Turkish delights with August numbers
TURKISH Airlines announced the results of passenger and cargo traffic in August highlighting highest monthly load factor (LF) in its history with 85.6 per cent. Growth in the number of passengers, revenue per kilometre and load factor indicates growing interest in Turkey and Turkish Airlines.
According to August 2018 traffic results the passenger growth trend continued in August, thus total number of passengers carried went up by 2.4 per cent reaching 7.6 million passengers. Excluding international-to-international transfer passengers (transit passengers), number of international passengers went up by 3.4 per cent.
During January-August, increase in demand and total number of passengers was 12 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively, over the same period of last year. Total number of passengers reached to 51 million.
BA seals partnership with Vistara
AS part of the new agreement British Airways customers can book seats on Vistara flights to destinations across India from Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. British Airways operates two direct flights a day from Heathrow to Mumbai, a double daily service to Delhi and a daily flight to Chennai. The agreement means that British Airways customers will now be able to visit 13 new destinations across the region, opening up cities such as Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Goa, Kolkata, Kochi, and Pune, that have previously been more difficult to access from the UK.
British Airways customers travelling on the codeshare flights will be able to check their bags straight through to their final destination and both airlines use the same terminals at Delhi and Mumbai airports, making it even easier for customers to connect on to domestic services.
Oman Air readies for new routes in 2019
THE Omani flag carrier is adding another exotic destination to its expanding network. Athens is the new destination that Oman Air will be flying to starting June 2019 and it will be on offer for guests next year. Oman Air’s daily flight to and from Athens will be operated with the new-state-of-the-art Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
Oman Air flights to Athens, WY 191, will depart Muscat at 1445 and reach Athens at 1950 hrs. The return flight will depart Athens at 0020 and arrive in Muscat at 0635 hrs. The flight duration is approximately five hours.
Oman Air is currently undergoing an exciting fleet and network expansion programme, which will see the airline operate up to 70 aircraft to around 60 destinations by 2022. The airline is committed to consistently providing its guests with an award winning product, coupled with their legendary hospitality and seamless service.
Lufthansa launches NDC programme
TRAVEL agencies, corporate customers and travel technology providers in UAE can now find out about Lufthansa Group's various direct sales interfaces on a new website, which was set up as part of the NDC Partner Program. This programme now bundles offers, exclusive content and solutions of the NDC API connection of Lufthansa Group Airlines on a single platform.
The website is freely available on the internet and provides information on services that are beneficial for sales partners and customers, NDC Smart Offer, as well as technological and strategic cooperation options. The program also offers user support for connected sales partners and training programs. Travel agencies interested in the free web-based NDC solution SPRK can now register on the website and gain access to the booking and service platform. The registration is possible by filling in a form available on the new website. Until the end of this year, Lufthansa Group will be offering a special incentive of $1.18 per coupon for agents using the SPRK platform.
Effective 1st of September until 31st of December, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS are expanding their NDC Smart Offer for flights originating from Dubai to European destinations. Additional savings starting from $27 in Economy Class and up to $135 in Business Class will be exclusively available on the NDC-based distribution channels.