Friday, October 18

Tag: Air

Riyadh Air signs cooperation agreement with Turkish Airlines – Business Traveller
6Dec By adminNo Comments
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Riyadh Air signs cooperation agreement with Turkish Airlines – Business Traveller

Saudi national carrier Riyadh Air has signed a strategic cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Turkish Airlines. Accordingly, Riyadh Air said that guests of both airlines will be able “to take full advantage of each carrier’s worldwide network through a comprehensive interline and codeshare agreement that will allow customers to seamlessly connect between and combine sectors operated by either Riyadh Air or Turkish Airlines.” Although no firm date has been announced as to when this agreement, subject to regulatory approvals, will take effect, the Saudi carrier said that it hopes to activate it “as soon as possible” after it launches its operations in mid-2025. The cooperation agreement will also extend to the loyalty programmes of the two airlines. The MoU will facilitate me...
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Air Canada boosts Asia-Pacific schedule – Business Traveller
16Nov By adminNo Comments
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Air Canada boosts Asia-Pacific schedule – Business Traveller

Star Alliance carrier Air Canada has announced it is strategically boosting its Asia-Pacific network capacity with additional flights and larger aircraft beginning mid-December through to the end of next summer 2024. Vancouver-Hong Kong will see 11-weekly flights from 13 December to 29 February to support holiday and Lunar New Year travel, and 10-weekly flights from 1 March to 26 October. The Vancouver-Bangkok winter seasonal service will be extended, with four-weekly flights to 5 May, and daily service between 8 January and 28 February. Vancouver-Shanghai will remain a four-weekly 787-9 year-round service, but the Air Canada will upgrade the route to the higher-capacity 777-300ER aircraft between 1 December and 30 March. As previously announced, a new Vancouver-Singapore route will ...
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Industry bodies disagree over air fare and airport charge increases – Business Traveller
15Nov By adminNo Comments
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Industry bodies disagree over air fare and airport charge increases – Business Traveller

ACI EUROPE has published a rebuttal of recent claims by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showing that travellers in Europe are benefiting from air fare increases that are undercutting inflation. The European airport trade body said that while IATA states air fares only increased by +16 per cent as of June this year compared to 2019, “independent and authoritative data from RDC shows such increase actually standing at +38 per cent over the peak Summer months (Q3) – nearly two times the increase in the average consumer prices index (+20.8 per cent)”. ACI EUROPE also said that “IATA’s assertion that airport charges have been continuously increasing above inflation also does not stand scrutiny”. The body said that this assertion relies on “flawed data” from just two airport...
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Korean Air to add premium economy class – Business Traveller
9Nov By adminNo Comments
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Korean Air to add premium economy class – Business Traveller

South Korean flag carrier Korean Air will introduce a premium economy class product as it takes delivery of new Boeing 787 Dreamliners, the airline’s chief executive, Walter Cho, told media this week. The SkyTeam carrier already has 11 Boeing 787-9 long-haul aircraft in its current fleet, but is due to take delivery of nine more, plus 20 higher-capacity 787-10 Dreamliners over the coming years. In their current configuration, the Korean Air 787-9 Dreamliner seats 269 passengers – 24 in 1-2-1 business class and 245 in 3-3-3 economy class. A seat map for the 787-10 with the new premium economy seats has not been released yet, although Korean Air did say that the new cabin class would debut next year. Separately, on 9 November, Korean Air announced that it would resume its services to K...
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Air New Zealand suspends Seoul and Hobart routes – Business Traveller
7Nov By adminNo Comments
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Air New Zealand suspends Seoul and Hobart routes – Business Traveller

On 7 November, Auckland-based Star Alliance member Air New Zealand said it now has a clearer understanding of the Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engine maintenance schedule changes and the impact it will have on its passengers and operations. As a result, the airline will suspend its services to Seoul in South Korea, and Hobart in Tasmania, Australia, next year. In July 2023, Pratt & Whitney disclosed a condition affecting the maintenance plan for the Geared Turbofan (GTF) jet engine fleet, with up to 700 engines globally to be impacted over the next three years, with the effect on global aviation felt most keenly in the coming year. “Air New Zealand has 17 A320/321NEO aircraft in its fleet of 108 aircraft, serving Australia, the Pacific Islands and domestic New Zealand. While this...
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Air India to launch Melbourne-Mumbai route – Business Traveller
2Nov By adminNo Comments
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Air India to launch Melbourne-Mumbai route – Business Traveller

Star Alliance carrier Air India will launch a new Mumbai-Melbourne route in December, Melbourne airport has confirmed. This will be the first nonstop route between Victoria and Mumbai. Air India confirmed it would operate three flights a week beginning on 15 December, with potential to increase as demand grows. The new Mumbai service will be operated by Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft and will supplement Air India’s existing daily flights between Melbourne and Delhi. Last financial year Melbourne welcomed more Indian visitors than any other Australian city with 433,000 Indian residents flying in and out of Victoria’s international gateway in the 12 months to June. Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation Jim Parashos said the announcement highlighted the benefits of open skies agreement...
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Air New Zealand unveils new premium check-in at Auckland airport – Business Traveller
27Oct By adminNo Comments
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Air New Zealand unveils new premium check-in at Auckland airport – Business Traveller

Star Alliance member Air New Zealand has transformed its premium check-in area at Auckland airport, which officially reopened this week. Premium check-in provides frequent flyers, Koru members, and premium cabin customers with an exclusive space to start their journey, allowing them to check-in and drop their bags with swift service and minimal waiting times. The space has been fully redesigned to deliver an enhanced travel experience for customers from the moment they step through the door. The new design features sweeping timber curves imitating the contour of a bird’s wing in motion to help guide customers through their check-in journey. Folded ceiling battens illustrating a stylised nest pattern help soften the area acoustically and illuminated feather motifs, visible between the...
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Air France’s Paris CDG-New York JFK services to take on “iconic Concorde flight numbers” – Business Traveller
27Oct By adminNo Comments
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Air France’s Paris CDG-New York JFK services to take on “iconic Concorde flight numbers” – Business Traveller

Customers flying on Air France’s key Paris CDG-New York JFK route may note a change to the flight numbers from next week. The carrier has decided to reassign current flights AF015 (JFK to CDG) and AF022 (CDG to JFK) as AF001 and AF002 respectively. The iconic flight numbers were previously assigned to Concorde services until the supersonic aircraft was retired in 2003. The move takes effect from 29 October, as part of Air France’s 90th anniversary celebrations. Air France gears up for 90th anniversary Business Traveller recently reviewed the premium economy service on flight AF022, and the carrier’s new business class on flight AF015 – to read both reviews, see: British Airways previously assigned its all-business class London City-New York JFK route (which was cancelled in 2020) with ...
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Gulf Air to begin flights to China in 2024 – Business Traveller
26Oct By adminNo Comments
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Gulf Air to begin flights to China in 2024 – Business Traveller

Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air has confirmed that it will begin flights to China from January 2024. The carrier will operate to two cities in China – Guangzhou and Shanghai – from its hub of Bahrain International airport. “China is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and a global tourism market. It is key to our strategy of calibrated network growth. These flights will offer greater choice and flexible travel experiences for passengers and create new pipelines for trade, tourism and collaboration, benefitting both nations,” said Jeffrey Goh, chief executive officer of Gulf Air Group Holding. The flights will be operated using its Boeing 787 Dreamliner in a two-class configuration of business and economy. The frequency or schedule of its flights to China hasn’t yet been anno...
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Emirates to codeshare with Batik Air Malaysia – Business Traveller
25Oct By adminNo Comments
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Emirates to codeshare with Batik Air Malaysia – Business Traveller

Dubai-based carrier Emirates has announced a codeshare with Batik Air Malaysia that would allow Emirates customers to access five domestic Malaysian cities and three regional South East Asia points operated by Batik Air via Kuala Lumpur International airport (KLIA). Emirates will place its code on Batik Air-operated flights to Penang, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Langkawi, Johor Bahru, Denpasar, Jakarta and Singapore. Emirates customers will also have the option to stopover in Kuala Lumpur before proceeding to their final destination. The airline will gain access to eight additional destinations operated by Batik Air via Kuala Lumpur for interline transfers. Emirates has been operating flights to Malaysia since 1996, and currently has 21 weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur using a mix of Boeing 77...
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