UAE: Emirates Launch Flights To Hong Kong

Emirates is set to boost its service to Hong Kong with the arrival of a 615-seater superjumbo, while Cathay Pacific will launch new summer flights to Barcelona in a double coup for the airport.

The Dubai carrier will start regular service with its Airbus A380 on the Dubai-Bangkok-Hong Kong service – flights EK384/385 – from October 1, according to aviation data tracking service Airline Route. The airline confirmed the aircraft would be upsized and it would also be deployed to the city over the Lunar New Year in response to high demand during the holiday period.

The existing service provides 517 seats. But first class will be scrapped entirely and some business class seats will be removed to make room for economy class seats.

The extra seats will mean more cheap airfare opportunities for travellers to Bangkok and Dubai. Emirates’ low-fare strategy has already caused much anger and frustration among rival airlines in Asia, Europe and the United States.

The airline currently operates four daily flights between Dubai and Hong Kong, including one via Bangkok, three of which are served by the Airbus A380, the largest passenger aircraft in the world.

Will Horton, a Hong Kong-based aviation analyst at CAPA Centre for Aviation, said the upgrade of the Emirates flight to 615 seats was ideal for cost-conscious Hongkongers.

“The routing through Hong Kong and Bangkok brings the aircraft back to Dubai in time for European connections. So hub efficiency is maintained,” Horton said. “Emirates grows Bangkok capacity at key hours and can offer a lower-cost option for the Hong Kong market compared to the non-stop to Dubai, and also make a play in picking up local Hong Kong-Bangkok traffic.”
Airlines have sought ways to grow at Hong Kong International Airport in recent years as the number of take-off and landing slots have become increasingly scarce as the two runways reach full capacity.

Budget carrier HK Express took delivery of the world’s first 188-seat single-aisle Airbus A320neo aircraft (neo stands for new engine option), in response to the challenges, adding up to 14 seats compared to its existing aircraft.

In more good news for the Airport Authority, home carrier Cathay Pacific announced it intended to launch a new summer seasonal service to Barcelona, Spain, from July, adding to the airport’s global footprint.

The expansion raises Cathay’s list of European destinations to 13, including the launch of Tel Aviv in Israel from March.
“Barcelona isn’t important for the sake of Barcelona but rather launching it seasonally shows Cathay is willing to break away from regimented consistency,” Horton said. “What you fly in July you don’t have to fly in February. It’s a positive sign about becoming more agile.”

Cathay, Hong Kong’s largest carrier, said it would fly four times a week deploying its next-generation Airbus A350 aircraft. The service is expected to run until October, during the peak of the summer travel season. The airline currently flies four times a week to the Spanish capital Madrid.

TANZANIA: Etihad To Commence Flights To Tanzania

When on the 01st of December Etihad makes its maiden flight from Abu Dhabi to Dar es Salaam, closing a destination gap their closest competitors in the Gulf already serve multiple times a day, will travelers from Tanzania be in for not just a new kid on the aviation block but also news that the national airline of Abu Dhabi and the UAE is now flying their Airbus A380 to New York.

This aircraft type is now daily on the route to the big apple, offering the splendor of a First Class apartment in the sky, at the cool cost of 32.000 US Dollars one way between Abu Dhabi and JFK.

Few East Africans will be able to afford spending this sort of money on an airticket but the airlines’ highly acclaimed business class offers travel at much more competitive prices similar to what Etihad’s competitors charge.

The airline, after Nairobi, which it serves in code share with Kenya Airways, also comes to Entebbe, albeit not daily as initially thought and will from next Wednesday commence services to Tanzania’s commercial capital.

USA: Air France Diverts Two Planes Due To Terrorist Threats

Two Paris bound Air France flights from the United States were diverted Tuesday night due to bomb threats.

Both flights – an Airbus A380 and a Boeing 777 - landed safely.

Air France Flight 65 a 500-seat A380 was operating from Los Angeles to Paris and was diverted to Salt Lake City after the threat was received according to a US government spokesman.

Shortly afterwards, Air France Flight 55 a Boeing 777 with 298 passengers a crew operating from Washington's Dulles International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport diverted to Halifax, Nova Scotia also due to a similar bomb threat.

Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent Todd Palmer said that “several law enforcement agencies are working to determine the nature of the threats which caused the aircraft to divert."

However no US military aircraft were scrambled.

Diversion of flights is the most draconian response to a bomb threat.

I think right now we take this seriously until we hear some explanation to the validity of the bomb threat.

However one safety analyst warned that this could be new phase in the terrorism war by ISIS.

“They [ISIS] could cripple aviation with hundreds of bomb threats,” the analyst warned.

Separately Russia has said that a bomb brought down Metrojet Flight 7K-9268 from Sharm el Sheikh to St. Petersburg (Russia) which crashed on Saturday October 31 killing all 224 on board.

UAE: Emirates Introduces New In-flight Entertainment

Emirates introduces its new generation in-flight entertainment (IFE) system reaffirming its commitment to continual product enhancement. The latest features include larger screens in First Class and Economy Class and three times the media storage – offering passengers an even greater choice of content on board.

The new products can be found on Emirates’ newly-delivered Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A380 aircraft.

Passengers travelling in First Class will have a more immersive viewing experience to look forward to with IFE screens increased from 27 to 32 inches – the 40% increase makes it the largest screen on any aircraft.

“We continually upgrade our fleet, as well as our products and services on board to ensure an unparalleled travel experience. In addition to the technology, Emirates also puts emphasis on curating our award-winning in-flight entertainment system and we always aim to surpass industry benchmarks. Our new generation ice system elevates the viewing experience, and offers passengers the most comprehensive movie and TV selection on any airline,’ said Patrick Brannelly, Emirates’ Divisional Vice President – Customer Experience.

Economy Class passengers can also look forward to immersing themselves in Emirates’ selection of in-flight programmes, with the industry’s largest in-seat screens at 13.3 inches. These can also be found on Emirates’ latest two-class configured A380. The Business Class screens, at 23 inches wide, remain one of the industry’s largest for its class.

With three times the media storage on the new IFE system, ice Digital Widescreen now has 2,186 channels of on-demand entertainment and 1,230 music channels which amounts to about 4,300 hours of entertainment. This includes over 50 full TV box sets and close to 600 movies. Reflecting Emirates’ global and diverse customer base, the enhanced system also features a multilingual interface in 14 languages.

This year, Emirates clinched its 11th consecutive SKYTRAX World Airline Awards for ‘World’s Best Airline Inflight Entertainment’.

Other new features on ice includes enhanced handset controllers, USB ports and PC power outlets on all seats across the three cabin classes to allow passengers to charge their own mobile phones and portable devices.

Connectivity on board

Emirates’ next generation IFE system is complemented with connectivity on board. The airline offers Wi-Fi on 142 aircraft, more than half of its fleet, and Live TV now on 75 aircraft. Emirates began offering free Wi-Fi on board last year and has invested US $15 million to offer its passengers data connectivity in 2015. From January to September this year, 2.6 million Emirates passengers connected to Wi-Fi on board – a four-fold increase from last year, reflecting the strong consumer demand for connectivity services while travelling.

Other product enhancements include new micro fibre optic carpet in the First Class cabin which helps to reduce the effects of jet lag, and private suites in the centre aisle have been widened by 1.9 inches.

Emirates’ new generation in-flight entertainment system product enhancements at a glance:

• IFE screen in First Class increased from 27 inches to 32 inches

• IFE screen in Economy Class increased from 12.1 inches to 13.3 inches

• All PC power outlets equipped with HDMI & USB ports for charging of portable devices

• 3x media storage offering an even greater choice of content

• Enhanced handset controllers

• Personal video playback

• Multilingual interface in 14 languages

UAE: Sharjah Airport Passengers Increase

Passenger traffic at Sharjah International Airport grew by 6 percent in July, compared with July 2014, while regular passenger numbers continued to grow throughout the first half of 2015*. Last month 837,316 passengers embarked, disembarked or transferred via the airport, compared with 793,260 last year, continuing the year’s strong growth in passenger traffic.

Figures for the first half of 2015 indicate a growth rate of about 6 percent compared with adjusted figures* for the first half of 2014, with 5.6 million passengers passing through Sharjah International. Adjusted figures for in H1 2014 compared to H1 2013, show a similar growth rate of 7 percent for last year.

Actual passenger figures for the first half of 2014 include extraordinary passenger increases of 27 percent in May and 25 percent during June due to the volume of traffic diverted from Dubai International Airport because of a scheduled runway closure. The extraordinary increase boosted total H1 2014 passenger traffic by 14 percent, skewing annual airport traffic growth figures. However, passenger growth in January, February, March, April and July 2015 averages 6 percent compared to 2014 statistics for those months.

Sharjah International Airport’s growth is driven by the expansion of Sharjah-headquartered budget airline Air Arabia, established international carrier routes and private aviation. Air Arabia carried over 6.8 million passengers in 2014, registering 12 percent year-on-year passenger growth. Meanwhile, global business aviation services company Gama Aviation is investing US$15 million (AED 55m) in expanding its Sharjah hub.

Meanwhile, Air India and its budget travel subsidiary Air India Express announced plans this week to increase the number of flights between Sharjah and cities in India. The airline group already operates 60 flights per week from Sharjah to 7 Indian cities and Air India Express has announced three new weekly flights from Sharjah to an eighth destination, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, beginning this month.

Sharjah International Airport opened a new AED 500 million (US$ 136m) airport runway in 2014, expanding airport capacity and allowing it to welcome new-generation ICAO Code F aircraft such as the Airbus A380 and Boeings B747-8 Intercontinental and B747-8 freighter.

MEXICO: Air France A380, World's Largest Passenger Plane Begins Service From Paris

At 7:00pm Tuesday, January 12, the Mexico City airport will be the first in Latin America to welcome scheduled service by the world’s largest passenger aircraft.

That’s when Air France’s Airbus A380 lands for the inaugural flight of its three-times-a-week service from Paris, a schedule that will be maintained until March 27 when A380 flights will start running daily.

Following the airline’s formal notification five months ago to the Communications and Transportation Secretariat that it would commence A380 operations in January, work began on runways and airport facilities in order to accommodate the large aircraft.

Upgrades are expected to cost 110 million pesos (US $6.6 million) but according to airport officials are minimal because some of the necessary modifications were made in preparation for Lufthansa’s Boeing 747-8 in 2013.

Air France’s A380 carries 516 passengers, boasts 50% less cabin noise and is reported to burn 20% less fuel than Boeing’s 747-400.