South Australian capital Adelaide will be the global launch destination for Singapore Airlines’ first Airbus A350-900 aircraft fitted with its new medium-haul cabin products.

The December 18 launch on flights SQ278/279 will see the two-class,  303-seat A350-900 operating to Adelaide daily and deliver a 7 percent increase in seat capacity to one of the city’s strongest air routes.

The A350 is the Airbus answer to Boeing’s 787 and has similar advantages in terms of  lower cabin pressure and improved lighting.  It’s wider body and the way Airbus has designed the cabin walls impart a sense of spaciousness.

Singapore plans to use an ultra-long range version of the A350-900 to launch the world’s longest flight, between Singapore and New York, in October.

The medium-haul aircraft is equipped with the Airline’s recently launched new medium-haul business and economy class products, with 40 business seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration that provides all customers with a direct aisle access and 263 economy seats are in a 3-3-3 arrangement.

The new Stella Aerospace business class seat reclines into a 76-inch fully-flat bed It is 26 inches wide and comes with retractable armrests, ample storage space and a 17-inch high definition touchscreen monitor.

READ our reviews of Singapore Airlines.

The economy seats feature an ergonomically-designed contour backrest, a six-way adjustable headrest with foldable wings to provide more neck support and an 11.6-inch HD touchscreen monitor.

There is also personal storage for small items, a coat hook, USB port and in-seat power.

The A350 is equipped with in-flight wi-fi and the latest Thales AVANT in-flight entertainment (IFE) system. The new IFE includes Krisworld’s more intuitive navigation options and the ability to personalize the experience with content recommendations based on preferences and viewing history.

Members of Singapore’s KrisFlyer frequent flyer program are also able to bookmark and resume content,  as well as customize and save preferences and playlists for their subsequent flights.

The arrival of the A350 comes as Singapore is poised to celebrate the 35^th anniversary of its Adelaide operations.

“We have proudly operated services to Adelaide since 1984 and the deployment of our first A350-900 medium-haul aircraft with our new medium-haul cabin products to the South Australian capital is an exciting new chapter in our 34-year history,” said Singapore Airlines regional vice president, South West Pacific  Philip Goh.

“The decision to deliver increased capacity to the city reinforces our commitment to South Australia and will provide more opportunities to grow inbound and outbound travel.

“The introduction of the new aircraft will allow us to better serve the South Australian travel market and continue to provide our customers with a premium service offering.

“I am sure our South Australian customers will embrace being the first in the world to experience the new medium-haul cabin products onboard the A350.”

Goh also announced that Brisbane would be the second Australian city to receive the medium-haul A350-900, subject to regulatory approval.

“To better meet the growing demands of the market in Brisbane, we will deploy the medium-haul A350-900 with more Economy Class capacity to Queensland next year,”  he said.

“This aircraft change will happen once we receive the second of our A350 aircraft fitted with the medium-haul product.”

“The change will increase the number of seats available on a weekly basis between Brisbane and Singapore by around 5 percent.’’

Singapore has ordered 67 A50-900s, 21 of which have already been delivered.

Jetstar is slugging passengers at least $A13 for 3kgs of cabin baggage it once allowed on board free of charge.

The $A13 applies to domestic flights in Australia booked online but the fee could be higher or lower depending on the type of flight and when it is booked.

The extra 3kg is available for between $NZ6 and $NZ8 on New Zealand domestic flights because of shorter distances flown,  while on longer international flights the price is greater and ranges between $A22 and $A27.

The low-cost carrier initially allowed passengers using its cheapest fares to fly with cabin baggage weighing up to 10kg but in 2014 slashed that to 7kg.

Jetstar at that time denied the decision was a revenue-raising exercise, saying instead it was in response to customer frustration over insufficient room in overhead lockers.

“To address this, we are reducing the amount of baggage that customers can bring on board, which will align us with other carriers in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific region,’’ a spokesman said at the time.

“This change will help speed up the boarding process, enable more flights to depart on time and ensure all customers get their fair share of overhead locker space.’’

The airline introduced random checks of carry-on and introduced punitive excess cabin baggage fees which meant passengers with cabin baggage outside the limit could be slugged as much as $A60/$NZ60 on domestic Australian or New Zealand flights.

The new deal affects people on starter fares and allows them to again carry 10kgs of cabin baggage on services operating from September 4.

Read: Jetstar tightens checks after 12-year-old’s lone Bali trip.

The offer is limited and the airline said that meant there was limited space on each aircraft.

However, the $60 charge remains for people pinged at the gate and those seeking to buy the 3kgs when they check in will pay $30.

Jetstar Group chief customer officer Catriona Larritt said the initiative gave customers “more choice”.

“Customers told us that they would like the option to carry more on board and so we are pleased to be able to offer them the option to purchase an extra three kilos,’’ she said.

“The extra carry-on allowance is particularly useful for those traveling with a laptop or camera bag or those traveling on short trips with an overnight bag who are after a quick departure from the airport without a wait at the baggage carousel”.

Passengers buying more expensive FlexiBiz fares can take up to 10kg on board as part of their fare.

Separately, Emirates and Jetstar Pacific announced a new codeshare agreement that expanded their existing partnerships.

The new codeshare services from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi connect Emirates passengers to 14 Vietnamese cities beyond Ho Chi Minh City and six cities beyond Hanoi.

Emirates will also operate codeshare flights with Jetstar Pacific between the latter’s hub in Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore, as well as Bangkok.

It’s been 50 years—five full decades—since Salt Lake City International Airport got more than a mere makeover.

Now, that’s about to change.

Delta Air Lines’ pivotal western hub is getting a full-blown $US3.6-billion blitz of a rebuild.

Phase One is set for a 2020 debut. The last of the massive project is set to come online four years later.

The terminal layout will be the soul of simplicity: a large central terminal connected via an underground passenger terminal to a pair of linear concourses. This arrangement will replace the present geriatric terminal.

The new facility is set to move both passengers and aircraft about more efficiently. A case-in-point is that most up and down movements via escalator will be eliminated, making the terminal easier and quicker to navigate.

The efficiency theme carries through to the tarmac. Salt Lake City airport (SLC) says the new concourses will eliminate aircraft parking bottlenecks, allowing airlines to get their aircraft to the gate and back into the air faster than they’re able now. The bottom line for passengers is fewer delays.

The Salt Lake City Department of Airports says the US$3.6-billion rebuild is being paid for entirely through user fees, primarily by the airlines. Salt Lake City International contends, “Even after the project is complete, SLC will have a significantly lower cost per passenger than other major US .” This matters much to continually cost-conscious carriers.”

READ: Luggage fees soar as airline bagmen strike.

A bit of context: SLC as we know it today is the product of the 1987 merger of Delta and Western Airlines, a classy major airline that fell prey to the merger mania that swept the airline industry in the late 1980s.

Currently, Delta commands some 70 percent of the 370 daily scheduled departures. The airport lofts nonstop flights to almost 98 cities.

Delta can fly you nonstop from Salt Lake City to London and Paris. KLM flies nonstop to Amsterdam.

When the airport’s spacious new terminal and complex become a reality (workers recently “topped out” construction of the project’s first phase) international market access should get a boost, opening up even more connections alternatives—especially for flyers used to arch-rival Denver International.

DEN lies a mere 391 air miles to the East, over the Rocky and Wasatch mountain ranges.

Europe’s Lufthansa is testing a subscription check-in app that gives passengers lounge discounts and free wi-fi on 36 airlines.

The AirlineCheckins app developed by Lufthansa Innovation Hub comes in three versions and is designed to automatically check-in travelers on more than 220 airlines worldwide.

Registration includes filling out a profile with information such as seating preferences, frequent flyer program, travel companions and identification documents.

The app stores the information and works across airlines offering online check-in.

Passengers send an email on a proprietary system when they make a booking and AirlineCheckins automatically checks them in as soon as the airline allows it.

It can secure a favorite seat, supports up to 10 companion travelers and sends a boarding pass via email or text message.

Having attracted more than 40,000 registrations after the app’s launch in June 2018, the German carrier is now expanding it to offer more services.

It comes in three versions, including a free version that gives passengers two check-ins per month.

There is also a  BASIC version that costs €4.99 for three months and offers unlimited automatic check-ins as well as real-time flight information such as delays and gate changes.

READ: Lufthansa expands in-flight entertainment.

The latest innovation is AirlineCheckins PLUS, which offers the BASIC benefits but also gives users unlimited wi-fi access on 36 airlines including Air France, Eurowings, KLM, Lufthansa, SWISS and American Airlines. It also offers access to 42 million wi-fi hotspots worldwide with no limits on data volume or speed.

A partnership with global internet company iPass means they will be able to use credentials supplied as part of their package to log-in on participating airlines without paying further inflight internet charges.

They also get up to 20 percent discount on more than 370 lounges at many of the world’s busiest airports. this can be used regardless of membership or frequent flyer status.

The PLUS package costs €29.99 ($US34.80) for three months during the initial phase and availability will be limited to 2222 users.

Lufthansa says the decision to continue the packages beyond the test phase will depend on user feedback.

“The check-in was an obvious gateway for us to reach frequent business travelers,” Lufthansa Innovation Hub venture development manager Kristian Weymar said.

“Now that we have solved this problem, we are now systematically expanding our product range along the travel chain,’’

“At first, the focus will be on the more efficient use of travel time, which includes unlimited connectivity in the air and status-independent access to airport lounges.’’

The app is available for both Apple and Android devices.

United Airlines is adding to the wave of  2019 summer US-Europe flight announcements with new year-round daily services between San Francisco and Amsterdam as well as seasonal operations to Prague and Naples from New York Newark.

United joins its fellow “big three”carrier in announcing new summer routes as tickets go on sale and, like its competitors, it is capitalizing on higher summer demand by adding services that only operate when people travel.

Read:  American to cut Asian routes, boost Europe

United will be the only US carrier to offer non-stop flights from San Francisco and Amsterdam and the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner service will be its fifth to the Netherlands. It joins daily, year-round flights to the popular Dutch city from Chicago, Houston, New York/Newark and Washington Dulles.

It will also by the only US carrier offering daily non-stop services between the US and Naples between May 22 and October 4 in what will be its sixth non-stop service to Italy. The flight is timed to connect customers to more than 60 destinations across the US.

The daily non-stop to Prague, in the Czech Republic, begins June 6 and goes through to October 24, connecting to more than 65 US cities.

Both the Prague and Naples flights will be operated by Boeing 767s.

“We’ve built an unparalleled global network and we are continuously looking for opportunities to make United the first choice for travelers booking flights to Europe and beyond,’’ said United vice president international network Patrick Quayle.

Delta recently announced it would first nonstop flight from Tampa Bay, Florida, to Amsterdam to bring the number of services it flies between the US and Dutch city to 11. It is its second from Florida after the launch of Orlando-Amsterdam earlier this year.

The US carrier also said it would expand to daily flights services from Los Angeles to both Amsterdam and Paris Charles de Gaulle from June 16, 2019.

American is adding nine new European routes, including a  daily year-round service from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Munich; daily summer seasonal services from Dallas/Fort Worth to Dublin and Munich; as well as a daily summer seasonal service from Chicago to Athens, Greece.

The US giant will add three new destinations with the introduction of summer seasonal Boeing 767 flights from Philadelphia to Berlin- Tegel Airport, Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport in Italy and Dubrovnik Airport in Croatia. There will also be a new summer seasonal service between Philadelphia and Edinburgh, Scotland.