Royal Jordanian (RJ) launched a new, state-of-the-art technology, offering passengers wireless in-flight entertainment (IFE) system on board the airline’s four Airbus A319 and six A320 aircraft. The new IFE service, which is provided by Bluebox Aviation Systems, is deployed on the Bluebox Wow portable wireless IFE system; this solution provides wireless content streamed to passengers’ personal devices on both Crown and Economy classes. To be able to view a wide range of films, TV programmes, games, airline info and audio, passengers need to download the ‘Sky Connect’ app on their personal devices from Apple Store or Google Play prior to their flight departure. This will enable them to stream IFE content provided by RJ for free on their personal devices (smartphones, laptops and tablets). Also RJ launched a campaign through all its communication channels to encourage customers to download the app and inform them about the requirements needed to enjoy using the new technology. Stefan Pichler, President & CEO, Royal Jordanian, said, “We’re continually enhancing our passenger services across all touch points, and Bluebox Wow enables us to do that by delivering wireless IFE to passengers’ own devices. It is both a cost-effective and a quick way of modernizing the IFE on part of our medium- and short-haul fleet, and with Bluebox’s commitment to continually invest in new capabilities, we know that as the technology advances, so will our ability to deliver even more to our passengers.” “We are delighted that Royal Jordanian has chosen Bluebox Wow,” said Kevin Clark, CEO of Bluebox. “Both the technological innovation and the deployment model of Bluebox Wow make Royal Jordanian and its fleet of A319s and A320s a natural fit for Bluebox Wow, a solution that …

Dubai College of Tourism (DCT), a vocational education institution established as part of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has underlined its commitment to building a network of world-class tourism professionals with the launch of a series of new training initiatives available for enrolment at the industry focused learning facility. Building on its extensive range of vocational courses, the college has introduced a Summer Tourism Camp that aims to provide children between the ages of 10-13 years old with hands-on experience of working in the industry. With an emphasis on practical learning, the camp will cover a broad range of activities from cooking classes to day trips in Dubai, giving students an opportunity to learn more about the industry and Dubai’s diverse tourism proposition including hospitality, retail, events and the culinary arts. DCT Summer Camp is now open for registration for attendance starting from July 7 to July 18, 2019. Additionally, DCT has announced a series of Summer Short Courses, to be conducted by seasoned industry professionals. These range from the ‘Principles’ series for beginners, with courses in retail, marketing, event management and travel agency operations; to intermediate courses hosted under the ‘Master Classes’ series, which include courses in Digital Marketing, Branding and Experiential Marketing. Adding to the roster of vocational courses available through the college, DCT will also offer students a 30-hour ‘English for Hospitality’ programme, developed to help them learn specialised communication skills needed when dealing with customers or colleagues. Commenting on the new additions to DCT’s vocational training courses, Essa Bin Hadher, General Manager of Dubai College of Tourism, said, “The launch of the new training courses further cements our position as the primary enabler …

Abu Dhabi Airports has welcomed new daily flights from Al Ain International Airport (AAN) to King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, designed to facilitate travel to Saudi Arabia for the performance of the Islamic pilgrimage, Umrah, during the holy month of Ramadan. The flights, operated by Etihad Airways, will take place during the last ten days of Ramadan, commencing on May 26 and continuing through to June 4, in line with the most popular time period for performing Umrah. Ahmed Al Shamisi, Acting Chief Operations Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, said, “Ramadan is a blessed time of the year, and we are delighted to be able to support our customer’s performance of Umrah by adding a daily flight to Jeddah from Al Ain International Airport during the last ten days of Ramadan. We are continually working to enhance our services and offerings, and together with Etihad Airways we look forward to sharing the spirit of Ramadan with those travelling for Umrah.” Etihad Airways will operate its daily flights using its Airbus A330. Flights are scheduled to depart from Al Ain International Airport at 13:30 Local Time (LT) and arrive at King Abdulaziz International Airport at 15:20 LT. Returning flights will depart from King Abdulaziz International Airport at 16:20 LT and arrive at Al Ain International Airport at 20:05 LT.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the global passenger traffic results for March 2019 showing that Middle East carriers’ passenger demand fell 3 per cent in March marking a second consecutive month of declining traffic. This reflects the broader structural changes in the industry which have been taking place in the region. Capacity increased 2.3 per cent, and load factor plunged 4.0 percentage points to 73.8 per cent. According to IATA, the overall global passenger traffic results for March 2019 showing that demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometers, or RPKs) rose 3.1 per cent, compared to the same month a year ago, which was the slowest pace for any month in nine years. “While traffic growth slowed considerably in March, we do not see the month as a bellwether for the rest of 2019. Nevertheless, the economic backdrop has become somewhat less favourable, with the IMF having recently revised its GDP outlook downward for a fourth time in the past year,” said Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO of IATA.

Amadeus signed a landmark hospitality distribution agreement with Booking.com to integrate its accommodation content into the Amadeus Travel Platform for the first time. Amadeus’ extensive travel seller network will make Booking.com’s content available to even more travellers worldwide. Every day more than 1.5 million room nights are reserved across 228 countries and territories worldwide via the Booking.com platform. Thanks to a new partnership between Amadeus and Booking.com, travel sellers will now be able to access the vast and rich content of the company’s extensive listings. This includes everything from hotels, motels and resorts to homes, apartments and many other unique places to stay provided by Booking.com through the Amadeus Travel Platform. As a result of this partnership, travel sellers will directly benefit from an increase of 30% in the accommodation options made available by Amadeus. They will be able to access the new content in the coming months through multiple points of sale including Amadeus Selling Platform Connect and, for corporate bookers, through Amadeus Cytric Travel & Expense. Ripsy Bandourian, VP of Partnerships at Booking.com, said, “We’re constantly on the lookout for strategic collaborations that can enable us to reach even more people around the globe, empowering them to easily discover and book their ideal travel experiences via Booking.com.” Jorge Elliott, EVP of Travel Content Sourcing, Travel Channels, Amadeus, said, “We’re confident that the partnership between Amadeus and Booking.com will bring a number of benefits to our travel seller community. Amadeus’ technology combined with Booking.com’s content means that travel sellers can search, book and integrate Booking.com’s content seamlessly, ensuring the booking process is simple, and trips can easily be customised for travellers.” Peter Waters, EVP, Hotels, Mobility & Insurance, Amadeus, …

There was a high level of engagement between exhibitors and buyers at the IMEX show. “This has been an outstanding week of business, learning and experiences to stir the imagination,” said Ray Bloom, Chairman of the IMEX Group, as IMEX in Frankfurt 2019 came to a close. “The spectacular destinations and venues, the investment in sensational, creative stand designs and the great energy in the hall have created an inspiring environment to do business and to learn;  and from all the business being done, there is evidently a strong, positive, forward-looking mood at the show and optimism around the industry.” Close to 70,000 individual and group appointments were made with 72 per cent having a mini RFP attached. For Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group, the experiences in the new Discovery Zone, the fresh ideas in the Red Lab and the new technology have stood out

It was announced by Air India that various new flights would begin from next month on international routes in order to meet heavy demand of seats during the summer vacation. The carrier will offer additional 3,500 seats per week on Mumbai-Dubai-Mumbai route from June 1. Moreover, it will offer additional 3,500 seats per week on Delhi-Dubai-Delhi route too from June 2 by operating two new flights using its B787 Dreamliner aircraft. “The airline will offer one way Economy class promotional fare of Rs 7,777 (all inclusive) from both Delhi and Mumbai to Dubai for sale and travel up to July 31, 2019,” Air India said in a statement. On its domestic front, Air India said it will introduce new flights on Bhopal-Pune-Bhopal route and Varanasi-Chennai-Varanasi route from June 5. The statement further added that, “The number of flights on Delhi-Bhopal-Delhi route will be increased from present 14 flights per week to 20 flights per week by introducing third frequency to the historical city of Tals.”

Hotelbeds, the world’s leading business-to-business bedbank announced the results of its recently launched Corporate Volunteering programme, as part of Hotelbeds’ Corporate Sustainability strategy. The programme, which was recently launched at the company’s headquarters in Palma, Spain, has already reached a participation rate of 60% amongst employees where the programme is live.  Employees have already participated in around 230 volunteering activities and dedicated 5,000+ hours to support the following areas: the environment, health, people at risk of social exclusion, poverty and childhood. Launched in the first office one year ago, Hotelbeds has gradually rolled out the programme globally hosting 11 events across its different Hotelbeds offices worldwide, including Orlando, Singapore, Bangkok, Cancun, Tel Aviv, Dubai, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Zurich and most recently the headquarters in Palma de Mallorca, reaching a total of 3,000 of  5,000 employees worldwide. Around 50 NGOs around the globe have been able to benefit from the Hotelbeds Corporate Volunteering programme, including NGOs such as Give Kids the World in Orlando,  Beyond Social Services in Singapore, The Thai Red Cross in Bangkok, Mallorca Sense Fam and El Grec in Mallorca and Food for Life in Tel Aviv, among many others. Elena Pérez, Human Resources Director at Hotelbeds, says, “I am thrilled that we have already more than 60% of our employees participating in the Volunteering Programme – this is before we’ve even rolled-out the programme in all offices.” Teresa Laso, who leads Corporate Sustainability at Hotelbeds, adds, “I’m very proud of the great success of our Volunteering Program worldwide. At Hotelbeds we strongly believe that giving back to the community is at the core of our culture and with this initiative we wanted to go one step further …

Following a strong start to 2019, Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau, showcased Dubai’s dynamic business events offerings yet again at IMEX, the worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events. The aim of DBE’s participation at the event in Frankfurt, from May 21 – 23, is to position Dubai as a destination of choice for business events and incentive travel for a global audience of over 14,000 hosted buyers and trade visitors. This year, alongside more than 30 co-exhibitors, DBE previewed new project plans and milestones that demonstrate a strong focus on transforming Dubai into a global knowledge hub. In addition, the bureau highlighted some of the latest developments in Dubai’s state-of-the-art facilities, infrastructure and renowned hospitality sector. Among the co-exhibitors were Coca-Cola Arena, Expo 2020 Dubai and W Dubai – The Palm, all of whom shared new and upcoming offerings with event planners, while the likes of Dubai World Trade Centre, Emirates and Jumeirah Group joined DBE at the show once again, underlining the broader business events infrastructure in the city. Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said, “Business events play a pivotal role in our city’s transformation into a global knowledge economy and our participation in events such as IMEX serve as an ideal platform to support our ambitious tourism strategy. After a strong start to 2019, DBE continues to build on its momentum, attracting events that are set to make a significant economic impact and leave a lasting legacy for delegates from around the globe.” Dubai Business Events aims to further strengthen Dubai’s reputation as a premier business events destination globally by promoting the city as …

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts launched a worldwide campaign celebrating Global Meetings Industry Day (#GMID19), the annual celebration that profiles the importance of business meetings, events and incentive travel to individuals, businesses and communities around the world. The 2019 GMID campaign celebrates the people of Four Seasons whose skill, creativity and innovation create exceptional event experiences that go above and beyond the ordinary. “Our Four Seasons meetings and events teams are true masters of their craft, creating personalised, innovative events that make the extraordinary happen,” says Ben Trodd, Senior Vice President, Sales and Hotel Marketing, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “On Global Meetings Industry Day, we thank our partners for entrusting us with their most high-profile gatherings, and we also recognize the talented Four Seasons craftspeople who transform our properties and bring these events to life. Their dedicated efforts, creativity and passion continue to impress guests from around the world and ensure our clients trust and return to Four Seasons year after year.” From an exclusive Florentine palace dinner alongside the Duomo curated by Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, to a private mixology class led by one of the world’s leading mixologists at the renowned Fifty Mils bar in Four Seasons Hotel Mexico City, event planners have confidence in Four Seasons to create customised, unique events that are thoughtfully curated for any occasion. Meetings and events are an important business for Four Seasons, and property teams work seamlessly together to craft custom events that transform spaces, celebrate food and beverage craftsmanship and deliver Four Seasons service excellence. No event is identical, and Four Seasons continues to lead the industry by transporting events outside of traditional ballrooms and into the inspiring, expansive …