The changing hierarchy marks the culmination of mostly organic growth at Lufthansa, aided by the purchase of smaller brands Swiss, Austrian and Brussels and the expansion of discount unit Eurowings, which grew by almost one-quarter last year. Lufthansa also secured a key deal with pilots in 2017 and last year benefited from unexpectedly high demand in first class. Air France-KLM, by contrast, has suffered years of strife as workers resist overhaul plans, leading to successive management shakeups as its French state shareholder balked at sometimes violent labor unrest. The French arm was also affected by air-traffic control strikes last year, as well as the nationwide Yellow Vests anti-government protests.Tom Lavell (Bloomberg)
It’s thought that automatic train operation (ATO) will increasingly replace human drivers in China after it was successfully rolled out on two intercity lines in the Pearl River Delta region. These trains run at a maximum speed of 200kph; the new Fuxing trains, which debuted on the Beijing-Shanghai line in June 2017, can travel at up to 350kph. For the first 10 years of the high-speed ATO trains, an attendant will still be deployed on board to ensure nothing goes wrong. After that, the trains will be totally driverless.Helen Coffey (The Independent)
Delta Air Lines has been named as the world’s most on-time major airline for the second year in a row. In second place is Qatar Airways on 85.88 per cent and following closely in third is KLM (85.04 per cent). The rest of the top 10 major airline ranking is made up of ANA (84.2 per cent), Aeroflot (82.98 per cent), Alitalia (82.27 per cent), Emirates (82 per cent), United Airlines (80.75 per cent), American Airlines (80.28 per cent) and SAS (78.69 per cent).Ted Thornhill (Daily Mail)
Sie kommen mit Billig-Airlines. Sie schlafen für ein paar Euro im Hostel. Sie kaufen bei internationalen Modeketten nichtnachhaltigen Ramsch. Sie trinken Bier am Spätkauf. Und sie fliegen Sonntagabend wieder ab. Der Stadt haben sie ein wenig Krach gebracht, viel Gedränge am Alex und vielleicht eine Urinlache in einem Friedrichshainer Hauseingang. Mehr nicht.Thomas Lindemann (FAZ)
In five to ten years we don’t want to be seen as a guidebook publisher: we want to be seen as a dynamic tech company that provides tailormade trips. This is going to change the way people travel. If you think about the Airbnb model, it is connecting travellers with owners. We are cutting the traditional travel chain.René Frey (Rough Guides)
Currently, the majority of Americans travel predominantly by car. According to Census data, only about five percent of U.S. workers commuted regularly to work by public transportation, including by subway or regional rail, in the years 2012 to 2016.Lilit Marcus (CNN)
In ancient Ireland, Celtic men and women had equal rights, and whoever brought more wealth and property to a marriage was seen as the ruler of the household, regardless of sex. […] Celtic women, unlike their counterparts in other ancient European nations, were not bound by the rules of monogamy and were free to take lovers.Addison Nugent (BBC)
Airbnb’s potential strategy to dig deeper into property management would have benefits and risks. The advantages would revolve around learning the property management space and establishing new revenue streams while the risks could be in engendering the view among current property management partners that Airbnb has become more of a competitor and less of a neutral marketplace.Dennis Schaal (Skift)
V toti presneti… 😂 Brez skrbi, to bosta vse “porihtala” novi mariborski Mr. November in Tona, ki ni imel absolutno nič s ŠC Pohorje, kaj šele s ŠC Areh in RTC Kranjska Gora. 😂Žiga Sancin