Edinburgh to Doha

ADDITIONAL flights between Edinburgh and Doha will see double daily flights introduced at Scotland’s busiest airport by Qatar Airways.

The airline will introduce an additional afternoon flight in April to cater for high Easter demand, meaning a double daily service on Mondays throughout the month.

It’s the first time a long-haul carrier has operated double daily routes to the Middle East from Edinburgh Airport, demonstrating the award-winning airline’s confidence in the busy route.


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Up in the air . . .

AIR Europa will launch new, three-times weekly flights to Colombia’s second city, Medellin, in June. The new route, operated by Air Europa’s state-of-the-art Dreamliner aircraft, will launch on the June 1st, with three flights per week between Madrid’s Barajas International Airport and José María Córdova International Airport, the international airport of Medellin.

British travellers are able to connect through Air Europa’s twice-daily flight from London Gatwick.

Visitor numbers to #Colombia have grown over recent years, with travellers enticed to Colombia by the South American country’s spectacular natural wonders, unspoiled Caribbean beaches, magnificent colonial architecture and lively local culture.

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Swift Air transports medical supplies to Puerto Rico

Swift Air, the largest, independent charter airline in the United States, made a substantial contribution this week to ongoing hurricane recovery needs in Puerto Rico. Swift Air transported 30,000 pounds of medical supplies from Miami to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where it is being distributed to hospitals and medical facilities throughout the island.

The project was coordinated with Aspen-based philanthropist Jan Soderberg, former President Bill Clinton and the Clinton Foundation's Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Action Network on Post-Disaster Recovery, which is hosting a meeting in San Juan this week.

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On the runway . . .

easyJet, Europe’s leading airline, has today announced that it has reached a key milestone in its ambition to attract 20% of new pilots joining the airline to be women by 2020, having achieved a new high of 15% of new entrants to the airline being female, over the past financial year.

It comes at a time when only 5% of all pilots worldwide are female, according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots. Of that, just over 450 of them have achieved the rank of captain – which means that almost every female commercial airline captain could fit onto an A380 aircraft.

In October 2015, women only made up 6% of easyJet’s new pilot intake. As a result of the campaign in 2016, easyJet had doubled the intake to 12% and has been increasing ever since towards its ambitious target of 20% by 2020. 

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Up in the Air . . .

AER Lingus has unveiled its new livery and brand as it seeks to further expand its transatlantic awareness.

The new logo retains but restyles the Irish shamrock, adding a tilt to symbolise dynamism and speed, with heart-shaped leaves reflecting the warmth and hospitality of the brand, according to Aer Lingus.

Guests will see four shamrocks on the new livery. The first is within the new logo, the second sits on the tailfin, a third welcomes guests at the door, and a final surprise on the wingtip is in prime position for capturing on social media.



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Picture Credit: Aer Lingus press release

British Airways to go retro to celebrate 100th birthday

AS part of its 100-year birthday, British Airways has today announced it will be painting four of its aircraft in much-loved retro designs from across its past, with the first confirmed as a Boeing 747 in a British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) design. 

The livery from the 1964 – 1974 BOAC era will adorn a B747, reg: G-BYGC. The aircraft will leave the paint shop in Dublin and arrive in to Heathrow on February 18, before entering service the following day. 

This coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first Boeing 747 flight only a few days earlier. The BOAC 747 will be followed by three other aircraft which will all have different retro liveries, with details being revealed in due course. All four aircraft will fly British Airways’ routes, proudly showcasing some of the popular designs as part of the airline’s centenary celebrations.

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Picture Credit: British Airways press release

Direct flights from Sydney to Fiji

QANTAS is making it easier for customers to holiday in #Fiji by launching new direct flights from Sydney, meeting a growing demand from customers wanting a premium travel option to the islands. 

From 31 March 2019, the direct service will operate four times per week to Nadi, the country’s main gateway, with a Boeing 737 aircraft, offering a checked baggage allowance, inflight entertainment and food and drinks all included as part of the fare, and the option to fly or upgrade to Business class. 

The flights add to Jetstar’s direct services which also operate four times per week and will see the Qantas Group offer customers more than 75,000 seats on the route annually and the choice to fly to the popular holiday destination six days a week.

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Ryanair partnership takes off

RYANAIR, Europe’s No.1 airline, and SiteMinder, the global hotel industry’s leading guest acquisition platform, today announce a partnership to provide European hotels direct access to sell their properties on Ryanair Rooms. 

Ryanair Rooms is the only hotel booking website that gives hotel guests 10% of the hotel booking price back in flight credit, to use against Ryanair flights. The website is now available as a distribution channel to SiteMinder’s 30,000 hotel customers across #Europe and around the world, which can now offer their guests a new incentive to ‘Go Direct’.

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On the Runway at Heathrow

A record 80 million passengers travelled through the UK’s only hub airport in 2018, up 2.7% on last year, with growth boosted by the use of larger and fuller aircraft. #Heathrow is one of only seven airports in the world to achieve this milestone.

Heathrow continued to raise the bar on customer satisfaction scores being named ‘Best Airport in Western Europe’ for the fourth year running, and ‘Best Airport for Shopping’ for the ninth year in the most recent Skytrax World Airport Awards. Terminal 2 beat its international counterparts to win ‘World’s Best Airport Terminal’, with Terminal 5 coming in 4th.


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Travel the New Year with Etihad

WITH the New Year comes resolutions. To eat better, relax more, challenge your body, indulge your mind, be more cultured, spend more time with family, settle into a good book, and travel far. Etihad Airways invites consumers to make choices about how they travel, and to journey on their own terms. 

Etihad Airways is offering all-inclusive fares from Singapore to a variety of destinations, including Barcelona, Milan, Moscow, Paris, Rome and more. The promotion will run from 12 to 25 January for travel until 30 June 2019.

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Iconic London Taxis on the Runway at Heathrow

BRITISH Airways has introduced a brand new and environmentally-friendly electric cab service at its #Heathrow home, giving customers the opportunity to experience travelling in a legendary London taxi without leaving the airport. The London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) taxi features WiFi, phone, laptop and USB charging and a panoramic roof – great for plane spotting.

The taxis will join British Airways’ fleet of chauffeur-driven executive vehicles, to drive premium customers at risk of missing their connecting flight to meet their next aircraft. Customers are met by the driver at the aircraft side and are driven directly to the aircraft side of their onward flight. With every ride completely free of charge, there’s no need for customers to reach for their wallets.


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On the runway . . .

THE parliament of Saint Lucia voted to borrow US$100 million for the Hewanorra International Airport redevelopment project in December 2018.

The construction of a new terminal building equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, restaurants, shops and executive lounges, and the conversion of the old terminal to accommodate fixed-based operators will provide an added incentive for airlines to open new routes to the destination.

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Fill your bags with Emirates

SHOPPERS can fly higher with this year’s Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) thanks to a special offer from Emirates, the world’s largest international airline. Economy class ticket holders can enjoy additional baggage allowance on return flights during the biggest shopping festival of the year, running until 2 February. 

Emirates passengers booked on an Economy class round-trip ticket to #Dubai can shop without limits, and return home with the latest fashion bargains at no extra costs incurred, affirming Dubai #Shopping Festival as the city’s most generous mega sale.

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Oman Air Celebrates Two Wins

OMAN Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, has won two prestigious design awards – best New First Class 2018 and Best New Lounge 2018 in TheDesignAir Awards 2018. 

TheDesignAir Awards have been running for six years and celebrate the very best in aviation design across the globe. The judging panel, made up of eight aviation and design experts, awarded Oman Air with the accolades following the unveiling of the new lounge at Muscat Airport and the launch of the three-class Dreamliner earlier this year. 

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Return to Islamabad

BRITISH Airways has today announced that it will fly from Heathrow to Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, from June 2nd next year.  

It is the first time the carrier has flown to #Pakistan in more than a decade.  The airline stopped flying to the country after the Marriott hotel in the capital, #Islamabad, was bombed in 2008, killing more than 50 people.

It is a hub for culture with a rich heritage and has an impressive collection of museums, markets, mosques and hiking trails, as well as restaurants which serve a variety of cuisines from local Pakistani dishes to food from around the world.

The airline has a long history of flying to the city and offered its first scheduled flights between London and the Pakistani capital in 1976.  Islamabad is one of four long-haul routes being launched by British Airways in 2019, its centenary year.


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A cracker of a year

WITH 2018 drawing to a close, British Airways is celebrating flying high in the last 12 months with additional investment for customers now totalling £6.5bn. Here’s a recap of what’s changed at British Airways over the last year. 

In 2018 the airline offered its most extensive choice of flights in more than a decade, with more than a dozen new routes, including Marrakech, Durban, Nashville and the Seychelles. More new routes have been announced for 2019, including Charleston, Pittsburgh and Osaka. 

Customers travelling light were able to take advantage of the airline’s new long-haul basic fare on routes to the US and around the world, with fares from £143. They can reduce this cost even further by using their Avios. 

For 2018 British Airways introduced 18 new fuel-efficient aircraft to its fleet of almost 300 planes – including its 30th 787, plus A320 and 21neos, and Embraer for BA CityFlyer. The airline’s 767 fleet was retired to make way for more new aircraft, arriving next year. 

Work continued at pace to refresh existing long-haul cabins – with all seats being equipped with state-of-the-art entertainment systems and direct access to power. 

During 2018, British Airways began installing its industry-leading streaming WiFi on long-haul aircraft – all short-haul aircraft will be fitted with the system by next summer. This exciting development allows customers to use their own devices to live stream TV programmes and movies. 

The airline’s website, BA.com, received a refresh and achieved record sales. There were enhancements for the hugely popular BA app, including adding Apple’s Siri voice service on the iPhone. A new reward app was also released to help British Airways’ Executive Club members discover new ways to collect and spend Avios – including selecting seats on flights, as well as spending on flights, car hire, hotels, excursions, etc. 

The airline is focused on providing customers with a seamless and efficient journey through the airport. Throughout the year it continued to pioneer facial recognition airport technology. British Airways was the first airline to install biometric technology at Heathrow – enabling it to board domestic (UK) flights in half the usual time. It also began using the same technology to speedily board aircraft in Orlando, Los Angeles, New York and Miami.

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Worst US airports for flight cancellations

TO help travellers to make more informed decisions when it comes to holiday travel, researchers at InsureMyTrip reveal which airports to possibly avoid and how the latest data trends can aid travellers when comparing travel insurance benefits.

New York's LaGuardia (LGA) will be most stressful for travelers this Christmas, LGA reports the highest percentage of canceled flights (4.9%) so far this year.  Flights scheduled for departure between 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm are more susceptible to delays and cancellations.  If a flight is cancelled, most airlines will rebook travelers on the next available flight at no additional charge. However, airlines are not required to reimburse travelers for losses incurred as a result of a cancelled flight.

This is the list of the most stressful airports this Christmas, based on flight cancellation rates:

1.   LGA New York, NY:LaGuardia 

2.   ORF Norfolk, VA: Norfolk 

      International
3.   CHS Charleston, SC: Charleston 

      AFB/International
4.   ROC Rochester, NY: Greater       

      Rochester International
5.   PHL Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia 

      International
6.   EWR Newark, NJ: Newark Liberty International
7.   PVD Providence, RI: Theodore Francis Green State
8.   DCA Washington, DC: Ronald Reagan Washington National
9.   BUF Buffalo, NY: Buffalo Niagara International
10. JFK New York, NY: John F. Kennedy International


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Lucky Thirteen: Paris to Fuzhou

XIAMEN Airlines, voted China's "Best Airlines" for its extraordinary aviation service for 6 consecutive years since 2012, is officially launching its new direct flight between Paris and Fuzhou on Dec. 11th, 2018. The opening of this new route will provide unique experiences for passengers.

The Paris – Fuzhou route operates three times a week every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, 13 hours and 25 minutes one way. It departs from Paris at 13:30 (GMT+8) and arrives at Fuzhou around 07:30 the next morning; the returning flight departs at 00:30 from Fuzhou Changle International Airport (FOC) and reaches Paris at 06:55.

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Get into the holiday spirit

GET in to a different type of holiday spirit and start plotting their summer escape now as British Airways launches new routes from Heathrow to Ljubljana in Slovenia and Montpellier in France.

Seats to Slovenia’s capital are available to book on ba.com from today with flights taking off on Mondays and Fridays from July 15 through to September 2, 2019. Fares start from £63.00 one-way* in Euro Traveller.

Situated on France’s southern coast, Montpellier will be served with a four-per-week schedule, departing on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from July 15 through to September 2 also. Fares start from £38.00 per person one-way.

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Up in the air . . .

LATAM Airlines, Latin America’s leading airline, has announced that it will commence a non-stop service to Munich (Germany) from São Paulo on 25 June 2019 with tickets now on sale. LATAM will operate four weekly flights using Boeing 767 aircraft with capacity for 191 passengers in Economy and 30 in Premium Business.

The Bavarian capital will become LATAM’s second destination in Germany after Frankfurt and its ninth European city. Located north of the Alps, Munich is a leading centre for business, art, education, sports and tourism. Home to leading multinational companies, an internationally renowned football team and the annual Oktoberfest beer festival, it attracts both tourists and business travellers from around the world.

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