Tag Archives: Dubai

Emirates has launched its new service to Auckland via Bali from June 14, 2018. The new operations will offer global travellers a total of three daily services to New Zealand, complementing Emirates’ existing non-stop daily service between Dubai and Auckland. Emirates’ new Dubai-Bali-Auckland flight will provide the only year-round non-stop daily service between Auckland and Bali, giving passengers an opportunity to visit or stop over in one of the most popular islands in Indonesia. The airline will operate a 777-300ER on the route, offering eight seats in First, 42 seats in Business and 304 seats in Economy class, as well as 20 tonnes of belly-hold cargo capacity. Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline, said, “We are confident that our year-round service between Auckland and Bali will be well received by our customers, not only in New Zealand and Indonesia, but also from our global network particularly from markets like the UK, Europe and the Middle East.” The southbound flight, EK 450, will depart Dubai at 06:55, arriving at Denpasar (Bali) at 20:20 local time, before flying on to Auckland at 22:00, arriving in New Zealand’s biggest city at 10:00, the following day. Northbound, the new service will depart Auckland as flight EK 451 at the convenient time of 12:40, arriving in Denpasar at 17:55 local time. It will depart Denpasar at 19:50, arriving in Dubai just after midnight at 00:45.

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) is cementing the emirate’s position as one of the top destinations to celebrate Chinese New Year with 10 days of Chinese festivities happening across the city. Running from February 15-24, there will be a host of activities celebrating Chinese New Year for residents and visitors to enjoy, from traditional Chinese dining offerings to breathtaking shows including contortionist dancers, acrobat wheel and a two-time Guinness World record breaking show, as well as shopping promotions in major retail outlets. Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO, Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of Dubai Tourism, said: “China is a key source market for us and Dubai welcomes an increasing number of Chinese visitors each year. Along with our strategic partners, we’re excited to announce that this year’s celebration of Chinese New Year will be bigger and better than ever before, with an expanded line up of activities set to spread the festive cheer across the city.”

Set to transform the virtual reality entertainment landscape, Emaar Entertainment has announced a first-of-its-kind VR Park in Dubai due to open in the first half of 2018 at The Dubai Mall. The attraction will provide an unprecedented breadth of games, rides and experiences to suit all ages. Combining Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and experiential attractions, VR Park is designed to blur the lines between perception and reality through game changing experiences, spanning wholly immersive rides, educational journeys and interactive games. Focusing on the concept of ‘Shared Escapism’, many of the attractions offer a multi-player experience – allowing visitors to interact with one another and live the experience with family and friends. VR Park has been specifically designed with attractions appealing to all interests, across adrenaline, horror, leisure and more.

Thai Airways International Public Company (THAI) has opened its new branch office under GSA-Majestic Travel & Tours LLC in Abu Dhabi at Al Falah Street. The office was inaugurated by His Excellency Komate Kamalanavin, Ambassador of Thailand along with Chantouch Srinilta, General Manager—UAE & Middle East, Henry Boutros, Area Sales Manager—UAE & Middle East, Kumar Jagadeesan, General Manager, Anta Travel and Vinit Singh, Manager, Majestic Travel & Tours. THAI flies daily from Dubai to Bangkok with smooth connections through its home base Suvarnabhumi International Airport to domestic Thailand destinations and beyond to the Far East, Asia and Australia. As the first contact point in the Kingdom of Thailand, THAI offers passengers a sublime experience and economy cabins amongst the best in the industry, with generous legroom and plush wide seats. Royal silk Business Class cabin inspired by the rich culture and heritage of Thailand offers a personal lounge-office in the clouds with customisable configurations. THAI continues to focus on the importance of consistent product development based on customer satisfaction with state-of-art services that meets customers’ needs.

Dubai’s Gevora Hotel, with 75 floors standing tall at a height of 356 metres, has claimed the title for the tallest hotel in the world by Guinness World Records. Located on the Sheikh Zayed Road adjacent to the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), Gevora was built by Majid Al Attar. With 528 keys consisting of 232 Deluxe Rooms, 265 one-bed room deluxe and 31 two-bedroom suites, the four-star luxury city hotel will now even wear the crown as the tallest hotel from its predecessor JW Marriott Marquis. The opening ceremony of the property was presided over by owners Majid Al Attar, Khalid Al Attar, Ahmed Abdul Rahim Al Attar, Salah Ameen, Mana Al Attar and Mohammed Al Attar. The hotel has been launched at a time when Dubai prepares for the influx of tourists for Expo 2020. The state-of-the-art meeting room facilities in the property will be a key driver for the business clientele in the area who require smaller board room type of facilities. The rooms are fully equipped with a kitchen especially designed for the GCC clientele.

The Embassy of Latvia has announced the opening of external visa application centres in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in partnership with VFS Global, providing convenience to travellers from the UAE in processing Schengen entry permits to the Baltic nation. Visa applicants from the UAE need not henceforth approach the Embassy of Latvia for their visa requirements as VFS Global is mandated to handle the applications as well as biometric enrolment. Speaking at the inauguration, H.E. Astra Kurme, Ambassador of Latvia to the UAE said, “It is an important step towards facilitating contacts between people and nations. The possibility to apply and receive visa to visit Latvia will significantly improve tourism and business exchange not only between Latvia and the United Arab Emirates, but also the whole Gulf region as the Embassy’s consular mandate covers all GCC region.” Vinay Malhotra, COO–Middle East & South Asia, VFS Global, said, “We are honoured to be part of this growing relationship between the two countries and are confident to bring enhanced level of efficiency in services and a seamless, delightful customer experience to visa applicants from the UAE.”

Ever thought of savouring your food while enjoying the sea? UAE has launched Aqua Pod, the world’s first sustainable floating drive-through, set to float in Dubai’s lagoons, providing visitors with a first-of-its-kind experience while at sea. For the first time ever, sea-goers can satisfy their hunger while at sea and enjoy food and beverages as they would from a traditional food truck. This unique concept comes at the hands of award-winning architect Ahmed Youssef, founder of Aquatic Architects Design Studio (AADS) and creator of Aqua Pod. “Realising the value of the sea, we have set out to create an innovative platform which allows us to tap into the aquatic market, with sustainability at the core of every design decision to preserve the marine environment,” says Ahmed. “At AADS, we understand the value of the region’s shorelines and beyond, so we saw an untapped opportunity to bring an innovative concept to the UAE,” he said. The Aqua Pod boasts a revolutionary architectural design with sustainability features, matching the UAE government’s focus on green initiatives. Largely running on electrical power, the Aqua Pod’s operations enable the production of clean water from the sea excluding any negative discharge. The Dubai Maritime City Authority pledged its support to this project by creating a new license category for this unique floating facility.

Emirates has launched a new, five times a week, service from Dubai to Santiago International Airport (SCL), via the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, starting July 5, 2018. The new service will see Emirates fly an additional five times a week to Sao Paulo, complementing the airline’s existing daily A380 flight between Dubai and Sao Paulo. In total, Emirates will now fly 12 times a week to Sao Paulo. Emirates’ Santiago flight will be a linked service with Sao Paulo, meaning that customers in South America can now travel between the two cities in unprecedented style and comfort. Sir Tim Clark, President, Emirates, said “The start of our operations to Chile underlines our commitment to South America with our fourth destination on the continent and another five flights to Sao Paulo. We are pleased to add a destination that has been in strong demand from our customers and look forward to working with stakeholders in Chile to provide our unique product and service to passengers there.” The new route will be operated with a two-class configured Boeing 777-200LR which offers 38 Business Class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration and 264 seats in Economy Class.

Jumeirah Group announced that it is set to operate a new hotel in Dubai under its Zabeel House by Jumeirah brand, having recently signed a management agreement with The Onyx for Development. The hotel, to be known as Zabeel House by Jumeirah–The Greens, is scheduled to open in Q4 2018 and will offer 210 guest rooms, two restaurants, terrace dining around the pool area, conference and business facilities, as well as a gym and spa treatment rooms. Designed to appeal to the curious traveller who wants to experience a city like a resident, guests to Zabeel House by Jumeirah can expect a four-star experience, brilliant basics and unexpected extras within an upscale, casual environment. Conveniently located to help guests experience Dubai, Zabeel House by Jumeirah–The Greens is well positioned at the heart of The Greens master development, and is part of a completed wider mixed-use development called ‘The Onyx’, which consists of residential, commercial and retail units.  The hotel has great connectivity with easy access to Sheikh Zayed Road and is within easy reach of some of Dubai’s best beaches, as well as public transport and the Dubai Metro.

Emirates is set to launch a new non-stop service between Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Dubai from June 1, 2018, adding to its existing daily flight which operates with a stop in Athens, Greece. The new non-stop service will be operated with an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER, offering eight suites in First Class, 42 seats in Business, 306 in Economy Class, and 19 tonnes of belly-hold cargo capacity. Flight EK223 will depart Dubai at 03:00 am and arrive in Newark at 09:00 am. The return flight EK224 departs Newark at 11:50 am, arriving in Dubai at 08: 20am on the following day. This new timing complements the existing Emirates service, as it provides travellers with a new option of a morning arrival in Newark, and a morning departure. Emirates’ non-stop service to Newark will offer travellers in northern New Jersey enhanced global connectivity, particularly those heading to Africa, the Far East and the Indian sub-continent. This is a boon for ethnic communities such as the nearly 700,000 Indian Americans residing in the greater New York area, who will have one-stop access to nine Indian cities on Emirates’ global network.