Carry on: Night Rider returns, Qantas 3D headsets and more

Night Rider returns, adds destinations
Air New Zealand is bringing back its Night Rider service again and with added destinations in the regions. From February 20, for a limited time, every seat on an additional late night service on selected regional and trunk routes will be priced at just $29 one way or $39 for the Seat + Bag option.

Auckland, Nelson and Christchurch will be the first Night Rider service with both the Auckland-Nelson and Auckland-Christchurch routes, five days a week through until March 19. Manawatu will also be among the regions to benefit from Night Rider with details to be announced later.

A 68-seat ATR turboprop aircraft will operate flights between Auckland and Nelson, departing Auckland at 8.45pm Thursday through Monday and at 9.05pm on Fridays. The return leg will depart Nelson at 10.30pm Thursday through Monday and at 10.15pm on Fridays. The Auckland to Christchurch Night Rider services will be operated by a 171 seat A320 aircraft from Thursday through to Monday with the flights in both directions departing at 9.30pm.

Qantas, Samsung launch ‘virtual reality’ headsets
Qantas and Samsung Electronics Australia are trialling a new entertainment service that uses Samsung 3D “virtual reality” (VR) headsets to showcase network destinations, new Qantas products and the latest inflight blockbuster movies.

The headsets will be made available to customers in Sydney and Melbourne International First Lounges as well as in the First Class cabins on select A380 services.

The trial will run for three months to assess customer feedback on how this kind of VR offering might add to their overall travel experience on long-haul flights.

Australia opens up to China
Chinese airlines will almost triple their services to Australia over the next two years and offer cheaper flights to Australians bound for Europe and North America.

This follows a new aviation agreement between the two countries. It allows airlines to operate 26,500 seats a week between the major gateways immediately, with a further 7000 weekly seats to be phased-in over the next two years..

Chinese airlines have reached the previous cap of 18,029 weekly one-way seats at certain times of the year, meaning no new services could be added by existing carriers or launched by new ones looking to enter the market.

By October 2016, 33,500 seats each way will be available each week. As a result, second-tier Chinese carriers, including Hainan Airlines, Shenzen Airlines and Xiamen Airlines, will increasingly target Australian passengers by using their home cities as hubs for European flights in competition with airlines such as Qantas, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

Etihad engineers fleet change
Air Berlin is buying buy 14 Airbus A320 planes from Alitalia in a move designed by major shareholder Etihad Airways to benefit both loss-making airlines. Etihad owns 49% of Alitalia and 29% of Air Berlin.

Separately, Etihad has lifted its stake in Virgin Australia from 22.9% to 24.2% at a cost of just over $A22 million. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier is the second biggest shareholder in Virgin Australia, just behind Air New Zealand’s 25.92% stake and ahead of Singapore Airlines’ 22.77%.

Turkish tipped to buy first A380s
Turkish Airlines is in negotiations to obtain 10 or more Airbus A380 jets in a deal potentially worth $US4 billion, unconfirmed reports say. If finalised, it would be the first airline order for the double-decker jet since Emirates boosted its order at the Dubai Airshow in November 2013.