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…
Author: holidayweekly
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…
FAISALABAD: A prominent leader of Travel Agents Association of Pakistan, Hafiz Shafiq Kashif met with federal minister of religion affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri and highlighted the issues of Umrahzairin. He emphasized for the necessarynegotiation with private sector seniors of Hajj Umrah operators in order to act upon new Umrah policy of Saudi government. He said that government should play its role in this matter. Federal minister of religion affairs Pir Dr. Noorrul Haq said that government of Pakistan is aware of its responsibilities and its first priority is to facilitate the guests of Allah according to their budget. He…
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has recommenced twice weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur on every Monday and Friday. According to details, the first flight PK-894 operated by Boeing 777 aircraft took off from Islamabad carrying more than 300 passengers in the early hours of Monday, 14 Oct. The passengers were seen off by PIA officials at Islamabad International Airport. The flight operation to Kuala Lumpur has been restored after eight months which earlier suspended due to closure of airspace in February this year. CEO PIA Air Marshal Arshad Malik said that PIA planned to operate more flights on this route…
MADRID: A high-ranking official delegation from the US Department of State has met with head of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as the United States of America moves closer to rejoining the United Nations specialized agency for tourism. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Kevin Moley and Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs Manisha Singh were welcomed by UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, following up on the announcement that the USA is exploring rejoining UNWTO, of which it is a founding member. The two parties enjoyed productive discussions as the terms of membership are being finalized. This is…