Category Archives: Aviation

flydubai announced the start of flights to Grozny, the capital of the Chechen Republic in the Russian Federation. Flights between Dubai International (DXB) and Grozny Airport (GRV) will operate twice weekly starting from 17 December 2020. flydubai will be the first carrier to offer direct flights on this route from the UAE. flydubai has been operating flights to Russia since 2010 and offers passengers from the UAE through the combined flydubai and Emirates network easier access to Moscow and other major Russian cities. The airline has been steadily increasing its operations since July and continues to operate all-cargo flights and repatriation flights in addition to scheduled services. The new service to Grozny will give passengers access to Dubai and other holiday destinations across the carrier’s network. Commenting on the announcement, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at flydubai, said: “since commencing operations in 2009, we have been committed to opening up new routes to previously underserved markets to offer more people the opportunity to travel more often. As we continue to see more countries lifting restrictions on international travel and expect the demand for travel to increase during the winter holiday season, we are pleased to announce the start of flights to Grozny.” Located on the Sunzha River, Grozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic. The city has a lot to offer including modern architecture, shopping malls and attractions such as the Grozny Central Dome Mosque. Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, added: “Russia has always been an important market for flydubai. With the new direct route between Dubai and Grozny we continue to support the flow of travel, trade and tourism …

Emirates is expecting more than 200,000 passengers to travel through Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport during the Christmas holiday period as UAE residents and citizens head home or abroad, according to the airline’s latest booking figures. The busiest day for the airline will be on Friday December 11, although high passenger traffic is expected to start today, and will run through December 21. In addition, more than 200,000 passengers will be arriving into Dubai on Emirates flights during that same period.Customers are reminded to check the latest travel requirements to their booked destination, and to arrive at the airport at least three hours before their flight departure. Passengers are encouraged to build in extra time in their journey to avoid delays with expected traffic congestion coming into Terminal 3. Passengers physically checking in at the airport are requested to check in no later than 3 hours prior to departure, regardless of class of travel. Customers who present themselves less than 60 minutes prior to their scheduled flight departure will not be accepted for travel. They can also check in online 48 hours to 90 minutes before flight departure. Those who opt to check-in online are reminded to visit the Emirates check-in counters at the airport to collect their boarding pass and to verify travel documents required for each destination country. Customers are also urged to use the convenient self check-in and bag drop kiosks for a more seamless airport experience. The service is available to all destinations except to the US, Canada, China, India and Hong Kong due to additional requirements from these destinations. The 32 new self-service bag drop machines and 16 self-service kiosks complement the desks manned …

Gulf Air is adding new capabilities in partnership with Amadeus, in addition to the distribution and loyalty technology it uses today, in order to better meet the needs of travellers. The sheer number of travel options and fares available can be overwhelming to consumers. That’s why Amadeus and Gulf Air have joined forces to help travellers and travel professionals more easily match the right product offer to the right customer. Amadeus Airline Fare Families enables airlines to showcase the full value of their travel offers, allowing travel professionals to easily view all possible options. This includes the details of services included in a fare or offered at a charge, as well as the applicable fare conditions. For travel retailers using Amadeus technology, a unique, proactive upgrade facility will help drive revenues for both the travel agency and Gulf Air and enable customers to enjoy the flexibility and comfort that is important to them. Vincent Coste, Chief Commercial Officer, Gulf Air, comments, “Our partnership with Amadeus is going from strength to strength. We are pleased to extend our existing cooperation to include Amadeus Airline Fare Families and Amadeus Rich Merchandising. We are proud of the products and service we provide, and this technology will enable us to better showcase our differentiated offer to our customers. As travelers return to the skies, we are confident that these technologies will help drive even greater customer satisfaction.” Maher Koubaa, Executive Vice President, Airlines, Middle East, Turkey & Africa, Amadeus adds, “Gulf Air is a valued and longstanding customer, and we already work closely on a number of strategic areas including distribution and customer loyalty. With so much choice and innovation taking place in the …

flydubai announced that it will provide passengers with a new multi-risk travel insurance which will be automatically applied to all passengers purchasing a flydubai ticket. Passengers who purchase a flydubai ticket, through the flydubai website or mobile app, flydubai travel shops, the flydubai Contact Centre or through any flydubai travel partner, will automatically receive the new, multi-risk travel insurance, provided by AIG Travel, at no additional cost.  In addition to multi-risk coverage, the insurance also provides COVID-19 coverage. The policy covers both return and one-way trips outside of a passenger’s country of residence. Commenting on the announcement, Hamad Obaidalla, Chief Commercial Officer at flydubai, said, “the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew remains our highest priority. Our multi-risk travel insurance will offer passengers more confidence to travel knowing that they will be looked after at every step of their journey. We expect the demand for travel to increase during the upcoming winter holidays season and this will give our passengers greater piece of mind.”

Sabre Corporation announced that Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has recently implemented Sabre’s branded fares technology – enhanced merchandising capabilities that allow travel agents using the Sabre global distribution system (GDS) to access the full breadth of airlines’ branded fares. With this implementation, agents can now easily view, compare and sell Gulf Air’s ‘Boutique’ fare family across the network, offering their customers greater choice and personalisation at better value. “With Sabre’s branded fares, airlines can go beyond the basic fare rules,” said Dino Gelmetti, Vice President EMEA, Sabre Travel Solutions.  “They can package additional benefits and features, such as additional air miles, seat selection, checked baggage and other services, with the goal of providing their customers better flexibility and greater value.  The ability to cater to and personalise these demands will enhance travellers’ experiences and drive revenue for airlines.” Gulf Air has introduced a new price concept for all destinations effective 20 October 2020, which travel agents can book through Sabre’s GDS.  With three economy class and two Falcon Gold class fare options, customers will be able to enjoy more choice when booking their flights. By marketing its “Boutique” fares through Sabre, Gulf Air will be giving its customers more control over their travel experiences, paying for the services that best meet their needs. “We recognise that many travellers today consider the overall value of a ticket, rather than just the price alone – and this means different things to different people,” said Vincent Costa, Chief Commercial Officer, Gulf Air.  “While we continue to offer increased benefits across our fares, we also need to be able to cater to specific traveller demands. With Sabre, we …

Emirates has completed an intensive programme to clear its backlog of refund requests which was caused by pandemic-related travel disruption.Over the seven-month period starting April, Emirates received, validated and processed nearly 1.7 million refund requests. This resulted in the airline returning AED 6.3 billion refunds to its customers. Of this sum, AED 4.7 billion was refunded to customers who had booked directly with the airline, and the remainder was returned via travel agencies. In addition, Emirates managed over 130,000 refunds-related queries from customers and travel agency partners and made status changes to nearly 4 million flight coupons. Sir Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline said, “In the early months of 2020, COVID-19 massively disrupted travel around the world and led to an unprecedented volume of refunds requests across the aviation and travel industry, including at Emirates. It was not a situation any airline wanted, particularly while also facing a cash crunch from drastically reduced operations. Through those difficult months, as we dealt with the impact of the pandemic on our business, we’ve never lost sight of our commitment to our customers. We still have higher volumes of refunds and flight coupon change requests compared to pre-pandemic times, but we now have the capability to manage these within a 7-day turnaround.” Sir Tim added, “In addition to honouring refunds, Emirates offered our customers flexibility to travel at a later date, and we also helped our frequent flyers to retain their tier status and introduced other ways for them to earn and burn their Miles. For those of our customers who continued to fly, Emirates offered the industry’s first free global COVID-19 cover for their added peace of mind, we put in place …

Etihad Airways will commence another service from China, with flights from Beijing to Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, from December 7. The service will operate with a weekly flight using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, featuring Etihad’s award-winning Business and Economy cabins. Etihad resumed services between Abu Dhabi and Shanghai in late July this year, which has helped meet the large demand from travellers in the UAE, China, and other countries in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. With the second weekly flight added to Etihad’s global network, the airline becomes the only carrier in the MENA region operating non-stop passenger flights departing from both Shanghai and Beijing. Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Sales & Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “China continues to be a strategically important market for Etihad and resuming an additional passenger route connecting China with Abu Dhabi is a welcome development. Being granted the rights to operate the second weekly flight by the Chinese government was huge recognition of the unrelenting joint efforts by the airline, testing institutions in the UAE, and the authorities in both countries, in the battle against COVID-19.Etihad is tremendously grateful for the support of the authorities, its customers and partners, and its employees in these most challenging of times, and Etihad stands ready to fly more frequently to China when possible.”

flydubai from Dubai International (DXB) landed at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) to a water salute.  The inaugural flight was flown by Captain Patrick Gonzenbach and Emirati First Officer, Abdulla Al Shamsi. On board the aircraft was a delegation led by Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer, flydubai. They were met on arrival by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with a delegation that included the CEO of Ben Gurion International Airport Shmuel Zakay and representatives from the aviation industry. Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: “Today’s inaugural flight sees the air transport agreement realised.  The creation of these direct air links will support the development of commercial ventures across a number of sectors helping to drive success and prosperity.  We look forward to welcoming the first passengers from Israel as they come to explore the UAE.” Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce, said, “Since we announced the launch of operations to Tel Aviv we have seen strong demand for services from both Israel and the UAE.  We received our first bookings from both tourists and business travellers shortly after the schedule was published. There is opportunity to further grow our double daily service.”  

Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (RAK Airport) will receive the first commercial flights from Indian value carrier SpiceJet today. The development signals a steady return to normal economic activity following the COVID-19 pandemic, spokespersons for the two operations said, noting that with SpiceJet’s connection to 28 destinations across the Indian sub-continent and RAK Airport’s position as an expanding travel and logistics hub, the development is poised to create notable economic growth and momentum in both countries, providing a major boost to the UAE’s efforts to restore activity across all its vital sectors to pre-COVID-19 levels. “The Indian expatriate community in the UAE numbers almost 3.5 million people and constitutes 27 percent of the population, making connectivity between our two countries an imperative. With UAE and India being each other’s largest trading partners, RAK Airport has an essential role to play in the business and economy of the emirate, especially in view of Ras Al Khaimah’s efforts to diversify its economy from heavy industry to one that is knowledge-based and underpinned by human capital and tourism,” said Sanjay Khanna, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah International Airport.“Ras Al Khaimah was named Gulf Tourism Capital for 2021, holding onto the title for the second year running and providing a significant boost to the Emirate’s plans to attract 2.9 million visitors by 2025,and we aim to play an important part in helping achieve this goal.” “SpiceJet has played a pivotal role in opening up the UAE to Indian travellers and reconnecting families. As we enter the post-coronavirus phase, we are looking forward to continuing to play a vital role in Ras Al Khaimah’s ongoing growth and development, especially its tourist sector, which is anticipated …

Emirates has re-launched its Dubai Connect offer which gives customers transiting through its hub a complimentary hotel stay in Dubai. The offer is available to customers booked in all classes with a best connection time that exceeds 10 hours. Dubai Connect ensures that travelling through Emirates’ hub is seamless despite the altered flight schedules during the COVID-19 pandemic.Emirates now serves over 90 destinations across six continents across the globe, connecting customers to key destinations across Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and Australasia with one convenient stop in Dubai. With Dubai Connect, Emirates passengers will receive a complimentary night’s stay in a 4 or 5-star hotel, ground transfers to and from the airport, meals at the hotel as well as UAE visa on arrival where required. The service aims to provide customers whose best connection time is between 10 and 24 hours, a more convenient travel journey.Emirates ensures all its customers are well catered for. Those who qualify for Dubai Connect but are unable to leave the airport, will be given access to the Emirates Dubai Connect airport lounge to unwind and relax. Customers with new or existing bookings, travelling from 1 December 2020 are eligible for the offer. Terms and conditions apply, for more information visit: Dubai Connect. Dubai is open to visitors and Dubai Connect lets them explore the bustling city on the way to their final destination at no additional cost. From sun-soaked beaches and heritage attractions to world class hospitality and leisure facilities, Dubai has something to offer at any time of day and for any type of traveller. Fly better on Emirates and enjoy over 4,500 channels of entertainment on ice – the airline’s award-winning inflight …