MONTREAL: The International Air Transport Association has announced Sebastian Mikosz will join the organisation as Senior Vice President for member and external relations. The appointment will take effect on June 1st. Most recently, Mikosz was group Managing Director and Chief Executive of Kenya Airways (2017-2019), during which time he served on the IATA board of governors. During his tenure this carrier was recognised as Africa’s Leading Airline Business Class by voters at the World Travel Awards. At IATA, Mikosz will lead global advocacy activities and aero-political policy development, along with managing strategic relationships. Mikosz will report to chief executive, Alexandre…
Author: holidayweekly
BEIJING: China’s most populous cities saw a spike in outbound travellers, tourists and day-trippers on May 1, first day of a long holiday weekend, led by Wuhan, epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic that first struck the country late last year. The number of people travelling outside their home cities jumped nearly 50% at the start of the Labour Day weekend, compared with the first day of the Tomb Sweeping holiday on April 4, according to a calculation on data from China’s internet giant Baidu Inc (BIDU.O). The increase in outbound travel during the five-day holiday, one of China’s peak tourism…
American Airlines has reported a first-quarter net loss of $2.2 billion, or $5.26 per share. Excluding net special items, first-quarter net losses totaled $1.1 billion. Revenue at the US-based carrier dropped nearly 20 per cent year-on-year to $8.52 billion. “Never before has our airline, or our industry, faced such a significant challenge,” said American Airlines chief executive, Doug Parker. “We have moved quickly and aggressively to reduce our costs and bolster our liquidity. “We are particularly grateful for the $5.8 billion in financial assistance American will receive through the payroll support program, and we appreciate the bipartisan congressional and United…
ISTANBUL: Turkish Airlines will only begin operating domestic and international flights after May 28, the company announced on Tuesday. Turkey’s national flag carrier said the decision to extend the suspension of operations has been taken in the public interest. “In accordance with decisions taken by the state authorities, all flights have been suspended until May 28, 2020, in order to protect public health in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,” read a statement issued by the airline. The company had earlier suspended all international flights through May 20, while domestic flights were suspended through May 1. “We know it…
LONDON: British Airways may be forced to cut more than a quarter of its workforce as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll on one of Europe’s biggest airlines. Parent company IAG (ICAGY) said in a statement day that British Airways is notifying labor unions about a restructuring program which will affect most employees and “may result in the redundancy of up to 12,000 of them.” IAG, which also includes Spanish airline Iberia, said its first quarter revenues declined 13% to €4.6 billion ($5 billion) as it swung to an operating loss of €535 million ($579 million). The airline group warned…
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) chartered flight will depart for Washington on May 12 to bring back stranded countrymen, sources told. The national flag carrier after approval from the US for direct flights to repatriate stranded Pakistanis has started planning the flights schedule. The flight to US will fly back on May 10 to Lahore International Airport carrying 250 passengers. Four additional flights will depart from Islamabad airport for Dubai and the UK. The arrangement was made after PIA was allowed to operate direct flights to the US to airlift its stranded citizens last week. The permission was granted by…
MAKKAH: Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, head of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques gave glad tidings to the faithful, with his reassuring words: “Days would come (soon) when worshipers return to the Two Holy Mosques.” [huge_it_slider id=”540″] In a video, transmitted by various media outlets and posted on official social media accounts, Sheikh Al-Sudais said: “Days (will come) when the sorrow will be driven away from the Islamic Ummah and we return to the Two Holy Mosques for tawaf (circumambulation around the Holy Kaa’ba), sa’i (the ritual of hastening between the hills of Safa and…
KARACHI: Recently TAAP wrote a letter to CEO PIA and expressed its dismay and reservation about the changed policy of PIA whereby travel agents are not allowed to sell PIA tickets. In this difficult time when travel agents of Pakistan were looking towards national institutions for support, this new policy created more economic worries for them. In the letter TAAP congratulated CEO PIA for winning the case and taking charge of the national carrier once more. The Chairman TAAP wrote, “With you at the helm, we had started to see a turnaround in PIA’s fortunes. Sadly, due to the ongoing…
DOHA: Qatar Airways is still operating flights to 35 cities around the world including London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Sydney, helping thousands of passengers get home safely. “We are still operating flights to 35 destinations around the world while upholding the safety and security of our passengers and employees at all times,” the airline said on Twitter. The airline also cautioned passengers that schedules may change at short notice as government around the world are imposing various restrictions on entry. It also urged travelers to check the entry restrictions of their destination country before travelling. “Please be advised that, due to…
DOHA: This is pretty unbelievable, on 30th April two Qatar Airways aircraft parked next to one another at Doha Hamad International Airport collided due to strong winds. The planes in question were an Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 787-8. At the time of the incident there was a storm, with winds gusting from 19 knots to 61 knots (or 22 to 70 mph). The two planes were parked next to one another with quite a bit of space between them. Over the course of about a minute, the 787 turned 90 degrees and then started moving towards the A350, before finally…