Category Archives: Aviation

Emirates announced it will launch a new daily service from Dubai to Newark Liberty International Airport, via the Greek capital city of Athens, starting March 12, 2017. The new route complements Emirates’ existing four daily flights between Dubai and New York’s JFK airport, by offering global travellers with another convenient access point to the popular New York Metropolitan area. Emirates’ new Dubai-Athens-Newark flight will also provide a year-round non-stop daily service between the United States and Greece – a service that does not exist today and has not existed since 2012. The airline will operate a wide-body Boeing 777-300ER powered by General Electric GE90 engines on the route, offering 8 seats in First, 42 seats in Business and 304 seats in Economy class, as well as 19 tonnes of belly-hold cargo capacity. Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, said: “The Greek Government and Athens International Airport approached Emirates some time ago to consider serving the route between Athens and New York.  After careful review, Emirates concluded that extending one of our Dubai-Athens flights to Newark would be commercially and operationally feasible. We are pleased to be able to help meet a strong consumer need long neglected by other airlines, and we would like to thank the authorities and our partners in both the US and Greece for their support of the new route. The availability of high quality, daily international air services is essential for the development of business and cultural ties. Trade, especially in high-value and time-sensitive products, will be facilitated by the ample cargo capacity on Emirates’ Boeing 777 aircraft. We also expect tourism to receive a major boost from the availability of daily flights year-round.” Elena …

Conakry (Republic of Guinea) will be the 296th destination across 120 countries currently being served by Turkish Airlines. The capital city of Republic of Guinea, Conakry will be joining the network on January 30 and become the 51st destination served in the continent. Roundtrip flights between Istanbul and Conakry will be operated 2 times per week on Mondays, and Thursdays in both directions. Introductory round trip fares are available from Istanbul to Conakry starting at $699 (including taxes and fees).  Additionally, for the first 6 months of operation to Conakry, Miles&Smiles members will be able to earn 25% extra status miles. Conakry flight times as scheduled from January 30 — TK 537 on Monday, Thursday at IST              12:30 and CKY by 19:35 with TK 537 on Monday, Thursday at CKY 20:30 and IST 08:40 +1.

The national flag carrier of India, Air India announced the launch of the second Dreamliner from Dubai to Kochi from February 1, 2017. AI 934 will be a daily operation with departure from Dubai at 1330 hours arriving in to Kochi at 1850 hours. The return from Kochi will be AI 933 departing at 0915 hours from Kochi and arrive in Dubai at 1200 hours. The press briefing took place at the Consulate of India presided by Consul General of India H.E. Anurag Bhushan and Melvin D’Silva, Regional Manager Air India Middle East and Africa. The Consul General reiterated that last year the national carrier has seen an increase in capacity and the regional connectivity has improved quite well. H.E. acknowledged the services rendered by Air India especially at the hour of need to evacuate at emergencies or to carry the mortal remains free of cost etc. Melvin D’Silva, Regional Manager Air India Middle East and Africa stated the reason to conduct the press briefing at the Consulate is due to the reason that His Excellency and the consulate has rendered unstinted support. “When one of the aircrafts had to land in Travzone Turkey in the middle of the night, I contacted the Consul General H.E.Anurag Bhushan at 3am and he very quickly provided the necessary arrangements through the Embassy of Turkey. Therefore, we continue to work very closely with the Consul and the team,” stated D’Silva. He further reiterated that Air India is on a very aggressive growth trajectory to become number 3 in the world after US and China with a young strong fleet of 107 aircrafts and their aim is to “fly more and fill more”. Kerala …

Sabre Corporation is supporting Emirates airline with industry-leading technology that personalises the travel experience for consumers by enabling them to easily purchase a range of customised fares. Sabre and Emirates have also signed a new long-term global distribution agreement to make the airline’s fares available to travel agents globally who use Sabre. Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, operates more than 3,600 flights per week to over 150 destinations across six continents. Sabre’s technology will enable the airline to effectively market and sell its expansive roster of fares globally through the Sabre Travel Marketplace, reaching more than 425,000 travel agents across the world. Sabre’s technology enables travel agents to meet a growing demand and expectation from consumers for more personalised products and services. Using Sabre’s enhanced solution, travel agents can now provide travellers with Emirates’ range of branded fares, which enable passengers to choose fares based on what is most important to them – such as purchasing a budget fare, earning the most air miles or having the greatest degree of flexibility. “Emirates airline is a brand that invests significantly in differentiating the traveller experience, and personalisation plays a central role in this strategy,” said Dean Bibb, interim senior vice president EMEA at Sabre. “The airline’s new range of branded fares offers passengers more choices and greater control over their travel experience, which often means happier travellers and higher satisfaction. Helping our airline customers put travellers at the heart of their operation is a major focus for Sabre and our investment efforts.” Travel agents using Sabre can now offer clients more informed choices and a higher level of customer service, while also driving upsell opportunities based on enhanced visibility to …

Emirates, the largest international airline in the world, has announced that it will introduce a third daily flight between Dubai and Kenya’s capital Nairobi from June 1, 2017. The additional flight will increase the number of scheduled Emirates flights between the two cities to 21 a week and give customers greater flexibility and choice when planning their travel. It also underscores Emirates’ commitment to Kenya and confidence in the route, which has grown to become one of the airline’s busiest routes in Africa since it first launched services to the country in October 1995.As with its other two daily flights between Dubai and Nairobi, Emirates will also operate its popular Boeing 777-300ER in a three class configuration. The aircraft will have eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 304 spacious seats in Economy Class. Flight EK717 will become the first of the three daily departures from Dubai and leave at 0140hrs and arrive in Nairobi at 0540hrs, enabling customers arriving on Emirates’ flights from India, the UK and many European countries such as France, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Netherlands and Italy to connect to the Nairobi flight within three hours. The return flight EK718 is also conveniently timed and will depart Nairobi at 0710hrs and land in Dubai at 1315hrs, ahead of Emirates’ afternoon European flights and its fourth daily flight to New York, a popular destination for Kenyan travellers.

Africa’s largest airline group Ethiopian Airlines will begin the first five months of the new year with a rapid network expansion plan to launch seven new destinations from February to June 2017. They envisage to reach 120 international destinations worldwide by 2025. The new destinations from February to June, will launch new service to Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe), Antananarivo (Madagascar), Conakry (Guinea), Oslo (Norway), Chengdu (China), Jakarta (Indonesia) and Singapore (Singapore). With the addition of these stations, Ethiopian will have service from Addis Ababa to 98 different international cities located across the world and just 22 to reach their goal of 120. Group CEO Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam, said: “Africa’s share of the Global Aviation is the smallest which is only around 3%. As the largest airline group in the continent, we are highly concerned on the low base of air connectivity in the continent and we are setting record expansion to enable Africans enjoy safe, reliable and economical air connectivity both within the continent and between the continent and the rest of the world. Looking beyond the current economic slowdown especially in the oil export dependent economies of Africa, we firmly believe that the continent will become the magnet for foreign direct investment, trade and tourism, which are the engines of air travel growth and in turn efficient air connectivity also drives socio economic development and we are happy to contribute our share in the 21st Century African Transformation. In the just ended calendar year alone, new flights to Moroni (Comoros), WindHoek (Namibia) and Newark (United States) were launched, as well as three cities in Ethiopia: Hawassa, Kebridahar and Dembidolo. Ethiopian is one of the fastest growing airlines in the …

Sharjah International Airport registered a 10 percent year-on-year increase in passengers, handling 11 million passengers from January to December 2016. The airport passed the 10 million passenger mark for the first time in 2015, showing 5.5 percent growth. Since then, the airport has continued to show strong growth. Airport passengers increased 12 percent during the first quarter of 2016, 11 percent during Q2 and 13 percent during Q3, reaching one million passengers per month for the first time in August 2016. Aircraft movements at Sharjah International Airport increased by 6 percent to 75,900 scheduled and non-scheduled movements in 2016 compared with 71,426 in 2015. Sharjah International Airport’s growth has been driven by its strategic location, the success of Sharjah’s in-bound tourism industry and the expansion of Sharjah-headquartered Air Arabia. The airport’s ideal location, close to Sharjah city, Dubai city and the main highways connecting the country’s seven emirates, has made it a convenient hub for both business and leisure travelers.Whilst Air Arabia hasn’t yet announced overall figures for 2016, the airline served over 2.27 million passengers during the first nine months of 2016, a 14 percent increase compared to the 2 million passengers during the same period of 2015. The airline currently operates a fleet of 46 Airbus A320 aircraft offering flights to over 120 destinations in 33 countries from five hubs across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Flynas, Saudi Arabia’s leading low-cost carrier, has signed an agreement with Airbus for 60 A320neo family aircraft. In addition to the 60 aircraft, Flynas has converted 20 A320ceo from a previous order to A320neo bringing the airline’s total firm order to 80 A320neo. The deliveries are scheduled to take place during 2018-2026. The agreement was announced in Riyadh in the presence of Ayed Al Jeaid, Chairman, NAS Holding, Bander Al Mohanna, Chief Executive Officer, NAS Holding Group and Fouad Attar, Managing Director, Airbus Middle East. Flynas, an all Airbus operator, currently has 26 A320ceo in service. Ayed Al Jeaid, Chairman, NAS Holding Group said, “Flynas has come a long way to establish itself as a highly reputed airline in Saudi Arabia. With the introduction of the new aircraft technology, we are confident of our ability to provide best services to our customers. We also look forward to being the first airline in the Kingdom to be successfully listed on the Saudi Stock exchange, which will offer equity ownership to the public and be a part of a great journey.”

Turkish Airlines will now add Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, to its extensive flight network from March 30, 2017. Kharkiv flights will be operated 4 times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and will increase to 7 times per week as of May 30th. Round trip fares are available from Istanbul to Kharkiv starting from $109 (including taxes and fees). Additionally, for the first six months of operation to the new destinations, there is a special offer for Miles&Smiles members, with a 25% reduction in the miles needed to redeem either award tickets or upgrades.

Qatar Airways has announced it will commence four times weekly, non-stop service to Las Vegas, Nevada, starting 8 January 2018. The new route will be the airline’s 11th to the United States, connecting McCarran International Airport to Hamad International Airport in Doha, making Qatar Airways the first Gulf carrier to provide regular scheduled service to Las Vegas. “Las Vegas is a thriving leisure destination and adding the city to our route map has been long overdue. Growing our western United States network is important to the airline as we are seeing exponential growth in passenger demand from the East via our state of the art hub in Doha,” said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker. “Our passengers appreciate the glamour, style and allure of Las Vegas and beginning in 2018, we are going to give our passengers from around the world direct and convenient access to this unique capital of entertainment.” The new route also provides US-based flyers with an additional point of departure, when travelling abroad to Qatar Airways’ global network of over 150 destinations. It will be Qatar Airways’ second route from the American west, after the airline launched their popular Los Angeles to Doha route, in January 2016.This year, Qatar Airways is celebrating its 10th anniversary of serving the United States, having started serving New York/Newark in 2007. Qatar Airways currently serves 10 American cities. Las Vegas will join Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City/JFK International Airport, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. The new route will operate with a Boeing 777-200LR.