Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines will increase their existing seat capacity between New Zealand and Singapore by up to 30% under a new alliance that will see the Kiwi carrier return to the Auckland-Singapore route.
Under the new deal, Singapore Airlines will operate the Airbus A380 to New Zealand for the first time on a daily basis, progressively replacing its daily Boeing 777-300ER service.
Air NZ will launch daily B777-200ER services between Auckland and Singapore, taking over five of the flights currently operated by Singapore Airlines and adding two more flights.
The alliance is subject to regulatory approvals.
There have been more new appointments at Tourism Fiji as the tourism body named new state managers for Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.
Karen Everingham, most recently of Virgin Australia, will service QLD while former Intrepid employee David McMahon will take on Victoria. Matthew Symonds, formerly of Rail Plus, will be responsible for NSW.
Emirates will add a second daily direct flight to Dublin from September 1, with the Boeing 777-300ER service adding more than 5,000 seats per week in both directions.
The timings have been scheduled to connect more effectively with services from Dubai to key ports in Australia and New Zealand, resulting in shorter journey times to Auckland, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Luxury hotel brand Anantara has opened its fifth property in Abu Dhabi located in the heart of the Arabian Wildlife Park.
Anantara Sir Bani Yas Island Al Sahel Villa Resort features 30 luxury villas.
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts will open its first hotel in the Qinghai Tibetan plateau this spring, following its announcement in May 2010. The 262-room and 17-suite Shangri-La Hotel Llasa is located within walking distance of UNESCO World Heritage sites Potala Palace and Norbulingka Palace, and a 40 minute drive from Llasa Gongar Airport.
