Category Archives: Aviation

Etihad Airways and PIA relaunch codeshare partnership

Etihad Airways and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have relaunched their codeshare partnership to provide their customers with greater access to both airlines’ trunk routes between the UAE and Pakistan, and on Etihad services across its global network. The codeshare flights will be open for sale on November 13, 2019, with the first travel date from November 26. The partnership will see Etihad Airways place its ‘EY’ code on PIA services to and from Abu Dhabi to the Pakistani cities of Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar. PIA will place its ‘PK’ code on Etihad services from Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore to Abu Dhabi and vice versa, and also onwards from the UAE capital to Amsterdam, Bahrain, Colombo Chicago, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Madrid, Moscow, Washington D.C, and Zurich. Robin Kamark, Etihad Airways Chief Commercial Officer, said, “The UAE and Pakistan share strong historical, commercial and cultural links and this partnership with PIA is a natural progression for both carriers. It enables us to cater to the strong customer demand for both point-to-point business and VFR travel between the UAE and major cities in Pakistan.” Nausherwan Adil, Chief Commercial Officer of Pakistan International Airlines, said, “This is indeed a great opportunity for PIA to join hands with Etihad Airways connecting Pakistan to UAE and around the globe, expanding reach to more destinations for the convenience of our valued passengers.”

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Emirates opens first remote check-in terminal for cruise passengers

Emirates’ first remote check-in terminal was opened to provide seamless connections for cruise passengers. The Emirates check-in counters, located at Port Rashid, will allow passengers who are disembarking from their cruise ships to check-in for their onward Emirates flight at the same facility. The new service will further enhance Dubai’s position as a premier international cruise destination and provides greater convenience for Emirates customers. With complimentary flight check-in facilities located at the same location as their cruise disembarkation point, customers will have the convenience of exploring Dubai without their luggage before heading directly to the airport for their flight. The Emirates check-in facility at Port Rashid will have eight counters where Emirates staff will check-in customers’ luggage and issue boarding passes up to 4 hours before flight departure. The facility will be open during the sailing period from October to April. In the next 6 months, 198 cruise ships are expected to dock at Port Rashid where approximately 280,000 passengers will have onward Emirates flights. Mohammed Mattar, Divisional Senior Vice President, Emirates Airport Services said, “We are committed to providing a seamless and hassle-free travel journey for our customers. With the increasing popularity of Dubai as a cruise tourism destination, we have ensured that every touchpoint in our customer journey for this important traveller segment is thoughtfully served. Our first remote check-in facility at Port Rashid will allow cruise passengers with onward flights the freedom to explore Dubai during their short transit.”

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Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup tournament arrives in Antalya

Turkish Airlines brought in the much-anticipated Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup tournament for the seventh time on November 4–5, 2019 to Antalya. They offered corporate teams exceptional networking opportunities, tournament entrants receive first-class Turkish Airlines hospitality and golf at the finest golf courses around the world. Over eight thousand players from around the world, all VIPs invited by Turkish Airlines, have competed in more than 100 tournaments across the globe with the winners securing places in the Grand Finals in Antalya. This year the competition has been played out in 101 destinations across 70 countries. M. İlker Aycı, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Turkish Airlines said, “The Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup is an event that we are very proud of and it continues to grow and improve year on year. We are delighted to have held this event, which has already become a key date in all golfers’ diaries, in Antalya.” This year Turkish Airlines moved to its new home at Istanbul Airport, a state-of-the-art structure from which the global carrier will continue on its path of expansion. The Star Alliance member airline currently operates to 316 destinations across 126 countries, and from its hub at the center of global aviation, Turkish Airlines allows its valued guests to explore more of the world, as well as Turkey’s impressive golf courses.

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Etihad partners with Tourism Malaysia

Etihad Airways announced its partnership with Tourism Malaysia to attract visitors from Europe and the Middle East to Malaysia, via the airline’s Abu Dhabi hub. The agreement was signed at the World Travel Market in London, attended by representatives from both organisations and trade partners. The agreement between the two organisations will support the tourism board’s Visit Malaysia 2020 marketing campaign which has been developed to encourage tourism from Europe and the Middle East to Malaysia. Etihad Airways began flying to Kuala Lumpur in 2007 and has since flown 2.7 million passengers to the Malaysian capital. Today, Etihad Airways operates a daily flight to Kuala Lumpur which is operated by the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Hareb Almuhairy, Senior Vice President Destination and Leisure Management, Etihad Aviation Group commented, “Tourism Malaysia has been a proud partner of Etihad for many years and Kuala Lumpur remains one of the most important destinations in our global network. The Southeast Asian country continues to be a popular choice for travellers in the UK and Europe as well as the Middle East, and visitors will benefit from the convenient connection through Abu Dhabi.” Datuk Musa HJ Yusof, Director General, Tourism Malaysia, said, “The campaign aims to welcome tourists from Europe, Middle East and beyond to Malaysia as well as to promote the Visit Malaysia 2020 initiative, which seeks to attract 30 million tourists and around RM 100 billion (GBP 18.56 Billion) in tourism receipts by the year 2020.”

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Explore Europe’s big cities at smaller prices with Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines is giving United Arab Emirates jet-setters an unmissable opportunity to travel to major European cities within its unrivalled global network and pocket a satisfying saving when they book. Passengers from Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah can benefit from generous discounts on Economy Class tickets to Athens, Brussels, Dublin, Marseille, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Strasbourg, Thessaloniki, and Zurich, and on Business Class tickets to Athens, Barcelona, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Malaga, Munich, and Valencia. The offer is valid for travellers booking a flight any time from now until 25th November 2019, valid for a travel period until 15th May 2020. Turkish Airlines, one of the fastest-growing airlines in the world, provides exceptional service for passengers through its Business Class offering, its new flagship lounges in the Istanbul Airport, and its strong reputation for amazing Turkish hospitality and convenience. There are currently three Turkish Airlines lounges available in the new Istanbul Airport – the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge, Miles & Smiles Lounge, and Domestic Lounge, with two more scheduled to be open before the end of the year.

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Emirates to host first IATA Global Accessibility Symposium

Emirates will be hosting the International Air Transport Association (IATA) inaugural Global Accessibility Symposium, taking place in Dubai from November 5-6, 2019. The IATA Global Accessibility Symposium furthers the commitment of the resolution on passengers with disabilities which was made at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Seoul in June 2019. The resolution aims to improve the air travel experience for the estimated one billion people living with disabilities worldwide by encouraging governments, airlines, airports, and stakeholders across the aviation industry to work together to ensure access to a safe, reliable and dignified travel experience. The invitation-only event will include keynotes, panel discussions and fireside chats that will tackle a wide variety of accessibility topics. Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline said, “Emirates employs every effort to make air travel as comfortable and as seamless as possible for our customers, especially for those with special needs and disabilities. It is apt for the first IATA symposium on this important issue to be held in Dubai, as it’s the city’s aim to become one of the world’s most accessible cities for People of Determination and Emirates is proud to play a role to help advance this dialogue.” Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO of IATA said, “The unanimous resolution by our airline members in June was a clear indication that the industry is committed to improving the air travel experience for passengers with disabilities. The Global Accessibility Symposium marks a renewed and stronger dialogue between industry, advocacy groups, regulators and the travellers themselves.” As the host city of the first IATA Global Accessibility Symposium and the hub for Emirates Airline, Dubai is moving forward with its mission in becoming …

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Pobeda Airlines starts operations at Dubai International Airport

Moscow based Pobeda Airlines joined Dubai International’s (DXB) growing family of 65 international carriers with the launch of its inaugural flight. Pobeda Airlines will operate four weekly flights from Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow to DXB’s Terminal 2, offering greater choice and convenience to customers. Passengers on the inaugural flight were given a warm welcome upon their arrival at DXB.

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Travelport and Saudia extend partnership

Travelport announced a new distribution agreement with Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines). Under the agreement, Travelport will continue to support Saudia by providing more than 68,000 Travelport-connected agencies servicing hundreds of millions of travellers around the world with real-time access to search, sell, and book its content and inventory. As the first global distribution system to manage the live booking of flights using the International Air Transport Association’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) technical standard, Travelport will further help Saudia by giving it the opportunity to display NDC-based airline content on its platform. Richard Nuttall, VP Sales at Saudi Arabian Airlines, commented on the new deal saying, “Travelport has been a valued partner to Saudia for many years. By continuing to work with Travelport’s global network, we will provide our loyal customers with greater access to our flights and open up significant new growth opportunities for our business.” David Gomes, Head of Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Pakistan, Air Travel Partners, Travelport, says, “With Saudi Arabia newly opened to tourism and visitors for growth, we are delighted that Saudia has chosen to expand its partnership with us. We are fully committed to supporting them with our travel commerce platform.”    

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Pakistan International Airlines adds more destinations from Dubai

Dubai International (DXB) added more choice and connectivity for travellers flying to and from Pakistan with the launch of Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA’s) twice-weekly services to Faisalabad and Multan on Monday. The launch of the new flights was celebrated at an inaugural ceremony at DXB’s Terminal 1, where H. E. Jamal Al Hai, the Deputy CEO of Dubai Airports, welcomed Ghulam Dastagir, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UAE and Ahmed Amjad Ali, the Consul General of Pakistan in Dubai, and senior representatives of PIA. Pakistan is the fourth largest country market for DXB in terms of passenger volume, with four airlines operating 268 weekly flights to eight destinations. Passenger numbers between DXB and Pakistan reached 2 million in the first half of 2019.

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Spice Jet to begin five weekly flights from Delhi to Ras Al Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (RKT) has expanded its route network and partnered with SpiceJet to connect its new services from New Delhi to Ras Al Khaimah effective December 2019. SpiceJet, India’s second-biggest airline will operate regular direct flights between Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi and Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, Ras Al Khaimah. The route will be operated five times a week, targetted to gradually increase the frequency. H.E. Engr. Sheikh Salem Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman, Board of Ras Al Khaimah International Airport and Department of Civil Aviation Ras Al Khaimah, said, “We are pleased to welcome SpiceJet to our expanding network of international carriers at Ras Al Khaimah International Airport and look forward to this long-term partnership with them. We are constantly working towards upgrading travellers experience and adding more routes to and from Ras Al Khaimah. Apart from the addition of a very vital route, this relationship will serve to be a very strategic one serving the wide Indian diaspora of residents and businesses in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah given the advantage of the extensive flight network of SpiceJet. We look forward to welcoming SpiceJet’s guests and hope they enjoy a relaxing and enjoyable experience at our airport.” Mr. Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “We are delighted to add Ras Al Khaimah as our 11th international destination. With more than 3400 Indian companies headquartered in Ras Al Khaimah, we see great potential in this route. Partnering with Ras Al Khaimah International Airport will help expand our operations and we see it as the way for SpiceJet to grow within the UAE, Europe and beyond.” Mr. Sanjay Khanna, CEO, Ras Al …

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