Airline Pulse: News and Notes for Dec. 23, 2015

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Norwegian Air Shuttle Connects London with Oakland Rapidly-growing long-haul carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle will begin service from the West Coast to London in May. The upstart Scandinavian airline will fly from Oakland to London (Gatwick). This will actually be the third destination served by Norwegian out of Oakland. It currently flies to Stockholm and Oslo.

Qantas Fliers Will Get To Enjoy Johnnie Walker Tastings In Sydney Johnnie Walker is conducting tastings and testings at the domestic terminal of Sydney Airport until Feb. 7.

Airlines Spread A Little Bit Of Holiday Cheer From AirBerlin’s complimentary gingerbread cookies and mulled wine to Southwest covering baggage fees for flier who chose competing airlines, carriers are giving some small gifts to travelers this holiday season.

Californians Expected To Travel In Record Numbers This Holiday Season Over 12 million Californians will be traveling this holiday season. 10 million will be driving to their destination, and two million will be flying.

JUST THE LINKS

Miami-based Havana Air will be the first airline in the U.S. to offer online booking for flights to Cuba. The young carrier will start accepting reservations on the world wide web on Jan. 1, 2016. 

A British Airways passenger was in the hospital after a heavy bag fell out of the overhead compartment and landed on his head. The passenger was on a Thailand-bound flight when the bag fell while the plane was on the tarmac. He has since been released by doctors and has continued on his way to Thailand. 

South Korea's Jin Air has begun flights between Seoul and Hawaii. The service will compete with Korean Air, Asiana an Hawaiian Airlines on what has become a very busy route.  

Thailand's travel industry has dodged a bullet. Thai Airways officially received EASA certification. This means that the Bangkok-based carrier can still fly to Europe. It currently has 11 destinations on the continent: London, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Brussels, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, Zurich, Milan, and Rome. 

National Airlines, based at Orlando Sanford International Airport, has begun international service to Windsor, Canada. The airline also operates a route to San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

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