Category Archives: Aviation

Etihad Airways is encouraging residents to get away and try something new with the launch of its 49-Hour National Day Sale. And for the first time, you can book your break with a AED 49 deposit and pay nothing until 21 days before your trip. Travellers can jet off any time before 30 September 2021 for less, and lay back and relax at a luxury resort, explore ancient architecture or spend the weekend discovering a new city.Fares from Abu Dhabi to Beirut start from just AED 1,249, Athens from AED 2,449 and Maldives from AED 3,049. The sale extends across all of Etihad’s cabins, with return Business fares starting from AED 5,349 out of Abu Dhabi to Cairo.With Etihad Holidays, travellers can enjoy three-night package deals including Etihad Airways’ flights and accommodation in a four or five-star hotel in Cairo, Athens and Maldives. Those wanting to stay closer to home can choose from an enticing range of staycation deals across the UAE. One night offers are available from as little as AED 149, including breakfast, at a wide range of hotels across Abu Dhabi and Dubai.To give travellers peace of mind when booking, complimentary date or destination changes are permitted. The sale starts at 9am on Wednesday, 11 November 2020 and ends at 10am on Friday, 13 November 2020 at etihad.com. Deposits cannot be refunded. Holiday packages terms and conditions apply.

Emirates’ airline iconic flagship A380 landed at Queen Alia International (AMM) as the airline resumed the operations of its popular aircraft to Amman. Customers can fly the Emirates A380 between Dubai and Amman three times a week on Wednesdays, Thursday and Fridays as part of the airline’s newly introduced expanded schedule of 10 weekly flights. The expanded schedule also includes flights EK 905 and EK 906. Emirates flight EK 905 departs Dubai at 22:15 and arrives in Amman at 23:40 local time. The return flight, EK 906 departs Amman at 01:45 and arrives in Dubai at 06:40 local time. Timings have been scheduled to facilitate more effective onward connections to destinations in the United States such as well as vital connections to European points popular with Jordanian travellers.

Air France KLM Group has formally inaugurated its new regional headquarters at Dubai Airport Freezone. The Air France KLM team relocated to the new offices in Dubai Airport Freezone. The entire regional team is now based at the new offices, including General Management, HR, Finance, Commercial, UAE Country Management and Regional Sales Support. In addition, Air France Industries management team have also relocated with the team, from the former offices at the Al Shoala Complex in Deira, to the new DAFZA location which is designed to support the group’s sustainability goals. His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA), President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority said, “This strategy has helped ensure business continuity and growth and accelerate recovery to the next stage, especially within the aviation sector, which has been affected by the global restrictions and measures that were applied at the beginning of the pandemic. With this opening, DAFZA has continued its process of developing business opportunities and attracting new global partners who put their confidence in the emirate of Dubai.” His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Director General of Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) said, “The group’s selection of DAFZA is important as it will yield positive results for both sides. It will contribute to the growth of business and strengthen its operations in the region and abroad. DAFZA will continue to provide innovative services and develop a base of operations that serve the future expansion of all companies and businesses. This will help in building a new start-up base that meets its ambitions.” Commenting on the opening, Yeshwant Pawar, General Manager, Air France KLM, Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan …

flydubai announced the start of flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv from November 26, 2020. The carrier will operate 14 flights a week offering a double daily service between Dubai International (DXB) and Tel Aviv Ben Gurion (TLV) and flights are now available to be booked on flydubai.com. This announcement follows the air transport agreement that was recently signed by both countries as well as the start of passenger and cargo operations by other national carriers. In addition, there have been a number of bilateral visits as travel and tourism opportunities open-up. Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said, “Since the launch of flydubai 11 years ago, we have been committed to removing barriers to travel, creating free flows of trade and tourism and enhancing connectivity between different cultures across our network. Following the recent bilateral agreement, the start of scheduled flights will contribute to economic development and create further opportunities for investment in pursuit of our shared interests and values. With the start of services there will be the option for increased accessibility to the UAE as well as onwards to the Indian Ocean, Far East and Africa reducing total journey times by several hours.”

Emirates airline reveals that it has returned over AED 5 billion (US$ 1.4 billion) in COVID-19 related travel refunds to date, making strong and steady progress on its commitment to customers to complete pending refunds.More than 1.4 million refunds requests have been completed since March, representing 90% of the airline’s backlog. This includes all requests received from customers around the world up until the end of June, save for a few cases which require further manual review. Since the pandemic hit, Emirates has invested additional resources to ramp up its processing capability. The airline also continues to work with industry partners to facilitate refunds for those who have booked their Emirates flights through travel agents, this includes enabling direct refunds processing via global booking systems (GDS). Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said, “We understand that from our customers’ standpoint, each pending refund request is one too many. We are committed to honouring refunds and are trying our utmost to clear the massive and unprecedented backlog that was caused by the pandemic. Most cases are straightforward, and these we will process quickly. But there are cases which will take a bit more time for our customer teams to manually review and complete. We are grateful to our customers for their patience and understanding.”

flydubai is marking the start of an up to four-times weekly service. Since the airline announced the new route, it has seen growing demand for flights to the Maldives and as a result it will operate daily flights, during the peak seasonal holiday period, from December 17 2020 until January 18, 2021. In addition, the four-hour flight from Dubai arrives in Male’ at a convenient time to provide improved connectivity for onward travel by seaplane. The Maldives is a popular destination which offers breath-taking beaches for those looking for a quiet secluded break and beautiful turquoise waters for those looking to be more active. In line with the comprehensive COVID-19 safe tourism guidelines and hygiene certification programme issued by the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism, all 156 resorts situated in the island nation are following the protective measures, ensuring the safety of tourists and staff. Commenting on flydubai’s growing network, Hamad Obaidalla, Chief Commercial Officer at flydubai, said, “we initially saw our passengers travelling to see their family and friends. As more countries have opened up for tourism we are now seeing more passengers travel for leisure to enjoy their first holiday of the year. Whilst the pandemic has changed the way we travel we can be reassured that the safety measures taken at the airport, on board our flights and at the destination provide a safe environment to travel again with peace of mind.” flydubai has recently introduced a new COVID-19 cover to encourage more people to travel with ease of mind knowing that they will be looked after at every step of their journey. Passengers booking with flydubai for travel until 30 November 2020 will automatically receive free global …

Etihad Airways has launched the world’s first Transition Sukuk and the first Sustainability-Linked financing in global aviation, under a Transition Finance Framework. This follows the first aviation financing linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals raised in December 2019, further confirming Etihad’s role as an industry leader in sustainable finance. The US$ 600 million transaction will support Etihad’s drive for sustainable aviation by linking the sukuk terms to Etihad’s carbon reduction targets: a commitment to Net Zero Carbon emissions by 2050; a 50% reduction in net emissions by 2035; and a 20% reduction in emissions intensity in the airline’s passenger fleet by 2025. Adam Boukadida, Chief Financial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “Sustainability and responsible climate action are the most significant challenges facing the aviation industry. As the UAE’s flag carrier, Etihad is committed to sustainable development in aviation in line with Abu Dhabi’s vision. “By issuing a Sustainability-Linked Sukuk, Etihad is voluntarily adding to its existing commitments under CORSIA, and also committing to reduce carbon emissions intensity by over 20% from the 2017 baseline,” added Boukadida.

Kuwait Airways has received its first two A330neos. These aircraft are the first of eight A330neos ordered by the airline. The carrier currently operates a fleet of 15 Airbus aircraft comprising seven A320ceos, three A320neos and five A330ceos. This event also marks Airbus’ first A330-800 delivery. The new generation widebody aircraft is the latest addition to Airbus’ product line, highlighting the company’s strategy to keep offering its airline customers unbeatable economics, increased operational efficiency and superior passenger comfort with proven latest technology platforms. Thanks to its tailored mid-sized capacity and its excellent range versatility, the A330neo is considered the ideal aircraft to operate as part of the post-COVID-19 recovery.Kuwait Airways Chairman, Captain Ali Mohammad Al-Dukhan stated, “Kuwait Airways takes pride in its continued relationship and cooperation with Airbus for the past four decades. The delivery of the first two A330neos is yet another significant milestone for Kuwait Airways as we progress towards our goals and implementation of our fleet development strategy,” said Al-Dukhan. “The introduction of the A330neos to our expanding fleet strengthens Kuwait Airways’ position as a prominent airline in both the regional and global aviation sector. As we are continuously reviewing our passenger requirements to provide excellent services, combined with comfort and safety during each flight, the arrival of the A330neos commences a new phase in the services we provide to our passengers on board, in addition to efficient and comfortable air transport services with Kuwait Airways”, added Al-Dukhan. Kuwait Airways’ A330neo will comfortably accommodate 235 passengers, featuring 32 fully-flat beds in Business Class and 203 spacious seats in Economy Class while offering a large cargo hold capable of accommodating generous passenger baggage allowances. “The A330neo is the …

Emirates SkyCargo is stepping up its readiness to handle the logistical complexities of distributing a potential COVID-19 vaccine globally by creating the world’s first dedicated airside cargo hub for the vaccine in Dubai. The air cargo carrier is taking a global leadership position by announcing that it will be re-opening its Emirates SkyCentral DWC cargo terminal in Dubai South to serve as a dedicated anchor hub for cold chain storage and distribution of the vaccine. The freight division of Emirates has also set up a dedicated rapid response team to coordinate requests from the various partners involved in the international vaccine distribution ecosystem and to streamline the carrier’s response to vaccine transportation requests. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive said, “We have the infrastructure and logistics connections, and a geographic location that puts markets representing more than two-thirds of the world’s population within an 8-hour flying radius. Over the years, through our continuous investment in capabilities and processes for the transport of temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals, Emirates SkyCargo has managed to position Dubai amongst major global pharmaceutical customers as the year-round preferred point of transit for their valuable cargo. Setting up a dedicated airside hub for COVID-19 vaccines is a keystone project harnessing our network, reach and competencies to positively impact the lives of people around the world.”

Emirates has launched an integrated biometric path at Dubai International airport (DXB). The contactless airport experience is now open to Emirates passengers travelling from and through Dubai. The integrated biometric path will give passengers a seamless travel journey from specific check-in to boarding gates, improving customer flow through the airport with less document checks and less queuing. Utilising the latest biometric technology – a mix of facial and iris recognition, Emirates passengers can now check in for their flight, complete immigration formalities, enter the Emirates Lounge, and board their flights, simply by strolling through the airport. The various touchpoints in the Biometric path allow for a hygienic contactless travel journey, reducing human interaction and putting emphasis on health and safety. Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer said, “We have always focused on providing a great customer experience at any touchpoint and now it is more vital than before to make use of technology and implement products, and introduce processes that focuses not only on fast tracking customers, but more importantly on health and safety during their travel journey. The state-of-the-art, contactless biometric path is the latest in a series of initiatives we have introduced to make sure that travelling on Emirates is a seamless journey and gives customers added peace of mind.”