Virgin Blue will open a new 500 sqm lounge at Perth Airport with a seating capacity for 120 business travellers and holidaymakers. ‘The Lounge’ will open in December on the ground floor of the Virgin Blue terminal immediately through the security screening point.

‘The Lounge’ will provide corporate travel members with business facilities including complimentary wireless internet access; private workstations with desktop computers and Microsoft Office software; printing, faxing and photocopying facilities; meeting room hire; informal communal tables with data/power outlets and shower facilities.

The Lounge will also offer complimentary food and beverages including made-to-order Barista fair trade coffee, organic fair-trade tea and a choice of gourmet snacks.

Jetstar is trialling world-first technology enabling boarding passes to be sent via text message to corporate travel passengers who check in online for domestic flights.

While other airlines are already offering a similar service for passengers with WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) or internet-enabled mobile phones, Jetstar says its technology will be the first to communicate with standard mobile phones via SMS.
The SMS boarding passes will be scanned by special equipment at the gates to produce paper boarding passes for guests who don’t have any luggage to check in. This means busy corporate travelers can proceed straight to the gate for no-fuss business travel.
The new technology is being trialled at Melbourne Avalon Airport, with plans for implementation nationwide if the trial is successful.

Hertz is the first car rental company to launch a worldwide Online Check-in service for all of its customers. The service will speed up time at the counter for customers because their rental forms are completed in advance online. With Online Check-in, all Hertz customers can submit their profile details on the company’s secure website at their own convenience before they travel. This provides a faster and simpler counter service as all their check-in information will be on file before they arrive.

At the counter, customers simply need to present their confirmation, hand in their credit card and driving licence, and sign the pre-filled forms. Once completed, customers are free to enjoy the rest of their travels.

Michel Taride, President, Hertz Europe, and Executive Vice President, Hertz Corporation says: “Hertz Online Check-in has been developed so that our customers can start their journey as quickly as possible. We want to make the car rental experience simple and enjoyable, and have responded to customer feedback by introducing online check-in that will save time at the counter and get them swiftly in to the driving seat. We have rolled the service out across the world, so it’s available to everyone, everywhere, anytime. “

Australia’s passport control process is becoming more streamlined with the introduction of a new automated solution, SmartGate. If you have an Australian or New Zealand ePassport and are aged 18 years or over, SmartGate gives you another choice over the way you are processed. All Australian passports issued or renewed after 24 October 2005 are ePassports. SmartGate uses the data in your ePassport, along with face recognition technology to perform the customs and immigration checks.

SmartGate is already operating in Brisbane and Cairns international airports, and will be installed at Melbourne International Airport soon, with Sydney International Airport to follow later this year. To find out more about SmartGate, email smartgate@customs.gov.au or visit http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=5552