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Fri 19 Dec: 10 things you need to know

We’ve done all the hard work, so you don’t have to! Read on for the top ten travel industry news stories of the day we think you need to know.

We’ve done all the hard work, so you don’t have to! Read on for the top ten travel industry news stories of the day we think you need to know.

1. New route & lounge for the Qantas group

Qantas lounge launch

The announcements were pouring out of Qantas’ public relations department yesterday, as the group launched a new lounge and unveiled a new Australian regional route.

The Qantas First Lounge opened in Los Angeles this week, with Australian celebrities such as Human Nature in attendance.

Seating roughly 200 customers, the lounge features include Californian Knoll furniture, Tuscan Carrara marbled floors and a 48 foot-long bar.

Read On

 

2. Get in line for AIME

AIME feature

Agents and other industry professionals can now register to the 2015 Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME), with registrations officially opening online today.

Taking place on 24 and 25 February 2015 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, industry members can secure free entry to the event by pre-registering online, click here to register.

In response to feedback from the event, AIME has unveiled a new community strategy designed to provide the AIME community with access to information and networking opportunities year round.

Read On

 

3. Etihad ditches the side veil

Etihad's new uniform

Say farewell to the side veil we’ve all come to love on UAE airline flight attendants.

Etihad unveiled its new cabin crew uniforms this week and missing from the female getup was the distinctive hat to neck veil.

The new look comes less than a week after Emirates revealed flight attendants flying on private flights would fly in new uniforms, which also didn’t include the side veil.

Created by Italian Haute Couturier Ettore Bilotta, Etihad’s new uniforms are made from 100 percent Italian wool and feature a warm chocolate brown mixed with a deep purple accent colour for cabin crew and lounge teams, and a burnt orange accent colour for ground crews and Special Services teams.

Etihad

Female cabin crew, ground and lounge teams will wear a skirt suit, accessorised with fitted gloves, belt, hat and scarf.

Male cabin crew will wear a three-piece suit, while male ground crew will wear a two-piece suit. Accessories will also include belts and gloves. Male lounge agents will wear new Food & Beverage uniforms in line with those worn by the onboard Food & Beverage Managers.

The new uniforms will be introduced system-wide from 27 December and will be worn by Etihad Airways’ cabin crews and ground teams, and feature new designs for the airline’s Butlers in The Residence by Etihad, First Class Inflight Chefs, Business Class Food & Beverage Managers, Cabin Managers, Cabin Crew, Flying Nannies, and airport and lounge teams.

 

4. Scenic sends Space Ship to Portugal

Scenic in Portugal

Scenic Tours is sending its latest vessel, Scenic Azure to Portugal to sail on the Douro River from April 2016.

The ‘Space-Ship’ will be used on 11-day roundtrip cruises from Porto to Vega de Terron, with visits to various vineyards, historic towns and villages along the Douro.

The river cruise also combines with Bordeaux and Seine river cruises plus extensions in Lisbon and a land tour from Porto to Madrid.

Scenic Azure is an 80 metre long vessel with 48 cabins onboard. It has been custom built to sail on the Douro River and offers a five-star sailing complete with a private butler service and unlimited complimentary beverages.

Plus there is a vitality spa on the Sun Deck and a guest lift between decks. On board cuisine includes the French tradition of dégustation at Table La Rive plus fine dining at Portobellos and more casual fare at River Cafe.

 

5. USA! Tell me more, tell me more

USA

Agent curiosity for the US continues to grow, with Brand USA’s new online agent training platform experiencing high levels of industry uptake.

This week, the educational platform received its one thousandth sign up from Australia and New Zealand.

Lucky agent number 1,000 was Kylie Fox, Senior Travel Consultant from World Travel & Cruise, in Melbourne, Australia, who wins a $50 gift voucher.

The USA Discovery Program provides agents with straightforward information on the U.S., broken down into regions, experiences and holiday themes, to provide a holistic overview of the USA and to enable cross-selling on all aspects of sales to the USA.

The online course gives agents complete flexibility to complete the training in their own time, at their own pace. All of the training is bite-sized with quizzes broken down into different modules such as regions or experiences. Agents must first complete the Regional Expert Badge, and can then complete any of the specialist experience modules.

There are currently nine specialist experience modules: Big City Buzz, Coastal Escapes, Family Holidays, Food and Drink, Music/Heritage/Culture, Fly-Drive, Great Outdoors and Winter Sports, and Cirque du Soleil.

Click here to signup

 

6. Free wifi at TFE

Image: pio3/Shutterstock

Image: pio3/Shutterstock

Another hotel group is offering its guests free wifi access from early next year.

From 1 January next year, TFE properties in Australia and New Zealand will provide guests with 100MB free wifi at high speed per 24 hours, per room.

The offer is valid for guests staying at Adina Apartment Hotels, Medina Serviced Apartments, Rendezvous Hotels, Vibe Hotels, Travelodge Hotels and Hotel Kurrajong Canberra.

Data beyond the 100MB is available for only $9.95 for the remainder of the 24 hours and can be used on up to four devices per room.

 

7. Las Vegas breaks 40 million

Las Vegas

Las Vegas has reached a historic milestone, exceeding 40 million visitors for the first time.

The “Entertainment Capital of the World” has surpassed its record for annual visitation, drawing more than 40 million people with two weeks remaining on the calendar year. Current pacing suggests the destination could approach nearly 41 million visitors by the end of the year.  The previous record was set in 2012 with more than 39,727,000 tourists.

Las Vegas has seen an increase in direct international air services in 2014 with Canada and Mexico proving to be instrumental to visitation growth.

Tourism plays a vital role in the economy of Southern Nevada and the Las Vegas Valley generating more than $USD45 billion annually and supporting 376,000 local jobs.

 

8. Skiing Santas, what Tahoe?

Skiing Santas for website

Santa, sorry Santas left the North Pole last week and headed to Lake Tahoe resort, Mt. Rose for the property’s annual Santa Ski Crawl.

Hundreds of revelers took to the slopes dressed in full Santa suits, elf suits and there was even a huge snowboarding gingerbread man.

Skiing Santas for website 2

 

9. KarryOn into Christmas

KarryOn xmas for newsletter

The KarryOn team (Michael, Julia, Gian, Nahrain and Candice) hopped on a tall ship, threw down a few ‘day of the dead’ cocktails and showed off their ‘singing skills’ last night at the group’s Christmas party.

Joining their colleagues at Leedham Creative the two travel companies made their way around Sydney city sporting ‘nautical’ themed clothing and hats.

The party kicked off at KarryOn HQ in Surry Hills with a ‘People’s Choice Awards’ ceremony, which saw Michael take out the award for ‘Don’t Hassle the Hoff’. Nahrain took out the award ‘Minnie Mouse Laugh’ and Candice walked away with ‘Most Likely to Be Seen Walking Down the Runway’.

The group then headed to Circular Quay for a two hour cruise around the harbour before heading to the QT bar for some killer cocktails and incredible champagne.

After some time socialising with amazing bar staff and enjoying the bar’s cool vibes, the group returned to Surry Hills for some karaoke where Candice broke out (and almost broke the mirrors) with her rendition of KISS’ ‘I was made for loving you’ and Julia stepped back into the 70s to perform a bit of ABBA.

What did you get up to for your work Christmas party?

 

10. Passenger deploys emergency slide because he didn’t want to wait any longer

China Eastern Airlines

Image: TonyV3112/Shutterstock

Apparently some flyers don’t understand what an emergency exit is for.

Earlier this week one Chinese traveller yanked open the emergency door just before a plane was due to take off from Hangzhou. His excuse was ‘I need fresh air’.

Overnight a second traveller flying China Eastern Airlines deployed the emergency slide after the aircraft had landed at Sanya Phoenix International Airport.

The man said he wanted ‘to get off the plane quicker’.

Funny enough, the incident actually ended up delaying aircraft disembarkation by up to two hours. It also could have caused economic damages (such as replacing the slide) of up to US$16,000, according to Sohu.

The passenger was apprehended by authorities, but not until after sliding down the emergency slide.

What’s your reaction to today’s news? Share your comments below and start the conversation.