Category Archives: Aviation

Royal Jordanian and Tamatem Inc., a Jordanian based leading mobile games publisher in the region, sealed a contract to launch in-flight games on RJ flights, aiming to enhance passengers’ experience onboard. RJ Vice Chairman/CEO Samer Majali and Tamatem founder/CEO Hussam Hammo signed the agreement, whereby Tamatem will integrate several games on RJ’s wireless inflight entertainment system – SkyConnect, and set up arcade machines, tablets, and charging stations in the Crown Lounge at Queen Alia International Airport. Majali expressed satisfaction with such partnerships, through which RJ both exercises its corporate social responsibility by lending support to pioneering Jordanian companies as well as takes part in the scalability of innovative Jordanian companies.

In line with group’s efforts to ease the restrictions imposed following the pandemic, Air Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC), has resumed its City Check-in services in Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman. Air Arabia’s City Check-ins was established in 2012 to provide passengers added convenience and flexibility by enabling them to drop off their bags at a location near them and collect their boarding pass before traveling with Air Arabia. The City Check-in service allows passengers to select seats and receive their boarding passes and baggage claim tags. They can then immediately proceed to the flight upon arrival at the airport. Located at Sharjah, Safeer Mall, and at Air Arabia Sales Shop in Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman, the three centres will operate seven days a week, from 9AM to 9PM, with a break from 11AM to 2PM on Fridays for prayers. The centres will accept baggage from 24 up to eight hours before departure, which is then transported straight to the Sharjah International Airport. Ensuring the highest standards of safety at every step of the journey by following all health and safety protocols, Air Arabia has also added to the convenience and confidence of passengers by introducing free COVID-19 insurance coverage. The insurance is automatically included as part of the booking and no additional documents are required from passengers.

Emirates Group Security (EGS) has signed an agreement with the University of Arizona (UA) located in Tucson, Arizona, USA, to promote collaboration in tertiary education and research on general and security-specific subjects from certificate to postgraduate courses. This new dimension comes in the Customized Degree Paths Programme (CDP). The World Campus Experience Program is delivered online by UA with supplemental on-site services and courses provided by EGS. Through the agreement, UA and EGS will jointly offer 60 programmes, to be delivered entirely online in English by appointed and qualified faculty members at the University of Arizona. Students will have access to the course materials and virtual lectures through the EGS Centre of Aviation Security Studies’ (CASS) campus in Dubai (UAE). They will be able to use the facilities and services of the campus to experience a unique in-person college experience with the convenience of online education.   Mutual collaboration between the two organisations enables incoming students to earn up to two years of direct, undergraduate credits from the University of Arizona through a mix of in-person and online courses offered through EGS and on EGS’s campus in collaboration with the University of Arizona. The programme includes multiple academic pathways which will enable students to take courses that will satisfy University of Arizona degree requirements or transfer to other US universities.   Dr Abdulla Al Hashimi, Divisional Senior Vice President of Emirates Group Security, said: “We are delighted to partner with one of the top 100 global universities, repeatedly recognised for its outstanding academic programs and exceptional value, the University of Arizona. This agreement marks another step forward towards our vision of strengthening the global aviation community by providing AVSEC industry …

Emirates progressed on its recovery path in 2021, rebuilding its passenger network to 128 cities by December including a new route to Miami launched in July. At the end of 2021, all of Emirates’ 133 Boeing 777 aircraft and nearly 60 of its A380 fleet are in active service, connecting people to their loved ones and businesses to global opportunities. In addition, over 120 Emirates Lounges and partner facilities have re-opened to serve Emirates’ premium customers and frequent flyers. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates’ Chairman and Chief Executive said: “Despite the recent rise of the Omicron variant and the slight slowdown it brought to our network, we are going into 2022 with optimism. We’ve built up some great momentum this year and expect business growth pick up speed in 2022. Aviation has always been resilient, and we will continue to work with our industry partners to build back better for our customers and communities.” Here’s highlighting 7 ways Emirates has helped customers fly better, and support communities and the industry in 2021: 1- Travel ease and confidence: This year, Emirates extended its generous rebooking waivers, the expiry of frequent flyer miles and tier status, and complimentary COVID-19 medical cover for all customers. emirates.com remains a top reference site for the latest travel requirements, updated at least once daily with information verified by Emirates’ on-site teams across its network. Emirates also accelerated digital initiatives to provide customers with smoother and safer journeys – being the first airline to implement the IATA Travel Pass solution across its network on six continents; expanding its biometrics and contactless touchpoints at Dubai airport, and partnering with Al Hosn app to enable quick …

Air Arabia Egypt has announced the introduction of a new route from Cairo International Airport to Khartoum International Airport commencing January 2nd 2022. Customers can now book their flights between Cairo and Khartoum by visiting Air Arabia’s website, by calling the call centre or through travel agencies. Schedule to Khartoum from Cairo, effective January 2nd, 2022 (all times local): Flight Departure Time Arrival Time Aircraft Frequency E5 785 Cairo 18:30 Khartoum 21:15 Airbus A320 Friday, Sunday E5 786 Khartoum 22:00 Cairo 00:40 +1 Airbus A320 Friday, Sunday Since COVID-19 outbreak, Air Arabia’s customer journey has been upgraded to include all safety measures that are in line with the highest international measures. Air Arabia’s entire fleet is fitted with HEPA cabin air filters, which help to provide a safer and healthier environment for passengers. Customers are always requested to comply with the conditions and requirements of the countries of departure and destination.

Gulf Air will resume its direct flights to Baku, with two weekly flights starting from 06 January 2022. On this occasion, Captain Waleed AlAlawi, Acting Chief Executive Officer, said “We have been operating direct flights between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Azerbaijan since 2018, and it has been a popular destination within the Gulf Air network since its launch, offering the airline’s passengers numerous historic and cultural landmarks and tourist attractions to explore. We are extremely happy to see a much healthier trend in the travel industry and the resumption of some of our most popular destinations as the global vaccination program continues to bring a sense of normalcy back into our routine.” The airline currently operates its flights to over 80% of its pre-pandemic network; as Gulf Air continuously works closely with government authorities throughout destinations on its network to resume operations to those destinations. Gulf Air boasts a flexible and agile network by immediately adapting to government orders and civil aviation directives around its network and has been responsive to continuous changes and updates regarding operations to and from its network destinations. Recently, Gulf Air has received APEX’s Five Star Major Official Airline Rating; an award based solely on certified passengers’ feedback. the rating came as a testament to the success of Gulf Air’s boutique strategy and the major developments in its products and services since the launch of the recent brand refresh and fleet modernization programme. Last week, The airline also announced the activation of a number of unprecedented offers for its passengers, which will give them the opportunity to stop in Bahrain, obtain hotel reservations, and use tourist facilities through various tailored packages …

Etihad Airways and ADQ announced a proposed transaction that will support the ongoing transformation of Etihad Airways and the future growth of the civil aviation sector in Abu Dhabi. As part of the proposed transaction, a number of Etihad’s businesses providing airline support services will become part of a new ADQ aviation company. Once the transaction is complete, the airline support services businesses will benefit from being part of ADQ’s broad mobility and logistics portfolio, which includes Abu Dhabi Airports and AD Ports Group. The businesses included in the proposed transaction are Etihad Engineering, Etihad Airport Services Cargo, Etihad Airport Services Ground, Etihad Aviation Training, Etihad Secure Logistics and Etihad Technical Training.   Additionally, the proposed transaction will see two Etihad businesses join Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company (ADNEC). Etihad Airport Services Catering will combine with ADNEC’s catering business Capital Hospitality, and Etihad Holidays will join ADNEC’s tourism promotion business, Tourism 365. The proposed agreement marks the start of a new chapter for Etihad Airways, allowing the airline to further sharpen its focus on its core business and respond with greater agility to market opportunities as global travel demand rebounds from COVID-19.   H.E. Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, CEO of ADQ, said: “With the proposed addition of Etihad’s experienced aviation support businesses to our new dedicated aviation company, ADQ is primed to develop an integrated aviation platform that is driven by performance and a robust financial foundation through its new company. With an integrated mobility and logistics portfolio that plays a leading role in the development of Abu Dhabi’s global connectivity, we are well-positioned to unlock the growth potential of these aviation services businesses. We see potential to capitalise on growth …

Qatar Airways Privilege Club continues to honour the loyalty of its valued members by extending their tier status. This initiative will benefit all Silver, Gold and Platinum members whose tier status is due for renewal between December 2021 and December 2022. The tier validity of these members would be automatically extended to 31 December 2022. Find out more at qatarairways.com/tierextension. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “At Privilege Club, we remain steadfastly committed to our members. Their loyalty means everything to us, and we will continue to honour their choice to fly with us. As the Official Airline of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, Qatar Airways will continue to innovate in rewarding and recognising our members. We sincerely look forward to enriching our members’ travel experiences, and offering them more time to enjoy the incredible benefits of their tier as they plan for their travel with us in 2022, to over 140 global destinations”. Privilege Club has continued to invest in redefining the programme, including reducing the number of Qmiles required to book award flights by up to 49 per cent and extending the validity of Qmiles to last longer than ever before. Every time a member earns or spends Qmiles, the balance is valid for an additional 36 months. Furthermore, Privilege Club launched Hotel & Car Rewards, which allows members to earn and spend Qmiles at over 350,000 hotels and more than 20,000 car rental locations worldwide. Qatar Airways also launched Student Club, powered by Privilege Club, which offers a range of benefits curated for students to support them throughout their educational journey. Student Club recently celebrated its first anniversary with a …

SAUDIA selected Boeing  for a suite of services to improve their 787 Dreamliner and 777 fleets’ operational efficiency through digital analytics, and to modify their 777 cabin interiors. “As ever, SAUDIA is continuously focused on operational efficiency, optimal fleet utilization, and deployment,” said Captain Ibrahim S. Koshy, CEO, SAUDIA. “We see our continued alliance with Boeing and these essential services as an enabler that will help to drive our progress toward this vision.” SAUDIA will utilize Boeing’s Optimized Maintenance Program (OMP), which uses advanced data analytics to provide detailed insights for improved maintenance operations, and Boeing’s Airplane Health Management (AHM) digital solution, which applies predictive maintenance analytics and diagnostic tools to help improve the quality and speed of maintenance decisions, resulting in improved on-time performance. These services will be combined with Boeing’s OEM engineering and consulting expertise. “Our Boeing consulting teams have partnered closely with SAUDIA for many years to find new opportunities to reduce costs and enhance operational efficiency. We are delighted to continue this partnership by applying our advanced digital solutions,” said Ted Colbert, president and CEO, Boeing Global Services. “Similarly, SAUDIA will be able to rely on our 777 interiors engineering expertise throughout the course of their fleet reconfiguration plans.” Boeing’s interior modification team will partner with SAUDIA to deliver all aspects of their 777 modification, including design, certification, and the supply of parts required for completion.   For more information on Boeing’s Optimized Maintenance Program, Airplane Health Management, interiors engineering and other aftermarket services, visit https://services.boeing.com.  

Turkish Airlines, flying to more countries than any other airline, celebrates its 40 year anniversary of flying to the UAE in synergy with the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations. The airline, established in 1933 with a fleet of five aircrafts launched its first Middle East flight to Beirut and Cairo in 1951 and the first TK flight landed in Abu Dhabi on 7th January 1981 with the route relaunching again on January 25th, 2006. The first flight to Dubai was operated on 5th November 1983, while the Sharjah route was launched on 11th April 2019 with daily flights. In addition ; Anadolujet operated its first UAE flight on 20th December 2020 by operating daily flights. Currently Turkish Airlines operates 28 weekly flights to UAE (21 weekly flights between Istanbul Airport and Dubai Airport, 3 weekly flights between Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport and Dubai Airport and 4 weekly flights between Istanbul Airport and Abu Dhabi Airport. Emre Ismailoglu, General Manager, Dubai And Northern Emirates, Turkish Airlines said, ” We are delighted to celebrate 40 years in the UAE. This year started on a positive note with the airline industry opening up and we are focusing our energy on enhancing the travel experience especially for the Expo 2020 in Dubai while keeping in mind the airline’s hygiene protocols necessary for a safe flying experience. Our team is enforcing a higher level of protection for every stage of the journey that goes above and beyond industry standards.” Hasan Demir, the Turkish Airlines General Manager in Abu Dhabi said, “Reaching the 40-year milestone in the UAE is significant to Turkish Airlines. We are confident that the positive outlook of the UAE to normalise the travel …