Category Archives: Aviation

Oman Air resumed flights to Riyadh KSA, operating 4 flights per week. Flights to Dammam KSA resumed on 28 March 2021, operating 4 flights per week. The airline will maintain its comprehensive safety program throughout all elements of the travel journey to ensure that guests fly confidently. Masks are required when guests are onboard the aircraft and in Oman’s airports. Distancing is maintained while guests board and exit the aircraft, which are carefully cleaned after each flight and at the end of every day. Cabin crew all wear a full set of personal protective equipment, meal service has been modified to further ensure safety, and a number of other measures have been implemented to ensure that the airline’s guests and crew are safe at all times. Guests who are planning to travel to Muscat should visit the Civil Aviation Authority website, caa.gov.om, to ensure they are prepared to comply with requirements to enter the Sultanate. Guests travelling to KSA should ensure they are aware of official requirements to enter or transit through the country. Guests departing from Oman should also ensure that they are aware of all pre-departure requirements and requirements during their flights, which are provided at omanair.com.

Oman Air announced its expanded codeshare cooperation with Qatar Airways offers Oman Air guests the flexibility to fly to 10 destinations in the USA with the ease and convenience offered by connecting flights in Doha, Qatar. Now within easier reach from Muscat are New York (JFK), Houston (IAH), Chicago (ORD), Philadelphia (PHL), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), Dallas (DFW), Boston (BOS), San Francisco (SFO), and Washington, D.C. (IAD). Eng. Abdulaziz Al Raisi, Chief Executive Officer, Oman Air commented on Oman Air’s growing commercial cooperation with Qatar Airways as a win-win for both carriers, offering greater flexibility and seamless connectivity for business and leisure travellers flying between Muscat and the USA, adding, “Our enhanced codeshare agreement with Qatar Airways, an airline with remarkable reach and reputation around the world, facilitates travel between Oman and some of the most celebrated cities in the US while at the same time offering travellers from North America an easy way to connect to Oman’s breathtaking beauty, rich and diverse culture, and authentic hospitality.”

Cebu Pacific reaffirms its full commitment to speed up its digital transformation, in line with its staunch resolve to make travel more convenient and accessible amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. CEB has taken great strides in continuously improving overall customer experience by enhancing its online booking, check-in, manage booking, as well as CEB’s virtual assistant named ‘Charlie the chatbot’. The carrier has begun ramping-up its customer-first initiatives through digital innovation in 2017—making CEB one of the first airlines in Asia to invest in an integrated facility and technology for social intelligence and customer engagement. “We are glad to have started our digital transformation journey even before the pandemic because we have come to rely on it in this new normal environment. We continue to prioritise the safety and convenience of our passengers, that is why we have accelerated our digital efforts to support contactless and self-service processes,” said Candice Iyog, Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience, CEB. This has spurred CEB ahead of everyone else in the Philippine aviation sector in terms of keeping pace with necessary changes when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The vital digital transformations and systems it had adopted early on—including bolstering its social media channels manned by the CEB Customer Care Agents—helped in addressing passengers’ needs amidst the pandemic. Iyog said, “Rest assured Charlie, along with our Customer Care team, are online 24/7 to assist everyone. We continue to enhance existing processes as we remain committed to empowering customers and ensuring access to the information they need anytime, anywhere, without having to call the hotline or go to a ticketing office.”  

Emirates commenced trials of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass– a mobile app to help passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with any government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information. The first passengers travelling from Dubai to Barcelona on EK 185 trialled the ‘digital passport’ to verify and share their pre-travel COVID-19 test status with Emirates. The trials are a step towards making travel more convenient, enabling travellers to manage COVID-19 related documentation digitally, safely and seamlessly throughout the travel experience. In the future, travellers will also be able to share vaccination certificates with authorities and airlines to facilitate travel. Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer said, “The ability to process passengers’ COVID-19 relevant data for travel digitally will be the way forward. We are pleased to have been pioneers and partner with IATA in trialling this initiative in real time and soon will be launching other initiatives to further enhance our customer experience.” The trial is being done on selected Emirates flights from Dubai to Barcelona and London Heathrow to Dubai; and will soon be expanded to include other routes. Eligible passengers are being personally invited to download the app and enrol for the digital travel pass ahead of their travels. In Dubai, Emirates has partnered with select Prime Health Care labs which are authorised to securely send test results to passengers via the app. Those travelling from the UK, can get their test done at select Screen4 labs. The IATA Travel Pass app will have an integrated registry of travel requirements to enable passengers to find accurate information on travel and entry requirements for all destinations regardless of their itinerary. Eventually …

Etihad Airways unveiled a year-long programme in celebration of the 50 years since the nation was established. The programme will launch in three phases, focusing on the past, the present and looking forward to the future. The airline has launched a dedicated platform at etihad.com/uae50, and aims to engage the local community in its participative programme which will be revealed in detail throughout the year. Citizens, residents and guests of the UAE will have the chance to participate and win one of 50,000 prizes that will be given away throughout the course of the year. Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “This year-long initiative demonstrates Etihad’s celebration of the past, and commitment to the next 50 years of this incredible country. As one of the UAE’s leading brands, Etihad is proud to bring the world to Abu Dhabi to be part of this celebration.”  

Oman Air has launched its new service between Muscat and Sharjah, UAE, with 3 weekly flights (Wednesdays, Saturdays & Sundays), operated with Airbus 330 aircraft. Wednesday and Sunday flights from Muscat will depart at 14:25 and arrive in Sharjah at 15:40. Flights from Sharjah will depart at 17:15 and arrive in Muscat at 18:30. The Saturday flight from Muscat will depart at 20:15 and arrive in Sharjah at 21:30, while the flight from Sharjah will depart at 23:00 and arrive in Muscat at 00:15. Oman Air will maintain its comprehensive safety program throughout all elements of the travel journey to ensure that guests fly confidently. Masks are required when guests are on board the aircraft and in Oman’s airports. Distancing is maintained while guests board and exit the aircraft, which are carefully cleaned after each flight and at the end of every day. Cabin crew all wear a full set of personal protective equipment, meal service has been modified to further ensure safety, and a number of other measures have been implemented to ensure that the airline’s guests and crew are safe at all times.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi announced three new routes connecting Abu Dhabi to Belgrade, Sohag and Luxor. The new destinations offer something for everyone – from beautiful landmarks and delicious cuisine to magnificent ancient ruins and rich history for those who have the appetite for dynamic experiences, exploring new places and culture. Tickets are on sale at wizzair.com and the airline’s mobile app, which is also available in Arabic, with fares starting as low as AED 129*. Kees Van Schaick, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, said, “Today’s announcement underpins our long-term commitment to providing low fares and high-quality onboard experiences to our customers. The new connection between the capital of the United Arab Emirates and these three new cities within Europe and the Middle East will continue to stimulate air traffic demand and support the growth of Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector and economic agenda. We look forward to welcoming passengers onboard our new, green and ultra-efficient fleet.”

Emirates has announced the latest updates to its already generous booking policies, offering customers even more confidence and flexibility to make their travel plans. Customers holding tickets issued before 30 September 2020 for travel before 31 December 2021, can now rebook to travel anytime within 36 months, an extension of 12 months from the previous policy. Those holding tickets issued after 01 October 2020 for travel before 31 December 2021, can utilise their tickets anytime within 24 months. Fees for reissuing any ticket will be waived, and vouchers or unused portions of Emirates tickets may be refunded without penalty. Customers who hold tickets issued directly by Emirates, whether via emirates.com or the airline’s retail and contact centres, do not have to contact Emirates as the tickets are automatically extended. Customers who purchased their tickets via a travel agent will need to contact their agent before the expiry date to reissue their tickets.

The latest study, commissioned by Amadeus and delivered by Censuswide, provides encouraging news for the industry, with 51% of travellers from the UAE keen to book international travel within six weeks of restrictions lifting. The study also demonstrates the importance of understanding traveller concerns around privacy, ease of use and security. As governments and the travel industry explore the benefits of digital health passports, the message from travellers is clear: digital health passports can be a vital tool in opening up travel. An Amadeus commissioned study has found that that just over 9 in 10 (91%) travellers surveyed globally would be comfortable using a digital health passport for future trips. This encouraging research provides an incentive to accelerate plans for digital health passports that will help to address traveller concerns. The study provided further good news for the industry as just over half of UAE travellers (51%) said they would book international travel within six weeks of restrictions lifting, demonstrating that the appetite to travel remains high. The survey of 9,055 travellers in France, Spain, Germany, India, UAE, Russia, Singapore, UK and US also contained a note of caution for the industry with over 9 in 10 (93%) travellers having some concerns around storing their health data for travel. The survey also explored what solutions might alleviate concerns around digital health data and travel in the future and results showed: Almost 3 in 5 (58%) of UAE travellers would be comfortable using a digital passport if it was accepted by most countries and was regulated by international standards, while 47% would be comfortable if only COVID-19-specific data was included in any health passport.  Just under 8 in 10 (78%) would …

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi announced its first flight to Tel Aviv on April 18, 2021, following the announcement that Israel has been added to the green list (a list of ‘green’ countries, regions and territories that you can travel from if planning a trip to Abu Dhabi), meaning travellers will no longer need to quarantine upon arrival in Abu Dhabi. Tickets are already on sale on wizzair.com and the airline’s mobile app, which is also available in Arabic, with fares starting as low as AED 99*. The flights from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv will be available three times per week in April, moving to daily flights in May. Kees Van Schaick, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, said, “In light of the recently eased restrictions, I’m delighted to announce the date of the first WIZZ flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv later this month. The connection between the two cities is a historic moment – the link between the UAE and Israel will further contribute to the tourism sector and help to diversify the local economy, while bringing new low-fare business and leisure opportunities for travellers.”