Category Archives: Aviation

SpiceJet and Amadeus recently organised a series of empowerment sessions for the region’s travel community held in Dubai, UAE. More than 100 travel consultants participated in the sessions, which focused on how the Gulf’s travel industry can collaborate to better define and deliver offers to travel agents, corporates, and individual travellers. A number of success cases were also presented during the sessions, including SpiceJet’s MoU with Gulf Air and codeshare agreement with Emirates. Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, briefed audiences on how the travel tech company is working with ecosystem partners to create fully-open systems, to better harness the intelligent use of data, and to integrate new interfaces and architectures that connect travellers to the journeys they want. The agreement marks the first time that SpiceJet is working with a distribution partner. “To realise the full value of their inventory in 2020 and beyond, it is essential for the Gulf’s travel community to differentiate their offers beyond just price, while ensuring that more agencies and travellers can connect with their growing networks,” said keynote speaker Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont.

Emirates announces plans to launch a new daily service from Dubai (DXB) to Penang International Airport (PEN), via Singapore (SIN), from April 9, 2020. Emirates’ flight to Penang will be a linked service with Singapore, allowing passengers to travel easily between the two cities while enjoying the airline’s award-winning service. Penang will become Emirates’ second destination in Malaysia after its capital, Kuala Lumpur, which the airline currently serves with three flights a day and is a route that has been operating since 1996. The flight will be operated by an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration, offering eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 304 spacious seats in Economy Class. The new route enables travellers from the northern cities of Malaysia to enjoy convenient connections from Dubai to destinations in Europe, North America and the Middle East. Located on the North-western coast of Malaysia, the state comprises a mainland portion as well as an island, connected by Malaysia’s two longest roadbridges. Penang is the country’s second largest populated city and is known for its rich heritage and architecture, vibrant multicultural society, modern entertainment and retail options, cuisine as well as the natural beauty of its beaches and hills. “We have been serving Malaysia through our flights to Kuala Lumpur for more than 20 years, with three-times daily service, and the introduction of flights to Penang will help us meet growing demand from leisure and business travellers, both to and from Malaysia. We are also pleased that the fifth freedom flights between Penang and Singapore will connect two sister cities and increase connectivity for passengers in South East Asia,” said Adnan Kazim, …

Due to the unrest in Iran, Finnair is not using the Iranian airspace. This causes changes to the traffic plan between Helsinki and Dubai, and we need to cancel some of our flights to/from Dubai between February to April 2020. We are sorry for the inconvenience this situation has caused you and we are doing our best to minimise the effects on you. We are following the situation closely and will update you with new information as it gets available. The following flights will be cancelled between February 1 and March 29, 2020: Helsinki-Dubai at 20.40 (AY1969) (Thursday, Saturday, Sunday), except during the winter holiday season February 15 – February 28 flights will be operated with a fuel stop in Hurghada en route; Dubai-Helsinki at 06.05 (AY1970) (Monday, Friday, Sunday), except during the winter holiday season 15 February – 28 February flights will be operated with a fuel stop in Hurghada en route The following flights will be cancelled between March 29 and April 13, 2020: Helsinki-Dubai at 20.40 (AY1969) (Thursday, Sunday); Dubai-Helsinki at 06.05 (AY1970) (Monday, Friday). You can choose from the following options, if your flight is cancelled: One change free of charge -2 / + 7 days (dep. one day earlier or max seven days later than orig.) to HEL-DXB-HEL flights including AY connecting flights. AY flights only, NOT on any other airline! Partial or full refund without penalty; No additional hotel accommodation or ground transportation expenses shall be paid by AY; Longer flight time for flights to be operated. As we are not using the Iranian airspace, the flight route between Helsinki and Dubai v.v. is longer than usual with fueling stops being taken. Due to …

Plaza Premium Lounge Dubai opens in DXB to serve individual, business and family travellers. The Plaza reception features the image of Dubai city skyline Plaza Premium Lounge Dubai – Family Suite for a maximum of six guests with butler service. Highlights of Plaza Premium Lounge Dubai includes 1,260-square-metre with a maximum capacity of 300 guests, the largest independent pay-per-use airport lounge at Terminal 3 in the busiest transit hub in the Middle East; Special features- Four Family Suites, dedicated Playroom, ‘first-class’ enclosed private napping space, cigar lounge, male and female prayer rooms; Local cuisine freshly prepared at live kitchen includes Arabic, Asian and International flavours in addition to specially created kid’s and infant’s menus “Dubai is a city known for its ancient and modern attractions as well as a world-class destination for leisure, business and events, attracting nearly 16 million tourists in 2018. With concourse A expecting annual capacity of 19 million and Expo 2020 coming in October, expanding our award-winning Plaza Premium Lounge into Dubai is our promise to make travel better for millions of travellers departing Dubai International. The airport is also a popular transit hub connecting Asia and Europe, our lounge at Terminal 3 will become popular for transit travellers to enjoy a relaxing moment,”  shares Song Hoi See, Founder and CEO of Plaza Premium Group. 

EDGE has joined Mubadala Investment Company as the host partner of the Global Aerospace Summit 2020, is set to be held in Abu Dhabi for the fifth time from March 17-19, 2020. The Summit is one of the world’s leading thought leadership platforms for the aviation, aerospace, defence and space industries. As part of its role in the event, EDGE will showcase its extensive expertise, technology leadership and R&D capabilities within the defence sector. The Summit will offer a platform for the UAE to highlight its strategy of building national technological capabilities and leveraging cutting-edge solutions to achieve its ambitious vision for the future. His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai, CEO and Managing Director of EDGE, said, “Working towards a secure future, EDGE is a catalyst for change, developing agile, bold and disruptive solutions for the defence, aviation and aerospace sectors. The Global Aerospace Summit will allow us to engage in dialogue with industry-leading partners and explore the ever-changing dynamics shaping future trends.” Nicholas Webb, Managing Director of Streamline Marketing Group (SMG), the organiser of the event, said, “The 2020 edition of the Summit will particularly focus on digitalisation and data analytics, and the role of these technologies is a central theme of the event. Therefore, the expertise of entities such as EDGE and Mubadala will be crucial to communicating the advances in the industry, both regionally and globally.”

Requests for assistance for airline passengers with intellectual disabilities have seen an increase of 342 per cent in Middle East and Africa, following a 10-month long campaign to raise awareness of a dedicated Special Service Request (SSR) booking code by travel technology company, Travelport. SSR codes are used in the airline industry to communicate traveller preferences or needs to airlines. They are delivered through standardised four-letter codes defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The DPNA SSR code can be used by travel agents, among others, to alert airlines when a passenger has intellectual or developmental disability and needs assistance.   As part of its campaign to raise awareness of the DPNA SSR code, Travelport has shared educational ‘sign-on alerts’ and graphical ‘prompts’ more than 10 million times with hundreds of thousands of travel agents across the world through Travelport Smartpoint, its flagship Point of Sale solution that is used by travel agents, among others, to search and book airline seats, hotel rooms and more. The digital media used to reach travel agents is typically sold by Travelport to travel providers, like airlines and hotels, as advertising space.   Mark Meehan, Travelport’s Global Vice President and Managing Director of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Operators, said, “SSR codes play an important role in helping travel agents effectively and officially communicate the needs of travellers to IATA airlines, so it’s important agents are aware of the codes at their disposal and the kind of support that can be requested.”

Etihad Airways has become the most recent airline to partner with UK’s easyJet, one of the world’s largest airlines. This new partnership means customers can purchase tickets through the easyJet worldwide website connecting the two airlines’ networks and opening new and exciting possibilities for travel between Europe, Africa, the Azores and the UAE. The collaboration comes into effect immediately. The partnership follows easyJet’s accelerated and successful roll out programme with world-leading flight comparison search engine, Dohop, which powers the easyJet worldwide website connecting its European network with long-haul flights. For Etihad, this has been achieved using the NDC (New Distribution Capability) platform providing technical capability for new partnerships previously not possible. The partnership with easyJet and Dohop is the UAE national airline’s first use of this technology and Etihad plans to add more airlines and travel partners to their NDC portfolio in 2020. Ali Saleh, Vice President Alliances and Partnerships, Etihad Airways, said, “This new collaboration between two great brands is a logical leap forward for both our companies. easyJet is a perfect launch partner for us in Europe, allowing us to reliably increase the breadth of our continental reach to and from Abu Dhabi, as we enhance ways of connecting directly with more airlines and travel partners around the world.”  Rachel Smith, Head of Commercial Partnerships, easyJet, said, “We’re excited to announce our partnership with Etihad Airways, which opens up Abu Dhabi as a destination to our passengers and more of Europe to Etihad. Through smart self-connections and strategic partnerships, we continue to extend the reach of the worldwide by easyJet network offering more value and more routes to more customers.”

Glimpses into Air Traffic Control (ATC) modernisation and innovation will be provided to aviation industry stakeholders at the ATC Forum which is returning to Dubai for its third straight year in June 2020 during the record-setting Airport Show, the world’s largest annual airport industry gathering. The event is coming at a time when it has been predicted that more than half of the Top 20 biggest traffic flows will include Asia-Pacific, while four will come from the Middle East. Five of the 20 fastest growing traffic flows over the next two decades will also be in the MENA region. ATC Forum is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline & Group. His Excellency Mohammed A. Ahli, Director General of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) and Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Air Navigation Services (dans), remarked, “ATC Forum will help regulators and the stakeholders understand the latest ATM developments and trends to make the aviation industry safe and secure.” Air Traffic Control is of tremendous importance in the Arabian Gulf region which is projected to have over 2.6 million flights per annum by 2030. The UAE will be handling about 1.85 million flights annually in 2030, when the average daily flights will reach 5,087. The ATC market is expected to grow globally to US$57 billion by 2022. Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibitions Director, Reed Exhibitions, said, “Though air traffic congestion has improved drastically across the region, a global study has projected the number of passengers delayed between one and two hours will grow from around 50,000 each …

Etihad Airways will mark Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2020 by operating a special ‘eco-flight’ from Abu Dhabi to Brussels, featuring a range of initiatives designed to illustrate the airline’s broad commitment to sustainable practices in the air and on the ground. Flight EY 57, departed at 2.20 am on January 13, operated with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, the newest and most efficient type in the Etihad fleet, which consumes at least 15 per cent less fuel than any aircraft type previously flown by the airline. The aircraft will follow an optimised flight route facilitated by the European airspace navigation service provider Eurocontrol to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions. A range of other initiatives will be undertaken before, during and after the flight to highlight incremental opportunities to reduce the airline’s impact on the environment. The aircraft will follow an optimised flight route facilitated by the European airspace navigation service provider Eurocontrol to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions. A range of other initiatives will be undertaken before, during and after the flight to highlight incremental opportunities to reduce the airline’s impact on the environment. Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Sustainable practice is a critical and continuing challenge for the air transport industry, which is striving to reduce carbon emissions and waste, while meeting soaring demand for air travel. It is also a key priority for the emirate of Abu Dhabi, in which Etihad is a critical driver of both social and economic development. This year’s national theme of the United Arab Emirates is ‘2020: Towards the next 50’. Etihad is committed to working continuously with a range of partners as part of a …

Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines’ largest national flag-carrier, hails the UAE’s five-year multiple-entry tourist visas for all nationalities, including Filipinos. This more relaxed visa policy makes it easier for the significant Filipino community in the UAE to bring their families and loved ones to the country more frequently. On the back of this development, CEB further boosts its commitment to make air travel accessible to everyone, particularly the significant Filipino community in Dubai with its trademark Crazy Seat Sale on January 15, 2020. More details on the sale will be rolled out soon on CEB’s official social media pages. Travel deal-hunters will be able to plan their holidays as well as take advantage of these exciting promotional offerings. CEB launched its first long-haul services with direct flights between Manila and Dubai in 2013, in the mission of serving the over one million Filipinos in Dubai. Its no-frills flying model has propelled it to become the preferred carrier of overseas Filipinos. Passengers looking for the best travel deals can stay updated by subscribing to the Cebu Pacific newsletter. Passengers can book seats on sale, and lowest year-round fares through www.cebupacificair.com or the mobile app, available both in Google Play and App Store. Those who prefer to pay in cash may pay over the counter at any branch of Al-Ansari Exchange, UAE Exchange and Al Rais Travels located across the country, within 24 hours of making a booking online.