Category Archives: Aviation

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) and Al Hilal Bank signed an agreement with Etihad Holidays, which will provide customers of both banks an easy payment plan when booking an Etihad Holiday.  The signing ceremony took place at the Etihad Aviation Group headquarters in Abu Dhabi, between Mr. Hareb Almuhairy, Senior Vice President Destination and Leisure Management at Etihad Airways and Omran Taimour, Regional Head – Branch Banking from ADCB in the presence of senior officials from ADCB and Etihad Airways. Deepak Rochlani, Head – Retail Banking at ADCB, said, “The collaboration between ADCB and Etihad Holidays to introduce an easy payment plan for ADCB credit cardholders echoes our commitment to provide our customers with the most rewarding travel experiences.” Ian Hodges, Head – Personal Banking at Al Hilal Bank, said, “At Al Hilal Bank, the customer need is always first and with this new proposition we hope that we are inspiring and enabling people to travel more and explore the world while enjoying rewards and benefits that go beyond their expectations.” Hareb Almuhairy, Senior Vice President Destination and Leisure Management at Etihad Airways, said, “Etihad Holidays offers our guests the ability to enjoy rich travel experiences, and we strive to make this as accessible as possible for everyone. We are pleased to extend our partnership with ADCB and Al Hilal Bank to offer convenient payment solutions.”

Etihad Airways announced a partnership with Braathens IT to develop TravelPass, an innovative travel solution initially aimed at corporate and frequent travellers which will be launched later this year. The new TravelPass technology provides a subscription-based travel solution, allowing Etihad to offer its frequent guests complete flexibility and ease with their regular and recurring travel arrangements. Customers can purchase a TravelPass for a set number of trips or a particular travel period instead of purchasing flights one by one. Subscription-based travel is good news for the aviation industry as it provides customers with the choice between prepaid trips and pay-as-you-fly options, meeting the demands of flexibility, ease of booking and cost-efficient travel management. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “The innovative TravelPass technology offers a revolutionary booking experience for corporate and frequent clients who will also be enrolled into our award-winning Etihad Guest frequent flyer programme. By simplifying the travel process to just a few clicks, our guests have a seamless transaction through a platform that holds all your details in one place, gives you the flexibility to make changes to your bookings without fees and gives you the choice to pay later. We know our corporate clients are time-poor and believe this innovative addition to our digital offering will improve the travel journey for subscribers.” Svein Therkelsen, Chief Executive Officer, Braathens IT, said, “Etihad is going to take sophisticated digital personalisation very far, everything from ease of use to customisation. They are an innovative player and they will continue in that direction to improve their customers’ digital experience using TravelPass.”

Turkish Airlines continues to expand its flight network, by starting its operations to Malabo on February 7, making the capital of Equatorial Guinea its 319th destination. As the 60th destination of the global carrier in the continent of Africa, flights to Malabo will be operated on Istanbul – Port Harcourt – Malabo – Istanbul route with Boeing 737-900 type aircrafts. Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, is the second largest city of the country. Apart from being an oil-rich city, it is also at the forefront with tourism activities. With its natural wonders, rich world cuisine and historical architecture, Malabo is one of the most prominent destinations in Africa. Travellers who wish experience the exotic atmosphere of Malabo, the oldest city of Equatorial Guinea, will be able to fly to this great destination with Turkish Airlines privilege at special introductory prices starting at 789 USD. On the new route, M. İlker Aycı, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Turkish Airlines, stated, “Our new and improved operation hub offers us an unparalleled performance advantage when it comes enhancing our flight network. Today, in line with our continuing growth strategy, we are happy to announce the addition of Malabo to the ever-expanding flight network of Turkish Airlines. From this day forth, passengers traveling to Malabo will be able to enjoy the Turkish Airlines comfort and hospitality. We firmly believe that our new route will further enhance the relations between Turkey and Equatorial Guinea in all areas.”

Al Rajhi Aviation has renewed an exclusive partnership with Sabre Corporation, to support its plans to expand regionally and explore opportunities in online travel. This agreement provides Al Rajhi Aviation with continued access to Sabre’s portfolio of innovative technology and its intelligent platform Sabre Red 360, allowing it to effectively harness data and deliver superior content to its travellers. This unique technology will help enable the travel company to differentiate its offering, compete more effectively and grow faster in the region, as well as expand into the online sector.  Naiyer Alam, General Manager, Al Rajhi Aviation, said, “Our renewed partnership will see us leverage Sabre’s global expertise to enrich our online travel presence, provide exceptional travel experiences and expand our reach beyond Saudi Arabia.” “Saudi Arabia is a unique market with great potential that requires customised solutions to meet the high expectations of its travellers,” said Abdul-Razzaq Iyer, Vice President, Sabre Travel Network Middle East. “We look forward to continue working with Al Rajhi Aviation to provide them with the latest solutions in data, business intelligence, online and mobile capabilities to provide a world class travel experience for both online and offline travel.”

Etihad Airways will increase frequencies on its popular Abu Dhabi to Athens route during the busy summer peak months. The additional overnight service will be operated between July 8 and August 31 by an Airbus A320 configured with eight seats in Business and 150 seats in Economy. The extra frequency complements the daily two-class Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner morning daytime service between the two capitals. Abu Dhabi – Athens schedule will be effective from July 8, 2020 (all timings are local). Flight EY 91 will depart daily from Abu Dhabi at 09:30 and arrive at Athens at 13.35. EY 90 will depart daily from Athens at 14:55 and reach Abu Dhabi at 20:30. EY 93, a daily, will start from Abu Dhabi at 02:10 and arrive at Athens at 06:05. Flight EY 92 will depart daily from Athens at 13:05 and will reach Abu Dhabi at 18:50.

Dubai International (DXB) retained its position as the world’s number one hub for international passengers for the sixth consecutive year with annual traffic for 2019 reaching 86.4 million – 6 million more than the nearest rival London Heathrow. The year was also exceptional for DXB in terms of customer service with shorter wait time, record-breaking baggage performance and new retail and food and beverage offerings. DXB welcomed a total of 86,396,757 for the full year of 2019 (-3.1 per cent) as numbers were affected by a series of challenges throughout the year, including a 45-day closure of the airport’s southern runway to enable its refurbishment, global market conditions, as well as the worldwide grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft. During the fourth quarter of 2019, DXB welcomed 21.9 million customers (1.3 per cent), taking the average monthly passenger numbers at the hub to 7.2 million for the year. The airport also breached the 8-million customer mark twice during the year (July and August). Expressing satisfaction with DXB’s performance in 2019, Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said, “While customer numbers in 2019 were lower than the preceding year, the impact of the 45-day closure of the runway, the bankruptcy of Jet Airways, as well as the grounding of the Boeing’s 737 Max accounted for an estimated 3.2 million passengers over the course of the year, and indicate underlying growth at DXB.”

Following the declaration of intent signed between Turkish Airlines and BVMW last year, the global carrier continues its commitment to this strategic partnership. BVMW and its vast network of members can enjoy the exclusive advantages when flying with Turkish Airlines for their travels around the globe with the extensive flight network of the global carrier that includes 318 international destinations in 126 countries, more than any other airline. Held at the capital of Germany recently, BVMW (German Association for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses) General Assembly was the meeting point for many entrepreneurs, political leaders, CEOs and prominent names of their respective fields. Turkish Airlines was also in attendance as the company’s ties with the German organisation was highlighted by the speech of M. İlker Aycı., Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Turkish Airlines. During his speech at the 2020 BVMW General Assembly, Aycı stated, “Turkish Airlines, has been flying to Germany since 1960. Since then, Germany has become our one of the most important markets outside Turkey as we carried millions of passengers between our countries. We at Turkish Airlines are pleased to be a substantial partner of Germany’s Mittelstand businesses. I am happy to state that Turkish Airlines and BVMW have formed a relationship on a strategic level and member companies can now enjoy exclusive advantages when flying with Turkish Airlines for their trips all over the world. We believe that this special relationship will further improve in the years to come as Turkish Airlines and BVMW have both the will and means to work even closer.” Turkish Airlines also plans to open a dedicated communications line for the members of BVMW in order to allow them …

H.E Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy and Chairman of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), opened the second edition of the Global Investment in Aviation Summit (GIAS 2020) on January 27, 2020. Organised by GCAA under the theme ‘Enabling global aviation growth through fundraising and key partnerships’, the three-day event got off to a flying start, with the largest ever gathering of aviation ministers and heads of civil aviation authorities from around the world. The event witnessed a remarkable presence of aviation ministers and heads of civil aviation authorities from across the globe, in addition to a stellar galaxy of leading aviation companies, airlines, aircraft operators and investors, as well as a large number of visitors from more than 57 countries. The GIAS 2020 aims to offer a platform for stakeholders to share insights, experiences and expertise, as well as discuss latest aviation trends, with an ultimate goal of laying out strategies and mechanisms that help channel more investment into the aviation sector and consequently boost the growth and sustainability of global economy. In his opening speech, H.E Al Mansouri welcomed participating guests. He said, “The GIAS 2020 aims to highlight promising investment opportunities in the aviation sector, especially in light of the giant infrastructure projects being implemented in the UAE and worldwide as part of international efforts to advance the aviation industry, as a locomotive of global economy and one of its main drivers. This edition of GIAS is held in 2020, the ‘Year of preparing for the next 50’, as announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed …

SpiceJet and Amadeus recently organised a series of empowerment sessions for the region’s travel community held in Dubai, UAE. More than 100 travel consultants participated in the sessions, which focused on how the Gulf’s travel industry can collaborate to better define and deliver offers to travel agents, corporates, and individual travellers. A number of success cases were also presented during the sessions, including SpiceJet’s MoU with Gulf Air and codeshare agreement with Emirates. Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, briefed audiences on how the travel tech company is working with ecosystem partners to create fully-open systems, to better harness the intelligent use of data, and to integrate new interfaces and architectures that connect travellers to the journeys they want. The agreement marks the first time that SpiceJet is working with a distribution partner. “To realise the full value of their inventory in 2020 and beyond, it is essential for the Gulf’s travel community to differentiate their offers beyond just price, while ensuring that more agencies and travellers can connect with their growing networks,” said keynote speaker Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont.

Emirates announces plans to launch a new daily service from Dubai (DXB) to Penang International Airport (PEN), via Singapore (SIN), from April 9, 2020. Emirates’ flight to Penang will be a linked service with Singapore, allowing passengers to travel easily between the two cities while enjoying the airline’s award-winning service. Penang will become Emirates’ second destination in Malaysia after its capital, Kuala Lumpur, which the airline currently serves with three flights a day and is a route that has been operating since 1996. The flight will be operated by an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration, offering eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 304 spacious seats in Economy Class. The new route enables travellers from the northern cities of Malaysia to enjoy convenient connections from Dubai to destinations in Europe, North America and the Middle East. Located on the North-western coast of Malaysia, the state comprises a mainland portion as well as an island, connected by Malaysia’s two longest roadbridges. Penang is the country’s second largest populated city and is known for its rich heritage and architecture, vibrant multicultural society, modern entertainment and retail options, cuisine as well as the natural beauty of its beaches and hills. “We have been serving Malaysia through our flights to Kuala Lumpur for more than 20 years, with three-times daily service, and the introduction of flights to Penang will help us meet growing demand from leisure and business travellers, both to and from Malaysia. We are also pleased that the fifth freedom flights between Penang and Singapore will connect two sister cities and increase connectivity for passengers in South East Asia,” said Adnan Kazim, …