Category Archives: Aviation

Star Alliance members Ethiopian Airlines and Singapore Airlines will expand their code-share agreement as of June 1, 2017, offering customers travelling between Africa and Asia seamless connectivity options. Ethiopian Airlines’ daily non-stop services to Singapore from Addis Ababa, due to be launched in June 2017, will be covered by the expanded code-share agreement. Under the expanded agreement, Ethiopian Airlines customers will be able to access multiple destinations in Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam across Singapore Airlines’ wide network. In turn, Singapore Airlines customers will enjoy access to Ethiopian Airlines’ vast intra-African network including countries like Botswana, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote D’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, The Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Girma Shiferaw, Acting Vice President, Strategic Planning and Alliances, remarked: “I wish to thank Singapore Airlines for the successful completion of this vital agreement. The two airlines will synergize their respective networks in Asia and Africa to offer customers the best connectivity options with one ticket and one single check-in at the first boarding airport. It will also play a critical role in enhancing investment, trade and tourism ties between a rising Africa, and a highly developed, innovative, and business-friendly Singapore.” Tan Kai Ping, Senior Vice President Marketing Planning, Singapore Airlines, said, “We are delighted with our expanded codeshare operations with Ethiopian Airlines. This significant expansion of our important partnership is in line with our ongoing effort to continuously expand our network reach and to offer customers more travel options and convenience when travelling between Africa, Asia and Southwest Pacific.” The airlines first began code sharing on each other’s flights to and from Dubai in 2011.  The expanded codeshare flights are …

Emirates announced the launch of a daily A380 service to Nice, gateway to the French Riviera and Provence. The daily A380 service will start on July 1, 2017, just in time for the beginning of the summer holiday season. After Paris, Nice becomes Emirates’ second destination in France to welcome the iconic double decker, further stimulating demand for travel to the region. As of July 1, EK77 will be operated by an A380, leaving Dubai at 0845hrs and arriving in Nice at 1340hrs, while EK78 will depart Nice at 1540hrs and arrive in Dubai at 0010hrs the next day (local times). Passengers travelling to or from the following cities will enjoy optimal A380 to A380 connections in Dubai: Auckland, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo, and more. Nice is currently served with a daily flight operated by a Boeing 777-300ER. The deployment of an A380 represents a capacity increase of 44 per cent on the route. With 3633 weekly seats in each direction, Emirates will offer more seats to the Middle East and beyond than any other international airline, highlighting Nice’s importance as part of the airline‘s global network. Enabling an increase in passenger numbers will also result in additional tourism revenues for Nice and the wider region, which in turn will mean boosting the local economy and job creation.

Passenger traffic at Dubai International (DXB) continued to grow steadily in February rising 8.8 per cent to 6,948,157, according to the monthly traffic report issued by Dubai Airports. The operator said this brings the total year to date passenger traffic at DXB to 14,985,165, a robust growth of 9.3 per cent compared to 13,711,181 recorded during the first two months of 2016. Eastern Europe was the fastest expanding market in terms of percentage growth (39.1 per cent), followed by Asia (23.8 per cent) and South America (11.6 per cent). India remained the top destination country in February with a total of 937,962 passengers, followed by the UK (516,611 passengers), Saudi Arabia (499,797) and Pakistan (351,477). London topped the list of destination cities with 309,768 passengers, followed by Doha (246,767 passengers), Bangkok (203,432) and Mumbai (194,108).Flight movements at DXB totalled 32,483 during the month under review, a contraction of 2.7 per cent from 33,398 movements recorded in February 2016. Year to date flight movements totaled 69,075, a marginal drop of 0.2 per cent compared to 69,239 during the first two months last year.The average number of passengers per movement during February reached 223 compared to 201 during the corresponding month in 2016, an increase of 11.1 per cent.  DXB recorded 192,704 tonnes of freight in February 2017, down 1.9 per cent from 196,460* tonnes recorded in February 2016. Year to date freight volumes totalled 400,976, a growth of 0.8 per cent compared to 397,942 handled during the corresponding period in 2016. Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said, “This robust growth in passenger numbers in February follows the record 8 million passengers in January, and with the seasonal rush of passengers …

Etihad Airways has started operating Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on the Abu Dhabi-Amman route, as part of its daily schedule between the two capitals. The new two-class Dreamliner features the airline’s next-generation Business and Economy Class cabins, featuring 299 seats — 28 in Business Class and 271 in Economy Class, representing a 65 per cent capacity increase on the route. Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, said: “Since launching flights between Abu Dhabi and Amman thirteen years ago, we have experienced huge growth and have enjoyed strong demand from both business and leisure travellers. The decision to upgrade to the Boeing 787 reflects the importance of the Jordanian market to Etihad Airways, and the sustained development of economic relations between the two countries. The UAE enjoys historic ties with Jordan and there are broader and brighter prospects for economic relations between these two Arab states, particularly through business partnerships and tourism.” Recent local reports show that the trade exchange between the two countries witnessed remarkable growth to just over Dhs3 billion, while the volume of UAE investments in Jordan rose to more than $15 billion. The Business Studios in Business Class offer direct aisle access, a fully-flat bed of up to 80.5 inches in length, and an increase of 20 per cent in personal space. Upholstered in fine Poltrona Frau leather, the Business Studio is equipped with an in-seat massage and pneumatic cushion control system which enables guests to adjust the firmness and comfort of their seat.

Emirates will introduce a second daily service to the island of Bali in Indonesia, on July 2, 2017. The new service will be added to meet the growing demand for travel to and from Bali, offering travellers more convenience and connectivity options. Operated by Emirates’ popular Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a two-class configuration with 42 seats in Business Class and 386 seats in Economy Class. The outbound flight EK360 will depart from Dubai at 0125hrs and arrive in I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport at 1430hrs. This service will connect seamlessly with a number of destinations across Europe, including Amsterdam, Moscow, Paris and London. It will also enable passengers to connect domestically to the nearby cities of Surabaya, Makassar and Lombok. The return flight, EK361, will depart at 1630hrs and arrive in Dubai International Airport at 2130hrs. Both inbound and outbound services also accommodate connections to and from Dili in East Timor. A leading holiday and tourism destination, Bali welcomed nearly five million foreign tourist arrivals in 2016, a million more than in 2015. There were notable increases in tourism numbers from the United Kingdom (+32.1% year-on-year), France (+25.7% y.o.y.), Germany (+27.9% y.o.y.) and Russia (+29.2% y.o.y.) in 2016, according to Bali Government Tourism Office statistics. Passengers in all classes can enjoy gourmet cuisine, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment, ice, with more than 2,500 channels and Wi-Fi, which is available on select Boeing 777 aircraft and all Emirates A380 aircraft. Families with young children are also well catered for with special services and products to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable flight, from free toys to kids’ meals, entertainment and priority boarding. Passengers on all Emirates flights also have the added bonus …

Qatar Airways announced a unique solution to the recently imposed Electronics Ban by offering passengers a laptop loan service. The Doha-based airline has taken the step to purchase laptops available for loan on all of their US flights. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, said, “As an award-winning and global airline we truly appreciate the importance of being able to work on board our aircraft and that is why I have insisted on offering only the best possible solution for our customers. By providing this laptop loan service we can ensure that our passengers on flights to the US can continue to work whilst on-board. This unique ability to offer ‘business as usual’, above and beyond the competition, is yet another example of Qatar Airways justification for being the ‘World’s Best Business Class’.” The complimentary laptops will be available to Business Class passengers travelling on all US-bound flights from next week and can be collected after boarding. Customers will be able to download their work on to a USB before stepping on board to pick up where they left-off. Qatar Airways is offering a special service at the gate for all passengers, whereby any electronic items prohibited by the new ban will be collected and securely packaged. These will be tagged, loaded as check-in baggage and returned safely to the customer on arrival to the US. Once on board passengers have a choice of over 3,000 entertainment options on the award-winning in-flight entertainment system, dedicated kids activity packs in partnership with Hasbro, luxury amenity kits, a seasonal menu and snack bar, are able to browse the on board magazines and newspapers, enjoy the lie-flat beds in Business …

RwandAir, the national carrier of the Republic of Rwanda, will commence three weekly flights to London Gatwick International Airport, in the United Kingdom effective 26th May, 2017. London, one of the world’s leading financial centers becomes RwandAir’s first European and second long haul route. The destination will be served by the newly acquired state of the art Airbus A330 fleet in a triple class configuration with inflight connectivity. “We are delighted to enable new and seamless connections between London and the whole of our network offering our esteemed customers a differentiated product in terms of comfort, good customer services and affordability,” said John Mirenge, the Chief Executive Officer of RwandAir. RwandAir has already announced that flights to Mumbai, India and Harare, Zimbabwe will commence in the first week of April 2017. London, will be RwandAir’s twenty second (22) destinations.

In the wake of recent US & UK ban on certain types of electronics, Etihad Airways has released a statement to make travelling at the concerned airports convenient. The statement from the airline said, “To avoid inconvenience, guests are encouraged to power down and pack prohibited items in their checked baggage at their airport of origin. Any such electronic devices will otherwise need to be surrendered and placed in padded envelopes at Abu Dhabi, and securely placed in the baggage hold for collection on arrival in the US. All of our flights have mobile and Wi-Fi connectivity so people can use compliant cellphones on board, and there is also free Wi-Fi at our hub in Abu Dhabi to cater for passenger requirements, when they are waiting for their connecting flight.”

US government has announced restrictions on the type of electronic items that could be carried onboard flights to the US from certain airports, reveals a statement from IATA. Even the UK government has announced changes in its aviation security measures on selected inbound flights to the UK that restrict the size of electronic items that may be carried by passengers in the cabin. In a statement, the UK government has said that flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Tunisia would be affected by these restrictions. A Q&A and factsheet available on the US Department of Homeland Security website reveals that passengers flying to the US directly from the named airports — Queen Alia International Airport (AMM), Cairo International Airport (CAI), Ataturk International Airport (IST), King Abdul-Aziz International Airport (JED), King Khalid International Airport (RUH), Kuwait International Airport (KWI), Mohammed V Airport (CMN), Hamad International Airport (DOH), Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) – should allow extra time at the airport. IATA calculations show that this ban will impact about 393 scheduled passenger flights per week, equivalent to about 2.7 % of the total international scheduled passenger flights to the UK. In the US, it would affect 350 scheduled flights a week, equivalent to about 2% of total international flights.

Emirates has introduced a new service to enable customers to use their laptops and tablet devices until just before they board their flights to the US. Emirates customers travelling to the US via Dubai will be able to utilise their laptops and tablet devices on the first part of their journeys, and also during transit in Dubai. They must then declare and hand over their laptops, tablets, and other banned electronic devices to security staff at the gate just before boarding their US-bound flight. The devices will be carefully packed into boxes, loaded into the aircraft hold, and returned to the customer at their US destination. There will not be any charge for this service. Passengers on US-bound flights starting their journeys in Dubai are encouraged to pack their electronic devices into their check-in luggage in the first instance, to avoid delays. Customers should be aware that there will be a detailed search of all hand baggage on non-stop flights to the US from Dubai. They should therefore declare their devices before the search, or ensure their electronic devices are packed into their check-in luggage in the first instance. Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: “Our aim is to ensure compliance with the new rules, while minimising disruption to passenger flow and impact on customer experience. Our new complimentary service enables passengers, particularly those flying for business, to have the flexibility to use their devices until the last possible moment. Once on board they can still stay connected on their mobile phones. Our historical data shows that on Emirates’ US flights, 90% of passengers using our onboard mobile and Wi-Fi connectivity services do so via their smart phones. Only …