Last time I have promised to put my works in this blog, on the last project in my Design 102 module of the whole semester, called as Project ‘…for the…’. It is a project which we design a dwelling for our specific client in Malacca.

My chosen client through a lucky draw, at first is Christie Brinkley, a famous model. However, I am given a second chance of lucky pick since there is not much thing can be done on model. Hence, my second and final pick is Amadeus Mozart, a famous musician.

Part 1: Client and Function.

I need to get to know deeply onto the personalities and characteristics of Mozart. What is special about him? What is interesting about him? Mozart is addicted to music when he was only 3 years old, and he was able to write music when he was aged 5 only. He completed his works very fast, but stress was his main problem. His most famous work is ‘Requiem’, which is incomplete, as he felt into severe illness and died before even he could finish it. I am trying to design a place for him to complete the music and perform it.

Client and Function poster (1 A2 size board)

Part 2: Site Analysis.

We had conducted a site visit at Malacca Old Town area. I have chosen a water edge area, a very spacious empty area in the region of new development. Many modern buildings are built and being under construction there, and my dwelling will be notified as part of it, proudly. The calm atmosphere from the peaceful surrounding, flowing water, and windy breeze will surely be effective in reducing stress by Mozart while writing his marvelous piece of work. My site faces the Maritime Museum, a museum built in a form of Portuguese ship and Taming Sari Tower, an observation tower basically for tourism.

My chosen site sits right beside a newly-built park, in a geometrical pattern. My dwelling will be an extension of the park, benefiting the existing pedestrian walkways, which will direct visitors from the tourist center nearby, to the square, next to the park, and finally, to my dwelling. It will be able to attract visitors in such a strategic location of tourist hotspot.

Site Analysis board (1 A0 size board)

Part 3: Design.

The name of my dwelling will be very grand, ‘Performing Center of Amadeus Mozart’. Malacca has many museums, many cafes, many tourist spots, but don’t have a proper performing center. There are many spaces in my dwelling, making it as multi-purpose, such as lobby area to welcome visitors, gallery to display his masterpieces, outdoor platform for audiences to enjoy the surrounding, private working space for Mozart to write his music, and staff area for performers to prepare for performances. The main space will be the performing hall, with a stage and concrete terraces as seating area.

Two concepts are chosen based on Mozart’s personalities.

1. Emphasis on external appearance

My dwelling will have a grand and modern outlook appearance, and is easily visible from afar, especially from the Taming Sari Tower and Maritime Museum. It is located on the spacious empty land in the middle of the reclaimed land (Malacca River Square) on Malacca River. The large scale of the project making it more distinctive. The interior is very plain, with no decorations or ornamentations. The seating area of performing hall is just of concrete terraces, and all the floor, wall, and roof have no finishes. Even the stage is simple, with a background of glass screen.

Mozart emphasized on his outer appearance. He loved to wear elegant clothing. However, he was very poor and has financial difficulties. Hence, this concept suits him the most, and shows that this place is dedicated for him, while not letting the others know (also not letting the others know that he was actually poor).

2. No distinction between exterior and interior.

As I have mentioned just now, there is so much difference between exterior and interior look of the building. Now, there is another concept of linking them back, harmoniously, by using one material: glass. Mozart should not be enclosed by solid walls when he was writing his music, as this will lead to stress easily. Hence, his private working space is built mainly of glass, four walls of glass to separate him from the outside weather, while combining the area with the surrounding. He will be enjoying the time of writing his music with the surrounding at a high level. Imagine, how comfortable he will be…

Usual backdrop of current performing center is a plain black wallpaper. For my performing center, it will be different. The backdrop will be the lively background showing the Maritime Museum and Taming Sari Tower with the surrounding. By this way, audiences will feel different kind of atmosphere at different time of performances. It will not attracts the eyes of the audiences during performances but will affect the mood of the audiences. They have entered a boring, dull and plain hall, hence, their focus will be just on the music, while the backdrop plays a role to regain their feeling of being carried away by the music performed by Mozart. The glass backdrop will also provides natural lighting during daytime of performances. The side facade of the gallery is also built of glass, but of two different glass. There are no nice views visible from that side, hence translucent glass will be used, so that the visitors will only enjoy the music sheets displayed. The upper facade will be of transparent movable glass, which allows sunlight to enter for natural lighting, and for air ventilation, supporting the idea of a green building, in a clean, unpolluted and historical city of Malacca. The facade which faces the park will be of solid wall and glass wall. Solid wall separates the performing hall from the outside, so that the activities occuring in the park and square will not disturb the performances. However, the visible lobby from outside will be able to attract visitors to enter.

The entrance to the private working space is small, and short, specially dedicated to Amadeus Mozart. He was s short and small person. However, as soon as he enters the area, the large volume of the space will provides greater freedom and movement for him, thus, giving him more space and less pressure to complete his music. He can went out to the nearby park to enjoy the scenery too.

I have explained almost all of the things related to my design.

Part 4: Interior space.

I have chosen a portion of the performing hall, to be investigated on its finishes, lighting, and construction details. The foundation will be simple, since there is already an existing concrete surface on the ground and the site sits on a reclaimed land (reinforced and stabilized). The portion is on the side showing part of the seating area, stage, and entrance to the outdoor platform, accompanied by the glass backdrop. Among the most interesting feature of my design is the glass backdrop. There is no finishes on it, as i have explained earlier. The lighting during the day is provided with aid of the glass screen. The materials used to built is mainly of concrete and glass.

My overall presentation board (5 A1 sized board combined together):

My final model (sectional) on the site model (scale 1:100):

My interior model (scale 1:20):

This is overall of the project, which ended by a verbal presentation during review by external panels, and the whole semester successfully ended with submission of box containing all the works and portfolio…

Insomma, ce la possiamo raccontare in tutti i termini possibili e immaginabili, ma la nuova edizione di “Amici” è Marco-dipendente, non nel senso di Marco di X-Factor, ma nel senso di Marco Garofalo, il porno-coreografo che fa gattonare, sculettare, mimare rapporti sessuali or qui or là, tanto per far vedere che la Celentano è una bacchettona terribile e scontata.

Ma il Garofalo, venuto su a calcio e balletto classico, è tutt’altro che un burbero sprovveduto: non è il romanaccio che fa il verso alla milanesona gaudente, ma rigorosa, perlomeno non è solo quello. L’accento farà tanto Carlo Verdone in “Bianco Rosso e Verdone”, l’atteggiamento farà tanto burino, tamarro e rozzone, ma il pedigree è quello di uno che, sticavoli! (ah, quanto mi manca la Stavolo), la televisione la conosce, e molto bene.

Ecco perché esiterei a ridurre tutta la sua carriera alle porno-coreografie che pare che il pubblico apprezzi molto, vista l’audience che si portano dietro. E’ vero che, dopo tanti anni di “Amici”, siamo un po’ tarati sui diversi stili dei maestri più datati, dal funambolismo spettacolare di Steve (che ama la tecnica e stravede per le prese pericolose e complicate) alla classicità astratta e tecnicissima della Celentano alla comica ridoliniana di Garrison, per tacere delle schifezzografie falso-hip hop di Maura. Però, Garofalo non è solo ed esclusivamente il gattaro di Mediaset. E’ qualcosa di più e di meglio.

Marco, quand’era molto giovane, doveva fare il calciatore (ne avrebbe goduto il mondo della danza classica, diciamo), ma un infortunio lo bloccò e, siccome i suoi amici amavano il balletto, ci si diede anche lui, senza nessuna vera e propria passione. Anzi, a quanto pare, non era particolarmente dotato e soprattutto era già avanti con l’età: ventuno anni, in pratica un ballerino finito.

Ma Garofalo è sempre stato un testardo e proprio grazie alla cocciutaggine riuscì a entrare, dopo un solo anno, nel corpo di ballo di “Ma che sera” con Alighiero Noschese e Raffaella Carrà, anche se fa la sua vera carriera come coreografo di moltissimi programmi televisivi, soprattutto targati Canale 5. E’ lui che fa ballare la Cuccarini (con la quale è assai amico, anche se le loro strade artistiche si separarono, quando Lorella tornò in Rai per fare il sabato sera con Morandi e scelse accanto a sé Tommasini, che, proprio per questo motivo, Garofalo detesta profondamente) e poi Mia Molinari, Fabrizio Mainini, Matilde Brandi, Heather Parisi, Laura Freddi, Natalia Estrada, Silvio Oddi.

Insomma, un curriculum di tutto rispetto, nel quale però ogni tanto scivolano dentro nomi che con il ballo c’entrano poco, come quando, per una volta in Rai, fa ballare le Ereditiere all’Eredità targata Amadeus (probabilmente ricorderete la scossa della Civitillo… beh, la coreografia, se vogliamo considerarla tale, è la sua). E’, insomma, tra i professori della commissione, quello che più s’è sporcato le mani, facendo quel lavoro banale e coraggioso allo stesso tempo che è far ballare anche chi non ha mai fatto una sola ora di classico in tutta la sua vita.

Probabilmente è anche per questo motivo che è abituato a valorizzare chi non ha studiato o, apparentemente, non sembra affatto adatto al lavoro dell’étoile: dovendo per ragioni di lavoro avere a che fare con belle donne che sanno solo vagamente muoversi, ma che non conoscono la differenza tra l’en dehors e l’en dedans, s’è ridotto a chiedere sempre di meno, passi semplici, niente tecnica, assenza compensata, magari, dall’aspetto fisico, dalla presenza scenica, dallo spettacolo (ora perfino becero).

Ma Garofalo non l’ha sempre pensata a questo modo. Se si legge una sua antica intervista, rilasciata nel 2002 ad un sito internet che si occupa di danza, si rintraccia una sua dichiarazione che fa a pugni con quello che poi nel tempo è diventato:

Che cosa ne pensa della danza che oggi si vede in tv?
Perché, lei vede ballare? Credo ci sia molta confusione in merito. Si dà molto spazio all’immagine e si trascura il resto, ma forse è questo quello che funziona… Mah!

Era il 2002. Evidentemente, la trasformazione garofoliana nel baraccone degli ambaradàn ancora non s’era palesata. Cosa sarà stato di quel coreografo? Forse lavorare troppe ore a contatto con le Professoresse, o in “Fantastica italiana” oppure con Antonella Musetti l’ha rovinato? Oppure è stata una scelta meditata e consapevole – svendere l’arte per lavorare e continuare ad esistere sul mercato televisivo tutto chiappe e seni al vento?

Come diceva Quelo, mi sa che è “la seconda che ho detto”.

Dopo 3 stagioni, passate ad elemosinare spazi in tv, per Amadeus, è arrivato il momento di rimboccare le maniche e mettersi a lavoro. Dall’11 gennaio, infatti, il conduttore di “Mezzogiorno in famiglia”, affiancherà all’appuntamento prandiale del week end, l’impegno quotidiano del gioco “Coppia di cuori”.

Il nuovo game show, prodotto dalla “LDM Comunicazioni”, che vede come autori Dario De Gennaro e il dj Zap Mangusta, andrà in onda subito dopo “L’Italia sul 2” dal lunedì al venerdì, è vedrà al timone, oltre ad Amadeus, anche una ragazza, la cui identità ancora non è stata svelata.La trasmissione, secondo i ben informati,  non rappresenterebbe nulla di nuovo; Il meccanismo del gioco, infatti, dovrebbe vedere in studio dei giovani e aitanti ragazzi, che dovranno, prima di poter frequentare delle ragazze, piacere alle rispettive mamme di quest’ultime. Un’idea, già vista in  “A spasso con Mamma” , proposto con un certo successo durante l’edizione di “Domenica in” del 2004/05, condotta da Mara Venier. La stessa idea, già nel 1998, venne utilizzata da Carlo Conti, per il varietà estivo “Cocco di mamma”, in onda dal Bandiera gialla di Rimini.

Riuscirà Raidue, con questa nuova avventura, ha conquistare il pubblico giovane, che con fatica si avvicina ai programmi della rete? C’è la farà Amadeus, a battere o perlomeno insidiare la corazzata di Maria De Filippi e del suo “Uomini e donne”. Se è vero che su Raidue, gli show sentimentali “Affari di cuore”, “Batticuore” e “Scherzi d’amore”, condotti da Federica Panicucci, ottennero per anni un discreto successo, non dobbiamo dimenticare, che Amadeus, già nei primi anni 90, in coppia con Luca Laurenti, fu protagonista dello sfortunato game di Italia Uno, “Appuntamento al buio”. Il game, anche questo,incentrato sui sentimenti e gli incontri tra ragazzi, venne sospeso dopo poche settimane per mancanza d’ascolto, e retrocesso con ancor meno fortune, dalla fascia dell’access prime time, al primo pomeriggio, con la conduzione del futuro “postino” Maurizio Zamboni.

Amateur-Expert Traveller Alex Kendall is a technology savvy, 22 year old post-production assistant based in London. He’s a regular traveller and in this interview he discusses his use of Facebook to collaborate with friends and make group travel plans & bookings. Alex is a member of a band which means he regularly travels around Europe in a group. Alex is a keen advocate of transparent up front pricing. 

Le foglie, a Padova, non sono mai state così gialle: lo notavo oggi, andando a fare benzina. Non so da cosa possa dipendere; forse, tiro ad indovinare, dal modo con il quale si è arrivati a questo 21 novembre 2009, cioè dalla particolare sequenza di piogge, siccità, sole, nebbia (tanta nebbia) che ha caratterizzato gli ultimi mesi. Di sicuro ha piovuto poco; o così, almeno, mi pare di ricordare. Di sicuro, nei 21 novembre degli altri anni, le foglie erano già cadute, e stavano marcendo sui bordi dei marciapiedi; oppure, ancora appese ai rami, presentavano una gamma molto più convenzionale, e autunnale, di marroni.

Non ho mai visto quadri in cui le foglie siano state rappresentate con l’esatta tonalità del giallo squillante che ho ammirato oggi, lungo la strada verso il distributore. Neppure nelle opere degli impressionisti, così attenti a cogliere i colori cangianti della natura. E se qualche pittore decidesse di mettersi con il suo cavalletto lungo i marciapiedi della mia città, non oserebbe riprodurre la realtà per quello che è: il risultato non sarebbe verosimile.

Eh sì, bel paradosso: ci sono casi in cui la realtà non è verosimile; succede con certe storie di cronaca nera, con i tramonti, con le nuvole, con gli amori. Con le foglie. A raccontarli per quello che sono, a disegnarli, a suonarli usando solo dettagli veri, si otterrebbe qualcosa di incredibile. Perché, per definizione l’arte inganna: con artifici (ah, quante cose svela l’etimologia…) di varia natura – le parole, i colori, le forme, le note – essa induce il suo fruitore ad espandere i limiti della propria credulità. E’ per questo che Platone riteneva che l’arte, a differenza della filosofia, fosse estremamente pericolosa per una società civile: perché induceva le persone al pianto o al riso per fatti che non erano mai accaduti, trasformando così gli ascoltatori in bambini ingenui, potenzialmente disposti a credere anche a ciò che non è buono e giusto.

L’inganno dell’arte arriva a livelli sublimi. Dalle persone di fede protestante, Bach è stato considerato, per almeno due secoli, il quinto apostolo: la sua famosissima “Passione secondo Matteo” (che ogni adulto occidentale dovrebbe ascoltare almeno una volta, come prerequisito per poter votare alle Elezioni Europee) veniva considerata come un vangelo; e tra i vangeli, come quello più suggestivo. Tutti erano convinti che Bach avesse tradotto in musica la sua personale, profondissima esperienza religiosa, e che l’elevatezza irraggiungibile (lo è anche per un ateo come me: il sentimento religioso non presuppone l’esistenza di Dio) del risultato ottenuto dipendesse, in modo diretto, dalla grandezza e dalla purezza di quell’ispirazione divina. E’ invece ormai condiviso il fatto che Bach scrisse la musica della Passione prima di decidere la destinazione che intendeva dargli (Bach era un musicista professionista, che componeva esclusivamente su commissione); i sentimenti, insomma, si suscitano con la tecnica: e non con il sentimento, come credono tutti gli ingenui del mondo.

In ambiti molto meno nobili, è risaputo che quando i comici si divertono, difficilmente gli spettatori ridono. E che non serve morire sul palco – morire davvero – per convincere il pubblico a versare qualche lacrima sincera. Mentre si girava il film “Il maratoneta”, Laurence Olivier, vedendo il suo collega Dustin Hoffman che correva per due chilometri per girare una scena in cui aveva il fiatone, gli chiese: “Ma non sarebbe sufficiente recitare?”. Gli attori impiegano anni per arrivare a gestire ogni aspetto del proprio corpo, del proprio viso, della propria voce, con un solo obiettivo: cioè recitare talmente bene, da sembrare veri. Ad Hollywood gira anche la battuta che Dustin Hoffman, prima di girare “Kramer contro Kramer”, storia dolorosa di una separazione, divorziò da sua moglie per applicare il famoso metodo dell’Actor’s Studio, che prevedeva una totale identificazione dell’attore con il personaggio: in realtà, Dustin Hoffman divorziò da sua moglie durante le riprese.

Il maratoneta

Scendendo ancora un po’ più giù, ci sono voci di cantanti che ci fanno emozionare fino al punto da indurci la famosa orripilazione, aka pelle d’oca (fenomeno trasmesso dai nostri pensieri ai muscoli dei peli attraverso il sistema simpatico: il che apre scenari incredibilmente stimolanti sul rapporto tra mente e corpo), e ci pare che questo effetto sia dovuto al gran cuore del cantante, capace di provare sentimenti con un’intensità tale da farli tracimare, e attraverso la proverbiale ugola, farli arrivare a noi intatti. Il caso di quella specie di idiot savant che è Amy Winehouse dimostra che le cose, probabilmente, non vanno affatto in questo modo: con i produttori si lavora per giorni sulla particolare raucedine da usare in un passaggio, fino a che questo diventa sinceramente toccante.

L’arte inganna; se non lo fa, allora perde tutta la sua potenza. Una fotografia diventa arte quando, rappresentando il giardino sotto casa, o il viso di una persona, il risultato sembra tutt’altro. Nei cartoni animati della Pixar, il realismo si ottiene anche riproducendo la rifrazione della lente della cinepresa – lente che non esiste da nessuna parte, se non nella nostra testa.

Per essere credibile, insomma, l’arte deve assomigliare all’arte. E il giallo inverosimile di questa mattina, credetemi, non si era mai visto in nessun quadro.

all i wanted was to sing to god.  he gave me that longing… and then made me mute.  why?  tell me that.   if he didn’t want me to praise him with music, why implant the desire?   like a lust in my body!  and then deny me the talent? – salieri from ‘amadeus.’

this is how i feel every time i pick up the guitar and try to sing.

dies irae

Yesterday we were very excited about making it to the final of the Travel Innovation Summit Award. And today we can announce that – we won!

Denis Lacroix, our VP of Sales & e-Commerce Platforms, was among the thirty three candidates invited to perform onstage demonstrations, aiming for highest scores among audience votes. And he used his ‘Five Minutes of Fame’ well.

Denis Lacroix (left), VP of Sales & e-Commerce Platforms, Amadeus and Marcus Casey, Head of e-Commerce & Mobile, Lufthansa

He pointed out that “Current searching is not in line with the way people think. Travellers often do not know what they really want, and even if they do, they will still want to compare options and offers. Research conducted for our leisure travel technology business revealed that 70 percent of holiday makers do not have a firm idea of where they want to go when they start looking. This new search technology will map onto the way consumers want to purchase travel.”

It seemed to strike a chord. Travellers want to ask deceptively simple questions such as “What can I do for what I want to spend? And where can I go? I want to go scuba diving, but I do not know where. And I want a beach holiday but I do not want the temperature to be above 25C.” They find it frustrating that they have to do a ‘linear search’, in which they might find the perfect flight to the perfect hotel – then find the dates aren’t available. This is a principle we call Extreme Search, in which travellers can ask  questions that humans are likely ask, but which are difficult for computers to answer.

But it’s not just in principle – Affinity Shopper does this in practice, as showcased together with Lufthansa at the Travel Innovation Summit.
Marcus Casey, Head of e-Commerce & Mobile of Lufthansa, take on it is that “Amadeus Affinity Shopper gives our customers further options to use our website as a traveller playground where users can explore and determine their trip based on what they would like to do during their travel. The ability to inspire the traveller to search easily and fast, through quality data, gives us a considerable competitive edge.”

Clearly Marcus is happy with the product, and so it would seem is the PoChusWright summit. We’re going to use this “ability to inspire” to drive us forward from now on.

Amadeus invited launch partner Lufthansa’s Marcus Casey on stage with Denis Lacroix

Yesterday we were very excited about making it to the final of the Travel Innovation Summit Award. And today we can announce that – we won!

Denis Lacroix, our VP of Sales & e-Commerce Platforms, was among the thirty three candidates invited to perform onstage demonstrations, aiming for highest scores among audience votes. And he used his ‘Five Minutes of Fame’ well.

He pointed out that “Current searching is not in line with the way people think. Travellers often do not know what they really want, and even if they do, they will still want to compare options and offers. Research conducted for our leisure travel technology business revealed that 70 percent of holiday makers do not have a firm idea of where they want to go when they start looking. This new search technology will map onto the way consumers want to purchase travel.”

It seemed to strike a chord. Travellers want to ask deceptively simple questions such as “What can I do for what I want to spend? And where can I go? I want to go scuba diving, but I do not know where. And I want a beach holiday but I do not want the temperature to be above 25C.” They find it frustrating that they have to do a ‘linear search’, in which they might find the perfect flight to the perfect hotel – then find the dates aren’t available. This is a principle we call Extreme Search, in which travellers can ask questions that humans are likely ask, but which are difficult for computers to answer.

But it’s not just in principle – Affinity Shopper does this in practice, as showcased together with Lufthansa at the Travel Innovation Summit.
Head of e-Commerce & Mobile of Lufthansa,  Marcus Casey’s take on it is that “Amadeus Affinity Shopper gives our customers further options to use our website as a traveller playground where users can explore and determine their trip based on what they would like to do during their travel. The ability to inspire the traveller to search easily and fast, through quality data, gives us a considerable competitive edge.”

Clearly Marcus is happy with the product, and so it would seem is the PhoChusWright summit. We’re going to use this “ability to inspire” to drive us forward from now on.

One aspect of blogging which we really like is the ability to post on current news events as they happen.

So, we’re very excited to be able to post today that our Affinity Shopper product has been shortlisted as one of the four finalists for the Innovation Summit award to be announced today at Phocuswright event in Orlando (5pm US time).

Affinity Shopper is the first in a suite of Extreme Search products, and you can see the demo below.

This is a real vote of confidence from the industry. The PhoCusWright attendees comprise over 900 travel industry leaders from around the world, with  leading individuals from the largest corporations and most visionary companies in this growing industry.

We can’t really put it better than the PhoCusWright website itself:

Only the most innovative and exciting will make the cut.

Four finalists with the highest audience scores advance to the next round during Center Stage@The PhoCusWright Conference. They each have Five Minutes of Fame to describe their innovation and convince a blue ribbon panel of judges that they will be a notable success. The “PhoCusWright Travel Innovation Summit Winner” is announced at the conclusion of the conference.

So we’re looking forward to our Five Minutes of Fame, and will keep you posted on our progress!

Airbus A319 da TAM (Foto: Aidan Formigoni / Clique para ampliar)

TAM lança novo cardápio para voos internacionais

A TAM lançou um novo cardápio para os voos internacionais elaborado com a consultoria da chef Helena Rizzo. Os pratos têm como característica a leveza e são inspirados nos sabores e aromas dos chás. A novidade estará disponível para os clientes a partir de 10 de janeiro de 2010. São cerca de 500 opções com entradas, pratos principais e sobremesas para atender desde a primeira classe até a econômica. Todas foram desenvolvidas a partir da suavidade e da delicadeza de aromas e sabores de ervas e flores de todas as partes do mundo. Com a renovação do cardápio, a TAM atualiza também sua carta de vinhos, sob responsabilidade do consultor Arthur Azevedo. As opções também foram pensadas para atender as três classes de serviço. Para mais informações sobre os novos cardápios, acesse www.tam.com.br .

TAM descarta possibilidade de volta do antigo sistema

O terceiro dia útil pós-migração da plataforma tecnológica da TAM para a fornecida pela Amadeus continua apresentando problemas para as pequenas e médias agências de viagens, que estão recorrendo aos consolidadores e grandes portais para vender passagens da TAM. A companhia aérea diz que a situação aos poucos vai melhorando, e recomenda que as agências procurem as gerências regionais da TAM e o help desk: (11) 3342-5405. E-mail: suporte.etam@tam.com.br .

A TAM descarta a possibilidade de o antigo sistema voltar. No antigo portal e-TAM (e a principal queixa das agências era sua instabilidade, com muitas quedas na semana), as reservas estavam armazenadas no Sabre e hoje elas estão no Amadeus. Portanto, não há compatibilidade entre os dois. A TAM está com sua equipe trabalhando full time para resolver os problemas e a prioridade nos dois primeiros dias foi para os grandes portais e as consolidadoras, que estão funcionando.

Ontem, o acesso ao novo portal estava em 60% e são esperados mais avanços para hoje com a resolução de problemas pontuais nas agências. Problemas que vêm da própria TAM, das agências ou do Amadeus. Cada caso está sendo analisado.

Novo diretor para a TAM Aviação Executiva

Fernando Pinho assume Diretoria na TAM AE e vai comandar a recém criada área de Planejamento Estratégico e Desenvolvimento de Novos Negócios. Fernando Pinho tem mais de 20 anos de experiência no mercado financeiro.

O númeor de viagens deve crescer com a melhora da economia (Foto: Airliners.net / Clique para ampliar)

Segundo a Amadeus, que encomendou uma pesquisa em nível mundial com foco no lazer, um novo viajante “emergiu” no cenário internacional. Trata-se do Viajante Amador-Especialista, aquele turista que tem acesso a mais informações e que combina o uso das inovações tecnológicas para o enriquecimento de sua experiência de viagem. Apesar de estar super conectado à internet, esse viajante não deixa de lado a agência de viagens. E mais: o Brasil aparece na pesquisa com destaque como mercado em ascensão.

Esse é um dos destaques do amplo estudo que traz o perfil desse consumidor, apresentado ontem (terça, dia 17), em Miami, nos Estados Unidos.

“Uma das conclusões desse estudo é que a internet, mais uma vez, não é uma concorrente dos agentes de viagens”, diz, em entrevista exclusiva ao Portal PANROTAS, o gerente de Marketing da Amadeus Brasil, André Fróes (foto). Segundo o estudo, “75% dos entrevistados acreditam que as reservas on-line não substituirão totalmente o mundo off-line, principalmente nas localidades emergentes, uma vez que a interação pessoal e o bom atendimento são considerados pontos cruciais, reforçando o posicionamento das agências de viagens tradicionais”.

“As empresas têm de estar nas redes sociais, têm de se interagir cada vez mais com esse novo viajante”, reforça Fróes.

A pesquisa ouviu 2.719 profissionais do setor no mundo todo, incluindo o Brasil, e 30 executivos e especialistas – representantes de empresas como Kayak, Forrester Research, Lan e Qatar Airways.

A internet, segundo o estudo, continua sendo uma ferramenta indispensável para quem trabalha e busca oportunidades de novos negócios ou uma rentabilidade maior – mas com critérios baseados em nichos. “As empresas de viagens encontrarão cada vez mais oportunidades em nichos, tanto na venda de serviços personalizados, como na oferta de promoções serviços adicionais. Novos destinos estão na pauta de viagens: 86% dos entrevistados acreditam que haverá mudanças – de menor a maior grau – na escolha dos destinos, levando em consideração um maior apelo dos lugares exóticos, por conta da confiabilidade e melhor acesso às informações a respeito dessas localidades”, diz o estudo.

A pesquisa da Amadeus mostra também que esse novo viajante sairá mais dos chamados países do Bric (Brasil, Rússia, Índia e China), com destaque para Brasil e China. “Esses países – a partir de uma melhor situação econômica de seus habitantes – enviarão mais turistas para os outros destinos. As grandes empresas de viagens deverão especializar-se mais nas culturas e nos gostos de brasileiros e chineses, por exemplo, além dos norte-americanos e europeus – tradicionais mercados emissores”, afirma o estudo.

“A crescente experiência dos viajantes causou um grande impacto na indústria, ao passo em que – munidos de voz na internet – tornou todos mais dotados de informação e poder de decisão. Ficamos muito contentes em ver os países do Bric – o que inclui o Brasil – evoluindo nesse mercado e enviando mais turistas pelo mundo todo”, diz o diretor da Amadeus para América Latina, Decius Valmorbida. “Não podemos, ainda, nos esquecer que, com o anúncio da Copa do Mundo de 2014 e dos Jogos Olímpicos, em 2016, a serem realizadas no Brasil, o cenário de crescimento do nosso turismo será fortemente acelerado. Estaremos na mira do mundo e precisamos estar certos desse nosso papel, em termos de infraestrutura e informações sobre nosso país. As mídias sociais serão uma grande oportunidade de expormos nossos diferenciais e cultura”, completa Valmorbida.

Fonte: Panrotas

“Where can I go and what can I do, for the money I want to spend?”

This is an easy question for a traveller to ask, but extremely difficult for a computer to answer. If you’ve ever found the perfect hotel online, with the perfect flight, only to stumble at the perfect dates, you’ll know how frustrating it can be to find what you want.

This is where Extreme Search comes in. It’s a concept that takes innovation, inspiration, interaction, transparency, data quality and speed, and brings them together to serve the needs of people who want to travel. It enables people to query computers through their own criteria, rather than being limited to what is available. It wraps the technology around the traveller.

Affinity Shopper: extreme search in action

So, what does extreme search look like?

The answer to this question is Affinity Shopper. The first product of an Extreme Search suite of solutions.

Watch the demo:

This is a new search engine that transforms airline websites into a ‘traveller playground’. It is where consumers can explore and select their trip based on their desired holiday experience, rather than simply searching for flights along specific routes on exact dates.

Affinity Shopper enables airlines to improve their share of the leisure travel market, increase look to book ratios, boost customer retention and improve the online customer shopping experience.

Meanwhile, it enables customers to shop in the way they think, not in a linear destination-and-date way. They can now ask questions such as: “What can I do for what I want to spend? And where can I go? I want to go scuba diving, but I do not know where. And I want a beach holiday but I do not want the temperature to be above 25C.”

The Amateur-Expert Traveller: A new phenomenon, and the future of travel

At Amadeus we believe that people drive the technology, and this is borne out by our new report, called “The Amateur-Expert Traveller”.

Today, we are seeing a new generation of travellers. They have been empowered by the internet, with more information available to them, in particular user-generated information in the form of blogs, videos, pictures, ratings and reviews, and so on.

So, the relationship between travel companies and their customers is changing. Customers know more, need more, and expect more. We call them Amateur-Experts because they are often highly informed and discerning. And they present a great opportunity for the travel industry to improve to match their requirements.

Based on primary research with 2,719 travel professionals and 30 thought-leaders and senior executives from companies such as Kayak, Forrester and Qatar Airways, the Amateur-Expert Traveller report highlights three significant developments: the rise of the Amateur-Expert Traveller; the potential for massive technological innovation before, during and after a trip, which we term The Responsive Journey; and the way in which the industry is moving towards niche experiences which, again, offer huge potential for travellers and travel companies alike.

Download the Amateur-Expert Traveller Report.

Read about it in the Wall Street Journal: “Amadeus’s New Booking System Targets Leisure Travelers”.

Watch an interview with Amateur-Expert Traveller Steven Domanski:

We think the time is ripe for massive change in the travel industry. We believe there are going to be step changes in the way people use travel information, driven by the interplay between technology and human behaviour. And we say that it’s time for the travel industry to recognise this, and the potential for this, and make it work.

This is why today we’re announcing three major developments. Our concept of ‘Extreme Search’; the Affinity Shopper product which is based on Extreme Search principles; and the Amateur-Expert Traveller Report, which details the rise and rise of Amateur-Expert Travellers, empowered by the information they can find online, and how this is fundamentally changing the travel industry.

Extreme Search: humanising the technology

“Where can I go and what can I do, for the money I want to spend?”

This is an easy question for a traveller to ask, but extremely difficult for a computer to answer. If you’ve ever found the perfect hotel online, with the perfect flight, only to stumble at the perfect dates, you’ll know how frustrating it can be to find what you want.

This is where Extreme Search comes in. It’s a concept that takes innovation, inspiration, interaction, transparency, data quality and speed, and brings them together to serve the needs of people who want to travel. It enables people to query computers through their own criteria, rather than being limited to what is available. It wraps the technology around the traveller.

Affinity Shopper: extreme search in action

So, what does extreme search look like?

The answer to this question is Affinity Shopper.

Watch the below demo and see for yourself:

This is a new search engine that transforms airline websites into a ‘traveller playground’. It is where consumers can explore and select their trip based on their desired holiday experience, rather than simply searching for flights along specific routes on exact dates.

Affinity Shopper enables airlines to improve their share of the leisure travel market, increase look to book ratios, boost customer retention, and improve the online customer shopping experience.

Meanwhile, it enables customers to shop in the way they think, not in a linear destination-and-date way. They can now ask questions such as: “What can I do for what I want to spend? And where can I go? I want to go scuba diving, but I do not know where. And I want a beach holiday but I do not want the temperature to be above 25C.”

The Amateur-Expert Traveller: A new phenomenon, and the future of travel

At Amadeus we believe that people drive the technology, and this is borne out by our new report, called “The Amateur-Expert Traveller”.

Today, we are seeing a new generation of travellers. They have been empowered by the internet, with more information available to them, in particular user-generated information in the form of blogs, videos, pictures, ratings and reviews, and so on.

So, the relationship between travel companies and their customers is changing. Customers know more, need more, and expect more. We call them Amateur-Experts because they are often highly informed and discerning. And they present a great opportunity for the travel industry to improve to match their requirements.

Based on primary research with 2,719 travel professionals and 30 thought-leaders and senior executives from companies such as Kayak, Forrester and Qatar Airways, the Amateur-Expert Traveller report highlights three significant developments: the rise of the Amateur-Expert Traveller; the potential for massive technological innovation before, during and after a trip, which we term The Responsive Journey; and the way in which the industry is moving towards niche experiences which, again, offer huge potential for travellers and travel companies alike.

Download the Amateur-Expert Traveller Report.

Boeing 777-300ER da TAM (Foto: Airliners.net / Clique para ampliar)

 

TAM anuncia voo direto entre Porto Alegre-Salvador

A TAM anunciou que a partir de 11 de dezembro colocará em operação um voo direto ligando Porto Alegre e Salvador. Serão três frequências semanais (quintas, sextas e domingos) decolando de Porto Alegre às 22h02 e pousando em Salvador à 0h30 (horário local). No sentido inverso, a partir de 12 de dezembro, às segundas, sextas e aos domingos, saindo da capital baiana às 2h17 (hora local), chegando à capital gaúcha às 7h02. As tarifas ida e volta, sem taxas, têm preços a partir de R$ 592 para compras realizadas com antecedência de sete dias e permanência mínima de dez dias.

TAM garante que maiores problemas foram resolvidos

No segundo dia útil depois da migração para a plataforma tecnológica da Amadeus, a TAM informa que a maior parte dos problemas foi resolvida. A estimativa é que 60% das agências habilitadas estejam usando o portal. A partir de agora os problemas são mais pontuais e as agências de viagens devem continuar procurando o help desk e as gerências regionais. O help desk é coordenado por Marco Antonio Souza, que já prestava o mesmo serviço no e-TAM antigo e o telefone é (11) 3342-5405. E-mail: suporte.etam@tam.com.br .

O maior problema, resolvido hoje às 16h, era em relação à falta de uma impressora virtual linkada à agência na hora da emissão. Com isso, dievrsas agências tiveram seus problemas resolvidos. A TAM, nos dois primeiros dias, priorizou resolver os problemas das consolidadoras e grandes agências. É a lógica de tirar os maiores problemas da frente.

A empresa garante que o help desk está com maior fluidez e que os problemas agora serão mais pontuais. O help desk conta com 60 funcionários e o Núcleo de Negócios também está sendo utilizado.

As reclamações das agências de viagens foram grandes durante esses dois dias, pois ainda havia problemas na remarcação de assentos e pagamento com cartão de crédito. Muitas tiveram de recorrer à consolidadoras.

Para o terceiro dia útil, a TAM espera um quadro bem melhor para as agências de todo o País.

Falece diretor da TAM em São Paulo

O diretor de Yield e Pricing da TAM, Christian Moldan, faleceu hoje, em São Paulo, vítima de leucemia. Há duas semanas ele estava de férias, em Orlando, sentiu dores e foi hospitalizado, com diagnóstico de leucemia. Christian não resistiu e faleceu esta tarde. A notícia foi um baque para a equipe da TAM em São Paulo, que está chocada e consternada com a perda. Moldan tinha 36 anos. O FL410 envia condolências aos amigos e à família de Christian Moldan.

Travel can be daunting. There’s so much you need to take into account, from the hard facts and figures of your itinerary to the feelings and opinions of people who have already been there and done that.

So we have asked Steven Domanski, one of the Amateur-Expert Travellers we identified during our research project, to outline some of his top tips for what you should be looking for. Steven is a thirty year-old venture capitalist who was born in Brussels and now lives in London. He travels regularly to the US, Europe and South America – so he knows about travel!

Here, Steven gives his take on travel tips, both from the technology perspective, and the people. And he looks ahead to a time when the two might not be quite as separated as they are now…

A checklist for travel – Steven Domanski

First, you’re sitting at a screen reading this, so it’s likely you’re looking online, right now, possibly considering how the internet can help you research, plan and book your travel.

Here are some tips which have helped me with regular travel over the recent years:

• It’s all about the price. Many of us are price-sensitive, especially during the current economic downturn, and the internet can be a great tool to help you hunt out the very best price for the travel you wish to take. Most airline websites today display the best available price during booking, which is great – but what about planning? What time is best to travel? The demand for flights and hotels can affect the price. By using websites like Farecast (the Bing Travel site) and Farecompare you can predict which months are going to cost less.
• Listen to your peers. Increasingly there are ways to check out the service levels and quality of service you should expect from other travellers. They are using forums, sites and blogs to provide feedback on the service they have received at hotels, airlines and destinations. Before I travel for leisure I usually consult blogs and forums to see what other travellers have to say. Delicious and Digg can be useful here. Delicious is a social bookmarking site, so by searching through that, you find pages that people have tagged – not computers! – which can add credibility to the results. Digg is similar, with people voting pages ‘up’ or ‘down’ in preference, so the ‘best’ pages float to the top. Again, you get consensus from people as to what is most relevant or helpful.
• Don’t settle for less. When I first started to travel, my budget meant I’d often book into hostels, but after further investigation it transpired that with a little careful planning I could have booked into a better quality of hotel under a promotional deal. The lesson for me was not to be put off by luxury brand positioning. It’s always worth a look.
• Loyalty schemes pay off. I’m a regular traveller (in the past this was often for business). By registering as a frequent flyer with my favorite airline and hotel chain I managed to amass a large number of loyalty points which translate into great value leisure trips and flights.
• Lead from the front. Of late I’ve been elected as group travel leader amongst my friends. This means booking our joint holidays and city breaks which can often be a complex process, requiring a lot of time and vast numbers of e-mails and phone calls. So, I’ve started to use travel booking applications on social networking sites like Facebook and investigated travel social networking sites like Tripmate. Some of these sites allow you to share calendars with friends and it takes the hassle out of the planning and booking stage.

I’m aware that everyone has their own personal favorites, so by all means, use every site at your disposal. And don’t forget that even seemingly unrelated sites such as Google Maps can help pin down locations, and there are many, many sites that can help with local knowledge.

There are also plenty of ratings and reviews sites that tell you in no uncertain terms what particular places are like, because they’re written by the people who have been there.

You can also take a look through blog search engines such as Google Blog Search or Technorati to find first-hand accounts that might help. Use them.

Don’t forget people!

And, at the end of the day, ask people!

This blog is called the Amateur-Expert Traveller blog for a reason. People are fast becoming experts themselves, and there’s no substitute for asking around. Those small hints and tips – for example, the best type of mosquito repellent, where to get visas, what sorts of vaccinations you might need – could help you avoid those minor irritations that can ruin any trip.

Increasingly there’s an interplay between people and technology, and this is giving rise to the Amateur-Expert Traveller. The tech seems to be empowering more people to find more experiences, and then to write about them online. I’ve already mentioned the blog search engines that might help, and blogs can be very powerful references from people who are passionate enough about travel to have written about it.

So the web is becoming an incredibly powerful way of conveying thoughts, feelings, emotions and opinions, and this can only benefit the travel industry and travellers alike.

Balance and decide

Still, it’s a balancing act. You need to balance out what you need, with what sites provide. You need to gauge how expert your advisors are. And there are probably plenty more decisions you’ll need to make, to get what you want.

Technology helps, and so do people. Amadeus looks to a future where both can work together more closely – where, instead of having to work around online systems, they work around you. Actually, it shouldn’t be a balancing act, because that takes time to learn. So for now, use the best of what’s available now, and talk to people, but look forward to a time when you get to play around, ask ‘what-if’ questions, and arrive at an itinerary without the hassle.

One of the most celebrated films of all time, Amadeus has always been a single inch away from my play-list, and it took a fellow lover of film named Jacob to suggest it to my face for me to actually get off my duff and watch it. And am I ever glad I did! Amadeus really is a must-see; now that I’ve seen it, I rue the years spent living without having seen it. It’s a very beautiful film about the aching, sorrowful differences between the unreachable heights of true genius and the rolling, lame slopes of mediocrity, and how that can lead to enmity that shouldn’t have existed at all.

It begins with an attempted suicide and a tearful confession. An old man in 1823, the famous Italian composer Salieri to be precise, is in a mental institution for trying to kill himself after confessing to the murder of Mozart. A priest comes in to talk him out of his horrible malaise, and advises that perhaps confessing will ease his heart. Salieri confesses for nearly a day and a half, setting a scene that recounted the contentious relationship between he and fellow composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He recalls his youth as a devoutly God-fearing man who believed that his life as a composer was a blessing from the Lord himself. He lived under the patronage of the Austrian Archbishop of Salzburg, and made very pretty music that suited the age and his peers. But when Mozart bursts into his patron’s palace to play a piece, everything changes. Salieri regards Mozart’s music as magical, miraculous, but when he sees him off-stage and hears how inappropriate and lewd he is, he doesn’t know what to think. He slaves to write Mozart a March of Welcome, which Mozart, upon receiving it, improvises upon and makes it better! This creates a conundrum for Salieri; he believed that Mozart was somehow touched by God and given a voice to create wonderful music, but now that he has seen Mozart, he feels that God has forsaken him. He hatches a plan to get back at both God and Mozart that is both insidious and cunning, and it requires him to do things he never would have even considered before that damn Mozart came into the picture. Will Salieri’s envious heart and devious mind end up costing him his very soul and Mozart his life? Or are these merely the ramblings of a senile old man?

This was such a splendid piece that my spirits were lifted for the rest of the day after I left the TV screen. Its scope is grand, its vision is elegant and truly gorgeous, and its emotional strength is bolstered exponentially by some of the greatest music ever recorded. It’s a movie that has its roots in the darkness of the human soul, but doesn’t forget to make us laugh. And would you believe that a movie called Amadeus really isn’t about Mozart? This is a story about jealousy, a jealousy that is inspired by Mozart’s incredible talent, and the man himself, while featured prominently, is really more of a source of ire for Salieri rather than a main character.

Directed by Milos Forman, famous for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and, well, THIS movie, Amadeus is exultant in its amazing look at the Classical period in European music created by a man who surely understood its power. Forman transports us to a time of a life at court, composing for the wealthy and educated, a time in music that changed the world forever, breaking away from the Baroque in a way that would pave the way for composers throughout the next 200 years. Forman’s greatest achievement, as a director, though, is getting the larger-than-life stories of these two men on the screen and squeezing it in to a tasteful 181 minutes. The tumultuous relationship between these two geniuses is nothing short of phenomenal, and it must be said that with everything that happens, it certainly doesn’t feel like a 3 hour film (unlike the recent 150 minute debacle of 2012).

The leads here were so good that the Academy Awards gave them a rare double nod for Best Actor. F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce are Salieri and Mozart respectively, and each plays their characters like true acting powerhouses. F. Murray Abraham never really got the break he deserved in Hollywood, and I think this should be his Exhibit A for getting a second chance. His Salieri is so good that I can’t really separate the truth from the fiction now. If someone told me that Salieri didn’t act so cavalier and didn’t hold a grudge like a champ, I don’t know if I would believe him. And Tom Hulce… Tom Hulce is incredible. He gets every nuance about Mozart that anyone ever wrote about him. His high-pitched weird laughter, his relationships with his friends and family, and even his unexpected love of poop and fart jokes! That’s right, both in real life and in this film, Mozart thinks farts are the funniest thing since Chuck Norris! He brings it up a few times, and if you don’t laugh when Mozart lets one rip, I will officially question your humanity.

It’s a timeless, wonderful film set in the most extravagant time in Western Europe, and I don’t think anybody’s DVD collection would be complete without it. If you have a sensibility that is classy with a tinge of weird, you have one major priority right now; go see Amadeus! It’s well worth the time you put into it; it might be the wisest investment of exactly 181 minutes you’ll ever make. The two leads are phenomenal, the director is extremely invested, and the music is some of the best of all time! You’ll never look at classical music the same way again! I give Amadeus 10 Mozart farts out of 10! My highest recommendation!

Tomorrow we give the site a shot of the classical sauce again with Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny! Until then!

A319 da TAM (Foto: Aidan Formigoni / Clique para ampliar)

A TAM completou de forma bem-sucedida, dentro do cronograma planejado, a primeira fase da mudança do seu sistema de gestão de passageiros para a solução Amadeus Altéa CMS (Customer Management Solution). A transição, que teve início às 13h do sábado (dia 14), foi consumada na madrugada deste domingo, conforme o previsto.

Durante esse período, ficaram inoperantes os sistemas de reserva, compra, emissão, remarcação e reembolso de passagens, além do regaste de bilhetes-prêmios por meio do programa TAM Fidelidade. Uma equipe de técnicos constituída de 600 pessoas, incluindo 300 profissionais da Amadeus, monitorou passo a passo o processo de transição, que também contou com um planejamento de segurança e contingência.

Para alertar o público em geral sobre a mudança dos sistemas e pedir para que antecipasse suas reservas e compras a fim de evitar transtornos, a TAM promoveu uma ampla campanha de comunicação, que incluiu anúncios publicitários em mídia impressa e online.

Clientes que necessitaram fazer viagens em caráter de urgência e tiveram de adquirir suas passagens enquanto os sistemas estiveram fora do ar não deixaram de ser atendidos. Equipes de prontidão nos aeroportos deram todo o suporte necessário a esses casos.

“Agradecemos pela compreensão dos nossos clientes neste final de semana. Com a mudança, vamos aperfeiçoar nossos serviços e oferecer mais benefícios e comodidade aos nossos passageiros”, declara Juliana Kfouri, diretora de TI da TAM.

“A adoção do Amadeus Altéa CMS é um passo decisivo para a integração da nossa empresa à Star Alliance, a primeira e maior aliança global de companhias aéreas”, explica Paulo Castello Branco, vice-presidente Comercial e de Planejamento da TAM. A plataforma é utilizada por 60% das empresas-membro da organização.

“A nossa empresa obteve um excepcional crescimento nos últimos anos, principalmente em sua atuação internacional. Com isso, chegamos a um ponto em que precisávamos de uma solução tecnológica mais integrada e flexível, que nos auxiliasse no aprimoramento dos nossos serviços e na expansão da companhia”, declara Líbano Barroso, presidente da TAM.

Benefícios para os passageiros

Veja abaixo alguns dos benefícios que o novo sistema e a integração da TAM à Star Alliance trarão aos clientes da TAM:

Status dos voos em tempo real no website: qualquer internauta poderá ter informações sobre o andamento de determinado voo, bastando apenas informar o seu número;

“Sou Flexível”: a nova funcionalidade no portal da empresa vai permitir ao interessado consultar tarifas e disponibilidade de assentos não apenas na data selecionada como também para dias anteriores ou posteriores;

conexões para qualquer ponto do planeta: os clientes TAM passarão a dispor dos serviços da rede de parceiras na Star Alliance, atualmente constituída por 25 empresas que operam 19.534 partidas diárias em 1.071 aeroportos de 171 países;

transbordos mais rápidos: a integração do sistema vai permitir a montagem automática de conexões mais rápidas e eficientes;

Programa de Passageiros Frequentes: ao voar por qualquer uma das companhias parceiras da Star Alliance, o cliente pontua no TAM Fidelidade. Com a integração do programa aos da rede de parceiros, o viajante passa a ter um histórico de acúmulo de pontos na Star Alliance, que lhe permitirá alcançar status de Gold ou Silver e dispor de facilidades como prioridade em embarque e lista de espera, acesso a salas VIP, entre outros serviços.

Fonte: Aviação Brasil