THE Wrap is a round-up of news in the travel and technology industries, and to keep track of developments in these sectors as businesses adapt and reset to meet challenges in the era of coronavirus.
Singapore Airlines trials pre-departure Covid testing in partnership with Collinson
All Singapore Airlines (SIA) passengers flying outbound from Singapore and Indonesia (bound for Singapore) are now able to book pre-departure polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and serology tests as part of a trial service.
The pilot test phase of this service, conducted in partnership with medical service provider Collinson, is currently available to Singapore Airlines and SilkAir passengers departing from Singapore, Jakarta and Medan.
The pilot will run till March, with plans to expand this service to more cities in the SIA and SilkAir network over the next few months if it is successful.
SIA said that with pre-departure testing becoming a mandatory requirement for more countries, this new service would allow its customers to book their test appointments on an online booking portal after making their flight bookings.
Customers can make an appointment for a pre-departure test with their preferred clinic from the list of recognised testing facilities available on the online portal.
On completion of their test customers will automatically receive notification of their test results within 36 hours through the same port, which if negative can be presented on check-in at the airport.
These test results will come with a QR code that enables airport check-in staff and Singapore immigration authorities to verify under the new digital health verification process, which SIA is piloting with the International Air Transport Association. The portal will also be able to house digital health passes with passengers’ Covid status.
Todd Handcock, president, Asia Pacific at Collinson, said the partnership with SIA would enable the safe reopening of key routes for travellers.
“Covid-19 has brought challenges for businesses and individuals alike around the world, and while there’s optimism that the rollout of vaccines will help to bring an end to the pandemic, there remains a complex road ahead. In order to restore confidence in travel, the implementation of safe and robust testing protocols remains key.”
Collinson is also partnering with Heathrow Airport, London Luton Airport, London City Airport and Manchester Airports Group in the UK to carry out pre-departure testing.
Click here for more information on the pre-departure test booking portal.
John Mangelaars is the new CEO of Skyscanner
Skyscanner has appointed John Mangelaars to lead the company “following an extensive international search”.
Mangelaars, a Microsoft veteran and former CEO of UK online travel agency group Travix International, begins his transition to Skyscanner as CEO immediately.
He replaces Moshe Rafiah, who has been splitting his time as CEO between both Skyscanner and Travelfusion, the UK-based content aggregator he founded over 20 years ago.
Rafiah was brought in to head the Edinburgh-based metasearch site in June last year when CEO Bryan Dove stepped down. He will return to Travelfusion, but remains on Skyscanner’s board as vice chairman, a role he has held since 2019.
China’s leading online travel agency Trip.com (then Ctrip), which owns Skyscanner, acquired Travelfusion in January 2015 reportedly for US160 million.
Before joining Travix in 2013, Mangelaars spent 23 years at Microsoft where he rose to the position of European vice president for advertising and online.
He said he was “delighted” to join Skyscanner “in a time where there is considerable opportunity to leverage growth.”
“My long-term focus will be on guiding the team in building sustainable profitability and market share.”
Korean Air expands baggage notification to 15 additional international destinations
In June last year Korean Air launched a baggage notification service for its mobile app to inform passengers departing Incheon Airport for international destinations that their baggage is safely loaded on their flights.
A month later, in July, the airline expanded this service to six routes departing from North America, including New York, Dallas and Vancouver, to Incheon.
Korean Air, in mid-January (2021), announced it has added the notification service to flights departing from an additional 15 international cities – Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, Vienna (Europe); Atlanta, Boston, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Seattle, Washington DC (North America); Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney (Oceania); as well as Dubai and Hong Kong.
The service gathers information from the baggage reconciliation system (BRS), developed by Korean Air, which matches barcode information scanned from the check-in and loading processes. The BRS ensures that the bags are on the right flight and also provides baggage tracking.
Korean Air My, the airline’s mobile app, then sends out messages to inform passengers that their baggage has been safely loaded. Passengers can check the messages on the app’s notifications or baggage tracking sections. The push notification service is available for SKYPASS members who have enabled push notifications on the app.
The airline plans to expand the service to all international and domestic airports where Korean Air operates within this year.
Korean Air said it would continue to provide standardised baggage service even after integration with Asiana Airlines, whose acquisition it announced last November.
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