Northstar

FEATURE www.travelweeklyweb.com Lufthansa Lufthansa's approach to Business Class is to provide travellers with a seamless travel experience, from before they leave home, through the actual flight and beyond. Lufthansa offers Priority Check-in for Business Class customers and wherever possible a fast track through immigration and security. Markus Del Monego, world champion of sommeliers and "Master of Wine" has exclusively created Lufthansa's special wine experience, called Vinothek. Exclusivity continues with Lufthansa's in-flight entertainment programme. Guests can choose from a wide range of current films, TV programmes, CDs and audio books as well as books, magazines and newspapers. With Lufthansa's unique FlyNet service, guests can enjoy the World Wide Web thanks to only broadband wireless LAN access in the skies. In Frankfurt, once its Business Class passengers have arrived, Lufthansa invites its guests to the Welcome Lounge for a tasty breakfast or to have a shower after their long journey. Lufthansa has very good seat load factors. Flexibility and comfort are important factors as well. Lufthansa sees strong demand in First and Business Class. Qatar Airways Qatar Airways' Business Class and its Business Class catering were voted Best in the World at the Skytrax World Airline Awards in 2010, so that gives you some indication of the level of the importance Qatar places in its Business Class offering. The Business Class cabins feature seats that convert to 180 degrees fully fl at beds on our Boeing 777 aircraft and 160 degrees on its Airbus A330s. Both aircraft types operate between Singapore and Doha. Qatar has an award-winning wine list, and our on demand menu allows customers to dine when it suits them. Qatar's Business Class product is very competitively priced, around S$5,500 to London return. Qatar succeeds in winning customers because customers can see the value for money they are getting when they travel with Qatar and compare its service with other airlines when paying a similar price or more. Its network has now reached a point where any number of markets feed into the Singapore route via Doha. Both Business and Economy Class cabins are consistently full of passengers. Qatar even has considerable business for traffic between Singapore and Bali, where its flights from Doha continue. With its second daily Singapore service being introduced in phases over the next few months, you can see that business is increasing, not just in the front end of the plane but across both cabins. Qantas The Qantas business class service provides a premium experience for travellers. Throughout the entire journey, Qantas ensures that passengers are provided with a high level of comfort and care – from the moment they check-in until they arrive at their destination. Key elements of the Qantas experience are designed by renowned Australian designers. For instance, Marc Newson, international designer and Qantas creative director leads all Qantas product development including aircraft interiors and onboard product. Neil Perry, acclaimed restaurateur is behind the design of Qantas restaurant-style menu and Peter Morrissey is the designer behind Qantas pyjamas for business travellers. Qantas business class traveller enjoys dedicated check-in counters, priority baggage with additional allowances, priority boarding and disembarkation. Business class travellers can check in to the exclusive Qantas International Business Lounge (at selected ports) designed by renowned Australian designer Marc Newson that includes business facilities, wireless internet, work-stations, showers, dining facilities and a winebar. To help travellers adjust their body clock, Qantas award winning lighting system adjusts to the interior ambience of the cabin according to the time of day and onboard requirements. In-flight restaurant-style menus are designed by renowned Australian chef and restaurateur Neil Perry. Business class travellers can choose from a range of menu options. A room service breakfast and refreshments are available throughout the flight. Business class travellers can also enjoy wine from Qantas extensive, award-winning wine list. This is served by the cabin crew who are also sommelier-trained. Qantas are winners of the Best First Class Cellar and Best Business Class Cellar titles at the 2010 Cellars in the Sky Awards in London. Unique to the Qantas A380, the business class lounge area on board the aircraft features self-service refreshment bar, large sofa, seatbelts for inflight use, selection of reading material and large entertainment screen with laptop connection. Soft furnishings and tableware in the business class area feature designs by Marc Newson. www.travelweeklyweb.com 24 MAY 2011 | TRAVELWEEKLY ASIA ■ | 5

• Cover