Lviv’s new terminal opens for business; Melbourne and Chengdu become sister airports; Silver Airways upgrades Bahamas service; Turkish gears up for its Passenger Portraits campaign

Lviv’s new terminal opens for business

With less than two months to spare before the EURO 2012 kick-off, Lviv Airport in the Ukraine inaugurated its new terminal, further strengthening its position in the region. Cutting the ribbon and unveiling the monument to the founder of the city were; the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister, Borys Kolesnikov; Lviv Region’s governor, Mykhaylo Kostyuk; Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych; and UEFA’s chief, Michel Platini.

Melbourne and Chengdu become sister airports

Sister airports: A cooperation agreement was signed this week by Chengdu Shuangliu’s Yang Taidon, VGM Sichuan Province Airport Group; and Chris Woodruff, Melbourne Airport’s CEO. The relationship is aimed at attracting direct services between the two airports.

Over a number of years, Melbourne’s long-haul traffic was driven by growth on Chinese routes. In fact, China’s 17% market share by weekly seat capacity (OAG Schedules iNet for w/c 23 April) out of Melbourne is only 1% lower than that of the historically largest international country market, New Zealand; notably, it overtook Singapore, which now has 14% share, as the most important long-haul market. “We will share knowledge, experiences and best practice in areas such as route development, operations, planning and retailing. Through this cooperation we will help facilitate greater visitation between Chengdu and Melbourne and enhance both airports for airline customers, passengers and all stakeholders alike,” said Chris Woodruff, Melbourne Airport’s CEO. Woodruff and Yang Taidon, VGM, Sichuan Province Airport Group were accompanied by Wang Yuan, VGM, Chengdu International Airport; Sichuan Province Airport Group’s Liu Kelong, VGM; Pan Xiaojun, GM and Li Wei, Board Chairman; Melbourne Airport’s Nathan Agnew, EGM,; Damian Tkalec, Consultant Special Counsel; Claire Werkmeister, Manager Air Services, Tourism Victoria; and Carl Jones, Head of Airline Business Development, Melbourne Airport.

Silver Airways upgrades Bahamas service

Fort Lauderdale’s Silver Airways, formerly known as Gulfstream International Airlines, upgraded its service to Marsh Harbour Airport in the Bahamas to Saab 340B-Plus this week. Formerly the route was operated with Beech 1900s. The equipment upgrade was marked with a celebratory cake at the Bahaman airport. Silver Airways operates a mix of domestic routes and services to the Bahamas (Photos courtesy of our friends at Airline Weekly).

Turkish gears up for its Passenger Portraits campaign

Turkish Airlines gears up for its latest marketing campaign with a series of portraits created by the New York based artist Craig Redman, which features a number of famous sportsmen that are sponsored by the airline (for example Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney), and will be exhibited in airports at a later stage. The Turkish Airlines Passenger Portraits campaign aims at promoting the airline’s sponsorship and will be launched shortly.