Category Archives: Aviation

According to the monthly traffic report, Dubai International (DXB) welcomed nearly 7 million passengers in February. The monthly traffic in February totalled 6,928,547 compared to 6,948,157 passengers recorded during the same month in 2017, down marginally by 0.3 per cent. The year to date traffic reached 14,888,693 passengers, down 0.6% compared to 14,985,165 recorded during the first two months of 2017. In terms of percentage growth, Eastern Europe was the fastest expanding market with traffic growing 17.6%, followed by South America (13.3%) and CIS (12.1%). India remained the top destination country by passenger volume with a total of 962,425 passengers during the month. The UK was placed second with 505,255 passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia with 490,058 and Pakistan with 336,875 passengers. London topped the list of destination cities with 305,768 passengers, followed by Mumbai (207,038 passengers) and Bangkok (201,077). Flight movements at DXB totalled 31,456 in February, down 3.2% compared to 32,486 during the same period in 2017. Year to date flight movements totalled 66,762 compared to 69,078* recorded during the first two months last year, down 3.4%. The average number of passengers per movement during February reached 228 compared to 223 during the corresponding month in 2017, an increase of 2.2%.

Beginning with the summer schedule, Etihad Airways has launched its flagship Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the Abu Dhabi–Geneva route. The three-class aircraft, featuring eight First Suites, 28 Business Studios and 199 Economy Smart Seats, replaces the Airbus A330s previously operating daily on the route, and offers additional cargo capacity. Peter Baumgartner, Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, said, “We are delighted that Switzerland, one of our most attractive markets for both business and leisure travellers, will now be exclusively served by our flagship Boeing 787 Dreamliner.” “In addition to maintaining attractive timings for guests travelling between Abu Dhabi and Geneva, we will create further suitable connections in many markets that will benefit more travellers to conveniently connect to Geneva via our Abu Dhabi hub. Through our optimised schedule, more business and leisure guests from an increasing number of destinations will now have the opportunity to experience our next generation aircraft throughout their journey with us.” The new generation aircraft’s environmental performance brings a number of operational advantages, such as a 12 per cent reduction in fuel consumption compared to the previous aircraft on the route and a concomitant substantial reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

Emirates is set to add a second daily flight between Dubai and Prague from July 1, 2018, after steadily growing passenger numbers on the route since its launch of operations in July 2010. The flight will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER with a capacity of 360 seats, boosting inbound tourism through the additional 262,800 seats it will provide. The year-round flight will have a three class configuration offering eight Private Suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business and 310 spacious seats in Economy. Emirates‘ flight EK137 will leave Dubai at 15:30 and arrive in Prague at 19:55. The return flight EK138 will depart Prague at 21:35 and arrive in Dubai at 05:30 on the following day, giving travellers a full day in Dubai. The second daily flight will improve Prague’s connectivity to and from a range of destinations in the Emirates network including Far East places like Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Phuket in Thailand, Yangon in Myanmar, Guangzhou in China and Phnom Penh in Cambodia. African destinations of Durban, Dar-Es-Salaam, Harare, Lusaka, Entebbe and Nairobi as well as Auckland and Christchurch in New Zealand and Brisbane in Australia will be easily reached with improved connectivity with a convenient transit in Dubai’s world-class hub.

Qantas and Emirates welcome the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) reauthorisation of their partnership until 2023. For customers, the continuation of the joint business, announced in August 2017, will deliver expanded services, greater schedule choice, increased frequent flyer benefits and an ongoing commitment to the development of world-class products and travel experiences. Alison Webster, CEO, Qantas International states, “The ACCC’s reauthorisation of our joint business is an important milestone in helping us continue deliver benefits for travellers and Australian tourism for the next five years. With three options to get to Europe via Perth, Singapore and Dubai, and greater frequency across the Tasman, the ACCC’s decision allows us to continue to jointly provide the best network, the best service and the best frequent flyer programmes for millions of customers travelling between Australia/New Zealand and the UK and Europe.” Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates said, “We look forward to progressing on the plans that will take our successful partnership to its next phase. Together, we offer travellers access to even more destinations on our joint network, more convenient flight choices and frequent flyer benefits. Over the next five years, we will continue to work closely with our partner Qantas to deliver benefits for our customers.”

The latest addition to the growing network of Turkish Airlines is Samarkand, making it the second destination of Turkish Airlines to be operated in Uzbekistan after capital city Tashkent. Founded on the Silk Road,  Samarkand is one of the most important transportation lines of world trade for centuries. Istanbul-Samarkand flights will be operated twice a week in both directions. Round trip fares are available from Istanbul to Samarkand starting from $364 including all taxes and fees. Bilal Ekşi, CEO, Turkish Airlines said, “We have launched direct flights to Samarkand from 121 countries. We are glad to serve this city that is the eternal resting place for historical figures and scholars. Turkish Airlines is operating flights to Tashkent seven times per week and to Samarkand flights twice a week. We expect that the frequency of Samarkand flights will reach to three per week.”

The latest destination aboard Turkish Airlines is the direct flight to Aqaba in Jordan, with existing services to Amman. The Aqaba flights will be operated thrice a week. Round trip fares are available from Istanbul to Aqaba starting at 404 USD including taxes and fees. Additionally, there is a special offer for Miles&Smiles members to be used for their trips departing from Turkey which should be completed by June 11, 2018, and the trips departing from Aqaba are to be completed by June 12, 2018, with a 25 per cent reduction in the miles needed to redeem either award tickets or upgrades. Aqaba flight times as scheduled from March 19 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays depart Istanbul at 22:00 hours with arrival to Aqaba by 23:50 hours. The flight will depart Aqaba on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 00:45 hours and arrive to Istanbul at 04:20 hours.

A new codeshare partnership was signed between Etihad Airways and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) with bookings effective immediately. Under the agreement, Etihad Airways will have its EY flight code on SWISS services between Geneva and Zurich, two key gateway cities served in Switzerland from Abu Dhabi. SWISS will market its LX code on Etihad Airways’ services between Zurich and Abu Dhabi, offering its passengers codeshare flights to and from the UAE’s capital city. The codeshare services are bookable now, for travel from March 26. Peter Baumgartner, Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, said, “This codeshare deepens Etihad Airways’ commitment to the Swiss travel market and Switzerland, a key destination for travellers from UAE, neighbouring Gulf countries, and across our Asia Pacific network. The partnership further strengthens the historic cultural, business and tourism ties that the UAE and Switzerland have enjoyed over many decades. For travellers from Switzerland, our new relationship with SWISS will provide access to Etihad’s award-winning service and the hospitality for which our Abu Dhabi home is known.”

An official ceremony was held in Dubai to celebrate the partnership of SalamAir with Smart Travel. Captain Mohamed Ahmed, CEO, SalamAir, stated that over the past year, the airline carried over half a million passengers aboard the aircraft and currently operates to nine destinations. SalamAir is the first low-cost carrier from the Sultanate of Oman which started operations about 14 months ago with the preferred aircraft Airbus A320 for its economical standard and comfortable for passengers. Two SalamAir flights operate in Dubai, besides flying to other destinations like Jeddah, Pakistan, Doha, Shiraz, etc. Ahmed further stated that although the flight has the capacity to carry 186 passengers, they only accommodate 174 to provide comfort to passengers. The objective is to ensure the cost is kept at minimal rates so that it is affordable for more travellers.

Royal Jordanian (RJ) will resume its scheduled flights between Amman and each of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, in northern Iraq, as of April 1, 2018. RJ passengers on these routes will enjoy the added benefit of reduced round-trip fares, at JD280, in an offer valid from March 16 to March 31, 2018, for travel to take place between April 1 and June 8, 2018. RJ will operate 10 weekly flights to Erbil and four weekly flights to Sulaymaniyah. The decision to relaunch the flights was taken as Iraqi authorities announced the reopening of the airports in these cities. Airlines operating to Erbil and Sulaymaniyah had suspended their flights on September 29, 2017, upon directions from the Iraqi authorities. RJ customers are invited to purchase their tickets on rj.com or by visiting RJ’s global sales offices and through travel agents.

Turkish Airlines has announced that, in order to insure the need for wide body aircraft, the Incorporation has decided to purchase 50 firm and 10 optional aircraft, a total of 60 wide body aircraft, of which six are to be delivered in 2019, 14 in 2020, 10 in 2021, 12 in 2022, 11 in 2023 and seven in 2024. According to this, a total of 30 B787-9 aircraft, of which 25 firm and five optional, will be purchased from Boeing and a total of 30 A350-900 aircraft, of which 25 firm and five optional will be purchased from Airbus. Commenting on the closed orders, M İlker Aycı, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Turkish Airlines said, “Today, we’re pleased to conclude this process which will bring a landmark benefit not only to Turkish Airlines, but also to Turkey’s aviation, by firmly ordering these aircrafts to be added to our ever-expanding fleet. This great step, which will further strengthen our ever-expanding fleet for 2023, our Republic’s 100th year, and bring our passenger’s satisfaction to a much higher level will bring a great acceleration to the steady rise of Turkish Airlines.”