Category Archives: Aviation

Air France-KLM Group and Etihad Airways signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aiming at enhancing their collaboration opportunities across passenger operations, loyalty programmes, talent development, and maintenance. Through this partnership, and subject to any necessary regulatory approvals, Air France-KLM and Etihad contemplate expanding their codeshare and interline agreements initiated in 2012. As a first step, more than 40 new routes covering destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Australia have been made available for booking as of today, for travel as early as the winter 2023 season. The signing ceremony took place at the Air France-KLM Group’s headquarters in Paris, France in the presence of Angus Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer, Air France-KLM, and Arik De, Chief Revenue Officer, Etihad Airways. The MoU also proposes the ability for frequent flyers of both Flying Blue and Etihad Guest to earn and redeem miles with Air France, KLM, and Etihad. The airlines will also explore terminal co-location, reciprocal lounge access and ground handling, among other initiatives. Etihad currently operates daily flights to both Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol from Abu Dhabi international airport. Air France will start operating daily flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Abu Dhabi International Airport from October 29, 2023. Angus Clarke, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Air France-KLM, said: “I’m delighted to further develop our partnership with Etihad Airways. This 11-year collaboration is now expanding even further, as we aim to explore opportunities in maintenance and loyalty, in addition to enhancing our route network for the benefit of our customers from all around the world. The attractiveness of Abu Dhabi as a destination and a hub, powered by Etihad’s large footprint spanning South and …

Emirates announces a significant expansion in its codeshare partnership with United, to include nine destinations in Mexico. Emirates customers will now have access to eight new destinations in the country, in addition to Mexico City, which the airline also serves. The expansive codeshare network between Emirates and United currently includes a host of US cities and Mexico becomes the first country outside of the US to be added to the growing network. The codeshare partnership enables customers to enjoy flexibility and choice with smooth connections, allowing passengers flying on Emirates to two points in the US, either Chicago or Houston, to connect onwards to exciting leisure destinations in Mexico. The new Mexican points include Cancun, Cozumel, Monterrey, Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, San Jose Del Cabo, Leon/Guanajuato, and Queretaro. Furthermore, the codeshare partnership also provides more flexibility on flight timings, giving Emirates customers flying to Mexico City more options when choosing flights. Depending on travel plans, passengers can opt to fly to the Mexican capital using Emirates daily services from Dubai with a stop in Barcelona, or separately book codeshare flights to Mexico City. The expansion of the codeshare network also enables customers flying from the nine points in Mexico to fly to destinations on the airline’s network, via Chicago or Houston. Tickets to codeshare destinations in Mexico are available via emirates.com and preferred travel agencies, for travel starting on 14 September. The newly-expanded network of Mexican destinations now available to Emirates customers is expected to be popular amongst customers from the Middle East, India and South Africa, to name a few. The most frequented destinations for global travellers embarking from points in Mexico include India, Israel, UAE, South Africa and select …

Hamad International Airport (DOH), in partnership with Atos and Royal Schiphol Group, introduces Passenger Digital Assistance Kiosks to enable seamless journeys for travellers. The kiosks will provide easy access to information, assist in navigation and help passengers through live video calls to customer service agents. Commenting on the new passenger experience, Mr. Suhail Kadri, Senior Vice President of Technology and Innovation at Hamad International Airport said: “The new Passenger Digital Assistance Kiosks are part of our overarching digital strategy to transform passenger experiences. We are committed to investing in the latest technology and innovative solutions; to create the most seamless airport experience for all passengers traveling from and to Hamad International Airport, we are working with industry innovation leaders such as Atos and Royal Schiphol Group.” Marc Veelenturf, CEO of Middle East and Turkey at Atos said: “Together with our strategic partner Schiphol, we are proud to have successfully delivered this solution at Hamad International Airport to improve the digital passenger experience, and to manage passenger flow more effectively especially during the airport’s critical peak periods.” The kiosks are multilingual with 20 language options, with the airport map for wayfinding. They provide information related to flights, airport services, retail and F&B outlets and passenger events at the airport. Hamad International Airport will continue to add new and strong partnerships to its portfolio with the aim to introduce innovative solutions and advanced technologies, as part of its commitment to being the industry leader, setting the benchmark for the airport industry and expanding beyond traditional solutions, to deliver an exceptionally memorable passenger experience for all travellers.

BBN Airlines Indonesia, a subsidiary of Avia Solutions Group, that specialises in the provision of ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance & Insurance), air charter, and air freight services is the latest addition to Indonesia’s aviation industry. ACMI is considered relatively new in Indonesia, and there are very few service providers. With this expertise in hand, BBN Airlines Indonesia is expected to give an extra boost to support the ever-growing aviation needs in Indonesia. For the three services above, BBN Airlines Indonesia was awarded an Airline Operator Certificate issued by the Directorate of Airworthiness and Aircraft Operations of the Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia on August 31st, 2023. The AOC was issued to BBN Airlines Indonesia upon successfully completing five stages of Pre-Application, Formal Application, Document Compliance, Demonstration and Inspection, and Certification; all of which complied with ICAO regulations and applicable aviation laws in Indonesia. By completing all certification stages, BBN Airlines Indonesia was declared qualified after having fully met all technical and safety requirements to be granted an AOC, and therefore can immediately conduct commercial flights. “The AOC is a testament to our serious commitment and readiness to support Indonesia’s aviation needs, in all sectors from airlines, tour operators, and cargo, to logistics. We have witnessed a high demand for aircraft provision, especially during high seasons such as Umrah, Haj, Eid, and other special holidays that result in a large surge in goods distribution, and we have conducted thorough research on that. This is why we are confident that this is an excellent opportunity for us to be able to give much-needed support to the airline, logistics, and tour operator companies so that, in return, they can give …

FlyArystan continues to expand its international network commencing operations between Astana and Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan in October and is also evaluating the launch of new services to destinations including Abu Dhabi (UAE), Oman and Saudi Arabia during the next stage of its network expansion. The carrier currently offers services from Kazakhstan to destinations in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, China, UAE and Uzbekistan. “The launch of FlyArystan in May 2019 has proven to be a tremendous success for Air Astana Group in pioneering the rapid development of low-cost markets in Kazakhstan and Central Asia,” said Peter Foster, President and CEO of Air Astana Group. ”Dramatic growth in demand from a completely new segment of passengers in these markets is being followed by an exciting new phase of international network expansion, with the launch of services to cities in dynamic India and Central Asia markets, plus others in the Middle East on the horizon.”

SAUDIA Group announced that its performance reports, following the Hajj Season 2023, show distinguished operating rates during the peak of the summer travel season from May 21st to August 2nd, 2023. SAUDIA Group’s performance during this period peaked as the airline allocated more than 1.2 million seats for Hajj pilgrims, while operating 79,000 flights. SAUDIA’s fleet flew an average of half a million hours, while recording an on-time-performance rate of 83.8%. Meanwhile, 1,768 pilots and assistant pilots have also contributed to SAUDIA’s success by managing the flights efficiently, while the guest cabin crew worked at full capacity during the season, with a total of 6,063 crewmembers, who speak more than 42 languages, working during the summer months. The Hajj season also saw the mobilization of the Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries (SAEI) which operated at full capacity with its automated capabilities and qualified cadres to ensure the provision of the best services. SAEI dedicated a specialized team to support during Hajj season which included the allocation of 112 maintenance stations which were operated by 1,154 technicians. In addition, SAEI supplied SAUDIA with 3,896 different types of aircraft parts while the time spent on maintenance amounted to 50,700 hours. SAEI has obtained many international licenses and certificates from the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the US Federal Aviation Authority, the European Organization for Aviation Safety, among others. Moreover, SAEI obtained licenses approved by manufacturers which allow the company to manufacture aircraft spare parts in a limited capacity. The Saudi Airlines Catering Company (SACC) has also played a major role during the Hajj season, as they provided best-in class production of meals that comply with the best international standards. SACC also provided comprehensive …

According to IATA’s latest report passenger traffic recovery has been strong for Middle East carriers with 31.4% YoY in the second quarter of 2023. The region’s airlines saw their RPKs reach within 0.9% of their Q2 2019 levels. The Middle East outperformed the global recovery in RPKs, which reached 93.7% (within 6.3%) of pre-covid levels for the quarter. Since most of the passenger traffic for the Middle East is international, total RPKs followed similar growth trends and recovery rates as international RPKs.  Ticket sales for the region have outperformed the global average and continue to trend upward, indicating sustained passenger demand. Local holiday shifts in the region caused some fluctuations but the overall trend remains positive. The Middle East also saw a solid recovery in origin-destination (O-D) passenger traffic in Q2 2023 compared to pre-covid periods. Passenger traffic growth generally varied among the countries in the region, with the strongest performances seen in the UAE, Qatar, and Jordan. The UAE led with an impressive 17.2% growth in O-D passenger traffic, compared to the same period in 2019. Other countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were within 2% and 5.6% of full recovery. While Iran’s O-D passenger traffic remained 34.4% below pre-covid levels (Chart 86), other countries also exhibited subdued growth in the second quarter compared to the previous period. This was primarily due to the timing of Ramadan in 2023 compared to 2019.

The newly launched national carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh Air, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Colleges of Excellence (CoE), a leading entity in providing training services in the Kingdom, established by the Technical and Vocational Training Corporate (TVTC) in Saudi Arabia. The agreement was signed by Riyadh Air CEO, Tony Douglas and the Colleges of Excellence CEO, Engineer Ayman Mustafa Al Abdullah attended by His Excellency the Governor of the TVTC, Dr. Ahmed bin Fahd Al-Fuhaid at its training facility. The agreement aims to solidifying both parties commitment to collaborate and create a transformative vocational program that will shape the future of the aviation industry, which includes the activation of a first of its kind, female training program specialized in the field of engineering and maintenance at the college in Saudi Arabia. The MoU aims to provide innovative and specialized training programs for students in the aviation sector, which will include qualifying the first cohort of Saudi females in the Aircraft Maintenance Engineering program. The students will gain insight from the exchange of experiences and information, hands on training and workshop in order to implement and support their studies, to be provided at the college facilities. Riyadh Air’s CEO Tony Douglas remarked, “We are thrilled to partner with the Colleges of Excellence to support the launch of the specialized aviation programs,” he added “By providing students with hands-on experience and specialized training, we aim to bridge the gap between education and industry requirements. We are particularly excited about the opportunities this program will create for women in technical engineering and maintenance, paving the way for a more diverse and inclusive aviation workforce.” The …

As part of its continuous endeavor to provide the best services to its valued customers and to facilitate communication with them, Kuwait Airways inaugurated its new Sales Office at the Sabah Al Salem area. The office timings for client services are from 9 AM until 4:30 PM, through the week, except for Fridays and Saturdays. Moreover, the working hours will be extended in the coming period, where the office is expected to provide services to more than 100 customers a day. The opening of this office will be followed by opening of the company’s Sales Offices in the Assima Mall and the Al Kout Mall.  The company will also be aiming to open a branch in the Jahra region soon. Along with the inauguration of the new office, Kuwait Airways organized the Customer Day initiative, which includes an initiative devised to closely identify the requirements of its customers, with the participation of the Executive Management and headed by Kuwait Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, Eng. Maen Razouqi. This initiative, which the company has organized for the first time this year, mainly aims to provide a tangible and unique experience for decision-makers from the Executive Management, to work side by side with the employees of the company’s various departments, and will include receiving customers at the Sabah Al Salem branch, coinciding with the opening the Sales Office. This will provide them with valuable experience to closely identify the needs of the largest customer base in Kuwait, follow up on their requests to evaluate their experience and strive towards reaching the best levels of service in accordance with the highest international standards. Kuwait Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, Eng. Maen Razouqi stated, “Kuwait Airways …

Emirates will introduce a new complimentary bus service for its Economy Class passengers arriving in Tokyo-Haneda Airport, starting from 1 September. Emirates will be the only air carrier in Japan to offer a complimentary bus service from Haneda Airport to major train stations within Tokyo, guaranteeing seamless and efficient transport solution for the airline’s customers to two prominent drop-off locations – the iconic Tokyo Station (TYQ) at Marunouchi North Entrance and the bustling Shinagawa Station (SGS) at Konan Entrance bus stop no. 7. The new service will be available at Haneda Airport’s Terminal 3 Charter Bus Parking spot which is equipped with a three-letter IATA code, allowing passengers to seamlessly arrange their bookings all the way through their final stations. Bus number EK7034 departs from Haneda International Airport at 00:01hrs and arrive in Tokyo Station (TYQ) at 00:40hrs. Bus number EK7036 will depart from Haneda International Airport at 00:01hrs and arrive in Shinagawa Station (SGS) at 00:30hrs. All times are local. * The complimentary daily service offers convenient and efficient connectivity for Emirates’ passengers, as they make their way to central points within Tokyo in nearly 40 minutes or less. A seamless travel journey is further enhanced by thoughtful amenities including easily accessible onboard restrooms. * In rare cases of delayed flight arrival, the bus will wait until 1:00hrs local time the following day to accommodate the passengers and drop them off at the designated stations.