Nile Air Announces New Route To Ha’il In Saudi Arabia

Egyptian airline Nile Air announced the launch of a new route connecting Cairo with the Saudi Arabian city of Ha’il from June 15, 2017.

The new route complements Nile Air’s existing and extensive network to Saudi Arabia, with services to eleven destinations in the Kingdom and offers its passengers a convenient access point to north-western Saudi Arabia.

With the addition of this service, Nile Air will offer a total of 14 scheduled services between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which solidifies its position as having the most extensive network of routes between both countries.

The new three times weekly route will operate every Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday, starting from June 2017 to coincide with the start of the Summer travel season.

Ahmed Aly, Nile Air’s Chief Executive Officer, said:

“As the largest private airline in Egypt, Nile Air is committed to providing our guests with greater convenience and options when traveling between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The addition of Ha’il to our network reaffirms our continued commitment to serving the Egyptian community in the Kingdom but also supporting inbound tourism and business travel from Egypt.

“We anticipate our service will strongly contribute to the economy of Egypt and provide our guests with quality service & product they have come to expect from us.”

PayPal collaborates with Thai Airways for ‘more seamless’ bookings

PayPal, a leading global online payments company, has announced its collaboration with national airline Thai Airways (THAI).

PayPal said foreign travellers looking to travel to Thailand or purchase tickets on THAI can now do so in a more convenient way through PayPal.

It said the collaboration is part of PayPal’s commitment to help local Thai merchants gain access to the global economy.

“For Thailand’s travel industry, the opportunity lies in better serving the needs of the growing group of Connected Travellers, who expects a smooth online journey from the planning to the final booking of the trip,” the company said in a press release. “This is especially important for Thailand, a major tourist destination that has seen a steady

increase in numbers since 1997 and which recorded an all-time high of over 30 million visitors in 2016.

“This collaboration with Thai Airways will provide travellers with a faster and more convenient way of booking their travels online.”

Teerapol Chotichanapibal, THAI executive vice president, said the travel industry is rapidly changing, with more tourists looking to make their travel arrangements online, either through their laptops or their phones and tablets.

“This is apparent through our integration of PayPal as a payment solution on our online platform, as we’ve seen increases in transaction volume from travellers coming from Germany (19 per cent), Italy (10 per cent) and the United States (5 per cent).”

Rahul Shinghal, general manager for PayPal Southeast Asia, said Thailand is well known for its vibrant tourism industry.

However, he said as travellers evolve so must businesses.

“Today’s digital traveller is demanding simplicity, convenience and trust when making travel bookings, and mobile is the way to go,” he said. “If businesses can offer a simple and secure payment experience that allows travellers to make online bookings seamlessly anywhere they want, they are set for take-off.”

Kuwait Airways adds more flights from Muscat

To boost bilateral investment, trade and tourism, Kuwait Airways, the national carrier of Kuwait, expanded its Oman operations from February 20, 2017.

Now flying nine times a week from the Muscat International Airport and the Kuwait International Airport,” said Rajan Jayaraman, Manager of Kuwait Airways in Oman.

Earlier, Kuwait Airways used to operate seven flights a week. “But from this week, we have added more flights on Monday and Wednesday,” he said.

The new flights will cater to the growing demand for traffic between Kuwait and Muscat. “These daily non-stop flights will be connected to various destinations in India and the sub-continent, Middle East and Far East,” he said.

One of the oldest airlines in the Gulf region, the Kuwait Airways was fully acquired by the Kuwaiti government in 1962.

On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, flight KU691/692 will depart from Kuwait at 09:00hrs and arrive in Muscat at 12:05hrs. From Muscat, it will depart at 13:05hrs and arrive in Kuwait at 14:30 hrs (all local times).

Further, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, flight KU693/694 will depart from Kuwait at 14:30hrs and arrive in Muscat at 17:35 hrs while from Muscat, it will depart at 18:35hrs and arrive in Kuwait at 20:00hrs local time.

“The two different timings for the Muscat to Kuwait run will provide good connections beyond Kuwait and Middle East, Indian subcontinent and Far-East destinations. Further, a special holiday package is also available to Kuwait and other destinations to promote their nine services a week schedule from Muscat,” Jayaraman said.

Kuwait Airways has acquired seven A320ceo new aircraft from Airbus recently and these will be used on the Kuwait-Muscat route.

“The new plane will have 32-inch seat pitch, the distance between the knee and the seat in front for passenger comfort, an extra-wide aisle for faster boarding and highly efficient in-flight service, more space for carry-on baggage. The new aircraft are configured with 16Business class and 114 Economy seats,” he added.

Popular Airlines in United Arab Emirates

Here is the list of all UAE based airlines & their history.

Air Arabia :

Sharjah based United Arab Emirates national budget airlines. Air Arabia operates scheduled services to 51 destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and Europe to 22 countries from Sharjah, 28 destinations in 9 countries from Casablanca, Fez, Nador and Tangier, 11 destinations in 8 countries from Ras Al Khaimah, and 6 destinations in 4 countries from Alexandria.

Emirates Airlines : 

Emirates airlines is an airline based in Dubai. It is the largest airline in the Middle East, operating over 3,600 flights per week from its hub at Dubai International Airport, to more than 154 cities in 81 countries across six continents. Emirates has the world's largest fleets of the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A380.

Flydubai :

Flydubai , legally Dubai Aviation Corporation , is a government-owned low-cost airline with its head office and flight operations in Terminal 2 of Dubai International Airport. The company was formed on 19 March 2008 as a venture by the Government of Dubai. The Government of Dubai also owns Emirates Airlines; however, the common ownership is the only connection between the two airlines.

Etihad Airways :  

Etihad Airways is a flag carrier and the second-largest airline of the UAE . Its head office is in Abu Dhabi. The airline operates more than 1,000 flights per week to over 120 passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the America.

Etihad is governed by a board of directors chaired by Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan being the vice chairman and operates in terms of its founding legislation and the Article of Association of the Company. 

 RAK Airways : 

RAK Airways served as the national airlines of Ras Al Khaimah until 2009 and relaunched operations in 2010 after a short hiatus, only to discontinue them again from January 2014. After its suspension, Air Arabia was announced as the newly designated carrier of Ras Al Khaimah. For the interested tourists, UAE visa services were also offered by the airlines.

 

 






 

 

Delta Airlines Has Its First Black Female Captain

Twenty years ago, Stephanie Johnson became the first black female pilot for Northwest Airlines.

And in 2016, Johnson made history again as Delta Air Lines’ first black female captain. Delta celebrated Johnson in February, but Women’s History Month is also a fitting time to recognize the aviation pioneer.


Johnson’s trailblazing path was decades in the making.

“For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with airplanes and would think, ‘What a great thing it would be to know how to fly,’’’ Johnson told Delta News Hub last month.

One of the first in her family to complete college, the Kent State University graduate was a flight instructor for her university’s aviation program.

Before scoring her historic position at Northwest, Johnson held a number of part-time gigs, including working at Blockbuster.

Now a seasoned pilot, Johnson wants to encourage young children to consider a career in aviation, and has worked with the Detroit Aviation Career Education Academy and served as director of the Cleveland ACE Academy.

“I feel a great sense of responsibility to be a positive role model,” Johnson said. “There are so few women in this profession and too many women who still don’t think of it as a career option. When I was hired by Northwest Airlines, there were 12 African-American women airline pilots in the country at the major airlines, and I knew all of their names.”

“Today is very different, and though there are still people to inform, I am so thankful that the word is out,” she continued. “One of the most rewarding parts of my career has been sharing my passion for aviation and exposing young people to the opportunities in the field.”

SpiceJet Offers 10% discounted fares to Muscat

SpiceJet has introduced a flat 10% discount on flights to Muscat from India.

The offer is valid for travel till March 25, the airline said.

Last week, the low fare carrier had announced a 7% discount on flights to Dubai.

SpiceJet is a low-cost airline headquartered in Gurgaon, India. The airline operates 306 daily flights to 45 destinations, including 39 Indian and 6 international destinations from its hubs at Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

SpiceJet to start Kolkata-Dhaka direct flight from March 23

SpiceJet will operate daily direct flight to Dhaka from Kolkata, starting from March 23, as part of expansion of its international services. 

SpiceJet will operate daily direct flight to Dhaka from Kolkata, starting from March 23

With the flight to the capital of Bangladesh, the airline will have services to seven international destinations.

The service will start from March 23 and Dhaka is the second international destination after Bangkok that the airline will be serving with a direct daily flight from Kolkata, SpiceJet said in a release today.

"With our much-awaited mega Boeing deal finally concluded, the time is now ripe for SpiceJet to eye new markets and boost connectivity. As we work towards placing more aircraft into our fleet, we will aggressively look at newer and enhanced connections in both the regional and international markets," SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh said.

Bookings for the Kolkata-Dhaka flight are open and the airline is also out with introductory offers.

SpiceJet operates more than 340 daily flights to 45 destinations, including 6 international ones.

SpiceJet to start Bangkok - Delhi route

The Indian no-frills carrier SpiceJet will launch a non-stop regular service between Bangkok and Delhi next month.

The debut will make SpiceJet the first low-cost carrier (LCC) to operate on the route, which is already frequented by two full-service airlines — Thai Airways International and Air India.

SpiceJet will start offering six weekly flights on the Bangkok-Delhi route on April 15, before ramping up to daily service, effective on May 9, SpiceJet executives told .

The airline intends to use Boeing 737-900ERs, configured with 212 seats, on the route.
SpiceJet will offer a cheaper travel option with much lower fares than those being charged by the flag carriers of Thailand and India.

A basic Bangkok-Delhi round-trip fare as quoted by SpiceJet is around 7,000 baht, compared with those offered by legacy airlines, which are priced up to 13,000.

SpiceJet’s new route launch came with a decision to terminate its Bangkok-Chennai service on April 15.

Poor traffic demand was cited for ending the route.

SpiceJet’s other route to Bangkok, from Kolkata, remains available with a daily service operated by a Boeing 737-900ER.

The new LCC travel option offered by SpiceJet is expected to complement Thailand’s drive to attract more Indian tourists by reducing costs.

Thailand’s recently-approved extension of its free visa scheme by another six months to Aug 31 this year benefits citizens from 21 countries, including India.

Citizens of applicable countries will not have to pay the 1,000 baht visa processing fee at Thai embassies or consular offices.

SpiceJet expects to fill 30-40% of the seats on its Bangkok-Delhi route with Thai citizens, mostly on leisure visits to India.

Kuwait Airways Offers Daily Flights to New York

Kuwait Airways announced scheduling a daily flight to New York on the sidelines of launching its new Boeing 777-300ER aircrafts.

Kuwait Airways, the national airline of Kuwait, is one of the oldest aviation companies in the Gulf region, highlighted that its flights to New York-JFK have recently increased to a daily service, with a significant increase in demand driving this decision.

Noting a 20 per cent increase in market share to Kuwait Airways’ key North American destination, in 2016, the additional service now also benefits from the fact that the airline’s new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft are primarily servicing this route.

This has allowed for increased passenger capacity, per flight, on the longest international route on Kuwait Airways’ network.

While the current schedule has the New York — JFK route including a short stop in Shannon, in the Republic of Ireland, negotiations are currently active with regard to turning this destination into a non-stop route. No date has been set for such a change, but Kuwait Airways has reiterated that this remains firmly on the agenda — so as to match the fact that all other routes on its 36-destination network are now non-stop routes.

Commenting on the recent frequency increase, Rasha Al Roumi, Chairperson and CEO of Kuwait Airways said :

“New York is a key hub and gateway to the North American market and Kuwait Airways is excited to be increasing our capacity and frequencies to one of the world’s most exciting commercial and travel destinations.”

RAK Airways, National Airline of Ras Al Khaimah - Once Upon a Time

RAK Airways was the national airline of Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven states in the United Arab Emirates. After ceasing operations in 2009, the airline relaunched in 2010 with a new livery and under new management.

RAK Airways was founded in 2006 and launched operations in early 2007. The carrier was hard hit during the financial crisis of 2007-2010 and ceased operations in 2009.

On 1 January 2014, the airline suspended all its flights but announced that they may resume at a future date after a restructuring process.

In 2010 the airline announced that it would be resuming operations with a New "value-for-money" business model, aiming to position itself between full-service and low-cost carriers.

In February 2011, it was revealed that RAK Airways was planning on launching flights to between five and nine new destinations. Though it acknowledged the difficulty of securing slots at several of the destinations due to rival carriers in the UAE, it announced that it was finalizing a codeshare agreement with an Asian carrier and that it would also be increasing the size of its fleet.

In 2013, RAK Airways launched flights to Islamabad, Pakistan and Amman, Jordan.

Rak Airways Slogan : Small fares. Big Deals