Saturday, February 29.

Ukiyo-e is a significant Japanese cultural resource, and KATSUSHIKA Hokusai is one of the most well-known ukiyo-e artists of all time.

Travelport achieves Level 4 NDC Aggregator Certification from International Air Transport Association (IATA)

Travelport has achieved level 4 NDC certification as an aggregator from IATA. This certification confirms Travelport is able to provide full offer and order management and servicing of an NDC booking, complementing the current capabilities of voiding tickets and cancellations with new capabilities to modify and exchange tickets as well as processing refunds.

This end-to-end booking management capability is a crucial part of the day to day travel management Travelport’s customers rely on their technology partner to provide.

Travelport has been offering NDC content from a small number of partner airlines since October 2018 and has taken a phased approach to its NDC rollout plans in order to build an NDC solution which works for all parts of the interconnected travel industry.