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Emirates commences IATA Travel Pass trials simplifying COVID-19 related travel requirements

Dubai, UAE, 15 April 2021 – Emirates today commenced trials of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass– a mobile app to help passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with any government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information.

The first passengers travelling from Dubai to Barcelona on EK 185 today trialled the ‘digital passport’ to verify and share their pre-travel COVID-19 test status with Emirates.

The trials are a step towards making travel more convenient, enabling travellers to manage COVID-19 related documentation digitally, safely and seamlessly throughout the travel experience. In the future, travellers will also be able to share vaccination certificates with authorities and airlines to facilitate travel.

Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer said: “The ability to process passengers’ COVID-19 relevant data for travel digitally will be the way forward. We are pleased to have been pioneers and partner with IATA in trialling this initiative in real time and soon will be launching other initiatives to further enhance our customer experience.”

The trial is being done on selected Emirates flights from Dubai to Barcelona and London Heathrow to Dubai; and will soon be expanded to include other routes. Eligible passengers are being personally invited to download the app and enrol for the digital travel pass ahead of their travels. In Dubai, Emirates has partnered with select Prime Health Care labs which are authorised to securely send test results to passengers via the app. Those travelling from the UK, can get their test done at select Screen4 labs.

The IATA Travel Pass app will have an integrated registry of travel requirements to enable passengers to find accurate information on travel and entry requirements for all destinations regardless of their itinerary. Eventually it will also include a registry of labs – making it more convenient for passengers to find testing centres and labs at their departure location which meet the standards for testing and vaccination requirements of their destination.

The global registry, managed by IATA, will manage and allow the secure flow of necessary information amongst all stakeholders and to provide a seamless passenger experience.

Emirates has been making travel safe and convenient with its latest initiatives like the IATA Travel Pass trials. Its latest policy updates also offer customers even more confidence and flexibility to make their travel plans. Emirates has the industry’s most generous ticket validity, giving customers the ability and flexibility to hold or use their ticket anytime for up to 36 months.

Emirates was also the first airline to provide global   multi-risk travel insurance   including COVID-19 cover with every flight . Throughout the journey, the airline has also implemented a   comprehensive set of measures   at every step to ensure the safety of its customers and employees.

-End- 

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We inspire travelers around the world with our growing network of worldwide destinations, industry leading inflight entertainment, regionally inspired cuisine, and world-class service.

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How to use the ITA Matrix to find cheap flights

If you're always on the hunt for cheap flights, you're likely familiar with using Google Flights , Skyscanner or online travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia. We're big fans of those platforms here at TPG, as they can save you a ton of money on flights.

But the most powerful tool of all is a little less known and a lot less sleek: the ITA Matrix , which is also powered by Google. This platform requires a bit more work to score cheap flights (more on that below), but if you know how to make ITA Matrix work for you, it can pay off.

Here's everything you need to know about the ITA Matrix.

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What is the ITA Matrix?

ITA Matrix is a powerful tool that allows you to search for flights -- though keep in mind that you can't actually book flights on the platform. For that, you'll need to go to the individual airline's website. You'll find many flights, though Google says each airline decides how much to participate.

Pros of the ITA Matrix

Most OTAs let you search for only specific travel dates. For instance, on Expedia you're locked into searching one date at a time.

The ITA Matrix allows you to select options like a day before, after, or plus/minus 1- 2 days. That little extra flexibility gets you to a ticket faster and could save you money if traveling on another day is cheaper.

Cons of the ITA Matrix

One of the biggest downsides to using the ITA Matrix is that while you can search for flights, you can't actually book them through the platform. You can provide the information you find to a travel agent or airline when booking a flight, or you can try to recreate the itinerary through the airline or OTA yourself.

How to use the ITA Matrix to search for flights

There are a lot of filters, but finding flights using ITA Matrix is pretty straightforward. You will enter your departure and arrival airports as you would through an OTA. You can search one-way, round-trip or multi-city itineraries.

Routing codes

To get the most out of ITA Matrix, you'll probably need to use routing codes. Google has a helpful FAQ sheet on understanding the codes, which at first glance can seem pretty complicated. I'll do a breakdown of how to use these later on, but using the codes, you can:

• Include only flights operated by specific airlines or alliances
• Specify the number of connections you are willing to make (e.g., nonstop flights only, or one connection only)
• Search for flights with a layover in a specific airport, or avoiding a particular airport (e.g., avoiding a connection through Los Angeles (LAX) on a Delta flight from Las Vegas to Tokyo )
• Limit the duration of an itinerary
• Exclude red-eye flights or flights with overnight stops

Related: Coronavirus cancellations: What to do if you've booked travel through an online travel agency (OTA)

Cost per mile filter

You can see mileage and price per mile when you hover over your preferred fare in the search results. On the search results page, click the price heading and click "show price per mile." This is a neat feature to use if you're booking a mileage run where you'd need a certain amount of qualifying miles to get or keep elite status.

Geo-Search filter

The Geo-Search filter lets you search by airport code, city, or nearby airport. This feature could be helpful if you live in an area served by several airports, like New York, and you want to avoid flying out of Newark, for instance.

Color-coded Time Bars

We'll talk more about the Time Bars below, but this option allows you to compare flights at a glance. It's helpful if you don't want to scroll through pages and pages of flights. It's also an easier way to see how long your connections will be if you aren't flying nonstop.

How to book flights using ITA Matrix

I'm going to walk you through finding a flight through the ITA Matrix to illustrate how all this works. I'll be searching for a one-way flight from New York (JFK) to Portland (PDX) for dates in June 2021.

In the dates section, you'll see an option to search by exact dates or view a calendar. The calendar feature could be helpful if your travel plans are flexible and you just want to find the cheapest fares. You can also search for flights by time if you prefer a red-eye or midday flight.

You can then pick what cabin you prefer, whether you want a nonstop flight and the currency you want the fare to price out in.

We'll talk a bit later about more advanced ways to search for flights, but after you hit "search," you'll see a page with your results. It's pretty self-explanatory, but I want to highlight the circle indicators on the right-hand side of the page under "advisory."

The advisory column shows you features you may want to avoid, like airport changes, long layovers and short connections that could be risky.

If you want a more visual overview of the flight options, make sure you hit "Time Bar."

After selecting your preferred flight, you'll see a detailed description, including the aircraft, fare class, whether you'll get a meal in-flight and whether there is onboard entertainment. Keep in mind that the aircraft could change before your flight.

Finally, you'll see the cost breakdown of the flight, the fare construction (you'll send this to your travel agent) and a Powertools section to book your flight through another platform. I'll talk more about this below. There is also a way to email the itinerary if you need to send it to a travel agent.

Can I book a flight with ITA Matrix?

As I said above, you can't book flights directly through the program. You do have some options for recreating your itinerary, however. You can use BookWithMatrix to generate a booking link from your ITA Matrix result.

All you have to do is paste your itinerary into the box and you'll see results. Let's say you want to fly from Newark (EWR ) to San Francisco (SFO) one-way. You want to fly United Airlines only, you don't mind a connection but you don't want to connect in Chicago (ORD) .

After the results page populates, you'll pick your preferred itinerary by selecting it. After you do that, you'll select the entire page and then paste it into BookWithMatrix.

You'll then see the itinerary on BookWithMatrix and a link to book the flight. If you don't want to go through all of those steps, you can use ITA Matrix's Powertools feature on the left-hand side of the page to book directly.

Can I search for hotels with ITA Matrix?

You can't search for hotels using the ITA Matrix. If you're trying to find a hotel for your trip, you're better off using a platform like Orbitz or Priceline or booking directly through your hotel chain to earn points on your stay.

Related: Online travel agency vs. booking direct: Your guide to the best way to book your next hotel

Can I book car rentals with ITA Matrix?

As with hotels, you can't search for or book rental cars using ITA Matrix. You can find rental cars through your preferred OTA or by booking directly through your preferred company. Make sure you're using a credit card that offers primary insurance for car rentals .

Related: 9 rental car rewards programs you need to know about

Can I use ITA to find a specific fare class or code?

You can use the Matrix to search for a preferred fare class. Let's say you want to fly from Atlanta (ATL) to Los Angeles (LAX) but you don't want to fly economy to get there. Here, you would use another tool ITA Matrix has called extension codes.

Using extension codes, you can filter out fare classes you don't want to be in or search only for first, business or economy fares. In this case, I used the extension code "+CABIN 1," which indicated I only wanted to fly first class.

What are ITA Matrix advanced codes?

ITA Matrix includes several powerful ways to search for a specific ticket, where conventional search tools only differentiate on price. In the advanced routing fields, you can input endless commands to find your perfect flight. There are three tabs (you can open the legend by clicking on the first "question mark" that will help you find the right code to put into ITA Matrix.

If you're looking for a specific flight on a particular carrier, you can search that way. In this instance, we'll use American Airlines as an example.

Let's say I'm looking for a flight from Miami (MIA) to Houston (IAH) , but I only want to fly American Airlines. I would then input C: AA, which would exclude all other carriers. This method can be helpful if you're loyal to a specific airline, but you're flying into a rival carrier's hub, like Houston, a United hub.

Connecting in London (LHR) can be a stressful experience for many travelers. Don't want to transfer there on the way back home? No problem: you can just use code ~LHR to prevent a stopover at Heathrow. Perhaps you wanted to fly Delta to the West Coast on two segments and you prefer to connect in Minneapolis (MSP) . In this case, the routing code you would use would be DL MSP DL.

As you can see in the screenshot above, each leg includes a stopover in Minneapolis.

How can I search ITA for specific alliance flights?

You can tell ITA Matrix to only search flights on your preferred alliance . You can also search for multiple alliances by separating them with a vertical bar character. Note that the only alliances supported are Oneworld , SkyTeam and Star Alliance .

In this case, I searched for flights from Newark (EWR) to Paris (CDG) on Star Alliance carriers only.

Bottom line

At first glance, the ITA Matrix can seem clunky and not very user-friendly. It's not as simple as plugging in your airport codes and dates and hitting enter. You'll have to do some work to find the flight you want. Once you get past those obstacles, you can find some cheap flights, whether you're traveling now or in the future.

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Find cheap flights from United States to anywhere Close dialog These suggestions are based on the cheapest fares to popular destinations in the next six months. Prices include required taxes + fees for 1 adult. Optional charges and bag fees may apply.

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The desire to get a good deal unites practically all travelers. Whether you're looking for a cheap getaway or a luxury vacation, no one wants to spend more than necessary. When it comes to booking flights, travelers may naturally head to an airline's website. However, that's not always the best site to book flights.

Whether it's taking advantage of credit card perks, earning bonus miles or saving money, the best flight booking site can vary depending on your situation and willingness to get creative. Let's take a look at six of the best sites to book flights and when each is the best option.

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now

The best flight booking sites

1. google flights.

For ease, speed and features, Google Flights is arguably the best website for flight searches. Search results appear almost instantly. Filters let you narrow down to nonstop options, select a subset of airlines, limit by price or factor in the price of a bag. Similarly, you can use Google Flights filters to avoid certain airlines, multi-stop itineraries, long layovers, early flights or pretty much whatever you might want to avoid.

You can easily check flexible dates, and if you're flexible on where you go you can use the Explore map to see prices for a variety of destinations for certain dates, a certain month or anytime in the next six months.

Google Flights partners with hundreds of airlines and online travel agencies (OTAs) to pull current flight prices. That way you don't have to search each of these sites to be able to see the options. Once you select your preferred trip, Google Flights links you to the top booking options for actually booking your flight — including the airline itself and the best OTA booking options.

The downsides of Google Flights are few. One is the lack of Southwest flight prices. Although Southwest flight schedules will show in flight search results, Southwest flight prices aren't available. That's because Southwest chooses to publish flight prices only on its website.

» Learn more: Why Southwest is not on Google Flights

Another downside is that Google Flights doesn't always show the cheapest prices — particularly for international flights. That means it's worth double-checking prices on another site before booking through Google Flights.

Like Google Flights, Kayak searches hundreds of other websites and flight booking platforms to find the best deal. Kayak generally doesn't let you book flights directly. However, one benefit of Kayak is the streamlined process. Rather than having to click through several pages to confirm your selection, clicking "view deal" on the results page can take you right to the cheapest booking option.

Also, some travelers may find Kayak's flexible date search a bit easier to work with as you can see results from several days in the search results — eliminating the need to check each day's results separately.

But perhaps the most important reason to use Kayak instead of Google Flights is that it can catch better deals. For example, we found a $550 round-trip flight from Los Angeles to Barcelona using Google Flights. Kayak found a way to lower that price to just $472 round-trip — at least once you scroll past an advertisement.

Note that Kayak manages other flight search sites — including Momondo and Cheapflights — so the results may be very similar between these sister sites.

» Learn more: Is Kayak legit?

So far, we've focused on ease in flight searching, and that's going to be enough for many travelers. However, now let's add in some additional elements to consider when choosing the best flight booking site: earning rewards and saving by booking packages. Expedia excels at both of these.

Through the new One Key rewards program , travelers can earn 0.2% in OneKeyCash from flight bookings made through Expedia. That's not much, but it can stack on top of the awards you earn from the airline and those that you earn on your credit card purchase.

Even better, you'll earn credits toward One Key elite status by booking your flight through Expedia. As you climb up the tiers, you'll unlock up to 20% savings on hotels, get hotel upgrades, priority support and even price drop protection.

Plus, Expedia boasts that travelers can "save up to 30%" when bundling a hotel with a flight booking — although actual discounts are likely to vary.

» Learn more: The pros and cons of Expedia

4. Capital One Travel

For many Capital One cardholders, Capital One Travel might just be the best flight booking site. Part of this is to take advantage of cardholder benefits.

For example, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card holders earn 5x Capital One miles when booking flights through the Capital One Travel portal. Plus, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card holders get up to $300 off travel booked through the Capital One Travel portal each cardholder year.

» Learn more: How to maximize the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Also, Capital One Travel can help you truly get the best price for your flight. Capital One partnered with travel data company Hopper to show suggestions about when it's the best time to book.

Capital One backs up these recommendations with money. If you book a flight through Capital One Travel when Hopper recommends doing so, you'll get up to a $50 credit toward future travel if the price drops within the next 10 days.

» Learn more: How the Capital One Travel portal works

Would you be willing to book a trip as two separate tickets in order to save money? That's the idea behind Kiwi. Instead of simply searching flights from your home airport to your destination, Kiwi checks all potential options to get between A and B. That could mean taking a bus or train from your home city to another to catch a flight to your destination. Or, Kiwi might pair a low-cost domestic flight with a cheap international flight from another city to lower your total cost.

Protect your upfront travel expenses by booking with a card that has travel insurance or by purchasing a separate policy .

For example, when we priced out a round-trip flight from Phoenix to Tokyo, the cheapest option when booked as one ticket cost $1,353 round-trip — and that's with an overnight stay in Vancouver.

Pricing out the same itinerary and dates through Kiwi drops the price to just $789 round-trip. The secret? Booking this as two round-trip flights: One from Phoenix to Los Angeles on Frontier and a separate round-trip from Los Angeles to Tokyo on Zipair.

Keep in mind that there are risks with booking separate tickets to get where you want to go. If a delay or cancellation causes you to miss your connection, the second airline/bus/train company isn't obligated to honor your ticket and rebook you on the next option. So make sure to factor in all of the risks of booking travel like this.

» Learn more: When to use Kiwi for your next flight booking

6. BookWithMatrix

ITA Matrix is a very powerful and ultra-customizable search platform for finding exactly the flight itinerary you want — whether that's booking a longer layover, avoiding certain aircraft types or booking nerdy trips such as the Alaska Milk Run .

The catch: Travelers can't actually book flights through ITA Matrix. And, unlike Google Flights, ITA Matrix doesn't even link to the best flight booking site for that itinerary. Instead, travelers are left to attempt to re-create the same itinerary through another flight booking website — which can be hard in the case of certain complex itineraries.

Enter BookWithMatrix. Travelers can copy-paste their perfect itinerary from ITA Matrix into BookWithMatrix to get bookable links through the airline or select OTAs.

Alternatively, travelers have the option to install the PowerTools extension in Google Chrome .

This extension adds booking links right on the ITA Matrix itinerary page, avoiding the need to browse to another page.

Final thoughts on the best flight booking site

There's not a one-size-fits-all best website for booking flights. Instead, the best flight booking site for you is going to depend on how simple you want the process to be, whether you're willing to get creative with your booking, and even which credit cards you have.

For most travelers, the simplicity of Google Flights is going to make it the best one-stop shop for searching and booking flights. However, it's worth considering other options if you're flying internationally, want to book a flight-and-hotel package or have a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card .

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024 , including those best for:

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

on Chase's website

1x-5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

75,000 Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's over $900 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

1.5%-5% Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

Up to $300 Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!

on Capital One's website

2x-5x Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options.

75,000 Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

Watch CBS News

Airfares will likely be cheaper this summer — unless you're flying abroad

By Khristopher J. Brooks

May 9, 2023 / 6:05 PM EDT / MoneyWatch

Americans planning to take to the skies this summer can expect lower prices on domestic flights but pricier fares for international trips, according to travel booking app Hopper. 

The average ticket price for a flight within the U.S. will be $306, down from $376 last summer, while peaking at about $349 around the July 4 holiday, Hopper  forecast . By comparison, a ticket overseas will cost between $1,000 and $2,000 because more Americans are itching to visit foreign destinations like Rome, Seoul and Istanbul, Hopper said. 

"Many people who couldn't travel during the pandemic decided that is the one thing they really wanted to do when lockdowns ended," Clint Henderson, managing editor at travel news website The Points Guy, told CBS MoneyWatch. "People have been saving their travel dollars — and points and miles — for several years, and they are ready to spend on seeing new places. Some folks haven't seen their families in several years and they are traveling now, too."

Much pricier to fly overseas

Airfares on international flights are projected to hit their highest level since 2019, before the pandemic grounded most vacation travel, Hopper said. Tickets to Europe and Asia alone have jumped $300 compared to last summer. 

The average ticket to Europe will cost around $1,100 each, up sharply from $861 in 2019, while average prices to Asia will top $1,800 per ticket, up from $1,121 in 2019, according to Hopper. The average air ticket to Africa or the Middle East will cost around $1,454, up from $1,236 in 2019, and a trip to Australia and surrounding nations is expected to average $1,709, up from $1,128 in 2019, the app predicts.

Three reasons explain it's getting more expensive to fly overseas, said Hopper economist Hayley Berg. First, the cost of jet fuel has jumped since the pandemic, with airlines passing along some of the added cost to travelers. The cost of jet fuel this month is about $91 a barrel, compared to $15 a barrel in May 2020, according to International Air Transport Association data .

"Though fuel costs have improved considerably in the last 15 months, prices remain the highest they've been since late 2014," Berg said in a statement. "Higher fuel costs will continue to put upward pressure on airfares, especially on expensive long haul international routes."

Airlines also haven't increased seat capacity on planes despite rising demand, further pushing up prices. Finally, Berg said Americans are aching to fly overseas because 2023 marks the first full summer that international destinations will have lifted their pandemic protocols. 

Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. He previously worked as a reporter for the Omaha World-Herald, Newsday and the Florida Times-Union. His reporting primarily focuses on the U.S. housing market, the business of sports and bankruptcy.

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IATA’s Walsh blasts Germany for ‘unhealthy obsession’ with aviation taxes

By Pilar Wolfsteller 2024-05-02T10:58:00+01:00

IATA has blasted the German government for a rise in aviation taxes that went into effect on 1 May.

The tax increase of about 19% is being levied on passengers departing German airports. Depending on the route, that will raise the tax to between €15.53 and €70.83 ($16.63 and $75.85) per passenger per flight, IATA said on 2 May. Previously, the passenger tax had been between €12.73 and €58.06 per person per flight.

That added surcharge will “weaken the German economy and damage aviation’s ability to decarbonise”, the international airline association says.

“When Germany’s economic performance is anaemic at best, denting its competitiveness with more taxes on aviation is policy madness,” IATA director general Willie Walsh states. “The German government appears to have an unhealthy obsession with aviation taxes.”

Source: Lufthansa

IATA has blasted the German government for a new 19% passenger tax, saying it will harm the country’s economy

The surcharge will not only hinder the country’s post-Covid-19 recovery, which, IATA says, is already one of the slowest in the European Union, but also slow the industry’s move to decarbonisation.

The government announced the increase in January, and is counting on an additional €400 million this year in order to plug a hole in its budget. In future years, it hopes for annual proceeds as high as €580 million.

In addition to this passenger tax, the German government appears to be in favour of a European jet fuel tax which will make it even more expensive to do business in Germany or for families to travel, IATA adds.

Lufthansa Group chief executive Carsten Spohr said earlier this week that the additional surcharge will cost the company €20 million for the tickets that the airline has already sold, as it will not retroactively charge consumers. However, the impact for aviation in the country is “much bigger”, and will have knock-on effects for non-hubs and secondary cities like Friedrichshafen, which are at risk of losing air service.

“I think German aviation is lagging behind in growth, as you well know, we are below 90% versus 2019,” he said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call on 30 April. “A company like Lufthansa can compensate by flying more internationally, but for some parts of Germany, this means decreased connectivity.”

Additional charges will come next year, he adds. 

”I would hope that we also see a turning point of putting additional burdens on German aviation,” Spohr added

IATA says the German government should be prioritising the country’s competitive position and encouraging trade and travel.

“Instead, they have gone for a short-term cash-grab which can only damage the economy’s long-term growth,” Walsh says.

• Lufthansa Group

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Administrators assessing financial position as Air Vanuatu enters liquidation process

2024-05-10T09:12:00Z By Graham Dunn

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Fire Induced Emergency Evacuation: Delta Passengers Flee Airbus A321neo At Sea-Tac

• A small fire onboard a Delta Air Lines flight. It is believed it was caused by a mechanical malfunction.
• The fire was quickly extinguished, with a few minor injuries reported during the evacuation process.
• Aviation incidents are rare; flying is considered the safest mode of transportation due to industry safety measures and low accident rates.

A mechanical malfunction led to a fire onboard a Delta Air Lines A321neo, which operated DL604 flying between Cancun in Quintana Roo, Mexico, and Seattle in Washington, USA.

What exactly happened?

According to a witness aboard this flight, Ashwin Menon, there was a small fire below the cockpit near the nose of the aircraft, and the video he captured showed the charred area. He reportedly told Komonews ,

"I think people responded to that with panic; there was a little bit of jostling in the aisles to get to the exit. But overall, it was a pretty smooth evacuation process. Once I left the flight, you could see the fire burning below the cockpit. I was glad everyone was able to make it out."

Menon also said he noticed a few people had minor injuries, including a woman who said she twisted her ankle coming down the slide. Menon added that the fire burned yellow and was out within 30 seconds to a minute after he evacuated the plane.

According to the newspaper, a spokesperson for Seattle Tacoma Airport added that a short in an electric cord caused the fire and had since been repaired. The gate returned to normal operations.

Delivery Flight: Delta Air Lines' New #TeamUSA Airbus A350 Is Ready For Paris Olympics

Incidents like this remain extremely rare..

Flight 604 serves as a reminder that cabin crew and pilots are routinely trained to respond to emergencies like these. Passengers must never forget that although in normal circumstances, they will only encounter the service side of the job of flight attendants, they remain a crucial element of aviation safety.

History: 5 Plane Crashes That Prompted Widespread Aviation Safety Reforms

Events like those that unfolded at the gate at SEA upon arrival of DL604 remain extremely rare . Air travel is considered the safest means of transportation available today.

In 2023, only 30 incidents involving turboprops and jet aircraft were recorded, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This represents just one accident in every 1.26 million flights. Although the number of accidents in 2022 was slightly higher, with 42 accidents overall, it still represents an infrequent occurrence, with only one accident in every 0.77 million flights. These figures demonstrate that accidents onboard aircraft are incredibly uncommon, regardless of the propulsion system or the region, indicating that flying is still the safest mode of transportation available.

Despite the low number of hull losses, aviation is still considered one of the safest traveling methods due to the industry's strong safety culture. Local authorities, such as the American National Transport Safety Board (NTSB), investigate each incident and issue recommendations. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) systematically implement these recommendations, reducing the risk of similar incidents from happening again.

IATA Hails 2023 As The 'Safest Year For Flying'

Bottom line.

A Delta Air Lines A321neo flight from Cancun to Seattle had a mechanical malfunction, which caused a fire onboard. The fire was reportedly caused by a short in an electric cord and was out within 30 seconds to a minute after the passengers evacuated the plane. Although a few people suffered minor injuries, the evacuation process was reportedly smooth. Such incidents are sporadic, and air travel remains the safest transportation available today. The aviation industry's strong safety culture ensures that each incident is investigated and recommendations are implemented to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Tourism Remaining relevant to travel agents

Modern Airline Retailing is an active and important initiative for airlines around the world. But though control of the Offer and Order environment is an essential component in a fiercely competitive industry, IATA is aware that not all airlines have the same set of requirements and distribution strategies.

“This is why the Agency Program is still so important,” says Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s SVP for Financial Settlement and Distribution Services. “IATA accredited agents are trusted distribution partners, and our Agency Program allows airlines and agents to come together to solve challenges and ensure this vital channel remains strong.”

Moreover, the Agency Program fits perfectly with the overall objective of giving customers greater choice. The travel agent is still a vital part of the offer to the customer and has become a hub for consolidating the travel experience. Travel agents are also playing an important role in Modern Airline Retailing as IATA continues to see an increase in NDC transactions in the BSP.     “Really, they are travel consultancies now,” says Albakri. “They provide an end-to-end service and are now much more than ticket providers.”

In 2023, the travel and tourism sector contributed 9.1% to global GDP and created 27 million new jobs, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. Airlines are critical to making that happen. And so are travel agents.

In fact, travel agents are still the industry’s strongest distribution channel. The aim, therefore, is to ensure these agents are robust, reliable partners and the process of engagement—whether it is payment or fulfilling passenger requests—is as seamless and cost-effective as possible.

Keeping the program relevant

The most important step was the development of New Generation IATA Settlement Systems (NewGen ISS) approximately five years ago. This introduced different levels of accreditation:

• Go Global is for large multinational agents and simplifies BSP participation by having a single agreement and a consolidated financial security and Remittance Holding Capacity.
• Go Standard agents are allowed to sell in cash and other forms of payment.
• Go Lite agents benefit from not having to furnish financial securities to participate in BSP and are allowed to sell with IATA EasyPay and Credit Cards.

Airlines in turn gained from enhanced risk management and other tools that made the distribution of tickets through travel agents even safer.

“It is not one-size-fits-all anymore,” says Albakri. “Agents can join at an appropriate level of accreditation for their business but still gain from the trust and reach that being accredited brings.”

Supporting the recovery of the industry

After COVID, IATA focused on revamping the accreditation process and streamlining the requirements. The Go Standard agents do not have to go through a financial assessment for the first two years of operation, for example. All told, the changes have resulted in a 50% reduction in accreditation times and a customer satisfaction of 90%.

“We did all this without compromising the risk management criteria,” says Albakri. “In fact, we have enhanced it by adding different compliance reviews, such as PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), as a requirement for agencies selling in credit cards, and more robust real-time monitoring of agency sales. But we can improve further both on continuing to strengthen the risk environment and on improving IATA’s service to travel agents by reducing our processing times.”

The improvements in the accreditation process together with the resilience shown by the Agency Program during the pandemic has led to strong demand and growth in accreditation numbers.

“We have also been more present in events and different meetings where travel agents approached us to know more about the benefits of the program and the requirements to become IATA accredited,” says Albakri. “In addition, IATA has historically entered into promotional agreements with different parties to increase the number of Participants and we are fully committed to continuing with this best practice.”

As a result, the number of travel agent codes in the BSP has increased from 54,341 in 2022 to 58,923 codes in April 2024.

For Albakri, this proves that as long as there continues to be a commercial relationship between airlines and travel agents, the program will continue to be extremely valuable. “Agents will be even more relevant in the future than they were in the past,” he believes. “The Agency program is at the heart of industry resilience because it is a strong, trusted system for distributing and selling tickets and collecting monies. There is also a very low cost of transaction and IATA will continue to improve the service we provide.”

Credit | dragana991_iStock-1207753513  

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