Aviation

LOT Polish Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines and the 16 members of the International Air Carrier Association (IACA) have officially transformed the association into the Airlines International Representation in Europe “AIRE”, that will offer airlines a more effective representation, information and access to the European institutions.

Beginning this summer, United’s premium cabin customers on all overnight flights between Hawaii and Chicago, Denver, Houston, New York/Newark and Washington, D.C., will enjoy 180-degree flat-bed seats for a more relaxing and sleep-enhancing flight with custom-designed duvets and pillows provided by leading luxury specialty store and New York-bred retailer Saks Fifth Avenue.

The world’s passenger aircraft fleet above 100 seats is set to more than double in the next 20 years to over 40,000 planes as traffic is set to grow at 4.4 percent per year, according to Airbus’ latest Global Market Forecast 2017-2036.

Finavia, the operator of Helsinki Airport, has decided to speed up its ambitious climate programme, which aims to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions caused by the operations of all of the company's 21 airports to zero by 2020. At Helsinki Airport, this goal will already be reached in 2017, when the largest airport solar power plant in the Nordic countries is opened at the airport, and when airport buses start using renewable fuels.  

Royal Wings will start operating direct regular flights between King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba and Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai as of June 15, 2017.

The first Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Dublin carrying Senior Vice President of Qatar Airways Europe, Mr. Jonathan Harding, travelled on board the inaugural flight and was greeted by DAA Chief Executive, Mr. Kevin Toland; Dublin Airport Managing Director, Mr. Vincent Harrison; and Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, Mr. Niall Gibbons.

Lufthansa has announced plans to expand flights between Glasgow and Munich with four flights a week during the winter following the success of the airline’s seasonal service.

Starting October 29th, 2017, Air France will offer a new winter service from Montpellier (France) to Algiers (Algeria). The flights will be operated by Airbus A319 and Airbus A320. In this way, customers will benefit from two winter frequencies on Mondays and Saturdays.

Air Canada Rouge's newest route between Montreal and Marseille is launched on June 9, 2017. The seasonal, non-stop service between Montreal and Marseille will operate three times a week during the summer and give Air Canada customers even more choices when travelling to France.

After a three year absence, Philippine Airlines (PAL) resumed daily service to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on June 8, 2017. With investment opportunities in Malaysia's service and manufacturing sectors, the PAL route will provide direct access to new business opportunities. Close to 800,000 Overseas Filipino Workers are employed in Malaysia.

Hainan Airlines will officially launch a non-stop service between Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Brussels Airport on October 25, 2017. This will be Hainan Airlines' second direct flight from Brussels to China, and make Hainan Airlines the first carrier to provide non-stop services between Shanghai and Belgium.

Air China launched its new service from Beijing to Zurich, Switzerland. On June 7, the inaugural flight from Beijing landed in Zurich at 07:25 local time. This flight was Air China's first flight to the Swiss city since the airline discontinued its Beijing-Zurich service in October 1999.

Aeroflot, in partnership with the Russian Federal Customs Service (FCS), has become the first Russian airline to fully introduce an automatized information system to provide advance information about aircraft and goods transported on international flights.

Inaugurated at DFS, the world’s leading luxury travel retailer, at Singapore Changi Airport in 2016, this year’s Whiskey Festival is kicked off in Singapore on May 27 and will travel worldwide to eight DFS locations across Asia, the Middle East and North America. Bringing together over 300 whiskies, the Whiskey Festival allows customers to discover and taste some of the world’s best whiskies, including rare, limited edition bottles exclusive to DFS.