ESTONIA: airBaltic Will Deploy Two Airbus A220-300 In Tallinn

airBaltic has announced that as of summer season of 2019 it will base two of its new Airbus A220-300 aircraft in Tallinn, in order to serve the growing range of destinations offered to Estonian passengers.

In total, airBaltic will have three aircraft based in Tallinn next year.

Martin Gauss, CEO of airBaltic says: since 2014, we are continuing to grow our operations in Tallinn Airport and we are glad that more Estonian passengers choose our services. Next summer we will serve already 12 different destinations. By basing a third aircraft in Tallinn, we are further committing to the Estonian market. We see airBalticc as a true Baltic airline, and with this Estonia is part of airBaltic’s growth story.

This year we launched direct flights from Tallinn to London, Stockholm and Oslo. Next year new direct flights to Malaga, Brussels and Copenhagen will be added. By offering both direct flights from Tallinn and convenient connections via Riga, airBaltic offers the best connectivity to and from the Baltic states to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East, Martin Gauss added.

This year airBaltic expects to transport around 400 000 passengers to and from Estonia. This making Tallinn the second biggest market after Riga.

From Tallinn, airBaltic offers direct flights to Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna and Vilnius as well as convenient connections via Riga. airBaltic will launch new direct services from Tallinn to Malaga, Brussels and Copenhagen in 2019.

airBaltic serves over 70 destinations from Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius, offering the largest variety of destinations and convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS and the Middle East.

For summer 2019, airBaltic will launch a new direct routes from Riga to Stuttgart and Lviv.


Tourism Observer

FINLAND: Finnair Starts New Flights To Los Angeles

Continuing with its growth strategy, Finnair has announced it will begin flying to Los Angeles, California, as of next spring.

Finnair will fly three weekly frequencies to LAX airport as of March 31, 2019. In addition, the new route to Los Angeles will be Finnair’s first US route to be regularly operated with the new Airbus A350 aircraft.

Finnair is also making some additions to its summer program for the San Francisco and Chicago route.

Both routes will begin in April, and a fourth frequency will be added for San Francisco as of May.

With these changes, Finnair will now offer a daily flight to California during the summer season with the new three-weekly flight to Los Angeles and the new fourth weekly service to San Francisco.

Los Angeles is best known for its beautiful weather, famous beaches, and as the home of the US television and film industry, including the world-renowned Hollywood neighborhood.

It is also one of the largest business travel and cargo hubs in the United States.

Thanks to Helsinki’s geographical location, Finnair’s new northern route to Los Angeles will offer competitive and convenient travel times for customers from Scandinavia, the Baltics, Russia, Northern Germany as well as domestic routes in Finland.

We are very happy to expand our North American network and fly a new route to Los Angeles with our Airbus A350, says Juha Järvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Finnair.

We opened our route to San Francisco two years ago with tremendous success, proving that California and the West Coast are very popular with our customers.

We are confident that this new route to Los Angeles will garner the same level of interest moving forward.

Los Angeles will be Finnair’s fifth US destination, along with New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Miami. The approximate flight times are expected to be 11 hours to LAX and 10 hours and 30 minutes to Helsinki.

The new route will be operated within the Atlantic joint business between Finnair, American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia.

Currently, the four airlines operate over 100 daily return flights between Europe and North America.


Tourism Observer

PORTUGAL: TAP Portugal And airBaltic Sign Codeshare Deal

Riga based carrier airBaltic and TAP Air Portugal have signed a codesharing agreement between the two airlines.

This partnership will enable airBaltic passengers through to TAP’s extensive network of international destinations such as Brazil and Africa with TAP benefiting more on flights to the Baltics, Scandinavia and other areas of Eastern Europe.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic said that TAP Air Portugal is already our 21st codeshare partner, thus we are further extending the impressive portfolio of partner airlines that ensures smooth and seamless travel for airBaltic customers around the world.

The CEO added that airBaltic will sell flights between Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn and TAP Air Portugal domestic network via Lisbon, as well to Lisbon via common gateways, better connecting Baltics to the world.

Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer of TAP, said that this newest partnership with airBaltic will allow TAP Air Portugal customers to take advantage of new direct flights to Latvia and connecting services to the Baltic countries.

Thereby adding convenience and travel options to Northern Europe, in complementarity with TAP direct services to Scandinavia and Finland, he stated.

As part of the agreement, TAP will place its TP flight code on direct flights between Riga and Lisbon that are already operated by airBaltic as well as via common gateways between the Portuguese carrier’s network and Riga.

With TAP operating to 83 destinations across 35 countries, this is a big boost for airBaltic to get their name out further across the international industry.


Tourism Observer

SWEDEN: Best Western Acquires Sweden Hotels

Best Western Hotels & Resorts has just announced the acquisition of Sweden Hotels in an operation that allows the group to become the largest network of hotels in Sweden.

Best Western Hotels & Resorts has announced the acquisition of the Swedish chain Sweden Hotels, making the group the largest hotels network in the country. It now has 135 hotels in Sweden and 180 in Scandinavia.

The aim of this collaboration is to strengthen the development of Sweden Hotels' private and individual hotels by giving them access to Best Western's digital platforms, distribution systems and loyalty programs.

The acquisition of Sweden Hotels is a strategically important operation and a natural development for us.

Our position as the largest hotel chain in Sweden makes it possible for us to create even more favorable conditions for a successful chain development and to present even stronger results for our hotels in the future, said Johan Kukacka, CEO of Best Western Hotels & Resorts in Scandinavia.

As of January 1, 2017, the Best Western Hotels & Resorts group is the 2nd largest hotel chain in Europe with 1,108 properties and 79,010 rooms.

The Red Lion Hotels Corporation group, 15% owned by HNA, unveils its new portfolio of brands following the takeover of the US franchise Vantage Hospitality Group in September 2016.

The Red Lion Hotels Corp, 15% owned by the Chinese group HNA since 2015, unveils its new brand portfolio. This was recently expanded by the acquisition at the end of 2016 of Vantage Hospitality Group; an operation which enabled the group to get 987 more properties meaning an additional 59,000 rooms, thus strengthening its presence on the American market.

Red Lion Hotels Corp now has 9 brands in its portfolio on the upscale, midscale and economy segments, including Red Lion Hotels, Red Lion Inns, Settle Inn, Signature Inn, Guest House, Americas Best Value Inn, Canada's Best Value Inn and Country Hearth Inn & Suites.

This evolution represents a new milestone in the growth of the Red Lion Hotels Corp group, which now has 1,100 franchised properties for a total of 73,200 rooms.

Red Lion Hotels Corporation has entered exclusive negotiations with Vantage Hospitality. This takeover will affect franchise contracts for a dozen brands, including Americas Best Value Inn, including 1,000 hotels and close to 60,000 rooms.

The initial aggregate price for the operation is estimated at some 25 million euros in cash and shares, and may be adjusted after two years of results.

The takeover of Vantage Hospitality Group by Red Lion Hotel Corporation (RLHC), two American franchise groups, should become official in the third quarter 2016.

This acquisition will enable RLHC to accelerate its growth throughout the United States thanks to an expanded brand portfolio, and to become one of the primary franchisers in the country. In 2014, Vantage Hospitality took over America's Best Franchising, growing the group to more than 1,400 units and 90,000 rooms.

Greg Mount, President and CEO RLHC declared on this occasion: The acquisition of Vantage Hospitality Group's operations establishes RLHC as one of the largest hotel franchisors adding approximately 1,000 hotel franchise, membership, and licensing agreements to our growing brand family.

Roger Bloss, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vantage, added: We are excited to become part of the RLHC family of brands. Joining RLHC's platform will provide our members with additional resources to grow their businesses and our guests with a broad array of brands." Vantage Hospitality Group is an American franchiser created in 1999.

This operation brought RLHC's portfolio the following brands: Vantage Hotels; Americas Best Value Inn (80% of the supply); Canadas Best Value Inn; Lexington by Vantage; America’s Best Inns and Suites; Country Hearth Inns; Jameson Inns; Signature Inn; and 3 Palms Hotels & Resorts. The group's portfolio will thus have 1,100 franchised properties or 73,200 rooms versus 113 hotels and 14,200 rooms previously.

RHLS was created in 1937; at the time the company was called Goodale & Barbieri Companies (G&B). Its introduction to the stock market in 1998 was synonymous with expansion. In 2001 the company bought Red Lion Hotels & Inns and moved most of its units under Red Lionin 2003.

It also took over West Coast Hospitality in 2005 and has taken another major step towards growth with the takeover of Vantage Hospitality.

The Mandarin Oriental Group has just announced the signing of an agreement to take over the management of a property in Santiago, Chile.

This is the first hotel of the group in South America. Owned by the Hotel Corporation of Chile (HCC), it will be renovated and will be operated under the Mandarin Oriental brand from August 2018. The property will remain open during the construction period.

The Hotel Santiago is located in the commercial and leisure area of Las Condes, which includes shopping centers, restaurants, museums and theaters.

It offers 310 rooms including 23 suites as well as 5 restaurants and bars, a fitness center, an outdoor pool, a spa, landscaped gardens and a large meeting space.

Owned by Jardine Matheson Group, Mandarin Oriental currently has 28 hotels and 8 residences in 19 countries.

LATVIA: airBaltic – Flight Tickets Going Mobile

The Latvian airline airBaltic has doubled mobile bookings during year 2015 compared to a year earlier for flights linking the Baltic region with Europe, Scandinavia, CIS and the Middle East. The mobile bookings represent 4,9% of all online bookings during 2015, compared to just 2,4% in 2014.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “Innovation and product improvement is in our focus. Our new, smartphone friendly website has helped us to improve the user experience for our customers, and now the share of mobile bookings has doubled. We are delighted that our customers have responded positively by booking more tickets with us.”

As previously announced, airBaltic has achieved +16% increase of future bookings for 2016 compared to the same period a year earlier.airBaltic offers the best connectivity into and out of the Baltic capitals, as the carrier serves a combination of direct flights and convenient transfers via airBaltic’s main hub in Riga to Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East and the CIS. airBaltic recently announced two new routes: Reykjavik – Riga, and Tallinn – Vilnius for the upcoming summer season.

airBaltic serves over 60 destinations from its home base in Riga, Latvia. From every one of these locations, airBaltic offers convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, CIS and the Middle East. In addition, airBaltic also offers new direct flights from Tallinn and Vilnius.

SWEDEN: SAS Commenced Operations Between Stockholm Arlanda And Hong Kong.

On 10 September, SAS commenced operations between Stockholm Arlanda and Hong Kong. Before the departure of the inaugural flight, Torborg Chetkovich, Swedavia CEO, and Rickard Gustafson, SAS President and CEO, fronted a ribbon cutting ceremony. Passengers on the inaugural flight were treated to a special oriental buffet while also being offered a book titled ‘Flavor – A Journey in the Scandinavian taste’, which SAS developed together with the renowned restaurant Noma in Copenhagen.

SAS commenced operations between Stockholm Arlanda (ARN) and Hong Kong (HKG) on 10 September. The 8,203-kilometre sector will be flown five times weekly using a mixture of the Star Alliance member’s A330-300s and A340-300s according to OAG Schedules Analyser data.

The route will not face any direct competition. Flights will depart from Arlanda at 1500, with an arrival time in Hong Kong of 0720 the next day. The return flight leaves Hong Kong at 0905 and arrives back in Sweden at 1435 the same day.

Commenting on the launch, Rickard Gustafson, President and CEO of SAS said: “Today we are writing a new chapter in the history of SAS, as we launch direct flights between Stockholm and Hong Kong. We are very proud to be linking Stockholm and the rest of Scandinavia with Hong Kong through a convenient new connection that has been opened today.”

Recently SAS announced that its next long-haul route from Arlanda will be to Los Angeles. The sector to the California airport, recently analysed by anna.aero, will become the 13th intercontinental route served by SAS from Stockholm. See how Hong Kong Airport’s FTWA compares to others from around the world.