Carry on: Qantas mall flies, Air NZ-ANA codeshare and more

Qantas opens online store
The Qantas Online Mall lets members earn up to five frequent flyer points for every dollar they spend on 22 local and overseas retailers, including Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Marks & Spencer, Kathmandu, Samsung, and iTunes.

The service for Frequent Flyer members is available only in Australia and New Zealand. However, while members can earn Qantas Points through their purchases, they cannot spend their accumulated Frequent Flyer points.

Qantas Loyalty chief executive Lesley Grant says shopping through the online mall is a “simple way to earn points” and put rewards within reach. She says if New Zealand members pay with a Qantas Points-earning credit card, they can effectively double-dip. A special “double points” launch offer is on for members to earn bonus points on all purchases from now until Christmas Eve.

Air New Zealand offers a similar online shop for its members – to earn up to two Airpoint dollars for every $100 spent – and is also offering a double points offer for some retailers before Christmas.
– Calida Smylie

Japan’s ANA expands Air NZ codeshare
ANA and Air New Zealand will enhance their codeshare partnership from December 11 as the Japanese airline resumes its service to Australia. The expanded codeshare deal sees ANA’s NH code being displayed on Air New Zealand’s Sydney flights to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, while the NZ code is being displayed on ANA’s Tokyo-Sydney route.

Iata picks doubling of passengers by 2034
The latest International Air Transport Association (Iata) 20-year Passenger Forecast Report says numbers will double the expected 2015 total of 3.5 billion by 2034. The five largest passenger markets will be China, US, India, UK and Indonesia. Next are Japan, Brazil, Spain, Germany and France, with Italy dropping out of the top 10. China will 758 million travellers, followed by 523 million Americans, 275 million Indians.

“The demand for air transport continues to grow. There is much work to be done to prepare for the seven billion passengers expected to take the skies in 2034,” says Tony Tyler, Iata’s director-general and chief executive.

Growth will be fastest in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at 4.9%, followed by Africa and Latin America at 4.7%. Europe will expand the slowest at 2.7% for a market of 1.4 billion, while North America increases 3.3% to also reach 1.4 billion.

Boeing finishes 787-10 design
Boeing engineers have completed the detailed design for the 787-10 Dreamliner nearly two weeks ahead of schedule. Major assembly of the 787-10 will begin in 2016, followed by first flight in 2017 and first delivery in 2018.

As a straightforward stretch of the 787-9, which entered service in 2014, Boeing designed the 787-10 for more efficiency as well as maximum commonality. This reducies complexity, cost and risk in the production system.

The 787-10 will have a range of 6430 nautical miles (11,910 km) and has already logged 164 orders from nine airline customers, accounting for 14% of all 787 orders.

Emirates forms partnership with Malaysia
In a further reduction of its long-haul network, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will drop its Amsterdam and Paris routes but retain London Heathrow as part of a new partnership with Emirates.  Malaysia will add its code on Emirates flights to Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Americas.

In return, Emirates will add its code on MAS’ domestic routes in Malaysia, Southeast Asia and selective cities in Asia Pacific, including Auckland. The codeshare will be implemented progressively throughout 2016 subject to regulatory approvals.

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