Category Archives: Aviation

Emirates and Visa are making paying for your next holiday or trip to visit loved ones much more rewarding with tremendous savings potential for future travel plans. Customers booking their travel on emirates.com who use their Visa credit or Visa debit card from today until 18 September 2021* in any class of travel using the promotional code EKVISA1 to any destination from Dubai on the Emirates network, will have a chance to win an AED 1,000 discount to redeem on their next Emirates ticket. Emirates and Visa will randomly choose over 400 lucky winners from the eligible entries to benefit from the generous discount. Customers who don’t want to miss this offer should visit emirates.com to check the airline’s latest featured fares to their next destinations here Commenting on the partnership, Kalika Tripathi, Visa’s Head of Marketing for MENA, said: “With tourism slowly returning to normal, people are eagerly looking for deals and offers to make their long-awaited trip worth it. We are delighted to join our longstanding partner Emirates in this campaign to enhance our valued cardholders’ experience by making their travel journey more rewarding. The launch of this promotion is a great opportunity for us to give our Visa cardholders exclusive benefits and also help motivate repeat travel.” As always, Emirates customers can rest assured while travelling that their health and safety continued to be a top priority with the latest health and safety measures in place. If they change their mind at any time, they will always have peace of mind in knowing that Emirates’ priority is to make travel planning stress free with even more generous and flexible booking policies, multi-risk insurance cover, and helping loyal …

Air India is scaling up its services to Dubai International ( DXB ) with additional route resumption on Dubai-Indore-Dubai sector effective 01st September 2021.This is in response to the easing of international entry protocols and upsurge in passenger demand. Indore becomes the 14th destination of Air India on UAE-INDIA-UAE network and shall operate on every Wednesday of the week. AI 955 will depart Indore at 12:35 p.m. and arrive in Dubai at 3:05 p.m. Similarly, AI 956 will depart Dubai at 4:05 p.m. and arrive in Indore at 8:55 p.m. Further, Indore is one of the premier educational hubs of India and is the only city to host Indian Institute of Management and Indian Institute of Technology. It is also the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh and is well connected by road to the nearby border states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Overall Air India has achieved an impressive load factor of over 90% on the UAE-India sectors during the last quarter. We are thankful to our esteemed clients, especially the Indian diaspora in UAE who have helped us in achieving high seat occupancy. With clear signals that passenger confidence for international travel is returning, the airline is advancing its plans to increase its capacity and services on the UAE-India-UAE network. Air India takes this opportunity to express its sincere gratitude to Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Dubai Airports for their unstinting support and cooperation in this endeavour. Air India looks forward for the continued support of all agencies at Dubai International (D

Emirates announced several commercial leadership movements across West Asia, Africa, the GCC, and Central Asia. Six seasoned team members in leadership roles, all UAE Nationals, will help drive the airline’s commercial initiatives across key markets with a strategic focus on rebuilding its leadership position and growing its customer base as countries continue easing their restrictions. All of the new appointments are effective 1 September 2021. All of the movements include Emirati talent into key leadership positions, either being promoted from within the organisation or through portfolio rotations, underpinning the airline’s commitment to career development and progression of its UAE Nationals. Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates Airline said: ‘’Thanks to the strength of the Emirates brand, our laser focus on executing strategic customer and commercial initiatives, and rationally rebuilding our network based on tangible demand, the airline is well-positioned in the long-term to generate improved results as we navigate recovery. The movements within the commercial team that have been put in place significantly strengthen our management structure across key markets. We’re proud of the hard work and dedication that UAE Nationals appointed to these roles have demonstrated to tackle the challenges of the last 18 months, and today’s announcement demonstrates our commitment to build bench strength from within.” Jabr Al-Azeeby has been appointed as Vice President for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Jabr has been with Emirates for 16 years, previously holding Country Manager roles in Uganda, Cyprus, Thailand, Pakistan, before taking on his most recent role as Vice President, India and Nepal. Mohammed Alnahari Alhashmi has been appointed as Vice President for Pakistan. Mohammed has held several roles throughout his 18 year career with Emirates, including management posts in …

Emirates is set to introduce a fourth weekly service between Dubai to Muscat from 28 August 2021. The increase of flights to and from Muscat provides more connectivity options for customers travelling to Dubai and beyond to the airline’s growing network, as well as visitors coming to Oman. The announcement comes as Oman is set to re-open its borders for tourists with an approved vaccine certificate, starting 1 September. The added services will meet market demand and offer customers greater flexibility, choice and connectivity while planning their travels. From 28 August, EK866 will depart from Dubai at 0215hrs, arriving in Muscat at 0330hrs. The return flight, EK867 will depart from Muscat 0440hrs, arriving in Dubai at 0555hrs. Tickets can be booked on emirates.com, the Emirates App, Emirates sales offices, via travel agents as well as online travel agents. As international borders reopen and travel restrictions ease, Emirates continues to expand its network safely and sustainably, matching capacity with demand in line with market dynamics and operating conditions. The airline has resumed passenger services to over 120 destinations, recovering close to 90% of its pre-pandemic network. Customers can stop over or travel to Dubai as the city is open for international business and leisure visitors. Ensuring the safety of travellers, visitors, and the community, COVID-19 PCR tests are mandatory for all inbound and transit passengers arriving to Dubai (and the UAE).

Etihad is celebrating Emirati Women’s Day with a series of events to highlight this year’s theme, “Women: Ambitions & Inspiration for the Next 50 Years,” in line with the UAE’s 50th anniversary year. The airline announced a new collaboration with Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination to establish a chocolate factory for people of determination. Women from ZHO will be trained by Etihad’s professional chefs from Etihad Catering to operate the factory and hand make chocolate. Etihad will help establish the facility by providing the machinery and funding the ingredients for the first year of production, in addition to promoting the chocolate. Dr Nadia Bastaki, Vice President Medical Services and Corporate Social Responsibility, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “This project will play an important role in empowering women of determination and creating opportunities in the community.  The goal of Etihad’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee is to support the community through opportunity creation, training and development. In addition, and under its existing agreement with the Emirati Red Crescent, Etihad will launch a new project with Al Ghadeer UAE Crafts, to empower and support underprivileged women through the production of sustainable crafts. Etihad will provide non-stock products and recycled materials to Al Ghadeer which can be repurposed into hand crafted objects and sold. The project will help hundreds of women and families with additional income resource.  Etihad has been working in cooperation with Emirates Red Crescent for the past six years, collaborating on various initiatives, including projects to empower women and children, as well as working with Sheikha Fatima fund for refugee women, Grace Conservations and Al Ghadeer organisations.  

Emirates is offering UAE nationals and residents a chance to plan the perfect escape to the Seychelles. They could book now and unwind at some of the world’s most beautiful resorts with spectacular white beaches or enjoy its diverse marine life and everything in between. The Seychelles has been open for tourism since August 2020, and Emirates was the first international airline to return to the island. Emirates currently operates more than 7 weekly flights to the Seychelles from Dubai. Economy Class passengers can enjoy fares starting from AED 2,995, and Business Class passengers can enjoy fares starting from AED 7,995, The offer is valid for bookings made starting today until 31 August 2021, for travel until 15 June 2022.* UAE Travellers can also plan their Seychelles getaway with Emirates Holidays, with a range of packages available, starting from AED 4,699 per person for three night stays, with curated experiences and peace of mind for a picture-perfect experience on the islands. To visit the popular Indian Ocean holiday destination, UAE travelers must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test, conducted within 72 hours of the date of travel. For more information on travel entry requirements to Seychelles, click here. Emirates customers can rest assured this summer while travelling that their health and safety continued to be a top priority with the latest health and safety measures in place. Emirates leads the industry with customer centric solutions that make travel planning stress free with even more generous and flexible booking policies, an extension of its multi-risk insurance cover, and helping loyal customers retain their miles and tier status. For more information on Emirates, including how to book flights and a complete …

flydubai announced the launch of its new online eShop which provides passengers with the option to pre-purchase a selection of duty-free products before they fly and have them delivered to their seat when they travel. The eShop is designed to replace the traditional onboard duty-free experience and offers passengers a wider variety of shopping choices and convenience when flying.   Commenting on the launch, Daniel Kerrison, Vice President Inflight Product at flydubai, said: “we have always been dedicated to adding new features to enhance our onboard experience and the launch of our eShop by flydubai reflects this commitment. With our eShop passengers travelling with flydubai can now purchase a variety of products before their flight and have the items delivered to their seats, providing an incredibly convenient way to shop. We are excited at the possibilities that eShop by flydubai can offer and with our increased range of products and offers there is something for everyone.”   Passengers who have made a booking with flydubai can visit the flydubai eShop, enter their flight details and begin shopping from a wide range of duty-free items including beauty products, beverages, electronics, gadgets, jewellery, perfumes and watches. Once a purchase has been made the items will be delivered to the passengers during their flight.   flydubai has continued to add new services to enhance its onboard experience including an inflight entertainment streaming service on its fleet of Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Passengers can enjoy complimentary inflight entertainment streamed wirelessly to their personal mobile devices, laptops and tablets. Passengers travelling in Business Class continue to enjoy complimentary access to flydubai’s Inflight Entertainment (IFE) on their dedicated HD touchscreens.   flydubai’s Boeing 737 MAX aircraft …

Emirates is scaling up services with additional route resumptions and more flights across its European network, responding to the easing of international entry protocols and an upsurge in passenger demand. With clear signals that passenger confidence for international travel is returning, the airline is advancing its plans to increase services and capacity to make it easier for its customers to connect to and from its extensive European network via Dubai. In the UK, Emirates continues to boost its operations and will reinstate flights to Newcastle Airport (NCL) from 15 October, offering four weekly flights to the northeast of England, all operated by the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a two class configuration. The first flight, EK033, will depart Dubai International (DXB) at 1430hrs and arrive in Newcastle (NCL) at 1910hrs, while flight EK034 will depart Newcastle at 2110hrs and arrive in Dubai the following day at 0725hrs. By the end of October, the airline will offer 77 weekly flights to the UK as it gradually recovers operations in one of its most important global markets. UK weekly operations include a six times daily London Heathrow operation with five A380 services; double daily A380 flights to Manchester, 10 weekly services to Birmingham, daily services to Glasgow and four weekly services to Newcastle. Earlier this month, UAE moved onto the UK’s ‘amber’ list for travel, and travellers arriving in the UK from Dubai no longer need to quarantine in a government-approved hotel. Responding to a rise in customer demand, Emirates has also brought forward its plans to introduce extra flights and capacity to over 10 European cities, including Birmingham, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Hamburg, London, Lisbon, Madrid, Munich, Rome and Zurich. Many of these …

In a move to support the ramp up of operations after boosting its passenger services to South Africa, Emirates has signed an interline agreement with Cemair that opens up connections to six more destinations in South Africa through the airline’s gateways of Johannesburg and Cape Town. The partnership also includes a couple of leisure points exclusively served by Cemair. This marks the first partnership between both airlines, and Emirates’ fourth airline partnership in South Africa. The arrangement between Emirates and Cemair includes the convenience of single ticket itineraries with onwards booking and baggage transfers from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Margate, Durban, Hoedspruit, Plettenberg Bay, George and Sishen. Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates Airline said: “We are proud to partner with Cemair and commence our interline agreement. The new Cemair links provide our customers with even more possibilities to travel smoothly across many of South Africa’s most popular leisure points, in addition to the added benefit of connectivity to Cemair’s exclusively served points Margate and Plettenberg Bay. Connecting our networks solidifies our commitment to offering our customers even more travel opportunities, especially for those wanting to experience South Africa’s existing favourites, as well as travellers plotting new itineraries. We look forward to working together and strengthening our relationship.” Miles van der Molen, Chief Executive Officer of CemAir said: “We are delighted to partner with Emirates Airline, a name synonymous with quality and elegance. Our interline agreement provides our customers with convenience and savings as they can now seamlessly connect from our flights to the vast global network of this iconic airline.” As we continue our expansion during the post Covid recovery period we realise that now more …

Elaa, the dedicated travel management brand of Seera Group, has been appointed as the exclusive General Sales Agent (GSA) for Philippine Airlines in Saudi Arabia. With effect from 1 September 2021, elaa will lead Philippine Airlines’ sales promotions and marketing activities in Saudi Arabia. For these initiatives, elaa will capitalize on its wealth of experience in travel management locally and internationally. With a fleet of state-of-the-art Airbus and Boeing aircrafts, Philippine Airlines currently offers regular weekly nonstop flights from Dammam and Riyadh into Manila.  The Filipino flag carrier also flies nonstop from Doha and Dubai to Manila. Saudi-based travel agents can now access Philippine Airlines’ excellent products and services as well as the airline’s highly competitive fares through elaa. The range of services that will be provided by elaa to Philippine Airlines include general sales, support for MICE activities, airport handling and office set-ups. According to the recent Saudi Travel Sentiments survey conducted by Seera Group’s flagship consumer travel brand Almosafer, 83 percent of Saudi travellers are planning to fly internationally in 2021. With the PAL GSA partnership, elaa aims to broaden the range of destination offerings, covering the Philippines. Pre-pandemic, Seera Group saw an annual increase of over 50 per cent of bookings to the Philippines. The statistical report generated by the Group ranked the Philippines under the top 10 revenue generating destinations in 2018 and it moved up to top 5 in 2019. The Group sold over 145,000 inbound and outbound passengers from the Philippines in 2019. Saudi Arabia’s outbound tourism market is expected to reach over US$ 43 billion by 2025, according to the latest data from Renub Research. While family holidays currently dominate the market, a …