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Starting on 28 March 2010, Air France and KLM will be extending their hold baggage transport rules that already apply for passengers travelling between Europe and the United States and Canada to the rest of the network. The policy is in line with industry standards.

Before, two different rules existed depending on the destination (piece concept or weight concept). From now on, only the piece concept will be used for all tickets issued as from 28 March 2010.

These new measures, more beneficial for customers than before, will enable Air France and KLM passengers to check in up to 3 bags free of charge weighing up to 23kg each depending on the cabin class.

Flying Blue members as from Silver status will be able to check in an additional bag of up to 23kg, whatever their travel class. Up to now, they benefited from an additional baggage allowance only on routes on which the weight concept applied (Silver 5kg, Gold 10kg and Platinum 20kg).

Air France and KLM are thus confirming their intent to maintain the essential free services and to simplify travel procedures with services which are easier to use and understand for everyone.

Facebook and Twitter are preparing to flip the switch on features that will allow you to share your location with your friends at any time. Facebook is reportedly revving up to introduce the feature, while Twitter is ready to enable the changes on its site any moment now.

Read more on pcworld.com …

Lufthansa has introduced a new social networking application for frequent flyers called MemberScout.

The airline shared that MemberScout is a new iPhone and soon to come BlackBerry app, allowing Miles & More members to communicate with others on the move to exchange travel experiences, ask others for tips and inside knowledge, and profit from their travel expertise.

Miles & More members can use the application to find out on their smartphone if others are online and ask them questions.

Users can see who else is nearby to arrange a spontaneous meeting or find out whether they are interested in sharing a taxi to save travel expenses.

The application can also be used to check out offerings from Lufthansa partners at a user’s actual destination.

It can be downloaded in German or English free of charge by Miles & More members from the Apple App Store or in the BlackBerry App World.

The airline stated that Frequent travellers, Senators and HON Circle members will receive the apps in the look and feel of their frequent flyer status.

Business traveler Mike Monroe no longer rummages through his bag at the airline counter fishing for his flight ticket or confirmation number.
The consultant from Lakeland, Fla., has gone paperless, thanks to Continental Airlines’ electronic boarding passes. Once he checks in online, the carrier e-mails a bar code to his phone. That code is scanned at security checkpoints and gates instead of a boarding pass. “It takes away a lot of annoyances.”

Monroe also uses his BlackBerry for airlines’ flight-change alerts, routing all calls into one number provided by Google Voice, turn-by-turn driving directions when he’s behind the wheel and watching TV on Slingbox when he has downtime. He also carries an iPod Touch — like an iPhone but without the phone — to make international calls using Skype, get the latest sports scores and weather from Viigo and access Urbanspoon’s reviews of nearby restaurants. “Nothing really cutting edge,” Monroe says, “but I’m just trying every day to reduce the stress.”

Monroe is a member of a growing army of tech-savvy travelers whose smartphones are transforming their travel habits. Beyond online maps and travel guides, travelers are turning to their phones to look up aircraft seat configuration, track taxis, reply to early hotel check-in requests, order room service and locate nearby colleagues.

Few Americans remain untouched by the effects of the mobile Internet. But the tech industry’s core mission of getting people to lead untethered lives inevitably invites road warriors such as Monroe as early adopters of all their bells and whistles. The travel industry has responded with some of the most innovative applications available on smartphones. And more are coming.

Read more on financialnewsusa.com …

Virgin America is ready with its new website, replacing the use of Adobe’s technology with similar HTML-based capabilities.

The airline plans a big push into mobile this year and wants to be sure iPhone users can access the Virgin America site and check-in process via the iPhone.

In a comment to the The Register, Virgin America CIO Ravi Simhambhatla specifically pointed to the iPhone, saying, “I don’t want to cater to one hardware or one software platform one way to another, and Flash eliminates iPhone users.”

Simhambhatla further said that by the end of the year, Virgin hoped to be able to allow passengers at some airports to check in using electronic boarding passes displayed on their smartphones. The only thing holding this up is approval by the Transportation Security Administration that runs security at airports in the US, added the same report.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd will host “Check-In Asia” — a passenger and baggage processing forum for Asia Pacific travel industry stakeholders — on November 24-26 here.

The forum will focus on check-in practices in the future and take a closer look at the end-to-end process from the passenger point of view from the moment of booking to collection of baggage at their arrival destination.

“It will also offer an insight into the latest check-in technologies, complemented by a free International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s Simplifying the Business workshop,” MAHB said in a statement on Thursday.

The company said IATA specialists and guest speakers would lead in-depth technical sessions in an interactive environment on the Fast Travel programme.

The session covers check-in, bags ready-to-go or bag registration, document scanning, flight re-booking self-boarding and bag recovery or lost bag registration.

MAHB Managing Director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad said in the statement that not less than 250 attendees and 20 exhibitors would congregate for this event.

He said the region’s air travel industry stakeholders could discuss and decide the solutions regarding the evolution of their passenger and baggage processing methods and other potential systems to enhance passengers’ experience.

“This forum will be beneficial to all industry players, in the effort to minimise passengers’ hassle and maximise the capacity of airport operators, airlines and other related industry stakeholders,” he said.

Continental Airlines  today announced that beginning March 17, 2010, it will offer customers the option of purchasing, at check in, premium seat assignments for unreserved economy-class seats that feature extra legroom.
Continental’s OnePass Elite frequent flyer members and their traveling companions will be able to continue to assign themselves seats with extra legroom in economy class without charge.
“Our customers want more choices,” said Jim Compton, Continental’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “Seats with additional legroom are higher-value seats, and we want to offer them to customers who recognize that value.”
Depending on the type of aircraft and row, seats with extra legroom provide customers with a minimum of seven additional inches of leg space. Customers will be able to purchase these seats at continental.com or at the airport kiosk during the normal check-in period, beginning at 24 hours prior to departure of the first flight in an itinerary. Pricing for the premium seats will vary depending on a number of factors, including the length of the flight and market.
Continental joins several other U.S. and international airlines in offering customers the option of purchasing premium seat assignments.