DUBAI: Private equity firm Indigo Partners, ultra-low cost airlines around the world, made the massive commitment for Airbus’ single-aisle A320neo family airliners at the Dubai Air Show on Wednesday, November 15. The planes aren’t all for one airline. Instead, Indigo has used the negotiating power of its many carriers to buy in bulk. The deal will spread the jets out across Frontier Airlines in the U.S., Mexico’s Volaris, Wizz Air of Hungary and newcomer JetSmart of Chile. The stunning magnitude of the deal, which Airbus (EADSF) called its “largest single commercial announcement ever” caught many in the aviation industry by…
Author: holidayweekly
NEW YORK: A painting once bought for $60 is about to go under the hammer, billed as “the greatest artistic rediscovery of the 21st century.” Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” was unveiled at Christie’s New York Auction house last month, and is expected to fetch about $100 million when it goes on sale tonight. “The ‘Salvator Mundi’ is the Holy Grail of Old Master paintings,” said Alan Wintermute, Christie’s Senior Specialist of Old Master Paintings. “Long known to have existed, and long sought after, it seemed just a tantalizingly, unobtainable dream until now.” Da Vinci painted the image of Jesus…
ISTANBUL: Turkish Airlines has posted a net profit of $939 million in the third quarter of 2017 thus setting a new record in company’s history. The nine-month operating net profit surged to $956 million, thanks to the financial discipline and dynamic demand management applied since the beginning of 2017, said a statement from the Turkish national carrier. The successful third quarter marked a 23 per cent increase on total revenues compared to the same period of 2016, reaching $3.6 billion. The nine-month average on total revenues marked $8.2 billion with an 8 per cent increase. Turkish Airlines told that the…
DUBAI: Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) have signed an aircraft lease agreement for five Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft that are scheduled to enter the Gulf carrier’s fleet in 2018. These modern, fuel efficient planes will help Gulf Air expand its network, facilitating the long-term expansion capabilities for the airline’s future network requirement, a statement said. Gulf Air Deputy Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed Abdulhameed Al Alawi said: “Our agreement with Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, sees Gulf Air gear up for a landmark moment in our history as we welcome five Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in the coming…
SINGAPORE: Sabre Corporation , the leading technology provider to the global travel industry, has announced a multi-year agreement to provide Sabre MIDT Network Plus data to Hong Kong Airlines. The purchase is expected to be central in providing the airline with much-needed intelligence as they chart their expansion plans into North America. Hong Kong Airlines will now have access to booking data from Sabre agents worldwide for all traveller origins and destinations where Hong Kong Airlines operates at least one segment of the traveller journey. The data also includes information on proceeding and follow-on segments for those routes, which will help…
Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline, is poised to significantly enhance the digital experience it offers to customers having signed with Amadeus to implement a wide range of advanced technology through its Altéa Suite. The move to overhaul its digital offering supports Flybe’s continuing business improvement strategy which includes providing a highly personalised, industry leading and interactive digital offering before, during and after travel. Amadeus’ mobile solutions will also offer the airline’s passengers re-accommodation options during times of disruption, directly within Flybe’s mobile app. Christine Ourmières-Widener, Chief Executive Officer at Flybe commented: “We look forward to working with Amadeus to implement…
CARIO: Egypt is enjoying an “exceptional recovery” in tourism arrivals this year due to increased “economic and social stability” that has encouraged European visitors back to the country.Tourism revenue in Egypt will rise 105 per cent by the end of the year, taking it to $7 billion, Deputy Tourism Minister, Adela Ragab, said. According to Tariq Amer, governor of the Egyptian Central Bank, Egypt’s tourism revenues amounted to $3.4 billion in 2016.During an interview with Al-Shorouk, Ragab said: “The number of tourists coming to Egypt may exceed 7.5 million by the end of this year.”The United Nations World Tourism Organisation…
Carnival Cruise Line has signed a fuel supply agreement with Shell for the first cruise ships in North America to be fully powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).The deal with Shell is for two new ships arriving in 2020 and 2022, which will be powered by liquefied natural gas, the cleanest burning fossil fuel, at port as well as at sea, via Shell’s ocean-going LNG Bunker Barge.The ships will be Carnival’s largest, carrying about 5,200 guests each at full capacity. “Carnival Cruise Line is strongly committed to leading the way in the implementation of technology innovations to help protect the…
LAHORE: Pakistan is fortunate enough to have most picturesque deserts in the world, including the Cholistan. For promoting desert tourism in the Punjab, the Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) has taken the initiative of developing a tourist resort of foreign standards in the Cholistan. Mr. Ahmer Mallick, MD-TDCP while talking to media told that the corporation has submitted a proposition (PC-II) to the province’s Planning and Development (P&D) Department for a practical analysis of the project. The project would be developed by some foreign reputable consulting company. He mentioned that initially both the design and feasibility of the resort…
KHUNJERAB PASS: This border outpost on the Karakoram Highway, slashed through the glacier-strewn Karakoram Mountains to join China and Pakistan by road, made a new world record and that is the world’s highest installed automated bank teller machine. However, the ATM is just one of the changes happening along the high altitude highway, which is increasingly a tourist attraction after a major upgrade as part of a $54 billion Chinese-funded effort to boost transport and trade links between the two countries. At the border post, the highest paved international crossing in the world, many more diesel semi-trailer trucks now crawl…