Etihad Airways proudly welcomed the UAE Paralympics team on board this week as they embark on their ambitious journey. The UAE’s national airline showed its support for the team of 22 athletes, coaches, medical staff and personnel with a celebratory send off at Zayed International Airport on Wednesday. The airline will also display a giant billboard across its Abu Dhabi headquarters building, featuring the slogan ‘Unstoppable passion. Unforgettable journey’ in a show of support for the competing athletes’ mission. In a video posted on Etihad’s social media channels, the team received a warm welcome at the airport by Etihad staff and a team of volunteers, before enjoying the delights of the Etihad Lounge ahead of their flight. Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, said: “We are hugely proud of the UAE athletes, and we extend our heartfelt best wishes ahead of their forthcoming competitions. “At Etihad it is our purpose to give flight to ambition, and there is no better way we can showcase this than by flying this team of ambitious and talented athletes.” Known for its award-winning service and hospitality, Etihad welcomes and caters for the needs of people of determination from booking to arrival at their destination. Etihad’s highly trained cabin crew are happy to assist travellers with any additional needs during their flight. This includes supporting guests with visual impairment to move around the aircraft, make menu selections and enjoy their dining experience. The cabin crew will also update guests with a hearing impairment of announcements made during the flight, while they may also enjoy the extensive entertainment on E-Box with subtitles in multiple languages. With Etihad, guests can bring their own wheelchair or mobility …

Travelport announced that agency customers can now access content from Greater Bay Airlines (GBA), Hong Kong’s newest carrier, through the Travelport+ platform. This new collaboration will support GBA’s aggressive expansion plans as Travelport+ connects the Hong Kong-based carrier to Travelport’s global network of travel retailers. With this multi-year agreement, Travelport is providing agents the ability to easily search, compare and book GBA’s fares and ancillary services. The agreement also includes GBA’s use of Travelport’s rich content and branding merchandizing solutions for ease of use and driving incremental sales. “We have partnered with Travelport to support our growth strategy and connect with more travel retailers, so that we can make it easy for agents and travelers to shop and book with GBA,” said Stephen Loh, Chief Operating Officer at Greater Bay Airlines. “We are impressed with Travelport’s vision to enhance traveler experiences by modernizing the retailing process and making it easier for agencies to consume our dynamic content and sell our product offerings and ancillaries.” “We’ve enhanced the multi-source content that our agency customers can search, sell and service in Travelport+ with this new partner agreement that will also support GBA in reaching more travel retailers and customers as GBA expands into additional markets,” said Damian Hickey, Global Head of Travel Partners at Travelport. “Our ability to make it easy for agencies to access and compare multi-source content from brands like GBA alongside other carriers is essential to modern travel retailing, so that travelers know they are presented with the best options and book with confidence.” GBA operates in seven destinations across the Asia-Pacific region, including Chinese Mainland, North and Southeast Asia.

Sabre Corporation has initiated a hiring plan in response to new customer wins and increased demand in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. This expansion focuses on strengthening Sales, Strategy, and Customer Support departments to enhance service delivery and support for Sabre’s strategic initiatives. Sabre is focused on its strategic initiatives and efforts to leverage next-generation technology across the travel ecosystem. To support these actions, Sabre is expanding its team in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Portugal, among other countries in the region. Richard Addey, Senior Regional Director for Western Europe and Africa, said “We have a growing customer base in France, and our expansion efforts will help ensure we continue to meet and exceed their expectations. By strengthening our team, we are reinforcing our commitment to delivering top-tier service and innovative solutions to our valued customers in the region.” Andreas Syrigos, Senior Regional Director for Southern Europe & Nordics, commented: “Countries like Spain and Portugal are rapidly expanding for Sabre, while others, such as Italy, show consistent progress. Our teams are being reinforced with positions covering Technology Consultancy, Product Support, and Sales & Account Management.” “With our commitment and new expansion plans, this is an exciting time for Sabre, particularly in the Middle East,” stated Ramzi Al-Qassab, Managing Director of Sabre Middle East. “We are expanding our highly specialized, customer-focused teams, advancing innovative technology, and providing impactful travel solutions in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman.” “These expansion plans support our ongoing focus on our strategic initiatives,” said Sean McDonald, Managing Director and Vice President of Sabre in EMEA. “The recent launch of various Sabre solutions marks a new era for the industry, …

Riyadh Air selects Saudi Ground Services Company through competitive bidding process in line with the airline’s preparations to commence operations by 2025. SGS will handle ramp and passenger terminal services for Riyadh Air’s domestic and international flights at King Khalid International Airport. Saudi Arabia’s new digitally native airline Riyadh Air, a PIF company, has appointed Saudi Ground Services Company (SGS), to provide ground-handling services and handle its passengers and ramp operations at King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) in the capital city. The Riyadh Air contract includes ramp and passenger terminal services for all its domestic and international flights at King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) in the city of Riyadh. The SGS contract will commence on the 1st of September 2024 and operate for 4.5 years (55 months), with an option to extend it for another two years. The full tender value, including the extension period, will be around SAR 1.5 billion (USD 400 million). The signing ceremony for the contract took place on 14 August 2024 at Riyadh Air office and was attended by Peter Bellew, COO of Riyadh Air, and Mohammed Mazi, acting CEO of Saudi Ground Services, along with key executives of the two entities. Peter Bellew, COO of Riyadh Air, said: Every day, we are entering into agreements which will keep us on course to becoming operational by 2025. The ground handling services are an important part of delivering our world-class premium services, which we know will set new benchmarks in the global aviation industry. We were impressed with SGS Company and are confident this will deliver what Riyadh Air needs at the KKIA. Commenting on the partnership, Raed H. Al-ldrissi, CEO of the Saudi Ground Services Company, said: I extend my …

Air Astana and Japan Airlines announced the signing of a codeshare agreement. The agreement will allow both airlines to place their respective codes on a new Almaty to Tokyo service scheduled to be launched in spring of 2026. This agreement enhances connectivity between Kazakhstan and Japan for both business and leisure travelers, as well as more widely fostering greater movement of people and goods between the two countries. Diplomatic relations between Japan and Kazakhstan were established in 1992. Air Astana Group CEO Peter Foster remarked, “Our collaboration with Japan Airlines is an exciting development that will enrich our international network and offer more travel options for our customers. We look forward to delivering a seamless travel experience for passengers between Kazakhstan and Japan.” Japan Airlines Group CEO Mitsuko Tottori stated, “We are delighted to enter into cooperation with such a distinguished partner as Air Astana. We will contribute to further enhancement of over 30 years of diplomatic relationship between Japan and Kazakhstan, through developing passenger and cargo traffic.” More details about routes and schedules will be announced following the integration of both airlines’ scheduling and ticketing systems.

At a recent interview with TravelTV, Tara Naidu, Vice President International Business, Air India Express she explained that travel agents are most important as 80% of their business come from them and they are looking at a new way to incentivise travel agents. “Travel agents are the most important source for us, about 80% of our bookings are through travel agents and within that what we see is that the segment of online travel agents is growing so online travel agents could be B2B or B2C, they could be operating through a network of sub agents or they could be operating directly to consumers. We offer commissions to them which are called transaction fees, but we have been looking at the models operated by the airlines and have seen that transaction fees are not very popular and agents may prefer to get some incentives.”

Cathay Pacific announced the launch of direct passenger flights to Riyadh  from 28 October 2024, further enhancing connectivity, trade and cultural exchange between its home hub, Hong Kong, and countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. Cathay Pacific marked the announcement with a signing ceremony in Hong Kong, attended and witnessed by Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung, Consul General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Hong Kong SAR, Hamad Aljebreen, Cathay Group Chief Executive Officer Ronald Lam and Saudi Air Connectivity Program Chief Executive Officer Majid Khan. The agreement was signed by Cathay Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau, and Saudi Air Connectivity Program Aviation Development Vice President Rashed Alshammari in the presence of distinguished guests from Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung said: “The signing of the cooperation agreement marks a significant milestone for the already prospering aviation partnership between Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia developed for almost two decades. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Cathay Pacific for their unfaltering support to the Government’s policies and for considering Hong Kong’s strategic development needs in their network planning. “The Hong Kong SAR Government is committed to strengthening aviation services on current major routes and routes along the Belt and Road with potential. Following Cathay Pacific’s initiative to commence services to Riyadh, we will be able to expand Hong Kong’s aviation network and enhance air connectivity between us and the Middle East, which further consolidates Hong Kong’s status as an international aviation hub.” Consul General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Hong Kong SAR Hamad Aljebreen said: “The inauguration of this route is a …

IndiGo enhances connectivity between Mumbai and Kuwait from 29 October 2024 by adding frequencies, focusing on both business and leisure travellers. This new frequencies aim to enhance international connectivity and bolster mobility between the commercial hubs in Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra, considering the increased demand for business and leisure travel from the states. The addition of these flights will provide travellers with more options to explore these vibrant tourist and economic hubs in Southeast Asia and Middle East during the upcoming festive season and holiday travel months. With the launch of these new routes and frequencies, IndiGo now provides 908 direct flights a week from Chennai to 48 destinations, 141 weekly flights from Coimbatore to 7 destinations, and 1292 weekly flights from Mumbai to 72 destinations. Mr. Vinay Malhotra, Head of Global Sales, IndiGo, said, “We are pleased to further enhance our international connectivity with new / direct additional flights to Singapore, Colombo and Kuwait. With introduction of these flights IndiGo now offers increased connectivity to Singapore (72 flights a week) from 9 cities in India, to Colombo (37 flights a week) from 4 cities in India, and to Kuwait (34 flights a week) from 5 cities in India. These new routes and additional frequencies foster stronger economic and cultural ties and unlock new avenues for trade, tourism, and collaboration. As India’s preferred carrier, we are committed to offering on- time, affordable, and hassle-free travel experiences across our extensive network.” Singapore, also referred to as the “Lion City” and the “Garden City,” boasts a unique fusion of culture, continental cuisine, customs, and traditions. The well-known Merlion Park, Gardens by the Bay, Universal Studios, SEA Aquarium, Marina Bay Sands Skypark, Botanical …

HealthStay.io, a member of Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) Cohort 7 Accelerator, has launched its world-first artificial intelligence (AI) powered sales and booking management solution to revolutionise medical tourism in the UAE and beyond. The white label solution – hosting a strategic partnership with Dubai Health Experience (DXH), part of Dubai Health Authority (DHA) – will act as the link between medical tourists and healthcare in Dubai, automating the entire process, enabling medical tourists to select their procedure and make all necessary bookings to facilitate their visit via the international patients section of a hospitals website. Commenting on the launch, Fatima Yousif Alnaqbi, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Support Services Sector, Chief Innovation Officer at the Ministry of Finance, and MBRIF representative, said: “We are pleased to support innovative initiatives that contribute to strengthening the UAE’s position as a global centre of excellence. It always gives us great pride to see an innovation supported under our Innovation Accelerator programme succeed. The launch of HealthStay.io, which offers solutions to enhance the medical tourism experience in our country, highlights the importance of such programmes and underscores the invaluable contribution a customised accelerator can have on our innovation ecosystem, creating positive impact on our economy.” HealthStay.io’s solution streamlines the many processes involved in medical tourism into a single automated system for patients, from selecting a practitioner to finalising flights, visas and accommodation bookings. For hospitals, with the use of HealthStay.io’s interconnected custom built CRM tool they now have a new automated system to acquire new customers, qualify leads and maximise efficiency throughout. Sean Conaty, Co-founder & CEO, HealthStay.io said: “HealthStay is an exciting example of how AI can play a key role in …

Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai (DWC) will host the 10th edition of the MEBAA Show, the leading business aviation event, from 10th-12th December 2024. The show will offer unparalleled opportunities to drive change across the industry. Renowned as a place to build new connections, highlight key launches and explore business opportunities, this edition will cater to the growing demand for business travel in the region. Ali Alnaqbi, Founding and Executive Chairman of the Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA), said, “As the business aviation industry continues to evolve, the MEBAA Show remains a pivotal platform for fostering crucial connections and driving innovation. This year’s event will host global leaders, offering unique opportunities to share and gain knowledge, explore new business deals and forge paths that align with our shared vision of advancing the future of business aviation.” A number of key regional and international operators have already confirmed attendance, including Saudia Private, Qatar Executive, Mukamalah Aviation Company, and Jet Aviation.