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British billionaire Richard Branson strutted his stuff as an AirAsia flight attendant Sunday — complete with fishnet stockings and figure-hugging red pencil skirt. His star turn on the flight from Australia’s Perth to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur came after he lost a Grand Prix bet with the Malaysian budget carrier’s founder. Virgin boss Branson agreed with AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes…
Tiger Airways will launch seven weekly services to Yogyakarta and Bandung from July 1st and August 1st 2013 respectively. Ho Yuen Sang, managing director, Tiger Airways Singapore, said: “Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, and is one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets. “Jakarta airport is currently experiencing some air traffic congestion, with more than 40…
Norwegian Long Haul has signed a memorandum of understanding with Virgin Atlantic. The agreement enables Norwegian to tap into Virgin Atlantic’s expertise on long-haul operations, while Virgin Atlantic’s instructors will receive pilot training on board Norwegian’s brand new 787-8 Dreamliner. Norwegian’s first Dreamliner is due for delivery at the end of June. The cooperation with Virgin Atlantic will…
Etihad Airways emerged a big winner at the Middle East edition of the World Travel Awards this week, sweeping up awards in categories for leading airline, best first class service and top cabin crew. Held in Dubai over the weekend, the regional awards for Middle East handed out gongs across dozens of categories recognizing the best in hotels, spas, rental car companies, travel agencies and tourist…
Sir Richard Branson has hired Dame Vivienne Westwood for a brand new project, designing a range of updated, green uniforms for his Virgin Atlantic staff. Branson was keen to stress the importance of Virgin’s rock ‘n’ roll ethos when it came to the choice of designer: “when we were choosing the designer for this project, we wanted to work with a group of people who share our spirit of adventure, who believe…
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has launched an innovative online mapping tool developed in cooperation with LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, to make it easier to message new contacts, arrange meetings and be more productive while travelling. The “Etihad Mapped-Out” tool is available at etihadmappedout.com and offers professionals on LinkedIn the ability…
United Airlines is honoring Earth Month by announcing its new goal to save 85 million gallons of fuel in 2013, equivalent to 828,750 metric tons of CO2 or roughly $275 million dollars at current fuel prices. Fuel is the airline's single largest expense and its primary focus environmentally, and the company has several initiatives in place that will allow it to achieve its fuel efficiency goal. "We are…
Istanbul, Turkey; April 29, 2013: Turkish Airlines, the national carrier of Turkey and Europe’s best airline, has started flying to Aqaba, Jordan as its 221st destination, connecting Middle East travellers to the largest country network for any airline in the world. Turkish Airlines currently operates flights from Istanbul to Aqaba 3 times a week, the second destination for the airline in Jordan, where…
Virgin America has launched a new mile-high flirting service that will allow travelers to send their onboard crush a drink using the in-flight entertainment system. The new seat-to-seat feature is being launched on all flights within the US, and is the latest innovation out of the Virgin brand to encourage flirting at 35,000 feet. The same Red in-flight entertainment system already offers an in-flight…
Garuda Indonesia will start domestic flights this year, boosting connectivity among Indonesia’s cities and islands in this far flung archipelago, said Emirsyah Satar, CEO of Garuda Indonesia. Garuda has made Medan, capital of North Sumatra its secondary hub. Garuda has launched flights from Medan to Palembang, Padang, and Batam and on May 1st, new flights will be from Medan to Pekanbaru (Riau) and Banda…
Ryanair has announced an extension of its reserved seating service, moving from six to eight rows on all aircraft with the addition of rows 32 and 33. The move will allow up to 45 passengers per flight to pre-book their preferred seats on eight reserved rows. Ryanair’s optional reserved seating service, which includes priority boarding, allows passengers to reserve seats in the front or rear of the…
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has confirmed it will take a stake in Jet Airways of India, ending weeks of speculation about a possible deal. Etihad said the move would allow it to take a bigger foothold in the growing Indian market. It follows a series of equity investments around the world from the ambitious carrier, with Etihad also having taken stakes in Aer Lingus, Seychelles Airways, airberlin,…
Vienna, Austria – Qatar Airways’ impeccable safety standards across the airline’s entire operations have been recognised by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on the 10th anniversary of IATA’s Operational Safety Audit Program (IOSA). The safety audit is IATA’s stringent mandatory auditing program that assesses the operational management and control systems of member airlines worldwide and…
German flag-carrier Lufthansa has been forced to cancel the vast majority of its flights today after a strike by ground staff. Just 32 flights were scheduled to depart, out of the 1,700 originally planned. German airports affected are Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf and Hamburg. Only 20 of the airline’s planned 1,650 short-haul flights are to go ahead, while 12 of its 73 scheduled long-haul…
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has asked leading Dutch designer Hella Jongerius to revitalise its World Business Class cabin interior across the fleet. With a color palette based on different shades of blue, a polka dot motif, panels, curtains and cushions are meant to warm up the cabin and help passengers feel more at ease during their flight. The cabin will also feature new full-flat seats that can be reclined…
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has confirmed its first test flight to check a new battery system on its flagship 787 Dreamliner went “according to plan”. Boeing has been forced to redesign the battery on the aircraft after a series of malfunctions saw the entire fleet of 50 Dreamliners presently in operation grounded earlier this year. The American firm said in a statement it would analyse the data and…
Low-cost carrier easyJet has launched its first flight between London Gatwick and Moscow. This is the first time Moscow has been served from London Gatwick airport, with the airline expecting to fly more than a quarter of a million passengers between London and Moscow annually. Four daily flights will depart at 07:00 and arrive at Moscow Domededovo Airport at 13:50 with the return flight departing…
To celebrate National Noodle Month, Cathay Pacific is inviting fans to submit a noodle dish that will be featured on their in-flight menu. Until April 19, fans can submit their noodle recipe on Cathay’s Facebook page. Dishes will be judged by Canadian food and travel blogger Mijune Park; celebrity Chinese chef Martin Yan of San Francisco restaurant M.Y. China; and chef Sang Yoon of gastropub brand…
