Category Archives: Aviation

Jordan has been announced as the official host for the 6th edition of the Arab Aviation Summit which will take place at the Dead Sea in Jordan on 5th and 6th December 2016. The theme of the forthcoming summit will be ‘Linking Cultures, Driving Economies’ to draw attention to the interdependent roles the Aviation and Tourism sectors play in contributing to the greater economic development of the region. It is the most prominent aviation and tourism event within the region focusing on trends, insights and opportunities driving the continuous growth and development of the avia-tourism industry in the Arab world. Described as the ‘voice of the industry,’ the summit is an industry initiative launched in 2011 and is organised on an annual basis in collaboration with aviation and tourism leaders, government entities, media heavy-weights and other well-entrenched organisations, to lead the discussion on a variety of topics relevant to key stakeholders and aviation commentators.

Turkish Airlines media relations office has announced that FAA has removed the recent order of all airline carriers, regardless of the country of registry, prohibited from flying into the United States from Turkey either directly or via third country. Accordingly, all scheduled Turkish Airlines flights to the US will resume starting as of 19th July 2016 with Turkish Airlines Istanbul – NYC flight at 06:45 am. İlker Aycı, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Turkish Airlines, stated: “Earlier today I had stated that we saw no reason for the ban as all precautions were in line with the norms. Following our recent report and dense meetings, FAA removed the ban as expected.” Following the illegal failed coup attempt in Turkey, on July 16th 2016 at noon hours FAA had issued a ban of “All airline carriers, regardless of country of registry, are prohibited from flying into the United States from Turkey either directly or via third country.” Furthermore, they extended their gratitude to their passengers for their understanding for the inconvenience. Due to this situation, for individual and group reservations, provided that flights operated by Turkish Airlines (including AnadoluJet trademark), departing/arriving to Turkey (including domestic flights) and/or transit flights via Turkey, flights operated between 15 July 2016 – 17 July 2016 (inclusive), ticketed on/before 15 July 2016 and tickets are revalidated untıl 15 August 2016 (ınclusive) will disregard related fare rules as mentioned below. 1) All Rebooking/ReRouting: will be made without any charge provided that new destination is same IATA region & same cabin class 2) Refund requests: a) Unused tickets: refund will be made without any charge; or b) For partially used tickets, when planned trip is …

In order to improve its transparent communication with its stakeholders, Turkish Airlines has released a mobile Investor Relations App compatible with iPad, iPhone and Android devices. With this application, all Turkish Airlines stakeholders, including shareholders, analysts and investors will be able to access the latest news and developments regarding Turkish Airlines with three different digital platforms and in two languages. With this application, users will  have online and offline access to various information and documents about Turkish Airlines including public disclosures, operational and financial disclosures, investor presentations and annual reports both in Turkish and in English and they will be updated with instant notifications. The application is accessible via Apple Store and Google Play with the searching word “Turkish Airlines”.

Emirates has signed a 10-year agreement with Unison Industries in support of the GE90 and GP7200 engine fleets. The After Market Services Agreement extends through 2025 and covers external Unison new parts and component repairs for GE Aviation and Engine Alliance engine families in the Emirates fleet. “We are very pleased to have Emirates as a key customer on this strategic agreement,” Unison President Giovanni Spitale said. “This agreement solidifies Unison’s key relationship with the world’s largest operator of A380 and B777 aircraft. Unison is now primed to provide unparalleled support to Emirates operations.”

LATAM Airlines Group and Qatar Airways, both members of the oneworld alliance, have entered into a subscription agreement providing for Qatar Airways to acquire up to 10 per cent of LATAM’s total shares, which will be acquired in connection with a capital increase. As part of the agreement, LATAM Airlines Group will hold an Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting no later than 2 September, 2016 to propose a capital increase in the amount of $613 million through the issuance of new shares at a price of $10 per share. The announcement was made at the Farnborough International Air Show in England, by both airlines’ CEOs: His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive of Qatar Airways and Enrique Cueto, CEO of LATAM Airlines Group. The companies expect the transaction to be completed within the fourth quarter of 2016. Qatar Airways was advised by HSBC Bank plc, Weil, Gotshall & Manges LLP and Carey, whilst LATAM Airlines Group was advised by JP Morgan, Claro & Cía y Sullivan & Cromwell.

Virgin Atlantic and Airbus have announced the agreement on a firm order, valued at $4.4 billion, for 12 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. The investment is part of a fleet modernisation program which will see 50 percent of Virgin Atlantic’s aircraft replaced in a six year period – creating one of the world’s youngest fleets. Of the 12 firm orders, eight will be purchased and four leased, as Virgin Atlantic continues its investment into increasing the mix of owned and leased aircraft in its fleet.

GE Aviation’s new Digital Solutions business has created a scaled digital collaboration center in its pavilion (P2) at the Farnborough International Air Show much like the centers being built around the world. GE is collaborating with customers in the centers to identify and address customers’ operational challenges and drive better business outcomes. As a result of recent customer collaboration, flydubai and GE Aviation launched one of the first digital customer solutions built on GE’s Predix platform. The network operations insights solution is designed to help flydubai minimize the impact of unavoidable delays, enhance pilot operational understanding, while optimally protecting schedules and revenue. Network operations insights on Predix were successfully implemented at flydubai in late June.   Jim Daily, Vice President and Chief Digital Officer of GE Aviation stated that this is exactly how they want to work together and help customers to drive greater efficiency. This solution gives flydubai the real-time tools to understand the impact of potential operational disruptions in order to minimize an impact on their network. GE’s software architects and developers are working with customers in the collaboration center at Farnborough, while demonstrating digital solutions, including network Operations Insights, mobile Pilot Insights, flight Analytics on Predix, Flight Phase Analyzer, Water Wash Optimizer, Digital Solution for TrueChoiceTM Flight Hour, ClearView Invoicing, Digital Solution for TrueChoiceTM Flight Hour and Engine Health Validator, Digital Solution for TrueChoiceTM Transitions. These advancements in data and analytic technologies are examples of where GE is taking Predix, the cloud-based platform for creating innovative, Industrial Internet applications that turn real-time operational data into actionable insights for aviation.          

flydubai has launched a double daily service to Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok, starting on 29 November 2016. flydubai will operate its services between Dubai International’s Terminal 2 (DXB) and Bangkok International Airport (BKK). Business Class return fares to Bangkok will start at AED 3,999 while Economy Class return fares will start at AED 1,499, including taxes. Commenting on the announcement of the new route, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer, flydubai, said: “Bangkok is an extremely popular destination and the launch of double daily flights reflects the increasing maturity of the flydubai network and operation. This route launch is an important milestone for flydubai, offering business and leisure travellers from both Dubai and Bangkok increased choices and flexibility across our network.” Passengers will also have the option of a Business Class experience, benefitting from a dedicated 24-hour Business Team to assist with bookings and enquiries throughout the journey, as well as priority check-in service, comfortable spacious seats and a range of in-flight entertainment and dining options. Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President, Commercial (GCC, Subcontinent and Africa), flydubai, said: “Since its launch, flydubai has developed a network of more than 85 destinations. With the launch of our double daily Bangkok route, we will be further expanding travel opportunities for passengers looking to use Dubai as a hub for connecting routes from the GCC to Russia and Europe.”

Air Arabia has touched down in Batumi, the second largest city of Georgia. The airline operates two weekly flights to Black Sea port city from its primary Sharjah International Airport hub on Thursday and Saturdays at 13:15, arriving at Batumi at 16:40. The return flights are scheduled to leave Batumi International Airport at 17:30 to arrive in Sharjah at 20:50.

Qatar Airways Group has announced a 3 billion QAR operating profit for fiscal year 2016 – nearly three times greater than fiscal 2015 profit of 1.1 billion QAR, resulting in an 8.6 per cent operating profit margin, an improvement of nearly six percentage points from the prior year, from 35.6 billion QAR in revenues. The company reported a net profit of 1.6 billion QAR, resulting in a net profit margin of 4.5 per cent. Net profit for fiscal 2015 was 1.1 per cent, at 374 million QAR. Qatar Airways growth rate (CAGR) in ASK term since the re-launch in 1997 to 31st March 2016 is 28 per cent. For the year ending March 31, 2016, Qatar Airways Group reduced its expenses 1.5 per cent and increased its cash and bank balance from 5.5 billion QAR to 12 billion QAR, despite the significant growth in operations and an adverse movement in foreign currency exchange. Over the course of fiscal 2016, Qatar Airways added 13 new destinations and increased its overall network to more than 150 destinations on six continents. The airline was also the global launch customer of the Airbus A350XWB, the most technologically advanced aircraft in the world, and was the first commercial airline to fly it to the United States.