Category Archives: Aviation

Etihad is celebrating Emirati Women’s Day with a series of events to highlight this year’s theme, “Women: Ambitions & Inspiration for the Next 50 Years,” in line with the UAE’s 50th anniversary year. The airline announced a new collaboration with Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination to establish a chocolate factory for people of determination. Women from ZHO will be trained by Etihad’s professional chefs from Etihad Catering to operate the factory and hand make chocolate. Etihad will help establish the facility by providing the machinery and funding the ingredients for the first year of production, in addition to promoting the chocolate. Dr Nadia Bastaki, Vice President Medical Services and Corporate Social Responsibility, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “This project will play an important role in empowering women of determination and creating opportunities in the community.  The goal of Etihad’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee is to support the community through opportunity creation, training and development. In addition, and under its existing agreement with the Emirati Red Crescent, Etihad will launch a new project with Al Ghadeer UAE Crafts, to empower and support underprivileged women through the production of sustainable crafts. Etihad will provide non-stock products and recycled materials to Al Ghadeer which can be repurposed into hand crafted objects and sold. The project will help hundreds of women and families with additional income resource.  Etihad has been working in cooperation with Emirates Red Crescent for the past six years, collaborating on various initiatives, including projects to empower women and children, as well as working with Sheikha Fatima fund for refugee women, Grace Conservations and Al Ghadeer organisations.  

Emirates is offering UAE nationals and residents a chance to plan the perfect escape to the Seychelles. They could book now and unwind at some of the world’s most beautiful resorts with spectacular white beaches or enjoy its diverse marine life and everything in between. The Seychelles has been open for tourism since August 2020, and Emirates was the first international airline to return to the island. Emirates currently operates more than 7 weekly flights to the Seychelles from Dubai. Economy Class passengers can enjoy fares starting from AED 2,995, and Business Class passengers can enjoy fares starting from AED 7,995, The offer is valid for bookings made starting today until 31 August 2021, for travel until 15 June 2022.* UAE Travellers can also plan their Seychelles getaway with Emirates Holidays, with a range of packages available, starting from AED 4,699 per person for three night stays, with curated experiences and peace of mind for a picture-perfect experience on the islands. To visit the popular Indian Ocean holiday destination, UAE travelers must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test, conducted within 72 hours of the date of travel. For more information on travel entry requirements to Seychelles, click here. Emirates customers can rest assured this summer while travelling that their health and safety continued to be a top priority with the latest health and safety measures in place. Emirates leads the industry with customer centric solutions that make travel planning stress free with even more generous and flexible booking policies, an extension of its multi-risk insurance cover, and helping loyal customers retain their miles and tier status. For more information on Emirates, including how to book flights and a complete …

flydubai announced the launch of its new online eShop which provides passengers with the option to pre-purchase a selection of duty-free products before they fly and have them delivered to their seat when they travel. The eShop is designed to replace the traditional onboard duty-free experience and offers passengers a wider variety of shopping choices and convenience when flying.   Commenting on the launch, Daniel Kerrison, Vice President Inflight Product at flydubai, said: “we have always been dedicated to adding new features to enhance our onboard experience and the launch of our eShop by flydubai reflects this commitment. With our eShop passengers travelling with flydubai can now purchase a variety of products before their flight and have the items delivered to their seats, providing an incredibly convenient way to shop. We are excited at the possibilities that eShop by flydubai can offer and with our increased range of products and offers there is something for everyone.”   Passengers who have made a booking with flydubai can visit the flydubai eShop, enter their flight details and begin shopping from a wide range of duty-free items including beauty products, beverages, electronics, gadgets, jewellery, perfumes and watches. Once a purchase has been made the items will be delivered to the passengers during their flight.   flydubai has continued to add new services to enhance its onboard experience including an inflight entertainment streaming service on its fleet of Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Passengers can enjoy complimentary inflight entertainment streamed wirelessly to their personal mobile devices, laptops and tablets. Passengers travelling in Business Class continue to enjoy complimentary access to flydubai’s Inflight Entertainment (IFE) on their dedicated HD touchscreens.   flydubai’s Boeing 737 MAX aircraft …

Emirates is scaling up services with additional route resumptions and more flights across its European network, responding to the easing of international entry protocols and an upsurge in passenger demand. With clear signals that passenger confidence for international travel is returning, the airline is advancing its plans to increase services and capacity to make it easier for its customers to connect to and from its extensive European network via Dubai. In the UK, Emirates continues to boost its operations and will reinstate flights to Newcastle Airport (NCL) from 15 October, offering four weekly flights to the northeast of England, all operated by the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a two class configuration. The first flight, EK033, will depart Dubai International (DXB) at 1430hrs and arrive in Newcastle (NCL) at 1910hrs, while flight EK034 will depart Newcastle at 2110hrs and arrive in Dubai the following day at 0725hrs. By the end of October, the airline will offer 77 weekly flights to the UK as it gradually recovers operations in one of its most important global markets. UK weekly operations include a six times daily London Heathrow operation with five A380 services; double daily A380 flights to Manchester, 10 weekly services to Birmingham, daily services to Glasgow and four weekly services to Newcastle. Earlier this month, UAE moved onto the UK’s ‘amber’ list for travel, and travellers arriving in the UK from Dubai no longer need to quarantine in a government-approved hotel. Responding to a rise in customer demand, Emirates has also brought forward its plans to introduce extra flights and capacity to over 10 European cities, including Birmingham, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Hamburg, London, Lisbon, Madrid, Munich, Rome and Zurich. Many of these …

In a move to support the ramp up of operations after boosting its passenger services to South Africa, Emirates has signed an interline agreement with Cemair that opens up connections to six more destinations in South Africa through the airline’s gateways of Johannesburg and Cape Town. The partnership also includes a couple of leisure points exclusively served by Cemair. This marks the first partnership between both airlines, and Emirates’ fourth airline partnership in South Africa. The arrangement between Emirates and Cemair includes the convenience of single ticket itineraries with onwards booking and baggage transfers from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Margate, Durban, Hoedspruit, Plettenberg Bay, George and Sishen. Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates Airline said: “We are proud to partner with Cemair and commence our interline agreement. The new Cemair links provide our customers with even more possibilities to travel smoothly across many of South Africa’s most popular leisure points, in addition to the added benefit of connectivity to Cemair’s exclusively served points Margate and Plettenberg Bay. Connecting our networks solidifies our commitment to offering our customers even more travel opportunities, especially for those wanting to experience South Africa’s existing favourites, as well as travellers plotting new itineraries. We look forward to working together and strengthening our relationship.” Miles van der Molen, Chief Executive Officer of CemAir said: “We are delighted to partner with Emirates Airline, a name synonymous with quality and elegance. Our interline agreement provides our customers with convenience and savings as they can now seamlessly connect from our flights to the vast global network of this iconic airline.” As we continue our expansion during the post Covid recovery period we realise that now more …

Elaa, the dedicated travel management brand of Seera Group, has been appointed as the exclusive General Sales Agent (GSA) for Philippine Airlines in Saudi Arabia. With effect from 1 September 2021, elaa will lead Philippine Airlines’ sales promotions and marketing activities in Saudi Arabia. For these initiatives, elaa will capitalize on its wealth of experience in travel management locally and internationally. With a fleet of state-of-the-art Airbus and Boeing aircrafts, Philippine Airlines currently offers regular weekly nonstop flights from Dammam and Riyadh into Manila.  The Filipino flag carrier also flies nonstop from Doha and Dubai to Manila. Saudi-based travel agents can now access Philippine Airlines’ excellent products and services as well as the airline’s highly competitive fares through elaa. The range of services that will be provided by elaa to Philippine Airlines include general sales, support for MICE activities, airport handling and office set-ups. According to the recent Saudi Travel Sentiments survey conducted by Seera Group’s flagship consumer travel brand Almosafer, 83 percent of Saudi travellers are planning to fly internationally in 2021. With the PAL GSA partnership, elaa aims to broaden the range of destination offerings, covering the Philippines. Pre-pandemic, Seera Group saw an annual increase of over 50 per cent of bookings to the Philippines. The statistical report generated by the Group ranked the Philippines under the top 10 revenue generating destinations in 2018 and it moved up to top 5 in 2019. The Group sold over 145,000 inbound and outbound passengers from the Philippines in 2019. Saudi Arabia’s outbound tourism market is expected to reach over US$ 43 billion by 2025, according to the latest data from Renub Research. While family holidays currently dominate the market, a …

Almost 70% of global consumers plan to travel domestically within the next six months, yet less than 10% have booked their trips according to a new survey from consulting firm Oliver Wyman. “The summer travel surge is just the beginning of a recovery that seemed almost impossible a little more than a year ago,” said Michael Wette, Head of IMEA Transportation & Services, Oliver Wyman. “We expect to see a continued desire for leisure travel through the end of the year and travel providers should anticipate a sustained leisure recovery with strong bookings continuing at least through the end of the year.” “The travel industry continues to be a part of the diversification strategy for governments in the Middle East region and in the UAE in particular. There will be an even greater level of leisure and business travel due to major events and exhibitions like Dubai Expo 2020, the Dubai Airshow and ADIPEC being hosted.” The survey findings revealed the following: Leisure travel 76% of respondents expect to travel the same or more post-COVID for leisure Traffic out of US airports will match and may even exceed the rate of pre-pandemic travel sometime in early 2022. International leisure travel continues to be the most impacted by the pandemic, as most travelers opt to stay closer to home. The Chinese (81%), United States (67%) and Australian (62%) travelers will prefer to travel domestically when restrictions are lifted. Whereas Canadians (54%) and most Europeans will favour international trips, mostly short hall. Business travel Business travelers are optimistic about the return of corporate trips. Globally, about 75% of business travelers expect to travel the same as or more than they did pre-pandemic. …

Emirates has signed a codeshare agreement with Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras S.A (Azul) which will allow customers to seamlessly connect to and from eight cities in Brazil to Emirates’ global network via Sao Paulo. The codeshare agreement has been approved by the Brazilian Federal Aviation Agency (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil). Under the codeshare, customers will be able to connect to and from Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont (SDU), Belem (BEL) Belo Horizonte (CNF), Cuiaba (CGB), Curtiba (CWB), Juazeiro Do Norte (JDO), Porto Alegre (POA) and Recife (REC) airports on flights operated by Azul to Emirates flights from Sao Paulo (GRU) to Dubai and beyond with a single ticket. Tickets be purchased online on Emirates’ website or through Emirates’ local sales offices and travel agents from 18 August 2021 for travel starting from 25 August 2021. Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer said: “Emirates is delighted to be entering into a codeshare partnership with Azul to offer our customers an enhanced, smooth and convenient connectivity between eight cities in Brazil to/ from Dubai and our global network through Sao Paulo. Brazil is an important market for Emirates and our cooperation with Azul underscores Emirates’ commitment to strengthen our reach in the region and open up more options for our customers. With one ticket, our customers can access a seamless experience through check-in, bag check and boarding on every leg of their journey. We look forward to working with Azul and strengthening our partnership in the days to come.” “We are very happy to announce this partnership with Emirates, which will provide seamless benefits to our customers. As the largest airline in Brazil in terms of destinations, this codeshare allows our …

British Airways’ passenger flights between Dubai and London since January 2021 have now resumed to a daily operation. The flight will depart from Dubai at 12:15 (LT) and will arrive in London at 16:55 (LT).  These direct return flights from Dubai to the UK will enable many people to reunite with their loved ones who have been kept apart due to Covid-19. Sohail Ali, British Airways’ Senior Vice President, Middle East and Africa, Airport Operations said: “We can’t wait to welcome our customers on board our flights and are delighted to be able to reunite families and friends with their loved ones after such a long time apart. “The safety of our customers and colleagues has always been at the heart of everything we do. We have also introduced a range of measures to provide stress and hassle-free travel.” Customers booking with British Airways can do so with absolute confidence, thanks to the airline’s flexible booking policy. They are able to exchange their booking for a voucher or move their dates without incurring a change fee. British Airways’ existing online Covid hub includes information on flexible bookings, testing, how to use a voucher and what the British Airways flying experience looks like for those that haven’t travelled for some time. British Airways has also introduced a number of measures at the airport and on board to look after the safety and wellbeing of its customers and colleagues. These include social distancing measures, the wearing of face masks (which remain in place) and hand sanitiser stations. Prior to travel customers will also receive details of how they can prepare for their journey, including information on discounted testing providers. To help customers …

Emirates and Airlink have announced the expansion of their existing partnership into a unilateral codeshare agreement, giving travellers to and from South Africa convenient access to more than 40 domestic and regional destinations across 12 African countries. The extended codeshare provides connectivity to Emirates customers not offered by any other carrier in Africa, and augments the long-standing partnership that Emirates has with South African Airways. The move comes as Emirates resumes its flights to South Africa and ramps up its operations to provide customers with enhanced connectivity via its gateways Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The connectivity provided by the new codeshare between Emirates and Airlink will offer competitive fares, combined ticketing, and seamless baggage transfers when connecting between both airlines. Customers travelling to South Africa can now transfer from Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban to domestic points like Bloemfontein, George, Upington, Nelspruit, Hoedspruit, Kimberley, Skukuza, Pietermaritzburg, Richards Bay, Sishen, Mthatha and Port Elizabeth, as well as points across Southern Africa like Gaborone, Kasane, Vilanculos, Lubumbashi, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Maseru, Antananarivo, Pemba, Tete, Maun, Victoria Falls, Walvis Bay, Maputo, Windhoek, Harare, Lusaka, Ndola, Bulawayo and Livingstone amongst many other cities. Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates Airline said: “The expansion of the Emirates – Airlink partnership marks an important step forward in our relationship. Our new codeshare agreement enhances our service offering and flexibility for customers traveling beyond our gateways in South and Southern Africa and provides them unparalleled options for leisure destinations. We are committed to growing our operations in South Africa, and with the strong connection opportunities being provided collectively with Airlink we hope to help jumpstart the recovery of the local travel and tourism industry.” He …