Category Archives: Aviation

iCoupon, the leading digital vouchering platform in airports worldwide, is continuing to revolutionise the world of digital vouchering with its new service, iCoupon AutoPay. The iCoupon system already organises all airline vouchers by flight, date, airport and creates draft invoices automatically, and now the retailer will no longer have to spend time sending the auto-generated bill to each individual airline and chase for payment. Instead, iCoupon’s billing system, for those who select the service, will automatically submit the invoices directly to iCoupon, which will pay the bills directly to the retailers on payment dates and terms selected by the retailer. Airlines will only have one bill to pay to iCoupon for their consolidated AutoPay retailer bills, yet still have full visibility of every passenger transaction for audit, EU261 and validation purposes. In addition, the entire billing process takes place automatically in the iCoupon billing engine, meaning that retailers and airlines do not need to make any changes manually and everything carries on as normal from their perspective. By automatically generating billing documents at the end of each month, iCoupon AutoPay will eliminate the time retailers and airlines are putting into billing administration. The billing documents will be fully compliant with local legislation of each country, and with VAT compliance such as EU112 directives. After generating the document, iCoupon will automatically pay the retailer on its selected credit terms. Retailers using iCoupon AutoPay can select which package best suits their needs and will be paid depending on that choice. New and existing retailers and airlines will be able to opt-in to the solution and iCoupon will do the rest, with just the flick-of-a-switch. Non-iCoupon AutoPay clients will be able to continue …

Oman Air welcomes all guests to the Sultanate of Oman on board its award-winning flights. All remaining COVID-19 precautionary safety measures and procedures in place at airports across Oman have been lifted. Arriving international travellers no longer need to register through the eMushrif portal or undertake a PCR test before or upon arrival, as previously required. Furthermore, authorities have removed all quarantine requirements as well as the requirement to download the Tarassud+ Track & Trace application prior to departing for Oman. Guests departing Oman should ensure that they are aware of all pre-departure requirements and requirements during their flights, which are provided at omanair.com

As part of the continuous efforts to expand its network of destinations, Kuwait Airways launched of its first scheduled commercial flights to Casablanca, Morocco, commencing from 1st June 2022, with two flights per week on Sundays and Wednesdays. Kuwait Airways CEO, Eng. Maen Razouqi stated, “Kuwait Airways is pleased to launch its first flight to the city of Casablanca in Morocco. This destination has always been of immense preferential importance to our customers, due to its popular touristic attractions, as well as its historic and cultural landmarks.” Razouqi said, “Choosing Casablanca as a destination complements the plans developed by Kuwait Airways to expand its network of routes around the world, and to new and preferred markets that meet the aspirations and requirements of its customers. The selection of this destination came after extensive and systematic research of the feasibility, effectiveness, and profitability of this route for the Company.” Razouqi indicated that Kuwait Airways is fully equipped with a young diverse fleet of the latest types of aircraft, with state-of-the-art technology, and the Airbus A330-800 was selected to facilitate the travel of passengers to and from Casablanca. The A330-800 is known for its unique features and characteristics that will enable customers to enjoy a comfortable and pleasant travel experience. He added that Kuwait Airways was steadily progressing towards digital transformation and to attain the best levels of excellence. Moreover, he pointed out that customers could make their reservations through different channels, starting with the Kuwait Airways website and KAC application. In addition, customers can receive assistance or make enquiries through KAC’s WhatsApp, on 22200171, or by contacting the Call Center on 171. Customers can also visit the Company’s offices at the …

flydubai announced that it will resume operations to Abha in Saudi Arabia commencing 23rd June with a daily service. flydubai has built a network of more than 100 destinations in 50 countries served by a young fleet of 64 Boeing 737 aircraft. The carrier has recently resumed its operations to Gassim, Ha’il and Tabuk, and has launched its twice-weekly flights to AlUla; its newest destination in the Kingdom. flydubai has taken delivery of five new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft this year with a further 17 to be delivered by the end of the year; supporting the airline’s growing network. The carrier will start operations to 10 additional routes from 22 June onwards and this includes flights to new destinations, Izmir and Pisa, as well as the resumption of operations to popular seasonal summer destinations such as Bodrum, Mykonos, Santorini and Tivat. Flights to Abha International Airport (AHB) will operate daily from Terminal 2, Dubai International (DXB) from 23 June 2022. Return Business Class fares from DXB to AHB start from AED 3,800 and Economy Class Lite fares start from AED 1,500. Return Business Class fares from AHB to DXB start from SAR 3,800 and Economy Class Lite fares start from SAR 1,500.

flydubai announced that Match Day Shuttle flights between Dubai and Doha for the upcoming football tournament in Qatar are now available to book on its website. These Match Day Shuttle flights are offered in partnership with Qatar Airways and other partner GCC national carriers and will provide football fans with convenient travel options to the football matches that will take place from 21 November to 18 December 2022. For the duration of the tournament, flydubai will offer up to 30 daily return flights between Dubai and Doha providing passengers with maximum convenience when selecting their flights. This service will allow match ticket holders to move freely from Dubai, soak up the atmosphere and enjoy a football match in Doha, and return to Dubai all on the same day. Commenting on the announcement, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: “we are pleased to partner with Qatar Airways and the other partner GCC national carriers to facilitate travel during the upcoming football tournament. By coming together, we are able to offer football fans from around the world the opportunity to experience the warm hospitality and rich culture of our region as they explore the sights and sounds of two countries. We are honoured to enter into this partnership which will enable more people to travel between Dubai and Qatar to share in their love for football as this sporting event comes to the Middle East and Arab World for the first time.” Return Match Day Shuttle flights will be available from USD 258 in Economy Class and from USD 998 in Business Class. To ensure a seamless travel experience, these fares include a hand baggage allowance, a snack on …

New travel package options have been released by Qatar Airways for fans travelling to Doha to cheer on their team during the intercontinental play-offs this June. The matches will feature four national teams competing in ‘winner-takes-all’ matches to determine the final two teams for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, which will take place in the Middle East region for the first time this November. The fight for the final two qualification spots are set to be high-octane encounters and will serve as yet another prelude to display Qatar’s preparedness ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Fans traveling to Doha for the intercontinental play-off matches are encouraged to purchase their travel packages before tickets sell out, and to capture the sights, sounds and excitement of Doha prior to the mega event. The games will feature four teams from different global football confederations. Australia or United Arab Emirates (UAE) will face-off with Peru on 13 June 2022, followed by Costa Rica versus New Zealand on 14 June 2022 for the final spots in the tournament. The intercontinental play-offs will be preceded by an AFC Fourth Round Match between Australia and UAE on 7 June 2022, also in Doha, to determine the fourth team in the final qualifiers. The extended travel packages to Doha include round-trip flights with Qatar Airways, match tickets, and a minimum of two-nights accommodation. Fans have the option to book their hotel with Al Messila Luxury Collection, Hilton Al Rayyan Curio, or Holiday Inn Business. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways welcomes the competing nations and their fans to Qatar and wish the best of luck to the …

Wizz Air Holdings Plc signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“the MoU”) together with the Ministry of Investment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“KSA” or “the Kingdom”), supported by the Saudi National Air Connectivity Programme (a Ministry of Tourism initiative to support the development of the Saudi Tourism Sector). The purpose of the MoU is to explore airline market development opportunities in the Kingdom. The Kingdom has launched a strategic and ambitious vision to triple passenger traffic in the Kingdom by 2030 as part of the Vision 2030 programme. This will provide unprecedented opportunities for airlines and the aviation supply chain. Wizz Air’s innovative and sustainable ultra-low-cost-carrier model is proven to develop markets by making air travel affordable for more people than ever before. The MoU reflects a shared vision between the parties on the potential Wizz Air could bring to the Kingdom to stimulate new demand, thereby making a significant contribution to Saudi Arabia’s planned growth. The parties will work together to enable potential investment and operating models to benefit and add to the Saudi Arabian aviation ecosystem, boosting its tourism industry and significantly increasing its connectivity.  

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines presented its new Premium Comfort Class, an intermediate cabin offering more space, luxury, service options, comfort and privacy than Economy Class, at lower prices than World Business Class. The new Premium Comfort Class allows KLM to more closely meet the needs and wishes of leisure and business travellers. Premium Comfort is an entirely new inflight class with its own cabin, offering a new type of seats as well as distinctive service and catering concepts. Depending on the aircraft type, the capacity of Premium Comfort Class will vary from 21 to 28 seats, which will be wider than standard seats, offering more legroom, a larger screen and a footrest. Premium Comfort seats can also recline further than Economy Class seats. The reconfiguration of aircraft cabins will be carried out by specialists at KLM Engineering & Maintenance at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Boet Kreiken, executive vice president of KLM Customer Experience: “We have great expectations for this new Premium Comfort Class, based on extensive market research. The new class will meet the wishes of business passengers as well as leisure travellers, strengthening KLM’s standing as a global network carrier offering an appealing and varied range: World Business Class, Premium Comfort and Economy Class. It also reaffirms our partnership with Delta Air Lines, Air France and Virgin Atlantic on North Atlantic routes, where we can now combine all products on all routes.” Premium Comfort also has a distinctive catering concept. On intercontinental services, one or two hot meals will be served, depending on the duration of the flight. There will always be a choice of meat, fish or vegetarian dishes. After the meal, passengers will be offered coffee, tea, liqueur …

Malaysia Airlines celebrated the arrival of its inaugural direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Doha via flight MH160 at Hamad International Airport (HIA) marking a milestone in the airline’s international expansion plan and efforts to enable optimal connections to the Middle East, United States, Europe, and Africa. Upon arrival at Hamad International Airport (HIA), the Official Airport Partner of the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and voted the World Best Airport 2021 by SKYTRAX World Airport Awards, the A330-300 aircraft was welcomed with a water cannon salute, while passengers were given welcoming gifts upon their disembarkation. The event was co-hosted by HIA and Qatar Airways, the airline’s codeshare partner. Malaysian Ambassador in Doha, H.E. Zamshari Shaharan; Malaysia Airlines’ Group Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer, Lau Yin May; Hamad International Airport’s Senior Vice President of Operations, Ioannis Metsovitis and Senior Vice President Eastern Regions of Qatar Airways, Marwan Koleilat were present to greet the first 274 passengers who arrived at HIA at 11.50pm. Prior to the arrival, a sending-off event was organised in KL International Airport. Group Chief Operations Officer of MAB, Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi; together with senior officials from Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) distributed goodies to passengers departing on MH160 bound for Doha at 9:20pm local time. Lau Yin May of Malaysia Airlines commented, “Today marks another milestone for the national airline as we commence our new daily service from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Doha, Qatar. We are delighted to introduce this new service, our third direct flight to the Middle East after Jeddah and Madinah, further providing greater convenience to customers and widening our global footprint for seamless connectivity. We recorded a very encouraging load …

Emirates and Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore joint cooperation and initiatives targeted at attracting more investments into Dubai by supporting new and existing businesses registered or licensed in the free zone. Under the MoU, both parties will explore opportunities to offer a number of travel-related incentives for new and existing SMEs and larger businesses, including potential enrolment in the airline’s Business Rewards programme. The MoU was signed by Dina Al Herais, Emirates’ Vice President, Commercial Products, B2B Corporate & Leisure, and Ebtesam Ahmad Alkaabi, Head of Sales, Jafza Sales. The signing ceremony was also attended by Adil Al Ghaith, Senior Vice President, Gulf, Middle East & Central Asia, and Ahmad Al Haddad, Chief Operating Officer, Parks and Zones, DP World UAE. Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer for Emirates Airline, said: “We are pleased to partner with Jafza to support Dubai’s efforts in cementing its leadership position as one of the world’s preferred investment destinations. Dubai’s vibrant business environment continues to gain momentum in attracting new companies and foreign firms, start-ups and talented entrepreneurs across a wide range of industries. Emirates has been a long-standing supporter of a number of initiatives targeted to support SMEs and innovative start-ups in our home base the UAE, and today’s signing with Jafza reinforces our commitment to help stimulate diverse economic activity in Dubai by providing companies with a range of highly competitive travel incentives so they can scale up their businesses both regionally and globally.” Ahmad Al Haddad, Chief Operating Officer, Parks and Zones, DP World UAE said: “Since its inception, Dubai has built a reputation as a global business ecosystem. It is a magnet for …