AVIATION

Wirecard gains SriLankan as a new customer in Asia

Wirecard AG, provider of a globally accepted payment gateway with a worldwide customer base, is partnering SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, to take over its payment services for credit card processing and risk management.

SriLankan Airlines has a global flight network of 64 destinations in 34 countries and is to become a full member of the oneworld air travel alliance in 2014.

Trusted by many airlines and businesses worldwide, Wirecard not only provides a more stable payment gateway for the passengers but also it will grant faster accessibility for the travellers, booking from outside Sri Lanka.

With the new partnership, Sri Lankan Airlines will also be able to collect payments through other cards which are not accepted currently.

Moreover, the payment gateway of Wirecard comes with a sophisticated fraud prevention system that enables SriLankan Internet Booking Engine (IBE) to detect suspicious bookings.

SriLankan Airlines, Head of Worldwide Sales, Lal Perera said “As part of our planned membership of the oneworld alliance, we were looking for a reliable partner for our online payment processing, which also possesses the international experience that our broad global flight network requires.

We look forward to working with Wirecard.” J”rg M”ller, Executive Vice President Travel and Transportation commented, “Asia is a key market for Wirecard, and it is once again allowing us to prove our payment platform’s excellent performance.

SriLankan Airlines was convinced, in particular, by our risk management expertise, which many of our airline customers use.”

Wirecard AG is one of the world?s leading independent providers of outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payment transactions.

The Wirecard Group has been supporting companies in accepting electronic payments from all sales channels.

Boeing takes full-page ads in Japan papers

Embattled plane-maker Boeing took out full-page advertisements in major Japanese newspapers as it tries to piece together its reputation in the wake of the worldwide Dreamliner grounding.

The US manufacturer is fighting a rearguard action in Japan, the biggest single market for its troubled 787, which has been parked up around the globe since battery problems on two separate Japanese-owned planes in January.

“We deeply apologise to Japanese customers and companies affected for the trouble and concern caused by our new Boeing 787,” Boeing said in the ad, which has a photograph of an airborne Dreamliner.

“We have suspended all flights since the trouble over batteries on the 787 emerged, but we have introduced safety measures to address all possible causes,” it said.

“If any trouble such as heating emerges, new casing and exhaust systems will prevent any impact on the safety of flights and passengers and allow the plane to complete a safe flight to its destination,” it said.

The advertisement came after a modified Dreamliner took to the skies over Tokyo on Sunday with top Boeing and All Nippon Airways (ANA) executives aboard.

The US Federal Aviation Authority on Thursday issued a formal approval of Boeing’s 787 battery fix, clearing the way for the aircraft to fly again.

ANA and domestic rival Japan Airlines (JAL) account for around half the 50 Dreamliners in service worldwide and regaining the confidence of Japan’s flying public will be key if Boeing is to see returns on its vast investment in the next-generation plane.

Despite Sunday’s successful test flight, it could be at least a month before all the battery fixes are put in place and the entire fleet is back in the air.

Between mid January -- when the 787s were grounded -- and the end of May, ANA has cancelled a total of 3601 international and domestic flights, while JAL has cancelled or reduced a total of 766 flights, company spokesmen said Tuesday.

“We express our deep gratitude towards passengers, airlines, suppliers and the investigating authorities in each country... for their support on the occasion of resuming operations of the completely modified 787,” Boeing said in the ad.

The ad appeared in five national newspapers and a major regional paper, including the Yomiuri, the Asahi, and the Mainichi, three of the world’s four largest-selling newspapers, with combined morning edition sales of more than 21 million copies.

AFP

Emirates will begin operating a second daily Airbus A380 service to Bangkok from Dubai starting on October 27 2013

Emirates increase capacity to Bangkok, Hong Kong

Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, announced an increase in capacity on its Bangkok and Hong Kong services.

Bangkok, one of Emirates’ earliest destinations in the Far East joining the network in 1990, will receive a second daily, non-stop Airbus A380 service from October 27 2013. Emirates will also be strengthening is commitment to Hong Kong with the launch of a fourth daily service from Dubai.

The new service will initially be operated by an Airbus A330-200 in a three class configuration before being upgraded to a Boeing 777-300ER later in the year.

“The addition of a second daily A380 flight to Bangkok and a fourth daily service to Hong Kong demonstrates Emirates’ commitment to both Thailand and Hong Kong.

Earlier this year we launched our fifth daily flight to Bangkok and the passenger demand has led to the decision to operate the second A380 on the route.

From 27 October 2013, Emirates will launch is fourth daily flight to Hong Kong from Dubai.

Thailand has been part of the Emirates network for over 20 years and in December we added Phuket as our second Thai destination,” said Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Far East and Australasia.

“We have been steadily increasing the number of services to Hong Kong and this fourth flight gives our customers the flexibility to choose a departure time that fits with their schedule and connect through Dubai to destinations on our ever expanding global network,” added Obaidalla.

Emirates currently fly to 133 destinations in 77 countries including 23 destinations in 12 countries in the Far East and Australasia. From Bangkok, Emirates offers services to Dubai, Hong Kong, Sydney and Christchurch; from Hong Kong Emirates offers flights to Dubai and Bangkok.