Category Archives: Aviation

Qantas and Emirates welcome the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) reauthorisation of their partnership until 2023. For customers, the continuation of the joint business, announced in August 2017, will deliver expanded services, greater schedule choice, increased frequent flyer benefits and an ongoing commitment to the development of world-class products and travel experiences. Alison Webster, CEO, Qantas International states, “The ACCC’s reauthorisation of our joint business is an important milestone in helping us continue deliver benefits for travellers and Australian tourism for the next five years. With three options to get to Europe via Perth, Singapore and Dubai, and greater frequency across the Tasman, the ACCC’s decision allows us to continue to jointly provide the best network, the best service and the best frequent flyer programmes for millions of customers travelling between Australia/New Zealand and the UK and Europe.” Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates said, “We look forward to progressing on the plans that will take our successful partnership to its next phase. Together, we offer travellers access to even more destinations on our joint network, more convenient flight choices and frequent flyer benefits. Over the next five years, we will continue to work closely with our partner Qantas to deliver benefits for our customers.”

The latest addition to the growing network of Turkish Airlines is Samarkand, making it the second destination of Turkish Airlines to be operated in Uzbekistan after capital city Tashkent. Founded on the Silk Road,  Samarkand is one of the most important transportation lines of world trade for centuries. Istanbul-Samarkand flights will be operated twice a week in both directions. Round trip fares are available from Istanbul to Samarkand starting from $364 including all taxes and fees. Bilal Ekşi, CEO, Turkish Airlines said, “We have launched direct flights to Samarkand from 121 countries. We are glad to serve this city that is the eternal resting place for historical figures and scholars. Turkish Airlines is operating flights to Tashkent seven times per week and to Samarkand flights twice a week. We expect that the frequency of Samarkand flights will reach to three per week.”

The latest destination aboard Turkish Airlines is the direct flight to Aqaba in Jordan, with existing services to Amman. The Aqaba flights will be operated thrice a week. Round trip fares are available from Istanbul to Aqaba starting at 404 USD including taxes and fees. Additionally, there is a special offer for Miles&Smiles members to be used for their trips departing from Turkey which should be completed by June 11, 2018, and the trips departing from Aqaba are to be completed by June 12, 2018, with a 25 per cent reduction in the miles needed to redeem either award tickets or upgrades. Aqaba flight times as scheduled from March 19 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays depart Istanbul at 22:00 hours with arrival to Aqaba by 23:50 hours. The flight will depart Aqaba on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 00:45 hours and arrive to Istanbul at 04:20 hours.

A new codeshare partnership was signed between Etihad Airways and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) with bookings effective immediately. Under the agreement, Etihad Airways will have its EY flight code on SWISS services between Geneva and Zurich, two key gateway cities served in Switzerland from Abu Dhabi. SWISS will market its LX code on Etihad Airways’ services between Zurich and Abu Dhabi, offering its passengers codeshare flights to and from the UAE’s capital city. The codeshare services are bookable now, for travel from March 26. Peter Baumgartner, Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, said, “This codeshare deepens Etihad Airways’ commitment to the Swiss travel market and Switzerland, a key destination for travellers from UAE, neighbouring Gulf countries, and across our Asia Pacific network. The partnership further strengthens the historic cultural, business and tourism ties that the UAE and Switzerland have enjoyed over many decades. For travellers from Switzerland, our new relationship with SWISS will provide access to Etihad’s award-winning service and the hospitality for which our Abu Dhabi home is known.”

An official ceremony was held in Dubai to celebrate the partnership of SalamAir with Smart Travel. Captain Mohamed Ahmed, CEO, SalamAir, stated that over the past year, the airline carried over half a million passengers aboard the aircraft and currently operates to nine destinations. SalamAir is the first low-cost carrier from the Sultanate of Oman which started operations about 14 months ago with the preferred aircraft Airbus A320 for its economical standard and comfortable for passengers. Two SalamAir flights operate in Dubai, besides flying to other destinations like Jeddah, Pakistan, Doha, Shiraz, etc. Ahmed further stated that although the flight has the capacity to carry 186 passengers, they only accommodate 174 to provide comfort to passengers. The objective is to ensure the cost is kept at minimal rates so that it is affordable for more travellers.

Royal Jordanian (RJ) will resume its scheduled flights between Amman and each of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, in northern Iraq, as of April 1, 2018. RJ passengers on these routes will enjoy the added benefit of reduced round-trip fares, at JD280, in an offer valid from March 16 to March 31, 2018, for travel to take place between April 1 and June 8, 2018. RJ will operate 10 weekly flights to Erbil and four weekly flights to Sulaymaniyah. The decision to relaunch the flights was taken as Iraqi authorities announced the reopening of the airports in these cities. Airlines operating to Erbil and Sulaymaniyah had suspended their flights on September 29, 2017, upon directions from the Iraqi authorities. RJ customers are invited to purchase their tickets on rj.com or by visiting RJ’s global sales offices and through travel agents.

Turkish Airlines has announced that, in order to insure the need for wide body aircraft, the Incorporation has decided to purchase 50 firm and 10 optional aircraft, a total of 60 wide body aircraft, of which six are to be delivered in 2019, 14 in 2020, 10 in 2021, 12 in 2022, 11 in 2023 and seven in 2024. According to this, a total of 30 B787-9 aircraft, of which 25 firm and five optional, will be purchased from Boeing and a total of 30 A350-900 aircraft, of which 25 firm and five optional will be purchased from Airbus. Commenting on the closed orders, M İlker Aycı, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Turkish Airlines said, “Today, we’re pleased to conclude this process which will bring a landmark benefit not only to Turkish Airlines, but also to Turkey’s aviation, by firmly ordering these aircrafts to be added to our ever-expanding fleet. This great step, which will further strengthen our ever-expanding fleet for 2023, our Republic’s 100th year, and bring our passenger’s satisfaction to a much higher level will bring a great acceleration to the steady rise of Turkish Airlines.”

The recent partnership between Royal Jordanian (RJ) and Tanasuk Technologies is based on producing an unprecedented performance-based enhancement on RJ’s site. Phase 1, which lasted for 10 weeks, saw a complete migration from Royal Jordanian’s previous content management system to the new and improved Sitecore Experience platform. RJ can now satisfy its customers with many flexible online touch-points. Additionally, it integrates extremely well with RJ’s marketing and digital tools, enabling customers to access an advanced website. So far, the Tanasuk team migrated over 200 pages across six different languages on RJ’s website. The next phase will consist of a complete data migration process, whereby all of RJ’s historical data from various sources and platforms will be consolidated and migrated using different Sitecore omnichannel experiences. Stefan Pichler, President/CEO, RJ said, “We are glad to work with Tanasuk Technologies which provides us with this highly customisable platform that helps RJ achieve its short- and long-term future plans to adopt a dynamic Content Management System, while integrating powerful tools, being in sync with IATA’s standards and systems.” leath Arensen, Founder, Tanasuk said, “As the first Jordanian entity to implement Sitecore, RJ is leading the way in digital transformation.Working closely with the RJ team just confirmed to us how committed they are to their customers—being one of them myself!.”

Cebu Pacific (CEB) offers 25 kilograms of additional free baggage allowance to UAE residents travelling from Dubai to Manila. Starting March 1 until November 30, 2018, all passengers originating from Dubai travelling to Manila with pre-purchased baggage allowance of 40 kilograms will receive additional 25 kilograms baggage allowance, free-of-charge. The offer will be given upon check-in of the guest at the airport. A 40-kilogram baggage allowance on Cebu Pacific costs between AED 320 and AED 340. Passengers, even those with connecting flights to other Philippine domestic destinations operated by Cebu Pacific, will get the advantage of the additional 25 kilograms being carried over up to their next flight, as long as their flight itinerary is booked under one reference number only. This promotion is not valid on return flights from the Philippines to the Middle East, and on bookings with Cebgo connecting flights.

Emirates has unveiled a brand new Business Class cabin and configuration on its Boeing 777-200LR aircraft, with new wider seats laid out in a 2-2-2 configuration for the first time. The airline has invested over US$150 million to refurbish the 10 existing 777-200LR aircraft in its fleet. The newly refurbished Emirates 777-200LR aircraft is set in a two-class configuration which offers 38 Business Class seats and 264 seats in Economy Class.  While the Business Class seats are in the same design and shape of Emirates’ latest lie-flat seats, they are now two inches wider for a more comfortable journey. The seats retain the champagne coloured finish and diamond stitch pattern on the full leather cover, and the ergonomically designed headrest revealed on Emirates’ newest Boeing 777 in November. The Business Class seat has a pitch of 72 inches and moves into a fully flat sleeping position.  It also has touchscreen controls for the seat and inflight entertainment system, several personal lighting options, privacy panels between seats, a shoe stowage area, footrest and a personal mini-bar. Luxury and comfort are at the heart of Emirates’ product refresh as overhead bins in centre of the cabin have been removed for an airier and more spacious feel on board. The cabin boasts electronic windows and the largest personal in-flight entertainment (IFE) screens in Business Class at 23 inches wide. The cabin also features the Ghaf tree – considered the national tree of the United Arab Emirates, and now a signature design on the latest Emirates aircraft.