• New travel class for all long-haul routes now bookable for flights starting March 2018
• Refitting of first Boeing 767 begins today, entire fleet will be converted by the spring of 2018
• Additional service, more legroom and extra baggage allowance in the new Premium Economy

 Effective immediately, Austrian Airlines passengers can book a seat in the new Premium Economy travel class for flights starting on March 6, 2018. The centrepiece of the new Premium Economy Class is a new seat providing passengers with more comfort on their journey compared to regular Economy Class seats. The first Boeing 767 will begin to be refitted today. All eleven long-haul aircraft in the Austrian Airlines fleet will gradually be refitted to include the new travel class. The twelfth long-haul aircraft to be acquired by Austrian Airlines in the spring of 2018 will also be equipped with Premium Economy. read more

Having already launched an exceptional 21 new routes so far in 2017, Keflavik Airport has further expanded its route network by welcoming the arrival of a direct link to Tel Aviv. Adding its second new country market this summer, Keflavik Airport celebrated the commencement of WOW air’s four times weekly service to the Israeli city.

Connecting the Icelandic hub to Israel for the first time, the Middle Eastern country becomes the low-cost carrier’s 14^th country market served from Keflavik – and the airport’s 28^th. Now offering close to 38,000 weekly one-way seats to 30 destinations from Keflavik, WOW air faces no direct competition on its latest service which utilises the carrier’s fleet of 220-seat A321s on the 5,272 kilometre-sector. read more

Q1. What is Ryanair’s new baggage policy?

A. From November, we will cut the cost of a checked bag from €/£35 to €/£25 and increase the bag size from 15kg to 20kg.

• The check-in bag allowance will increase from 15kgs to 20kgs for all bags
• The standard check-in bag fee will be cut from €/£35 to €/£25 for this 20kg bag
• Only Priority Boarding customers (including Plus passengers) will be allowed to bring two carry-on bags on the aircraft
• All other (i.e. non-priority) customers will only be allowed to bring one smaller carry-on bag on board the aircraft, while their second (bigger) wheelie bag must be placed in the hold (free of charge) at the boarding gate.

Q2. Why is Ryanair making this change?

A. To reduce the number of flight delays caused by too many customers arriving at the gate with 2 carry-on bags.

Q3. Will customers still be able to take 2 pieces of cabin baggage on board?

A. Yes for Priority Boarding customers who will still be able to bring 2 bags, 1 normal (55cm x 40cm x 20cm) and 1 small (35cm x 20cm x 20cm) into the cabin. read more

Les deux musées consacrés entièrement à l’œuvre du couturier Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008) ouvriront leurs portes le 3 octobre à Paris et le 19 octobre à Marrakech.

UN PATRIMOINE UNIQUE

La Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent a pour mission première la conservation de 40 années de création du couturier (1962-2002). Elle possède plus de 5 000 vêtements de haute couture, 15 000 accessoires et des dizaines de milliers de croquis, planches de collection, photographies, articles de presse et documents divers qui témoignent de son génie. read more

Riga. Provisional data show that in August 2017, the Latvian airline airBaltic carried more than 380 000 passengers or roughly 20% more than in the same period of 2016. For the third month in a row it has been the biggest number of transported passengers in the airline’s history. During the three summer months, airBaltic has transported a total of more than 1 150 000 passengers to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “Such a strong summer would not have been possible without the addition of seven brand new Bombardier CS300 aircraft. They have outperformed our expectations. Last week, for example, our latest addition to the fleet, YL-CSG, spent 100 hours in the air, which is a global C Series record.” read more

Shanghai, Sept. 13 (CNA) China is using Taiwanese human rights activist Lee Ming-che’s (李明哲) case as a warning to all foreign NGOs operating within the country, a prominent leader of the Chinese democracy movement said on Wednesday.

Speaking to CNA during a telephone interview on Wednesday, Wang Dan (王丹), a leader of the Chinese democracy movement and one of the student leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests who now lives in Washington, said that China is making an example of Lee Ming-che to warn foreign NGOs operating in China to abide by its regulations. read more

Jerusalem, Sept. 12 (CNA) Chinese American biologist and Tang Prize laureate Feng Zhang (張鋒) has suggested Taiwan invest in basic research and translational research to help establish itself in the global biotechnology sector.

Zhang said the investment in basic research is necessary because the biology of the human body and human cells remains unknown territory, and investing in translational research can help scientists turn basic technologies into useful medicines and therapies.

Investing in those areas could help Taiwan build a foundation and a presence in the biotech sector, Zhang said in an interview with CNA in Jerusalem on Tuesday before delivering a lecture at the annual congress of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS). read more

Taipei, Sept. 12 (CNA) Commuters traveling on city buses in New Taipei will now be able to enjoy free Wi-Fi on the city’s 2,500 buses, Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) announced in a news conference Tuesday.

New Taipei leads other cities and counties in Taiwan in terms of free wireless network access, Chu said, citing as examples Taipei’s mass rapid transit (MRT) system and the high speed railway, in which Wi-Fi services have yet to be fully installed.

Buses are the most heavily used mode of public transport in New Taipei, with ridership of nearly 800,000 per day, he said, thanking the city’s bus operators for their support and for providing the convenience to commuters. read more

Taipei, Sept. 8 (CNA) The Taiwan United Nations Alliance (TAIUNA) on Friday sent a 25-member team to New York to express Taiwan’s desire to join the United Nations (UN).

TAIUNA President Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) said in the interview at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport prior to the team’s departure that 80 percent of Taiwan’s citizens wished for the country to join the UN as Taiwan.

Tsai said the goal of the trip is to help the United States clearly understand Taiwan’s appeal.

The delegation will also meet with members of the United States Congress, think tank scholars and officials. read more