Category Archives: Aviation

In an aim to cement the longstanding relationship between the two companies, Travelport has renewed a multi-year contract with its Kuwait operator, Travel Technology Services (TTS). TTS will continue to distribute Travelport’s industry-leading products and services in Kuwait as well as content from over 400 airlines, 650,000 hotel properties, 37,000 car rental locations and 14 rail networks worldwide. Raj Krishnan, General Manager, TTS, said, “We are pleased to extend our agreement with Travelport as distributors of its exceptional and innovative technology solutions. We have a highly successful 10-year collaboration with the company and look forward to reaching new heights in the future, which not only benefit both our businesses but the local travel industry in Kuwait.” Kerry Koutsikos, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa at Travelport, said, “We are delighted to extend our highly successful, long-term agreement with TTS. We look forward to continuing to work closely together over the coming years to ensure we not only meet but exceed the expectations of the travel industry in Kuwait, as well as travellers in the country.”

Etihad Airways and Gulf Air have signed a codeshare partnership for travel commencing with the summer schedule. The announcement follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two carriers at the Bahrain International Airshow in November last year and will further strengthen the strong ties between the two countries and carriers. The agreement will see Etihad place its ‘EY’ code on Gulf Air flights from Bahrain to and from Abu Dhabi, Baghdad, Casablanca, Dhaka, Faisalabad, Larnaca, Malaga, Multan, Najaf, Peshawar, Sailkot and Tbilisi. Gulf Air will place its ‘GF’ code on Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi to and from Bahrain, Brisbane, Chicago O’Hare, Jakarta, Lagos, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York JFK, Sydney and Washington. The announcement was made at a signing ceremony held at Etihad Airways Headquarters in Abu Dhabi, attended by Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Aviation Group, and Krešimir Kučko, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Air. Douglas said, “We are thrilled to be signing this codeshare agreement today with our long-time partner, Gulf Air. The signing today is a great example of how two flag carriers can enhance the experience of our guests by providing a greater choice of destinations and world-leading inflight service and Arabian hospitality.” Kučko added, “This is a remarkable event for both Gulf Air and Etihad Airways and we take pride in elevating this relationship further with the signing of this codeshare agreement.”

Etihad Airways and Elenium, a leading provider of automation technology solutions, will together demonstrate how a newly developed voice activated self-service kiosk, bag drop and boarding gate facility will revolutionise the travel experience by taking facial recognition technology to new heights. The demonstration will take place at Passenger Terminal Expo (PTE) in London between March 26 – 28. Using cloud technology, artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision and natural human interfacing, Etihad Airways and Elenium will demonstrate how they will change the way consumers travel by showcasing the airport experience of the future. Jorg Oppermann, VP Hub and Midfield Operations, Etihad Airways, said, “With biometric installations increasing across airports globally, Etihad is recognising the growing demand to streamline not just the passenger verification process but to also decrease passenger queues and to increase operational efficiency.” A key area of cooperation involves the use of technologies from Elenium, Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing subsidiary of Amazon Inc, and Etihad Airways. Together at PTE, the three entities will demonstrate a test concept for a seamless travel experience across the entire customer journey from booking to arrival at the final destination. Mike Papamichael, VP Technology and Innovation, Etihad Airways said, “The technological vision and strategy is to make the guest journey a frictionless and digitally enabled experience across all channels and touch points at the airport. Etihad’s relationship with Elenium builds on this vision and along with our micro services strategy, allows us to co-create and develop innovative self-service and biometric solutions for greater flexibility and a seamless guest experience.”

Emirates will increase the frequency of flights between Dubai and Cairo, adding four additional flights a week to its existing thrice-daily service, starting 28 October, 2019. The four new flights operating on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, will take the total number of weekly Emirates flights serving Cairo to 25. The additional Dubai–Cairo flight EK 921 will leave Dubai at 12:00 hrs and will arrive in Cairo at 14:15 hrs. The return flight, EK922, will depart Cairo at 16:15 hrs and will arrive in Dubai at 21:35 hrs. The new flights will enhance connectivity to most cities in the Asia, the Americas and Australia including Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Sydney, Shanghai, New Delhi, Mumbai, New York and Washington DC. “Cairo is a very popular destination for both business and leisure travellers, and the additional flights will provide our customers with greater flexibility in their travel choices, and allow seamless connectivity to Emirates’ vast global network,” said Orhan Abbas, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Africa, Emirates. Similar to the current service, the new flights will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER in a three-class configuration featuring 8 private suites, 42 Business Class and 304 Economy Class seats; adding 1,416 seats each way per week on the route. The flight increase will bring about an additional 160 tonnes of cargo capacity per week to and from Cairo on top of the more than 800 tonnes of cargo capacity already provided on Emirates’ flights. Premium customers, and Platinum and Gold Skywards members can additionally enjoy the dedicated Emirates lounge in Cairo airport which opened in 2018.

Emirates will increase the frequency of flights between Dubai and Cairo, adding four additional flights a week to its existing thrice-daily service, starting from October 28, 2019. The four new flights operating on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday will take the total number of weekly Emirates flights serving Cairo to 25. The additional Dubai–Cairo flight EK 921 will leave Dubai at 12:00 hrs and arrive in Cairo at 14:15 hrs. The return flight, EK922, will depart Cairo at 16:15 hrs and will arrive in Dubai at 21:35 hrs. The new flights will enhance connectivity to most cities in the Asia, the Americas and Australia including Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Sydney, Shanghai, Delhi, Mumbai, New York and Washington DC. “The additional flights will provide our customers with greater flexibility in their travel choices, and allow seamless connectivity to Emirates’ vast global network,” said Orhan Abbas, Senior Vice President—Commercial Operations Africa, Emirates. Similar to the current service, the new flights will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER in a three-class configuration featuring eight private suites, 42 Business Class and 304 Economy Class seats; adding 1,416 seats each way per week on the route. For the calendar year 2018, Emirates SkyCargo transported over 35,750 tonnes of cargo including both exports of close to 19,750 tonnes and imports of 16,000 tonnes. Close to 90% of the commodities exported from Cairo are fruits and vegetables. The flight increase will bring about an additional 160 tonnes of cargo capacity per week to and from Cairo on top of the more than 800 tonnes of cargo capacity already provided on Emirates’ flights.

Japan Airlines and Travelport have agreed to form a joint venture to take ownership of Travelport Japan K K (Travelport Japan) and JAL’s 100 per cent owned subsidiary, Axess International Network. Under the unified Travelport Axess brand, the joint venture will operate a Global Distribution System (GDS) tailored to the needs of the Japanese travel industry. The proposed joint venture, which will operate under the brand name Travelport Axess, will combine Axess’ expertise in Japan and Travelport’s global technology leadership. Yoriyuki Kashiwagi, Executive Officer of International Passenger Sales, Japan Airlines, said, “We believe that the future of travel will be transformed by technological innovation. I am confident that Travelport Axess will be able to help Japanese travel agents to respond to growing global demands by offering services based on state-of-the-art technology.” Travelport Axess will continue to offer travel agents services through Axess’ GDS platform, and enable access to Travelport’s GDS platforms, Apollo and Galileo. The proposed joint venture will provide online, mobile and corporate travel propositions including global booking and expense management tools as well as access to New Distribution Capability (NDC) content, offering Japanese travel agencies and their customers the best of locally developed products with best-in-class global connectivity and capabilities. Gordon Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Travelport, commented, “This announcement and our ongoing partnership with Japan Airlines is a significant advance in the provision of state-of-the-art technology for the Japanese travel industry.”

As part of its drive to continuously enhance customer experience, Abu Dhabi Airports is extending city check-in facilities to Indian airline IndiGo. This new service is in line with the airline’s commitment to provide courteous and hassle-free travel experience to its customers. This new feature will enable passengers flying out of Abu Dhabi airport to check-in 24 hours before reaching the airport. Maarten De Groof, Chief Commercial Officer, Abu Dhabi Airports, said, “We are delighted to welcome IndiGo passengers to stop by our easily accessible and conveniently located remote check-in facilities. Ensuring a seamless and efficient customer is one of our top priorities at Abu Dhabi Airports, and we look forward to introducing travellers to our world-class services and unique brand of Arabian hospitality. India has always been one of our most important and largest areas of operations, and we are looking forward to continuing to work closely with IndiGo passengers to meet the market’s growing demand.” William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said, “We are delighted to introduce this new check-in feature for our passengers in Abu Dhabi which will both add convenience and ease to their travel experience with us. We thank the Abu Dhabi International Airport team for extending us all the support to make this feature live. IndiGo will continue to enhance its hassle-free experience which is one of the core values that the airline stands for besides providing on-time and affordable fares to customers.”

From June 1, 2019, Etihad Airways will introduce a new two-class Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner, the largest variant of the technologically advanced aircraft, on its scheduled daily morning service from Abu Dhabi to Rome, complementing the second overnight 777-300ER departure. On July 1, the airline will introduce the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on its two daily services to Frankfurt. The two-class 787-9 features Etihad Airways’ next-generation Business and Economy Class cabins, configured with 299 seats – 28 Business Studios and 271 Economy Smart Seats. The 336-seat 787-10 features 32 Business Studios and 304 Economy Smart Seats. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Rome and Frankfurt are two very important cities on the Etihad global network and have been popular with business and leisure customers alike. The introduction of more state-of-the-art 787s to our fleet is allowing us to further enhance the inflight experience, giving our guests the opportunity to enjoy the most highly customised Dreamliner cabins in the world, upgraded entertainment systems and connectivity, and our acclaimed service and hospitality.”

flydubai inaugurated its new service from Dubai to Tashkent becoming the first carrier based in the UAE to offer direct flights to Uzbekistan.  The inaugural flight departed on March 11 from Terminal 3, Dubai International (DXB) and was welcomed on arrival at Tashkent International Airport (TAS). On board the inaugural flight was a senior delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) led by H.E. Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy in the UAE. The trade delegation included the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, other business entities and members of the UAE media.  On arrival at Tashkent, the delegation was received by Shuhrat Vafaev, Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan and Mohammed Al Mehairbi, H.E. Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the UAE to Uzbekistan. H.E. Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy, emphasized on the importance of this step, further pointing out that the country maintains a leading position in the global air transport map and serves as an important centre for enhancing global connectivity through its sophisticated international airports and air carriers with world-class reputation and a wide network of destinations. Commenting on the occasion, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer of flydubai, said, “Uzbekistan is an important trade partner for the UAE and the start of flights to Tashkent represents a significant milestone in helping to strengthen commercial ties between us.  We are pleased to be the first UAE carrier to launch direct flights between Dubai and Tashkent, opening up another underserved market in Central Asia and supporting Dubai’s vision of creating flows of travel and trade.”

Turkish Airlines and Oman Air have revised the codeshare agreement signed earlier. Under the revised agreement, Turkish Airlines will codeshare on Oman Air operating flights to Salalah while Oman Air will codeshare on Turkish Airlines operating flights to Rome, Copenhagen and Algiers. The codeshare agreement allows guests to benefit from the outstanding products and services offered by both carriers on these routes. Bilal Ekşi, Deputy Chairman and CEO, Turkish Airlines expressed, “Witnessing Oman Air’s direct flights to Istanbul within the scope of our existing codeshare agreement has always pleased us. Now extending this agreement in order to increase the travel opportunities offered for our passengers through our networks made us more delighted. We believe that this codeshare enhancement with Oman Air will exposure further cooperation opportunities for both airlines together with growing relations between our countries.” Abdulaziz Al Raisi, Chief Executive Officer, Oman Air commented, “Oman Air is happy and proud to be associating with Turkish Airlines which is a globally recognized network carrier. It is an ideal partner for Oman Air, which has justifiably attracted a reputation for offering the highest levels of comfort, luxury and outstanding service. As we continue to expand globally, codeshare agreements such as this help us spread our wings to newer destinations and bring us more partners and guests.” Turkish Airlines and Oman Air currently operate one daily flight each on the Muscat-Istanbul route under the reciprocal codeshare agreement. The schedule of these flights are designed to complement each other by allowing same day return trip at Muscat and Istanbul.