Category Archives: Aviation

Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA), with the Royal Commission for AlUla and the French Agency for the Development of AlUla (AFALULA) has announced the resumption of a weekly direct flight between Paris CDG airport and AlUla international airport every Sunday from December 4, 2022 to March 12, 2023. The route will allow French travelers to reach AlUla in only 5 hours, with all the comfort provided by the Boeing 787 “Dreamliner”. Announced as part of AlUla’s participating in the World Travel Market, London this week, the route represents an incomparable opportunity for French travelers to immerse themselves in the desert city of AlUla, an ancient oasis located on the incense route with 7000 years of successive civilisations. AlUla is a unique site that was home to some of the most important civilisations of the region – the Dadanites, the Lihyanites, the Nabataeans, and the Romans. Among the must-see, UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hegra, the southern capital of the Nabatean Empire, are many other archaeological sites dating back to the first millennium BCE. Beyond its rich heritage, AlUla also offers stunning natural landscapes, ochre sandstone canyons and amazing rock formations, basaltic plateaus and golden sands, and a lush green oasis stretching for miles running through the city. French connections to AlUla are strong. The Dominican fathers and exploders Antonin Jaussen and Raphaël Savignac produced some of the earliest pictures of the region in 1909. Today teams of French archaeologists are working to uncover more AlUla’s mysteries. French artists and musicians have also left their marks in the region in recent years with exceptional concerts and performances or unique art projects. AFALULA was set up as an inter-governmental partnership to support the …

As part of Kuwait Airways’ strategic objectives and in an effort to provide various options to its valued customers, the company announced the commencement of its scheduled flights to the cities of Kathmandu and Maldives. Operations to these destinations includes four flights a week to Kathmandu on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 30 October 2022, and two flights a week to Maldives on Monday and Thursday, commencing from 31 October 2022.​ Speaking on this occasion, the Director of KAC’s Network Planning and Distribution department, Mrs Shorouk Al-Awadhi stated, “Kuwait Airways is pleased to announce the launch of its operations to Kathmandu and Maldives, which are among the latest destinations to be introduced and is within the company’s strategic objectives to expand its network to new and diverse destinations, thereby linking Kuwait to the world. The selection of these destinations is a result of systematic and detailed research of the feasibility of these two routes and the extent of the demand for them from passengers. In addition, both these destinations are popular among tourists due to their historical and touristic attractions, as well as their rich and diverse cultures.” Al-Awadhi added, “The launch of these two destinations comes within the framework of Kuwait Airways’ plans to expand its network and operate to new destinations as part of its winter schedule. Moreover, the company had recently launched various new destinations such as Medina, Taif, Hyderabad and Kuala Lumpur. Furthermore, Kuwait Airways continues to operate to Madrid and Izmir throughout the year as permanent destinations, which had been previously launched as part of its summer schedule of 2022, due to the increasing requirements for these two destinations and their significance to our …

Emirates has announced an exclusive partnership with Uplift, the leading enterprise Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solution serving the world’s top travel and retail brands, to benefit its U.S. and Canadian customers. Passengers booking flights on Emirates can now spread the cost of their travel over time with simple, affordable monthly installments through Uplift. The Emirates story started in 1985 offering customers the comforts of the latest and most efficient wide-body aircraft in the skies. Emirates inspires travelers around the world with its growing network of worldwide destinations, industry leading inflight entertainment, regionally inspired cuisine, and world-class service. Connecting the world to its global hub in Dubai, Emirates offers award-winning service to customers across six continents every day. Available now, Emirates passengers can make their getaway dreams a reality by utilizing Uplift’s pay over time monthly installments, rather than paying in full at booking.  Customers will see the total cost of their trip upfront allowing customers to see how an upgraded travel experience in Emirates’ Business class, for example, can be accessible for only a slight increase to the monthly payment. With Uplift there are no fees including no late fees or prepayment penalties and travel can happen before customers complete their payments. “As the world’s largest international airline, we are thrilled to offer flexible payment solutions, making worldwide travel available to more customers. Providing convenient payment options is one of the ways we are delivering on our customer-centric approach in everything we do,” said Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Emirates’ Divisional Vice President for USA and Canada. “Through our research and discovery, we selected Uplift as our BNPL solution provider in North America due to their deep knowledge of travel and …

As visitors begin flying for the winter break and the many spectacular events taking place in Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways looks forward to welcoming over 1.5 million travellers at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Shaeb Al Najjar, General Manager Hub Operations, Etihad Airways, said “There has never been a better time to experience Abu Dhabi, with the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix taking place this weekend and many more attractions to be enjoyed over the winter season. Football fans from around the world will also be flocking to the region ahead of the most exciting football event of the year. As a result, Etihad with its partners, is geared up and ready to host 1.5 million expected guests over the next six weeks. Visitors flying via Abu Dhabi will enjoy the experience from the moment they take off with Etihad’s award-winning Cabin Crew and hospitality.” Guests flying with Etihad Airways can expect to fly with total peace of mind with services like its quick self-service bag drop facility. The service provides a faster check-in experience and can accommodate a greater number of guests who will then be able to skip the queues. Once checked-in online, the self-service facilities allow travellers to seamlessly retrieve their booking, print the bag-tag and process their bags in less than two minutes. Etihad Airways, has been awarded Best Airline Staff Service in the Middle East by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax. The accolade recognises the care and attention to detail the airline’s teams give to customers’ needs throughout their journeys. The airline is preparing to welcome over 1.5 million passengers at Abu Dhabi International Airport between 21 November and 08 January …

Air Arabia Abu Dhabi announced the launch of its new route from Abu Dhabi to Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital. The new direct flights will connect Abu Dhabi International Airport to Islam Karimov Tashkent International Airport with a frequency of two flights weekly, starting from December 7, 2022. Schedule to Tashkent, effective December 7, 2022 (all times local): Flight Departure Time Arrival Time Aircraft Frequency 3L 763 Abu Dhabi 08:15 Tashkent 12:45 Airbus 320 Wednesday/Saturday 3L 764 Tashkent 14:05 Abu Dhabi 17:00 Airbus 320 Wednesday/Saturday Adel Al Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer, Air Arabia, said: “We are glad to add Tashkent to our growing network with direct flights from Abu Dhabi. Air Arabia Abu Dhabi continues its expansion strategy to further strengthen the connectivity of UAE’s capital with many destinations while contributing to the growth of both travel and tourism of the UAE. The new route allows our customers the opportunity to discover the historic city and reflects our commitment to continuously offer our customers affordable and value driven air travel from our different hubs.” As part of its ongoing expansion plan, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi continues to add more connectivity to and from the capital city. The new route to Tashkent is considered the 26th destination after Alexandria, Sohag, Cairo, Dhaka, Khartoum, Chittagong, Kathmandu, Muscat, Salalah, Sarajevo, Trabzon, Tbilisi, Faisalabad, Multan, Cochin, Calicut, Trivandrum, Sabiha, Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bahrain, Beirut, Kuwait, and Moscow. 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. The aircraft is also …

Dubai International (DXB) added a new connection to its growing list of destinations with the launch of SunExpress’ direct flights between Dubai and the Turkish city of Izmir recently. This is the second Turkish route the carrier now operates into DXB after it launched scheduled operations to Antalya in September earlier this year. SunExpress is operating three weekly flights to both the tourist hotspots on a B737-800 aircraft with a 189-seat capacity. Turkey is among the top 10 destination countries for DXB with more than 680,000 passengers recorded during the first half of 2022.

In collaboration with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA), Emirates airline is now offering international travellers the opportunity to speed up their airport experience by consenting to the use of biometric data. The agreement was signed by His Excellency Lieutenant General Mohamed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of GDRFA in Dubai, and Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer, in the presence of several senior officials from both sides. The first agreement of its kind globally, the strategic partnership between GDRFA and Emirates is a cooperative effort to further improve the innovative and digitally focused travel experience of Dubai visitors. The agreement improves passenger traffic procedures inside Dubai International Airport Terminal 3 and ensures a faster and more efficient airport experience for travellers transferring to connecting flights, as well as those who arrive in Dubai as their final destination. Commenting on how the agreement will develop best-in-class services for travellers, His Excellency Lieutenant-General Mohammed Al-Marri said: “Dubai is one of the world’s most aspirational destinations, and 2022 has already seen more than 8 million tourists arrive to the city. We continue to support our key partners with best-in-class services as we strive for excellence, and innovation in positioning Dubai as the world’s leading business hub and tourism destination’ Highlighting the importance and value of this agreement, Adel Al Redha said: “Emirates continually invests to improve customer experience and we thank the GDFRA for extending the bridges of cooperation, communication and coordination to add value to Emirates’ services and allow our international passengers to Fly Better.” By using biometric recognition technologies and the GDRFA pre-populated biometric database to identify travellers at multiple points in the airport, …

Etihad Airways and Garuda Indonesia are strengthening their partnership between Abu Dhabi and Jakarta and beyond their respective hubs. The scope of the partners’ codeshare agreement, first signed in 2012, will be significantly expanded to nearly double the number of combined destinations Etihad and Garuda are able to offer beyond the Abu Dhabi and Jakarta hubs, with 42 destinations across the Indonesian archipelago, South East Asia, Middle East, US and Europe now covered by the agreement. In addition, the partners offer reciprocal miles accrual and redemption opportunities to members of Etihad Guest and GarudaMiles across both airline’s networks, and will further engage both member bases through joint marketing activities. The carriers intend to explore further areas of collaboration in the light of current market opportunities and company requirements, including Cargo, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul, and Pilot/Crew Training Services. The partners signed an MOU covering these areas of discussion on the sidelines of the B20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia on 12 November, attended by HE Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, HE Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State, and H.E. Abdullah Salem Al Dhaheri, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the Republic of Indonesia. Antonoaldo Neves, Group CEO of Etihad Airways, said: “This expansion will serve as a platform for what we envision will be a deep ongoing partnership between our two airlines. We look forward to exploring comprehensive and pragmatic ways in which the two carriers can increase collaboration, enhance benefits and customer experience for our most frequent travellers and further extend the reach of our joint networks beyond our hubs. “This reflects Etihad’s continued drive for commercial sustainability and is …

MSC Cruises, the world’s third largest cruise brand, will hosted the Naming Ceremony of its newest flagship MSC World Europa at the brand-new Grand Cruise Terminal in Doha, Qatar. Together with partners Qatar Airways, the celebrations are part of MSC’s overall commitment to Qatar, reinforcing its commitment to supporting the growth of international tourism there as well as the broader Middle East region, where MSC Cruises is brand leader. Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, Cruise Division of MSC Group, said: “Just like Qatar, our Group has placed climate change at the forefront of its agenda. We are committed to reaching net zero carbon from our cruise operations by 2050. MSC World Europa is our most innovative vessel. She is the world’s best performing cruise ship in terms of CO2 emissions per guest. Running on LNG, the cleanest fossil fuel and, of course, Qatar’s most renowned export.” Mr Vago continued: “Over the years, we have proven our commitment to supporting Qatar’s economic diversification, which is guided by Qatar National Vision 2030. And of course, to further developing Qatar’s profile as a global tourism destination. Qatar has a wonderful tourism offering to meet a huge variety of interests, and an array of destinations. In 2016, our own MSC Fantasia became the first major cruise ship to call at Doha. We have been reliable partners ever since. And today, we renew our commitment to Qatar by homeporting our most modern and innovative ship in Doha.” His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, Chairman of Qatar Tourism and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, commented: “While Qatar Airways is the global aviation gateway to Qatar, the marine industry is very important to tourism and the long term …

Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Saudi Company for Visa and Travel Solutions (SVTS) for broader collaboration on streamlining travel arrangements. The signing took place during the first day of the World Travel Market in London between Wael Basaffar, SAUDIA’s VP sales, and Abdullah Aljorias, the Chief Business Officer of SVTS. According to the MoU, the two parties will share the use of each other’s office spaces around the world and co-invest in technological solutions for online interconnectivity. The two companies will also explore ways to create, develop, and apply joint services and marketing. In addition, the MoU proposes the possibility of joint operations support bureaus to help run day-to-day activities. There is also a possibility of SAUDIA offering exclusive deals across its international network. Mr. Basafar said that the MoU comes as part of SAUDIA’s commitment to broadening its partnerships with government agencies and the private sector locally and internationally for greater online interconnectivity of services, which supports the Kingdom’s digital transformation agenda and plans to streamline travel arrangements for visitors from across more than 100 destinations in four continents. Mr. Abdullah Aljorias, Chief Business Officer, clarifies that the memorandum was signed to enable the company to reach its long-term objectives. The primary purpose is to provide all new and innovative solutions and digitization services that contribute to simplifying processes for passengers. It also works to benefit from all the service and sales centers across the world that both companies provide. According to Aljorias, SVTS looks forward to ongoing partnerships that encourage a wide range of government, semi-government, private sectors, and individual beneficiaries.