Category Archives: Aviation

SAUDIA Group is continuing to implement its operational plan for 2023 by boosting its international presence and market share by increase its seating capacity by 40% on high-demand destinations. The ambitious plan aims to expand SAUDIA’s network, connect international visitors with the Kingdom, and strengthen Saudi’s tourism, Hajj, and Umrah sectors. The plan also includes an increase in domestic flights and seating capacity. SAUDIA has allocated over 25.3m seats for international flights in 2023 across almost 90,000 flights, up 40% from 2022. Similarly, seating capacity on domestic flights for 2023 has been increased by about half a million seats to reach over 17.8m seats, with the total number of domestic flights exceeding 102,100. The update to the company’s flight schedule and operations are designed to meet growing customer demand and further increase convenience in flight schedules throughout the year, and in particular during demand-peak seasons. Captain Ibrahim Koshy, CEO of SAUDIA, said: “We plan to build on SAUDIA’s operational success of last year with a strategic plan that further enhances SAUDIA’s reputation for meeting our guests’ needs and delivering performance excellence. Since the beginning of the new year, we have seen steadily increasing demand on already-popular routes. By expanding capacity and enhancing flight schedules SAUDIA is able to offer increased flexibility to customers and better manage its operational requirements in light of the significant challenges facing the aviation industry.” SAUDIA’s operational plan also features a number of new additions to its fleet. New Boeing B787 Dreamliner aircraft, with 24 business class seats and 333 economy class seats, will join SAUDIA’s fleet in 2023, along with the latest Airbus A321NX aircraft, that offer 20 business class seats and 168 economy class …

At a special gathering hosted by Singapore tourism board and Singapore Airlines recently it was shared by GB Srithar – Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia – Singapore Tourism Board that international visitor numbers had exceeded their own forecast. Srithar shared, “I’m happy to say that Singapore tourism board remains engaged in this market.  Singapore international visitor numbers reached 6.3 million in 2022, which is 33% of 2019, exceeding our own forecast of last year, which was between 4 to 6million. So at 6.3 million we have exceeded out own forecast. Tourism receipts estimated to have reached 13.8 to 14.3 billion dollars which is above 50 to 52% of 2019 TR. Looking at Middle East market, overall GCC, we welcomed 79,630 which is about 61% of 2019’s IVA and UAE specifically we welcomed 42,970 which is about 35% of 2019 IVA so those are the numbers and the peak months have been July and August last year which registered very strong visitor arrivals and the average length of stay was about 3 to 5 days. In terms of importance of the market, UAE is our number one source market in the region.” He further reiterated, “We continue to welcome visitors from the Middle East, the good thing is that Singapore is very much open, it is quarantine free and you can come to the country and moving around in various places like in Dubai is the same as before. My key overarching message is that Singapore is not only welcoming leisure travellers, as Singapore continues to be a family holiday destination, the Middle East travellers when they come to Singapore learn that its very easy to enjoy in …

‎Qatar Airways announced it has signed a comprehensive codeshare agreement with Air Serbia, the flag carrier of Serbia, allowing passengers seamless travel to over 40 destinations when travelling on each other’s networks effective 01 February 2023. Qatar Airways currently operates five weekly flights between its hub in Doha, Qatar and Belgrade, the Serbian capital. The codeshare agreement opens up a host of new exciting destinations for its passengers to use a single booking to continue their journey to European countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia among others served by Air Serbia. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “This partnership will allow us to expand our footprint in the Central and Eastern European markets where we are looking forward to offering additional travel choices for our customers. We are extremely proud to unveil this partnership with Air Serbia, the leading airline in this region since it was founded in 1927 and we look forward to working effortlessly together.” From its hub at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, Air Serbia serves more than 70 destinations in Europe, the Mediterranean, North America, Asia and Africa. As a part of this collaboration, Air Serbia will add its marketing code on Qatar Airways direct flights between Belgrade and Doha, as well as various points beyond Doha including Adelaide, Baku, Brisbane, Tbilisi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Muscat, Nairobi, Perth, Seychelles, Singapore and Sydney. Additionally, subject to obtaining all necessary government approvals and once all conditions are fulfilled, Air Serbia plans to extend its coverage to Bangkok, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Phuket, Seoul, Tokyo, Yerevan, Zanzibar and many more. Air Serbia, Chief Executive Officer, Jiří Marek, said: “It …

Emirates will ramp up frequencies to Hong Kong with a daily non-stop service from its Dubai hub, starting from 29 March 2023, adding to its existing daily flight from Dubai to Hong Kong via Bangkok and increasing the airline’s operations in the market up to 14 weekly flights. The resumed service will provide more capacity, choice and flexibility for travellers, as the airline continues to expand its global operations in line with sustained demand for international travel. Operated by an Airbus A380 aircraft, Emirates’ flight EK380 will depart Dubai at 10:45hrs and arrive in Hong Kong at 22:00hrs. The return flight EK381 will depart from Hong Kong at 00:35hrs and arrive in Dubai at 05:00hrs. All times are local. By bringing back its Dubai-Hong Kong flight EK380/EK381, Emirates is responding to the growing demand on the route and offering travellers the choice to fly non-stop or break their journeys in Bangkok. Tickets can be booked on emirates.com, the Emirates App, or via travel agents. Travellers are also encouraged to check the latest entry requirements. As one of Emirates’ key Asian destinations, the airline reaffirms its commitment to supporting Hong Kong’s post-pandemic recovery, increasing capacity to serve travellers originating from Dubai or connecting in Dubai from other cities in its global network. Throughout the pandemic, Emirates has supported the market’s local community by maintaining the trade links between Hong Kong and other strategic markets within its network, successfully transporting imports and exports through its airfreight division, Emirates SkyCargo. Emirates also provides increased connectivity for travellers to additional destinations beyond Hong Kong through its interline agreements with Cathay Pacific and HongKong Airlines, among others. The Emirates A380 experience remains highly sought after …

SAUDIA participated in the second edition of the Saudi Design Festival (SDF) – an annual festival that aims to provide a platform to showcase local designers and talents- through “Design to Progress” panel discussion attended by HRH Princess Nourah Al-Faisal, Founder and CEO of Adhlal, and Group Chief Marketing Officer, Khaled Tash. The panel session witnessed the announcement of Adhlal as an “Advisory Partner” for SAUDIA to launch “SAUDIA Design Program” initiative. The initiative aims to create new opportunities for the Saudi design community to contribute to creating exceptional experiences for airline’s guests, and providing creative solutions to various challenges in the travel & tourism sector. The panel discussed several topics and highlighted the importance that SAUDIA places on creative designs, and its efforts to support all initiatives that would enable the creative and talented people in the Saudi community to help in providing exceptional experiences for SAUDIA’s guests that reflect the culture and values of the Kingdom. The collaboration between the two ends will result in developing and supporting the design sector and promote it as a means to inspiration and innovation. Khaled Tash also shed the light on the upcoming period which will witness the launch of “SAUDIA Design Program” initiative, demonstrating SAUDIA’s commitment to and ambassadorship of the Saudi design community, which in turn will contribute to developing design as a driving force in promoting the key values of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The first cycle of SAUDIA Design Program is expected to take place during Quarter 4, 2023. This initiative will provide opportunities for design students and professionals to contribute to providing inspiring solutions to various challenges in the travel industry. The second edition of …

Etihad Airways is ramping up flights between Abu Dhabi and Jakarta from daily to double-daily. From 1 October 2023, business and leisure travellers can look forward to 14 weekly non-stop flights between Abu Dhabi and the Indonesian capital, providing more choice, flexibility and convenience. The flights will be operated using Etihad’s fleet of modern Boeing B787 and B777 aircraft, offering guests comfortable seats, personal inflight entertainment systems, and an award-winning and attentive service. “Etihad Airways is delighted to boost air connectivity between Abu Dhabi and Indonesia, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world,” said Arik De, Chief Revenue Officer at Etihad Airways. “Our new flight has been optimised to arrive in Abu Dhabi in the morning, giving travellers from Indonesia a head-start to explore the attractions of our vibrant capital city. “At the same time, our new service leverages our recently-expanded relationship with Garuda Indonesia to make it even more convenient for UAE residents to visit Jakarta, or one of 20 other destinations throughout Indonesia.” The strengthened air links will support the growth of trade and tourism on both sides and reaffirm Etihad’s commitment to supporting inbound tourism. Abu Dhabi offers visitors an abundance of things to do, from family days out at modern museums and theme parks such as Louvre Abu Dhabi, Warner Bros. World™ Abu Dhabi and Ferrari World Abu Dhabi to beautiful golden beaches and unforgettable desert experiences. Home to over 10 million people and the largest city in Southeast Asia, Jakarta is a bustling metropolis that provides plenty of opportunities to enjoy Indonesia’s rich history, culture and nature.

Emirates announced that it will reintroduce its flagship A380 to Casablanca as part of the airline’s ramp up of operations to Morocco. Starting from 15 April, the airline will replace the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft currently used between Dubai and Casablanca with its flagship A380 to meet growing demand on the route. The A380 service, operating as EK751 departs from Dubai at 0730hrs, arriving in Casablanca at 1255hrs. EK 752 departs from Casablanca at 1445hrs, arriving in Dubai at 0115hrs the following day. The enhancement of capacity between Casablanca and Dubai will offer leisure and business travellers more opportunities to connect to Dubai and beyond to cities across the Middle East and GCC, Europe, the Americas and West Asia. The flagship A380’s deployment to Morocco is also a testament of the airline’s commitment to support inbound visitor arrivals as the country double downs its efforts to reinvigorate its tourism industry. Last year, Emirates enhanced its partnership with Royal Air Maroc to a codeshare, providing more travel options and connection choices for customers of both airlines between Dubai and Casablanca, and beyond. Casablanca is a popular leisure destination on Emirates’ global network, and demand on the route has seen steady growth since being launched in March 2002. The airline has been operating to Morocco for over 20 years, and has carried more than 3.5 million passengers on the route. The Emirates A380 experience remains highly sought after by travellers, with the spacious double-decked aircraft offering 14 First Class suites and 76 lie-flat seats in Business Class, as well as 401 generously pitched seats in Economy Class. Customers travelling to and from Casablanca can look forward to enjoying Emirates’ spacious and comfortable cabins, …

Emirates has announced it will scale up its A380 operations with the iconic double-decker returning to Glasgow (26 March 2023), Nice (1 June 2023) and Birmingham (1 July 2023). The airline has also announced it will resume its second daily service to Stansted starting from 1 May 2023, utilising its wide-body Boeing 777-300ER aircraft fitted with its renowned ‘Game Changer’ First Class product. With the return of the second daily flight to Stansted, Emirates will ramp up its operations to London with 11 daily flights, including six times daily to London Heathrow and three times daily to Gatwick. The airline continues to expand its global network and increase capacity in line with growing travel demand. Emirates currently deploys its flagship A380 to 40 destinations worldwide. By the end of this summer, the popular aircraft will be serving almost 50 destinations, restoring close to 90% of the airline’s pre-pandemic A380 network. Emirates is the largest operator of Airbus A380, with more than 80 aircraft currently in active service. The airline first launched A380 operations to Birmingham in 2016; Nice in 2017; and Glasgow in 2019.

Continuing to enrich the travel experience, Oman Air’s frequent flyer programme, Sindbad, has been added to Ooredoo’s list of Nojoom partners. Nojoom members with Shahry postpaid or Home Internet plans can now convert their loyalty points to Sindbad Miles, which can be spent on a host of Oman Air’s products and services including flight tickets, upgrades, and much more. Whether going for a business trip or jetting away on a holiday, travel just got even more rewarding! Mundher Al Shaikhani, Senior Manager Holidays and Loyalty Programme at Oman Air, said, “As part of our ongoing transformation strategy, we continue to expand and diversify our partners, offering our members more ways to enhance their everyday lives, whether its earning Miles or spending them. Ooredoo is a great addition to our portfolio, and we look forward to a long and fruitful partnership that is mutually beneficial for our customers on both sides.” Feras Al Shaikh, Director of Marketing at Ooredoo, said: “Customer experience is at the heart of what we do and providing awesome rewards and value is something we know our customers love. We’re proud to be partnering with the country’s national airline to give subscribers even more ways to enjoy life to the max. We look forward to a long-standing and collaborative relationship.” Sindbad, the national airline’s award-winning frequent flyer programme, allows members to spend Miles both in the air and on the ground, including free flights, flight upgrades, raffles and promotions. Membership has three tiers, each offering a wide range of benefits, with the higher tiers bringing exclusive lounge access, extra baggage allowance, priority check-in and other exciting privileges. Meanwhile, Ooredoo’s loyalty programme, Nojoom, offers amazing deals on a …

SAUDIA has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) to improve the quality of their shared services and provide more initiatives that improve the travel experience. Signed by the SAUDIA Chief Hajj & Umrah Officer, Mr. Amer AlKhushail, and the Executive Vice President of the Haramain High-Speed Railway (HHR) and Al Mashaeer, Engr. Rayan Al-Harbi, the agreement provides special prices for SAUDIA guests who are traveling to and from Makkah and Al Madinah via HHR. Later this year, SAUDIA and HHR booking systems will be linked, and Makkah will be added in the list of stations in the booking process. SAUDIA’s customers will be able to issue boarding passes for both the flight and train at the same time, whether through the website, digital application, or sales offices. Mr. AlKhushail said: “This agreement falls in line with SAUDIA’s commitment to improve the travel experience for guests through implementing digital solutions that address the needs of SAUDIA and HHR’s guests. These solutions remove time-consuming steps in finalizing travel procedures and help facilitate trips between Makkah and Al Madinah. This reflects the government’s commitment to make Hajj and Umrah pilgrim’s journey as smooth as possible through providing best-in-class services.” He added, “This is an additional service added to the long list of integrated services provided by SAUDIA to facilitate the journey for Hajj & Umrah pilgrims through providing world-class air transport and logistical services such as self-check-in services, on-board entertainment packages, and more.” Engr. Rayan Al-Harbi said: “The collaboration between SAR and SAUDIA will contribute effectively to enriching and upgrading the pilgrims’ experience, the integration of travel services is one of the many different efforts done to elevate and diversify the …