Category Archives: Aviation

Oman Air will resume its flights to Maldives for the 2018-19 winter season from October 28, 2018. The service will be operated by the new Boeing 737 aircraft. Oman Air flights from Muscat to Maldives will operate on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while the flight from Maldives to Muscat will operate on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Well-known for its beaches, blue lagoons and extensive reefs, Maldives, which is 3.5 hours away from Oman, is a popular tourist destination with an increasing number of international visitors arriving year-on-year (YoY). Eng Abdulaziz Al Raisi, CEO, Oman Air said, “We are delighted to be resuming our Maldives route and look forward to welcoming our valued Oman Air guests on board our latest Boeing 737 aircraft. We thoroughly encourage our friends from Europe and the rest of our network, flying to Maldives to stop over and explore Oman en route. Our new Maldives service offers holidaymakers the perfect opportunity to explore Muscat, before escaping to the beautiful shores of Maldives

Air Canada is expanding its offering to Dubai with the addition of a fourth, weekly non-stop flight from Toronto, to its regular three-times weekly, year-round service. The seasonal flight will operate between November 2, 2018 and January 2019 using a Boeing 777-300, which offers a best-in-class cabin interior, featuring lie-flat Signature Class seats and a dedicated Premium Economy cabin. From Toronto, Air Canada’s global hub, customers can connect to the US destinations with the ability to pre-clear US customs at Pearson Airport. When departing from Toronto, eligible Signature Class customers can enjoy the Air Canada Signature Suite, which features a la carte dining with a menu created by celebrated Canadian Chef David Hawksworth.

In response to an increased travel demand during autumn school holidays, Emirates today has announced it will operate its A380 between Dubai and St. Petersburg, temporarily replacing the Boeing 777 aircraft, which is currently operating on the route. From October 25, 2018  to October 29, 2018, flights EK 175/176 will be operated by Emirates A380 between Dubai and St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo International Airport, offering 14 Private Suites in First Class, 76 fully flat-bed seats in Business Class and 429 seats in Economy Class. Flight EK175 will depart from Dubai at 15:45 and arrive in St. Petersburg at 20:50, while the return flight, EK176 will leave St. Petersburg at 23:55 and arrive in Dubai at 06:55 the next morning. This will be the first time an A380 has operated to St. Petersburg, demonstrating the extensive work and preparation the airport has undertaken to receive the double-decker aircraft. During this period, passengers departing from St. Petersburg will have the opportunity to experience a wide range of tourist and business destinations on the Emirates network, including Mauritius, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne and others. Through its partnership with flydubai, Emirates also provides customers in St. Petersburg with convenient and seamless access to a number of destinations beyond Dubai, including Zanzibar and Kathmandu.

Etihad Airways has partnered with Farelogix to enhance its merchandising and distribution capabilities. The deployment of new generation technology from Farelogix will enable Etihad to provide unique, customised offers to its guests. Etihad’s strategy will focus on broadening ancillary offerings to customers, allowing for more personalised travel options across all distribution channels.  Etihad plans to implement FLX Merchandise, a cloud-based solution from Farelogix, to create personalised product and service propositions that increase customer satisfaction. As the industry’s leading merchandising engine, FLX Merchandise will enable Etihad to showcase optional products such as preferred seats, priority boarding, and other amenities that improve customers’ travel experience. In addition, the technology will provide greater flexibility and speed-to-market by introducing innovative new ancillary offers. Robin Kamark, Etihad’s Chief Commercial Officer said: “Our vision is to provide guests with the widest choice. We are proud to partner with Farelogix, a recognised leader in airline commerce technology, to realise this vision. The new partnership will help us in the journey towards the airline’s digital transformation that focuses on delivering modern retail experiences to customers around the globe.” In the near future Etihad plans to launch a full New Distribution Capability (NDC) enabled platform which will enable customers to visualise offerings through digital media such as images and videos, whether they are booking via travel agencies, meta-search engines, or other indirect channels.

Emirates and Jetstar Pacific have announced a new codeshare agreement, expanding the existing partnership between the Dubai-based carrier and Jetstar Group. The new partnership with the Ho Chi Minh City-based carrier allows Emirates’ passengers to enjoy connectivity on domestic flights within Vietnam, in addition to flights connecting Vietnam to Singapore, Thailand as well as Australia. The new codeshare services from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi connect Emirates passengers to 14 Vietnamese cities beyond Ho Chi Minh City and six cities beyond Hanoi. Emirates will also operate codeshare flights with Jetstar Pacific between the latter’s hub in Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore, as well as Bangkok, both of which serve as connections for Emirates passengers continuing their travel to Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney. The Vietnamese cities that are covered by the new codeshare routes include: Ban Me Thuot, Phuquoc, Dalat, Quinhon, Tamky-Chulai, Hue, Pleiku, Nha Trang, Vinh City, Tuy Hoa, Dong Hoi, Thanh Hoa, Haiphong, and Da Nang in addition to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Under the agreement, Emirates’ flight number will be placed on Jetstar Pacific’s services to all codeshare destinations. The codeshare partnership will give customers the simplicity of purchasing connecting flights using one reservation, and a smooth ticketing, check-in, boarding and baggage check experience during the entire journey.  Passengers booking flights from 16 destinations in Vietnam, in addition to Hong Kong, Osaka, Taipei, Singapore, Guangzhou and Bangkok will be able to connect in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi and fly with Emirates to many destinations worldwide.

The Latvian airline, airBaltic, in cooperation with Etihad Airways, has announced extension of the operating season of flights between Riga and Abu Dhabi in 2019. The flights will restart on October 28, 2018 and continue until April 29, 2019. Wolfgang Reuss, SVP, Network Management, airBaltic, said, “When we launched flights to Abu Dhabi last year, it instantly became one of the most demanded routes during the winter season. As more of the Airbus A220-300 aircraft are joining our fleet, we are now extending the operating season of these flights by additional two months in 2019. In addition to serving the point-to-point demand, the cooperation with Etihad Airways offers a multitude of travel options to the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and Australasia,” Reuss added. This winter season, airBaltic will also continue flights from Riga to holiday destinations like Malaga, Madrid, Lisbon and Nice. airBaltic will restart flights from Riga to Abu Dhabi on October 28, 2018 and will operate the route 4 times weekly. Passengers will board an Airbus A220-300 aircraft for a flight that will last 6 hours and 15 minutes. One-way ticket prices start at 129 EUR, including airport fees and transaction costs. A full schedule of airBaltic flights can be found on the company’s homepage at www.airbaltic.com.

Emirates Holidays has partnered up with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to become the official tour operator for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019. The 17th edition of the continent’s prestigious football tournament will take place in the United Arab Emirates between January 5, 2019 and February 1, 2019.  Through the partnership, Emirates Holidays offers a broad range of excellent value packages to football fans traveling to Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah to support their teams. Each package includes match ticket(s), accommodation and return flights with Emirates Airline. Robin Parry, Vice President, Emirates Holidays, said, “We are thrilled to become the official tour operator of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019. Starting from today, supporters can seamlessly book match ticket, flight and accommodation with Emirates Holidays and enjoy the excellent travel experience our award-winning airline and reputable hotel partners offer. We see exciting opportunities for the company in sport tourism and continue to seek ways to accommodate the growing demand. We look forward to welcoming our football fan customers in the UAE.” Dato’ Windsor John, General Secretary, Asian Football Confederation, said, “Asian football continues to make giant strides on the world stage and the remarkable growth and stature of the AFC Asian Cup exemplifies the undeniable progress of football in the Continent. Emirates have been a long-standing partner of the AFC and we would like to thank them for their firm belief in the development and ever-improving proposition of Asian football.

Dubai Airports and China Eastern celebrated the announcement of three weekly non-stop flights between Shanghai and Dubai International (DXB) at an event in Dubai recently. Scheduled to begin on September 17, the non-stop services are an addition to China Eastern’s three existing flights between Shanghai and Dubai with a stopover in Kunming, the capital city of China’s Yunnan province. The new services will offer customers greater choice and facilitate ease of travel between the two destinations. A top trading partner for the UAE, China is a major contributor to DXB’s traffic with more than 2.2 million travellers in 2017. China Eastern’s association with DXB goes back to 2010 when it commenced service between Dubai and Kunming via Dhaka. As part of the event, Eugene Barry, Executive Vice President of Dubai Airports’ Commercial Group, presented a certificate of appreciation to Randy Cui, General Manager (UAE) of China Eastern, for the carrier’s role in boosting UAE-China connectivity through a strong partnership with Dubai Airports.

Royal Jordanian and Tunisair has signed a free sale code share agreement, whereby Tunisair will market RJ flights and thus put its carrier code on these flights running between Amman and Tunis. Tunisair does not operate flights between the two capitals. The code share, four-weekly flights are now open for sale. This agreement with Tunisair is bound to enhance cooperation between the two flag carriers and improve passenger traffic by providing Tunisair customers convenient options to fly to Amman; they can also plan their trips to reach further destinations on RJ’s global route network. RJ President/CEO Stefan Pichler said, “We are glad to offer our services to Tunisair passengers, who will experience compelling services on board our aircraft. This partnership is the first step on the way to enhancing relations with Tunisair, and will bring great benefit to both airlines, from a commercial perspective. This agreement will give Tunisair customers the opportunity to visit Jordan and learn about its historical and tourist attractions. ” Tunisair CEO Elyes Mnakbi commented, “We are delighted to be working with Royal Jordanian as a leading carrier in the Middle East and provide high quality services to passengers on the ground and in the air. This agreement is a new step in the strategic and historical partnership between our countries. It is also an added value towards enhanced air traffic between our companies.” This latest agreement raises the number of code share agreements concluded by RJ to 17. Half of them were concluded with oneworld carriers and the other half with Arab and international airlines.

Dubai International (DXB) has recorded its second busiest month ever surpassing the 8 million passenger mark in July, according to the monthly traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports. The airport clocked monthly traffic exceeding 8 million passengers on three other occasions last year – in January (8.03 mn), July (8.06 mn) and August (8.23 mn). Passenger numbers in July totalled 8,207,987, up 1.8 per cent compared to 8,065,789 recoded in July 2017. Year to date passenger traffic reached 51,947,092 up 1.6 per cent compared to 51,120,057 recorded during the first seven months in 2017. In terms of growth rate, Eastern Europe was the fastest growing region in July with traffic surging 24.4 per cent – mainly fueled by flydubai’s route development plan, followed by CIS (+18.34%) with major contributions from the Russian market and destinations such as Bishkek, Baku and Almaty among others, and Africa (+9.7%). India retained its position as the top destination country with 1,032,302 passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia (583,975 passengers) and the UK (581,557 passengers). London, with 358,201 passengers, topped the list of the most popular destinations served from DXB by traffic volume in July, followed by Kuwait (221,696), Mumbai (209,205) and Riyadh (200,411). Flight movements during July reached 35,393, up 3.5% compared to 34,181 movements recorded during July 2017. Year to date flight movements totalled 237,177 compared to 240,179 recorded during the first seven months of 2017, a contraction of 1.2%. Passengers per movement remained high at 238, but registered a contraction of 2.1% compared to the record high of 243 recorded in July 2017.