Category Archives: Aviation

Speaking with Tourismbreakingnews.ae at ITB China, Amr Adawy-Vice President Commercial – EgyptAir shared that they will be increasing flights from Cairo to China and beyond as it is a very important market for them. Generating business from China helps the growth of tourism in Egypt as one of the most visited destinations, mainly due to their rich culture and heritage. “China is a very important market to all airlines, as it is one of the biggest outbound markets. Currently, we fly four times a week to Shanghai and we are hoping to increase it to daily flights and go a step beyond and add destinations such as Hong Kong as well. We currently operate to 4 cities in China and soon we will be adding two more cities to make it six.” He reiterated that the importance of the market is not only the main land China but beyond as there are many travellers from China and beyond who explore Egypt and they are looking at increasing the number of flights to make it one of the most lucrative, touristic destinations,

Emirates and Viva Aerobus signed an interline agreement to enhance connectivity for passengers travelling to Mexico boosting access to a 21 domestic points in Mexico, while enjoying the convenience of a single baggage policy utilising both airlines on a single ticket. The interline agreement also unlocks more international routes for Emirates customers, providing 20 convenient flight options connecting six points in Mexico and some popular American cities. Interline tickets are now on sale for travel effective immediately. Travel itineraries can be booked on emirates.com, the Emirates app, and preferred travel agencies. Travellers booked on flights from Dubai to Mexico City can choose to fly to 21 additional domestic destinations such as Acapulco, Cancun, Guadalajara and Monterrey, to name a few. The interline network also includes direct flights from US points including Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Orlando and Miami to select Mexican destinations, Additionally, travellers from Mexico City can conveniently fly direct to Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York JFK or San Antonio. Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President, and Chief Commercial Officer said: “We are pleased to activate an interline partnership with Viva Aerobus to deepen our reach into Mexico, beyond Mexico City. This new partnership provides our customers with more choice to suit their travel plans and enables customers to seamlessly fly to a host of unique destinations in Mexico. Emirates customers can also now fly directly between select US points and cities in Mexico. This new offering is in line with our Fly Better promise and convenience that can be felt by our customers when flying with us and we look forward to further developing the partnership in the future to elevate its benefits to our …

Abu Dhabi Airports and Etihad Airport Services have signed a contract to extend their longstanding partnership in providing ground services for passengers at Zayed International Airport. This agreement aims to further enhance the passenger experience by offering advanced and seamless services.This announcement coincides with Abu Dhabi Airport’s recent passenger traffic results, which witnessed a significant growth of 35.6% demonstrating the strong demand for travel. Both entities will collaborate on various initiatives to improve operational efficiencies, safety, and the quality of ground handling services, ultimately providing a world-class experience for travellers passing through Zayed International Airport. Elena Sorlini, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Abu Dhabi Airports said: “We are delighted to extend our existing partnership with Etihad Airport Services through this agreement. Together, we have continuously provided seamless, high-quality services to our passengers. Our recent passenger numbers demonstrate our incredible growth trajectory. As we continue to expand with more airlines and destinations, we are confident that Etihad Airport Services is the right partner for managing our ground handling operations. In this new chapter, our shared values and commitment remain resolute, in achieving excellence in every aspect of the airport experience.” Jubran Albreiki, General Manager at Etihad Airport Services said: “”This agreement marks a significant milestone in our partnership with Abu Dhabi Airports, reinforcing our commitment to enhancing the passenger experience. By leveraging our world-class ground handling services and expertise, we aim to complement the state-of-the-art terminal and deliver a seamless journey to our customers at Zayed International Airport.” Etihad Airport Services, a fully owned subsidiary of ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, will provide a comprehensive range of ground handling services. These include but are not limited …

The second day of the Future Aviation Forum 2024 witnessed the signing of 102 memoranda of understanding (MoUs), agreements, and deals, with a total value exceeding SAR75 billion. Held under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, organized by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) in Riyadh. The forum exceeded expectations, as the agreements encompassed various sectors of civil aviation, such as aviation services, aircraft purchase orders, cargo and logistics services, advanced air mobility, human resources development, information technology, maintenance, repair, and overhaul. The forum continued its proceedings for the second consecutive day with the participation of over 30 ministers, 77 leaders of civil aviation authorities, CEOs of airlines worldwide, and 7,000 aviation industry experts and leaders from more than 120 countries. It focused on human capabilities, the future of the sector, collaboration opportunities, civil aviation organization networks, sustainability, innovation, technology, and business opportunities within the sector. The forum saw the GACA launching the first edition of the Kingdom’s aviation sector report, which highlighted the civil aviation sector’s contribution to the Kingdom’s economy, amounting to $53 billion and providing 958,000 jobs across various regions. The GACA also hosted the first aviation investment exhibition aimed at facilitating investment in the Saudi aviation sector, with a focus on the advanced air mobility pavilion being among the exhibition’s prominent pavilions. “The Future Aviation Forum has achieved remarkable success by bringing together aviation industry leaders and experts from around the world to discuss the future of civil aviation and develop innovative solutions to its key challenges,” said Minister of Transport and Logistic Services and Chairman of GACA Board of Directors, Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser. …

As of September 2024, flynas to become the only KSA airline serving the major 4 airports in the UAE. flynas announced a massive expansion plan in the UAE  adding Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) in Dubai to its network operated from flynas’ main bases in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Madinah. The routes operated between the two countries will be increased from 4 routes currently to 9 routes, allowing for an exceptional expansion to more than 20 daily flights. Bander Almohanna, Managing Director and CEO of flynas, said: “We are delighted to enhance air connectivity between KSA and UAE, which reflects flynas’ commitment to move further in its growth and expansion plan under the slogan (We Connect The World With the Kingdom), offering new routes to the visitors between the two countries”. Almohanna added: “We take advantage of our operational excellence and doubling our fleet size in less than two years to keep up our remarkable growth to best cater to the growing low-cost travel market in the region, in line with our growth and expansion plans, and in parallel with the National Civil Aviation Strategy to enable national air carriers to contribute to connecting KSA with 250 International destinations and to accommodate 330 million passengers and to host 100 million tourists yearly by 2030 and the objectives of the Pilgrims Experience Program (PEP) to facilitate access to the Two Holy Mosques”. With the latest expansion, the UAE market will be served with flights from the four flynas operation bases around the Kingdom. Operating flights currently to Dubai International Airport from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah, the leading LCC will add flights to Al Maktoum International Airport …

Victor announced its commitment to delivering its pioneering climate action strategy in the MENA region. Together with partner Neste, the world’s leading producer of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), the sector leader is committed to transforming the business aviation landscape in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, by leveraging its learnings from nearly two years’ success in offering SAF directly to private jet flyers worldwide. Focusing on a continued campaign of education and awareness, Victor aims to shift the needle on two core metrics: driving an uplift in voluntary SAF demand from the region’s business aviation flyers and encouraging the adoption of its SAF blueprint by other business and commercial aviation companies across MENA. Having recently relocated its headquarters to Abu Dhabi from the UK, Victor is deepening its commitment to the region and reinforcing its strategic focus on climate action within the MENA markets. The company will build on the success of its ‘Pay Here, Use There’ model, allowing members to purchase Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ for every private jet booking – regardless of departure airport. The key learnings from Victor customer behaviour have been encouraging: 1 in 5 private aircraft charterers are willing to pay an additional c.4,500 AED for SAF per booking, providing an average carbon emission reduction of 1.5 tonnes. The average amount of Jet-A fossil fuel Victor customers choose to replace with SAF is 30% per booking. Victor’s aim in 2024 is for at least 1 in 5 MENA customers to buy SAF for their jet charter bookings. This voluntary solution and the SAF purchases it is enabling, is helping to establish a critical new sustainable aviation fuel supply chain, which is necessary …

Emirates and Avianca launched a new codeshare partnership which allows Emirates and Avianca customers to enjoy seamless connectivity on select routes. Emirates customers flying from Emirates’ network via Madrid, Barcelona or London Heathrow, can fly direct to three points in Colombia and enjoy seamless connectivity, in addition to other travel benefits that introduce more convenience. Codeshare flights include Madrid to Bogotá, Medellin or Cali; Barcelona to Bogotá; and London Heathrow to Bogotá. Tickets can be booked immediately on emirates.com, avianca.com, the Emirates and Avianca Apps, contact centres or via both online and offline travel agents, with codeshare flights starting from 4 June. Avianca will place its code on routes operated by Emirates, between Barcelona, Madrid or London Heathrow and Dubai. The Colombian carrier’s customers will fly on Emirates-operated widebody aircraft while enjoying premium dining, lie-flat seats in premium cabins in addition to an abundance of content on Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system, featuring more than 6,500 channels of movies, shows, music and more, including in Spanish. Customers of both airlines will enjoy the convenience of seamless connectivity, hassle-free booking of itineraries on both airlines on a single ticket while reaping the benefit of securing competitive fares, and a single baggage policy checked through to the final destination. Adnan Kazim, Deputy President, and Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates said: “We are delighted to establish a codeshare partnership with Colombia’s largest carrier, Avianca to provide seamless connections on select routes to customers of both airlines. The codeshare agreement will enable us to expand our reach and allow our customers to use our services and fly to additional popular points in Colombia.” We are also pleased to offer Avianca’s customers connections through points in Spain …

Emirates and flynas signed an expanded two-way interline partnership with plans to open up connections and more travel choices for flynas customers via Dubai. Emirates’ current interline with flynas provides its customers with enhanced connectivity via its four gateways – Riyadh, Jeddah, Medinah and Dammam – to over 15 domestic points in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It also includes the convenience of single ticket itineraries with onwards booking and baggage transfers. The MoU was signed at ATM by Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, and Bander Almohanna, Group CEO & Managing Director of flynas, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group, and flynas chairman Ayed Al Jeaid, along with other senior representatives from both airlines. With the expansion of the interline to a bilateral arrangement, flynas customers can connect across any of Emirates’ gateways in the Kingdom to a select roster of onward destinations on the airline’s network in the Far East, West Asia & Indian Ocean and Europe, via Dubai. Bander Almohanna, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director in flynas said: “With the expansion of the interline to a bilateral arrangement, flynas travelers can connect to a select roster of Emirates’ onward destinations on the airline’s network in the Far East, West Asia & Indian Ocean and Europe, via Dubai. We are quite pleased to offer more choices to our customers through Emirates’ wide network. Once the expanded interline partnership is activated, customers will be able to book their travel on the flynas website, through online travel agencies as well as with local travel agents.” Once the expanded interline partnership is activated, …

His Excellency Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism, stressed the importance of collaboration between stakeholders from the tourism and aviation sectors to drive economic growth and create seamless travel experiences. Speaking at the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh, the minister highlighted the Kingdom’s efforts to leverage new air connections to boost inbound tourism and accelerate sector growth. “Gathering here at the Future Aviation Forum, it is important to emphasize the intersecting relationship between tourism and aviation. Ensuring the strategic expansion and sustainability of air routes is critical for our tourism goals,” said Minister Al-Khateeb during his keynote speech titled “Sky High Tourism – Unlocking Destinations and Cultural Exchange Now and in the Future.” In the past two years, Saudi Arabia’s air connectivity network expanded greatly, with Saudi airports adding 28 new routes from international destinations. In the first four months of 2024 alone, airlines from key markets in Europe and East Asia have initiated direct flights to the Kingdom. These airlines include China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Air China, ITA Airways, and Eurowings. With visitors from 66 countries now benefiting from the Saudi eVisa, the Kingdom’s tourism market has been on an upward trajectory in recent years. Recognized as the second fastest-growing tourism market globally in 2023, Saudi Arabia welcomed 107 million tourists, with 27.4 million of these being international arrivals. Tourism currently represents 4% of GDP in the Kingdom– with a target of 10% GDP contribution by 2030. Aiming to attract 150 million tourists by that year – of which 70 million will be international arrivals – global airlines and tour operators will play a key role in this development. Minister Al-Khateeb added, “This growth is a …

SAUDIA signed an agreement with AEGEAN to expand their codeshare. The agreement will  enable guests of both airlines to reach new destinations. Through AEGEAN, guests can reach 47 countries at 156 destinations, such as Zagreb in Croatia and Tirana in Albania, as well as Santorini and Rhodes in Greece. Guests of AEGEAN will also benefit from access to domestic destinations in conjunction with the tourism movement witnessed in various regions of the Kingdom. The agreement adds numerous benefits for SAUDIA’s guests as well as AEGEAN passengers, including the expansion and growth of the flight network. Additionally, it includes transit visa services, which can be issued through digital channels by SAUDIA in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, allowing guests from around the world to stopover for up to 96 hours. The agreement was signed during the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) held at the Dubai World Trade Center by the Chief Commercial Officer of SAUDIA, Arved Von Zur Muehlen and Network Planning and Airline Partnerships Director AEGEAN, Yannis Rasoglou, by which SAUDIA’s guests and AEGEAN’s passengers will benefit from a wide range of privileges, starting with reservations and ticket issuance, in addition to fast and smooth transfers between flights with a single ticket. Moreover, they will enjoy the convenience of checking in their luggage to their final destination and benefiting from a reciprocal rewards program where miles can be collected to upgrade membership. Arved Von Zur Muehlen, the Chief Commercial Officer of Saudia, said: “This new codeshare agreement with AEGEAN is a significant step forward in expanding our network and offering a wider range of travel options. Not only will Saudia’s guests enjoy seamless connections to exciting new destinations, but they will …