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A recent enhancement to Emirates’ inflight connectivity means that all Emirates passengers in every class of travel can enjoy some form of free connectivity once they sign up to Emirates Skywards. The development has resulted in an additional 30,000 Economy Class passengers connecting to complimentary onboard Wi-Fi every week. Emirates has constantly been at the forefront of inflight Wi-Fi developments and has to date invested more than US$ 300 million dollars into onboard connectivity.

Qantas will boost its international network with extra flights, more aircraft and new routes as it restores capacity in line with strong travel demand and the broader recovery of the aviation industry. From late October 2023*, the national carrier will add around one million seats to its international network over 12 months compared to its current schedule, offering customers more choice to popular destinations across Asia, the United States and the Pacific.

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, has announced that it has expanded its low-fare corporate travel offering to the Amadeus Travel Platform, with an unrivalled network of over 3,000 daily flights to over 235 destinations across 36 countries available for Amadeus’ extensive B2B customer base to book now. With record inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, it is more important now than ever that businesses manage their bottom line and with more and more companies and clients returning to in-person meetings, navigating the cost of travel is a fundamental aspect of that. However, businesses can rest assured that their travel costs won’t break the bank with Ryanair’s industry leading low fares connecting key corporate hub cities across Europe with regular morning and evening flights to ensure convenient corporate travel options and with the best on-time performance of all the major European airlines.

Air Canada has announced it will begin non-stop, year-round service between Toronto and Yellowknife in December. The new, three-times weekly service will provide convenient connections between eastern Canada and the capital of the Northwest Territories. Customers will also be able to seamlessly connect onward from Yellowknife on Air Canada’s interline partner, Canadian North. “The North has a magical attraction and Air Canada is pleased to make it easier for customers to visit Yellowknife and beyond, beginning at a time when the Northern Lights are on full display.

Wizz Air, Albania’s largest airline and most environmentally sustainable airline globally*, announces today further expansion from Albania, allocating yet another aircraft to its Tirana base. The state-of-the-art A321neo will both increase the airline’s capacity and provide a boost to the local economy. This newest addition is enabling the launch of two unique direct routes to Bremen and Valencia, starting from winter 2023, as well as increased frequency on ten routes. Another unique route to Thessaloniki will start as early as August 2023. The tickets are already available at wizzair.com or on the Wizz Air’s mobile app.

FlyDubai will operate direct flights to Cagliari, Sardinia’s regional capital, on three days a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) from June 22 with return fares starting from AED2,600 . Coupled with this, UAE citizens can stay in Italy for up to 90 days visa-free. With the goal of building tiers between the two countries, Sardinia offers a raft of outdoor activities, cultural experiences and gastronomic tours which showcase the ‘hidden gems’ that the island has to offer.

flydubai, the Dubai-based carrier, unveils its latest premium business class seat, offering passengers added comfort, privacy and an exceptional onboard experience. The Business Suite, designed exclusively for single-aisle aircraft, is the latest evolution in flydubai’s Business Class offering which will see 10 suites introduced to a number of the carrier’s newest aircraft before the end of 2023. The new seat will offer all passengers in Business Class direct aisle access, which rivals the Business Class experience on board many wide-body aircraft.

he World’s Best Airline has opened the new Al Mourjan Business Lounge at Hamad International Airport (HIA) named ‘The Garden’. The lounge overlooks ‘The ORCHARD’, surrounded by renowned retailers and restaurants, while offering uniquely designed relaxation spaces and areas to socialise and indulge in a scenic masterpiece. An exclusive sanctuary available for Qatar Airways Premium Passengers, The Garden stretches over an area of 7,390 square metres, and can accommodate up to 707 passengers. It features 24 quiet spaces, each designed to offer optimum relaxation available free of charge for the first six hours, and also features seven spa treatment rooms. Accessible for passengers travelling in Premium cabin, the new lounge offers a range of premium facilities that fulfil the needs of business, leisure and family travellers with numerous dining options, relaxation rooms, a fitness studio, pedicure & manicure stations, spa facilities, dedicated private spaces, recreational areas and a nursery. The lounge has been influenced by modern aesthetics incorporating natural light in its distinct design, providing passengers with an immersive experience reflecting The ORCHARD below.

Emirates today announced it will launch a new daily service from Dubai to Montréal, starting 5 July. Montréal becomes Emirates’ second gateway in Canada, complementing its passenger services to Toronto, which have been operating to Ontario’s capital city since 2007. The launch of services to Montréal comes as the UAE and Canada aim to deepen economic cooperation between the two nations and stimulate benefits to the aviation and tourism sectors, in addition to enhancing trade flows and commercial links. The daily flights to the new destination will help cater to the huge demand for direct flights between Dubai and Canada, particularly to its two largest metropolitan hubs, and provide more choice for travellers when flying to Canada.

Qatar Airways flights to Birmingham, England will resume on 6 July 2023, operating daily throughout the summer season. The flight will be operated with the Boeing 787-8 with 254 seats: 22 Business Class and 232 Economy Class seats. This resumption will come at an opportune time for travellers attending the British Grand Prix taking place on 9 July 2023 at the legendary Silverstone circuit.

Etihad Airways, the award-winning national airline of the United Arab Emirates, launches new Wi-Fly ‘Chat’ and ‘Surf’ packages making it easier than ever to stay connected, chat with family and friends, and browse the web while flying on Etihad’s wide-body fleet. Everyone flying on Etihad will benefit from complementary ‘Chat’ messaging throughout their entire flight by signing in with Etihad Guest membership or simply enrolling online before flying to benefit immediately. The free chat feature includes access to popular messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, and WeChat to name a few.

Following the recently expanded air services agreement between the UAE and Canada, Etihad Airways has announced it will increase flights to Toronto. On 30 May, Etihad Airways will introduce an additional weekly flight between Abu Dhabi and Toronto, on top of its current six-per-week flight schedule, to offer travellers a daily connection.

Lufthansa Group Business Class passengers, status customers and Star Alliance Airlines travelers with lounge entitlement who start their journey at the capital’s Berlin Brandenburg Airport have reason to rejoice: On April 3, the new Lufthansa Senator Lounge and the new Lufthansa Business Lounge will open their doors there and impress with a completely new lounge design. With its modern room concept and a steam fireplace, the Senator Lounge offers the best conditions for feeling good, relaxing and working. A new digital art concept invites lounge guests to help design the art in the lounge themselves via app.

Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, touched down in Kolkata as the airline made its much-anticipated return to the city. With a total of seven weekly nonstop services, the airline will once again connect India’s financial capital, Kolkata, with the world through Abu Dhabi.

Etihad Airways has launched reciprocal interline partnerships with three new airline partners – Philippine Airlines (PAL), Austrian Airlines (OS) and Airlink South Africa (4Z), while re-launching interline links with Biman Bangladesh and codeshares with Air Seychelles (HM) and ITA Airways (AZ). The deal means customers of all airlines involved will enjoy enhanced connectivity to destinations across each other’s networks, can book on a single ticket and only have to check in once at the start of their flight, with their baggage checked through to their end destination.

flydubai last week touched down in Milan Bergamo Airport (BGY) to a water cannon salute and warm welcome by the airport officials. This marks the start of flydubai’s five-times weekly operations to the city, growing its network in Italy to four points including Catania, Naples and Pisa. Flights to Milan Bergamo Airport (BGY) started on 10 March with a five-times weekly service. The carrier will increase the frequency to a daily service from 18 April 2023. Emirates will codeshare on these routes and the flights will operate from Terminal 3 at Dubai International (DXB), offering travellers more seamless connections through Dubai’s international aviation hub.

Emirates has boosted operations by 31% (total ASKMs) since the start of its financial year and has further plans to ramp up seat capacity in its latest published northern summer schedule starting 26 March 2023. In the past months, the airline has planned and executed the rapid growth of its network operations - reintroducing services to 5 cities; launching flights to 1 new destination (Tel Aviv), adding 251 weekly flights onto existing routes; and continuing the roll-out of service enhancements in the air and on the ground. Emirates continues to scale up its A380 operations with the reintroduction of the iconic double-decker across its network: Glasgow (from 26 March), Casablanca from (15 April), Beijing (from 01 May), Shanghai (from 04 June), Nice (from 1 June), Birmingham (from 1 July), Kuala Lumpur (from 01 August), and Taipei

Virgin Atlantic is formally joining SkyTeam, the global airline alliance. The move means Virgin Atlantic becomes SkyTeam’s first and only UK member airline, enhancing the alliance’s transatlantic network and services to and from Heathrow and Manchester airports. Virgin Atlantic customers will now benefit from a consistent, seamless customer experience, across 1,000 global destinations in over 170 countries. Customers can conveniently book every SkyTeam member flight on a single ticket, checking in with baggage just once through to their final destination.

Emirates and Philippine Airlines (PAL) have signed an interline agreement to boost connectivity for passengers of both air carriers to new points on each other’s networks via Manila and Dubai, using a single ticket and one baggage policy. Now in effect, the reciprocal interline partnership provides Emirates’ passengers access to 19 Philippine domestic destinations operated by Philippine Airlines, including Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Cotabato, Davao, Iloilo, Kalibo and more, as well as two Asian regional points via Manila. Philippine Airlines’ passengers also benefit from access to Emirates’ global network and seamlessly connect to 21 cities operated by Emirates beyond Dubai to European destinations such as London, Rome, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Paris and Kuwait, as well as to Jeddah and other points in the Middle East , Africa and India.

Emirates has announced that it will boost its operations to and from Cairo to 28 weekly flights, effective 29 October, 2023. The additional flights provide more options for customers to connect to Dubai and beyond with enhanced schedules and the opportunity to enjoy more of the Emirates A380’s signature experience. The operational boost will see Emirates operating four daily flights, thrice daily on the A380 and a daily service on the Boeing 777. Cairo has the highest deployment of Emirates A380 services in the MENA region, outside of Dubai. The additional services and upgrade of seat capacity on the Dubai-Cairo route will help meet high demand to and from Cairo and support the country’s tourism revival with the addition of more than 2,200 weekly seats in each direction.