Category Archives: Aviation

The partnership between Emirates and flydubai announced 16 additional destinations to which Emirates’ passengers can travel on a single ticket. The new, expanded network includes destinations such as Zanzibar, Kathmandu and Kilimanjaro. Travellers can book on Emirates.com, through Emirates’ contact centres or via travel agents, commencing from November 8. Emirates President Tim Clark said, “We are thrilled with the positive response from travellers. Nearly 14,000 sectors have been ticketed during the first week of operation. We have witnessed strong demand for travel from Europe and the United States to South Asian destinations.” The new codeshare destinations include Bratislava (Slovakia), Chittagong (Bangladesh), Djibouti, (Djibouti), Dushanbe (Tajikistan), Hargeisa (Somalia), Istanbul – Sabiha Gokcen (Turkey), Kathmandu (Nepal), Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Mattala Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka), Makhachkala (Russia), Podgorica (Montenegro), Sylhet (Bangladesh), Ufa (Russia), Voronezh (Russia), Yerevan (Armenia) and Zanzibar (Tanzania). Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer, flydubai, said, “Today’s announcement will allow keen travellers to discover another 16 destinations as well as enjoy the unique personality of each airline.”

Meeting Point Emirates commenced its first charter flight set to fly from Leipzig to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) 365 days of the year, regardless of seasonality arrivals. The flight programme includes daily, year-round direct flights and departs on a weekly basis from Leipzig, Hannover, Cologne, Munich and Stuttgart. In winter, weekly flights are scheduled from Berlin and Basel, while in summer, weekly flights are scheduled from Nuremburg and Dresden. This initiative, which started on November 2, makes Dubai directly accessible from most of these cities, hence, exposing the Dubai to new potential travellers, with a market reach like never before. Khaled Jouni, CEO, Meeting Point International, said, “Adding over 100,000 arrivals per year from the German speaking market is certain to have a positive augmentation on the destination and our local hotel partners alike”. Dubai Tourism’s Saud Hareb, Market Lead for Germany, said, “Dubai has seen strong growth and enthusiasm among visitors as a safe, family-friendly destination with a variety of attractions to be enjoyed year round, from theme parks, beaches, water parks, cultural offerings, and authentic desert safari experiences.”

Emirates celebrated the milestone delivery of its 100th Airbus A380 aircraft at a special ceremony with Airbus at the manufacturer’s delivery centre in Hamburg. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates’ Chairman and Chief Executive officiated the ceremony. Ahmed said, “This is a tremendous moment for Emirates, for Airbus and our many partners involved in the A380 programme. There is no doubt that the A380 has had a big positive impact on aerospace manufacturing and the broader aviation industry, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and stimulating innovation and new product development in many related areas such as ground handling, catering, airport facilities and cabin products, to name a few.” The unique livery will feature a customised decal of UAE’s founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, marking the airline’s first initiative for the ‘Year of Zayed’, which commences in 2018, coinciding with the centennial of the birth of Zayed. A total of ten Emirates aircraft, five Airbus A380s and five Boeing 777-300ERs will carry the special livery. The aircraft will carry the distinctive decal of HH Sheikh Zayed beginning in November 2017 and throughout 2018.

Ethiopian B787-9 Dreamliner made its first Middle East flight to Dubai. Passengers to Dubai enjoyed the unique features of this latest technology aircraft ahead of other major destinations in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The aircraft provides passengers extra comfort with biggest window view in the sky, more leg room, mood lighting and higher air humidity at 40, 000 feet. With its vast intra African network, unrivalled by any carrier, Ethiopian Airlines seamlessly connects passengers to/from Dubai and major cities in the Middle East to more than 55 African cities with the shortest connection time via its main hub in Addis Ababa. It was back in 1979 that Ethiopian made its maiden flight to Dubai. Currently, its operation is scheduled thrice daily and four times weekly passenger and cargo services respectively.

Dubai-based flydubai marks the start of the winter travel season in Russia with four new destinations and increased frequencies on existing routes. The airline’s first flight to Makhachkala landed on October 31 and was greeted by a traditional water cannon salute. The carrier also inaugurated flights to Voronezh, resumed services to Ufa and announced the launch of flights to Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow from 29 November. Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President Commercial (UAE, EU, ME, CIS) at flydubai, said, “It has been seven years since flydubai entered the Russian market and we continue to expand our footprint in the country. With four additional routes and increased frequencies, we’re offering more options to explore Russia for travellers from Dubai and across our network.” These new routes, together with the increased frequencies from mid-December, will expand flydubai’s footprint in Russia to 11 points and 52 weekly flights. The carrier continues to explore new opportunities to service the market while continuing to operate direct airlinks to the remaining points in Russia including Kazan, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow (Vnukovo), Rostov-on-Don, Samara and Yekaterinburg. All flights to Russia offer the option of a more personalised travel experience with flydubai’s Business Class. The premium offering provides priority check-in, comfortable spacious seating, a range of inflight entertainment, delicious meals and a dedicated 24-hour Business Team to assist with bookings and enquiries throughout the journey. Passengers can relax before the flight at flydubai’s dedicated Business Lounge in Dubai and access business lounges in Voronezh and across the airline’s growing network.

Etihad Airways announced the suspension of its Abu Dhabi – Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) route effective March 25, 2018, as it will become commercially unsustainable following American Airlines’ unilateral decision to terminate its codeshare agreement with the airline. Peter Baumgartner, Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, said, “The unfortunate decision by American Airlines to terminate a commercial relationship that benefited both carriers has left Etihad with no choice but to suspend flights between our Abu Dhabi home and Dallas/Fort Worth. We are open to American Airlines reversing its decision to cancel our codeshare agreement so that Etihad Airways can continue the route and together support global connectivity while driving commercial value for both airlines.” The route commenced with three flights a week and was upgraded to a daily service in February 2017, providing travellers in the US and across the airline’s network with access to more US cities through American Airlines’ primary hub. Almost half of Etihad Airways’ DFW customers connect on US codeshare flights operated by American Airlines.

Turkish Airlines introduced a new programme ‘Istanbul Bosphorus Experience’, especially designed for its Business Class passengers who have a transfer time of seven or more hours in Istanbul. The aim was to enable its transfer passengers to closely experience the beauty of Istanbul and the Bosphorus, before continuing their trip to their target destination. “We always strive to offer our passengers the best flight experience possible – on board and on the ground. With the addition of the Istanbul Bosphorus Experience, we continue to improve our wide range of activities and services including our worldwide known ‘Turkish Airlines Lounge Istanbul’, which earned the top spot in the category ‘World’s Best Business Class Lounge’ within the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2017, or our innovative Miniport service, etc. Passengers can now discover and enjoy the cultural facets of Istanbul at first hand. Besides further diversifying our unmatched offerings to passengers with this service, we can also indirectly contribute to the Turkish tourism economy,” said Ahmet Olmuştur, Chief Marketing Officer, Turkish Airlines.

Abu Dhabi Airports welcomed airBaltic’s first flight arriving from Riga, Latvia on October 30. The maiden flight marks the commencement of a direct service four times a week between Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) and Riga International Airport (RIX) by airBaltic. On board the first flight arrived Hanan Al Aleeli, UAE Ambassador to Latvia accompanied by members of the embassy and representatives of the airline. The guests were hosted at VIP Terminal and greeted by Astra Kurme, Latvia Ambassador to the UAE and members of the embassy in the UAE, in addition to representatives from Abu Dhabi Airports, Etihad Airways and Air Baltic. Flights will arrive from RIX at 7:25am and depart from AUH at 9:45am on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Hanan Al Aleeli, UAE Ambassador to Latvia, commented, “Our two governments witnessed the maturity of our bilateral relations into full capacity this year, with the operation of two fully fledged embassies in both countries, which was translated to many achievements and milestones.”

Emirates is set to add an extra daily flight to its service between Dubai and Algiers from December 13. The new flight will depart Dubai as EK757 at 8:10hrs and arrive in Algiers at 12:40hrs. The return flight EK758 will depart Algiers at 15:10hrs and arrive in Dubai at 00:40hrs on the following day. The launch of the additional flight will complement Emirates’ current six flights a week, and further boost inbound and outbound passenger traffic and cargo flows between Algeria and Dubai. The new service will operate every Wednesday with an Emirates Boeing 777-300, in a three-class configuration offering eight seats in First Class, 42 in Business Class and 310 in Economy Class. “We are pleased to introduce an additional service to Algiers which will offer our customers even more choice and convenience to connect to Dubai and onward destinations particularly in the Middle East, Far East, West Asia, Indian Ocean and Australia,” said Orhan Abbas, Emirates Senior Vice-President Commercial Operations for Africa.

In a bid to celebrate Bahrain’s 46th National Day, a special one-off A380 service by Emirates will be operated on December 15, 2017- EK 835 and EK 836, departing from Dubai at 12:55hrs and arriving in Bahrain at 1:10hrs. The flight will then depart from Bahrain at 3:50hrs and arriving in Dubai at 6:05hrs. The Emirates A380 flying to Bahrain will be set in a two-class configuration, featuring 58 flatbed seats in Business Class and 120 Economy Class seats on the upper deck with another 437 seats in Economy Class on the lower deck. Premium class passengers travelling on the A380 can experience Emirates’ Onboard Lounge where they can socialise, network and enjoy complimentary beverages, canapés and other special delicacies. Emirates has been flying to Bahrain since 2000, developing its operations by increasing its services based on growing demand, and today operates four daily flights to the Kingdom, connecting Bahraini travellers to over 150 global destinations, including key commercial and leisure centres in Europe, the US and Far East.