BEIJING: Where is the busiest railroad passenger system in the world? China always impresses by numbers, and this is not different when it comes to transportation. China Railway announced that the number of passenger railway trips in the first three quarters of 2019 was up 9.4% from last year, reaching 2.8 billion. Around 1.73 billion passenger trips were made on bullet trains from January to September, up 15.3 percent year on year. During the period, 8,538 trains for passenger transport were put into service per day with bullet trains accounting for 71.6 percent. Fixing bullet trains share 12 percent of…
Author: holidayweekly
MUSCAT: Oman Air has continued its expansion across Europe by adding a clutch of popular cities to its codeshare partnership with Lufthansa. Under the expanded agreement, guests can travel on Oman Air flights from Muscat to Munich and Frankfurt, as well as seamlessly connecting to Amsterdam, Dublin, Helsinki, Oslo and Warsaw. The first flights are set to depart on October 27th. Abdulaziz Al Raisi, Chief Executive, Oman Air said: “Strategic codeshares are a crucial way for us to broaden customer choice and make it easier for business and leisure travellers to reach the Sultanate and beyond. “Our relationship with Lufthansa…
SYDNEY: The first non-stop commercial airline flight from New York to Sydney has landed after 19 hours 16 minutes in the air. A total of 49 passengers and crew were on the flight, which was used to run a series of experiments to assess health and well-being onboard. Data from these experiments will be used help shape the crew rostering and customer service of Qantas’ ultra-long-haul flights in future – including Project Sunrise. Tests ranged from monitoring pilot brain waves, melatonin levels and alertness, through to exercise classes for passengers. Cabin lighting and in-flight meals were also adjusted in ways…
KARACHI: Travel Agents Association of Pakistan (TAAP) hosted a luncheon meeting in the honor of H.E. Thatree Chauvachata, Consul General of Thailand, H.E. Apipan Cheecharoen, Deputy Consul General of Thailand Karachi and Mr. Kanaporn Apinonkul, Country Manager, Thai Air International, Pakistan. Chairman TAAP, Mr. Muhammad Naeem Sharif warmly welcomed along with Mr. Anwar Rashid Vice Chairman TAAP South Zone, Mr. Muhammad Hanif Rinch, Former Chairman TAAP and a number of Travel Agents and Tour Operators at Head Office, Karachi. In his welcome address, Chairman TAAP briefed that TAAP is the National Association of Travel and Tourism Industry duly registered with…
MUSCAT: Members of the loyalty programmes for Accor and Oman Air now have the option to convert points and miles between the two schemes. Members of Oman Air’s Sindbad programme can convert 1,500 miles into 500 Le Club Accor hotels points, while in the other direction 4,000 Le Club Accor hotels points can be converted into 1,500 Sindbad miles. In a press release Accor said that “conversions are easy and fully digital with an efficient points management system”. Oman Air operates nonstop flights from Muscat into both Heathrow and Manchester airports. Later this year Accor will rebrand its Le Club…
ABU DHABI: Etihad Aviation Group has signed a partnership deal with Air Arabia to launch Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, a new low-cost carrier. Etihad and Air Arabia will establish an independent joint venture company that will operate as a low-cost passenger airline with its hub in Abu Dhabi International Airport. The new carrier will complement Etihad Airways’ services from Abu Dhabi and will cater to the growing low-cost travel market segment in the region. Tony Douglas, group Chief Executive Officers, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “Abu Dhabi is a thriving cultural hub with a clear economic vision built on sustainability and…
MANAMA: Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, recently hosted the annual Human Resources meeting of the Arab Air Carriers’ Organisation at the Wyndham Grand Manama Hotel, Bahrain. The meeting was attended by representatives from regional airlines as well as members of the human resources department at the host airline, Gulf Air. The three-day event included the core meeting, seminars and a cultural visit to the Bahrain National Museum where delegates had the opportunity to discover the kingdom’s history and culture. Gulf Air is a long-time member of AACO and it prides itself of being one of the first regional…
Virgin Atlantic has announced its intention to enter into a joint venture with China Eastern and Air France-KLM. The move is designed to provide customers with increased choice and connectivity across Europe and China. Once approved, the new deal is set to formally replace the current joint venture China Eastern has with Virgin Atlantic’s future partners, Air France-KLM, who already work together on a portfolio of flights between Paris, Amsterdam and China. Expected to launch in the spring, Virgin Atlantic plans to seek to codeshare for the first time on China Eastern services between London and Shanghai. This will open…
DUBAI: Chinese tourists to Dubai can now get instant VAT refunds at Dubai Airports via the We Tax Refund on the WeChat Mini Program, launched by Chinese tech giant, Tencent, and international payments service provider, Planet. With the support of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), the new integrated service provides a seamless and secure way for visitors to instantly claim back their tax on purchases they have made while visiting the emirate, and further supports the Department’s ongoing ‘China Readiness’ strategy to grow and maintain the emirate’s share in a key source market while enhancing holistic…
MOTERAL: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has warned that ongoing tensions between the US and China is a major factor in the tenth consecutive month of year-on-year decline in freight volumes. This is the longest period of decline since 2008 when the global financial crisis was at its peak. The new report by the IATA has said that freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), contracted by 3.9% in August 2019, compared to the same period in 2018. Freight capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometers (AFTKs), rose by 2% year-on-year in August 2019. Capacity growth has now outstripped demand growth for…