Category: Aviation

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has marked the opening of the new runway at Velana International Airport in the Maldives by operating one of its Airbus A380 aircraft to the island nation. The new 3,400 metre-long and 60-metre-wide runway is the first in the Maldives capable of supporting an A380. The special Etihad operation was piloted by First Officer, Ali Ahuson, who is from The Maldives. Etihad Airways’ A380 features a total capacity of 496 seats – up to two guests in The Residence, nine First Apartments, 70 Business Studios and 415 Economy Smart Seats.

Emirates will operate a special one-off A380 service on 23 September to the capital city of Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in celebratory participation of the country’s 88th National Day. “The UAE enjoys a strong relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through fraternal ties and constructive cooperation, as well as a shared vision for the future. Bringing the Emirates A380 is a fitting way to support the National Day celebrations, and for customers in Riyadh to try the superior A380 product for themselves. King Khalid International Airport is also well equipped to handle the A380 and we ... Read more

SpiceJet announced the launch of direct flights from Guwahati to Patna, Hyderabad and Pakyong in Sikkim. The daily non-stop flight services on the Guwahati-Patna-Guwahati route and Guwahati-Hyderabad-Guwahati route would commence on October 10. The Guwahati-Pakyong-Guwahati flight service would commence operations from October 16. The Chief Marketing Officer of SpiceJet, Debojo Maharshi handed over the ticket and boarding pass to Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister of Assam, making the formal announcement of the new launch. This is a golden opportunity. The new flights will not only boost trade, education and health, but will also facilitate higher footfall of tourists from other states ... Read more

Celebi Airport Services, a global service provider in ground handling services, has won the bid for the ground handling services of Kannur International Airport (KIAL). . This will be Celebi’s sixth airport in India including Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore, which they won in June 2018. The other airports they are handling the ground operations in India are Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kochi. Ground handling services include baggage-handling, aircraft cleaning and servicing, loading and unloading of food and beverages and movement of cargo, among others. Çelebi has won the bid on the basis of a highly competitive international bidding process, ... Read more

  India’s leading airline announces a 24-hours only sale with title “Fly With The Best”, giving travellers the chance to experience one of the country’s best airline at highly affordable fares! The sale fares are available in all three classes at discounts of up to 75% relative to non-sale fares, starting at Rs 999 for Economy class, Rs 2,199 for Premium Economy, and Rs 5,499 for Business Class, inclusive of taxes and fees. In Economy class, the fares are available for both Economy Lite and Economy Standard fares. Bookings are open from 00:01 hours of 19th September 2018, for travel ... Read more

IndiGo has launched its 5th service to Singapore with the commencement of additional services from Kolkata and Tiruchirappalli. The new flights are designed to cater to business and leisure travellers who are constantly on the lookout for new and affordable flying options. “We are pleased to operate our first daily non-stop flights between Kolkata-Singapore and Tiruchirappalli-Singapore starting September 15. IndiGo has completed 12 years of successful operations in the India market as a low cost carrier, and adding new flights to its network will further augment the connectivity that we aspire to provide to our customers. It is our constant endeavour ... Read more

Emirates airline’s fully-enclosed First Class Private Suites, launched in November last year on its Boeing 777 aircraft, has been awarded gold by Future Travel Experience (FTE) in the “Up in the Air” category. The FTE Global Awards celebrate the outstanding efforts of organizations that have gone the extra mile to improve the passenger experience both on the ground and in-flight. The “Best ‘Up in the Air’ Initiative” category recognizes the top three initiatives that have helped to improve the passenger experience and/or significantly enhance operational efficiency during the in-flight phase of the travel process. The awards ceremony took place at ... Read more

Jet Airways have cancelled their flights to and from Hong Kong on 16th September 2018, due to the Typhoon Mangkhut. It was tweeted on their official twitter page. In a subsequent tweet it has announced that the flights on 16th have been rescheduled for 17th September. “#9Wupdate Consequent to adverse weather at Hong Kong due to #TyphoonMangkhut, our flights to/from Hong Kong have been rescheduled for Sept 17, 2018. Kindly check your flight status here for latest updates”, reads the tweet. Furthermore, they have informed that all the applicable change and cancellation charges will be waived off on confirmed flights ... Read more

Jet Airways is all set to introduce the country’s first non-stop service between Mumbai and Manchester effective 05th November, 2018. Jet Airways will deploy a wide body A330-200 with 254 seating for the service, which will now operate five days a week including Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The airline’s latest service connecting India via its commercial capital, with Manchester will further strengthen Jet Airways’ connect with the United Kingdom (UK). Manchester will become the 21st international addition to the Jet Airways network and with the introduction of this new flight – the carrier’s 5th non-stop service to/from the ... Read more

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) has announced that the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah has been selected as the latest flight destination by, a reputed European tour operator. From October 24, 2018, LuxairTours will fly every Wednesday directly to Ras Al Khaimah airport from Luxembourg, offering tourists from European markets a direct, more accessible and hassle-free journey to one of the fastest growing holiday destinations in the region. “As we are on track to exceed our projection of 1 million visitors by the end of the year, we’re very pleased to see an ongoing growth of strategic partnerships ... Read more

Dubai International Airport (DXB) has retained its position as the world’s number one international airport for the fourth consecutive year in 2017 with annual passenger traffic exceeding 88.2 million passengers. The airport connects 240 destinations around the world through about 140 airlines and is expected to serve 90.2 million passengers in 2018, said Dubai Airports’ CEO Paul Griffiths, providing an update on the first half of 2018. Of the two runways of DXB, one needs a total refurbishment and during a 45-day period starting in April 2019, the runway will be closed for a full redevelopment programme. “We are working ... Read more

SpiceJet is all set to launch its dedicated air cargo services from September 18. The carrier said it would operate the cargo services under the brand name ‘SpiceXpress’ and has a detailed plan for domestic as well as international routes. SpiceJet would be the first schedule domestic airline to start dedicated air cargo services in India. A Boeing 737-700 plane has been inducted as the first freighter aircraft. The airline would launch SpiceXpress operations on September 18 and the first flight would be from the national capital to Bengaluru. The aircraft, taken on operating lease, has capacity for 20 tonnes of cargo. “To begin ... Read more

Etihad Airways has launched a new hand baggage only ‘Deal Fare’ across selected destinations, allowing travellers to purchase lower fares in Economy Class if no checked baggage is required. The ‘Deal Fare’ includes a complimentary carry-on baggage allowance of 7kg and is available on flights between Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Azerbaijan. “After a successful trial of the ‘Deal Fare’ late last year, purchasing behaviour demonstrated guests appreciate having more choice and like to be able to select the travel option that best meets their needs. We are enhancing our product offering to align with ... Read more

Emirates celebrated a double win this week at the Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Travel Awards, after being named ‘Best Business Airline’ and ‘Best Airline – Long-Haul Holiday’. The airline won the prestigious accolades based on votes from Condé Nast Traveller readers’ for the best travel experiences in the world. The Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Travel Awards 2018 questionnaire ran online from 4th March 2018 to 3rd May 2018. “We are honoured to have been recognised by the readers of Condé Nast Traveller as one of the world’s best airlines. We are committed to delivering the best possible experience both in ... Read more

Happy news for people of Trivandrum!. Budget airlines, AirAsia and GoAir to start operations from Trivandrum. The airlines have expressed interest in starting domestic service from Trivandrum International Airport. Air Asia will start services to Bengaluru, while Go Air will have daily flights to Mumbai. Currently, Air Asia do not have service from Trivandrum. However, they had operated from Trivandrum during the floods, when Kochi International Airport was temporary closed. Go Air is the 5th largest airline operating in India. Meanwhile, joint venture of Singapore Airline and Tata Sons, Vistara Airlines, has also expressed interest to have flights to Chennai ... Read more