Airlines

IndiGo Unveils New Business Class with RECARO Seats

IndiGo, India’s premier airline, has announced an exciting new partnership with RECARO Aircraft Seating to furnish its upcoming A321neo business cabins with the acclaimed R5 seats.

This collaboration marks a significant enhancement in passenger comfort and in-flight experience, as the airline continues to expand and innovate.

The RECARO R5 seats are renowned for their advanced comfort and robust functionality. Featuring a 38-inch pitch and a customized, ergonomic design, these seats promise to deliver a superior travel experience.

Additionally, their lightweight design aligns with modern sustainability principles. Alongside the business class upgrade, the economy class will be outfitted with RECARO R2 seats, ensuring a consistent standard of comfort across the aircraft.

IndiGo to introduce business class Service on its busiest routes:Click here

IndiGo has placed an order for 45 shipsets, with each A321neo aircraft set to feature 12 business class seats and 208 economy class seats. Deliveries of these aircraft are scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2024, with the installation of all business class seats expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

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The R5 seats stand out with their customized diamond pattern quilted dress covers and advanced comfort cushions. The unique backrest, equipped with privacy wings, and an oversized center console for small item storage, significantly enhance the flying experience for business class passengers on short and medium-haul flights. Each seat is also equipped with PC power and USB-C charging outlets, as well as a tablet holder for an enhanced inflight entertainment experience.

IndiGo launches its loyalty program

IndiGo has announced the launch of its eagerly anticipated loyalty program, IndiGo BluChip, as part of its growth strategy to become a global aviation leader. This program is designed to reward frequent flyers by allowing them to earn BluChips on every IndiGo flight, based on their spend, and providing the fastest route to free flights across the IndiGo network.

Members will benefit from enhanced travel experiences, including exclusive perks and seamless upgrades to higher loyalty tiers. The program offers high rewards per spend, easy redemption for any available seat on IndiGo flights year-round, and ensures that earned BluChips never expire for active members.

Direct bookings through IndiGo’s website and app will earn additional BluChips, and tier reviews will happen daily rather than annually. Members can also nominate up to five individuals to use their BluChips. The program emphasizes simplicity with easy earning, easy redemption, real-time updates, and lifetime validity for active members.

Pre-registration opens on August 5, 2024, with exciting benefits available before the official launch in September 2024.

Airlines

US DOT Approves Merger: Alaska Airlines & Hawaiian Airlines Finalize Deal

In a significant development for the aviation industry, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued an order granting an exemption for the transfer of international route authorities in the merger of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.

The merger, which is expected to be completed in the coming days, represents a major consolidation in the airline sector. Under the terms of the exemption, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are required to adhere to several key public-interest protections.

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These stipulations are aimed at preserving service quality and consumer benefits as the merger progresses. Specifically, the airlines must protect the value of rewards, maintain existing service levels on crucial Hawaiian routes to the continental U.S. and inter-island routes, and support rural services.

Additionally, they are required to ensure competitive access at the Honolulu hub airport, offer fee-free family seating, provide alternative compensation for controllable disruptions, and lower costs for military families.

This proactive approach by the DOT marks a new phase in the Department’s merger review process. For the first time, airlines are required to agree to binding, enforceable public-interest protections as a condition for closing their merger.

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This move highlights the DOT’s commitment to safeguarding public interests and ensuring that mergers do not undermine service quality or competition. As part of the merger agreement, Alaska Airlines will assume approximately $900 million in Hawaiian Airlines’ debt.

Despite this substantial financial responsibility, Alaska plans to retain Hawaiian as a separate brand, which will negate the need for repainting aircraft. To secure approval from the DOT, the airlines agreed to maintain current service levels on key routes where competition is limited.

The exemption granted by the DOT allows Alaska and Hawaiian to finalize their merger while remaining separate and independently operated until the Department completes its review of the transfer application. If the transfer is approved, the public-interest protections will remain in effect for six years.