Category Archives: Aviation

Turkish Airlines added another feather to its global offerings through its new agreement with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The airlines now provides enhanced security screening programme for the transit passengers departing from the United States, with smarter overall security and a better air travel experience. Members of a Department of Homeland Security trusted traveler program may now have the privilege of TSA-expedited screening at airport security checkpoints in the United States. They may keep light jackets, shoes and belts on, although laptops and 3-1-1-compliant liquids remain in carryon bags. Children aged 12 years or less, accompanying a parent or guardian with TSA, also receive expedited screening. In April 2017, 97% of TSA Pre passengers waited for less than 5 minutes. TSA screening is available to the members of Global Entry and the TSA Precheck Application Program. TSA screening is also available to U.S. citizens and U.S. lawful permanent residents enrolled in NEXUS or SENTRI and to Canadian citizens enrolled in NEXUS. To experience the privileges of TSA, members enrolled in a trusted traveler program must add their Known Traveler Number when making reservations with Turkish Airlines, at one of their kiosks or check-in counters. When a member then checks in, a TSA indicator will appear on their boarding pass, which saves them from lengthy security checks.

As a follow up to the MOU signed between Emirates Airlines and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia in April 2016 for tourism cooperation between the two countries, the first roadshow was conducted in Kuwait and Dubai. There were five top destination management companies (DMC’s) and three top hotels from Indonesia and over 80 travel and tourism partners from the UAE. The event was graced by H.E. Arzaf Fachrezy Firman, Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia. He stated, “the idea of this event is to promote Indonesia for both sides including the sellers and buyers. There are six sellers from Indonesia and we hope that they can sell for the upcoming Ramadan season and the summer holidays. Indonesia is a diverse country within hours you can see the pristine beaches on one side and snow atop the mountains on another within just a few hours’ drive.” Nia Niscaya, Director of International Tourism Promotion in Europe, Middle East, America and Africa stated, “it is a follow up of the MOU signed by Emirates Airlines and the Government of Indonesia last year at ATM. Today we are joining together with Emirates Airlines to promote our destination and the second Emirates flight to Bali. We are aiming to promote the packages with Emirates for Ramadan and summer holidays for the Middle Eastern and expatriates in Kuwait and UAE, we earnestly hope that this industrial gathering will yield networking and results between tourism industries in the two countries. ”

Emirates World Club, a VIP-lifestyle event management company offering customized  solutions for travellers and UAE elite residents has launched in the Emirates. Creating bespoke and exceptional journey for its high-end clientele, Emirates World Club held its first networking event at Gaucho Restaurant that was attended by key decision makers and senior management from various sectors in the UAE. It was a night of socializing highlighted by world-class entertainment. Emirates World Club offers its members the privilege to experience some of UAE’s most luxurious networks of hotels, bar and restaurants, transportation, health and beauty services etc. Romika Fazeli, also the founder of RF Event & Model Management, a Dubai-based full service event planning and model/hostess management company, Emirates World Club was formed out of the successful events managed by RF Events for its clients in the oil and gas, marine, railway, luxury automotive, luxury retail and construction sectors. “One of the most important elements of RF Events over the past 10 years has been the development of a comprehensive list of over 6,000 senior managers and directors across different industries. Along with hosting the events for this varied clientele, I have developed great friendships with them so when they need assistance while visiting, moving, staying or operating in the UAE, they call my company to assist them. Thus the idea of establishing a VIP-lifestyle event management came into mind.  We provide exclusive services to the world’s elite. Our mission is to satisfy our members’ search for a more comfortable, worry free and luxurious life and an unforgettable experience for travelers whether booking a restaurant, bar and club, assisting their travels abroad or when relocating and even personal shopping. Our large variety …

Emirates will commence its scheduled daily flight between Dubai and Zagreb, expanding the airline’s network and further strengthening ties between the UAE and Croatia.Months of planning have paved the way for the launch of Emirates’ new service to Zagreb next week, which sees Croatia become the airline’s 39th destination in Europe. The new route will be an important one for Emirates as it will further strengthen the airline’s European footprint and tap into a new part of the continent – the south eastern part – thanks to Zagreb’s central location at the crossroads of Central Europe, the Mediterranean and the Balkans. Both business and leisure travellers from around the Emirates network will be able to enjoy the airline’s award-winning product and service on board the three-class Boeing 777-300ER offering a choice of eight Private Suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy. The new Zagreb flight is expected to boost the growing tourism demand for Croatia from around the Emirates network, especially the Middle East and Asia Pacific and also offer a convenient option for visiting friends and relatives travelling in from Australia and New Zealand. In just the month of June alone, Emirates has received bookings for flights to Zagreb from passengers originating from no fewer than 36 different countries around the world.

The airline’s award-winning double-decker A380s are the most customised aircraft of their kind in commercial service and feature unique innovations such as The Residence – a three-room living space for up to two guests, including a living room, a private shower-room, and a bedroom. The aircraft also boasts nine First Apartments, 70 Business Studios, a Lobby Lounge, and 415 Economy Smart Seats. Etihad Airways operates its fleet of Airbus A380s on flights from the UAE capital to London, Sydney, New York, and from 1 July, Paris. Employees from Etihad Airways and Airbus gathered at the European plane-maker’s Hamburg Finkenwerder plant in Germany, where the aircraft was officially handed over to the UAE national airline before commencing its delivery flight to Abu Dhabi.

Cebu Pacific Air will soon suspend its service to and from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Doha, Qatar. CEB will fly the last of its four-times-a-week service from Manila to Kuwait on June 13, 2017, and its Kuwait-Manila flight on June 14, 2017. The thrice-weekly Manila-Doha-Manila route will have its last flight on July 1, 2017; while CEB’s last flight from Manila to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will depart on July 2, 2017, while the Riyadh-Manila flight will leave on July 3, 2017. CEB will retain its other long-haul services to and from Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and Sydney, Australia, with a view to increasing frequencies to these destinations in the future. The airline also flies to 24 other international destinations across Asia and USA; as well as 37 domestic destinations. Passengers affected by the suspension of CEB service in Doha, Riyadh and Kuwait are being contacted. Options are being provided to minimize the disruption, which include rebooking passengers on flights with other airlines or on earlier travel dates with CEB; a full refund; or placing the full value of the ticket in a travel fund for future use.

Turkish Airlines launched new flights from various cities in the Middle East to key tourist destinations in Turkey. The new direct flights will be launched from the cities of Saudi Arabia including Jeddah now with connecting flights to Ankara and Trabzon; Riyadh with flights to Antalya and Trabzon; and from Medina to Ankara. Additional connecting flights include the cities of Dammam, Yanbu, and Al Qassim all travelling to Trabzon. Kuwait City is another city benefitting from the new flights and now connecting travellers from the country to Trabzon, Izmir, Antalya and Bodrum. Additionally passengers from the cities of Erbil, Baghdad and Sulaymaniyah in Iraq and Amman, Jordan will also be able to travel directly to their preferred destination in Turkey. Residents from Erbil will be connected to Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, and Antalya, whereas travellers from Baghdad, Sulaymaniyah and Amman will be provided flights with a direct connection to Antalya. Bilal Ekşi, Deputy Chairman and CEO, Turkish Airlines, said, “We are always looking to provide our passengers with the most convenient and time-efficient way of travel. Tourists worldwide have been continuously increasing due to the fantastic attractions and features provided by all our Turkish cities. As we move forward, our goal will be to create these direct flights from all the markets which we operate in globally so that travellers can now fly directly to their destination of choice.”

Emirates will be introducing a second daily A380 service between Dubai and Birmingham, beginning October 29, 2017. Flight EK39/40, currently operated by a Boeing 777, will now be operated by the Emirates A380, adding to the existing daily A380 already operating on the route. This means that from October, the airline will operate a twice-daily, all-A380 service to the Midlands. Emirates’ decision to use a double-daily A380 service was in part driven by huge demand from passengers to travel on the iconic aircraft. Since the first A380 service from Dubai to Birmingham launched on March 27, 2016, over 300,000 passengers have already flown on the aircraft between the two cities. The A380’s popularity is partly due to the fact that it features the widest individual in-seat economy class screens in the industry, measuring in at 13.3 inches and offers over 2,500 channels on the inflight entertainment system. And with Emirates offering A380 services to a number of key destinations in the East such as Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Perth, Singapore and Sydney, passengers travelling beyond Dubai have an increased opportunity to fly on the A380 on both legs of their journey.

Effective from July 1 2017, Emirates will provide an all-A380 service on its Beijing (PEK) and Shanghai (PVG) services when it upgrades the second daily flights, EK308/EK309 on its PEK route and EK304/305 on its PVG route, replacing the current Boeing 777-300ER operations. The move will increase capacity to both Beijing and Shanghai, offering Emirates passengers even more seamless A380-to-A380 connections between the two Chinese cities and over 30 international points, including 18 points in the UK and Europe, via its hub in Dubai. This upgrade strengthens Emirates’ overall mainland China offering, which also includes services to Guangzhou, Yinchuan and Zhengzhou. The additional seats on the routes will support more business and leisure travel departing from and arriving in China, while offering passengers an exceptional global travel experience. The popular Emirates A380, which offers up to 519 seats in a three class configuration on Chinese routes, now flies to seven North Asian cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul in South Korea and Narita, Japan.

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), the national carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is entering into an agreement with Expedia Affiliate Network (EAN) in the launch of Saudia Holidays to offer tailored, world-class travel packages to the airline’s passengers. Saudia, which carried more than 29 million passengers last year, and has a network of 86 domestic and international destinations, is launching Saudia Holidays to provide exceptional value and choice across the Kingdom and internationally. Through its agreement with EAN, Saudia Holidays will offer travellers access to more than 260,000 quality hotel accommodations in over 29,000 destinations, including Makkah, Jeddah, Riyadh, Dubai, London, Paris and New York. It will access EAN’s full range of preferential rates and deals, creating competitive pricing for Saudia Holidays’ customers.  EAN was selected because of its worldwide accommodation portfolio, its dynamic packaging strengths and the flexibility of its technology, which includes the ability for travelers to pay for a hotel reservation at the time of booking or upon arrival. Also key was EAN’s ability to offer a fully outsourced, turnkey solution in collaboration with Bahrain-based travel technology and services specialist TCIG. Together, the businesses’ responsibilities include building and maintaining the Saudia Holidays ecommerce website; the fulfilment of air, hotel and vehicle reservations; the operation of customer call centres; and the delivery of outstanding service to all Saudia Holidays customers.f