NETHERLANDS: Stay Alert, Dutch Tourists In Turkey Warned

The Netherlands has issued a travel warning for Turkey amid a growing row between the two countries. Meanwhile, Ankara has summoned the Dutch envoy, claiming a Turkish minister and hundreds of demonstrators were subject to “bad treatment” by authorities.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry released the updated advisory on Monday, warning citizens to be careful when visiting Turkey.

“Since March 11, 2017 there have been diplomatic tensions between Turkey and The Netherlands. Stay alert across the whole of Turkey and avoid gatherings and crowded places,” the ministry said in its warning.

It went on to warn that there is a safety risk when traveling to Turkey, adding that Dutch citizens should register with the ministry ahead of travel.

The Turkish tourism sector is already suffering following last year’s attempted military coup and a number of terrorist attacks. Visits from Dutch citizens saw a 30 percent drop last year.

FlyBe airline has announced it will be expanding its seasonal summer service on its London City-Amsterdam route.

It is currently operating this route only on weekends, however, beginning March 27, the airline will begin service on weekdays with 7 weekly flights overall.

Flybe is the largest independent regional airline in Europe. It is based in Exeter, and operates more UK domestic flights than any other airline. Its hubs are located at Manchester Airport and Birmingham Airport.

In January 2017, the airline was rated as the best UK airline for punctuality and the sixth worldwide in the 2016 OAG Punctuality League report.

The Air Lease Corporation will provide two Airbus A330-900NEO’s on a long term lease to Air Mauritius with delivery dates set for September and October next year, when two ageing Airbus A340’s will be retired from the airline’s fleet.

The new widebody jets will be powered by Rolls Royce Trent 7000 engines and offer passengers a dual class cabin layout with 28 flatbed business class seats and 263 new generation economy class seats. The airline has opted not to include a premium economy class section at this stage as this value added option is gaining traction now among the world’s leading airlines.

Air Mauritius also has orders for the Airbus A350XWB pending with the first two of these state of the art aircraft due for delivery in 2019 but rescheduled the dates for two more from 2020 to a provisional 2023.

The airline is also embarking on retrofitting the existing long haul fleet of two Airbus A330-200 and six Airbus A340’s with new seats, a new entertainment system and notably WiFi on board.

Meanwhile will Amsterdam become a year round destination for Mauritius as KLM has announced a code shared flight, KL501, to operate every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, using a brand new Boeing B787-9 as of 30th of October this year. The aircraft will be offering a three class layout for passengers with 30 flatbed Business Class seats, 45 Comfort Economy seats and 219 standard Economy Class seats.

The summer schedule flights, as of 26th of March 2018, will be operated by Air Mauritius using an Airbus A340 on the route every Monday and Friday with a third service added for the months of August and October.

SPAIN: Iberia Increases Frequency to Montevideo

Iberia, the flag carrier and largest airline of Spain, announced it is increasing the frequency of its non-stop Madrid-Montevideo flights to five per week.

Iberia became the first airline with regular flights between Europe and Latin America in 1946 when it launched its Madrid-Buenos Aires route, with a stop in Montevideo.

Celebrating 70th anniversary of the launch Iberia’s Spain-Latin America services, Iberia announced increase of its flights to Montevideo.

Iberia will use their new Airbus A330-200 MTOW 242t (Maximum Take-Off Weight 242 tonnes) aircraft for Montevideo flights, which will begin in March.

Iberia is the first airline to fly the new generation Airbus model, with a maximum take-off capacity of 242 tonnes and a range of 11,500 kilometres.

The Airbus A330-200 aircraft can carry up to 288 passengers in the maximum comfort provided by newly designed seats in both Business and Economy.

Business class seats, all with direct access to the aisle, unfold into two-metre-long flat beds.

Economy passengers will notice the comfort of larger and more ergonomic seats, with individual seat-back touch screens for the lavish entertainment offer, along with power supplies and connecting ports for personal electronic devices.

Iberia will offer in-flight Wi-Fi to all passengers.

According to Iberia in a statement, their flights will connect with over 100 destinations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and from next winter with new routes announced by the airline, Tokyo and Shanghai.

Iberia, which this year celebrates its 70th anniversary, resumed flights to Uruguay in September 2014 with four direct frequencies (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays), which will add yet another.

ARGENTINA: Aerolineas Argentinas Adds Extra Flights To Europe For Summer 2016

The passenger-pleasing national airline, Aerolineas Argentinas has announced extra services for Summer 2016 from its home base at Buenos Aires to two of its well established European gateways in Barcelona and Rome.

Buenos Aires to Barcelona and Buenos Aires to Rome both get an extra weekly flight bringing frequency up to six times a week and five times a week respectively with the flag ship service from Buenos Aires to Mardid maintaining the successful formula of a daily flight.

Previously Aerolineas Argentinas have put on record that it in will get three new Airbus A330-200 aircraft in 2016 and will continue to replace its Boeing 737-700 aircraft with the newer Boeing 737-800.

RWANDA: Rwandair Sign Contract With Airbus For An A330-200 And A330-300

RwandAir, the national flag carrier of the Republic of Rwanda, has signed a firm contract with Airbus for an A330-200 and a larger A330-300, at a signature ceremony in Kigali, Rwanda. With this order RwandAir becomes a new Airbus customer and is the first East African customer for the long-haul airliner. This agreement firms up a commitment announced earlier this year.

Aircraft deliveries will begin in the second half of 2016, enabling the country’s carrier to deploy its new flagship aircraft on medium and long-haul routes serving destinations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The two aircraft will feature a three class cabin layouts. The A330-200 will have 244 seats (20 business class, 21 premium and 203 economy class) and the A330-300 will have 274 seats (30 business class, 21 premium and 223 economy class). The aircraft will be equipped with Rolls Royce Trent 772B engines.

“As we look to introduce wide body aircraft for the first time into our fleet, with its proven economics, reliability and passenger comfort, we have found the A330 to perfectly support our plans to expand into Europe and Asia, to enhance our regional presence, to open up new routes and to grow our market share. We are also delighted to have these aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce, as the Trent 700 engine delivers the most efficient and reliable power, and will maximize the revenue earning potential of our new aircraft’’ said John Mirenge, Chief Executive Officer of RwandAir.

“We are extremely pleased that RwandAir has confirmed its confidence in the A330, and are happy to welcome them as a new A330 customer,” said Christopher Buckley, Executive Vice President, Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific. “Their Passengers will enjoy best-in-class passenger comfort that only Airbus offers as well as the newest state of the art in-flight entertainment system. Rwandair will be able to benefit with the A330s from the unique combination of unbeatable economics, versatility and fuel efficiency.”

To date the A330 Family, which spans 250 to 300 seats, has attracted more than 1,500 orders and around 1,200 A330s are flying worldwide with over 100 operators. Ever since the original A330-300 entered service, its hallmarks are its very efficient operating economics, innovative cabin features, while offering passengers much wider economy-class seats than any competing aircraft. Moreover, with numerous product improvements and with an operational reliability of 99.4 percent, the A330 is the most cost-efficient and capable aircraft in its class.