Emirates announced plans to operate its popular A380 aircraft four times a day to London Heathrow from November 27 and six times a week to Manchester from 2 December, and to deploy additional A380 services to Moscow from the current two-a-week, to a daily service from 25 November.Emirates will also increase flights to Birmingham and Glasgow from the current four-a-week to daily services at both cities, from 27 November and 1 December respectively. Emirates’ services to Manchester will increase from the current eight-a-week to 10 flights per week from 1 December, of which six will be served by an Emirates A380 and four with a Boeing 777-300ER. At London Heathrow, Emirates’ current twice daily A380 and once daily Boeing 777 flights will become four daily A380 services from November 27. These represent a significant expansion of Emirates services to the UK, following the recent establishment of the UK-UAE air travel corridor which has led to increased demand. Under the air travel corridor, travellers entering the UK from the UAE will not longer be required to quarantine, which is a boon for travellers, and speaks to the UAE’s rigorous and effective pandemic response. In the other direction, UK travellers heading to Dubai can opt to do their COVID-19 PCR tests 96 hours in advance of their flight, or to do the test on arrival in Dubai, adding to the ease of travel. Emirates’ enhanced services to Moscow will also meet increased demand from travellers seeking to holiday in Dubai, or at popular island destinations within easy reach through Dubai, such as the Maldives. Dubai is open for international business and leisure visitors. From sun-soaked beaches and heritage activities to world class …
Read More »Etihad to launch fourth year-round daily service from Abu Dhabi to Heathrow
Etihad Airways will be launching a fourth year-round daily service from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow on October 27, 2019. Robin Kamark, Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group Chief, said, “The flagship Abu Dhabi to London route is tremendously popular with point-to-point business and leisure travellers, and those transiting beyond our hub and we recently boosted frequencies between the two cities to meet increased demand at peak travel times. Adding a fourth year-round flight will provide much needed capacity and optimised timings and easy connections to key destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia. The new service demonstrates our commitment to the crucially important UK market, and ensures we provide our customers with all the benefits of a next-generation fleet across all 42 weekly departures to and from the United Kingdom.” The new service introduces a convenient mid-morning departure from Abu Dhabi and a late evening departure from London Heathrow and follows the introduction of additional seasonal services this summer. The airline will introduce a next-generation, two-class Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on one of its four daily London services. The aircraft is configured with 299 seats — 28 Business Studios and 271 Economy Smart Seats. This complements the three other services which are operated by Etihad’s 486-seat Airbus A380s, which feature The Residence, a luxurious three-room cabin, nine private First Apartments, 70 Business Studios and 405 Economy Smart Seats. These include 80 Economy Space seats with a seat pitch of up to 36 inches. In addition to the four daily flights into the UK capital, Etihad Airways also operates two daily Boeing 787 Dreamliner services between Abu Dhabi and Manchester.
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 »Etihad Airways to deploy Airbus A380 on daily Abu Dhabi-Seoul route from July 1, 2019
Etihad Airways is set to operate Airbus A380 on its daily service linking Abu Dhabi and Seoul, effective July 1, 2019. The South Korean capital’s Incheon Airport now joins London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, New York JFK and Sydney as a destination served by the airline’s award-winning aircraft. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Since the launch of our services to Seoul Incheon in December 2010, the route has proved tremendously successful and we have welcomed over 1.2 million guests on our flights to and from Korea since then. This reinforces the strong ties between the two countries and the importance Etihad continues to place on the Korean market. The introduction of Airbus A380 will provide guests with the most revolutionary in-flight experience. The Etihad A380 embodies our ‘Choose Well’ brand promise perfectly, offering every type of traveller a flying experience tailored to meet their requirements and to capture their imagination.” Etihad Airways’ 486-seat A380 will provide customers on the route with new in-flight experiences such as The Residence, a luxurious three-room cabin which can accommodate two guests in complete privacy and nine private First Apartments. The double-decker aircraft also boasts 70 Business Studios and 405 Economy Smart Seats. This includes 80 Economy Space seats with a seat pitch of up to 36 inches.
Read More »Etihad to add fourth daily during winter from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow
Effective December 15, 2018 to January 13, 2019, Etihad Airways will increase its frequency from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow, from three to four daily services, to meet peak demand in the festive season. The flights will be operated by a two-class Boeing 787-9 featuring 28 Business Studios and 271 Economy Smart seats. James Harrison, General Manager for Etihad Airways in the United Kingdom and Ireland, said: “We are thrilled to announce more flights to London over the festive period. This is a busy time for local guests travelling between both capitals and the extra service will allow more choice and flexibility in their travel.” In addition to the seasonal increase of service to London, Etihad Airways has also recently announced seasonal frequency increases and aircraft upgrades on a number of key routes to meet increased demand over the peak winter period. This includes additional capacity to Bahrain, Belgrade, Cairo, Istanbul, Medina and Kuwait.
Read More »Traffic up by 5.6% at Abu Dhabi International Airport in May
Abu Dhabi Airports has announced a 5.6 per cent increase in passenger traffic at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) for May 2016, compared to the same month last year. A total of 1,982,010 people travelled through AUH last month, exceeding May 2015’s figure of 1,877,440. A number of destinations witnessed noteworthy growth in passenger traffic, with the UK exceeding its May 2015 figures by 18.4 per cent last month, and Egypt recording a 24.3 per cent increase over the same period last year. The number of travellers with AUH as their final destination was 355,457 up by 4.6 per cent. The top-five routes were Bombay, Doha, London Heathrow, Manila and Jeddah respectively. Arrival and departure transfers both showed an increase of 7.5 per cent and 7.7 per cent respectively compared to the same month last year, while the total number of transfer passengers recorded was 1,279,599, up by 7.6 per cent, reflecting the airport’s connectivity and position as a global hub.
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