Category Archives: Aviation

Emirates is the only airline globally to have its mobile app available in 19 languages, including Arabic, English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Czech, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil & Portugal), Polish, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Turkish. All the features in the Emirates app are now available in Arabic, bringing the total number of languages supported to 19. The Emirates app currently receives an average of 600,000 monthly downloads and allows users to search, book and manage their flights as well as their Emirates Skywards accounts. In recent years, the airline has been using analytical and customer behaviour insights to constantly improve its digital channels. Last financial year, a quarter of all ticket sales were made on its web and mobile channels and over 40% of customers checked-in online for their flights. “We have worked very hard to ensure our customers enjoy the same high-quality Emirates experience in the digital world as they do when enjoying our award-winning physical product and service. Our app has become a useful travel companion for more than 1.5 million travellers a month and it ensures a seamless customer journey on the go. We will continue to invest in mobile to provide an enjoyable customer experience and to make our customers’ travel journey as seamless as possible,” said Alex Knigge, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand (Digital). Earlier this year, the Emirates app was enhanced with new technology allowing customers to create bespoke playlists of their inflight entertainment ahead of their travel and sync it to their seats once on board, providing a world-class travel experience. The Emirates app is free to download on iOS or Android devices.

Emirates Airline has signed an agreement with Smart Dubai to offer special flight discounts to the latter’s employees for travel. Emirates will also support Smart Dubai with its travel requirements to participate in international events and conferences, as well as with the events that it organises on a yearly basis in Dubai, including the Future Blockchain Summit and Smart Dubai Blockchain Challenge. The agreement was signed by Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations Centre at Emirates, and H.E. Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, General Director of Smart Dubai. Sheikh Majid said, “We are proud to partner with Smart Dubai to provide their teams with special travel benefits and to support their many activities and initiatives. Emirates is fully aligned with their vision to deliver world-class smart services and infrastructure through embracing technology and innovation, in order to ultimately make Dubai the world’s smartest and happiest city.” H.E. Dr Aisha commented, “We continue to invest in innovative technologies and network with skilled industry experts, entrepreneurs and organisations that have launched exceptional start-ups. Our aim is to continue raising awareness around the world and with the support of our new partner, Emirates, we look forward to accomplishing our goals and transforming Dubai into a leading, global smart city.” Smart Dubai consists of 304 employees who are now are entitled to purchase Emirates flight tickets at a discounted rate. This offer applies to all destinations on the Emirates network, originating from Dubai, and can be availed upon booking at Emirates offices, as well as select travel agents. Emirates will be hosting travel clinics at the Smart Dubai offices over the next few months to provide their employees …

Emirates has demonstrated its commitment to fostering innovation in the global aviation industry by signing MoUs with three teams from the sixth cohort of the Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) programme. The companies, hailing from the USA, Germany and the UK, were selected from the pool of seven participant teams that worked with Emirates through DFA for nine weeks between March and May 2019. The MoUs were signed by Adel Al Redha,  Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, Emirates,  and by representatives from the shortlisted companies — Opinsta (UK), Predapp (Germany) and Verusen (USA). Emirates joined the DFA programme in 2017. In what was a first earlier this year, Emirates and the Dubai Future Foundation announced that all the teams participating in the sixth cohort of the DFA programme would be dedicated to addressing three challenges set forth by Emirates in the domains of B2B procurement, seamless customer experience, and an integrated system for crew duty travel. The teams from Cohort 6 of the DFA programme worked with stakeholders from Emirates to map out requirements, refine their proposals and develop prototype solutions. Opinsta, Predapp and Verusen were chosen based on the fit of their proposed solutions, and broader application and scalability within Emirates. Adel Al Redha said, “Over the course of nine weeks, the interactions between the teams at Emirates as well as the participants of Cohort 6 of the Dubai Future Accelerators programme have resulted in a number of options we can explore to address the challenges we had defined.” Khalfan Belhoul, CEO at Dubai Future Foundation, said, “The MoUs signed today are the outcome of DFA’s offering of an ideal setting for Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, …

Etihad Airways announced it is extending its free Abu Dhabi stopover campaign to the end of the year due to the popularity of the special offer in its opening month. Travellers flying through the capital of the UAE with the airline are invited to enjoy a free two-night hotel stay to break up their journey and explore the city’s vibrant and diverse attractions. Abu Dhabi offers visitors the chance to explore cultural highlights, impressive architecture, world-class theme parks as well as striking beaches and desert landscapes. Etihad is offering two free nights of hotel accommodation in Abu Dhabi for all guests booking flights to and from all Etihad destinations via Abu Dhabi. Guests can choose from a range of hotels located across the city including the five-star Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, Intercontinental Abu Dhabi and Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi, as well as the Pearl Rotana, Courtyard by Marriott WTC, Crowne Plaza and Radisson Blu. The free Abu Dhabi stopover promotion is available for bookings online through etihad.com or via a travel agent made by December 1 for travel until December 31, 2019. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “We are extremely pleased that our Abu Dhabi stopover has appealed to so many of our guests and exceeded our expectations in the first month since it launched.” Etihad guests booking online should select a multi-city flight and will be directed to the stopover booking page once the booking is confirmed. Guests then have the option to choose a hotel package with one of the many hotel partners operating this promotion. With the Extraordinary Abu Dhabi Pass, visitors to Abu Dhabi can use their Etihad Airways boarding pass to …

GoAir passengers travelling from Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) are invited to take advantage of Abu Dhabi Airports’ new remote check-in location at the City Terminal in the heart of Abu Dhabi’s business district, located on 10th street opposite Abu Dhabi Mall in the Tourist Club area. From May 10 onwards, GoAir passengers are invited to check-in 24 hours in advance at the City Terminal. This provides GoAir passengers with the flexibility of checking-in at a time convenient for them, before departing for their flight from AUH. Abu Dhabi International Airport is one of the few airports in the world to offer remote check-in facilities. The City Terminal welcomes travellers to check-in between 24 and four hours before their flights. The facility also offers retail baggage services including sealing and wrapping to all passengers. Maarten de Groof, Chief Commercial Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, said, “Last month we welcomed GoAir’s inaugural flight from Kannur to Abu Dhabi and this month we are delighted to welcome GoAir travellers to stop by our easily accessible and conveniently located City Terminal facility. India is an important market for us. Abu Dhabi Airports and we look forward to introducing travellers to our world-class services and unique brand of Arabian hospitality.” Bakul Gala, Vice-President PR and Marketing at GoAir, said, “GoAir is happy to invite its customers to avail themselves of Abu Dhabi International Airport’s City Terminal check-in service. The City Terminal not only provides passengers with the flexibility of checking-in at their convenience but also offers a range of additional services. We hope our passengers will greatly benefit from this service.”

RwandAir, the flag carrier of the Republic of Rwanda, announced that it will commence flights to Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong and the third largest city in China, effective from June 18, 2019. RwandAir will fly to Guangzhou three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Guangzhou will be tagged to the existing Mumbai route and will be operated by our Airbus A330 with triple class cabin and equipped with state-of-the-art technology, Wi-Fi onboard, in-flight entertainment and comfortable seats with more legroom making it very convenient for long haul flights. Commenting on the upcoming launch of the Guangzhou route, Yvonne Manzi Makolo, the CEO of RwandAir, said, “With the increasing volume of trade between African countries and China, the need to meet the high demand of businessmen and traders travelling between Africa and Guangzhou is strongly felt. This new route will open new business opportunities and also increase our passenger and cargo traffic”. Guangzhou, well known as the “Canton City” is an expansive port city northwest of Hong Kong on the Pearl River. The city, which is one of the major shopping destinations for merchants also features popular tourist attractions such as the iconic Canton Tower and Guangzhou Chimelong Tourist Resort which offers an amusement park, international circus, water park, safari park, a bird park and a hotel. Guangzhou will be RwandAir’s second destination in Asia following Mumbai, which has been operational since April 2017. This new route will extend RwandAir’s network to 28 destinations.

Dubai-based AA Al Moosa Enterprises has announced the rebranding of one of its four-star hotel properties located in a strategic area in Sharjah. Previously managed by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts under Ramada Hotel & Suites Sharjah, the property’s rebranding comes in line with AA Al Moosa Enterprises’ new strategy to strengthen its own local brand Golden Sands, which has been successfully present in the market for 30 years. Entering into force on July 1, 2019, the property’s new contract was signed during the opening of the Arabian Travel Market exhibition by Nayef Al Moosa, Director, ARENCO Real Estate, representing the owning company; and Mohammad Khoori, General Manager, Golden Sands Hotel Apartments. HE Khalid Al Midfa, Chairman, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, was present at the signing ceremony. He commented, “We are grateful to AA Al MOOSA for believing in Sharjah as an attractive tourism destination, and we are looking forward to support Golden Sands throughout its new venture.” “There is no doubt that the UAE hospitality industry is constantly evolving, therefore we must be flexible and adapt our strategies to meet the ever growing market needs,” Nayef Al Moosa said. “We maintain a friendly relationship with Wyndham, and are confident that Golden Sands management will achieve our aspirations for this property.” For his part, Khoori noted, “The emirate of Sharjah has recently witnessed a vast transformation in its tourism sector, and we are delighted to be here to support the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority’s vision for the emirate with a renowned local brand that is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.” He concluded, “We are extremely pleased to be selected by the owners to manage this fine …

Etihad Airways is set to operate a daily scheduled flight between Al Ain in the UAE and Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from May 26 to June 4 to meet increased demand during the last 10 days of Ramadan. The flights will be operated by an Airbus A330, and have been conveniently timed to offer customers in Al Ain with afternoon departures in both directions. Ahmed Al Qubaisi, Senior Vice President – Government and International Affairs, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “We are very pleased to offer these special flights from Al Ain to Jeddah during Ramadan. The flights are conveniently scheduled for the people residing in Al Ain wanting to attend Umrah during the last 10 days of the holy month.” Flight EY 335 will depart Al Ain at 1.30pm, arriving in Jeddah at 3.20pm, with return flight EY 336 departing the Saudi city at 4.20pm and arriving in the UAE city at 8.05pm.

Etihad Airways will boost its services from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow during the summer period. The additional flights will be operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, supplementing the current three daily all-Airbus A380 services between both capital cities. Four daily flights will be operated on the route between May 26 and June 22, increasing to five from June 23 to September 28, returning to four daily flights from September 29 to October 26. The extra flights are conveniently timed to provide easy connections via Abu Dhabi to and from key destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia. Etihad’s two-class version of the 787-9 Dreamliner features 28 Business Studios and 271 Economy Smart Seats.

Ahead of the inaugural flight to Porto on July 2, 2019, Emirates is offering discounted fares to passengers. Economy Class passengers can enjoy fares starting from AED 2,795 and Business Class passengers can enjoy fares starting from AED 14,995. The offer is valid for bookings made today until May 20 for travel until February 28, 2020. Emirates’ new service to Porto will be four times weekly and operated by a Boeing 777-300ER. The three class cabin configuration offers 8 private suites in First Class, 42 seats in Business Class and 310 seats in Economy Class. The Dubai to Porto route will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Emirates flight EK 197 will depart Dubai at 9:15 am and arrive in Porto at 14:30 pm local time. The return flight, EK 198, will depart Porto 17:35 pm and arrive in Dubai at 4:15 am the next morning. Travellers can also book with Emirates Holidays and enjoy a five-star holiday experience starting at AED 5,799 per person, including airfare. Emirates passengers across all cabins will enjoy 4,000 channels of movies, TV shows and programmes on ice – the airline’s award winning in-flight entertainment system, regionally inspired meals, and up to 20 MB of complimentary Wi-Fi to stay connected with friends and family during the flight. Customers on-board will also enjoy complimentary beverages and the warm hospitality of Emirates’ multinational cabin crew, who come from more than 135 nationalities and speak more than 60 languages. Located along the Douro River, the coastal city is famous for its rich cultural heritage, its historic centre and delicious cuisine. Visitors will enjoy walking through the city’s narrow cobbled streets, discovering iconic bridges, local cafes and …