Airlines

SWISS extends Premium Economy Class to its Airbus A340 fleet

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) embarked on the Premium Economy Class installation programme for its Airbus A340-300 fleet in December 2022. The first aircraft completed – HB-JMB – departed from Zurich for Johannesburg on its first flight with the new seating class installed. All four SWISS Airbus A340s will feature the popular new class of travel by this April. From the same date, Premium Economy Class will also be newly bookable for SWISS services on the Zurich-Johannesburg, Zurich-Hong Kong and Zurich-Chicago routes.

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“Our new Premium Economy Class has rapidly established itself as a hugely popular way of travel,” says SWISS Chief Commercial Officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour. “And the highly positive feedback that we’ve received from our customers – on the greater seating comfort, the enhanced service, the wider choice of meals and the quality of the food – has only strengthened our resolve to offer this top-quality product on more of our routes.”

SWISS has already installed Premium Economy Class throughout its Boeing 777-300ER fleet, whose first aircraft was completed at the end of February 2022. SWISS was the first airline in the Lufthansa Group to introduce the best-in-class Premium Economy seat, which sets new comfort benchmarks with its pitch of almost a metre and its 48-centimetre width.

Airlines

Federal Court Imposes $100M Fine on Qantas for “Ghost Flights” Scandal

In a major ruling, the Federal Court has confirmed a hefty A$100 million penalty against Qantas for its involvement in the “ghost flights” scandal. As reported by FlightGlobal.

The court found that Qantas misled consumers by offering and selling tickets for flights that the airline had already decided to cancel. Adding to the controversy, Qantas failed to promptly notify ticket holders about these cancellations.

The penalty follows Qantas’ admission of violating the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The airline agreed with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on the penalty amount, aiming to deter Qantas and other businesses from similar breaches in the future.

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The ACCC emphasized that this substantial fine sends a clear message: misleading customers will lead to serious consequences, regardless of a company’s size. In addition to the penalty, Qantas has committed to paying approximately A$20 million to affected passengers who unknowingly purchased tickets for canceled flights.

This compensation comes on top of any refunds or alternative flight arrangements already provided. ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb praised the penalty, underscoring the importance of robust compliance programs red energy qantas in large corporations like Qantas.

She pointed out that Qantas has since made changes to its operating and scheduling procedures to prevent similar issues in the future.