TTG September/October 2016

T TG NO R DIC

No 360

September / Oc tober 201 6

| S eptember / October

Travel Trade Gazette

ARLANDA WANTS TO BE BIGGEST IN SCANDINAVIA www.erv.dk

DANISH COMPANY’S DATA CUTS LINES AT AIRPORTS HOTEL DIRECTOR – AND A PILOT AT THE WEEKEND

A1 7 2_09.16

Husk rejseforsikringen – og vær tryg på vinterferien.

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No360

CONTENTS

Alfabetica Travel Agencies www.billund-airport.dk/ om-lufthavnen/check-in-billund

www.visitbritain.com

www.visitfinland.se www.visitfinland.com

CONTENT Page 06 Around the world Page 08

Danish company collects data at airports

Page 14

Passenger behaviour changes by discreet psychology

Page 16

Commentary on SAS’s new uniforms

www.standby.dk www.standbynews.com

www.visitdenmark.com

www.visitmalta.com

Business & Leisure www.bcdtravel.dk

www.bcdtravel.se

www.bcdtravel.no

www.bcdtravel.fi

www.dolphind.com www.flightscanner.biz

www.galileo.dk

Rail Travel www.godominicanrepublic.com

www.bahn.com

www.udviklingfyn.dk

www.visitnorway.com

www.kronerejser.dk

www.procon.dk

www.spain.info

www.mangaard-travel.dk

travelize.com AllaBussresor.se AllaTemaresor.se

www.visitsweden.com denmark@visitsweden.com

www.norskrejsebureau.dk

www.travelport.dk www.travelport.se

www.rb-seniorklub.dk

www.worldspan.com

www.spain.info

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44

Page 18

Swedavia – status on airports and airlines

Page 24

Hotel director during the week, pilot at the weekend

Page 30

Mahan Air gets new route to Copenhagen

Page 32

Business class is good business

Page 34

A4E – the start of a revolution

Recruitment Travel Trade

www.greenland.com

www.gotoasia.no

www.centrum-personale.dk

www.berning-leonhardt.com

www.tourismthailand.se A NOUS RETOURNER SIGNÉE AVEC VOTRE ACCORD OU VOS CORRECTIONS

JFB

ACCORD

CRÉATION

06

Visiting the SAS Lab

Page 42

Viking Line and Tallink Silja are expanding

Page 44

China surpasses USA when it comes to business travellers

Page 49

Meetings & People

2

JAUNE

3

Travel Technology

NOIR

4

5

6

7

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CLIENT + QUALITÉ*

CARRÉ NOIR - 82, bd des Batignolles - 75017 Paris - FRANCE / Tél. : +33 (0)1 53 42 35 35 / Fax : +33 (0)1 42 94 06 78 / Web : www.carrenoir.com

www.kellyservices.dk

Page 38

MAGENTA

1

CONSULTANT

Bjørn Kjos at Aviation Festival in London

CYAN

DATE

ÉCHELLE 1/1 - FORMAT D’IMPRESSION 100%

PRODUCTION

www.topflight.no

Tourist Boards - Information

www.usarejser.dk

TONS RECOMMANDÉS (4)

MINEFI MIN_11_0000_RdVFrance_Q Date le 22/06/2011

Page 36

www.tahiti-tourisme.dk

www.hungary.com

www.discoverireland.com

www.inspiredbyiceland.com

Want to be a partner?

CALL

+45 70 25 97 00

www.germany.travel

www.unikkemoedesteder.dk

www.amadeus.com/sca

www.visitaland.com www.visitaland.com/se

www.datacon.dk/travel

38

Cover photo: Peter Phillips / Swedavia

Stand By is issued six times per year and distributed as paid subscription in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, The Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland to travel agents, tour operators, airline offices tourist agencies, foreign tourist representatives, tourist bus companies, and all of the major industries in Scandinavia. Stand By bears no responsibility for unsolicited editorial material

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Is YOUR company missing?

Contact STAND BY on phone: + 45 7025 9700 or e-mail: sales@standby.dk

Absalon Hotel Adina Aalborg Lufthavn Alsie Express Air France Air Greenland Amadeus Scandinavia Arp-Hansen Hotel Group Arthur Hotels Austrian Auto Europe Avis Baltic Stand By BCD Travel Berning & Leonhardt Billund Lufthavn Blue Lagoon Bonnier Responsmedier British Airways British Midland Airways Brussels Int. Travel Service Cabin Hotel Cathay Pacific Airways Celebrity Cruises Centrum Personale A/S Check-in Billund Cimber Air Cirkusbygningen Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers Copenhagen Airport Danish Air Transport Datacon A/S Destination Destination Fyn DB Bahn DBTA DFDS Seaways Dolphin FlightScanner Dominican Republic Estonian Air Europcar Europæiska Reseförsäkringar Europæiske Rejseforsikring Finnair First Hotel FlyNordic Franske turistkontor Færgen Galileo GoToAsia Gouda Rejseforsikring Hadler DMC Head aHead Helnan International Hotels Herning Messer, Rejsemesse Hertz Hotel Føroyar Hotel Hafnia Hotel Tórshavn Hungarian National Tourist Office Hurtigruten Icelandair Icelandic Tourist Board Irland Turisme Jet Time A/S Kelly KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Krone Rejser LOT Polish Airlines Malta Tourism Mangaard Travel Group Meliâ Meridien National Car Norges Varemesse, Reiseliv Norsk Rejsebureau ProCon Solution RejserNu.dk Rejsebranchens Seniorklub Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Qatar Airways SAS Scandi International DMC Scandic Hotels Scandlines Sixt Small Danish Hotels Smyril Line Spanske turistkontor SRF Svenska Resebyrånföreningen Stand By Tahiti Tourisme TAP Portugal Team Benns Thailand Tourist Thomascookairlines Topflight AS Travelize Travelport Travel Proffesionals Travel Club Tysk Turist Information USA Rejser Vienna Tourist Board Virgin Atlantic VisitBritain VisitDenmark VisitFinland VisitGreenland.com VisitNorway VisitNordsjælland VisitSweden Wimdu Worldspan Ålands Turistinformation

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AF_TAP_SK_EN.pdf

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C H O O S E H O W Y O U WA N T T O F LY. PAY O N LY F O R W H AT Y O U N E E D .

W i t h t h e n e w TA P, n e w f a r e s t o E u r o p e and North Africa were born.

F l y t h e w a y y o u w a n t a t fl y t a p . c o m .

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flytap.com

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No360

INTRO

Managing Editor Kitt Andersen

A FORMULA FOR FEELINGS Raw data are harvested everywhere – on Facebook to identify our habits and create targeted advertising, in banks to assess our credit worthiness, and not least at airports, to help make the journey from baggage drop to boarding as quick and easy as possible.

Copenhagen Optimization has systematised the latter (page 8). Based on solid experience from Copenhagen Airport, where the company’s two founders were once employed, this business is well on its way to having a global reach, with the help of a mammoth-sized grant from Innovation Fund Denmark.

For Kasper Hounsgaard and Anders Dohn, their enthusiasm is not just about money. The feeling that they are able to help other people really makes a difference to them.

Copenhagen office: Vester Farimagsgade 2, kontor 1013-1015, DK-1606 Copenhagen V. Tel: +(45) 70 25 97 00 Fax: +(45) 70 25 97 01 standby@standby.dk www.standby.dk Managing director: Stig Thygesen / stig@standby.dk Managing Editor: Kitt Andersen / kitt@standby.dk Senior Editor: Ejvind Olesen / ejv@mail.dk Journalist: Henrik Baumgarten / hb@takeoff.dk Journalist: Flemming Juul / flemming@juul.dk

A sunset makes a difference In the same way, a feeling of comfort makes a big difference to business travellers when they choose an airline and book tickets. This is an important group for airline companies, and no expense is spared on detail at the front end of the cabin, if the company has the capital for that sort of thing (page 34).

For pilot and hotel director Peter Christian Jensen, it’s also a certain feeling that comes into play and lends an extra dimension to his work when he suddenly gets the chance to experience the Northern Lights from the cockpit and later finds himself watching the sunset at his hotel at Old Skagen (page 24).

Something else that can stir up emotions are the new uniforms introduced by SAS at the end of September. Read Ejvind Olsen’s commentary about this on page 16.

So despite the fact that the theme of this magazine is technology and airlines, it is not development that drives people – it’s people, with all their positive and negative emotions, who lie at the heart of the development process.

Sales and advertising: Tel: +(45) 70 25 97 00 Fax: +(45) 70 25 97 01 sales@standby.dk Trine Christensen / trine@standby.dk Gitte Nielsen / gitte@standby.dk Layout: Kenneth Nannberg / kenneth@standby.dk Print: Tryknet Publisher: Scandinavian Travel Media ApS.

Stockholm Office: Manager Christian Jahn christian@ttgnordic.com tel. +46 70-644 45 45

Vilnius office: Journalist: Howard Jarvis howard@ttgnordic.com ttgnordic.com

CONTACT US

tlf. +370 79267

CALL US OR WRITE AN EMAIL if you have a good story about airlines, hotels, cruise, car rental, travel agencies, MICE or travel technology you want to share with the industry.

Editor in Chief Kitt Andersen, kitt@standby.dk, tel. +45 30 23 91 03 Senoir Editor Ejvind Olesen, ejv@mail.dk, tel. +45 45 86 21 49 Journalist Henrik Baumgarten, hb@takeoff.dk, tel. +45 20 93 28 48 Manager Christian Jahn, christian@ttgnordic.com tel. +46 70-644 45 45Journaiist Howard Jarvis, howard@ttgnordic.com tel. +370 79267

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No360

AROUND THE WORLD

UBER FOR PRIVATE PLANES JetSmarter of Miami sent its first privately-booked plane into the skies in 2013. The Saudi royal family, the rapper Jay-Z and many others have invested more than USD 52 million in the company, and this spring JetSmarter crossed the Atlantic. It now flies from London to cities that include Paris, Geneva and (later this year) Moscow.

JetSmarter does not own its aircraft and describes itself as a technology business. All booking takes place via an app in the same way as it does for Uber. Membership costs USD 9,990 plus a registration fee of USD 4,950. This gives access to three types of booking: JetShuttle, JetCharter and JetDeals. Users can book a seat on an existing route, arrange a new one , reserve an entire plane or hop aboard a last-minute flight deal.

The founder of JetSmarter, Sergey Petrossov, told the Telegraph that “we will continue to serve elite customers, but this is not particularly disruptive or scalable – we just give them an easier way to book. But for the segment in the middle, this is an entirely new product in the business.”

He expects that within two years JetShuttle will be available in 150 countries.

KA

VENICE OF THE NORTH Venice of the North was, a long time ago, a tourist slogan for Stockholm. But most tourists stayed on shore in the Old Town. The main marine attraction was the Vasa warship, which sank back in 1628. Ten sightseeing boats cruising the inner harbour in summer may have been enough ten years ago, but today it’s different. Tourists want to see more of the city, the surrounding countryside and the islands further out. There are around 50 sightseeing and excursion boats, most of them busy all year round – even in fog and snow. Around half of these are culturally protected, being around 100 years old. The oldest, the former steamship Enköping, was built in 1868 and is the oldest ship still active in Lloyds global register of passenger ships. There are more commuter boats too, bringing people to work. But these are also attracting so many tourists that it’s conflicting the commuting – like in Venice. Finnish ferries give Stockholm four million visitors a year, who spend around five billion Swedish kronor. Cruise ships bring even more passengers and grow bigger every year.

To a greater degree the tourists not only come by boat, they stay on the boat. The only city that presents the same picture is… Venice.

JO

GODMOTHER WANTED Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines is on the lookout for a godmother for its latest vessel, Harmony of the Seas. But there are a few conditions that must be met.

The cruise ship company has entered into an agreement with a TV station in southern Florida, Local10. com, to find a suitable woman. She must live in the southern part of the state and must “inspire the next generation to think differently and challenge the status quo”.

Citizens of southern Florida can, for example, nominate a teacher with a passion for her job who inspires her students to adopt a positive attitude to the world.

The chosen godmother will on November 10 christen Harmony of the Seas, which according to the company is the largest cruise ship in the world. She will also receive USD 25,000 to spend on initiatives within her school or organisation. The winner will also be awarded a week-long cruise for two aboard the ship.

The home port for Harmony of the Seas will be Port Everglades near Fort Lauderdale. It will offer seven-night cruises in both the eastern and western parts of the Caribbean.

HB

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No360

TECHNOLOGY

By Mette Damgaard Petersen Photo: Ulrik Jantzen

These days, efficiency improvements at airports are highly valued. One of the new players in this market is a young Danish business that specialises in moving passengers and baggage quickly and efficiently through the larger international airports. To do this, it uses data. Lots of data.

DANISH COMPANY SLASHES WAITING TIMES Anders Dohn (left) and Kasper Hounsgaard supply innovative software solutions that can optimise operations at large international airports.

At Geneva Airport, two businessmen are discreetly watching the security area.

The line is modest, the process goes smoothly and the passengers move quickly through the system. The two men exchange a satisfied nod. There now!

They are smiling because they happen to be responsible for much of what they have just witnessed. The two men are the inventors of a software solution that has optimised the process, and Geneva Airport is just one of their customers. Since they started their business they have optimised at several European airports, including Heathrow in London, as well as airports in Dublin and Toronto .

After several years of helping to streamline work processes at the Copenhagen Airport, the two founders of Copenhagen Optimization have a wealth of experience. As head of Planning and Analysis, Kasper Hounsgaard is in charge of planning check-in and airport security and analysing all operational areas with a view to processing improvements. Before this, he was involved in a variety of other analytical tasks that enabled him to demonstrate the effect of better planning and data-driven analysis.

Anders Dohn was also part of the analysis team at the airport, where he later became manager of personnel planning in Security, an area with more than 1,000 employees. In 2014, Anders and Kasper established their own

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consultancy business and today they act as advisors and global suppliers of cloud-based software for complex organisations with large logistical tasks. After less than two years, their business already has 11 employees.

Tons of data “Our philosophy is to learn from yesterday to improve tomorrow. What we offer is a kind of predictability that can form the basis for viable planning,” says Anders Dohn.

Predictability is an important element in streamlining the operational processes of airports. Among other things, it means that personnel can report to work well-prepared, even on the busiest of days. One of the fringe benefits is the greater employee satisfaction that develops when employees realise that they can trust the work plan and therefore perform better on the job.

To secure this predictability, Copenhagen Optimization uses enormous amounts of data, which form the primary optimisation resource. It is possible to extract many kinds of information from data which – when used in the right way – can provide a crystal-ball view of the future.

“Every time a passenger scans a boarding card, it is registered. This makes it possible to determine how much time it takes for the person to go through the system. When baggage is checked in, it is also registered, so we know departure times and destinations. Baggage is then sent into the baggage system, where it is scanned at many different points. And finally, down in the baggage facility, it is sorted out, collected and taken to the aircraft,” Kasper Hounsgaard explains.

“Quite simply, we can see precisely how each suitcase moves through the

entire airport. So we work with enormous amounts of data – we’re talking about millions of data points. We collect it all and extract information that can be used to plan such things as the number of security lines that need to be open and the times of day where the greatest numbers of staff are needed.”

Sophisticated building blocks That entire mass of data is rarely used.

Extracting a mere two percent, for example, can on a given assignment ensure software input with the highest level of correctness.

The company handles all of the data processing, and the software solutions

”

It’s hard to get people to do something if they have been used to doing something else, possibly for many years”

require complicated mathematical formulas that could best be compared to an advanced edition of Tetris – the computer game that appeals to the brain’s need to sort out and clear away at a challenging pace when getting blocks of various sizes to fit together without wasting space. In this particular game, however, the ‘blocks’ do not appear quite so randomly.

“An airport has an enormous amount of ‘blocks’ that must fit together. You can more-or-less predict where and when the blocks will appear – but not precisely.

The typical planner at an airport comes

COPENHAGEN OPTIMIZATION RESULTS

TORONTO AIRPORT The airport was challenged by a complaint from its largest customer about the poor capacity of the baggage conveyors. By studying the data, Copenhagen Optimization determined that the problem was not lack of capacity but rather an unbalanced use of the conveyors, which ran on an 80/20 distribution. After redistributing the baggage, the existing capacity was sufficient and an investment of six million Danish kroner could be postponed for at least four to five years.

GENEVA AIRPORT Long lines at security checkpoints meant that the airport could live up to its own targets on only 54 days per year. After Copenhagen Optimization stepped in, the average wait was cut in half from seven to three-and-half minutes, and achievement of performance targets rose to 297 days.

DUBLIN AIRPORT The airport was constrained by a tight financial framework. Efficiency improvements made it possible to adhere to the budget, because each employee was able to take care of 10% more passengers.

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TECHNOLOGY

No360

17871 Bu

from an operational department and has a talent for planning, but does not have much of a system support or analytical approach. So they plan manually,” Kasper Hounsgaard elaborates.

“We use a computer instead. This requires rather advanced algorithms.

It’s not something you just sit down and figure out in your head or with the help of a simple Excel sheet. These systems work flawlessly at lightning speed to create prognoses that are precise enough to plan with.”

The exact prognoses lead to optimizations that save operational money in such areas as staffing and the efficient use of existing capacity. So of course, this is a matter of great interest for many airports. The level of service can also be significantly improved, for example by reducing waiting times at check-in and security.

Optimization by subscription When Copenhagen Optimization is invited to visit a new airport, the collaboration always begins with an analysis of the customer’s real-life setting. This creates a situational picture of how their processes work and makes it easier to identify bottlenecks, problematic and recurring patterns and the customer’s specific challenges.

In Kasper Hounsgaard’s experience, many airports do not have a clear picture of their own performance or how it could be improved.

“Many are challenged when it comes to finding the best way to utilise available information. They may use data to pull up

a report from yesterday, but they cannot use it to plan for the future. We help them clarify how they can streamline operations.”

A project can take anywhere from three months to several years of longterm cooperation, running dialogue and alignment of expectations with the customer, and the systems can be used both short- and long-term. Plans can be made for the next few hours or days, but customers can also be supported in evaluating larger strategic questions such as how to plan long-term expansion.

Whereas classic software systems are

”

To see that passengers actually do get through more quickly. As someone who hates to wait, it’s wonderful to be able to reduce the waiting time for others”

usually negotiated as three- to five-year contracts and are paid for in advance, Copenhagen Optimization sets itself apart by supplying software solutions in the form of a subscription that can be terminated at a month’s notice. This puts great pressure on the company when it comes to offering the latest solutions and meeting customer needs.

“This was a conscious choice on our

part. For us it’s not just about closing a contract. We view our software as more of a value-creating service for the customer,” says Anders Dohn.

“We help raise them up, become better and acquire the right competences and mindset. We have been on a twoyear journey with Geneva Airport, which just keeps getting better and better – not only with regard to value that can be expressed in numbers but also in the form of a greater awareness of what they are working with. When something goes wrong, they know what caused it and how to correct it. That kind of organisational change is a process that takes years, and once it has begun there’s no going back. You can’t move backwards through a process and say ‘we don’t want to optimise our operations after all’. We may pull ourselves out of the equation as consultants, but the tools remain with the customer so that they can carry on.”

Optimization is a four-letter word As a young start-up company with a completely new solution, Copenhagen Optimization can be difficult for potential customers to understand. They have to appreciate the value of the service – and this is not something they will think of on their own. From an analytical point of view, data quality will be a challenge if the necessary data are not available.

“When we started at Toronto, they only had ten days’ worth of data. So we began collecting, and a year later we had something that was valid,” says Kasper Hounsgaard.

Anders Dohn adds: “Another challen-

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No360

TECHNOLOGY

ge is the change management that is implicit in these projects. Anyone who works with change management knows this is difficult. It requires communication and patience. If it does not succeed, it’s not because of technical or operational problems. It’s simply because it’s hard to get people to do something if they have been used to doing something else, possibly for many years.”

He continues: “Some employees may also be opposed to the projects. When people hear the word ‘optimization’, they tend to get sweaty and start thinking that everything will soon be reduced to little boxes . Or they worry that efficiency improvements will mean layoffs. Unfortunately, ‘optimization’ has a lot of negative overtones. But efficiency improvements can also help create a stability and robustness that can measurably increase job satisfaction.”

Copenhagen Optimization points out that since most airports are growing, there really are very few competences that will become redundant. In many cases, optimization is used to create growth without extra expense. If a customer needs change, the system can be adjusted accordingly. Changes can be internal, but they might also be external.

“The conditions under which one operates can also change. For example, there might be an expected passenger growth of 10 percent, and this can be added to the planning input,” Anders Dohn explains.

Making a difference The company’s future seems assured and the level of ambition is high. They see that their services create value and expect to sell software solutions at many airports.

“There are some 400 airports in the world with a size and complexity that we find interesting,” notes Kasper Hounsgaard.

”

If we can get a lot of airports to function better, we will affect a great many people, and this makes it all worthwhile.

To make a difference”

“They must have a certain size in order to have the necessary complexity. I don’t see why we shouldn’t be in 30 airports within the next two years. We’re looking at the US, where there are long security lines. We have just the tool that can solve their entire planning problem.”

Copenhagen Optimization recently received a capital infusion of DKK 2.6 million from Innovation Fund Denmark for software development. This acknowledgement shows that others can also see

the potential and believe them and their idea. But the founders have no intention of building up the company as much as possible and then selling it off so they spend the rest of their lives relaxing under a parasol.

“Yes, we have a well-functioning system and exciting projects. But the best part – the part that really gives us a thrill – is when we can stand there and see it all come to life in front of our eyes.

It’s very tangible, to see that passengers actually do get through more quickly. As someone who hates to wait, it’s wonderful to be able to reduce the waiting time for others. We are driven by a passion for what we are doing. If we can get a lot of airports to function better, we will affect a great many people, and this makes it all worthwhile. To make a difference,” says Kasper Hounsgaard.

Read also how SAS Lab will help passengers through the airport quickly and safely on page 38-39.

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med Star Alliance.

OPLEV EN NY FLYVENDE

FORNEMMELSE OMBORD PÅ DEN NYE FINNAIR AIRBUS A350 Finnair er første flyselskab i Europa som flyver den nye Airbus A350 XWB. Oplev en ny flyvende fornemmelse på A350.finnair.com

Finnair flyver til alle de større byer i Asien og over 60 destinationer i Europa.

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No360

AIRLINES

MEGA-JUMBO FLIES MORE PASSENGERS After Emirates introduced the world’s largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, on its daily route from Dubai to Copenhagen, the number of passengers has increased by 26%, according to Stand By. Copenhagen is the only Nordic airport with an A380 route. The model used has room for 615 passengers, 58 in business and the remaining 557 in economy. The 615 seats are around 40% more

than the Boeing B777-300ER that formerly served this route.

Passengers from Copenhagen are flying to Dubai, the Seychelles, Southeast Asia and Australia. Many come from surrounding countries specifically to fly the A380 out of the Danish capital.

Emirates is the world’s largest operator of the A380, taking delivery of half of the 142 aircraft they have ordered.

AIR BERLIN INCREASES TO USA

QATAR AIRWAYS BUYS MORE OF BA Qatar Airways has raised its stake in International Airlines Group (IAG) to 21.01%. IAG is the parent company of Ireland’s Aer Lingus, British Airways and Spain’s Iberia and Vueling.

Qatar Airways will also buy 10% of South America’s largest airline group Chilean LATAM Airlines Group, which has air travel companies in several Latin American countries.

The airline flies twice daily between Copenhagen and Qatar’s capital Doha, using Boeing B787 Dreamliners with 22 seats in business and 232 in economy.

Six years ago, the company had around 60 destinations. That number is soon to be doubled. Among the new destinations this year are Australia’s Sydney and Adelaide as well as Windhoek in Namibia. Qatar Airways also flies to Stockholm and Oslo – and from the beginning of October there will also be a daily route to Helsinki.

Later this year and next year, new routes will be launched to Crabi in Thailand, the Seychelles, Auckland in New Zealand, Lusaka in Zambia, Douala in the Cameroon, Libreville in Gabon and Chiang Mai in Thailand.

Air Berlin will grow by 50% in the USA next year. New routes will be introduced from Berlin to Los Angeles and San Francisco and from Dusseldorf to Orlando.

Air Berlin, which is 30% owned by Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, will fly to eight US airports. The oneworld member increases its weekly US flights from 55 to 78.

Air Berlin is getting three extra Airbus A330-200s for the increased program, each with 19 business-class seats and 271 in economy.

In general, Air Berlin begins to offer business class this year on its flights in Germany and Europe. There is more legroom between the two first rows, the middle seat will be held free, and the airline is doubling its bonus points offered to business-class travellers.

ALITIALIA CLOSING DOWN IN COPENHAGEN From the winter program this year, Alitalia ceases to fly its four weekly routes between Rome and Copenhagen. But Stand By has heard that it intends to return for the next summer season.

The Italian Skyteam member also has a summer route between Milan and Copenhagen. Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi owns 49% of Alitalia.

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No360

COMMENTARY

SAS celebrated their 70th anniversary with new uniforms. As usual some employees have been critical, but it seems that the signal about style and authority is maintained.

NEW SAS UNIFORMS ARE A SIGN OF STYLE AND AUTHORITY

By Ejvind Olesen Fashion designer Calvin Klein’s creation for SAS lasted almost 20 years. One of the comments on the new uniform is, “I look like a sack of potatoes.” But that’s not necessarily the fault of the uniform.

“You need to avoid people who know about clothes and fashion. Uniforms are altogether something different.”

After reading these words by Denmark’s most experienced designer of uniforms, Vibeke Lassen Nielsen, the editors gave me the assignment of writing a commentary about the new SAS uniforms.

Having worked for 43 years with SAS material (no, not material for clothing, but material for articles), I have of

course always noticed the debuts of new uniforms, especially for the stewardesses. Theirs was the most visible change – and the miniskirt style of the 70s was the most exciting one. Not that the uniforms of the pilots or the stewards were any less interesting – but there was never any doubt as to what the male photographers found most interesting.

Back in the newsroom it was always hard to find a good shot of a pilot or a steward.

I remember in particular when Jan Carlzon wanted to crown his on-board successes by ordering new uniforms in 1982. When they were presented, we were invited to a fashion show in Stockholm to see Calvin Klein’s shocking uniforms, which of course attracted the

attention of many other airline companies and lasted for 20 years. I was able to take Lotte Freddie, fashion expert at the newspaper Berlingske, along to Stockholm. For my own article, I just copied the words of the press release: “A primary, navy blue colour with white shirts, a beige coat and gold trimmings on the sleeves and cap.” One cannot be an expert on everything. But Lotte wrote a great review.

Comfortable, not coy Today, when I ask one of my friends who still works as an SAS stewardess about her view of the Calvin Klein creation, she says: “I remember it drew a lot of criticism. Probably because the look was so modern and so markedly different

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MUST BE UNMARRIED AND NEITHER TALL NOR SHORT

Kalvin Klein

Kalvin Klein

Dior

All the way up to 1970, there was an extra set of qualifications for the many who wanted to be a stewardess at SAS. Girls had to be at least 160 cm tall, but no taller than 175. They had to be unmarried, but were allowed to marry once they had been hired. They had to speak English, German and at least one other language.

MISS AIRWAYS Why has all the excitement at airline companies disappeared? There used to be a Miss Airways, just as there was a Miss Universe and a Miss World, although participants were somewhat older back then. One year, stewardess participants wore the uniforms used in Brazilian, Canadian, English, Scandinavian (SAS), Dutch and Icelandic airlines. The Icelandic girl won and became Miss Airways.

Carven

Kalvin Klein

Carven

MAGIC ON THE TOKYO ROUTE On SAS’ maiden voyage over Anchorage, Alaska, to Tokyo in 1957, passengers were impressed by a stewardess whose service remained exceptionally quick and energetic throughout the entire journey of some 20 hours.

Meanwhile, they themselves were continually napping. What they didn’t know was that she had been relieved by her twin sister in Alaska.

from the uniforms they replaced. But we all soon grew to like them a lot.”

Airline uniforms indicate style, class and authority. It was not so very long ago that passengers chose their airline based on the dresses of the stewardesses at Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways.

In London, you could buy the genuine silks and have a copy made of these dresses, and many people did. Others brought them home from Singapore and Bangkok. The dresses, that is.

It’s only natural that employees’ opinions about uniforms should differ from those of the passengers. A uniform should be comfortable to work and move around in, and the material should be of a quality that does not wrinkle and will fit correctly even after 15 hours of use.

There will always be critics As far as I know, SAS has never presented a new uniform without hearing complaints from someone in Sweden, Norway or Denmark. Each country apparently has its own views on fashion.

There have also been complaints this year.

When employees discuss among themselves whether a high-profile fashion designer is a good idea, most of them tend to view uniforms as work clothing. If an unknown supplier is better, it should be the preferred choice.

The current SAS uniforms were also criticized at the first “fashion show”, but the general opinion today is that they are fantastic, because they offer so much individual choice. Trousers, dress,

skirt, blouse/shirt vest, apron, turtleneck and cardigan. And as everyone knows, SAS operates in both warm and cold climates.

There have particularly been many complaints from Sweden. One of the 8,000 cabin attendants wrote: “Bad fitting. I’m a woman and should feel proud of that. In this dress, I look like a sack of potatoes. How can we do good work if we feel ugly and worthless?”

Here is my advice to her as well as many others: Look in the mirror and think hard about what’s wrong. It’s not necessarily the uniform.

Congratulations on the change of clothes at SAS. May it also bring back the smiles in the cabin.

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No360

AIRPORTS

ARLANDA TO BECOME A VIBRANT CITY Karl Wiberg with Arlanda’s future plans. All rooves will have plants to improve water usage.

Text & photos: Jan Ohlsson

Arlanda is not just an important tool in Sweden’s transport strategy; it’s also an engine for the development of the Stockholm region. It aims to become the biggest airport in the Nordics.

“Our goal is to be the biggest airport in the Nordic countries,” Swedavia CEO Karl Wiberg tells TTG Nordic. “Stockholm is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe, with rapidly growing volumes in tourism too. It’s natural that we get more intercontinental traffic and with a growing population create greater demand for mobility.”

A city within Stockholm Arlanda Airport is to be built, creating around 50,000 jobs by 2050. Between Arlanda and Uppsala, accommodation for up to 100,000 people will be built. Efficient local transport is a crucial factor, and it will be enhanced by two more railway tracks to Uppsala and a new branch of the Roslagsbanan urban railway to Arlanda from Östra Station in Stockholm, with connections to the north-eastern suburbs. More hotels and two new runways are planned.

“We will also be able within a year to take on the Airbus A380, at pier F in Terminal 5. A new Pier G and a completely refreshed central security area for all of Terminal 5 will also be built. Terminal 2

will get two new piers as well,” Wiberg highlights.

But walking distances are already long, even today – won’t this mean even longer hikes to the planes?

“Arlanda was originally constructed lengthwise”, the chief executive replies. “If it had been built today we would have projected it differently.

Now we have to live with it. But we will make more escalators and other people-movers within the terminals and also add new terminal buses.”

Traffic rises This year, Arlanda is showing a 6% increase in passengers and will most likely pass the 25 million passenger mark very soon. Transfer traffic is up by 15.5%, most likely due to increased intercontinental traffic.

Since 2014, the airport has scored 14 intercontinental routes. Hong Kong and San Francisco are among the newcomers with high volumes.

“Shanghai and Singapore are high on our wish-list,” Wiberg says. “We hope to attract more destinations from the USA and Canada. But there are also more countries in Europe to be connected to Arlanda, and many of those destinations are in Eastern Europe.”

The USA has asked 10 airports world-

wide if they can provide pre-clearance for passports, visas and security. Oslo is on the list, as is Stockholm.

“Sweden needs at least a year to solve the jurisdiction issues and prepare the necessary legal changes. I hope Arlanda will be one of the first to be ready. As of today, only Ireland has introduced pre-clearance. It would mean a lot to the Stockholm regional development. Pre-clearance could attract a lot of transfer passengers – and more routes to regional destinations in North America.”

Would you like Stockholm Bromma’s traffic to be forwarded to Arlanda?

“That’s not for me to decide. But I think there might be a need for Bromma to do this, even after 2038.

Bromma’s large share of slower propeller planes means that Arlanda would need a new runway from day one.”

Do you try to attract new airlines with discounts?

“Discounts can be given for up to five years, also for airlines with a sharp growth in passengers. However, the rules are the same for all airlines. The geographical location of Arlanda often means a longer flying time, so to be competitive we need to maintain lower costs than the major airports in Europe.

We should at least have a benchmark index of 0.95.”

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FINNAIR AND BRA ARE NOW FAMILY Anders Ehrling, former head of SAS Sweden, today leads BRA.

Text & photos: Jan Ohlsson

BRA and Finnair have connected their bonus systems. Earned points can now be used even within the BRA system in Sweden. Finnair will now codeshare with BRA on several domestic routes.

Emma Sandsjö, BRA’s head of communications.

“Four new ATR72-600s will be delivered this year. We will then have nine brand new ones to replace all of the ATR72-500s. The 11 Saab 2000s will be reduced to five, three are based in Umeå and two in Gothenburg. There will be no changes to the fleet until the new Bombardier CS-100 starts replacing the Avro RJ100 from the first quarter of 2018. The CS-100 and later the CS300 will also enable BRA to increase its leisure traffic.”

Wherever the ATR 72-600 replaces the Saab 2000, it means a leap in capacity from 50 to 72 for every departure. In the autumn, that spells more seats to sell on Kalmar and Ronneby, in competition with SAS operating Arlanda.

Stockholm Bromma is developing point-to-point routes only, into a hub with more transfer traffic within Sweden, but also to Finnair’s network through its Bromma-Helsinki flights.

Peder Grunditz, Bromma director.

Precondition to success Bromma is not just the key but the precondition to success. Without Bromma, domestic flight fares could increase by quite a significant extent.

For the time being there are no plans for new routes. But routes to London City Airport and Skellefteå or Luleå in the north have been discussed. Polit-

“We are also in an upgrade phase for our domestic propeller fleet,” Emma Sandsjö, communications chief at Braathens Regional Airlines (BRA), tells TTG Nordic.

ical discussions on some kind of flight tax are holding up the process.

BRA and Finnair are in for closer cooperation. Since September 1, BRA has had a daily flight weekdays on Umeå-Helsinki with a Saab 2000, to feed the Finnair network. Finnair has three flights daily from Stockholm-Bromma operated by NORRA. BRA has a fleet of more than 30 aircraft. After a political thriller this year, Bromma got its licence extended until 2038.

The The too sm Brom Brom ches w The ted.

Sun in the

But it may be longer Almost 90% of Bromma’s scheduled traffic comes from BRA. In 2023, the airport will be included in the route of a fast tram between IT city Kista and event centre Globen.

The tram line will help promote Bromma as a greener airport, and there are already passengers using their bikes to reach their plane.

“We still have free slots, even in peak hours,” Peder Grunditz, Bromma Airport’s director, tells TTG Nordic.

“Bromma handles almost 2.5 million passengers a year.”

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No360

AIRPORTS

LANDVETTER HOPES FOR NEW YORK New-look Landvetter with a flavour of the sea and the cliffs.

By Jan Ohlsson

Gothenburg Landvetter Airport is transformed into a real international airport. But it’s still waiting for an intercontinental route.

More shopping areas, a far more attractive design, easier access between the domestic and international terminals and more convenient lounges are already on offer to passengers at Gothenburg Landvetter. A much needed expansion of the terminal is underway, with an investment of nearly SEK 2 billion.

Landvetter gained an increase in traffic when Gothenburg Säve Airport closed in early 2015. Ryanair and Wizz Air moved to Landvetter, making Gothenburg one of those cities where they use the main airport. Both airlines have gained an increase in traffic. Iberia Express and Norwegian have also launched new lowcost routes to Landvetter.

On the other hand, SAS has stopped flying to Brussels, London and Paris from Landvetter and Air Portugal closed Lisbon. Yet domestic non-stop traffic to Umeå and Luleå has increased.

Landvetter still lacks intercontinental traffic, making a route to New York defi-

nitely a high priority. New York-Landvetter could be a case for Norwegian’s new Airbus A321LR. 10,000 new jobs Landvetter needs better connections to its catchment area. In 2026, it will be linked to a railway line between Gothenburg and Borås. A new logistics centre and a shopping centre are to be built.

Some 10,000 new jobs will be created.

“The Gothenburg area has always faced west and once had a New York route. I think we might see it coming back,” Karl Wiberg, chief executive of airport operator Swedavia, thinks.

Malmö Airport, meanwhile, is hoping for an all-time high for 2016. Out of a little over two million passengers, around half are domestic.

“Ryanair started to leave in 2015, but despite that we scored an all-time high that year and we hope to do it again this year,” said Peter Weinhandl, airport manager.

“We now have 16 routes operated

by Wizz Air, mostly to Eastern Europe.

We also have a new route to Beirut this summer from Wings of Lebanon. Tougher

times may be ahead. We expect a decrease in charter flights, related to lower demand for Turkey. But a greater focus on low-cost flights means more leisure passengers, and then we’ll need more than just airport coaches to Malmö and Lund.”

Better land links needed Cargo is important for Malmö Airport, UPS being the biggest customer, and the airport is the base for Amapola Flyg, a Swedish postal airline. Russian cargo carrier AirBridge uses the airport for flights with a Boeing 747-8 on a regular basis.

“We are still keeping our goal of 2015 to expand by 700,000 passengers over five years,” Weinhandl says. “But we need better connections on land and are pressing to get a new direct bus to Hyllie rail station where trains arrive from Copenhagen after passing Öresundsbron.

We expect an answer before Christmas.

“Of course, a train connection between Malmö Airport and Copenhagen would be best, but in the short term we need better bus connections.”

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BÄTTRE TI LLSAM MAN S S EDAN 2006 Ju mer vi ses, desto bättre mår vår vänskap.

Boka en kompiskryssning på silja.se

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TCAS

No360

AIRPORTS

SWEDEN MEANS A LOT TO NORWEGIAN Norwegian arrives in Kiruna once a day. Photo: Jan Ohlsson

By Jan Ohlsson

Norwegian is increasing its market share in Sweden. More and more Swedes are flying Norwegian long-haul or on European routes, and demand is increasing on domestic routes too.

A Boeing 737-800 is a bit too big for most Swedish domestic flights, which tend more towards frequency. That limits Norwegian to simply fly the longer routes, where it creates the same pressures on the competition as Ryanair does on intra-European flights. One exception is the route between Stockholm Arlanda miljø_192x94:Layout 1 Norwegian 18/11/14 13:02 and Kiruna, to which flies once a day.Side 1 In July, Norwegian scored a 94.6% load factor against SAS’s TCAS miljø_192x94:Layout 1 18/11/14 13:02 Side 1

89%. Yield increased by three percentage points, while SAS had a yield decreasing by 1%, both system-wide.

Norwegian plays a big role when it comes to long-haul traffic from Arlanda, which is forcing SAS to move traffic there from Copenhagen. With the new Airbus A321LR, Norwegian can play an even more important role in the domain of ‘short-long haul’, as they call it.

Norwegian’s global strategy nowadays is yielding the fastest growing bookings from the USA and Spain. The Scandinavian domestic markets showed a 6% increase in July, and Norwegian is now close to 3.75 million passengers per year from Sweden.

Luftens bedste miljøvalg

Luftens bedste miljøvalg 22

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Bf Jan Ohlsson

With a new route to Helsinki for Finnair and new owners with power plants in their luggage, Sweden’s NextJet is attracting Finnish interest.

NEXTJET GETS FINNISH POWER NextJet was founded in Sweden in 2001 by a group of pilots, but the controls were taken over 2012 by Höga Kusten Flyg, a virtual carrier flying between Örnsköldsvik and Stockholm Arlanda.

The airline’s new owners are the Finnish energy company Katternö and virtual airline Air Åland in Mariehamn.

Katternö is part-owned by the municipality of Jakobstad and Karleby. Katternön acquired the shares for €530,000, “as a matter of social responsibility”, to secure and possibly expand traffic from their cities, which have many business connections with Sweden.

BaE ATP seen here at Bromma. Photo: Jan Ohlsson

NextJet already flies between Jakobstad/Karleby and Arlanda, Mariehamn and Turku. One of the founders of NextJet, chief executive Magnus Ivarsson, will remain as minority owner.

Now three important destinations indirectly share responsibility for NextJet’s future. In 2015, the airline flew 400,000 passengers to 18 destinations, some of them subsidised, with 300 employees and ten Saab 340s and four BaE ATPs in the fleet.

NextJet has a codeshare agreement with SAS. The new owners are expected to shift more focus to the Finnish and Åland regional markets, with Arlanda as a hub.

But the first step has actually been the opening of a new route in cooperation with Finnair: Västerås to Helsinki three times daily, less at weekends, with an ATP for 64 passengers.

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No360

A DAY AT THE OFFICE

HOTEL DIRECTOR – AND PILOT WITH THE SUN AT HIS BACK “I think we have a good and varied product at Ruth’s – also in the bar. One should never disappoint the guests; in the air or on the ground, they react the same.”

By Ejvind Olesen Photo: Preben Pathuel

Peter Chr. Jensen leads an unusual double life. His boyhood dream is realised, and he still regards the Boeing 737 as his favourite plane when he, at 60 years of age, is a pilot on JetTime’s charter flights. But he is also the boss of Ruth’s Hotel in Skagen.

The sun plays a vital role in Peter Chr. Jensen’s life. That does not, however, mean that he can’t stand the Danish climate.

“But it is delightful rising above the clouds on a winter’s day into the sunshine, heading south,” he insists.

This is one of many good reasons why he would never give up his job as a pilot. He can say goodnight from the sunset terrace looking out over Old Skagen, with its very special nuance, and good morning from the cockpit of a plane from Billund on its way to the Canary Islands as the sun rises again to the south of Jutland.

This is an accurate picture of his life as Administrative Director at the exclusive Ruth’s Hotel in Skagen during the week and as a pilot on JetTime charter flights from Aalborg to Billund on Sundays. At least in winter, his busy schedule restricts evenings on the famous sun terrace to less than a dozen.

Peter Chr. Jensen is a trained pilot from a flying school in Seattle, USA. He flew as a steward for SAS on the Seattle route, using his stopover time of three or four days to train as a pilot, one of the benefits being that the similar climate provided the same challenges as that of Denmark.

Afterwards he moved on to sightseeing flights and special jobs for North Flying in Aalborg. This was followed by Muk Air, which

no longer exists, then 20 years with Mærsk Air and a spell with Sterling Airways.

Hard to become a pilot Today he flies his favourite plane, the Boeing 737, mostly charter for JetTime. This fits in nicely with his main job as Administrative Director for Ruth’s Hotel ‘on Skagen’, as the locals say, with something like a daily routine at the hotel, a hectic Saturday, and Sundays flying.

Can you understand how many young people would like to become pilots today but find it difficult?

“Yes and no. It’s rather like all other jobs these days. Everything is run by computer. Training is also expensive, easily reaching 700,000 kroner, and I hear that the banks are not so inclined to grant loans. And there’s not such a vast difference in the pay these days.”

How long will you keep going?

“Until I am 65, and I’ve just turned 60. The rule for a pilot’s pension is that the collective age in the cockpit must not exceed 120 years. I’m also pleased that we are examined medically annually. One is grateful for that with the advancing years. Luckily I have no problems as yet.”

Never disappoint your guests Is there a difference between guests on a charter flight and at a luxury hotel?

“Yes, I suppose there is. But just the same, if we fail to meet their expectations, both groups become equally dissatisfied and dif-

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ficult. I am more closely involved with guests at the hotel than on a plane, of course, due to the cockpit door being locked.

“I really enjoyed having passengers visit us in the cockpit, and I still keep contact when passengers disembark. I stand at the exit and wish people a great holiday, and I prefer standing in the gangway when I address the passengers over the microphone.”

What do you think about the locked door, and the rule that there must be two people in the cockpit in the interests of safety?

“I think it’s superfluous. Today two pilots can sit chatting for example for ten hours back and forth from Grand Canaria, while the computer takes care of everything. You really get to know each other and can spot or feel if something is troubling your colleague. There’s also much more equality than before.

These days the navigator has a say; it’s no longer the captain who rules supreme. That has improved safety and lessened the necessity for psychological testing.”

The Vet’s Supper is popular Is there a difference between aircraft food and the dining at u Ruth’s Hotel?

IN THE EYE OF THE STORM

“It’s not quite as exciting as it has been becoming a pilot. The computer has taken over the aircraft, the training is expensive, and the pay is not what it was.”

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Peter Chr. Jensen has experienced a lot since he was a young pilot in Seattle, then coming home to a variety of duties with North Flying in Aalborg such as sightseeing flights. Later followed routes with Muk Air and 20 years with Mærsk, a great deal of the time at which was as Chief Pilot under Klaus Ren, the former Administrative Director of JetTime, from whom today he still gets the best assignments.

The storm started when Sterling took over and a power struggle developed between the pilots and the two companies.

“I was in the eye of the storm as fleet manager for Sterling, and together with the State Air Authorities separated the red and blue pilots so that they didn’t fly together for a period of three months,” he says.

There were two completely different characters leading the two companies, and many in the travel branch at that time hoped that the AP Møller concern would take over Sterling and not the other way round.

“Bjarne Hansen was the strategic top man as the chief at Mærsk. The whole organisation was consistently well informed of what was happening.

The Icelandic Almar was completely relaxed in his style of leadership of Sterling, and it could be difficult as a leader to see where we were heading with the organisation,” says Peter Chr. Jensen.

As we now know, both gave in each in his way, and JetTime has taken over a good deal of the business.

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No360

A DAY AT THE OFFICE

u

“Yes, and there’s also a difference in the buying – in price. I sometimes wish airline companies would spend a little more on catering, but there are so many logistical expenses to consider when delivering food at an aircraft’s many destinations.

“But it always spreads happiness in the cabin when they serve the traditional two meatballs with rye bread, or The Vet’s Supper, which consists of salted meat and liver paté. Not a gastronomic highpoint but it does the job. At JetTime we actually use ecological bread, and the dishes are supplied by Kultorvet in Copenhagen.”

Do they still serve different meals to the pilots in the interests of safety?

“No, not on the European routes these days, but on long distances we mustn’t eat the same food. On the charter flights to the Canary Islands and Mallorca there are two meatballs for each pilot, the same as the passengers.”

You are known for your restless nature. Do you never get tired?

“Yes, of course. But when things go right you forget about it. When the flight is on schedule, the hotel booked. A bonus can be flying north on a late evening and experiencing the Northern Lights over northern Germany – and the next evening applauding the sunset in Old Skagen.

“Of course, sometimes it rains, but that way life is varied – both on the ground and in the air.”

THEY LIVE AT RUTH’S We know that there are many Copenhageners in Skagen during weeks 28 and 29, but it’s not like that the whole summer long. They tend to live in summerhouses, not at the hotel.

“90% of our guests outside of those two weeks at Ruth’s Hotel come from an area from Aarhus to Herning and up to Aalborg. The last 10% is divided between Sweden, Norway and Copenhagen,” says Peter Chr. Jensen.

How did you turn around so many years of eight-figure losses, 15 million kroner in 2008, and 12 million kroner when you took over in 2010?

“By going through the entire business with a fine-tooth comb, renegotiating all delivery contracts without compromising on quality, and firings which I really do not like. But it is easier to fire cooks, retaining only the best. You can’t do that with pilots – as in Sterling – because the unions demand the last-in first-out principle, something that can prohibit keeping the better pilots. But Ruth’s Hotel is an exciting workplace to be boss. High quality,

interesting guests, excellent capital and dedicated employees.”

What about the prices?

“With good reason Ruth’s Hotel is not among the cheapest, nor should it be – 2,500kr on average per night for a room.

Only in January and February can it be difficult to charge full price, so we have to offer substantial reductions. But it can also be delightful in Skagen on a winter’s day.”

-ejv.

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No360

PATA

KLM are among the participating airlines at PATA’s long haul workshops in Aarhus and Copenhagen. The aircraft on the photo is a Boeing B777-300 in a special livery. KLM used the aircraft to fly the Dutch athletes to and from The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The orange color is often used by national teams from the Netherlands.

M

PATA TAKES ON A NEW STRATEGY

m l

By Claus Vestergaard Pedersen Chairman, PATA Denmark

Instead of a running list of invitations to our events, PATA will at the New Year present a complete program for the entire year, while the upcoming Worldwide Workshops will be the biggest ever held.

The management of PATA DK is changing how we work with events. At the end of the year, we will be ready with a calendar packed full of arrangements in both the east and the west. Of course, additional events can still be included, but the new vision gives greater accessibility for members and at the same time makes it easier for the association to communicate with potential new members.

We do this for the reason that it is more interesting to describe what PATA is, by presenting a full and varied program.

Since the last issue of Stand By we have held several events. One of the special experiences for our members was a Bridgewalk across the Little Belt Bridge, one of Denmark’s more recent tourist attractions. In addition there have been Friday Bars in the east, while TV2 war correspondent Rasmus Tantholt held lectures for members in the west.

Worldwide Workshops PATA’s annual Worldwide Workshops take place in Aarhus on November 2, and the following day in Copenhagen. With hundreds of participants including among others many travel agents, these are some of the largest events in the travel branch.

Non-PATA members are also welcome to participate!

At these two workshops we again this year present a long list of exciting destinations, airline companies, tourist bureaus and much more. It is vital to constantly optimise the list of exhibitors and ensure they have an interesting product, matching the needs of the Danish market.

The two Worldwide Workshops this year will be the biggest ever, and that places demands on both guests and exhibitors.

The details and application for participation can be found on our new homepage, pata.dk.

ly Hotels, Iberia, Icelandair, the Israeli State Tourist bureau, KLM, Lufthansa Group, SAS, the Seychelles Tourist Board, South African Airways, Thai Airways, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Tourism Malaysia.

In November, we will hold the Nordic PATA meeting in Stockholm, where some board members of PATA Denmark, Sweden and Finland will participate. The meetings are meant to share best practices, interesting contacts and generally strengthen the cooperation between the Nordic branches.

Additionally, in September I attended the large PATA Travel Mart, held this year in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. By participating, we generated interesting new contacts for among other things our Worldwide Workshops, at the same time informing them that for a fee we could arrange workshops in Denmark for visiting tourist advisors, etc.

Best practice Among the many exhibitors this year, in alphabetical order: Greek Star Alliance member Aegean Airlines, Air France, Amadeus, Bangkok Airways, Billund Airport, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Discover The World, Easia Travel, Exclusive-

PATA er en forkortelse for Pacific Asia Travel Association; se mere på: PATA.org eller PATA.dk - PATA Danmark er en af 43 nationale PATA-foreninger.

S n s t

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No360

AIRLINES

heir

It takes up to six hours to fly the Tehran-Copenhagen route, on which Mahan Air primarily uses an Airbus A340-600. None of the company’s planes have individual TV screens. Mahan has 4,700 employees and its turnover last year was more than US$600 million.

AIRLINE PLEASED WITH NEW COPENHAGEN ROUTE

By Henrik Baumgarten

The largest airline in Iran, Mahan Air, opened a twiceweekly Tehran-Copenhagen route this June. There may be more departures to come – and perhaps a route to Sweden.

Now that many international sanctions against Iran have been lifted as part of the so-called nuclear deal, Iranian airlines are free once again to purchase new passenger aircraft.

It is estimated that the country will need up to 500 planes over the next ten years.

Iran’s largest airline is the privately-owned Mahan Air. It has grown rapidly since it was founded in 1993, and last year it carried 6.1 million passengers on a growing number of routes.

This year the airline, whose name means “that’s great”, opened flights from the capital Tehran to Moscow and Kiev, and at the beginning of June it established a twice-weekly route to Copenhagen. And soon Mahan will return to England with flights to London Gatwick.

In Denmark, Mahan Air is handled by the GSA bureau Khyber International Nordic. At the end of August, Stand By visited Khyber’s office in Copenhagen to meet with Hossein Hosseini, director of the airline’s Global Marketing Europe and route development.

“Copenhagen is our eighth destination in Europe. We opened at Copenhagen because it was a large and unserviced market, and we expect about 45,000 passengers a year on this route,” Hossein Hosseini says.

“More than half of these passengers will be Iranians, of whom about 30,000 are living in Denmark and Sweden, while about 15% will be Danes and Swedes. We have both economy and business class, and we treat passengers with true Iranian hospitality and passenger focus.”

Among other things, Mahan Air seeks to attract customers from Denmark and southern Sweden who can connect with the airline’s routes to such destinations as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Mauritius. If the connection

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Hossein Hosseini, left, Mahan Air’s director of Global Marketing Europe and route development, is shown with CEO Masud M Khan of the GSA bureau Khyber International Nordic, which handles Mahan Air in Denmark. Photo: Preben Pathuel

MAHAN AIR involves a wait of more than five hours, economy passengers are given access to Mahan’s business-class lounge at Tehran’s main airport, Imam Khomeini Airport (IKA).

Perhaps to Sweden Mahan Air is thinking of opening at Stockholm or perhaps Gothenburg, according to Hossein Hosseini, who adds that there are major challenges involved in running a private business in Iran, where the primary focus is on public corporations.

“But we will grow in competition with other Iranian airlines, of which there are ten at the moment,” he says. This year, Air France and British Airways have once again begun to fly to Tehran.

Mahan’s route from Tehran to Copenhagen has many Chinese passengers. Mahan has 20 flights per week between Tehran and Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, and 40% of the passengers on these three routes are Chinese.

Iran needs hotels “When Mahan opens new routes, we make an effort to inform the new markets about Iranian culture, and we organise fam trips for the travel business,” says Hossein Hosseini.

Iran has two short high seasons – in April-May and again in October-November. In the winter it’s usually too cold, especially in Tehran, and it’s too hot in the summertime.

“Iran needs hotels, particularly in the larger tourist cities.

Apart from Tehran, tourists should visit such cities as Isfahan and Shiraz,” says Hossein Hosseini.

There is a large market for air travel in Iran, which has a population of 80 million and a growing economy. Last year, some 50 million passengers passed through Iran’s airports.

At the moment, Mahan Air has about 50 aircraft – a mix of long-haul airliners and regional aircraft. Mahan aircraft include 10 A340-600/300, in addition to 14 of the older 300-600s and10 A310-300s. Mahan also has a large technical division which, in addition to maintaining the company’s own aircraft, also provides services to other airlines.

Mahan has 30 domestic routes as well as routes to the Middle East and European destinations such as Düsseldorf, Munich and Paris. It also has Asian destinations that include Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

In Denmark, Mahan Air is handled by the GSA bureau Khyber International Nordic. Khyber is also the sales agent in Denmark or Scandinavia for the Turkish airline Atlas Global as well as Ethiopian Airlines, Korean Air and Oman Air. Atlas Global flies between Istanbul and Copenhagen, while Star Alliance member Ethiopian has a route from Addis Ababa to Stockholm.

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No360

AIRLINES

THE PROFITS OF PREMIUM

By Marisa Garcia

Flying in Premium is better than it ever has been, and it’s going to get better.

Now that airlines are profitable they’re investing in their products overall, and they are especially focused on keeping high-revenue customers happy.

IATA’s financial outlook for the global air transport industry projects profits of $39.4 billion in 2016 (up from the $36.3 billion forecast in December 2015), with an aggregate net profit margin of 5.6%.

If all remains on track, airlines will enjoy their fifth consecutive year of profitability.

That financial security, bolstered in part by low fuel prices, has allowed airlines to invest in product improvements especially at the front of the plane.

Revenue booster But a focus on the front is also a profitability boost. That’s because Premium customers, though fewer, represent a significant share of airline revenue.

They are less price sensitive, and their need to travel is more consistent.

David Oxley, senior economist at IATA, tells us, “You might call it ‘resilient’ or stable, because it’s generally business customers.”

Premium ticket sales depend on a healthy global economy. After the 2008 financial crisis, for example, corporate austerity drove some Business class passengers to Economy. But the

SAS

high numbers of passengers now flying have served to boost Premium ticket sales.

“The premium segment continues to offer an important buffer for overall airline financial performance,” IATA said in its half-year report. “Premium airfares have held up better than their economy counterparts on many of the main premium routes so far this year.”

During the first half of 2016, 5.4% of all passengers were premium passengers. Yet they delivered nearly 27% of airlines’ total revenues for the year.

And that is only the global average.

“There is variation across different markets,” Oxley tells us. “In the North Atlantic, it is a much bigger part of the business than in other markets.”

On North Atlantic routes, Premium passengers made up 14.1% of all passengers so far this year. But those pas-

sengers yielded 50.6% of the revenues.

The second most profitable Premium route is Europe-Southwest Pacific, with 14.6% of passengers delivering 44.3% of the revenues.

Profitable by design Premium customers expect more, and airlines are falling over each other to attract more of these customers. There is heavy competition to offer newer aircraft, better cabin products and greater perks for Premium passengers.

Recently, United Airlines revealed a new Polaris Business class product, which features an exclusive lounge designed to harmonise with the passenger experience on-board.

Nigel Goode, co-founder of the design firm PriestmanGoode in London, describes this as a “holistic, refined, human-focused journey”.

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Delta Air Lines

United Airlines

United’s Polaris Business class lounge introduces an exclusive Quad seat.

This cubicle seat offers customers an optimal private space to work, rest, and dine before their flight. – features that are similar to what they will enjoy on the plane.

At the same time, the plane’s cabin is designed to feel like a lounge, with a dedicated private entrance and a generous inflight snack bar.

SAS’ new Business cabin also reflects these Premium product strategies.

With direct aisle access lie-flat seats, state-of-the-art entertainment, highspeed Wi-Fi, Hästens bedding, and an on-board snack bar, the SAS cabin holds its own among the best Business class cabins flying today.

SAS Lounges and new cabins follow the same holistic design principles that inspired United. Design elements

and features of the pre-flight lounge carry over to the new inflight experience.

Kristine Mayer, manager SAS Service Design, said during its reveal in 2014 that this product is directly targeted at the preferences of Scandinavian frequent flyers but is suited to global Premium customers. She explained, “The Scandinavian design ideal appeals universally.”

It has proven popular. This May, SAS reported that demand in Business class increased by over 50% during the month of April compared to the same period last year.

To keep those cabins full, without forfeiting revenue, SAS has followed the example of other airlines, like Finnair, and now allows Economy customers to bid to earn last-minute upgrades.

Rewriting the rules But the most revolutionary Business class development to date is Delta Air Lines’ new Delta One Business class private suite. It is the world’s first Business seat with a door.

“That ability to close out the cabin is quite desirable, and you will see from the ticket sales just how much people value it,” says Adam White, co-owner of Factorydesign, the London-based design firm that worked with Delta Air Lines and Thompson Aircraft seating on Delta One. Tim Mapes, Delta’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer, explains, “Added comfort and privacy are important to business travellers, and that drove the design.”

Until now, suites have only been allowed for a limited number of First class passengers by regulations.

Through a long and demanding certification process, Delta rewrote the rules to offer 32 suites on-board. The airline’s designers and suppliers proved to aviation authorities that Delta One’s suites satisfied stringent safety and security requirements.

Delta is a fiscally conservative airline.

Going through the trouble and expense to introduce a radically new Business class that required special regulatory review reflects the airline’s confidence in the resilience of Premium customer demand.

Keeping Premium passengers happy pays off.

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No360

AIRLINES

MIXED VALUES, COMMON PURPOSE: BEHIND THE LAUNCH OF A4E

By Marisa Garcia

IAG, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, easyJet and Ryanair launched Airlines for Europe (A4E) this April to start what they describe as “a revolution”. Finnair, Norwegian, Jet2. com and Volotea have since joined them.

A4E brings together some unlikely allies – flagships and lowcost carriers (LCCs) – to lobby for improved air traffic management, put an end to disruptive ATC strikes, tackle airport charges and push for a fairer tax structure.

SAS remains a hold-out. When asked about joining A4E during an IATA operations conference in Copenhagen in spring, SAS President and CEO Rickard Gustafson said, “We are still a member of the AEA [Association of European Airlines] and we’re still debating within SAS how we would transition into this new entity.”

A4E says it would welcome SAS as a member. But Hans Ollongren, SAS chief for public and affairs and alliances, tells us that joining A4E remains under review.

“The topics under discussion are very long term. […] They have already been discussed for years,” he says. “There is no doubt that they require the full attention of our industry associations, in particular from member states and the Commission, if we are going to achieve tangible results for the industry and for the consumer.”

Airports are monopolies A4E’s managing director, Thomas Reynaert, has expressed optimism that the association can drive positive change in Brussels. He credited European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc with having a “business mindset”.

A4E has made no friends at airport association ACI Europe by pushing for lower airport charges.

Airlines want fees to reflect ground revenues from airport shops and services, because they deliver the passengers who spend the money. Airports disagree.

ACI Europe’s director general, Olivier Jankovec, has accused the group of “building their unity on our back” and said they would fail to “foster wider aviation industry alignment”.

Thomas Reynaert feels that too many of Europe’s airports are effective monopolies, saying, “There’s no possibility to have decent commercial negotiations”.

A4E faces challenges Analysts at CAPA (Centre for Aviation) suggest A4E faces the same challenges as other groups in serving members’ interests.

“It could be an ongoing mission, with new issues to tackle each time an old one is resolved. Alternatively, it could be more focused on campaigning on a specific issue or set of issues, in which case the association’s success would be signalled by its rendering itself obsolete,” CAPA states.

It doesn’t seem that A4E will just accomplish its missions and then dissolve.

The group’s scope has grown with a policy position on the Brussels Aviation Package including the changing scope of the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) and the launch of an environmental working group.

A4E proves that Europe’s bickering flagships and LCCs can work together – if they must.

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No360

AIRLINES

PASSENGER TAX HITS TOURISM Bjørn Kjos on taxes, tourism and the US at the Aviation Festival in London in September. Photo: Norwegian

By Marisa Garcia

Norwegian’s chief executive recently joined A4E member airline leaders in London, calling for an end to UK passenger taxes, warning of the negative economic and environmental impact of Norway’s passenger tax, and calling US airlines anticompetitive.

At the Aviation Festival in London, Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos joined fellow A4E member airline chiefs Carolyn McCall of easyJet and Willie Walsh of IAG in urging the UK government to eliminate its Air Passenger Duty (APD), which is added to ticket prices.

They argue that the duty discourages airline growth and negatively impacts tourism.

Kjos blamed the introduction of the Air Passenger Tax in Norway for the possible closure of Rygge airport in Moss, near Oslo, and the subsequent loss of jobs there. He warned of similar effects in remote cities and smaller markets, with environmental repercussions.

“When they stop the flights they start the cars, so the argument of an environmental impact becomes completely ridiculous,” he said.

Kjos on competition The growth of Iceland’s airlines on routes to the US, Kjos said, does not affect Norwegian.

“It’s only a small part of it, and they’re serving a lot of cities in the US that might be served better through a hub, not just their small indirect flights,” he said.

On whether the recent launch of a service between Copenhagen and San Francisco was an appeal to technology companies in the Nordics, Kjos replied: “It’s a bonus, with these tech companies, but our core business is leisure.

“We do see at least in the UK some of the corporate customers who are very tech savvy. These European [tech] entities are filled with smart people.

Oakland has been a good story for us, especially from the UK, from both [leisure and corporate], and I’m sure there will be a natural adoption in Denmark.”

Interline partnerships Though Norwegian is exploring interline partnerships with other European airlines to feed its long-haul routes, Kjos

said that such a partnership with SAS was unlikely.

“I think the other partners to SAS would not welcome that,” he said.

Rather, he explained, interline partners should help expand Norwegian’s reach in smaller European communities.

“We’re looking to an interline system with airlines like easyJet and Ryanair, because they serve bases that we would not think about,” he said.

On the delays of US flight permits for Norwegian Air International (NAI) in Ireland and Norwegian UK, Kjos said: “We are fulfilling all the requirements for Open Skies. This is just something where they’re trying to fend off competition. Some airlines don’t like it. It’s not the European airlines who don’t like it, it’s some of the American airlines who don’t like it.

“IAG [CEO Willie Walsh] is all for it – competition for consumers – it’s best for us in the long run. He’s coming from a totally different angle. But some don’t like competition and are satisfied with low volumes and high fares. While others want high volumes and low fares – that’s what most of the carriers want.”

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No360

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HOTEL DISRUPTION Changes are taking place in the travel market at the moment, not least within the hotel business.

Distribution and new technology represent both an opportunity and a threat to consumers and hotels. And it’s difficult to get an overview of what is happening in the hotel arena because there is such an enormous number of hotels – independents as well as chains – and hotel rooms are sold through a myriad of channels including the hotel’s own homepage, a global distribution system (GDS), travel agencies, online travel agents (OTAs) such as Hotels.com, etc., etc.

Many hotels and chains also find it a huge challenge to appear at the top – or even just correctly – in a Google search.

On the other hand, it has never been easier (for consumers) to surf the Claus adv copy copy.pdf

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net for the ideal hotel, and prices can be adjusted (by suppliers) within the space of a minute.

Yet another discussion revolves around price and accessibility. Most OTAs demand the same low price and accessibility that are offered by the hotels themselves on their own homepages.

Shady practices The European Union’s competition authority is studying this very issue at the moment. Are the normal EU rules on the free accessibility of products being followed, or are some ‘shady practices’ taking place on the part of the OTAs that place these demands on hotels? A few countries have taken the matter into their own hands by trying to prohibit the OTA business practice of imposing price and accessibility constraints on hotels.

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DBTA

By Anne Mette Berg General Manager, Danish Business Travel Association

In Denmark, hotel organisations are also working to convince the national competition authorities to prohibit these price and accessibility clauses.

This challenges businesses’ travel policies, because purchasing agreements are often only visible in one or several channels such as the online tool that businesses use for airline, hotel and other reservations.

But here at the DBTA, we believe that agreements and good cooperation are still worthwhile!

Danish Business Travel Association has around 120 members, including around 40 travel managers, while the others are suppliers for the travel industry – e.g. airlines, hotels, car rental, travel tech firms and more.

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No360

TECHNOLOGY

SAS WANTS TO GET UNDER PASSENGERS’ SKIN As many other companys SAS Lab is working on a solution for the electronic luggage tag that can communicate with your cellphone.

Photo: SAS

By Marisa Garcia

SAS Lab, the Scandinavian airline’s ‘innovation hub’, has big ambitions to improve the travel process – by getting under passengers’ skin.

Biometric IDs are where we’re all heading for a smooth travel process, according to Massimo Pascotto, who heads SAS Lab, the Scandinavian airline’s ‘innovation hub’. But of all the biometric technologies currently on the market, SAS Lab has found that palm scanning will likely prove to be the most reliable.

This is because other biometric identification is either vulnerable to forgery or uncomfortable for passengers to use.

Palm readers “Overall, I’ve been a little bit concerned over biometrics,” Pascotto tells us. “The problem is what happens once that biometric information is taken. A fingerprint can be duplicated.

It’s not as secure.”

Palm scanners look at the blood vessels in the palm of the hand, a very complex and unique signature for each individual, which can only be confirmed by algorithms and is hard to forge.

“You have to scan the palm and it creates a template, reading the constraints, and transfers this information to an identity token. The next time you scan, if the token is not identical the algorithm will determine whether it’s you. If the scanner receives exactly the same template it will refuse,” Pascotto says.

“Also, it’s contactless. We used to have the fingerprint technology four or five years ago. One of the problems is that it’s not that reliable. It’s now better, but you’re forcing passengers to touch a reader.”

The advantage to passengers for this type of biometric identification, he says, is its security and the speed of clearing through access points such as lounges and gates.

“I believe it’s something that will happen in the future – being identified by your body on any sort of device,” he says. “The problem I see is that there is still a lot of scepticism from the users.”

There is another challenge for biometric technology and it is a familiar one for travel firms – systems integration. The data cannot be readily exchanged throughout the travel process, and that will be a challenge to tackle going forward.

Electronic baggage tags SAS Lab has not stopped at palm prints. Pascotto tells us that the company is still experimenting with other contactless proximity identification, including a trial for wearable rings with embedded chips.

For the present, though, SAS already allows passengers access to lounges with mobile NFC scanners and has recently launched a Samsung Gear S2 app which uses the airline’s new Smart Pass with NFC technology to grant access to the lounge and at the gate.

The airline is also reviewing digital tags for luggage that cus-

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tomers can reuse, but Pascotto tells us that SAS is considering a flexible electronic tag, which would also prove more affordable to customers.

“Other airlines have been experimenting using ink display technology. It’s good technology, but it’s very expensive to produce, which has an impact on the consumer. We’re looking at other technology, based on electro-carbon, which will be easier to use and cheaper,” he tells us.

This tag works like other electronic luggage tags in the market, connecting with passengers’ mobiles to update flight information.

“We’re still in the research phase, running the tests during the summer, and after summer we’ll know whether we’re ready to produce,” Pascotto says.

Short-term vision We asked Pascotto what he believes the dominant digital trends will be over the next five years of the travel industry, and he gave us a curious answer.

“We are looking at four to five months rather than four to five years, because things are changing so quickly,” he said.

SAS Lab takes full advantage of its privileged location in the Silicon Valley of the North to keep up with the latest innovations, working with agile start-ups not only in the Nordics but also in California.

Pascotto expressed a preference for working with less riskaverse companies, those willing to get it wrong and move on and start again.

“We want to give it a try and experiment and use the MVP (minimum viable product) concept, implementing something very small,” he says.

But there are trends in these innovations which Pascotto believes will dominate in the future: biometrics, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

He believes that virtual reality could directly benefit passengers as entertainment, but also indirectly, as airlines and airports can use it as a training tool to improve their operations and, as a result, the passenger experience.

AI, naturally Artificial intelligence is taking up a lot of Pascotto’s time just now.

“We are investing a lot on artificial intelligence, including Facebook Messenger and booking. The idea is to expand the service to allow users to pose any question and get an answer,” he says.

Another Nordic carrier, Icelandair introduced the first of these smart mobile booking engines just this week.

Massimo Pascotto who heads SAS Lab, the Scandinavian airline’s “innovation hub”. Photo: Magnus Glans

“It’s definitely a trend because it’s a new touchpoint, using natural language and allowing customers to ask questions in their own way rather than being structured like an app.

Humans don’t interact like this. And as natural language searches become more common at home and in everyday life, passengers will expect travel providers to keep up.

People say, ‘I need to go to Stockholm tomorrow’, or within the next few weeks.”

With the rapidly changing landscape in these fields, the next five months will be busy for Pascotto, and the five months after that, and the five months after that.

SAS Lab is still experimenting with other contactless proximity identification, including a trial for wearable rings with embedded chips.

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No360

MPI

FUTURE MEETINGS – HOW TO KEEP UP TO DATE?

Bf Anne Marie Barsøe

A sector thrives when it has the most up-to-date equipment available. MPI not only offers its members training conferences, networking and business possibilities, but several times a year conducts surveys and analyses with a focus on trends in the meetings sector.

It is still looking positive in the meetings industry worldwide. Smart Marketing is the way forward and Security Matters these days too. The world’s largest association for people working with meetings, events and conferences – Meeting Professionals International (MPI) – highlights this in its latest assessments of what beats at the heart of this sector.

MPI has an extensive bank of knowledge, laced with reports, analyses and statistics about global trends, helping you to stay updated on how best to hold meetings and events, what the expectations are in the industry both short and long term, new forms of meetings technology and formats, the use of social media for events, meetings in the future and much more.

All are designed to help inspire and

benefit your daily workplace, on a local scale or globally – or both.

Great inspiration Ulrika Mårtensson, the new chairman of MPI’s Danish section, makes good use of this information bank, reports, newsletters and so on, in her daily work for Wonderful Copenhagen.

“Keeping myself up to date and knowing ‘what’s happening’ is a must in my daily routine as communications and press officer for Wonderful Copenhagen’s meetings and congress sections, and also in my position as chairman of MPI in Denmark,” she says.

“MPI’s publications, regular news bulletins, its monthly magazine, blogs, webinars and so forth, provide me with great possibilities for staying updated, learning and gaining inspiration by being in contact with colleagues working in the sector the world over. It just would not be the same without access to the platforms offered to me by MPI.” Largest branch The association MPI was created to professionalise the meetings and events

industry through the sharing of knowledge, training and creating business possibilities across the globe and networking via the association’s more than 17,000 members.

MPI Denmark is, with its 190 members, Europe’s biggest branch and offers annually around ten training seminars and network meetings on Danish soil, with speakers from home and abroad. As a member you also get access to MPI’s international activities, intelligence surveys, publications, newsletters, offers, networks and much more.

Read more about MPI in Denmark and find out about upcoming arrangements at www.mpidenmark.dk.

MPI Denmark with its 190 members is Europe’s largest branch, offering around 10 annual training seminars and network meetings in Denmark, with both local and international speakers. As a member you have access to MPI’s international activities, offers and network. www.mpidenmark.dk

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Du kan forudbestille dine varer fra TAX FREE-butikken og en række andre butikker i Københavns Lufthavn.

Varerne står klar, så du kan afhente dem på ud- eller hjemrejsen.

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No360

Cruise

VIKING LINE CONSIDERS NEW SHIPS Viking Grace med LNG lagt udenfor. Foto: Jan Ohlsson

By Jan Ohlsson

“We have plans for a new cruise ferry,” Jan Hanses, Managing Director of Viking Line Aps confirms to TTG Nordic. But Tallinn traffic may also be expanded.

The new ship will be a bit longer than Viking Grace and operate on the Stockholm-Turku route. She will replace MS Amorella. Viking Line has strengthened its position in Turku since the delivery of Viking Grace in 2013. The new vessel will have built-in LNG liquid natural gas tanks, as with Tallink’s newbuilding Megastar.

LNG is more expensive than bunker oil, but LNG will be in line with new rules on nitric oxide from 2021. Jan Hanses thinks a new ship, if ordered, could be ready by 2019.

“If she is built in Finland we would need to wait until 2021-2022, so different options might be considered.”

Hanses expects a positive yearly result, but a bit lower than 2015, referring to weaker demand and sharp competition in volumes and pricing. Next year, public areas on board Viking Cinderella and Viking XPRS are scheduled for rebuilding.

Need for more beds “There is a constant rise in demand for cabins with double beds. As we rebuild them, we will have less capacity for the summer peak to accommodate families with children who need four beds. That is one reason to put in a ship with 200-300 more beds than Amorella on Turku,” Hanses explains.

“On Helsinki-Tallinn, Viking XPRS, built in 2005, is also a bit too small and there is demand for more departures. Amorella might fit into this route or we may take on a second-hand ship that can be found.”

He adds: “The Finnish economy has weakened and that is affecting traffic to Sweden. Saving on costs is not a solution, so we may increase marketing and promote new offers and services.”

Why not challenge Tallink in its home markets?

“We compete in Estonia. But we have no plans regarding Riga. We know that Lithuania aspires for a ferry link between Stockholm and Klaipeda as well, but at this point we are not opting for new countries and flags. Nor do we plan any ro-pax ferries.”

Jan Hanses comes from Österbotten, the most Swedish speaking part of the Finnish regions. He studied law, started at Viking Line at 1988 and became legal adviser and deputy managing director.

Jan Hanses. Photo: Viking Line

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TALLINK TAKES THE OFFENSIVE

By Jan Ohlsson

Separated into two brands again, next year Tallink Silja takes on a new concept – the cruise ferry.

“Yes we are promoting two different brands again,” admits Marcus Risberg, managing director in Sweden for Tallink Silja.

“Silja Line is back in the limelight, to secure our share of the growing markets. That and an upgrade of two Helsinki ships, Silja Serenade and Silja Symphony, has already proven successful.

This means higher marketing costs, but a clearer message to customers too. Sales and administration remain the same, as does the loyalty system Club One.” He adds: “Many decisions can now be taken on more local levels, to better meet rapid changes in competition.”

Before, Tallink Group was more centrally controlled than it is with the new strategy.

Tallink’s debts and interest rates for seven new-build ships over the last ten years are now reduced to a level that allows ordering one more ship, MS Megastar, for Helsinki-Tallinn. It will replace one of the newer vessels, MS Superstar, which will be sold.

Megastar will be driven by LNG. With short turnarounds, it will be built for fast crossings at 27 knots and will not have regular lifeboats.

Instead the engine rooms are divided into two separate ones and protected from fire, so the ship can always reach a safe harbour without being evacuated at sea. There is also a special car deck on deck 7, open to passengers loading tax-free goods.

Marcus Risberg, left, and Matts Gottfarb.

Tallink’s challenge Marcus Risberg’s Stockholm team is comprised of Matts Gottfarb, sales director, from Ebay and Janis Pavuls, marketing and communications director, a former radio journalist.

One of their decisions is to once again promote Stockholm-Riga as a cruising destination with daily traffic. To provide only secondary daily traffic was profitable but also invited criticism, and opened up possible competition from Riga or Klaipeda.

MS Romantika now will join MS Isabelle on the route. MS Baltic Queen will take Romantika’s place on Stockholm-Tallinn and MS Silja Europa, which can accommodate 3,000 passengers, will be the main cruise ferry on Helsinki-Tallinn.

In Stockholm, Tallink Silja has moved to a completely new and much larger terminal in Värtahamnen. Also the Riga route and administration will move here from Frihamnen. The old terminal is being demolished.

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS Den bedste vej til det sydlige Afrika.

flyssa.com

South African Airways tilbyder 28 ugentlige afgange fra København og Billund via vores gateways i Frankfurt, München og London til Johannesburg, med smidige forbindelser videre i Sydafrika samt til bl.a. Mozambique og Zambia.

SAWUBONA – WELCOME ON BOARD!

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No360

LEISURE

CHINA’S TALL AMBITIONS Text and photo: Jens Henrik Nybo

Guangzhou is China’s third largest city, a metropolis that has everything from extravagant new architecture to the soul of ancient Cantonese culture – not to mention exquisite food and a congenial atmosphere.

tion for newlyweds to be photographed in their wedding attire with the monumental buildings as a backdrop. Early in the morning there’s a good opportunity to experience tai chi in one of the small green groves facing the Pearl River.

Your neck quickly gets strained from gazing up at all the towering buildings in the sparkling new square of Zhujiang New Town in Guangzhou, formerly called Canton. Virtually all of the structures in this neighbourhood are new and brilliantly frame China’s ambitions, which are just as lofty as the buildings when it comes to growth and progress.

Just over the Zhujiang River towers the city’s landmark Canton Tower with its 587 metres.

In addition to being one of the world’s tallest TV and radio towers, it has been a popular observation point since it opened in 2010.

From the 450-metre-high platform you get an unparalleled 360-degree view of this entire metropolis in southeast China with its 13 million inhabitants.

Zhujiang New Town offers not only imposing skyscrapers but also daring and terrifically exciting architecture that has sprung up just in the last six years. This especially includes the opera house, library and museum, the three most innovative buildings in the district.

Old street for a stroll The Shengxiajiu pedestrian street encompasses the essence of Guangzhou’s architecture, shopping and food. This buzzing highway of people stretches for over a kilometre and is packed with sights to challenge your senses.

Enjoying this pedestrian street is one of the most popular pastimes for residents, especially at weekends. The atmosphere is wonderful, even if you just want to stroll along and not buy anything.

If you want to experience the spiritual side of Guangzhou, the temple with the six Banyan trees is a must. It’s a lovely old Buddhist building with 1,400 years under its belt, where the locals come to pray and burn incense sticks.

Colonial charm Coming from the futurism of the highest degree in Zhujiang New Town, you feel light years away when you stroll around Shamian, technically an island in the Pearl River but actually a sandbar. It exudes a colonial past with fine mansions, stylish churches and pretty villas that the British and French built in the mid-1850s after the two Opium Wars.

In particular, Shamian Dajie, the main street, offers charm and atmosphere that are greatly appreciated by the city’s residents. It is a tradi-

Pets for sale Qingping Market with its countless shops and stalls selling dogs and cats, fish, birds, turtles and other living creatures is a bit of a culture shock to most Westerners. And the street market has changed compared to when Stand By first sent a representative to visit it 20 years ago.

At that time, the condition of the animals was miserable, to put it mildly. Today the pets are faring reasonably well – though probably not compared to Western standards. It is especially fascinating to experience the enthusiasm that the many buyers show for everything from amphibians to cats when they haggle over the prices.

The market stalls offer not only animals.

There’s also a host of Chinese medicinal herbs, dried sea creatures and cuts of pig that you would not dream of sinking your teeth into.

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med Star Alliance.

THUNDERING GROWTH The USA has been overtaken by China when it comes to the payment flows of business people.

China is consistently challenging the position of the United States on several fronts.

Recently it became the country where businesspeople spend the most money, outpacing the US in this area – another clear-cut testament to its fierce growth in economy and production.

Last year saw the business sector place a little over US$291 billion in Chinese coffers, which was about a billion more than what took place in the US. The estimate for this year gives the Chinese a boost of over 10% to almost $321 billion, while the Americans will have to settle for a growth of just 1.9% at barely $296 billion, according to calculations by several analysis agencies.

Despite somewhat more moderate increases in China’s economy in the last couple of years, the country remains one of the world’s fastest growing markets when it comes to business travel.

Potential for Finnair With Finnair choosing to open its new route to Guangzhou, just a couple of hours from Hong Kong by train, it strongly indicates that the company has drawn a trump card. Among the many other new Asian destinations, this southern Chinese metropolis is a magnet for the business sector.

The city is, with its 13 million inhabitants, the third largest in China, surpassed only

by Shanghai and Beijing. But it has experienced double-digit growth rates that are outpacing the rest of China.

For now, Finnair has chosen to leave Guangzhou as a seasonal route with four weekly departures, but chief executive Pekka Vauramo considers it highly likely that the route will be upgraded to all year after a year or so.

“The strategy is to ‘move’ two of the

current nine weekly Hong Kong flights to Guangzhou. The city is also interesting when it comes to tourism – not just the city itself but also its unique location on the map of China, with high-speed rail connections where it takes just a couple of hours to get to, for example, Guilin, which with its characteristic karst topography is a popular destination,” Pekka Vauramo says.

Guangzhou is a traffic hub, something the large new Baiyun Airport, which opened in 2004, contributes to. Second only to Capital Airport in Beijing, Baiyun is one of the busiest in China. Currently the airport has a capacity for 45 million passengers, but once a new terminal and two additional runways are completed in 2018 capacity will rise to 80 million.

Anti-corruption measures The Danish Consul General in Guangzhou, Ole Lindholm, confirms the city’s and the province’s vast potential.

“Guangzhou is the centre of southern China. All of Guangdong Province is China’s biggest economy and recently it became the first in China to have a GDP of over a trillion dollars, which is equivalent to Mexico’s entire GDP.” He adds: “With the status of being a regional free trade zone, the city has obvious advantages seen from the viewpoint of Danish investors and companies. The investment climate is friendly, and an anti-corruption campaign has borne fruit.”

The Consul General concludes: “Guangdong Province’s two largest cities, which in addition to Guangzhou counts Shenzhen, have been named the most business friendly in China by the American business magazine Forbes. The authorities treat foreign players well, and it is my impression that Scandinavians’ presence is greatly valued, in part because our strength lies in the environment, design and food products.”

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LEISURE

No360

News Ad

GUANGZHOU AS A HOST China’s third largest city is accustomed to guests. Hotel beds are booming in number and conference opportunities are increasing. China’s – and soon the world’s – largest trade show is held here twice a year.

from 213 countries flock twice a year to the 32,000 exhibition booths during the fair. The latest technology in exhibition facilities, ventilation (it’s hot and humid most of the year), communication systems, accessibility and infrastructure are in use.

Guangzhou is geared to housing large numbers of guests. Absolutely the biggest magnet in China for national and international visitors is the gigantic trade fair, the Canton Fair, which is held every year in spring and autumn.

For many years it has been – and continues to be – the engine for the large number of visitors in the city. The exhibition grounds cover an area of 1.1 million square metres, of which 338,000 square metres are under cover.

The Pazhou Complex, which the exhibition grounds belong to, is Asia’s biggest, both in terms of physical dimensions and prestige. Half a million buyers and sellers

Pampering the guest Guangzhou also hosted the Asian Games in 2010, which in itself resulted in the construction of mega-class facilities that could accommodate the substantial numbers of visitors. One of the fruits of this great event was the further addition of a large amount of hotel beds, conference centres, new subway lines, new roads and so on.

All in all, Guangzhou is at the forefront when it comes to bidding among competitors and foreign players in the travel segment, though it is difficult to find data for the total number of beds, conference venues and exhibition facilities in the city.

But if we are talking about hotels with five stars, we count over 30. Many of the well-known internationals are present, like Hyatt, Sheraton, etc., but nationally owned properties are here too, such as the Garden Hotel Guangzhou, which is highly popular among businesspeople and is located centrally in the city’s business district.

It has 828 rooms and the suites on the upper floors have all the amenities – including an exercise bicycle positioned firmly in the suite’s office. In total, there are 11 meeting and conference rooms, from the Grand Ballroom with 1,400 square metres to the smallest meeting room of 60 square metres. In all halls there are the latest presentation technologies, individual catering and so on. It’s an exquisite hotel that provides excellent comfort, amenities, service, restaurants, bars, entertainment, etc.

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med Star Alliance.

News Advertorial TTG Nordic.qxp_Layout 1 24/08/2016 14:41 Page 1

DID YOU KNOW? WTM London 2016 will be a three day event MONDAY 7 – WEDNESDAY 9 NOVEMBER Buyers at WTM London have a TOTAL PURCHASING RESPONSIBILITY OF £15.8BN That’s a massive £2.1M for each of the WTM BUYERS CLUB MEMBERS

Register for WTM London 2016 World Travel Market London, the leading global event for the travel industry, has opened registration to the new-look three-day WTM London 2016.

The WTM Inspire Theatre, a new 300-seater amphitheatre, will be added to the exhibition floor in the North Hall of ExCeL – London, while the WTM International Press Centre has been moved on to the exhibition floor for the first time (in the South Hall). More than 80 conference seminars will take place throughout the three days covering all the key sectors including aviation, hotels, sports tourism, responsible tourism, blogging, social media and travel technology Monday 7 November will remain an exhibitor inviteonly day, allowing exhibitors to conduct business meetings with key contacts. The event will kick off with the WTM Speed Networking in the WTM Global Stage at 9am – before the exhibition floor opens at 10am. A taste of ILTM at WTM returns for the fifth year across the Monday and Tuesday.

Kinas boome flere. Kin om året

With around 50,000 SENIOR INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES in attendance

Tuesday 8 November is the new day for World Responsible Tourism Day, keeping sustainability at the heart of the event.

WTM London 2016, which takes place between Monday 7 – Wednesday 9 November, is poised to be the most successful yet. The new-look threeday format has been universally well received from all participant groups. Delegates will be able to conduct even more business than last year’s record £2.5 billion and save on the ancillary cost with WTM London being one day shorter. Opening hours have been extended from 10am to 7pm on all three days of the event, to increase the business opportunities available.

Guan

865,500 ON-STAND MEETINGS take place with 5,000 EXHIBITORS from 182 COUNTRIES

Wednesday 9 November is the new day for the UNWTO & WTM Ministers’ Summit, which is this year celebrating its tenth edition. WTM London 2016 will conclude with the WTM Festivals, which will see a number of exhibitors hosting parties showcasing their culture, music and cuisine.

Deals worth MORE THAN £2.5BN will be agreed

WTM London 2015 saw almost 50,000 participants, including 9,100 buyers conducting business worth more than £2.5 billion with almost 5,000 exhibitors from 182 countries and regions. More than 865,000 on-stand business meetings will take place.

The Travel Tech Show at WTM is THE UK’S LARGEST TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY EVENT

World Travel Market London, Senior Director, Simon Press said: “World Travel Market London continues to improve every year, with 2016 poised to be the most successful yet.

The 10TH UNWTO & WTM MINISTERS’ SUMMIT will take place

“We are really excited by the new-look three-day WTM London. Feedback has been universally positive from all participant groups. There are a number of new initiatives including the Inspire Theatre and the press centre being on the exhibition floor for the first time.

MORE THAN 18,000 attendees at conference sessions, including 9,000 unique delegates

Guan absolut besøge holdes h Den h det stor areal på ter unde Pazho største, tid vil en den. En to gang Den nye tion (de stemer,

To pre-register visit: wtmlondon.com/register.

MORE THAN 38 TRAVEL INDUSTRY SECTORS represented at WTM London

To book discounted air fares with oneworld and hotels through HotelMap visit wtmlondon.com/discounts. Savings on Eurostar, Europcar, Thames Clippers and the Emirates Airline Cable Car are also available.

Discover the world £2.5

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of new business

5,000 exhibitors

from across the world

49,273

Official Premier Partner

attendees

from 182 countries

Official Media Partner

Register now wtmlondon.com 47

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Forkæle Guangz sig selv a imødek store be ge, konf Alt i a byde op rejseseg antal af Men, Mange men og retnings ligger c Her e alle fac kontor. I med en derum p præsen Et uds ning, re

No360

ANTOR

PROMOTE ICELAND ONLINE TRAINING Travel agents and tour operators selling Iceland can now become certified Iceland Specialists with a new online training programme developed by the national tourist board, Promote Iceland. The training is designed to help professionals market Iceland as a tourist destination. Promote Iceland has set itself

the objective not only to inspire travel but also to inform in a playful manner.

For further details on Iceland and how best to visit the country, visit inspiredbyiceland.com. To register for the training, visit traveltrade.visiticeland.com/become-a-specialist-in-iceland/.

JORDAN MARKS NEW HIKING TRAIL A recent walk with Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Lina Annab together with members of the Jordan Trail Association marked the opening of the new 650km Jordan Trail. With its starting point in the northern city of Umm Qais, the trail runs all the way to Aqaba in the south passing diverse landscapes and 52 villages along the way. The trail should be fully marked by the end of 2018. For Jordan, adventure tourism is a growing niche market offering trekking, biking, diving and hot air balloon trips. Learn more about the Jordan Trail at www.jordantrail. org and www.facebook.com/TheJordanTrail/.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO SELFIE CAMPAIGN Trinidad & Tobago is celebrating good service with a largescale selfie campaign. Take a selfie with a bartender, receptionist, tour guide or taxi driver who has provided you with excellent service in Trinidad & Tobago and be in the running to win US$150 in prizes, for both of you. On until the end of October, the competition is part of the larger TNTisastar campaign celebrating experiences of good service in the twin islands’ tourism sector.

Pictures must be uploaded to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with the name of the employee and company and using the hashtag #tntisstarservice. Learn more at www.facebook.com/ islandsoftrinidadandtobago.

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HOT STUFF WITH PRIMERA Top left to right: Sales Manager Marco Simonen, Producer Johanna Kuisma and Marketing Manager Teemu Mikkoinen. Lower left to right: Head of Nordic Travel Fair MATKA Lumia Ankkuri, Sales Manager Anna Molander-Bry and Sales Manager Rea Sandstrom.

MATKA CELEBRATES 31 YEARS Teemu Mikkonen is the dynamic new Marketing Manager for the biggest travel trade fair in Scandinavia, and he can’t wait to make MATKA bigger than last year with some 72,000 visitors all hungry for new destinations, B2B, activities and a better holiday climate.

“We will reach new visitors with a basketful of multi-culti destinations, cruises all over the world, airlines and MATKA Pro specially designed for professional byers. MATKA celebrates 31 years with over 12,000 square metres for the participating 92 countries, and everybody in the trade who wants to get in contact with the Nordic travel business is more than welcome in Helsinki on January 18-22, 2017.”

CJ

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND MARTIN STENMARK

From left: David Olsson, Ticket, with Anastasija Viskanova, Vice President Commercial at Primera Air, Zinhe Fili and Linnea Andersson, Ticket, invited agents for a hot dinner at Habibi, a North African restaurant in Södermalm, Stockholm, to promote Primera Air’s new efforts to become more of a scheduled airline. Already 25% of sales are seat-only and this should increase when Primera connects with Amadeus this autumn. Anastasija is working from Primera Air’s head office in Riga, one of the countries they do not fly from. And the evening’s lucky draw – of course, a flight ticket – went to Sand Norman, Apollo, with Christian Jahn from TTG Nordic seen in the background.

‘FRITTE’ IS HISTORY Founded in 1961, Fritidsresor will be history by November 1. Under the new name, TUI, the world’s biggest travel consortium is taking one more step to becoming the biggest tour operator in the Nordic countries as well. Eivor Andersson has been CEO for the Nordic countries since 2014, having previously worked with Ving. Anna Laestadius, Marketing Director since 2015, before worked with Electrolux and Lowe Brindfors. TUI’s turnover is €20 billion, generated by 20 million travellers from 15 countries. TUI strives to be the best in digital

Eivor Andersson in blue and Anna Laestadius combine the TUI colours.

Photo: Jan Ohlsson

communication with its customers. The fastest growing sector now is cruising. JO

ONE&ONLY WITH ONE OF YOU

Patricia Polanco, Director of the Dominican Republic Tourism Office, invited 64 guests from the trade in Stockholm, together with Arturo Cruz Lopes (left), director of corporate sales at the Hard Rock Cafe & Hotel in Punta Cana, to celebrate the increasing numbers of visitors with 26-29% in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark, and the numbers continue to look promising.

Two new tour operators, Solresor and Bravo Tours, are starting up in January flying from Stockholm and Copenhagen to Punta Cana – as did the popular Swedish singer Martin Stenmark (right) in 2014 when he visited this lovely and rhythmic destination. Marin Stenmark was a big surprise at the event and also a great informer in his own way.

CJ

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From left: Mary Bishara, Sales Director, One&Only The Palm in Dubai, Lena Skogström, One of You AB, Kathrin Radloff, Sales Director Europa for One&Only, and Olivier Louis, Managing Director for One&Only’s four properties in Dubai attracted more than 80 travel agents and journalists to their presentation at Nobis Lounge, Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm. Lena Skogström staged the show and now also works a lot with event marketing and workshops with, among others, Seychelles, Madagascar, Sun International in Mauritius and Ayada resorts in the Maldives and Atlantis.

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No360

EVENTS

From left: Carina Bang, project consultant at Kursuslex, Karen-Marie Lillelund, speaker, and Olina Jægergaard, sales and marketing director at Kursuslex.

NETWORKING ACROSS THE ØRESUND A Swedish crab feed at the creative office hotel SOHO in Copenhagen was the focal point of a successful workshop on meetings and events in Skåne . Arranged by Kursuslex, the event also featured speed meetings, great food and plenty of humour (personified by speaker Karen-Marie Lillelund), all of which created a fine basis for RED. networking across the Øresund.

IATA MEETS CARLSBERG In August, IATA representatives were taken on an exclusive tour of Carlsberg, the exBeerience. The show-around combined their many guided excursions, including the Carlsberg Classic, the Old Brewhouse – and last but not least, a fine sightseeing visit complete with storytelling in a new neighbourhood that is being created in what was once a brewery area. Nineteen people participated in this interesting event.

s i c i d r o N G T T f o e u s The next is November 15th n o d e h s i l b u p FOR ADVERTISING Please call +45 70 25 97 00 or write to sales@ttgnordic.com

WE ARE FOCUSING ON DANISH TRAVEL AWARD 2016 & LEISURE

Deadline is October 25th

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You can also advertise for your new staff members at ttgnordic.com

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AN OUTING WITH ANTOR Every summer, the association of foreign tourist bureaus in Denmark, Antor, organises an outing and this year the destination was the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art north of Copenhagen.

The idea behind the outing is to bring together representatives from the nearly 20 member bureaus (some of which have Nordic offices in Stockholm) along with members of the Danish press and the Danish travel business for an informal field trip.

ANTOR is short for the Association of National Tourist Office Representatives. In Denmark, its chairman is Stig Sommerfeldt Kaspersen, head of the Portuguese tourist bureau in Denmark.

This year’s outing included some 40 participants – a mix of Antor members, travel agents and travel journalists. A bus took them all from Copenhagen to Louisiana in the town of Humlebæk, where museum employees showed them around and challenged them with a few painting exercises.

Most of the Antor members at Louisiana. In front form th left, Veena Bohlin, Thailand, Marije Renkema, Holland and Aruba, Christine Aby, France, Hanna Johansson, Flandern and Birgitte Guldberg, the German Tourist Office. In the back form left is Stig Sommerfeldt Kaspersen, Portugal, Johan Lantz, Cyprus, Norbert Lerch, Austria and Paul Sikic, The Croatian Tourist Board.

FINLAND CIRCUS COPENHAGEN Sumama Finnish Travel Marketing, Destination Finland and Visit Finland collaborated with Wallmans to create more focus on Finland as a travel destination.

There was plenty of inspiration and effective business sessions with 29 exhibitors, all of whom were ready to speak passionately about their offerings.

Skiing, ice floating, an ice hotel, sailing aboard an original ice breaker, driving a Ferrari on ice – all this and much more is possible during a holiday in Finland. The event closed with a fantastic Wallmans show that also gave guests and exhibitors the chance to mingle more informally.

RED.

From left: Emmy Pettersson of Hilton Copenhagen Airport; Jukka Turku, director of the five-star hotel; Jane Wildenrath of the MICE Agency; Gunhild Sunberg of Sun-Air; Pernille Hoffmann from the healthcare company Abbot; Jette Lau of Norwegian; Heidi Juel-Berg, also from Abbott; Charlotte Balschmidt from footwear chain Balschmidt; Thomas Villum Jensen of KidsAid Denmark; and Pernille Krüeger, sales director at Hilton Copenhagen Airport.

HILTON GIVES TO CHILDREN IN NEED Hilton Copenhagen Airport held its seventh annual Hilton Charity Golf Challenge in September, where business customers, partners and suppliers met for a day on the course at the Dragør Golf Links followed by dinner and entertainment at the hotel.

A total of 140 participants donated DKK 86,500 to the charity organisation KidsAid Denmark, tripling the result of last year’s event. The hotel donated another DKK 30,000, and guests could also donate through a charity auction of items that included paintings, an air ticket to London, a Hilton stay, photographic art and golfing equipment.

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No360

EVENTS

20 YEARS AT THE TRAVELLERS’ CLUB The Travellers’ Club (in Danish: De Berejstes Klub, DBK) has just celebrated its 20th anniversary at Café Globen near the Nørreport train station in Copenhagen. The café is open to everyone – but DBK is not. To become a member, you’ll need to have spent at least 24 hours in at least as many countries as your age (the minimum being 30), crossed the equator once and visited at least four continents. And you have to visit two or more new countries every other year – in principle, one country per year.

Anyone who has visited at least 100 countries is ’exempted’.

DBK recognises all 193 UN members plus another three: Kosovo, which Russia will not accept as a UN member, Taiwan, which China will not accept as a UN member, and the Vatican City.

DBK has 465 members, a closed Facebook page and a membership magazine called Globen, which is published four times a year.

From left: Morten Balk, country manager for Emirates, Jagath Perera, marketing officer at the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Maddubhani Perera, director of marketing at the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, and Peter N Grøndahl, consul general of Sri Lanka.

SRI LANKA ROADSHOW Sri Lanka’s roadshow had a beautiful kick-off, which began in Copenhagen at the Marriott hotel and continued on to Stockholm and Oslo. In 2016, the country saw 2.2 million tourist arrivals, and Denmark dispatched 13,000 of them – the greatest number in Scandinavia.

Sri Lanka is home to Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians and has as many as eight landmarks on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

It also offers the chance to experience both whales and elephants in the same country. Price levels in Sri Lanka are as low as in the Far East, and the country has an impressive jewel industry that produced the blue sapphire in Princess Diana’s engagement ring. Be aware that visa applications for approval within 24 hours must always be made through the official ETA page, www.eta.gov.lk. The price is USD 25. RED.

ATLANTIC LINK ANNIVERSARY Shown at the DBK anniversary from left: Elsa Ranzau, chairman Søren Fodgaard, founder Ole Egholm and Susanne Torpe.

A CROWD OF WELL-WISHERS A great many airline companies were among the well-wishers who attended the reception for travel business firebrand and co-owner of InterTravel, Brian Holm Otte. The reception was held in honour of his 25th anniversary in the travel business.

Brian Holm Otte began working for InterTravel on 1 September 1991.

Together with June Nielsen, he bought the bureau in Frederiksberg near Copenhagen in 2004. The first 25 years in this Life of Brian story were celebrated at the recently held reception.

InterTravel was founded in 1978 by Knud Rasmussen.

Brian Holm Otte, left, together with Brussels Airlines’ Nordic manager Helle Lydum Pedersen, his business partner June Nielsen and Thai Airways’ sales director Flemming Sonne.

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Pictured at the Atlantic Link reception, from left: Guldsmeden Hotels CEO Sandra Plesner Weinert, Atlantic Link owner Karin Gert Nielsen, and Atlantic Link’s first employee Charlotte Lindholm, who today is product manager at Profil Rejser.

The Danish bureau Atlantic Link celebrated its 15th anniversary at a well-attended reception at a Guldsmeden hotel in Copenhagen .

“Not many believed in us when we started out. Five years ago we had six employees. Now we have twice as many.”

These were the words of Atlantic Link’s founder and CEO Karin Gert Nielsen at the reception for her bureau. The reception was held at the Hotel Axel Guldsmeden . Atlantic Link, which represents tourism businesses in the United States and Europe, is the largest in Scandinavia within its speciality. Karin Gert Nielsen founded the company based on the idea that American states could be marketed individually outside the US. Today, Atlantic Link represents tourism in Scandinavia and Finland for individual states in the US as well as for hotel chains in the US and Europe. Six years passed before the company was able to afford its first employee. Today, Atlantic Link has 12 employees and represents a number of players in the tourist industry that do not have employees of their own in the Nordic countries.

20-09-2016 13:28:24

WELL-KNOWN PROFILE IS BACK AT STAND BY After an absence of some years, Swedish national Christian Jahn has returned to Stand By as advertising salesman for the Swedish market. While he was away he helped found TTG Nordic, which is today part of Stand By, and he has also published cruise travel magazines.

He knows his home market extremely well, having previously worked as director at Fred. Olsen Lines and head of marketing for Viking Line, which sails between Stockholm and Helsinki as well as to ports in Denmark and Norway.

Over the years, Christian Jahn has taken on challenges that include engineering turnarounds for struggling conference hotels in Sweden.

In his youth, he trained with the Swedish frogman corps (Kustjägarna). It is perhaps from this time that he developed his spare-time passion for sailing.

WELL-KNOWN PERSONALITY RETURNS TO AIRLINES Lars Bording, 47, a former director at the business travel management agency CWT and at SAS, has landed a top new position with the airlines of the Thomas Cook Group.

His new job is Director of Travel Retail at the group’s Travel Retail Division, where he has overall responsibility for tax-free sales aboard the many aircraft – not only at Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, the biggest charter airline in Scandinavia, but also at the other Thomas Cook airlines. These include Condor in Germany and Thomas Cook Airlines in Great Britain and Belgium.

Lars Bording left the airline business in 2011 after a year as commercial director with what was then Cimber Sterling. From 2011 to 2015, he was CEO at the electric vehicle mobility operator Clever, which decided last year to hire a new CEO. In 2005, he became director at CWT Denmark. In December the following year he switched to SAS Denmark as head of sales and marketing, moving from there to Cimber Sterling, where he was commercial director in 2010 and 2011.

No360

By Henrik Baumgarten

JOBS

NEW AT TRAVELPORT

NEW SALES STAFFERS AT BA

American Travelport, which includes among others the reservation systems Galileo and Worldspan, have four new members of staff in Denmark.

Trine Bastian is employed as Senior Brand Manager – she is new in the travel branch, and comes from the firm of E. Sæther which sells luxury goods, including jewellery.

Jes Johansen has been appointed as Senior Account Manager of the department of business development. He comes from W.B. Speciel Rejser and was formerly with OP travel agency.

Kim Søe Mikkelsen has got the job of Solution Account Manager – and comes to Travelport from Risskov Travel Partner, previously having been with C&C Travel and Kilroy Swedish Helena Sjögren has also the title of Solutions Account Manager, of Information Technology and Services.

She has previously worked for Escape Travel Sweden.

At Travelport’s Stockholm office Swedish-Canadian Paul Mailhot is new sales support executive. Prior to joining Travelport, he was responsible for IATA’s financial and distribution services first at the Nordic office in Sweden, then in the Africa and Middle East with base in Jordan.

Concern Chief Gordon Wilson predicted to Stand By during the spring World Travel Tourism Conference in Dallas that, within 10 years Travelport will have grown from today’s market share of about 10 percent of Scandinavian reservation systems to 40 percent.

Travelport supply distribution, payment, and technological solutions to the global travel and tourist industry.

Klaus Bigum and Christian Bjerre have joined the Copenhagen sales force of oneworld members British Airways, Iberia and American Airlines.

Klaus Bigum’s new title is key account manager in Trade Sales Nordics. He has 21 years of experience at travel agencies and airline companies and has been with Air Canada for the past nine years.

Christian Bjerre is key account manager for Corporate Sales Nordics, with a particular focus on Denmark. After his training at VIA Travel in Herning he worked for business travel management company Carlson Wagonlit Travel, where his most recent area of responsibility was the portfolio for airline and car rental companies.

NYE HOS GAEST.DK Danske Gaest.dk, hvis ambition er at gøre for mødelokaler, hvad Airbnb har gjort for overnatningssteder, har fået tre nye medarbejdere.

Rune Andersen, der er deltids-udvikler, læser til kandidat i datalogi på Aarhus Universitet.

Maria Bennedsgaard, nyuddannet i Corporate Communication fra Aarhus Universitet, er ny communications officer.

Dan Brendstrup er ny udvikler og tidligere javascript-udvikler.

DANISH SALES DIRECTOR FOR DISTINGUISHED CHAIN Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), which has just two Danish members among its 520 hotels in 80 countries around the world, has rehired the Dane Carsten Lima, now as sales director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The two Danish members of SLH are Kokkedal Castle north of Copenhagen and the Nimb Hotel at Tivoli.

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PARTNERS

Associations

Airlines www.jet-time.dk

www.airfrance.com/dk www.airfrance.com/se

www.klm.com

www.messe.no/reiseliv

www.dbta.dk

Ferries & Cruises

www.arp-hansen.dk

www.brussels-international.be www.euromic.com

www.smalldanishhotels.dk

www.scandi.de www.hotelonlineRES.biz

Insurance www.airgreenland.gl

www.lot.com

www.srf-org.se

www.celebrity.com

www.firsthotels.com

Attractions www.alsieexpress.dk

www.sas.dk

DANMARK www.dfds.dk

www.hotelforoyar.fo

www.erv.dk

www.eckerolinjen.se

www.helnan.info

www.erv.se

www.faergen.dk

www.hafnia.fo

www.gouda.dk

SVERIGE www.austrian.com

www.sun-air.dk

www.bluelagoon.com

Car Rentals & Limousines www.ba.com

www.flytap.com/Danmark

MICE

www.flybmi.com

www.thomascookairlines.dk

www.autoeurope.dk

www.hurtigruten.com

www.melia.com

Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Events/ Exhibitions

www.cxagents.com

www.newsagentlive.com

www.avis.dk www.avis.se www.avis.no

www.royalcaribbean.dk/fi/no/se

www.royalcaribbean.com

www.lemeridien.com

www.cirkusbygningen.dk

www.dat.dk

www.qatarairways.com

www.europcar.dk www.europcar.com

www.scandlines.dk

www.hoteltorshavn.fo

www.hadlerdmc.com

www.estonian-air.com

www.finnair.dk

www.icelandair.dk www.icelandair.se www.icelandair.no

www.iberia.com

Airports and handling

www.bll.dk

www.hca-airport.dk

www.cph.dk

Hotels

Conferences & Courses www.hertzdk.dk

www.nationalcar.dk

www.absalon-hotel.dk

www.sixt.dk

www.adina.eu

Fairs, Travel Trade

Publications www.scandichotels.dk

www.transhotel.com

www.bonnierrespons.dk

www.wimdu.dk

www.billund-airport.dk/ om-lufthavnen/check-in-billund

Incoming

DESTINATION

Tours & Excursions www.arthurhotels.dk

www.oi-brasil.dk

54

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CONTENTS

Alfabetica Travel Agencies www.billund-airport.dk/ om-lufthavnen/check-in-billund

www.visitbritain.com

www.visitfinland.se www.visitfinland.com

CONTENT Page 06 Around the world Page 08

Danish company collects data at airports

Page 14

Passenger behaviour changes by discreet psychology

Page 16

Commentary on SAS’s new uniforms

www.standby.dk www.standbynews.com

www.visitdenmark.com

www.visitmalta.com

Business & Leisure www.bcdtravel.dk

www.bcdtravel.se

www.bcdtravel.no

www.bcdtravel.fi

www.dolphind.com www.flightscanner.biz

www.galileo.dk

Rail Travel www.godominicanrepublic.com

www.bahn.com

www.udviklingfyn.dk

www.visitnorway.com

www.kronerejser.dk

www.procon.dk

www.spain.info

www.mangaard-travel.dk

travelize.com AllaBussresor.se AllaTemaresor.se

www.visitsweden.com denmark@visitsweden.com

www.norskrejsebureau.dk

www.travelport.dk www.travelport.se

www.rb-seniorklub.dk

www.worldspan.com

www.spain.info

34

16

44

Page 18

Swedavia – status on airports and airlines

Page 24

Hotel director during the week, pilot at the weekend

Page 30

Mahan Air gets new route to Copenhagen

Page 32

Business class is good business

Page 34

A4E – the start of a revolution

Recruitment Travel Trade

www.greenland.com

www.gotoasia.no

www.centrum-personale.dk

www.berning-leonhardt.com

www.tourismthailand.se A NOUS RETOURNER SIGNÉE AVEC VOTRE ACCORD OU VOS CORRECTIONS

JFB

ACCORD

CRÉATION

06

Visiting the SAS Lab

Page 42

Viking Line and Tallink Silja are expanding

Page 44

China surpasses USA when it comes to business travellers

Page 49

Meetings & People

2

JAUNE

3

Travel Technology

NOIR

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

CLIENT + QUALITÉ*

CARRÉ NOIR - 82, bd des Batignolles - 75017 Paris - FRANCE / Tél. : +33 (0)1 53 42 35 35 / Fax : +33 (0)1 42 94 06 78 / Web : www.carrenoir.com

www.kellyservices.dk

Page 38

MAGENTA

1

CONSULTANT

Bjørn Kjos at Aviation Festival in London

CYAN

DATE

ÉCHELLE 1/1 - FORMAT D’IMPRESSION 100%

PRODUCTION

www.topflight.no

Tourist Boards - Information

www.usarejser.dk

TONS RECOMMANDÉS (4)

MINEFI MIN_11_0000_RdVFrance_Q Date le 22/06/2011

Page 36

www.tahiti-tourisme.dk

www.hungary.com

www.discoverireland.com

www.inspiredbyiceland.com

Want to be a partner?

CALL

+45 70 25 97 00

www.germany.travel

www.unikkemoedesteder.dk

www.amadeus.com/sca

www.visitaland.com www.visitaland.com/se

www.datacon.dk/travel

38

Cover photo: Peter Phillips / Swedavia

Stand By is issued six times per year and distributed as paid subscription in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, The Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland to travel agents, tour operators, airline offices tourist agencies, foreign tourist representatives, tourist bus companies, and all of the major industries in Scandinavia. Stand By bears no responsibility for unsolicited editorial material

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Is YOUR company missing?

Contact STAND BY on phone: + 45 7025 9700 or e-mail: sales@standby.dk

Absalon Hotel Adina Aalborg Lufthavn Alsie Express Air France Air Greenland Amadeus Scandinavia Arp-Hansen Hotel Group Arthur Hotels Austrian Auto Europe Avis Baltic Stand By BCD Travel Berning & Leonhardt Billund Lufthavn Blue Lagoon Bonnier Responsmedier British Airways British Midland Airways Brussels Int. Travel Service Cabin Hotel Cathay Pacific Airways Celebrity Cruises Centrum Personale A/S Check-in Billund Cimber Air Cirkusbygningen Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers Copenhagen Airport Danish Air Transport Datacon A/S Destination Destination Fyn DB Bahn DBTA DFDS Seaways Dolphin FlightScanner Dominican Republic Estonian Air Europcar Europæiska Reseförsäkringar Europæiske Rejseforsikring Finnair First Hotel FlyNordic Franske turistkontor Færgen Galileo GoToAsia Gouda Rejseforsikring Hadler DMC Head aHead Helnan International Hotels Herning Messer, Rejsemesse Hertz Hotel Føroyar Hotel Hafnia Hotel Tórshavn Hungarian National Tourist Office Hurtigruten Icelandair Icelandic Tourist Board Irland Turisme Jet Time A/S Kelly KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Krone Rejser LOT Polish Airlines Malta Tourism Mangaard Travel Group Meliâ Meridien National Car Norges Varemesse, Reiseliv Norsk Rejsebureau ProCon Solution RejserNu.dk Rejsebranchens Seniorklub Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Qatar Airways SAS Scandi International DMC Scandic Hotels Scandlines Sixt Small Danish Hotels Smyril Line Spanske turistkontor SRF Svenska Resebyrånföreningen Stand By Tahiti Tourisme TAP Portugal Team Benns Thailand Tourist Thomascookairlines Topflight AS Travelize Travelport Travel Proffesionals Travel Club Tysk Turist Information USA Rejser Vienna Tourist Board Virgin Atlantic VisitBritain VisitDenmark VisitFinland VisitGreenland.com VisitNorway VisitNordsjælland VisitSweden Wimdu Worldspan Ålands Turistinformation

55 55

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T TG NO R DIC

No 360

September / Oc tober 201 6

| S eptember / October

Travel Trade Gazette

ARLANDA WANTS TO BE BIGGEST IN SCANDINAVIA www.erv.dk

DANISH COMPANY’S DATA CUTS LINES AT AIRPORTS HOTEL DIRECTOR – AND A PILOT AT THE WEEKEND

A1 7 2_09.16

Husk rejseforsikringen – og vær tryg på vinterferien.

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