Home » Home » TUI Airways Flight Aborts Takeoff From Melbourne-Orlando International Airport Due to Mechanical Issue By Space Coast Daily  //  April 19 FLORIDA — Over 300 passengers were impacted Friday night after a TUI Airways flight was forced to abort takeoff due to a mechanical issue at Melbourne-Orlando International Airport According to the Federal Aviation Administration Flight 601 was preparing to depart for Birmingham when the crew aborted takeoff at approximately 11:10 p.m The Boeing 787 aircraft veered off a taxiway after exiting the runway leading to the collapse of the right main landing gear An alarm in the cockpit was triggered during the incident Emergency personnel responded swiftly to the scene Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey said approximately 350 passengers were transported by bus from the aircraft to the terminal and later taken to nearby hotels The FAA is continuing to investigate the incident Click Here to Sign Up for Text Alerts The Aviation Herald has the story of a strange incident that happened a few days ago and it just seems like shouldn’t have happened… and involves a TUI Boeing 787-9 with the registration code G-TUIN The aircraft was scheduled to operate flight BY601 from Melbourne The aircraft was scheduled to depart at around 6PM The crew made the decision to reject the takeoff due to an alarm that went off in the flight deck The pilots advised that they’d be able to vacate the runway under their own power The crew wanted to taxi back to the holding point of the runway The air traffic controller cleared the jet to vacate the runway while vacating the runway via taxiway C and turning onto taxiway A the aircraft’s right main gear went into the grass At this point the crew stopped the aircraft and requested assistance and the aircraft remained on the ground in Melbourne for around 44 hours It finally departed again around 2PM on April 20 and ultimately it was far from the worst aircraft incident we’ve seen in recent times what stands out to me about it is how avoidable this whole situation seems Below is the airport diagram for Melbourne The plane was taking off on runway 9R (left to right and the box is in the area where the turn was supposed to take place from taxiway C to taxiway A As someone points out in the comments section of The Aviation Herald story: That right turn from C to A (to return to Runway 09R) is over 90 degrees — it’s 110 While there is a taxi line painted for that turn the pavement has no “fillet” on that side to handle wider aircraft (for example The A/FD does not prohibit this right turn but I believe the controller is supposed to clear only what the aircraft can safely do Maybe the controller thought the tires would deflate and was focused on getting the aircraft off the runway So this is one of those situations where the charts that the pilots were referencing perhaps didn’t explicitly prohibit this turn you’d think the controller wouldn’t have given the instruction to make that turn Perhaps some factors here were that the airport doesn’t get many wide body aircraft (so it’s not something the controller has to think about often) and perhaps the controller was so focused on the rejected takeoff and getting the plane off the runway A TUI Boeing 787 had a bit of an adventure after rejecting its takeoff during a departure from Melbourne the rejected takeoff didn’t cause an issue the taxiing after that was what created problems The aircraft made a turn at an intersection it shouldn’t have Yet there are no published restrictions here regarding the turn so presumably that’s something the controller should’ve issued a warning about What do you make of this strange TUI 787 incident Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Open up a Chart Supplement and go to the Legend pages At the top of each page it says Airport/Facility Directory Legend Non pilots will be surprised to learn that taxiing at a major airport is sometimes more challenging the flight itself Where is the GoFundMe to buy software that will allow boxes to be drawn in color and not just gray like the rest of the airline map TUI serves a lot of destinations from Orlando-Melbourne Airport I believe they fly to 6 destinations in the UK 3 of which I believe are operating this time of year They have about 6x weekly flights from that airport this week I wonder if it is worth the cost savings for TUI to fly to Melbourne Airport (MLB) rather than Orlando International Airport (MCO) MLB is quite a hike for the tourists on those flights looking to go to the theme parks And with the lack of public transportation in Central Florida I imagine a lot of people would find it better to fly directly into MCO and take hotel shuttles to the theme park areas They use Melbourne and have motor coaches that transport the vacationers to their pre-arranged housing near the parks Thomas Cook did the same thing from the UK to Orlando-Sanford It's not uncommon to see UK travelers walking up and down Vineland-Apopka to get to the liquor store outside Downtown Disney to pick up some booze since they don't have rental cars Buses pick up the groups and shuttle them to the parks The left turn from C to A is 110 degrees (which is a wide turn) while the left turn is 70 degrees (a sharp turn) I don't know how well Melbourne's taxiway are designed to accommodate widebody aircraft I'm reminded of a ATC communication way back when that had an Iberia A340-600 crew telling JFK ground they were unable to take taxiway "C" @Ben Can we use ‘United Kingdom’ and not England please Birmingham is a city in the country of England which is one of four constituent countries of the UK Are you also going to nitpick that Ben wrote "Melbourne so I don't really understand your criticism saying England is just more specific and there is no ambiguity in writing it that way Actually England is a country but the UK is a nation The UK competes in the Olympics but England competes in the soccer world cup “Actually England is a country but the UK is a nation In British English I think we’d say that the other way round: England is a nation (one of the four “home nations”) Though now I think about it we might actually say the UK is a state but I realise that would confuse many Americans (“state” as in “head of state” — ie,.. but I realise that would confuse many Americans (“state” as in “head of state” — ie And as an example when an athlete is competing And Las Vegas is in Nevada which is part of the USA Most airlines do not use those government charts but instead custom made Jeppessen charts or Navblue charts There are usually notes in the company pages about unusable taxiways and this should be briefed ahead of time the airline might have wanted to position a fresh cockpit crew and deadhead the original cockpit back home Such a mishap is stressful on the unlucky crew and you would not want to burden them with operating home before debriefing them Better to debrief them and give them some challenging taxi exercises in the simulator before releasing them on the line Your feedback is important in helping us keep our community safe The comments on this page have not been provided approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered so I don't really understand your criticism Are you also going to nitpick that Ben wrote "Melbourne You have successfully joined our subscriber list Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. See more about our ethics policies here. TUI has announced a new partnership with independent coffee brand Paddy & Scott's to offer its coffee on all flights The collaboration aims to enhance the coffee experience for TUI's 12 million UK and Ireland customers who travel to 85 destinations worldwide Paddy & Scott's has created a special blend called "Adventure Coffee" specifically for the airline The new coffee is designed to elevate the in-flight experience while supporting sustainable initiatives The new coffee is available on TUI flights now The new "Adventure Coffee" blend caters to all preferences whether passengers enjoy a frothy cappuccino The partnership between TUI and Paddy & Scott's goes beyond serving premium coffee as it also champions sustainability and ethical sourcing CEO and owner of Paddy & Scott's Jon Reed said: "It's an absolute privilege that one of the finest travel companies in the world wants to team up with Paddy & Scott's to make a real difference in coffee-growing regions around the world craving that caffeine boost that just isn't there Being approached by TUI to create a completely new coffee offering for their in-flight experience is just fantastic but it's also going to do tremendous things." TUI passengers will actively contribute to sustainable efforts and meaningful change Paddy & Scott's funds school meals for children and provides dignity packs for young women Jon added: "Imagine a cappuccino that challenges whether things can be done just a little bit better "We're not saying that drinking better coffee will solve all the world's problems but it can be a kickstarter for millions of people around the globe." TUI joins BA in launching a new drink on flights British Airways has also announced a new partnership with award-winning British tea producer Birchall The airline serves nearly 40 million cups of tea on board every year making the selection of a new tea provider a significant decision Birchall was chosen after rigorous blind taste testing with its British roots and sustainability credentials also playing a role in the decision The family-owned brand will provide a carefully curated range of high-quality tea options to customers both in the air and on the ground TUI Group is one of the world’s leading global tourism services providing 21 million customers with an unmatched holiday experience in 180 regions TUI Group covers the end-to-end tourism chain with over 400 owned hotels and 5 airlines covering all major holiday destinations around the globe crafting high-quality content is a crucial component of its promotional strategy In this post, we discuss how we used Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Bedrock to build a content generator that rewrites marketing content following specific brand and style guidelines Amazon Bedrock is a fully managed service that offers a choice of high-performing foundation models (FMs) from leading AI companies such as AI21 Labs along with a broad set of capabilities you need to build generative AI applications with security Amazon SageMaker helps data scientists and machine learning (ML) engineers build FMs from scratch evaluate and customize FMs with advanced techniques and deploy FMs with fine-grain controls for generative AI use cases that have stringent requirements on accuracy we found that following a two-phased approach worked best to make sure that the output aligned to TUI’s tone of voice requirements The first phase was to fine-tune with a smaller large language model (LLM) on a large corpus of data The second phase used a different LLM model for post-processing we generate content that mimics the TUI brand voice using static data and which could not be captured through prompt engineering Employing a second model with few-shot examples helped verify the output adhered to specific formatting and grammatical rules which we can use to adjust the output quickly in the future for different brand requirements this approach resulted in higher quality content and allowed TUI to improve content quality at a higher velocity The architecture consists of a few key components: The following diagram is the high-level architecture of the solution We started by crafting prompts that include the most common issues identified by the TUI content team We provided the LLM with a few examples of curated content within the context window Although the generated output followed the guidance the writing style didn’t meet TUI’s tone of voice requirements Here is an example of the results we received we generated a dataset of 150 hotel descriptions using two different prompt versions and asked our business teams to review it they flagged 98% of the output with significant issues Anthropic’s Claude 2 struggled to adhere to TUI’s tone of voice and branding guidelines and favored American English over British English It also failed to follow the SEO guidelines provided and sometimes generated false information regarding hotel facilities and locations The following image shows a list of these challenges and how the LLM handled them These issues and poor feedback led us to conclude that prompt engineering alone would not adequately address the problem we decided to pursue an alternative approach: fine-tuning a smaller large language model to rewrite the text in accordance with TUI’s tone of voice We used a curated set of hotel descriptions written by TUI copywriters so that the model would have better alignment with our guidelines We selected the Meta Llama 2 model using Amazon SageMaker JumpStart one of the top open source LLMs available at the time and chose the 13B parameter version to apply parameter-efficient fine-tuning (PEFT) specifically using quantized low-rank adaptation (QLoRA) This technique quantizes the pre-trained model to 4 bits and adds small low-rank adapters for fine-tuning We fine-tuned the model on a single ml.g5.4xlarge instance in about 20 hours using a relatively small dataset of around 4,500 hotels We also tested out the Llama 2 7B and 70B models We found that the 7B model didn’t perform well enough and the 70B model had much higher costs without seeing significant improvement We used common natural language processing (NLP) evaluation metrics such as perplexity for evaluation and monitoring during training and established daily feedback loops with the content team to refine the test set The output from the fine-tuned Meta Llama 2 13B model effectively mimicked the TUI tone of voice and adhered to most SEO guidelines For more information, refer to Fine-tune Llama 2 for text generation on Amazon SageMaker Jumpstart Make yourself at home in Munich at the München City Süd This former NH München am Ring sits just southeast of the Bavarian capital putting both the highway to Salzburg and the airport within easy reach The S-Bahn station Karl-Preis-Platz is a quick walk away too so you can be in the city center in just 20 minutes giving you the chance to properly relax during your stay The hotel’s 163 rooms are decorated in calming white and red hues Free Wi-Fi and laptop-sized safes come as standard apartments with separate living areas are available The suites take things up a notch with their own living spaces and foldaway beds on request Fuel up each morning with a vast breakfast spread of cold cuts You’ll find many dining options close by for other meals unwind in the sauna or park up in the garage The following image shows a list of the challenges and how the LLM handled them we introduced Anthropic’s Claude 2 using Amazon Bedrock as a final refinement step This included converting American spelling to British spelling writing numbers one through nine in words and larger numbers in digits correcting typos and capitalization errors incorporating essential TUI branding words We also implemented a feedback mechanism in the UI to use data for ongoing fine-tuning in production we make sure that the final output applies the remaining formatting rules Vienna Sporthotel has loads lined up for sports fans There are 10 tennis courts and four golf simulators here you can book a session with a coach to brush up on your skills a well-stocked fitness room and a big sauna you can grab a plate at the breakfast buffet Hop on a bus and you can reach the likes of The Hofburg Belvedere Palace and Karlskirche in less than half an hour You’re only a 10-minute stroll away from the nearest restaurants and cafes you can expect this place to serve up plenty for fans of sport and activity Brush up your skills on one of 10 tennis courts or in the four golf simulators then recharge in the outdoor pool or well-equipped gym There’s even a coach on hand to help perfect your technique Then get set for sightseeing – a bus ride whisks you to top Vienna attractions like The Hofburg Belvedere Palace and Karlskirche in under 30 minutes You’re also just a short stroll from local eateries and coffee shops The final architecture consists of a fine-tuned Meta Llama 2 13B model and Anthropic Claude 2 these dynamically generated hotel descriptions were rated higher than those written by humans in 75% of a sample of 50 hotels We also integrated a third-party API to calculate SEO scores for the generated content and we observed up to 4% uplift in SEO scores for the generated content compared to human written descriptions the content generation process is now five times faster enhancing our team’s productivity without compromising quality or consistency We can generate a vast number of hotel descriptions in just a few hours— a task that previously took months we plan to explore how this technology can address current inefficiencies and quality gaps especially for hotels that our team hasn’t had the capacity to curate We plan to expand this solution to more brands and regions within the TUI portfolio including producing content in various languages and tailoring it to meet the specific needs of different audiences Although Meta Llama 2 and Anthropic’s Claude 2 were the latest state-of-the-art models available at the time of our experiment, since then we have seen the launch of Meta Llama 3 and Anthropic’s Claude 3.5, which we expect can significantly improve the quality of our outputs. Amazon Bedrock also now supports fine-tuning for Meta Llama 2, Cohere Command Light, and Amazon Titan models making it simpler and faster to test models without managing infrastructure Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker a resort on the Turkish Riviera. TUI Group Select a question above or ask something else TUI is one of the world's last big vertically integrated tour operators outside of China The German company used an investor presentation on Tuesday to detail a multi-year strategic evolution for the travel giant TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel said Tuesday he has an ambition to reinvent the company as a "global curated leisure marketplace." Ebel's strategy is to expand beyond traditional package holidays He essentially aims to open an online travel agency division selling travel a la carte He also plans to maintain the legacy tour-operating business for as long as it is profitable Here are some of the key takeaways we heard during the five-hour presentation TUI's legacy business is being a jack of all trades It's a tour operator that runs brick-and-mortar travel agencies competitive pressure from specialists that aim to do just one thing well — like budget airlines and online travel agencies — has strained its business model TUI Group wants to revamp its airline operations currently Europe's 10th largest fleet with 125 aircraft serving over 180 leisure-focused destinations TUI mostly runs planes to transport travelers to its resorts and cruise ships But it plans to compete more with the EasyJets of Europe by selling plane tickets to customers only wanting flights TUI's hotel business has shown post-pandemic resilience and growth delivering record profits of €668 million (about $720 million) in the 2024 fiscal year with a significant presence in the Caribbean and Mediterranean regions with growing clusters in Africa and Southeast Asia The travel giant operates 17 cruise ships across two brands: Marella which is focused on serving British customers on trips mainly in tropical destinations which is a smaller brand and primarily serves Germans with a younger fleet Ebel's new strategy for the company has a few key components to reduce risk: TUI's Musement division (its experiences and activities business) is experiencing a notable post-pandemic recovery CORRECTION: The article has been updated to correct David Schelp's name Ebel runs Europe’s largest tour operator and has been a leader in transforming the sector What am I looking at? The performance of cruise and tours sector stocks within the ST200 The index includes companies publicly traded across global markets including both cruise lines and tour operators The Skift Travel 200 (ST200) combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies worth more than a trillion dollars into a single number. See more cruise and tours sector financial performance Read the full methodology behind the Skift Travel 200. Wanderlust follows the latest stories in tourism and experiences from across the globe you agree to receive email communication from Skift Tags: experiences, tour operators, tui aiming to transform from a traditional package holiday provider to a 'global curated leisure marketplace.' The company plans to expand its online travel agency offerings while maintaining its legacy business TUI is also revamping its airline operations to unify its flight business and enhance flexibility TUI is expanding its hotel footprint with a focus on Asia standardizing technology across properties and exploring dynamic inventory management to reduce risks Tui Taurua is living “a vibrant life” after two decades of being in and out of psychiatric hospitals Tui Taurua describes herself as a “mental health warrior” After more than two decades in and out of psychiatric hospitals she uses her lived experience to fight for change in a system that too often fails Māori  (Warning: This kōrero discusses suicide.) about your upbringing and what your folks were doing when you were young We lived in Papakura for most of my school years I went to Papakura Normal Primary School and Papakura Intermediate Then I went to Rangitoto College when Dad worked in Paremoremo prison as a warden My mum and dad had four children — that was the first family And then my father married and had four children And Mum also married and had three more children We found another sister on Dad’s side just before he died Being the eldest comes with responsibility I was in the psychiatric system for many years and it was difficult for me to understand that role while trying to survive the psychiatric system I moved into the role when our dad passed away in 2018 and I had to start picking up some of his mahi It was still hard for me to sit comfortably in it I loved your dad. I was lucky to work with him in the latter part of his life, and he was always an interesting character, Pāpā Kingi. He told me that it was only when he was in the army that he discovered his real name. He’d grown up being called Albert. He reckoned he was named after a rooster That story came out when I was the chair of the Māori lived experience group Te Kete Pounamu around 2016 and that’s when he started sharing stories about his name What I saw was him being with like-minded people who’ve had struggles with mental health I felt like I saw a different side of my father Would you be kind enough to talk about her lines I didn’t grow up with her — I met her when I was older It was a bit of a struggle for a mother-daughter relationship It’s part and parcel of not meeting until I was a teenager and I would visit her quite regularly between my psychiatric admissions over the years and I now live in Waitangi in the papakāinga It was a great gift for her to give me that land because it really helped my health and wellbeing to feel like I belong to the whenua and my whakapapa And then my dad’s whakapapa — Ngāti-Rēhia I guess that’s when I started feeling more comfortable with being a tuakana I started connecting with my natural brothers and sisters which has been an amazing opportunity and a blessing but then trauma has a way of changing and shifting things Coming out of trauma is like coming into the sun You come out of the trauma and be the best that you can be I know your dad did stints offshore as well You said that you reconnected with your mum later in life Were you brought up as a whāngai in another whānau I was brought up with my dad’s second wife — Dad was in the army just as I’d moved into the workforce I’d left college and started working at John Burns in Auckland as a junior typist And I didn’t meet my natural brothers and sisters until I met Mum When did you first enter the mental health system I entered the mental health system in 1977 and I was admitted under the diagnosis of postnatal depression I believe that was brought forward by the childhood experiences that I’d been running from but had always haunted me I struggled with anxiety and panic attacks I grew up in an environment that was traumatising except I didn’t have the prince riding up on his white horse to save me which I believe were triggered by what I heard in my home I lived in fear of physical and mental retribution I was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder Our psychiatric system is very westernised How did you find your way out of that dark place and into the light and these are questions that I’m having to reflect on One of the things that became an important component of my life was being a voice-hearer and I didn’t understand how to deal with it It feels like the voices have always been a part of my life But I had no idea how to connect with them My studies show that trauma exacerbated the voices I didn’t really come to understand them until 2001 when I took my recovery seriously and looked to te ao Māori to save my life Westernised clinical services viewed my voices as hallucinations and prescribed medication Their observation failed to address the trauma One psychiatrist told me to “grow up.” They just kept giving me medication and I didn’t know what to do about them I became very lethargic and wasn’t nice at all Those experiences left me feeling like a pawn in a system that didn’t understand or want to understand me The result was more than two decades of self-destructive patterns and behaviours I don’t know how I stayed strong and managed to work my way through Although I’m still on medication 48 years later The voices of my tūpuna have been my comfort and continue to be a guiding force in my life I’ve overcome addiction to alcohol and drugs which were once my coping mechanisms for dealing with trauma Was there a particular event or person who helped to get you on that path What really changed me is when I started working in mental health in 1995 my sister saw an ad in the newspaper looking for community support workers They were looking at bringing people out of the psychiatric institutions into the community The advert encouraged people with mental health illness or distress I started working in mental health in March 1995 Last month marked my 30th year in this work There were two documents that became important to me It talked about people with a diagnosis learning to live in the presence of their mental illness I had always thought that you get your assessment I was in a psychiatric unit talking to the kaumātua about suicide and how I didn’t like the world It’s not so much that I wanted to die as that I wanted to return to my nanny He was in World War Two as a prisoner of war — he came back sick and died while still in his mid-40s I spent every school holiday with my grandmother the kaumātua told me that if I succeeded in my suicide attempt I would lose my whānau in the spirit world That was a wake-up call for me because I didn’t want to do that I had to learn to live with my mental health But the psychiatric system wasn’t working for me — not the westernised model anyway and admissions and all these walls around you with barbed wire on the top and locked doors That’s when I thought: What if I turn to mātauranga Māori I needed to find out what that mātauranga is Because Dad grew up having to change his name to Albert and being beaten at school he didn’t pass any of his mātauranga Māori knowledge to us The part of Te Whare Tapa Whā that really connected with me is wairua I realised my voices were coming from the wairua I decided to view my mental illness as a battle I was going to confront my mental illness or my diagnosis head-on and see if that would change because I knew it fed my spirit as much as it fed my tinana and learning how our mātauranga Māori can lead to recovery I believe that the western model would have killed me I believe I would’ve been successful in attempting suicide Taken a few months before he passed away in 2018 and I’m having a vibrant life because I turned to my mātauranga Māori I wrote this model called Rapua Te Hinengaro Tangata Toa That’s how I dealt with my mental illness I used to look at the waves on the sea and see how they’re constantly moving towards the beach and I realised that I have to persevere like the waves I’ve never been back into the psychiatric system since 2001 I’m still on medication to help with the voices and I really need them to give me some sleep I have a chat with them and say: “Can you fullas give me a bit of a rest?” And I take a bit of quetiapine The anxiety today is really about wanting to do better in whatever I’m doing especially just before I present at a conference But the thing for me is to just keep moving and that’s how I’ve ended up in lots of different roles within the lived experience space It took some time for you to connect the dots that the voices you’re hearing are your tūpuna speaking to you albeit they can be a bit noisy at times when you don’t want it What would you say of the need for more recognition of this beautiful side of our people The mental health services keep talking about Te Tiriti and wanting more mātauranga They’re not prepared to change the structures that hold us in spaces that are not okay but the structures and their way of writing the policies stand in the way They write in a particular way — they take the heart out of the words so it becomes a clinical black and white document there are good people out there who try to change their practices But they’re bound by accreditation boards — they’re bound by these things that hold them back I was involved in one group that said they needed the approval of accreditation boards because they’re about keeping people safe And I asked: “Which people are you talking about when you talk about keeping them safe Because you’re not keeping Māori safe.” That’s a little bit of the challenge that I have in this space I would like to see true partnership in the health system True partnership means Māori holding the purse strings and making the decisions for ourselves Let us monitor the cultural training of health practitioners and make sure workforce practices identify and call out those who work from an unconscious bias There are also very few Māori in clinical roles Graduation from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa with a postgraduate diploma in professional bicultural supervision you’re a very special individual if you’re able to be the conduit between our old people who have gone and our people of today Yet we live in a society that sees you as barking mad if you say you hear voices People are hungry for this knowledge that comes out of lived experience People like me need to continue to talk about it But we need to hold the mātauranga authentically and carefully and then I’ve got to go home and say: “Tui I want to acknowledge your generosity in talking about your own reality I had a cousin who went through Lake Alice and a nephew who committed suicide We know that mental health distress is a very real issue within our communities But your enthusiasm for life is also a great lesson for us What can you see as you approach your late 60s about where life is going to carry you next I want to finish my master’s degree because I want to have some academic learning to support my lived experience I’m hoping that I’ll have the energy to continue with a PhD The fighting to make changes inspires me and gives me energy I’m learning to fight with words and be very clear about what I want I always think: “You better know your stuff because I know mine I normally ask people what they do to keep themselves fresh but you’ve painted a picture of a woman who likes to go to the awa likes to be part of these simple taonga that we still have access to But is there something else that you do to help you stay fresh for the mahi Home is my place where I can renew and be me and relax and I have a wonderful husband who seems to totally accept me having to wander around Aotearoa and even the world Just being home on my whenua has made a huge difference This interview has been edited for length and clarity Tui Taurua has 30 years of experience in the mental health field She has held public health (PHARMAC) and Māori health advisory roles (Health and Quality Safety Commission) Her current roles include chair of Noku Te Ao Lived Experience Advisory Roopu deputy chair of Whakawaha Community Advisory Group for the Health and Disability Commission and Medical Council and advisor and trustee of Collaborative Lived Experience Advisory Roopu Tui is also a professional bicultural mental health lived experience supervisor If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide and needs help call the Suicide Crisis Helpline for support: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) If someone you know is in immediate danger please call emergency services immediately on 111 E-Tangata, 2025 If you like our focus on Māori and Pasifika stories so we need the support of our readers to keep going If you support our kaupapa and want to see us continue please consider making a one-off donation or contributing $5 or $10 a month This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed Sign up for our email newsletter and get the latest E-Tangata stories sent straight to your inbox E-Tangata is an online Sunday magazine specialising in stories that reflect the experiences of Māori and Pasifika in Aotearoa We welcome submissions or inquiries to:editor@e-tangata.co.nz You can support E-Tangata’s kaupapa by contributing through PressPatron we can tell more Māori and Pacific stories © 2014 - 2025 E-Tangata Runway Girl Network uses cookies. By using our site you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy Immfly a global leader in digital onboard solutions to carry out a significant transformation of the onboard experience for their holiday guests Immfly’s next-generation digital platform is being integrated into TUI Airline’s Boeing 737-800 and 737-8 aircraft with up to 60 aircraft live to customers by Summer 25 marking a significant milestone in TUI Airline’s digital evolution TUI Airline becomes the first German company to implement Immfly’s cutting-edge technology enhancing the passenger experience through seamless connectivity and entertainment Unlocking a Next-Generation Passenger Experience  TUI’s passengers will gain access to a fully digital in-flight ecosystem future opportunities for TUI and their customers could include instant payment validation through Iridium Certus unlocking all types of e-commerce activities on board including ordering food & beverages from the seat Immfly is transforming the aircraft cabin into an interactive revenue-generating hub that enhances passenger convenience and unlocks new revenue streams for airlines A Powerful Collaboration to Lead In-Flight Innovation  “Partnering with TUI represents a bold step forward in shaping the future of the in-flight experience,” said Pablo Linz “With Equilux Aero’s revolutionary cabin hardware and our cutting-edge IFEC software we’re setting new standards for passenger connectivity Iridium and Meta for their unwavering support in making this vision a reality.”  A key aspect of this initiative is Immfly’s onboard technology and its antenna-agnostic design ensuring flexibility for TUI’s connectivity strategy TUI Airline has initially chosen the Iridium Certus antenna offering LEO (Low Earth Orbit) connectivity with a cost effective approach This future-proof solution allows for seamless upgrades to high speed connectivity without costly cabin hardware modifications should TUI Airline choose to do so in the future “This partnership with Immfly underscores our commitment to continuously enhance the in-flight experience with innovative technology-driven solutions.” said Jill Nye “Immfly has proven to be the ideal partner customizing their solution to meet our specific needs allowing a consistent customer experience across our European-wide fleet and dedication to quality have been instrumental in the success of this initiative We’re delighted to announce that TUI Musement experiences will also be live and available onboard offering our customers a new way to plan their holiday moments during their flight.”   Immfly’s proprietary technology is recognised for its flexibility Scalable software architecture that adapts to different airline requirements Seamless integration with connectivity solutions and third-party services This collaboration between Immfly and TUI Airline marks the beginning of a broader vision — leveraging digital innovation to create an unmatched passenger experience while optimizing airline operations Both companies are committed to further expanding their partnership unlocking new opportunities in the aviation industry Immfly is a global leader in digital onboard solutions transforming the passenger experience with seamless entertainment Immfly serves over 50 airlines across Europe empowering travellers to stay connected and engaged throughout their journey With technology installed on over 2,500 aircraft and reaching more than 400 million passengers annually modular solutions tailored to the needs of full-service The TUI Group is one of the world’s leading tourism groups and operates worldwide TUI shares are listed in the MDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover TUI Group offers its over 20 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK The Group also includes Europe’s leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers five airlines – under the umbrella of TUI Airline – with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company Global responsibility for sustainable economic environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards it supports the development of vacation destinations The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation TUI, Europe's largest travel operator has announced it’s partnering with the entertainment platform Fever to launch a new collection of activities aimed at local people in their home countries.  The new product is a strategic step in the group’s aim to become the “leading provider of leisure activities for customers year-round” both while travelling abroad and at home.  While TUI is known to customers for annual holidays and city breaks TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel said the group had refined its business strategy in recent months and is now “moving into a new phase where we can be the day-to-day partner for leisure activities at home.”  offers thousands of experiences already including tours of the Vaitcan the new "Experiences for Locals" offering will be targeted at non-travellers in their home cities It will include activities outside of typical tourism options offerings will include Afrobeats-themed brunch and Sicilian cooking classes neon painting workshops and yoga surrounded by artwork at the Van Gogh Immersive Exhibition will be available.  More than 350 activities are available at 40 locations across the UK and Germany Residents in the UK and Germany can now browse and instantly book the activities through the TUI or TUI Musement apps and websites.  activities and attraction tickets are the ideal products to complement a holiday and we are thrilled that we are able now to offer local experiences at our customers' home cities,” Peter Krueger “We want to sell things other people cannot sell,” Krueger said people were saying ‘where should we go?’ Now TUI Group's revenue grew 12% last year to about $24.4 billion (€23.2 billion) and net profit gained 66% to $533 million (€507 million) with new properties in emerging markets like Vietnam Its new deal with Fever meant TUI could now target domestic customers and provide the company with a sales opportunity "365 days a year,” Peter Ulwahn This latest offering taps into the trend of people supplementing their holidays abroad with more frequent domestic travel and stay-cations, and with Generation Z and Millennials’ preference of experiences over material goods “We are inviting local residents to break the routine discover hidden gems and enjoy some ‘wow moments’ closer to home,” Ulwahn said and include day trips or short activities in a person’s hometown It will also provide repeat visitors to London Berlin and other cities with an “alternative range” of activity options.  Fever’s CEO Ignacio Bachiller said the app’s partnership with TUI was an “exciting step” in transforming “the way travellers engage with destinations” Tags: experiences, fever, sebastian ebel, tui group Subscribe today to keep up with the latest travel industry news Already a subscriber? Login has partnered with Fever to introduce a new range of local activities targeting residents in the UK and Germany This strategic move is part of TUI's broader aim to become a leading provider of leisure activities year-round The new 'Experiences for Locals' offering includes over 350 activities across 40 locations tapping into the trend of domestic travel and the growing preference for experiences over material possessions New users get20% offtheir first year of Skift Pro Section Section Section TUI is the world’s leading integrated tourism business with opportunities for everyone: Our customers fly across continents, cruise the oceans, experience amazing destinationsand stay in their perfect accommodation. Our colleagues acrossthe globe are makers of happy. Our investors believe in the power of tourism to create a better world. Excellence is what we strive for in everything we do, every day. Leisure is our focus, our heart, it’s our heritage and what we know. Experiences encompass the broad range of products we have to offer and the end-to-end customer journey we own. This new north star goal is completing the picture of other guiding initiatives. Learn moreBusiness areasWe offer a consistently high quality end-to-end customer experience through our fully-integrated tourism business from inspiring and booking to flight and transfer right trough to the holiday itself in a hotel on board a cruise ship We have around 130 aircraft operated by five tour operator airlines across Europe Our tour operator business and sales operations are clustered into three regions: Northern Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is the leading provider of expedition and luxury cruises in the German-speaking market TUI Hotels & Resorts comprises more than 400 hotels at prime holiday locations worldwide offering high service quality and sustainability standards TUI Musement is a global Tours & Activities business that offers experiences transfers and multi-day tours in all major beach and city destinations You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience REDEFINING THE END-TO-END PASSENGER EXPERIENCE AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE Connectivity | Digital Transformation | IFE | Up in the Air // Apr 2025 Share on LinkedInLinkedInShare on TwitterTwitterShare on FacebookFacebookShare on RedditRedditShare on FlipboardFlipboardShare on TumblrTumblrShare via EmailGmailShare on WhatsAppWhatsApp to carry out a significant transformation of the onboard experience Immfly’s next-generation digital platform is being integrated into TUI Airline’s Boeing 737-800 and 737-8 aircraft with up to 60 aircraft live to customers by summer 2025 TUI Airline is implementing Immfly’s cutting-edge technology designed to enhance the passenger experience through seamless connectivity and entertainment TUI’s passengers will gain access to a fully digital inflight ecosystem future opportunities for TUI and its customers could include instant payment validation through Iridium Certus unlocking all types of e-commerce activities onboard “This partnership with Immfly underscores our commitment to continuously enhance the inflight experience with innovative technology-driven solutions,” said Jill Nye “Immfly has proven to be the ideal partner customising their solution to meet our specific needs We’re delighted to announce that TUI Musement experiences will also be live and available onboard offering our customers a new way to plan their holiday moments during their flight.” offering LEO (Low Earth Orbit) connectivity with a cost-effective approach This future-proof solution allows for seamless upgrades to high-speed connectivity without costly cabin hardware modifications “Partnering with TUI represents a bold step forward in shaping the future of the inflight experience,” said Pablo Linz “With Equilux Aero’s revolutionary cabin hardware and our cutting-edge IFEC software Iridium and Meta for their unwavering support in making this vision a reality.” This collaboration between Immfly and TUI Airline marks the beginning of a broader vision – leveraging digital innovation to create an unmatched passenger experience while optimising airline operations 12 technology and CX trends that can enhance airline and airport operations in 2025 KLM partners with Immfly “to reinforce the power of retail to elevate the customer experience” Delta further enhances inflight connectivity transforming its aircraft into “personalised platforms” Riyadh Air selects Viasat to power full, fast, free streaming connectivity on Boeing 787 aircraft United installs Starlink connectivity on first regional aircraft for “an incredible onboard experience” Flair Airlines partners with Immfly to implement cutting-edge onboard retail solution and website in this browser for the next time I comment IOT & Robotics case studies & knowledge sharing Content plans: Focus on the future of baggage handling Proof of Concepts updates & knowledge sharing Content plans: A worldwide summit uniting inventive minds to tackle aviation’s biggest challenges and uncover the city’s vibrant tech and innovation landscape Content plans: Strategies for revenue growth through collaborative retailing; discussions around progressive new business models & knowledge sharing Content plans: A gathering of air transport’s digital and innovation leaders who will inspire one another and reimagine travel together Content plans: Known as the ‘CES of Aviation’ FTE Global is THE DEFINITIVE EVENT FOR INNOVATORS Content plans: Asia’s biggest free to attend passenger experience & business performance expo United Airlines has signed the industry’s largest agreement of its kind with SpaceX to provide Starlink connectivity onboard for free Connectivity, Up in the Air // Sep 2024 In part 2 of our comprehensive focus on Generative AI Berlin Brandenburg Airport and Amazon Web Services share how it is poised to transform CX Digital Transformation, On the Ground, Robotics & AI // Mar 2025 American Airlines is introducing new spring menu options for customers both inflight and in its Admirals Club lounges along with the option to use AAdvantage miles to purchase food and beverages Hospitality, Up in the Air // Mar 2025 A worldwide summit uniting inventive minds to tackle aviation’s biggest challenges Empowering the airline sector to profit from collaborative digital retailing opportunities at every step of the journey A gathering of air transport’s digital and innovation leaders creative designers and progressive minds who will inspire one another and reimagine travel together Where the world's most progressive travel facilitators define tomorrow’s end-to-end passenger experience Connecting vendors with airline and airport executives to transform tomorrow’s end-to-end passenger journey across Asia-Pacific Photo Credit: TUI Cruises an external view of Mein Schiff 4 reported strong results for fiscal year 2024 and pointed to a more modest pace of growth next year Revenue grew 12% to about $24.4 billion (€23.2 billion) and net profit gained 66% to $533 million (€507 million) And it expanded its portfolio to 433 hotels including new properties in emerging markets like Vietnam TUI's Cruises division also had particularly strong performance The launch of the new vessel Mein Schiff 7 in June expanded TUI's fleet to 17 vessels reported significant growth in fiscal year 2024 with a 12% revenue increase and a 66% net profit rise The company is expanding its presence in emerging markets and focusing on sustainability TUI faces challenges including geopolitical tensions and climate regulations as it transitions to a digital marketplace for holiday experiences Subscribe now for complete access to Skift.com's trusted coverage of the travel industry Already a subscriber? Login TUI Airways passengers from the United Kingdom tumbled 23% this tourist season at Melbourne Orlando International Airport — a decrease airport officials attribute to the departure of the TUI Group cruise ship Marella Discovery from Port Canaveral and unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates remains bullish on TUI's future in Melbourne Donovan said the European travel conglomerate's 178,139 total passengers visiting Central Florida this year generated more than $132 million in estimated economic impact while 40% board buses for transport to hotels near Orlando theme-park attractions "There's going to be cyclic issues that come into play with international travel — no matter who it is what airport," Donovan said in an interview after Tuesday's Melbourne Airport Authority meeting TUI international flights to and from the Space Coast lasted from March 18 to Nov noted the British pound has been weak compared with the U.S dollar since America's COVID-19 pandemic "reopening," and "Britons heading stateside have faced a financial headwind with the strength of the dollar adding a premium to every purchase." travelers have been choosing holiday travel in countries such as Mexico he said the cruise ship's departure was the primary reason Melbourne's TUI head count decreased "The sales on that (Marella Discovery) cruise operation was one of the best of all their operations But the economics of it all: The exchange rate has to work well with the company," Donovan said you can move a cruise ship to a different environment So that same cruise ship is over in the Mediterranean," he said Marella Discovery sailed from Port Canaveral last year sailings were reserved for TUI customers who booked travel packages from Europe to the Melbourne airport The cruise ship completed 28 sailings out of Port Canaveral from May to November 2023 with 85,533 passengers getting on or off the vessel Donovan and a small team of Melbourne airport executives traveled to London and met with TUI leadership to discuss the past tourist season and upcoming 2025 year This year marked TUI's third in Melbourne as the company's Central Florida gateway Donovan said TUI remains under contract to fly from MLB until 2030 TUI operated 12 flights per week on average this year in Melbourne the airport's assistant director of business development and marketing TUI did not operate between MLB and Edinburgh Donovan displayed a PowerPoint slide showing TUI passenger satisfaction survey results from the travel conglomerate's 80 long-haul destination airports worldwide 2 in check-in experience among those 80 airports “I think these are remarkable numbers when considering that we’re competing against established stations throughout the world These are international locations," Donovan told the MAA board "Some of them have got some incredible resources that we don’t quite have up to par here yet in terms of numbers of people and equipment," he said Last month, Allegiant Air debuted twice-weekly nonstop flights between MLB and Cincinnati, Ohio Donovan said those flights to and from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport are largely being booked by VFR passengers — visiting friends and relatives — but he expects demand from Ohio to Florida to increase during spring break Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 Support local journalism. Unlock unlimited digital access to floridatoday.com. Click here and subscribe today. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Maher is set to make her 15s debut at the Rugby World Cup — and Tui can’t wait to see what happens And now, one of Maher’s biggest fans is a woman who helped pave the way: two-time Olympic medallist Ruby Tui The Kiwi veteran says she’s watched Maher’s rise – and the work behind it – with awe Maher was a breakout star of the Paris Games, becoming an overnight sensation and social media favourite. She parlayed her fame into an appearance on the reality television competition show Dancing with the Stars and inclusion in the legendary Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. Tui, who won Olympic gold with New Zealand at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and helped the Black Ferns to a World Cup victory in 2022, sees Maher’s star power as an opening to help grow the sport of women’s rugby. “I can’t wait for Ilona Maher to come over to the 15s game on a World Cup stage and see what kind of storm she can start,” she said. “Let’s go – I’m keen for all of it.” The duo could share the stage as soon as this summer when the Women’s Rugby World Cup heads to England in late August. For Maher, it would be a debut after recently making the transition to 15s; for Tui, it’s a chance to secure back-to-back title wins for her nation. “More champions, more characters for the game is nothing but good,” said Tui. “And she’s always been a vibe.” CreativityFeaturesAbout usShowcase 2024LoginTUI Brings Bags To Life with 'Packed Differently'The campaign by Leo Burnett showcases TUI's wide range of holiday experiencesBy Creative Salon18 March 2025 Travel company TUI and creative agency Leo Burnett UK have launched a new campaign ‘Packed differently’, which showcases the wide range of holiday experiences on offer at TUI and spotlights the ways in which their holidays are packaged differently. ‘Packed differently’ sees the return of TUI’s well-established brand mascot ‘Happy Bag’, alongside some new cheeky characters. The campaign, which spans TVC, Social, OOH, Radio and Digital Display is targeted at TUI’s heartland audience and package holiday fans. In ‘TUI Rooms’, the talking bags playfully compare luxury touches of their holidays including swim-up suites, private Jacuzzis and pillow menus, whilst the second film ‘Luggage’ humorously highlights the benefit of TUI’s standard 20-kilogram luggage allowance for package holidays with TUI flights. Targeted at parents who want to relax and unwind, the third film ‘Kids Clubs’ shows the talking bags calling attention to the wide range of children’s activities on offer at TUI kids clubs. Across social, a range of content on Meta and TikTok will showcase ‘Happy Bag’ as the ultimate travel influencer. The campaign was a cross-agency collaboration with creative duties handled by Leo Burnett UK, media handled by Essence Media Com, Production by Unit 9 and Post House by Harbor.  Mark Elwood, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett UK, said: “TUI’s lovable brand mascot ‘Happy Bag’ and his new mates highlight everything we love about TUI holidays—from luxury perks to family fun—making each trip unforgettable.” SENIOR CREATIVE: Laila Milborrow & Dave Parker           CHIEF PRODUCTION OFFICER: Emily Marr                       MEDIA PLANNER: Florence Bignell              LOCAL PRODUCTION COMPANY: ASAP Productions POST PRODUCTION PRODUCER: Abi Klimaszewska SENIOR BRAND MARKETING MANAGER: Corinne Carter Please let us know if you agree to all of these cookies The Rugby World Cup winner on her journey from traumatic childhood haunted by domestic violence and alcoholism to being a Black Ferns superstar Mon 31 Mar 2025 14.46 CESTLast modified on Mon 31 Mar 2025 16.53 CESTShare“Oh absolutely,” Ruby Tui exclaims from the other side of the world when asked if she will be in England for the women’s rugby World Cup in August I’ll be there supporting my team or I’ll be in my team there’s no way you can miss the World Cup 2025.” As she savoured victory in a gripping World Cup final – the only occasion England have lost in their past 53 games – Tui was interviewed on the pitch. “How was it New Zealand?” she cried out to nearly 43,000 fans. “How was it? They said no one cared about women’s rugby, but guess what? We are here, we’re going nowhere.” Read moreShe then led the crowd in a rousing rendition of a Māori folk song, Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi like a great conductor celebrating at a post-concert party Tui looked nothing like the stoical young girl she had been when she survived life as the daughter of an alcoholic father and a mother whose new relationship was scarred by harrowing physical and emotional abuse would leave her in his parked car for hours while he drank in the pub or took drugs at house parties She witnessed the death of one of his friends from a drug overdose She thought it would bind her more closely to her dad while she ached for her mum who was assaulted repeatedly by a subsequent partner The 33-year-old winger is an inspirational figure in New Zealand and her return to the game after a break coincides with the clamour for her to be selected for the Black Ferns’ World Cup squad watching the 2010 women’s World Cup in England transformed her To play in the same tournament in England 15 years later has become a consuming ambition “So many things have happened in my life that I now think anything’s possible,” she says “To make it to another World Cup would be a dream I’ve been very open with the coach [Allan Bunting] and said that whatever capacity he wants me in I will be there.” She pauses and then says: “Mental resilience is just as important as physical preparation and, for that, you’ve got to draw on whatever happened in your journey.” She shakes her head and says now: “Boy, oh boy. The 2010 Rugby World Cup in England was huge for me. The final was not held at the main Twickenham stadium. It was at the Stoop [across the road] and that tiny detail is so significant to me now. This year the final will be at Twickenham. But the tenacity of those women in 2010 blew me away. I knew some of them personally and they all had full-time work. I still don’t understand how they made it happen, but I draw huge inspiration from them.” Read moreWhile Tui marvels at the capacity of her predecessors to hold down ordinary jobs while playing elite rugby at that same time she was paying her own way through university by working more than 80 hours a week – starting most days at 4am as a postwoman working as a lifeguard in the afternoon and doing night shifts at a bar while also trying to attend lectures and study “I needed the money so I took every single job I could,” she says with a grin “But the cool thing was I ended in rugby-playing circles with some of the Black Ferns I was like: ‘Why aren’t these amazing stories more widely known?’ I often think of the next superstars who will have hugely different careers to us – they will be full-time professionals from the get-go But my journey definitely keeps me grounded.” Tui addresses the past with acceptance and forgiveness and even though she was once so distraught she considered ending her life when a teenager she turned her distress into a book of redemption How did her parents feel when they read such a jolting account of their past “Dad’s way more casual but Mum had to relive every page She’s a very wordy and intellectual person View image in fullscreenRuby Tui is racking up the tries for Chiefs Manawa this season Photograph: Phil Walter/Getty Images“When I started the book I thought it would be about rugby is that interesting?’ But I then said: ‘I can’t print any of this unless Mum’s 100% OK about it.’ I then told my mum: ‘I’ll pull the plug on the book if you’re not happy.’ I wanted it to be collaborative but I said: ‘Mum I’ve got a contract [stipulating confidentiality].’” But she was anxious and went away to read the book When she’d finished she sent me a message: “Ruby you have to share this story.’ From that moment I felt a surge of energy She also had no idea that as a young tween how directly my life was influenced by her decisions As mother and daughter it felt like our story was being shared for all the women out there Free weekly newsletterThe latest rugby union news and analysis View image in fullscreenRuby Tui drew inspiration from the New Zealand women at the 2010 World Cup Photograph: David Rogers/Getty ImagesHer eyes widen when she remembers how chapters about the abuse she and her mum withstood helped so many women and girls “We’ve been on this thing called a book tour and I had no idea what that involved I’m a rugby player so I thought maybe I’d sit in a library But we’d go to these cities and for five hours straight I’d be meeting people [at book signings] “There was one book signing in Auckland where you couldn’t see the end of the line but I remember some of the first people in that line It was a mum and daughter and I was smiling while having my photo taken with them and I was like: ‘Thanks for waiting guys.’ And [the mother’s] eyes were welling up and she goes: ‘Your story made me leave I was just out trying to grow women’s‑rugby numbers I had no idea what effect it would have on the world.” Her influence runs so deep that she is one of a group – including other former New Zealand internationals John Kirwan, Codie Taylor and Aaron Cruden – spearheading a campaign with Bupa that focuses on the physical and mental health experiences of New Zealand’s rugby elite Each rugby icon chooses a word to represent them “I love this campaign so much because I know how vulnerable the others had to be to share their words I went with “mind” because it’s so beautiful and means so much to me One of the first psychologists I worked with talked about how we can’t be afraid of the mind gym It clicked with me because mental fitness is something you have to work at every day “This Bupa campaign is about normalising these conversations What did my mind do there?’ My mental skills coach recently explained that the more we allow our emotions to take control a higher percentage of our brain and our IQ View image in fullscreenRuby Tui (top second right) is one of the players taking part in a new campaign by Bupa and New Zealand Rugby showcasing the personal health and wellness journeys of New Zealand’s rugby elite Photograph: Steven Boniface and BupaDoes her painful past still strengthen her today I always say to people: ‘It’s not like my journey was harder than yours It’s just that throughout my journey I’ve felt things that have rocked me and therefore shaped me.’ It’s about awareness I went through these things and I’m so grateful that I not only addressed them but I said: ‘How can I grow from it?’ What I’ve been through has been a huge tool for me.” Tui’s father is Samoan and her mother is white and she articulates the flaws and strengths of both cultures In her book she writes: “This is the future of the world the coming together of cultures.” But how does she feel about the world when people such as Donald Trump and Elon Musk are trying to divide and destroy “I love that question,” Tui says with a throaty chuckle “How great is it that we both live in different countries and we can have a little giggle I’m like: ‘Surely these people are for our entertainment?’ But sometimes I do scratch my head.” Tui will almost certainly be a key character at the World Cup “Rugby has been this dream I never knew I had but rugby gives so much connection to so many authentic human beings.” Tui leans forward and adds: “As athletes we’re sometimes seen as these physical things that don’t have much emotion We are more than just our stats and physical records Who we are as humans is hugely important.” Ruby Tui is supporting ‘Human After All: The Alternative Team Photo’. Visit Bupa.com to explore the players and their stories 2025TUI Group Q1/2025: Promising start to the new financial year revenue growth of 13 per cent to 4.9 billion euros underlying EBIT grows for tenth quarter in a row Cruises and TUI MusementCorporateTravel trend continues: 3.7 million customers travelled with TUI in Q1 2025 – 18 per cent increase in dynamically packaged holidays to 0.7 millionRevenue up 13 per cent to 4.9 billion euros (previous year: 4.3 billion euros)Underlying EBIT increases to 51 million euros (last year: 6 million euros) due to strong performance in Holiday Experiences (Hotels & Resorts TUI Musement)Back to pre-pandemic rating levels: TUI awarded BB rating by Fitch with stable outlookPositive trading momentum for Winter 2024/25 and Summer 2025Guidance for FY 2025 confirmed: 5-10 per cent increase in revenue 7-10 per cent increase in underlying EBITTUI CEO Sebastian Ebel: “The first quarter shows that we are on track for further growth in the full year People prioritise their holidays even in times of change and economic risks Our hotel and cruise businesses are growing continuously and are highly profitable we are strengthening the tour operator business in the core European markets we are focusing on new growth markets in Southeast Europe Asia and Latin America."TUI had a positive start into the new financial year 2025 3.7 million guests travelled with TUI in the first quarter (October to December 2024) This resulted in a 13 per cent increase in Group revenue to 4.9 billion euros (Q1 2024: 4.3 billion euros) we create synergies between the two business areas Markets + Airline with our tour operators and flight business The roadmap is clear: We are accelerating our transformation and aiming for global growth We set the course for that in the last financial year and will continue to deliver consistently in 2025 The first quarter shows: our strategy is paying off People prioritise their holidays even in times of change and even in a challenging economic environment in Europe for almost all sectors strategy and operational performance,’ said TUI Group CEO Sebastian Ebel ‘The promising performance in the first financial quarter of 2025 and thus the tenth consecutive quarter of earnings growth will help us achieve our ambitious growth targets for the full year: we expect underlying EBIT to grow by 7-10 per cent We have also reached another milestone in our financial profile: Fitch rating agency has given TUI a credit rating of BB with a stable outlook This marks our return to pre-pandemic levels,’ said Mathias Kiep 3.7 million guests travelled with TUI in the first quarter of 2025 – an increase of six per cent year-on-year The number of holidaymakers who opted for a dynamically packaged holiday rose by 18 per cent to 0.7 million guests The Group sees major growth opportunities in this area in the future the average occupancy rate in the markets was 85 per cent Underlying EBIT improved to 50.9 million euros (previous year 6.0 million euros) This development was driven primarily by the very good performance of the Holiday Experiences segment Cruises and TUI Musement (Tours & Activities) the first two quarters of the financial year (October to March) are usually negative for companies in the industry in terms of earnings the Group was able to improve on last year's good result Revenue climbed by 13 per cent to 4.9 billion euros (previous year: 4.3 billion euros) Fitch has issued a rating for TUI Group for the first time Fitch has given TUI a credit rating of BB with a stable outlook which marks a return to pre-pandemic levels The rating reflects TUI's leading position and brand recognition Fitch emphasises the advantages of the vertically integrated model which leads to increased efficiency and better control over the entire value chain The rating agency also highlights TUI's conservative debt coverage ratio The positive booking momentum for Winter 2024/25 and Summer 2025 continues with current bookings up 2 per cent compared to last year the positive booking momentum in recent weeks shows that consumers continue to prioritise their vacation Average prices for Winter 2024/25 are currently 4 per cent above last year's levels Bookings are driven in particular by short and medium-haul destinations Egypt and the Cape Verde Islands are once again proving to be popular destinations average prices are also 4 per cent higher than in the prior year The most popular destinations for TUI customers in Summer 2025 are again Spain TUI is geared for growth – the Group's focus for the full year remains on operational excellence delivery of its strategy and transformation the strong operational improvements delivered to date and the balance sheet strengthening actions are the basis for delivering on the full year targets The guidance is based on continued sustainable growth in Holiday Experiences and the Markets + Airline transformation supported by the good performance in the first financial quarter the Group confirms the following outlook for financial year 2025: TUI Group offers its 20 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms five airlines with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies it supports the development of vacation destinations Can’t find what you’re looking for?Key Figures on the sale of its minority stake in InteRes Gesellschaft für Informationstechnologie mbH (“InteRES”) to Juniper Group an operating group of Vela Software and Constellation Software The transaction also included the sale of all shares held by the main shareholder InteRES is a leading connectivity and digital retailing specialist in the airline industry Founded in 1996 and rapidly growing with the rise of the Internet InteRES has always been at the forefront of the technological development of the industry who joined Juniper Group back in April 2023 had internally sponsored this transaction for its and the rest of Juniper Group’s travel businesses to materially increase their expert power in complex connectivity and digital retailing solutions as well as to strengthen their offering to their long-standing partners in the airline industry Mayer Brown regularly advises TUI Group on transactions including the investment in Peakwork in 2016 and the sale of its stake in Peakwork in 2023 The Mayer Brown team was led by Corporate & Securities partner Dr Jan Streer (Düsseldorf) and included counsel Dr and associate Lars Schinkel (Düsseldorf) the transaction was managed by Martin Firnhaber (In-house Senior Legal Adviser) has just brewed up a fantastic new partnership with TUI This is a milestone partnership for the brand and one that promises to elevate the coffee experience for TUI’s 12 million UK and Ireland customers which travel to 85 destinations worldwide from one of 20 UK airports Paddy & Scott’s has created a delicious new blend specifically for TUI called Adventure Coffee Whether you’re someone who loves a frothy cappuccino there’s a perfect brew for every taste-bud Paddy & Scott’s will not just be able to spread the love for premium coffee but also champion sustainability and ethical sourcing “It’s an absolute privilege that one of the finest travel companies in the world wants to team up with Paddy & Scott’s to make a real difference in coffee-growing regions around the world craving that caffeine boost that just isn’t there Being approached by TUI to create a completely new coffee offering for their inflight experience is just fantastic but it’s also going to do tremendous things For a big organisation like TUI to work with a smaller one like ours to create real sustainable social and environmental impact is a sign that the world is changing in a wonderful way We’re looking forward to inspiring 12 million people this year with the incredible work we’re doing in coffee-growing regions and are very proud of the impact this partnership will have globally.” passengers will be actively contributing to its sustainable efforts Paddy & Scott’s reinvests in coffee growing communities by funding school meals for children and supporting initiatives that empower local people to thrive “Imagine a simple cup of coffee that is fuelling the next generation of agronomists and material scientists Imagine a cappuccino that challenges whether things can be done just a little bit better We’re not saying that drinking better coffee will solve all the world’s problems but it can be a kickstarter for millions of people around the globe.” Paddy & Scott’s Adventure Coffee will take to the skies on 1st May Paddy & Scott’s is far from your average coffee company It passionately believe that a humble cup of coffee can make a significant impact empowering coffee farmers and their communities from the very start it creates a ripple effect that stretches far beyond Suffolk reaching deep into Kenyan communities to foster education and nurture dreams For more information visit: https://www.tui.co.uk/destinations/info/about-us or https://paddyandscotts.shop/pages/about-us Sign up to get LondonDaily.News delivered to your inbox PaxEx.Aero 7 April 2025 By Seth Miller Leave a Comment Immfly‘s next-generation digital platform includes a light-weight connectivity component offering a new option for airlines to bring passengers and crew online upgrading the carrier’s 737 fleet this summer bringing WhatsApp messaging to the cabin as a paid option The messaging service is one of several components being enabled on the new Immfly digital inflight experience platform The system leverages an internet connection delivered via the Iridium Certus network. The narrowband connectivity is enabled through Equilux Aero’s cabin hardware making it the third company (at least) providing inflight data services via the Iridium network As with the others (AirFi LEO, fflya) the service will be limited to specific content and features For TUI that includes WhatsApp for passengers as well as launching the “TUI Musement” travel marketplace TUI Musement will offer passengers the opportunity to browse and book tickets for tours and attractions Real-time payment validation and booking confirmation is processed via the Iridium link the service will offer entertainment for passengers on their own personal devices “Partnering with TUI represents a bold step forward in shaping the future of the in-flight experience,” added Pablo Linz Iridium and Meta for their unwavering support in making this vision a reality.” The Iridium-based services take advantage of the tiny antenna hardware enabling installation and activation without major changes to the aircraft Immfly also notes that the solution can be upgraded to a high-speed connectivity solution with a new satellite link while keeping the same cabin hardware in place Did you enjoy the content? Or learn something useful? Or generally just think this is the type of story you'd like to see more of? Consider supporting the site through a donation (any amount helps) It helps keep me independent and avoiding the credit card schlock Seth Miller has over a decade of experience covering the airline industry With a strong focus on passenger experience Seth also has deep knowledge of inflight connectivity and loyalty programs He is widely respected as an unbiased commentator on the aviation industry He is frequently consulted on innovations in passenger experience by airlines and technology providers You can connect with Seth via email, on Bluesky, Instagram, and LinkedIn © 2008-document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) Proton Associates Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited Mein Schiff Relax is the largest for the German brand and the first of the company’s ships to operate on LNG It was built as a dual-fuel ship immediately capable of operating on LNG or Marine Gas Oil and it will be able to transition to alternatives including bio- or e-LNG when it becomes available in the market TUI also introduced the first methanol-ready cruise ship which was built at Meyer Turku and with the addition of some pending components is expected to commence operations with methanol Fincantieri received the order for the two ships from TUI in July 2018 with the steel cutting for the first ship commencing in June 2022 The ship was floated out from the yard in Monfalcone Italy in November 2023 and began its first sea trials last October The first trials focused on the performance of the vessel and especially maneuverability it received its first LNG load and at the end of the month commenced sea trials operating on LNG Mein Schiff Relax is the second cruise ship delivered by Fincantieri fueled with LNG The Mein Schiff operation has been one of the fast-growing taking advantage of the strength of the cruise market in German-speaking countries It was launched as a rival to Carnival Corporation’s successful AIDA brand with TUI’s first ship Today the brand has eight ships including Relax with the oldest having been built just a decade ago we took delivery of our first newly built ship,” says Wybcke Meier we are now opening a whole new chapter in the field of premium cruises.” The new ship is 1,070 feet (326 meters) in length with 1,945 passenger cabins and accommodations for 3,984 passengers and 1,535 crew In addition to being the largest ship of the fleet 14 restaurants including more variety and a new Asian restaurant The ship features the cruise line’s first two-deck “freedom suites,” as well as introducing inside In addition to the dual-fuel configuration Mein Schiff Relax features new catalytic converters meeting Euro 6 standards a generative turbine using residual heat from the diesel generators It also has a highly efficient waste treatment system capable of transforming organic materials into recyclable components through a thermal process The cruise ship enters service at the beginning of March and will sail for the first year around the Canary Islands before moving to Germany in mid-2026 TUI has planned an innovative christening ceremony for the new ship on April 9 in Malaga She will meet up with fleet mates Mein Schiff 5 and Mein Schiff 7 the three cruise ships will share the event with a gala dinner and cocktail aboard each ship and special culinary dishes from the restaurants on the new ship being served aboard all three ships ShareSaveBusinessRetailTUI Cruises Expands And Extends Six-Ship Retail Contracts With HeinemannByKevin Rozario Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights and the global traveling shopper.Follow AuthorFeb 22 11:58pm ESTShareSaveHeinemann's contract on Mein Schiff 1 and 6 (pictured) will now run until June 2028 Heinemann is seeing its focus on the cruise retail channel paying off Its latest win has been with TUI Cruises which has decided to extend contracts on board six of the tour operator’s current seven cruise ships under the Mein Schiff (My Ship) branding Heinemann said that it will continue to operate stores on Mein Schiff 1 Four vessels have passenger capacities of about 2,500 while the newer Mein Schiff 1 and 2 can carry almost 2,900 passengers Two more ships from TUI Cruises—Mein Schiff Relax and Mein Schiff Flow—are also set to debut Spain in April by British pop idol Robbie Williams (formerly with the band Take That) while Flow will see its itineraries launch in August 2026 They are the first in the InTUItion ship class carrying close to 4,000 passengers and represent another on-board retail opportunity Heinemann has a long-standing relationship with TUI Cruises going back about 15 years and the contract renewals continue their partnership The extensions mean that Heinemann will introduce a series of new retail concepts within Neuer Wall shopping arcades focused on premium concepts They include high-end watches and jewelry stores or corners featuring brands such as Breitling and Maurice Lacroix under the Mein Glanz fascia; Meine Freude for more affordable accessories like sunglasses and Joop; Mein Schiff-logoed products in Meine Lebenslust stores as well as premium chocolate and spirits; and similar dedicated stores for luxury fragrances and skincare and for fashion and footwear including labels like Tommy Hilfiger Neuer Wall shopping arcades will have a strong focus on branded fashion across the Mein Schiff .. managing director of Heinemann Cruise Liner Global commented: “We take pride in the fact that two Hamburg-based companies continue to innovate and create exceptional retail experiences at sea.” A major success was the acquisition in 2023 of Costa described as “a significant new customer” as it is such a key player in the cruise market This achievement was realized in record time: just five weeks from the initial contract discussions creation of master data and selection of product ranges senior sales manager for cruises wholesaling at Heinemann commented: “By quickly establishing this business relationship we have solidified our reputation as a dependable partner laying a strong foundation for the future with Costa.” Latham & Watkins has advised TUI Cruises GmbH (TUI Cruises) on the issuance of 5.00% senior notes due 2030 under New York law for a principal amount of €375 million The notes will be listed on the International Stock Exchange The Latham team was led by debt capital markets partners Alexander Lentz and Rüdiger Malaun with counsel Gregory Walker and associate Peter Neuböck Advice was also provided on tax matters by partner Ulf Kieker