Jan 16, 2018  - New Zealand travellers’ connections to Istanbul will improve from June 8 when Emirates resumes flights between Dubai and Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport.  The resumption of services on the route will allow customers two airport options when travelling Emirates to Istanbul.

Jan 16, 2018  -  January blues? Not a problem in Mojave today as VSS Unity successfully completed her seventh glide flight! 

Jan 16, 2018  -  OAG, the global authority on airline and airport data, selected  an airline that even travel agents may not be familiar with as No 1 in their  top 10 list of the world's most   punctual “mainline” airlines in the world (meaning reasonably major), each with the percentage of flights that arrive within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time.

Jan 10, 2018  -  Emirates and flydubai will offer travellers even more connectivity and flight options in 2018, with new codeshare flights planned to Krakow in Poland from 8 April, and Catania in Italy from 13 June. Both Dubai-based airlines currently offer customers a breadth of travel options across their complementary networks, with codeshares to 81 destinations and more to follow.

The partnership initially began with codeshare flights to 29 cities, and this has quickly expanded to meet demand as customers realise the benefits of increased flight frequencies, expanded access to global destinations on a single ticket, the convenience of checking in their baggage through to the final destination, smooth transfers during transit in Dubai, and more.

In the two months since the first codeshare flights took off on 29 October, over 165,000 passengers have benefitted from the partnership.

Click here to see the list of Emirates and flydubai partnership codeshare destinations.

Smooth journeys

Emirates and flydubai will continue to offer travel experiences reflecting their individual brands. For bookings under the codeshare, Emirates passengers will receive complimentary meals and the Emirates checked baggage allowance on flights operated by flydubai in Business and Economy class.

Connecting via Dubai’s ultra-modern hub offers a smooth transfer experience and under the partnership, passengers will benefit from a reduced minimum connection time of 120 minutes between Emirates’ home in Terminal 3 and flydubai’s in Terminal 2.

More benefits for frequent flyers

Emirates Skywards members earn Skywards miles and Skywards Tier Miles on codeshare flights as per the existing Skywards programme.

In addition to the Emirates free checked baggage allowance, Skywards Premium members can also enjoy their extra checked baggage allowances of 20kg (Platinum members) 16kg (Gold members) and 12kg (Silver members) on codeshare flights operated by flydubai.

Skywards Silver, Gold and Platinum members travelling on codeshare flights can access flydubai’s Business Check-in counters and receive priority tags.

Further benefits for members of each airline’s frequent flyer and loyalty programmes will be announced in due course.

| An Emirates release  ||  January 10, 2018   |||

Jan 9, 2018  -  Anyone who has ever flown from Melbourne to Sydney would know the flight is quite easy.  A mere hour twenty will have you transported from graffiti-clad laneways to pristine harbourside beaches.

Jan 9, 2018  -  Supersonic passenger flight at reasonable cost has come a step closer with the news that Japan Airlines (JAL) has joined US aerospace developer Boom Supersonic to bring commercial supersonic travel to passengers at fares about the same as today’s business class tickets.

Jan 7, 2018  - Even as the European short-haul air market has consolidated and low-cost carriers have thrived, Germany’s domestic market has been dominated by two local airlines —Lufthansa, with hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, and the much smaller Air Berlin, with its bases in Berlin and Dusseldorf.  But that’s beginning to change.

Dec 22, 2017  -   Air New Zealand is turning to technology to tackle the language barriers that often arise during travel.  The airline is one of the first corporates globally to trial a customer service use case for Google’s wireless Bluetooth Pixel Buds headphones which enable live translation of 40 languages via Google’s Pixel handset. Air New Zealand Chief Digital Officer Avi Golan says the airline has a number of multi-lingual employees but naturally there are times when the relevant language speaker may not be on hand and technology could play a pivotal role in those moments. “We operate to 30 international destinations and our customers speak an even more diverse range of languages. Google’s Pixel Buds could assist in areas such as check-in and boarding as well as inflight to help our staff communicate effectively with international customers. “Both Air New Zealand and Google put people and technology at the heart of their products and experiences and it’s been excellent exploring how translation technology like Google’s Pixel Buds could enhance our customer experience. “In this increasingly digital world our customers expect us to provide a fast and personalised experience. It’s crucial we embrace technology solutions and collaborating with like-minded partners helps us keep ahead of the game,” says Mr Golan. Air New Zealand has an aspiration to be a leading digital airline. It’s experimentation with Google Pixel Buds follows on from other initiatives this year involving Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Social Robotics. Click here to download broadcast quality footage of Air New Zealand’s experiment with the Google Pixel Buds.

| An Air New Zealand release  ||  December 22, 2017   |||

Dec 15, 2017  -  Emirates is spreading the festive joy with treats across all cabin classes this December. Customers travelling through Dubai on the airline’s four daily New Zealand services will enjoy several Christmas specials both on the ground and on board from food to entertainment.

In addition to the regionally inspired cuisine served on board, Emirates has brought back its Christmas menu with a more extensive offering of holiday favourites. Emirates’ seasonal menus are a key component of its dining offering and the Christmas menu is one of the main highlights.

The festive meals are available throughout December for customers travelling from Dubai to Australia and New Zealand, Europe, the United States or the United Kingdom,and those travelling from the UK to Dubai.

Customers travelling in Economy Class can enjoy rolled turkey buffé served with cranberry jus lié, mashed potatoes, Vienna chicken sausages and seasonal vegetables. For desserts, customers will be served festive sweets such as a lemon cranberry cake with cream cheese frosting or a cocoa cake with white chocolate chips and raspberry coulis.

Those travelling in First and Business Class will start with king prawns marinated with lemon and herb and served with cocktail sauce and a fennel salad, and enjoy a main course of rolled turkey buffé served with chestnut and apricot stuffing, cranberry jus lié, pumpkin mash and creamy brussels sprouts with turkey bacon. A variety of desserts is available on the different routes including Ginger bread roulade, Chocolate Mint dome and Yule log.

As a special treat, First Class customers, can look out for Santa-inspired macaroons and hot chocolate served with marshmallows and gingerbread. Young fliers in First Class will be surprised with snowman-inspired marshmallow biscuits.

Besides Dom Pérignon , Veuve Cliquot and Moët & Chandon champagnes available on board to celebrate the holidays, those travelling to Europe or Africa can pair their meals with the premium vintage Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 1985 – a rare treat available in December in First class.

Premium customers can also get into the holiday spirit before the flight departs at the seven Emirates lounges found in Dubai International Airport and over 30 Emirates lounges worldwide, including Auckland. Traditional sweets such as Basler Leckerli gingerbread cookies, Christmas cake and Stollen cake are being served as well as roasted turkey in the First Class lounges.

Holiday gifts for all

Emirates is also making sure customers’ Christmas stockings are filled with special goodies. Across all classes, newly designed amenity kits are being introduced for December.

A new range of Bulgari amenity kits are being rolled out in First and Business Class. There are 16 brand new designs for men and women which can be re-used to keep electronics or make-up. The laser-cut pattern is inspired by Bulgari’s design archives with a touch of Middle Eastern influence inspired by Dubai, Emirates’ hub.

The exclusive designer kit bags include new signature Bulgari fragrances and lotions, along with other pampering essentials. The latest kits feature Bulgari’s White Tea fragrance and are available on long-haul night flights and on flights over 10 hours.

The Economy Class amenity kit bags are also getting a refresh in time for the holiday season. The six new designs are inspired by EXPO 2020 which will be hosted by Dubai. Emirates is the Official Airline Partner of Expo 2020 Dubai. The collectable bags feature the key subthemes of EXPO 2020 – Mobility, Sustainability and Opportunity. When arranged together, the kit bags form an image that represent the collaborative spirit of Expo 2020 and the key theme of connecting minds and creating the future.

The kit bags are given out on ultra-long haul flights and feature travel essentials such as socks, matching eye mask and a toothbrush.

In addition, parents travelling with infants will receive an amenity kit especially for baby. The newly designed pouch features Emirates’ iconic Little Traveller characters and contains essentials such as a bib, spoon, baby wipes, changing mat, diaper rash cream and small diaper bag for a comfortable journey.

Special treats for young flyers

Young flyers are given special attention when travelling on Emirates. Kids will enjoy a specially created festive menu with roast turkey, sweet potato mash, carrots and peas, as well as a moist chocolate brownie with cream cheese frosting and a white chocolate lollipop.

As part of the Emirates Fly With Me Animals range, a special limited edition character will greet young travellers. Noel the polar bear, decked out in a festive red scarf, will be introduced on board to coincide with the Christmas season and will only be available in December.

Noel will be available as a Travel Buddy which comes with a plastic toggle allowing the toy to be hung in the car, on a pram or in the cot and the Carry Buddy, a dual purpose toy and blanket.

Christmas classics on ice

To get travellers into the spirit of the holidays, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system, ice, features Christmas classics for the month of December. These include movies such as It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone and Scrooged, as well as TV specials including The Office and Family Guy Christmas shows. Customers can enjoy over 2,500 channels of entertainment including Christmas number 1s music playlist for the first time this year and dedicated kids’ TV channels. Special programmes for kids include The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and The Snowman.

Emirates offers customers across all classes 20MB of free Wi-Fi data to keep connected with friends and family, and Emirates Skywards members enjoy special benefits depending on membership tier and class of travel.

For those looking to brush up on a new language in the New Year, the airline has added 10 new uTalk language channels including Japanese, Swedish, Brazilian, Portuguese, and Turkish.

Last minute holiday shopping

The Emirates Official Store has a range of new Christmas inspired products for those still looking for gifts. These include a limited edition red First Class blanket, and Christmas sweaters and festive pyjamas for the whole family. Other gifts include Santa teddies, tree decorations and greeting cards. These are also available in stores and online at www.emirates.store.

Last minute shoppers can also get gifts on board with brand new products and special offers in the Emirates duty free collection. Shoppers will find over 100 new items in the collection as well as Emirates official merchandise. Special deals include discounts when purchasing 2 or more fragrances.

Dec 15, 2017  -  Japan Airlines (JAL) and Boom Supersonic have announced a strategic partnership to help to bring back commercial supersonic travel.  JAL has made a strategic investment of $10 million in Boom and is collaborating with the company to refine the aircraft design and help define the passenger experience for supersonic travel.

The Japanese airline also has the option to purchase up to 20 Boom aircraft through a pre-order arrangement.

Boom is developing a new-generation supersonic aircraft, which will fly at Mach 2.2 and will significantly cut flight times. A flight between London and New York, for example, could be cut from 7 hours to just 3 hours and 15 minutes.

“We’ve been working with Japan Airlines behind the scenes for over a year now,” said Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic. “JAL’s passionate, visionary team offers decades of practical knowledge and wisdom on everything from the passenger experience to technical operations. We’re thrilled to be working with JAL to develop a reliable, easily-maintained aircraft that will provide revolutionary speed to passengers. Our goal is to develop an airliner that will be a great addition to any international airline’s fleet.”

Yoshiharu Ueki, President of Japan Airlines, added: “We are very proud to be working with Boom on the advancement in the commercial aviation industry. Through this partnership, we hope to contribute to the future of supersonic travel with the intent of providing more time to our valued passengers while emphasising flight safety.”

The joint announcement by Boom and JAL follows an announcement last year that Virgin Group has agreed an option to purchase 10 Boom Supersonic aircraft.

| An FTE release  ||  December 15,  2017   |||