Travelport announced that New Distribution Capability (NDC) content from British Airways is now live on the Travelport+ platform. With Travelport, British Airways is delivering simplified access to NDC content to agents, so that travel retailers can easily book and service NDC offers for their customers. The content is available as of today in the UK and Ireland and will be followed by a global rollout for Travelport+ users around the world. “We’re delighted that, together with Travelport, we’re now providing agents with a view of all our products and dynamic fares. With everything all in one place, we are empowering agents to take control of a wide range of content available to them for a more efficient and seamless booking experience,” said Ian Romanis, British Airways’ Director of Retail and Customer Relationship Management. The Content Curation Layer (CCL) within Travelport+ is driven by powerful artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning capabilities in order to provide more accurate, relevant results for a faster, more streamlined booking experience for travel retailers. Agents using Travelport+ will be able to easily search, compare, book and service British Airways’ content all in one place, with access to a wide range of rich content, fares, and unique offerings with just a few simple keystrokes. “Now that we have more content from different sources live in Travelport+, like British Airways NDC, agents can easily manage all aspects of their clients’ travel within a single view of product features, dynamic offers and ancillaries,” said Jason Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer, Travel Partners at Travelport. “Travelport+ was designed to revolutionize the way airlines distribute their products by connecting suppliers directly with travel agents around the world through one unified platform. Following …
Read More »Iberia joins British Airways and Qatar Airways to expand the world’s largest airline joint business
Qatar Airways, British Airways, and Iberia are joining forces. Together, Qatar Airways and British Airways already operate the world’s largest airline joint business covering more than 60 countries. Beginning in July, Iberia is joining the partnership in a move that will transform connectivity for global travellers. As a result of the joint business, Iberia will add a new daily service from its hub, Madrid Barajas International Airport, flights to Hamad International Airport (voted Best Airport in the Middle East for the 9th consecutive year by Skytrax), starting 11 December 2023. Passengers will be able to connect to more than 200 destinations through the three global airlines. Together, Iberia’s and Qatar Airways’ expanded service will operate three times daily on the route, providing unrivalled connectivity between the Iberian Peninsula and key markets in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Iberia will operate the Airbus A330-200, with 288 seats in Business and Economy cabins. The partnership’s expansion provides customers with more options than ever from a wide geographic range of destinations, flight schedules, fares, and seamless connectivity via Doha, London, and Madrid, as well as a larger selection of award-winning products, including Qatar Airways’ Qsuite, Iberia’s Business Class, and British Airways’ Club Suite. Whether for leisure or business, travellers from Spain and Portugal will be able to connect to a fantastic range of new destinations. Relaxing in the Maldives and Seychelles, adventuring in Tanzania and Nepal, cultural holidays in India and Oman, shopping in Singapore and Thailand, or visiting friends and family in Australia and Hong Kong, all become more reachable with more choices than ever. Furthermore, customers from across the Middle-East, Africa, Asia, and Australia can enjoy seamless travel to …
Read More »Qatar Airways and British Airways announce new partnership with IndusInd Bank to introduce a Multi-Branded Credit Card
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, British Airways Executive Club and IndusInd Bank, announced their partnership, to introduce the unique multi-branded credit card, with two leading international airlines powered by Visa. The multi-branded credit card is slated to be launched and made available to consumers in the first quarter of the financial year 2023 – 2024. Through this proposition, members will soon be able to collect Avios, the rewards currency for British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club, by signing up and choosing their preferred loyalty programme. This credit card will be available in the Infinite variant of Visa, and will offer best-in-class rewards and benefits to elevate the travel experience of customers. Stacked with multiple attractive benefits suiting the requirements of frequent travellers, at the time of application, this credit card will give customers the flexibility to choose their preferred airline loyalty programme and select their preferred travel destination to collect maximum Avios and enjoy a host of other benefits. Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer, Thierry Antinori, said: “Today Qatar Airways Privilege Club takes another step forward in providing our members with the best offerings in the industry, introducing a first-of-its-kind Visa multi-branded credit card, in India with IndusInd Bank. “When adopting Avios as our rewards currency, we promised members that new and exciting opportunities would come, this collaboration with oneworld® partner British Airways is another manifestation of this. We look forward to seeing our members in India availing the extensive benefits of this new partnership, which is designed to enhance their future travels.” Oliver Currell, Head of Financial Partnerships, IAG Loyalty, said: “We are delighted to launch the new British Airways and Qatar Airways …
Read More »British Airways introduces flights to Dammam from December
British Airways is set to fly from Dammam to London Heathrow from December 1, 2019. The route is the first ever direct flight from Dammam to London Heathrow, with flights departing daily. The service will launch as a daily ‘tag’ service via Bahrain. Flights will be operated by a four-class Boeing 777-200 departing year-round from Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport and landing in Terminal 5 at London Heathrow. Dammam will be the third city in Saudi Arabia that British Airways flies to, with the airline already serving Riyadh and Jeddah with non-stop daily flights. This daily direct flight between Dammam and London Heathrow will cut journey times by three hours or more because passengers will no longer need to either drive to Bahrain or transit through Riyadh for a connecting flight. Moran Birger, Head of Sales for The Middle East and Asia Pacific, said, “This new link between Dammam and London underlines the importance of the Eastern province and the need for smooth onward connections to Europe and the United States. Direct flights will hugely benefit executives travelling between the Eastern Province and Europe’s premier financial capital and business hub, while also bringing London within an even easier reach for an extended weekend getaway.” Return fares start from SR2,480 for World Traveller, SR3,000 for World Traveller Plus, SR11,310 for Club World and SR18,900 in First. Dammam is one of five long-haul routes being launched by British Airways in 2019, its centenary year. The airline is also launching non-stop flights to Pittsburgh and Charleston in the US, Osaka in Japan and Islamabad in Pakistan, alongside several short-haul routes.
Read More »250 airlines benefit from Travelport’s branding solution
Having achieved the milestone of 250 carriers, Travelport has now extended its leading position in airline merchandising by offering richer content to five times as many airlines as its nearest competitor. Travelport announced that over 250 airlines now benefit from its Rich Content and Branding merchandising tool which gives agencies and travel bookers a graphically rich experience when booking branded fares and ancillaries. Launched in 2014, Rich Content and Branding allows network airlines and low-cost carriers to differentiate themselves through ls and detailed descriptions of their products and services. Airlines benefiting from branded fares and ancillaries include IndiGo, Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France/KLM, Iberia and low-cost airlines such as Mango Airlines, Aegean, Ryanair and Loganair. Major airlines currently or soon offering access to their branded fares through Rich Content and Branding include China Southern Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Norwegian, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and Avianca. In addition, Etihad Airways and Jetstar are introducing no-bag fares on long-haul routes, a development fully supported by Travelport’s new tool.
Read More »Special offers for British Airways First-Class travellers from UAE
Customers flying First in British Airways from Dubai can now enjoy special rates if they book 60 days in advance, with fares starting from as little as AED 21,270. They will also be able to access British Airways’ new Concorde Lounge concept at Concourse D at Dubai International Airport that provides a dedicated area for First customers and their guests to relax and unwind in a private environment before boarding their flight. Further, all passengers who are flying First Class from Abu Dhabi to Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport in British Airways and are booking 60 days in advance can experience the newly designed luxury cabins on board the 787-9 Dreamliner for as little as AED 20,550. British Airways is continuing to invest in other improvements in its First Class amenities, including a similar refresh of its flagship Concorde Room at Heathrow Terminal 5, with an updated look and feel as well as improvements to the terrace area, which is to be unveiled in October 2017.
Read More »British Airways’ direct flight to Muscat
British Airways has launched a direct flight between Muscat and London, further adding convenience to customers travelling between the two regions. Customers, who previously flew between the two cities via Abu Dhabi, can now experience an uninterrupted service, and a reduced flying time of seven hours and 15 minutes, two and a half hours shorter than the previous nine hours and 45 minutes’ journey. The service is operated by the airline’s Boeing 777, five times per week, featuring four cabins of travel – First, Club World (British Airways’ business cabin), World Traveller Plus and World Traveller (British Airways’ economy cabin). The UK carrier, which first began flying to Oman in 1972, inaugurated the new service with a water cannon salute as it landed at Muscat International Airport a few days ago. Anjulika Dutton, Commercial Manager UAE, Oman, Egypt and Central Asia, said that British Airways has successfully served the Omani market for more than four decades. During this period, they have witnessed a strong growth in passengers travelling between these two regions, and anticipate that this new direct service will further enhance connectivity for business and leisure travellers between Oman and the UK. Departing Muscat International Airport at 10.55am, the flight lands at London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 at 2.55pm on the same day, with the return journey departing the British capital at 7.50pm and arriving in Muscat at 7.05am the following morning. A full timetable of British Airways flights is available online here where customers can find the lowest fares and book, pay and check-in online for their flights.
Read More »Qatar Airways and British Airways expand codeshare
Qatar Airways has announced an expanded codeshare agreement with British Airways, which will provide travellers with a wider choice of flights and an enhanced network. With the launch of British Airway’s non-stop service between London and Doha, travellers will benefit from seven daily flights to Heathrow, improving connectivity on to each airline’s network. The expanded code-share network will now also include all of British Airways’ flights within the United Kingdom, covering Aberdeen, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Leeds, Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle. Additionally, Qatar Airways will code-share on a number of routes from London Heathrow to Europe, including all services to Dublin in Ireland; Hamburg and Stuttgart in Germany; Luxembourg; Basel in Switzerland; Bilbao, Malaga, Ibiza and Palma in Spain; Lisbon and Faro in Portugal; and Billund in Denmark. This codeshare follows the recent announcement that Qatar Airways and British Airways will commence a joint business agreement from October 30, the same date as the first direct scheduled daily British Airways flight flies between London Heathrow and Doha. As part of the agreement, all non-stop flights between the United Kingdom and Doha will operate under the code-share agreement allowing both Oneworld carriers to provide passengers with better links between the UK, Asia, Middle East and Africa.
Read More »Qatar Airways & British Airways enter code share
Qatar Airways and British Airways’ parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG), have announced a joint business agreement that will come into effect on October 30, 2016. The joint business will see the two airlines code-sharing on all non-stop flights between the UK and Doha, to offer customers a combined route network that will serve more than 70 destinations. Between the airlines’ hubs of London and Doha the new partnership will offer seven daily non-stop services in both directions. The will benefit customers by offering a wider choice of flights, an enhanced network, greater choice of fares and superior benefits for members of their frequent flyer programmes. This partnership will allow the carriers to provide passengers with better links and an even more seamless travel experience between the UK, Asia, Middle East and Africa.
Read More »British Airways lures honeymooners
British Airways has identified destinations such as London, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome and New York as the top most romantic city getaways and honeymoon locations across Europe and North America and has offered attractive packages for summer honeymooners in the UAE as the temperature rises in the region. Return fares start from AED 2,229 from Dubai to the UK and AED 3064 to North America via London across World Traveller cabins. Return fares from Abu Dhabi to the UK start from AED 2210 and to North America via London from AED 3068 across World Traveller cabins. British Airways’ discounted return fares from the UAE to London and North America are available for a limited time until May 18, 2016 with travel valid until November 2016. From the UK capital, customers flying with British Airways can take advantage of connecting flights to 10 destinations in the UK, 106 in Europe and 83 in the rest of the world. If a good deal and five desirable destinations are not enough, then British Airways’ well-travelled cabin crew have some insider tips about some of the romantic things to see and do in each location. A full timetable of British Airways’ flights to London and beyond is available online.
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