Picking up where I left off from Scenes From Safari: Part I, here are several more moments from our Safari trip to Dulini last week.
In addition to the photos, I’ve included a video clip showing an Elephant introducing her baby calf for the first time to the ‘public’. It’s only a week old!
Not much else to say, other than enjoy the photos!
Southern Red-Billed Hornbill
‘Majingilane’ Coalition Males take time to rest with their Othawa Pride Lionesses
A moment with Zebras ruined by a Photo-bombing Giraffe
Lunchtime……
Othawa Lioness taking a break from her cubs……
This little Duiker shows off his Mohawk……
‘Dayone’ looks a bit tired after a long day.
An Othawa Lioness loves up her cubs….
A Vulture comes in a bit too steep…..
Part of the 300 pounds of food that will be eaten today by this Elephant…..
Cheetah takes a breather after a successful hunt….
Moving dinner to a safe spot….
Now he can rest for a minute before Hyenas threaten his catch
And as mentioned before, here is the video debuting the new-born Elephant:
Last week, Austrian’s CCO Andreas Otto was in New York to visit colleagues at Austrian’s offices and provided his insights on the airline and what the future will bring to OS.
As part of his comments, he suggested that a new Business Class cabin is on the way for Austrian’s long haul aircraft. His plans called for the retrofit to be completed by 2020 and would include any 767, 777s and A350s that could or would be in the fleet at that time. Maybe I missed something along the way, but I did not think OS was getting any A350s.
Regardless, I look forward to what the new Business Class concept will be from OS. It feels like only yesterday that the current Business Class cabins were introduced.
Stay tuned. I’m certain theres a lot more coming on this topic.
On another topic, he also mentioned SFO and LAX may be next on OS’ radar….but nothing definite at this point.
AUSTRIAN has quietly introduced extremely strict monitoring of Carry On luggage at their hub in Vienna and at gateways throughout Europe. According to OS, this is in direct response to the new fare concepts (Light/Classic/Flex) that were launched on October 1 that are specific to the European market.
Specifically in Vienna, enforcement of the carry on policy will take place just before the Boarding Pass Control Gates in Terminal 3. Similar methods will be put in place throughout OS’ Euro network. The scrutiny will be ‘Pass/Fail’. Either your bag fits and you can proceed, or it doesn’t and you will be forced to check the bag for a cost if your fare class does not allow for a free checked bag.
OS says this is being done to ensure cabin safety and expedited boarding. However looking through those comments, it comes down to revenue. I have no doubt that the ‘Light’ fare option will by far be the most popular fare class under the new program. ‘Light’ is the only fare class out of the 3 that has a fee for checking a bag, so it only makes sense that OS wants to stop people circumventing the luggage policy by having ‘slighty’ non compliant carry on luggage taken on board. If it was about safety and expedited boarding the policy would have been strictly enforced for years.
Regardless of class, any passenger wishing to board an OS flight for travel within Europe will be forced to comply. The policy for baggage size has always been there, but now it looks as though revenue models are forcing it to be enforced. In short, EVERY bag is now subject to the scrutiny.
Be mindful if you are arriving to VIE from a transcontinental destination. Your bag might have been allowed on a 777 or 767 but it will be subject to the new scrutiny if you are connecting onward on an OS flight from VIE, you’ll need to pay to check the bag if it doesn’t fit the carry on luggage sizer.
