KLM-Northwest 24-hour hotline

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Northwest Airlines have launched a 24-hour hotline. Dial 022-8380838. You can make reservations,flight enquiries and access fare information at this number.

Smoke-free KLM, Northwest Airlines flights

Currently, 85 per cent of KLM's flights and 97 per cent of Northwest's flights are smoke-free. On KLM flights to Amsterdam, Australia, Canada and the US are already smoke-free. From March 29, KLM will ban smoking on all its flights between Amsterdam and destinations in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and Asia (except Japan).

From April 1, Northwest will ban smoking on all its flights within Asia and on services between Japan and Hawaii and Guam

The ban on smoking -- for the time being -- will not apply on KLM flights between Amsterdam and its Japanese destinations, Nagoya, Osaka, Sapporo and Tokyo. And on Northwest flights between US cities and Japan.

In a bid to offer passengers route-tailored services and products, Cathay Pacific has introduced Indian non-vegetarian, Indian vegetarian, Thai and Western meals on its flight between Bombay-Bangkok.

Interestingly, surveys carried out by the airline has shown the necessity for route-tailored products and services. So now Cathay Pacific makes it a point to offer:

• Slippers, blankets and Japanese meals on its Japanese routes.
• More cognac and cigarettes on its North Asian routes
• More whiskey on Australian routes.
• Ming pao and gossip magazines on Vancouver routes.

British Airways has greatly expanded the meal choices available for vegetarians. The airline had requests for one million vegetarian meals on its flights last year and hence the initiative to expand the variety of meatless meals available.

The airline, on the advice of cook and author Ursula Ferringo, there will be in flight meals for lacto vegetarians and vegans. Some 200 dishes -- ricotta dumplings, malfadine noodles with wild mushrooms, roasted vegetables on focaccia -- will be available on menus.

Passengers are asked to request their preference in advance. However flights will stock a range of vegetarian meals in case of an emergency.

United Airlines offers its first class and business class passengers, disembarking from early morning flights, in London, an Arrivals service.

The Arrivals service offers a private shower suite, pressing of clothes, and a light breakfast to recuperate from the flight. It also offers access to a business centre for making reservations, sending faxes.

Jet Airways and Northwest Airlines tied up.

The cooperation is likely to benefit passengers of both airlines who are taking connecting flights. And Jet and Northwest are likely to arrange that convenient Jet connections are available for passengers disembarking from Northwest flights in Delhi and Bombay and vice versa.

Jet now flies to 18 destinations in India.

The Government of India has increased the the foreign travel tax or airport tax

The tax imposed on travellers going abroad last year was Rs 300 year per person, it has been raised to Rs 500 per person. However people travelling to neighbouring countries will be charged the previous amount.

Kuwait Airways has introduced a special mobile phone service and medical facilites on its flights.

First and business class passengers flying to London can now hire mobile phones during the journey at discounted rates. The airline also provides free insurance against any medical expenditure incurred by these class passengers during their stay over seas.

British Airways has joined hands to provide an Explore the World Fare.

The explorer fare allows passengers to create their own itinerary with a choice of 470 destinations to choose from. The fare is 11 per cent less than the normal round the world fare. However, it differs from place to place.

British Airways has joined hands with Quantas, U S Airways, Canadian Airlines and American Airlines to provide passengers with a wider network. Passengers purchasing the Global Explorer fare are also offered special discount on car rental and accommodation.

India and New Zealand have signed an air services agreement, paving the way for the introduction of commercial flights between the two countries.

There are currently no flights from India to New Zealand, so the agreement will now connect the two countries. Initially, air services would most likely start by code-sharing which allows airlines to develop new routes in conjunction with eachother. The agreement allows airlines from the respective countries to operate up to two services a week.

Air-India will serve special meals to children on its flights from New York and Chicago to India.

Items such as pizza, pastas, spaghetti and meat sauce will be part of the menu. Air India also plans to introduce special children's menus on other routes as well.

Air India will be adding a host of facilities for its first class and executive class passengers in the near future.

The facilities the airline plans to introduce are

• A lottery scheme aboard all its flights
• An inflight pedicurist
• Mobile phones will be given to first class passengers for their use during the journey.
• The airline has already introduced roller massagers for passengers who wish to relax.
• Foreign passport holders travelling by either first class or business class will be provided with a voice mail facility on their mobile phones.

Companies and private parties need not charter a whole plane for meetings and other occasions, Air New Zealand has introduced a concept called Private Business which enables passengers to charter only an entire business section.

Companies, incentive groups and other delagations can book the airlines' entire business class for their exclusive use. The customer can choose to rename the cabin, personalise the menu, emblazon the company logo on each seat, create a corporate welcome video which can be aired on the personal video screen.

This concept can also be used for a private trip like a wedding party. The idea is akin to travelling in a corporate jet at a lesser cost. The airline doesnot charge by the seat, instead, groups can pay a lumpsum fare and receive a private cabin irrespective of the number of seats.

Swissair has introduced organically grown products in its inflight catering.

Naturalgourmet, as the new catering concept is called is available on all Swissair flights departing Switzerland. The airline has introduced the menu because the meals are fresh, natural, healthy and easy to digest. Swissair will use organically grown products and ingredients from integrated production to produce inflight meals.

The menu will consist of organically produced fruits, vegetables and juices. It lighter on meats and will also serve dairy products wich have been made with organic ingredients. Organically produced wine will also be available.

Swissair offers its passengers inflight mobile telephones. One phoneset will be available for every two passenger seats in the first and business class cabins. A wall-mounted phone will be available for all economy class passengers in the economy class cabin.

Singapore Airlines now offers its passengers a choice of meals and complimentary drinks.

First class passengers on flights departing from Singapore can choose from six favourite local dishes that reflect Singaporean cuisine. These include chicken rice, nasi biryani, Indian mee goreng, chicken curry with bread, fried hokkien mee and nasi lemak.

The airline also provides special meals for passengers with specific dietary requirements for religious, medical or health reasons. And for passengers on low fat vegetarian, low cholesterol and salt free diets. Passengers can request special cuisine when booking a flight.

Along with food the airline also pays attention to the type of wine it serves. It serves special wines from Italy and South Africa, France, America, Australia, and Germany and two champagnes, Dom Perignon and Krug Grande.

British Airways will be will be adding a host of facilities for its passengers in the near future.

Some of the facilities to be added are:

• A 'flying bed', which is a completely flat two metres long bed in an individual compartment.
• Wider seats for passengers.
• The airline will be starting a 'leisure travel club', for travellers stopping over on short breaks in different countries.
• The airline also plans to tie up with more local partners for the Executive Club rewards programme.

British Airways has also dorned a new look for the next three years. The airline has started to paint the tails of their aircraft in various designs representing the communities of the world which they aims to serve.

Swissair offers a unique check-in facility known as fly-rail baggage for Indian passengers flying to and from Switzerland.

For passengers arriving into Switzerland:
Passengers arriving into Switzerland can check-in their baggage from Bombay and New Delhi airports directly to the railway station of their final destination in Switzerland. Passengers have to sign a customs declaration that their baggage does not contain any dutiable goods. This facility is available at 117 railway stations in Switzerland.

For passengers departing from Switzerland:
Passengers can check-in for their flight directly at any railway station in Switzerland. Baggage will be directly transfered to the flight and boarding cards for the flight can be collected at the railway station itself.

The charge for the fly-rail baggage facility is 20 Swiss francs per piece. However, this facility is free for all first and business class passengers

Passengers booking flights on Cathay Pacific to Australia can submit applications for their Australian visas at the time of booking their flights and have them approved immediately electronically by the Electronic Travel Authorities of the Australian Government.

Passengers with can simply give their travel agent their passport details and these are then keyed into the airlines booking system. Within ten seconds an Australian visa is electronically authorised.

Once the passenger has an electronic authorisation Cathay's departure control systems immediately recognise an ETA holder. This eliminates the long proceedure of filling out an application form and submitting it to the local Australian consulate or embassy.

However this facility is not available to Indian passport holders and is limited to passenger holding passports from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA.

British Airways and Jet Airways have introduced a new check-in facility service for passengers taking connecting flights.

Passengers travelling on British Airways from the UK, USA and Europe to India and passengers travelling from India to any of these destinations will have to check in their baggage only once when connecting between a British Airways flight and a Jet Airways flight. Passengers will also receive their boarding cards for travel on both airlines at the point of embarkation.

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