Category Archives: Aviation

Dubai International (DXB) added a new African destination to its network of 200 plus international destinations on Friday with the launch of Kenya Airways’ inaugural service from the coastal city of Mombasa. Kenya Airways will be operating four weekly flights between Mombasa and DXB’s Terminal 1 on a B737-800 aircraft, increasing the carrier’s frequency to Dubai to 14 round trips a week. The airline already operates 10 weekly flights to Nairobi and will be adding 4 weekly flights to Mombasa, which was an unserved destination at DXB. The new service is expected to enhance tourism and trade on both sides and offer additional options for the thousands of travellers who fly between Dubai and Kenya each month. Nearly 650,000 passengers flew between DXB and Kenyan destinations in 2019.

From 24 April 2023, the airline will fly twice a day, seven days a week, on the Abu Dhabi – New York route, providing a total of 14 weekly nonstop services to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The flights will be operated with both Airbus A350 and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, two of the most efficient in the world, with significantly less fuel burn and CO2 emissions than previous-generation twin aisle aircraft. Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Cargo, Etihad Airways, said: “Etihad is responding to customer demand for increased frequency to New York and our well-known reputation for high-quality customer experience. Boosting our flights to New York gives our guests even greater options across key business and leisure destinations in our expanding global network. “Our guests travelling to the US can use our US pre-clearance facility, the only United States Customs and Border Protection facility in the Middle East. This allows passengers bound for the United States to process all immigration, customs and agriculture inspections in Abu Dhabi before they board, avoiding immigration queues on arrival in the US.” The increased frequency gives customers going to the US access to connections beyond New York, to and from 47 destinations throughout the Americas, with Etihad’s codeshare partner — and New York’s Hometown Airline® — JetBlue. The news comes as Etihad unveils further growth in its global network with the relaunch of flights to Kolkata as well as offering travellers improved access to the Indian Subcontinent and GCC region. Travelling with the Environmental Airline of the Year, Etihad guests can offset their flights with the airline’s green loyalty programme. Conscious Choices gives travellers Tier Miles and additional benefits in …

SAUDIA has launched a new version of Alfursan loyalty program offering multiple advantages and greater miles value for members. The upgrade is part of a complete transformation of the program which aims to increase the competitiveness of SAUDIA as it seeks to deliver world-class levels of guest experience. This reflects the national carrier’s efforts to improve guests’ travel experience and is part of an ambitious, organisation-wide, transformation the group is currently undergoing. The new edition of Alfursan includes unprecedented benefits for more than 7.5 million members, in addition to motivating more guests to join and enjoy the benefits and rewards of the program through the marketing campaign launched today. Under the slogan “Enjoy More”, Alfursan now partners with several new parties, most notably credit card providers. One of the most important new features of the program is that there is no longer a specific period to redeem miles. Members can use their miles as long as their membership remains active by earning or redeeming them at least once in 24 months regardless of the date of earning. Previously, reward miles expired three years after the date of earning. The new edition also introduces several benefits and policies aimed at increasing the chances of redeeming miles through the introduction of the “Reward” and “Reward Plus” categories. Members can issue reward tickets at a discount of up to 50% of the required miles. For example: the Jeddah-Riyadh-Jeddah flight now requires only 9,000 miles compared to 18,000 miles previously, while the (Riyadh-London-Riyadh) flight now requires 24,000 miles compared to 40,000 miles previously. The launch of the “Reward Plus” category is aimed at providing more reward seats on multiple flights to more destinations, where …

Air Arabia resumed its direct flights to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. The direct flights will connect Sharjah International Airport with Kuala Lumpur International Airport with a frequency of three weekly flights starting from March 20, 2023 which will increase to daily flights in June 2023. Schedule to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, effective March 20, 2023 (all times local): Flight Departure Time Arrival Time Aircraft Frequency  G9 802 Sharjah 14:50 Kuala Lumpur 02:00 Airbus A321 Mon/ Wed/ Fri G9 803 Kuala Lumpur 03:00 Sharjah 06:50 Airbus A321 Tue/Thu/Sat G9 800 Sharjah 21:40 Kuala Lumpur 09:10 Airbus A321 Thu/Fri/Sat G9 801 Kuala Lumpur 10:10 Sharjah 13:25 Airbus A321 Fri/Sat/Sun Adel Al Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer, Air Arabia said: “We are glad to resume our direct flights between Sharjah and Kuala Lumpur, and we consider it a significant route in terms of our expansion plans within the Asian market. We look forward to welcoming customers on our direct flights, falling in line with our commitment to provide travellers with affordable and value driven air services to various destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, which is one of the fastest growing metropolitan cities in Southeast Asia.”   Customers can now book their direct flights between the two cities by visiting Air Arabia’s website, or by calling the call centre or through travel agencies.   Air Arabia operates a fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 neo-LR aircraft, the most modern and best-selling single aisle aircraft in the world. The cabin configuration across Air Arabia’s fleet provides added comfort with one of the most generous seat-pitch of any economy cabin.   In addition to ‘SkyTime’, the free in-flight streaming service that will allows passengers …

Emirates’ flagship A380 made a landmark touchdown at Auckland Airport. This is first time the Emirates double-decker has landed in Auckland since February 2020, demonstrating increasing travel demand in and out of New Zealand. The special non-stop daily service from Dubai to Auckland was greeted at Auckland Airport ahead of the country’s first fully open summer since the pandemic. Emirates flight EK448 takes off from Dubai International Airport at 10:05 am and lands in Auckland at 11:05 am local time. The flight has reclaimed the title of Emirates’ longest route on its network, clocking in 14,200 km, with an estimated flight time of just under 16 hours from Dubai to New Zealand and 17 hours, 15 minutes in the other direction. This makes it one of the world’s longest non-stop scheduled commercial flights. Emirates has been flying to New Zealand for 19 years, a sign of its ongoing commitment to the market. Throughout the pandemic, Emirates continued to serve the country, both through connecting New Zealand and the world with daily flights, as well as its SkyCargo services bringing essential goods in and out of the nation. The latest update to its services will offer customers greater levels of flexibility and choice when making travel plans and provide seamless connectivity and reduced transit time when travelling to other destinations in its global network, including destinations in Europe and the Middle East. The Emirates A380 experience remains highly sought after by travellers offering 14 First Class suites and 76 lie-flat seats in Business Class. Customers travelling to and from Auckland can look forward to enjoying its spacious and comfortable cabins, signature products that offer travellers the best experiences in the sky …

VistaJet, the first and only global business aviation company, continues to push forward with its plan for more sustainable aviation solutions and announces an agreement with AEG Fuels to purchase Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) produced by OMV at Vienna International Airport. Leading the industry by integrating a series of environmental initiatives throughout its operations, the agreement accelerates VistaJet’s journey to carbon neutrality by 2025. VistaJet’s commitment to replace over 200,000 USG of conventional jet fuel consumption with a blended SAF is expected to generate over 165,000 kg of CO2 reduction — an 80% emissions improvement over the lifecycle of the fuel compared to conventional jet fuel. This SAF is produced in compliance with the EU Renewable Energy Directive (EU RED). Thomas Flohr, Founder and Chairman, VistaJet said: “Together as an industry we can reshape the way we conduct business. At VistaJet, we are very proud of the progress we have made and we hope that others will adopt our recommendations. Businesses are rightfully being held accountable for their environmental impact and our agreement with AEG Fuels not only helps in reducing GHG emissions, but goes hand in hand with our ongoing efforts to practice higher sustainability to protect the local communities in the countries we operate, spanning 96% of the world.” Stephen J. Leonard, Vice President of Global Supply, AEG Fuels said: “Business and corporate jet operators are going to be key stakeholders in aviation’s decarbonization plans as we work to achieve net-zero. We’re very excited to support VistaJet’s efforts to push our industry forward and provide a framework for future SAF agreements. Their individual efforts are supporting critical investments in sustainable solutions for producers and consumers in the space.” …

‎Qatar Airways announced that it will resume services to Taif starting 3 January 2023 with three weekly flights. This is the airlines’ sixth destination in Saudi Arabia. The resumption of services will enable passengers flying from and to Taif to benefit from the airline’s extensive international network to across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas via the World’s Best Airport, Hamad International Airport. Qatar Airways flight QR1206, will depart from Hamad International Airport at 07:40, arriving at 10:10 at Taif International Airport. Qatar Airways flight QR1207, will depart from Taif International Airport at 11:10, and arrive at Hamad International Airport at 13:20. Qatar Airways is currently operating two daily flights from Riyadh, four daily flights from Jeddah, two daily flights from Medina, five daily flights from Dammam, and a daily flight from Qassim. Qatar Airways recently announced that Privilege Club has officially adopted Avios as its reward currency, opening up a world of new opportunities for members travelling across the airline’s extensive network. This partnership offers a combination of benefits, including a wide range of greater guaranteed award seats and competitive prices on Qatar Airways flights, in addition to experiencing the World’s Best Airline and enjoying the World’s Best Airport, Hamad International Airport (HIA). Hamad International Airport (HIA) ranked “Best Airport in the World” for the second year in a row by SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2022, is preparing to welcome 58 million passengers annually. A stunning expansion was recently unveiled featuring a 10,000-sqm, lush, tropical indoor garden named “The Orchard.” Drenched in natural light and featuring sustainably sourced plants and shrubs, it offers a show-stopping, luxury shopping experience to passengers with many first-of-a-kind retail outlets. A multiple award-winning airline, …

After its Dubai launch in 2019, Vistara held the first press conference post covid, with the presence of its CEO Vinod Kannan addressing media on the importance of the Gulf region. Kannan reiterated that there has been a consistent rise in passenger volumes and demand from the Gulf countries, paving way for the airline to bolster its presence in the region. It was a special day for the airline that they launched its daily, non-stop flights between Mumbai (India) and Muscat (Oman), its fourth destination in the Gulf region, as part of expanding its footprint in the Middle East. Muscat is the third Gulf city (Abu Dhabi and Jeddah being the other two) that Vistara has added to its network in the last four months. Vistara also operates daily flights to Dubai to/from Mumbai. In the context of the increase in demand for travel between India and the Gulf region, Vistara’s Middle Eastern routes have been performing remarkably well. The inaugural flight will depart from Mumbai at 2000 Hours (IST) and arrive in Muscat at 2135 Hours (GST). With this, Vistara becomes the only carrier to offer the choice of Premium Economy class on the route, in addition to Business and Economy class. Mr. Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “The launch of operations to Muscat is in line with our goal to steadily enhance our footprint in the Middle East. The firm bilateral relationship and robust cultural and economic ties between India and states in the Gulf region have given great impetus to our growth plans, and our successful business on the other Middle Eastern routes is a testament to that. We are excited to bring India’s finest …

Emirates and Air Canada have expanded their partnership to offer frequent flyer members joint loyalty programme benefits. Emirates Skywards members can now earn and redeem Miles on all flights operated by Air Canada – accessing a network of more than 220 destinations worldwide. Aeroplan members will also benefit from earning and redeeming Points on all flights operated by Emirates – with access to more than 130 destinations across six continents, via the airline’s home and hub, Dubai. The agreement was signed yesterday by Dr. Nejib Ben Khedher, Divisional Senior Vice President Emirates Skywards, and Mark Youssef Nasr, Senior Vice President, Product, Marketing, e-Commerce, Air Canada and President, Aeroplan, at the Emirates Group Headquarters in Dubai. Dr. Nejib Ben Khedher, Divisional Senior Vice President Emirates Skywards, commented: “We’re very pleased to be enhancing our partnership with Air Canada and officially kicking off our joint loyalty programme offering. Together, close to 40 million frequent flyer members will be able to earn and redeem Miles across a joint network of more than 350 destinations and enjoy selected benefits, such as lounge access. We look forward to opening new horizons for our loyal members and to also welcoming Aeroplan customers on-board Emirates with our award-winning products and exceptional services.” Mark Youssef Nasr, Senior Vice President, Product, Marketing, e-Commerce, Air Canada and President, Aeroplan commented: “The two most recognized loyalty programmes in their respective regions provided by the two most recognized airlines in their respective regions are coming together to offer something truly great. Whether it’s connecting friends and family from Canada’s rich immigrant diaspora or it’s helping travellers explore some of the world’s most exciting destinations, there’s something for everyone. We’re proud to partner …

Etihad Airways announced it is reintroducing four of its A380s from the summer of 2023. The move follows a surge in demand for air travel across the airline’s network and customer feedback for the return of one of the most remarkable commercial flying experiences in the sky. His Excellency Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “It is wonderful to announce the return of this splendid aircraft. The A380’s reintroduction provides a further boost to Etihad’s capacity into the key UK market, with a knock-on effect for the wider GCC and Indian subcontinent that will bring more visitors to the city of Abu Dhabi.” Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, said: “We know this will be welcomed by our guests who love Etihad’s incredible A380 and its award-winning cabins. We have decided the time is right to return some of our A380s into the fleet to satisfy the demand which has made them financially viable once more. We look forward to welcoming our guests again on board this remarkable aircraft.” Etihad’s A380s feature The Residence as well as three cabin classes on the double-decker aircraft, including 9 First Apartments, 70 Business Studios and 405 Economy Smart Seats. This includes 80 Economy Space seats with a seat pitch of up to 36 inches. The nine First Apartments set across a single-aisle, offer a private living space with a large leather lounge chair and an ottoman which opens up to become a separate 80.5″ long fully-flat bed. The First Apartment is one of the most spacious in its class and also offers a 24″ swiveling LCD TV monitor and personal vanity unit. For the first time, Etihad plans to …