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Travel News
Travel News
Virgin Atlantic unveils new A350 Upper Class suite
Virgin Atlantic has unveiled its brand There is an 18.5-inch screen, with
new Upper Class suite which will passengers able to control the IFE
launch on the carrier’s A350-1000 system through their personal
aircraft this summer. devices, and “a deployable privacy
screen”.
The carrier has moved away from its
current herringbone Upper Class The Telegraph reports that there will
layout (where seats face into the be a total of 44 Upper Class suites on
cabin), to a new 1-2-1 configuration the A350, with passengers benefiting
with seats facing outwards towards from “a deep mattress and the
the windows. thickest pillow in the sky”.
Features include a 44-inch seat pitch, Upper Class customers will have
with the seat converting into a fully access to the new A350 social space
flat bed measuring up to 82 inches, The Loft, which features a 32-inch TV
and the carrier stresses that “All screen, with the ability to connect
suites will transition seamlessly from individual headsets via Bluetooth.
an upright seat, straight to a bed”,
meaning no more having to get out of
the seat to flip it over into bed mode.
Travel News
Premium and economy seats have Virgin is scheduled to take delivery of
also updated with larger IFE screens four A350s this year, and has a
(13.3 inches in Premium and 11.6 further eight on order for delivery by
inches in economy), with increased 2021. The airline confirmed that there
storage space in Premium, and new are currently no plans to retrofit the
fabrics in economy. new suite on existing aircraft, with its
A330 fleet recently having been
All passengers have access to “high- refurbished, and the A340s and
speed wifi”. The carrier’s A350 will B747s set to be retired by the end of
initially launch on the London 2021.
Heathrow-New York JFK route from
August, with four of the carrier’s six
flights per day on the route set to
feature the A350 by the end of the
year.
Travel News
Marriott opens 7,000th hotel Marriott plans to open just under 20
hotels in the Middle East and Africa
region in 2019, across brands
including St Regis, W Hotels, JW
Marriott and The Autograph
Collection. The properties will add
over 3,000 rooms to the group’s
portfolio, and are part of plans to
open 100 hotels and around 26,000
rooms across the region by 2023. In
the luxury market Marriott has
recently opened W Dubai – The
Palm, and will follow this with the
addition of W Muscat, W Yas island,
St Regis Amman, St Regis Cairo and
JW Marriott Muscat Convention
Centre. The North Island hotel in the
Marriott International has opened its Seychelles is also set to join the
7,000th property worldwide, with the group’s Luxury Collection.
honour going to the St Regis Hong Meanwhile in the premium segment
Kong. a Marriott Executive Apartments
property has recently opened in the
The 27-floor hotel features 112 Diplomatic Quarter of Riyadh, with a
rooms and 17 suites starting from 50 second property set to open under
sqm, with facilities including an the brand in Madinah. Marriott will
outdoor swimming pool and two fine- also add Sankara Nairobi (pictured
dining restaurants. above) to its Autograph Collection,
as well as a Marriott Hotels and
Marriott said that the property “is Resorts property in Algiers.
emblematic of Marriott’s global Finally in the select-service sector
expansion strategy which the group is set to add seven
disproportionately focuses on the properties this year, with two recent
highest lodging tiers as well as fast- Four Points by Sheraton openings in
growing international markets such Sharjah and Setif (Algeria), and
as Hong Kong”. forthcoming additions in Dar es
Salaam and Lahore. Marriott will also
The group said it plans to add more add a Residence Inn property in
than 1,700 hotels by the end of Algiers, a Protea hotel in Kampala,
2021, with over 300 of these being in and the first Element Hotels property
the Asia Pacific region. in the region in Dar es Salaam.
Travel News
Travel News
Emirates completes B777-200LR fleet refit
Emirates has completed a $150
million refit of its fleet of ten B777-
200LRs.
The work has seen first class
removed from the aircraft, and a
wider business class seat added in a
2-2-2 layout – with four out of six
seats in each row now having direct
aisle access – along with a “fully
refreshed economy class cabin”. Emirates is also in the process of
retiring the last two of its B777-300
This is a departure from Emirates’ Classic aircraft (delivered in 2003),
newest B777-300ERs, which leaving it with a B777-300ER and
continue to offer a 2-3-2 layout in B777-200LR Boeing fleet. The airline
business class, including an plans to retire a total of seven B777
undesirable middle seat without aisle aircraft this year, while taking
access. delivery of six A380s. Emirates too
delivery of its final B777-300ER late
The B777-200LRs operate on some last year – the airline has ordered a
of Emirates’ longest routes to total of 150 of the next-generation
destinations including Fort B777-8 and B777-9 aircraft, with
Lauderdale, Santiago, Sao Paulo deliveries set to start in 2020.
and Adelaide.
Travel News
Travel News
Istanbul begins switch from Ataturk to new airport
The delayed full opening of Istanbul Turkish said that “Following that,
airport will finally go ahead this Turkish Airlines flights from İstanbul
weekend, with a 45-hour switch from Airport will be increased in stages
Ataturk to the new facility currently according to a set plan”. The switch
underway. will see over 10,000 pieces of
equipment being moved between the
The airport had originally been two airports.
scheduled to open in October 2018, The BA website advises that: “Along
but the date was moved back first to with all other airlines, British Airways
January, then March, and finally to will be transferring its flights to
the date of April 7. Istanbul New Airport, following the
closure of Istanbul Ataturk Airport for
Turkish Airlines said that the “great commercial flights. Commenting on
move” began at 0300 on April 5, with the news Turkish Airlines Chairman of
the last flight set to leave Ataturk the Board and the Executive
airport at 0200 on April 6 (a Committee, M Ilker Ayci said: “We are
Singapore Airlines service to Changi). conducting the biggest transportation
operation in the aviation history. So
There will then be a 12-hour period much so that during the move from
during which there will be no flights Atatürk Airport which was the host of
from either Ataturk or Istanbul airport, Turkish Airlines during its great rise in
before the first Turkish Airlines service the global aviation to Istanbul Airport,
is set to leave the new facility at 1400 our new home, the combined size of
on April 6. the equipment we are starting to
transfer would cover the 33 football
pitches.
Travel News
British Airways transfers capacity from
Johannesburg to Mumbai
British Airways transfers capacity
from Johannesburg to Mumbai
Travellers flying British Airways (BA)
to Mumbai gain more flights from
June 4, 2019. It means the number of
BA services linking London Heathrow
with Mumbai will increase from 14 to
18 per week. The route losing the
capacity, according to a tweet today
by Airlineroute, by the withdrawal of
this B787-9, will be London to
Johannesburg. BA is following in the footsteps of Air
France, KLM and Etihad who started
Flights BA51 and BA50 currently to add capacity in order to
operated by this four-class B787-9 accommodate Jet Airways’
are being axed from the beginning of customers.
June. And neither will these services
return for the winter schedules.
In their place comes an additional
four flights between London Heathrow
and Mumbai. This route now sees 18
flights a week from BA as against the
14 services currently operated. BA is
increasing capacity to Mumbai
following the “suspension” of
scheduled services by Indian airline
Jet Airways.
The four new flights which operate
ex-London every Tuesday, All three of the latter carriers worked
Wednesday, Friday and Sunday closely with Jet Airways on routes out
(returning from Mumbai the following of India to the Gulf, Europe and North
day) are: America. Over the Easter period, for
BA135 London Heathrow-Mumbai example, Etihad was scheduling four
1750-0740 (following day) A380s out of London Heathrow to
BA134 Mumbai-London Heathrow Abu Dhabi to connect with onward
1210-1720 flights to India.
Travel News
Travel News
Travel Snippets
Turkish Airlines has added Cape Town passengers wishing to fly
Marrakech to its network. Direct flights to New York must do so on an SAA-
between Istanbul and Marrakech operated flight from Johannesburg. If
operate five days a week. On approved, the service between
Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Newark and Cape Town will be
Saturdays and Sundays, flight TK 619 operated by a Boeing 787-9
departs Istanbul at 11h30 and arrives Dreamliner featuring 48 seats in
in Marrakech at 14h30. Return flight business class, 88 seats in premium
TK 620 departs Marrakech on the economy and 116 seats in economy.
same days at 15h25 and arrives in The proposed flight schedule,
Istanbul at 22h05. beginning December 15, sees
departure from Cape Town at 20h50
Air Mauritius has received the first of and arrival in New York/Newark at
two brand new Airbus A330-900 neo 05h45 the next day. Return flights will
aircraft. This makes the carrier the depart Newark at 20h30 and arrive in
first airline in the Southern Cape Town at 18h00 the next day.
hemisphere to operate the aircraft.
The carrier says it will operate the South African Airways is adding a
aircraft on routes connecting Mauritius fifth weekly flight to Accra (ACC) and
to Europe (mainly London and on to Washington DC, Dulles
Geneva), India and South-East Asian International Airport (IAD), reducing
routes and on regional destinations the number of flights via Dakar,
including Johannesburg, Antananarivo Senegal to two a week. The national
and Réunion. The aircraft will start carrier offers a daily service from JNB
operating on the Johannesburg route to IAD, flying via the two West African
in December and will be used during cities using an Airbus A330-300 and
peak seasons only. It will operate A330-200. Flight SA209 departs JNB
permanently on the London, Mumbai every day except Thursday and
and South-East Asia routes. Saturday at 18h30, arriving in ACC at
10h35, departing at 11h35, arriving in
United Airlines (UA) has applied to IAD at 06h25 the following day. The
operate flights between Newark return flight A210 departs IAD every
Liberty International Airport and Cape day except Friday and Sunday at
Town International Airport. UA plans to 17h40, arriving in ACC at 08h40 the
operate the non-stop three times following day, departing at 09h10,
weekly service to Cape Town starting arriving in JNB at 16h55.
in December. The direct flight will cut
flight time by four hours. Currently,Travel News
Virgin Voyages has new codeshare routes will Ashgabat, Tbilisi, Cyprus,
unveiled plans for a new be able to connect Kuwait and Baku.
terminal at Port Miami. between both airlines with
Virgin’s first ship, Scarlet one booking reference and New domestic destinations
Lady, plans to start using check-in. include Ankara, Izmir,
the terminal from Antalya, Asana, Trabzon,
November 2021. _____________________ Gaziantep, Diyarbakir,
Kayseri and Hatay.
Bookings for Virgin’s Qatar Airways has
inaugural season will open launched a corporate _____________________
on February 5 for those rewards programme for
with pre-sale deposits, and small- and medium-sized Boeing has flying
on February 14 for the businesses. ‘Beyond prototype of Uber air
general public. Business by Qatar Airways’ drone.
allows companies to earn
Virgin said its second ship Qrewards, which can be An autonomous drone
would be based in Miami redeemed on flights or capable of carrying
from spring 2022. spent on other perks. passengers is now being
test flown by aircraft
_____________________ It is currently available in manufacturer Boeing,
Europe and the Americas, CNBC reports.
Virgin Atlantic has signed and will be rolled out
a codeshare agreement globally later in the year. The first successful test
with AeroMexico, creating flight of Boeing’s
seamless connections There are three rewarding autonomous passenger air
between the UK, USA and tiers called Elevate, vehicle (PAV) is seen as a
Mexico. Accelerate, and Ascent, major milestone on the
which unlock faster road to developing air taxis
The agreement allows earnings and new benefits. for companies like Uber.
passengers to fly direct The airline’s regular loyalty
from Heathrow to Mexico programme is called The test included takeoff,
City, as well as opening up Privilege Club, with which but not forward flight. The
a number of destinations to members earn Qmiles. battery powered drone has
Virgin passengers within a range of about 50 miles.
Mexico. _____________________
Uber wants to launch Uber
Virgin’s destinations in Turkish Airlines has Air in 2023, but the need
North America can now announced several new for Federal Aviation
also be booked with international and domestic Administration approval
AeroMexico. routes from Istanbul, may push the debut further
including Moscow, out.
Customers booking the Frankfurt, Munich, Paris,You can also read
