29 March 2012 – “Technology can be offered as a perk, for example providing passengers in Business with free tablets,” Raymond Kollau says. 
22 March 2012 – “Passengers can look forward to a far more personalized experience in the future,” says airlinetrends.com’s Raymond Kollau. 
3 Feb. 2012 – “The concept makes perfect sense as people like to surround themselves with like-minded persons,” said Raymond Kollau. 
24 July 2011 – No major U.S. carrier offers free food on domestic flights anymore, says Raymond Kollau. 
4 May 2011 – “This is an example of experiential marketing,” Raymond Kollau said. 
10 March 2011 – “This is a novel way to pass some of the risk in fuel cost to customers,” Raymond Kollau said. 
Air France-KLM pilots emission-free airport vehicle
27 September 2009 | Motor Development International (MDI), which is run by a former aeronautics and Formula 1 engineer, has developed a zero-emission vehicle that runs on compressed air and is called the Airpod. The fiberglass-and-foam bodied AirPod can carry three people and is about 2 meters (6 feet) long and weighs roughly 220 kilos (450 pounds). The AirPod has a very small turning circle and is driven with one hand using a joystick system. Its air tank holds 175 liters of compressed air, which can be filled to 350 bar (5,076 psi) in as little as 90 seconds. That’s enough to give the AirPod a range of over 200 km (135 miles) and a top speed of almost 70 km an hour (43 mph).
The vehicles will be tested by Air France-KLM at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris and Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. The carriers will use seven of the vehicles to transport passengers and light cargo at the airports. The AirPods slated for airport duty will be the first operational version of the concept in use. Two AirPods will perform tests for a minimum period of three months in the premises of KLM Egineering & Maintenance. One AirPod is adapted to transport parts and maintenance equipment and the other the transport of persons. The purpose of the use of AirPod is to reduce CO2 emissions on a portion of the distribution chain for which KLM is currently using traditional cars and trucks that run on diesel. Air France Industries is still waiting for the official document of approval to begin testing the AirPod.
About Raymond KollauFounder of airlinetrends.com. Spends his day monitoring the global aviation industry for commercial innovations in response to changing consumer behaviour. Besides working with clients in the airline industry, Raymond also has a part-time position as consumer trends analyst at leading consumer trends agency trendwatching.com.
Most recent articles on airlinetrends.com
Innovative Airlines 2012: #9 AirAsia
Innovative Airlines 2012: #10 All Nippon Airways
How airlines are responding to consumer trends with innovative products and services
