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One of the most common frustrations among travelers on long- or short-haul flights appears to be badly behaved children. A survey carried out among 2,200 travelers by website TripAdvisor, shows that 37 percent of Britons would pay more to guarantee a peaceful flight without children. Around 34 percent said that children shouldn’t be allowed to fly in first-class cabins, while a fifth of flyers…
DUBAI, U.A.E.,2nd August 2012: Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, continues its network expansion with the announcement of the start of daily services to Phuket in Thailand. Phuket, the largest island in Thailand located in the Andaman Sea, will, from 10th December, become Emirates’second destination in Thailand. Operated by a three-class Airbus aircraft, EK378 will depart Dubai at…
Virgin America partnered with Banana Republic to design new uniforms for its 2,000 in-flight and airport crew members that will debut Aug. 8. The uniforms will feature a fresh, modern look with aviation details and a palette inspired by the airline’s own inventive service style and signature cabin design. The new looks will be unveiled on Virgin America flights and at airports nationwide on August…
Flagship Australian airline Qantas is ditching BlackBerry for Apple’s iPhone and rolling out in-flight iPad entertainment streaming, dealing a blow to the US firm’s rivals. Qantas said it was switching 1,300 employee phones from Canada-based Research in Motion’s BlackBerry to the popular Apple device after a “large majority” of workers expressed a preference for the iPhone. “Transition from the…
Virgin Australia’s cabin staff will be taking part in an etiquette program branded Elevate to improve their posture, language, and knowledge of wine and food. The crew have also been asked to stop calling passengers “mate” unless the individual customer has specifically requested it in documented form as a member of the airline’s frequent flyers program. According to the Sunday Telegraph, one flight…
Latvian flag-carrier airBaltic on Monday announced plans to offer castles in the air by selling real estate to passengers as they fly. Interested travellers can buy a voucher for 30 euros ($36), which the airline says will save them up to 9,500 euros when they sign on the dotted line for a real estate purchase with a partner broker. The company made headlines last December when it began selling cars…
Qatar Airways has launched a $1.2 million joint tourism promotional campaign with the Government of Western Australia to coincide with the launch of the airline’s new thrice-weekly flights to Perth. While the Gold Coast in Eastern Australia is a favourite tourist spot for Middle East vacationers, not many people are familiar with Perth and the attractions in Western Australia. The two-year agreement between…
Emirates Airlines marked its 25 years of service to the UK with a special Airbus A380 flight to Gatwick Airport. This was the first time that a 500+ seater A380 landed in London's second biggest airport. Emirates started its UK operation on 6th July 1987 with a daily service from London Gatwick to Dubai. Today, the airline offers 16 daily flights from six UK airports – with three daily services from Gatwick…
Thai Airways have just launched their Facebook page for the Middle East and to encourage users to "like" their page they are giving away a vacation for two. You stand a chance to win two tickets to Bangkok from Dubai with a two nights' stay at a 4-star hotel in Bangkok if you "like" the Thai Airways Middle East page and answer a simple question. Participants must be free to travel from Dubai to Bangkok…
Emirates Airlines will be adding 73 additional flights to Jeddah and Madinah to facilitate passengers going to Saudi Arabia during Ramadan for Umrah. Religious tourism is at its peak between Ramadan and Hajj and the addition of 73 extra flights will help Emirates transport passengers from across its network to Saudi Arabia. Usually there is a big influx of Ramadan visitors to Makkah and Madinah from Indonesia,…
Starting from August 8 2012, the rapidly expanding low cost carrier, flydubai, will now be flying to its fifth destination in Iraq – Basra. The airline already flies to Baghdad, Erbil, Najaf and Sulaimaniyah. Basra is the main port of Iraq and is a bustling trading hub. Trade between Iraq and the UAE in 2011 was of over US$4.5 billion. flydubai's CEO, Ghaith Al Ghaith, said: "We identified Iraq as one of…
LONDON- Air Canada has announced it is to extend seasonal non-stop service between London Heathrow and St. John’s, Newfoundland this summer, operating flights daily from 18 May 2012 until 27 October 2012, four weeks longer than originally scheduled. “We are pleased to extend the only direct daily service to St. John’s from the UK,” said Robert Atkinson, General Manager – Sales UK, Ireland and Northern…
DUBAI, UAE - Emirates airline announced today that it has repaid a US$ 550 million sukuk bond in full on its maturity date 18 June, 2012. The sukuk bond, listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, was originally issued in 2005 with a seven year term. The US$ 550 million sukuk bond was the first of its kind to be issued by Emirates representing its commitment to utilising a diverse range of funding tools,…
Chef Joël Robuchon‘s only New York outpost of his Michelin-starred L’Atelier empire will be shuttering its doors this summer. The Four Seasons Hotel New York has announced that it will ‘amicably part ways’ with the French chef as of June 30, whose restaurant L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon opened in the hotel in 2006. The restaurant earned a second Michelin star last year. The closure of his New York location leaves…
Emirates airline, one of the world's largest airlines, has signed a contract with local UAE firm Excel, based in Ajman, supported by Gunzburger Steigtechnik, out of Germany, to develop an additional multi-aircraft docking system in their Dubai engineering facility. This new operation, located in hangar E, will be in addition to the four docking systems already in place in four of…
Airline recorded 100 per cent on-time performance for outbound flights from Domodedovo Airport in April 2012 Sharjah, UAE; May 30, 2012: Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, announced today that it has been ranked first for the punctuality of its outbound flights from Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow. Figures released by the airport show that…
Geneva, SWITZERLAND – Qatar Airways today announced a strategic alliance with fractional jet programme provider Flexjet to offer customers access to over 5,000 destinations beyond the Doha-based airline’s four North American gateways. Flexjet is aircraft manufacturer Bombardier’s fractional ownership business, providing access to more than 80 modern executive aircraft. Aircraft available as part of the…
Zagreb, CROATIA – Qatar Airways today celebrated the launch of its 30th European destination with daily scheduled flights to the Croatian capital Zagreb. A traditional water salute at Zagreb Airport marked the arrival of Flight QR947 from Doha, the airline’s capital in the State of Qatar. The new route, operated via Budapest, also represents the first passenger flight to Croatia from the Gulf region. Qatar…
