GOLDAIR GROUP OF COMPANIES: 2012 Annual Report

In an extraordinarily difficult period for Greek society and economy, the Goldair Group of Companies, setting as a basic principle the protection and preservation of its existing employment positions, continues its prudent and reasonable growth strategy in all its activities, namely in the tourism sector, airport ground handling, cargo and logistics.

There were many important steps regarding Goldair Handling growth both in Greece and abroad over the past year.

In less than 12 months Goldair Handling inaugurated and set into full operation 8 additional airports in the Greek territory. This is an investment of € 7m, consolidating the company's leading position in the Greek ground handling market as well as stimulating the local economy and labor market in a number of tourist destinations including Volos, Alexandroupolis, Ioannina, Lemnos, Paros, Skyros, Araxos, and Karpathos. With these new stations Goldair Handling is now present in a total of 26 commercial airports in Greece.

Along with the opening of new stations, the company increased its market share thanks to the expansion of cooperation contracts with major customers including Lufthansa, Cyprus, Turkish, Air France, and Aegean Airlines, with which cooperation has been extended to Alexandroupolis, Rhodes, and Mytilene beyond Athens and Thessaloniki airports.

With the current structure of its network and client base, the company employs 1,700 people in Greece and serves 66,000 flights, 11 million passengers, and 31 million tons of cargo.
In addition, the company continues its presence abroad in Cyprus and Bulgaria. With the opening of the Burgas airport on the Black Sea, a total of four airports abroad are serviced (Larnaca, Paphos, Sofia and Burgas).

The total investment to date of Goldair Handling exceeds € 80m. Within the year that ends in a few days, Goldair Handling has also faced particular difficulties relating to the following: First, very high operating costs at Eleftherios Venizelos airport due to excessive charges. Second, the phenomenon that a great number of foreign airlines have stopped flying from Greece. Third, the exclusion of Goldair Handling employees from seasonal employees subsidy programs, which in winter are covered by unemployment benefits (as is done in hotels). Fourth, the exclusion of Ground Handling in the Development Law (as has been done with many other touristic professions). Fifth, heightened competition leading to a significant decline in revenues along with a great lack of liquidity and high interest rates in Greece, which can cause a self-funded company great problems.

Goldair Cargo, having completed a big part of its investments in the previous years, succeeded in 2012, despite the extremely difficult market conditions on liquidity and high interest rates, to enhance its presence in the Greek market by broadening its customer base through a strong network for groupage shipments for all European cities, which the company has built via large investments.

Goldair Cargo has contributed significantly in the support of all exporting firms having weekly scheduled groupage dispatches for all major European cities (28 destinations with 3,500 central area codes in total). It has managed to strengthen its position in the global ranking of the IATA Ranking List, creating and offering specific airfreight services to large exporting businesses, helping the competitiveness of Greek products.

Finally, the company has concluded a cooperation agreement for integrated sea freight services and logistics (sea-logistics) with Cyprus.
Goldair represents more than 24 foreign airline companies both for passengers and cargo transportation, while Goldair Tourism strengthens its position in the Business Travel field through the establishment of the new Corporate Travel Services department plus a comprehensive network of services specifically designed to completely meet the needs of the shipping industry. At the same time, Goldair Congress has signed an agreement for the Association Management of the I.A.O.O and E.S.P.R.M (International Academy of Oral  Oncology & European Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine) for all foreign countries.

Goldeco has been active in the area of renewable energy sources by actively contributing in the protection of the environment. Within 2012 it has developed and operates a roof photovoltaic park of 1 MW in Aspropyrgos. Goldeco has in its construction portfolio projects of 4,3 MW power relating to a hydroelectric power project, in Serres 2,5 MW in a Biogas Plant, in the prefecture of Trikala power of 1.5 MW, and in one of our photovoltaic parks in Aspropyrgos power 300 KW. These projects are planned to be implemented within 2013.

Today, Goldair Group and its associated companies employ more than 2,300 employees in Greece, while about 700 are employed abroad.

Air Arabia awarded ISO certification in Information Technology Service Management

Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, announced that it has been awarded the ISO/IEC 20000-1: 2011 certificate in IT Service Management System
in recognition of high standards the company has achieved in implementing world class information technology services.
The ISO/IEC 20000-1 certification has been awarded following a rigorous auditing process that British Standards Institution (BSI) has carried out, ensuring that Air Arabia’s IT service management systems operate to the highest possible standards. This is a reflection of Air Arabia’s commitment to establish a culture of continual improvement and learning within its IT department. 
The ISO/IEC 20000-1 certification further demonstrates the company’s high levels of efficiency in service provision and the ability to continuously improve the delivery of IT services in accordance with the development in the IT industry and the company requirements. 
Commenting on the occasion, Adel Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer, Air Arabia Group, said, “Obtaining the ISO 20000 certification in IT Service Management System testifies our commitment for ongoing improvement and for sharing knowledge and innovation within the organisation. It is with great delight that we accept this prestigious certificate from BSI, which further consolidates our efforts to enhance the quality of services we provide.” 
Theuns Kotze, Regional Managing Director for Middle East and Africa, BSI, said, “This great achievement is a strong stepping stone for Air Arabia towards excellence and innovation. ISO/IEC 20000 registration demonstrates that Air Arabia has adequate controls and procedures in place to consistently deliver a cost effective, quality IT service. I would like to congratulate the entire project team, senior management and all staff members who were involved in this project.”

AirAsia becomes first operator of Airbus’ Sharklet equipped A320

Airbus has delivered the first A320 equipped with Sharklets today to AirAsia, which becomes the first operator of the new fuel-saving large wing tip devices. Sharklets are an option on new-build A320 Family aircraft, and are standard on all members of the A320neo Family.
 
Sharklets are made from light-weight composites and are 2.4 metres tall. These newly designed wing-tip devices reduce fuel burn and emissions by improving the aerodynamics of the aircraft significantly. Cutting airlines’ fuel bills by around four percent, Sharklets will offer the flexibility to A320 Family operators of either adding around 100 nautical miles more range or allowing increased payload capability of up to 450 kilogrammes.
 
“We are extremely proud to be the first airline in the world to take delivery of an A320 fitted with Airbus’ new, fuel saving Sharklets,” said Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia . “AirAsia has a long-standing, special relationship with Airbus and as we grow our network with our all A320 fleet, these new wing tip devices will contribute to fulfilling our goal of being the most efficient, innovative low cost airline in the world.”
 
“As our biggest A320 Family airline customer, it’s very fitting that AirAsia is the first carrier to benefit from the four percent fuel saving our new Sharklets deliver,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “AirAsia’s vision is to make is possible for everyone to fly and now with their Sharklet-equipped A320s they can assure their passengers that they are also travelling on board the world’s most environmentally friendly single-aisle aircraft.”
 
Due to the very strong customer demand for Sharklets, all Airbus’ single-aisle final assembly lines (FALs) will be engaged in building A320 Family aircraft with Sharklets. These FALs are located in Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany) and Tianjin (China) and will soon be followed by an additional A320 FAL in Mobile (Alabama, USA).
 
AirAsia, the largest low cost airline in Asia is also Airbus’ largest A320 Family airline customer. The carrier recently placed a new order with Airbus on the 13th December 2012 for 100 more A320 Family aircraft including 36 A320ceo aircraft with Sharklets. Altogether, AirAsia has ordered 475 single aisle aircraft from Airbus, comprising 264 A320neo and 211 A320ceo. Over 100 aircraft have already been delivered to the airline and are flying out of its bases in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila and Tokyo.

Cathay Pacific statement on successful resolution to sponsored FAU talks

Cathay Pacific confirms that talks sponsored by the Labour Department between the company and the Flight Attendants Union (FAU) have resolved the outstanding differences between the two parties. 

Chief Executive John Slosar said: “This is the best possible outcome for our customers, who have always been at the forefront of this issue for us. They can now look forward to their holiday travel plans with confidence.”

General Manager Cabin Crew Liza Ng said: “The agreement we reached today addresses issues important to the company and the crew. It is incumbent upon the company to always ensure its long-term success when discussing short-term issues. We were able to accomplish that today.”

The resulting agreement includes: 
- A commitment that all destinations will remain available to Hong Kong based crew, 
- That crew based outside Hong Kong will not exceed 15 percent of total cabin crew staffing, 
- That outport based crew can only operate based routes between outport bases, and 
- That a minimum of 50 percent of overall flights on based routes will be operated by Hong Kong based crew. 
- This part of the agreement being valid for a period of two years beginning 1 January 2013.

Additionally, the company and the FAU jointly agreed on changes to some lifestyle issues deemed important to cabin crew. For example, regarding late night flights and specific patterns, Cathay Pacific will trial some new initiatives including service flow and enhanced rest times.

According to Mr. Slosar: “This is a good agreement for the company. It allows us to expand our business here at home, bringing even more services to the people of Hong Kong. Specifically, we maintain the flexibility we need to offer what our customers want us to provide.” 

He continued: “Beyond that, we were able to look after the interests of the broader cabin crew community in terms of addressing lifestyle issues, which is important because we must keep the interests of all staff at heart. And we have demonstrated that we will listen to staff concerns and respond with appropriate solutions.”

Mr. Slosar concluded: “We are very grateful to the Labour Department for sponsoring these talks and keeping the parties focused on a resolution that protected the interests of the travelling public. We’re now ready to redouble our efforts to ensure a pleasant experience for all of our customers over the holidays.”

EU and EUROCONTROL sign agreement on enhanced cooperation

On the sidelines of the Transport Council meeting , the European Union and the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) signed an agreement establishing a new and stable framework for enhanced cooperation (13792/12).
The agreement, which lists the areas of cooperation and defines the forms and mechanisms of cooperation, confirms EUROCONTROL as the technical and operational arm of the EU in the development and implementation of its Single European Sky (SES) programme, while positioning the EU as the regulator of this programme.

It also provides a framework for civil-military coordination of air traffic management and for pan-European coordination beyond the EU borders. Moreover, it will enable the EU to contribute to the ongoing reform of EUROCONTROL's governance structure.

In addition, the agreement aims to ensure synergies with, and avoid duplication of, the work of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in safety-related air traffic management matters and environmental issues.

EUROCONTROL is a civil-military intergovernmental organisation with 39 contracting parties from all over Europe, including all EU member states except Estonia. It plays a pivotal role in air traffic management (ATM) in Europe and provides expertise and technical assistance to the EU in this field.
Last year, EUROCONTROL was nominated as ATM network manager for the Single European Sky programme, which is designed to establish a safe and efficient air traffic management system at European level on the basis of a legal framework adopted in 2004 and 2009.

US travel industry to see upswing in 2013

CHICAGO - The travel industry can expect a healthy upswing in the coming year, according to a recent survey conducted by The GO Group, LLC., which provides ground transportation at more than 50 airports, and GO Airport Express, which provides airport shuttles to and from O'Hare International Airport and Midway Airport.

When travelers were asked to project their travel plans for 2013, 23% of respondents stated they intend to travel more frequently compared to 2012. The survey covered some 374 shuttle passengers from around the country.

Just 7 percent of participants said they planned on traveling less in 2013 and slightly less than 50 percent noted they will travel the same amount. Twelve percent said they didn't know yet how frequently they would be traveling in the new year.
"This is good news for the hospitality industry, for business and for the overall U.S. economy," saysJohn McCarthy, president of GO Airport Express and The GO Group.  "The US tourism and travel industry makes up a large part of US GDP and employment."
"I'd like to think the money our customers are saving on ground transportation is allowing them to travel more," he adds.

The GO Group is one-stop source for door-to-door airport shuttle services, operating in more than 50 airports. Each year, its members transport some 13 million passengers to and from airports in the United States, Mexico, Canada and Europe.

GO Airport Express, one of the oldest companies in Chicago, Ill., traces its founding to 1853 and the Parmelee Transportation Company, which provided a carriage service between Chicago's railroad stations and the downtown hotels. It is a founding member of The GO Group, LLC.

Premier Inn reveals the strange presents guests left behind this Christmas

UK's hotel chain Premier Inn has revealed that the Christmas festivities led to an array of gifts being left behind by their guests, including 18 Christmas jumpers, a pair of tickets to VIVA Forever, a set of diamond earrings and even a One Direction fan’s 'Future Mrs Styles' t-shirt.
The list of lost property from this December also includes a set of Little Mix dolls, Bradley Wiggins’ autobiography, a Furby (still talking!) and 17 copies of this year’s bestselling book, 50 Shades of Grey.
Alongside the array of presents, Premier Inn team members also found 25 rolls of leftover wrapping paper, 137 blank Christmas cards and two homemade Christmas cakes.
Claire Haigh, head of communications for Premier Inn, said: "We are surprised at the variety of gifts that our team members have discovered in the hotels this festive season. Christmas day may be over, but we will continue to spread the festive joy by going the extra mile to ensure that these presents are returned to their rightful owners."
The full list of items found over the month included the following: 2 x Viva Forever Tickets, Little Mix Dolls, 17 x 50 Shades of Grey book, a 'Future Mrs Styles' One Direction T-shirt, 2 x homemade Christmas cakes, 18 x Christmas jumpers, a set of diamond earrings, a Furby, Bradley Wiggins' Autobiography, an iPhone 5, the official Olympic DVD, 5 x onesies, James Arthur's autobiography, a Kindle Fire and 19 x pairs of Christmas socks (as well as three odd ones).
The hotel chain will be re-launching the Premier Inn Gifts Reunited Service atwww.facebook.com/premierinn where guests will be able to comment on the wall if they have lost any items. Premier Inn will do their upmost to reunite people with their long lost presents.

Qatar Airways to file US$ 600m. legal action against Lindner Depa Interiors

Qatar Airways is filing a US$600 million legal claim against German Emirati joint venture construction company Lindner Depa Interiors (LDI) for causing a significant delay to the opening of the New Doha International Airport (NDIA) by up to a year.
LDI had undertaken to complete the construction of 19 airport lounges at NDIA by the summer of 2012 in a contract worth over US$ 250 million, but failed to complete the project on time. The airport was due to have opened in December 2012.
Qatar Airways, set to be the airport operator, said LDI had badly defaulted with the delayed airport opening seriously affecting the airline’s expansion plans, causing huge revenue losses, increased construction costs and delay penalties, and more importantly, inconveniencing passengers.
LDI was described as having performed extremely poorly in executing the project and failing to meet construction targets. 
The US$15.5 billion new state-of-the-art airport, which will have Doha-based Qatar Airways as its primary customer and operator, is now expected to open in the second half of 2013. The new facility is destined to be an iconic world-class airport that is expected to set high standards in excellence.
Qatar Airways is one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, currently operating 116 aircraft to 122 destinations worldwide with plans to fly over 170 aircraft to more than 170 destinations by 2015.
The current Doha International Airport handles almost 20 million passengers a year, with over 80 per cent of the passenger traffic generated by Qatar Airways alone. Had it been completed on time, the new airport would have accommodated the rapid expansion of Qatar’s national airline.
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker cited ‘extreme poor performance’ and inability to execute the work within the time required for the project as the reasons for LDI’s contract being terminated, resulting in the legal action estimated at up to US$600 million now being taken.
“We are extremely disappointed by the poor performance of LDI which has failed to carry out the contract in a timely manner which in turn has forced a delay of the opening of the New Doha International Airport by nearly a year,” said Al Baker.
“We have been badly affected as an airline with the delay impacting Qatar Airways’ expansion plans that include new aircraft deliveries and opening up new routes at the rate we want to and more importantly causing a lot of inconvenience to our passengers in addition to the revenue losses to the airline and its subsidiaries.
“Our subsidiaries have been also affected by this delay including Qatar Duty Free, the food outlets and the ground handling which had a negative impact on the revenues of the airline.
Added l Baker: “The current airport we are operating from is already full to capacity with virtually no room to grow. We relied on moving to our new home, the New Doha International Airport this month, but this has not happened.”
“Operational trials of the new airport have been ongoing since the summer as everything was in place, but incomplete airport lounges proved a serious setback.”
Phase One of NDIA is slated to handle over 28 million passengers a year, with the capacity expected to more than double by the time the airport is fully operational in 2018.
Al Baker added that further claims against LDI were expected from other entities affected by this delay.

The American Express World Luxury Expo is in February’13

The American Express World Luxury Expo will take place at the palatial Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Expo, which will be between 10 and 12 February 2013, is the result of a new joint venture between World Luxury Group and Nayyara Exhibitions, with American Expressexclusively selected as the title sponsor.

HH Princess Nouf Bint Faisal Bin Turki Al Saud, as Chairperson of Nayyara Exhibitions, will host The American Express World Luxury Expo. The highly anticipated three day exhibition will showcase many of the world's leading luxury brands and services, from a broad selection of luxury categories, to a highly discerning and select group of VIP guests from across the Kingdom.

Mr Sami El Natour, Chief Marketing Officer, American Express Saudi Arabia Limited, said "We are proud to be the title sponsor of The American Express World Luxury Expo, Riyadh. Our sponsorship of this prestigious event will enhance the exclusive benefits we can offer our Cardmembers and invited guests who attend the event. The American Express World Luxury Expo, Riyadh compliments American Express' commitment to service excellence and personalised services for high net worth individuals."

Mr Ahmed Al Oraij, Executive Consultant at Nayyara Exhibitions comments, "Nayyara is proud to partner with World Luxury Group to bring The American Express World Luxury Expo to Riyadh. This is an event of true international calibre, one which will continue to grow every year for many years to come, with plans for Riyadh to become one of the world's most important luxury exhibition centres."

Mr Graham Cooke, President of World Luxury Group, says "The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh positions itself amongst the grandest palace hotels in the world, and our partners Nayyara Exhibitions boast a first-class management team with whom we are proud to work. The American Express World Luxury Expo, Riyadh is the only event of its kind in the Kingdom, showcasing an array of luxury brands available in one select venue - The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh - which provides center stage for this event of over 5,800 square meters."

The American Express World Luxury Expo, Riyadh will feature carefully selected exhibitors from luxury categories including fine art, high-end jewellery, fashion, hand-crafted time pieces, designer furniture and exquisite table settings, fine dining, luxury executive cars and sports cars, private aviation and luxury travel. All participating exhibitors are leaders in their respective fields, showcasing superior quality and perfection.

Celebrated royal wedding planner, Mr Raymond Chouity of Desert Rose Classic, comments "Planning a royal wedding requires a vision and inspired creativity to craft an occasion of beauty and sophistication. An event of this calibre at such an extraordinary venue brings together the multi-faceted world of luxury in an equally harmonious manner."

Mr Jean-Francois Laurent, General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh, says "We look forward to hosting TheAmerican Express World Luxury Expo, Riyadh, which we believe will become an important annual event for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh enjoys a pre-eminent address in the capital and was originally envisioned as a royal guest palace for visiting dignitaries and heads of state. The hotels' stately architecture mirrors the extraordinary lifestyle that The American Express World Luxury Expo, Riyadh represents."

The world's most luxurious atlas, Earth Platinum, measuring 6x9 ft wide, is a collector's piece that will be featured at The American Express World Luxury Expo. The maps consist of images that are stitched together using as many as 1,000 individual photos and the largest consists of 12,000 photos. Earth Platinum is also the largest-ever atlas and only 31 copies will ever be published.

Mr Toni E. Yazbeck, Head of Marketing at Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors, the exclusive and official importer of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in Saudi Arabia comments "The American Express World Luxury Expo has brought together the most prestigious names in luxury goods to a palatial and iconic venue in Saudi Arabia, so it is befitting that Rolls-Royce which represents the pinnacle of automotive luxury, is taking part in this event."

Mr Abdul Aziz Al-Juwaie, Executive Director of Golden Caviar, comments, "Golden Caviar is a boutique producer of premium caviar. Our exquisite sturgeon's eggs are created by highest principles creating a delicacy that was known to the Russian tsars as the 'food of the gods'. We look forward to share our gourmet experience with private clients at The American Express World Luxury Expo, Riyadh."

Vincent Corver, Manager of Steinway Piano Gallery, CDC - Qatar, comments "A Steinway is an instrument of the finest quality and through our association with the CrystalRocked, we are delighted to offer the opportunity to own an extraordinarily distinctive, bespoke Steinway grand piano that is the perfect blend of sophistication and glamour. At The American Express World Luxury Expo, Riyadh, we will be displaying a crystalized 1/6 scale model grand pianothat will be revealed for the first time ever in the Kingdom. The full scale version is valued at SAR 12 million."

During The American Express World Luxury Expo, Riyadh Exhibitors also have the additional opportunity to showcase their craftsmanship in the refined atmosphere of a hotel suite for personal and private viewings.

T Emirates (the soon-to-be launched UAE version of The New York Times Style Magazine), Saudi Gazette and anaZahra.com are all media partners of The American Express World Luxury Expo, Riyadh.

The American Express World Luxury Expo, Riyadh follows the Dubai event held in January at the Burj Al Arab and continues to Doha and Abu Dhabi, creating an annual signature series of events in all four cities.

For more information visit www.worldluxuryexpo-riyadh.com 

PATA: Arrivals to Japan, Myanmar, Cambodia Surge

International visitor arrivals into Asia between January and September 2012 showed a collective increase of 5.5% year-on-year, according to preliminary results released today by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

During the first nine months of the year, the 4.7%collective growth rate for Northeast Asia was somewhat lower than the Asia average, however thispercentage increase translated to around 7.8 million additional international visitor arrivals to the sub-region. Intra-regional flows remained the key force behind this growth in both volume and percentagegain terms for the period. China (-2%) and Macau SAR (+1%) saw relatively weak results while the remaining destinations, Japan (+41%), Chinese Taipei (+24%), Korea (ROK) (+19%) and Hong KongSAR (+16%), performed strongly with each destination posting double-digit growth over the period.

Although South Asia (+7%) recorded a year-on-year increase above the Asia average, growth was still relatively sluggish compared to the double-digit growth rates during the corresponding periods of 2010 and 2011. Alldestinations showed slowing growth rates with India (+6%) and the Maldives (+3%) registering below the sub-region's average rate. This slowdown can in part, be attributed to the sluggish arrivals pattern from the main source market ofEurope, due to the prolonged economic crisis there. Even so, source market data for four reporting destinations within South Asia - excluding India - still showed that Europe remained the highest traffic-generator for the sub-region during the first nine months of the year, followed by Northeast Asia.

Growing at an average rate of 10% during the three quarters of the year, seven reporting destinations in Southeast Asia collectively showed buoyant increases in visitor arrivals from Northeast Asia with more than 1.3 million additional visitors arriving from that sub-region. Fast growing intra-ASEAN travel demand also boosted growth for the period. Nevertheless, most destinations in the sub-region posted softening growth rates compared to the corresponding period last year, with the exception of two significant destinations, Cambodia (+24%) and Myanmar (+43%).

Martin J Craigs, PATA CEO, said "Although arrivals growth rates into Asia have slowed a little, they are still robust. It is particularly pleasing to see destination Japan recovering its arrivals numbers. Myanmar, however, has been thestory of the year."