Category Archives: Aviation

Emirates is once again pushing the boundaries of technology, becoming the first airline outside America to receive approval for biometric boarding from the US Customs Border Protection (CBP). Soon, customers flying from Dubai to any of Emirates’ 12 destinations in the US will be able to choose facial recognition technology at the departure gates, reducing the time taken for identity checks to two seconds or less. No pre-registration is required, and customers may also choose not to use the technology. Emirates does not store any biometric records of its customers – all the data is managed securely by CBP. The technology was piloted at the departure gates of Emirates’ flights from Dubai to New York and Los Angeles through the peak periods in July and August. The airline expects to make biometric boarding available for all its US destinations by year-end, once the equipment is in place.  Dr Abdulla Al Hashimi, Divisional Senior Vice President, Emirates Group Security, said, “Biometric boarding is one more step in streamlining processes at our hub using digital technology, saving our customers time and giving them peace of mind.” John Wagner, Deputy Executive Assistant Commission, Office of Field Operations, US Customs and Border Protection, said, “By comparing a traveller’s face to their passport or visa photo that was previously provided for the purpose of travel, we have streamlined identity verification that further secures and enhances the customer experience.”

Abu Dhabi Airports announced the commencement of four weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Muscat in Oman with SalamAir.  The flights will take-off from Muscat International Airport (MCT) at 9:00 am every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, and will arrive at Abu Dhabi International Airport at 10:20 am. The return flights will take-off from Abu Dhabi at 11:05 am, arriving in Muscat at 12:05 pm local time. Commenting on the new route to Muscat, Maarten De Groof, Chief Commercial Officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, said, “Muscat is one of the most popular destinations among UAE citizens and residents, and these four new flights will give them new convenient options. This partnership demonstrates Abu Dhabi Airports’ commitment to continuously developing its network and connectivity, with the aim of providing travellers with ever more choices. We are always keen to attract new airlines to our airport, particularly from popular destinations, such as Oman. The new flights will contribute to the growth of the tourism industry in Abu Dhabi, a city which is already a global aviation hub, alongside a major destination for tourists and business people alike.”

Air Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier, now offers direct flights between Sharjah and Vienna. The non-stop six-hour flight to Vienna, will operate four times a week, on Sundays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and will be expanded to daily flight service as of mid-December. Adel Al Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia and Julian Jäger, Joint CEO and COO of Vienna Airport, officially inaugurated the new route at a press briefing in Vienna. Commenting on the inaugural launch of the route, Adel Al Ali said, “We are pleased to start our direct flights connecting Sharjah and Vienna. This new service will provide our customers in the UAE and Austria with a great opportunity to discover the beauty of both countries while enjoying Air Arabia’s value-for-money offers.” “In recent years, we have seen a significant rise in number of tourists from the UAE and Vienna is a popular destination amongst Arab travellers. The city of Vienna greatly benefits from Air Arabia’s new direct flight connection to Vienna Airport. We have registered close to 13% growth on flights to the Middle East since the beginning of the year. We look forward to welcoming even more visitors from the Middle East to this beautiful city,” stated Jäger, Joint CEO and COO of Vienna Airport.

flynas, the Saudi national air carrier and leading low-cost airline in the Middle East, announced the launch of its new direct international flights to Lucknow and Calicut in India starting from October 15, 2019, as part of its global expansion plan. This step will raise the number of flynas’ destinations in India to four after it has previously launched direct flights to New Delhi and Hyderabad. flynas will operate three weekly flights to each destination, with the first flight scheduled from Riyadh to Lucknow on October 15, while the second and third flights are scheduled for October 17 and October 18, respectively. Furthermore, flights between Riyadh and Calicut and Dammam and Lucknow will commence from October 16. flynas had recently announced the launch of its new direct flights between Riyadh and New Delhi, which started on July 1, 2019. It also announced the launch of direct flights between Riyadh and Hyderabad in June 2018 as part of its expansion strategy for the next phase which seeks to add more destinations and contribute towards doubling its number of passengers, which reached 6.6 million passengers on 60,000 domestic and international flights last year. New destinations include Lahore, Islamabad, Algeria, Erbil, Baghdad, Sarajevo, Vienna, Batumi, Tbilisi, Baku and other domestic and international destinations.

Etihad Guest, the award-winning loyalty programme of Etihad Airways, and Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the Middle East, have partnered to allow the bank’s customers to convert their credit card loyalty programme points, Plus Points, into Etihad Guest Miles. Starting from September 15, Emirates NBD customers will be able exchange 1 Plus Point for 10 Etihad Guest Miles upon converting a minimum of 500 Plus points. To celebrate the launch, Emirates NBD customers will be able to enjoy a 20 per cent bonus miles reward as well as enter a draw to win one of 20 prizes of 50,000 Miles each from September 15 to October 31, 2019. The bonus of 20 per cent Etihad Guest Miles will be credited within 15 working days, at the end of the launch campaign. Yasser Al Yousuf, Vice President Commercial Partnerships, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “We provide many opportunities to use Etihad Guest Miles, such as redeeming them for flights or upgrades, using them to book over 300,000 hotels worldwide, to purchase hundreds of products online on the Etihad Guest Reward Shop, or to donate their miles to charity.” Suvo Sarkar, Senior Executive Vice President & Group Head – Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Emirates NBD, said, “Emirates NBD’s partnership with Etihad’s award-winning Guest Miles programme demonstrates our commitment to work with leading partners to continuously enhance our customer offering.”

Turkish Airlines announced its passenger and cargo traffic results for August. The flag carrier recorded 84.8 per cent load factor in this month despite the global shrinkage of demand in the aviation sector. Offering connections to more countries than any other airline from a single hub, the global carrier’s international-to-international transfer passenger numbers increased in record numbers with a 9.4 per cent increase compared to the same month of the last year. Continuing towards its goal of becoming one of the top five air cargo brands in the world with its Turkish Cargo brand, the flag carrier increased its Cargo / mail volume by 11.5 per cent compared to the same month of the last year. The national flag carrier maintains its two-digit growth numbers at air cargo market in its new home as well. According to August 2019 Traffic Results domestic load factor was 88.4 per cent and international load factor was 84.3 per cent. International passengers excluding the international to international transit passengers showed a decrease of 0.4 per cent in August. Main contributors to the growth in Cargo / mail volume were North America with 24.8 per cent, Far East with 12.2 per cent and Europe with 11.3 per cent increase. In August, domestic showed load factor growth of 0.6 points, while North America and Far East increased by 0.4 and 0.3 points respectively.

flydubai announced that flights to seven destinations will move from their current operating base of Terminal 2 and relocate to Terminal 3 at Dubai International (DXB). Other flydubai services will continue to operate from Terminal 2. From October 27, 2019, flights to Almaty, Basra, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Nur-Sultan, Sofia, and Zanzibar will operate from Terminal 3. These destinations have been chosen to help improve connections between Emirates and flydubai with smooth and quick transit times. The additional 07 points will bring the number of destinations operated out of Terminal 3 at Dubai International (DXB) to 22. This move is part of the innovative partnership with Emirates that goes beyond code sharing to several initiatives spanning commercial, network planning, airport operations, the alignment of the frequent flyer programmes and an enhanced customer journey.  “As our partnership with Emirates continues to grow, the addition of these seven destinations to Terminal 3 builds on the success of last year’s move and provides more opportunities for us to optimise connectivity for our passengers,” said Alex Mackenzie, Senior Vice President, Airport Services at flydubai. The full list of flydubai flights operating from Terminal 3 includes Almaty, Basra, Belgrade, Bishkek, Bucharest, Catania, Dar es Salaam, Helsinki, Kilimanjaro, Krabi, Krakow, Mineralnye Vody, Naples, Nur-Sultan, Prague, Rostov-on-Don, Salalah, Sofia, Tashkent, Zagreb, Zanzibar and Yangon. All other flydubai flights will continue to operate from Terminal 2, Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC).

Etihad Airways has re-launched etihad.com as part of its continuous commitment to improve the online customer journey, making it easier for guests to plan their trip, search for information, and manage their booking. The refreshed website is now live globally on all Etihad’s site editions in 16 languages. Redesigned from scratch, guests visiting etihad.com now enjoy faster loading pages, thanks to cleaner redesigned content, images, and graphics.  An easier-to-navigate site and a reduction in the number of pages makes it simpler for people to find the information they want. Frank Meyer, Chief Digital Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Enhancing the guest experience is at the heart of what we do. Knowing travellers increasingly turn to digital channels to manage their journey, we completely redesigned our website to provide a superior digital experience.” With a larger percentage of consumers accessing etihad.com via mobile, the new website is responsive across any device, be it a smartphone, tablet or desktop, allowing guests to access information quickly and easily, before they reach the airport. Additionally, 25 per cent more guests are now accessing self-service functionalities and checking in online thanks to the newly integrated technology which supports flight tickets booked through all channels. Previously, this was only available to those that booked directly through Etihad.

Etihad Airways announced a new partnership with Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling. With a passion for aviation, quality, and precision, Etihad offers a perfect platform for Breitling, who will serve as the airline’s official timekeeper. The announcement was made by the airline during New York Fashion Week, where it hosted two exclusive VIP events celebrating three years as an official sponsor.  To celebrate the partnership, Breitling has introduced the Aviator 8 Etihad Limited Edition timepiece in black steel. The model, which has been co-designed by Etihad Airways and Breitling, is limited to 500 pieces and is the watchmaker’s first featuring the Arabic language. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “As one of the world’s most innovative and punctual airlines, we are proud to mark the launch of this great partnership between two leading brands who are world renowned for style, quality and precision. To mark our collaboration with Breitling as Etihad’s official timekeeper, we have introduced the Aviator 8 Etihad Limited Edition, reflecting our Arabian heritage, age-old traditions and focus on the future.”  Speaking at the launch event in New York, Tim Sayler, Breitling’s Chief Marketing Officer, said, “Etihad Airways and Breitling are united by a passion for aviation, as well as by their steadfast commitment to quality and precision.”

Turkish Airlines is helping more customers to capitalise on its global network with special discounted fares to destinations across Europe, the United States and Canada. UAE passengers flying out of Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah with the carrier can avail discounts on flights to selected cities across the airline’s North American and European network.  Passengers can benefit from generous discounts on flights to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Washington as well as Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Malaga, Manchester, Milan, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Rome, Sarajevo, Stockholm, Venice, Vienna and Zurich. Discounts also apply to the airlines’ base city, Istanbul, as well as North African destinations Casablanca and Tunis. The offer is valid for passengers booking a flight between September 5 and October 10, 2019 and is valid for a travel period of September 6, 2019 to May 15, 2020. You can book your Economy ticket and fly from the UAE at incredibly low fares — Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Europe at AED 1,600, Sharjah to Europe at AED 1,510, Dubai or Abu Dhabi to the United States or Canada at AED 3,200, Sharjah to the United States of Canada at AED 3,000 and Sharjah to Istanbul Airport at AED 1,899.