It’s Tuesday and that means Airline Wrap day. It’s also cheap steak day at our local, so don’t expect any emails after 2pm.

Emirates teams up with Nigel Owens for a series of videos

Emirates and Welsh Rugby Referee Nigel Owens have teamed up in a series of humorous videos filmed at Emirates’ world-class lounge in Sydney.

The videos make light of Owens’ role as a referee, stopping departing couples from hugging due to “not releasing” as they say goodbye.

You can see one of the videos here.

Marhaba open its first airport lounge in Australia, for all airline passengers

Opening on the 12^th September is Marhaba, Melbourne airport’s first premium airport lounge open to all airline passengers departing Melbourne.

Marhaba Melbourne is set to enhance the experience of international travel for all travellers, with a spacious 200 seat guest lounge featuring a quiet zone, shower facilities, and buffet cuisines from around the globe and a selection of Australia’s finest wines. And to assist with travel fatigue much-loved coffee provider Hudson Coffee is also onsite, preparing fresh coffee from its café.

Open seven days a week from 6am till midnight, the friendly, peaceful lounge allows passengers to relax in style no matter airline or class of travel.

Book now and dream ahead as Emirates launches early bird sale

Emirates is encouraging Australians to book now and dream ahead as it releases a range of competitive fares on more than 39 destinations as part of its early bird sale.

From 11 September until 4 October 2017, Emirates passengers will be able to take advantage of Emirates’ expansive European route network and superior service at competitive prices when flying to European hotspots such as London, Zagreb, Dublin and Barcelona.

Passengers can enjoy over 2,500 channels on its award-winning inflight entertainment system ice, generous baggage allowances and gourmet food and wine across all classes. Emirates has enhanced its onboard Wi-Fi offering, providing passengers up to 20MB of complementary Wi-Fi.

Emirates recently launched its 39^th European destination with the addition of Zagreb, Croatia to its global route network as part of its continued commitment to improving passenger connectivity. Emirates is also set to launch a third daily service between Dubai and Brisbane on 1 December 2017, operated by a B777-200LR, in addition its existing two daily services.

Cathay Pacific’s Taste of Asia and Christmas Sales are now available

Last week Cathay Pacific launched two incredible promotions on fares to a range of destinations across the globe to encourage Aussies to end 2017 feeling well-travelled and inspired by culture.

Taste of Asia Sale:

The Taste of Asia Sale is an exciting promotion on companion fares from all Australian ports to over 60 popular cities across Asia.

This promotion offers Aussies looking to travel with their partner, family or friend the perfect opportunity to embark on a culinary adventure together across Asia. Fares start from just $659* return per person to Beijing and $782* return per person to Tokyo. The sale is on offer from 8 – 27 September 2017 for passengers looking to travel between 8 September 2017 and 31 January 2018.

On all flights passengers can experience Cathay Pacific’s award winning Economy Class, which is designed to make the travel journey a comfortable and seamless experience.

Christmas Sale:

For Aussies looking to celebrate Christmas a little differently this year, Cathay Pacific has also launched a sale on fares to Europe and North America.

This promotion offers great-value fares from all Australian ports to the UK, Europe, USA, Canada and Israel, with the travel period of 8 September to 31 January 2018. Fares start from just $1,470* return per person to Europe and $1,614* return per person to North America. This sale is ideal for those considering to take a last-minute holiday for a celebration, a break from work, or to spend the festive holiday season in the Northern Hemisphere and enjoy a merry White Christmas.

Rex launches Port Augusta services 

Binge-Viewing On Bumper Box Sets With Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways’ award-winning in-flight entertainment system Oryx One now offers so many box sets of hit TV shows and major movies that a passenger could fly 20 times around the world before watching them all.

An incredible 920 hours of must-see movies and unmissable TV shows have been carefully chosen to feature in special box sets and collated collections to satisfy even the most dedicated binge-viewers, thanks to Qatar Airways’ award-winning in-flight entertainment offering.

That’s enough to keep an avid viewer entertained watching every single minute of all 106 box sets, collections and branded channels on board a Qatar Airways aircraft while it continuously circled the globe 20 times.

AirAsia and PublicisQ partner with Guy Sebastian to encourage Aussies to Fly Smarter

Ahead of its 10^th anniversary of operations in Australia, AirAsia and creative agency PublicisQ are encouraging Australians to fly smarter with a new campaign that features Guy Sebastian in a 30-second commercial.

Sebastian was chosen for the campaign because of his appeal to everyday Aussies, his sense of humour and personal style, and affinity with the brand due to his Malaysian and Australian heritage.

The campaign also features a series of online videos on the many ways AirAsia keeps costs low for long-haul travel to Asia, with savings passed directly back to its passengers.

AirAsia has continued to focus on offering a great travel experience for Australians who love to fly for less with low fares but with added value. For example, passengers can book a premium flatbed for the same price as economy fares on full service airlines. Guests can also pre-book their inflight meals and inflight entertainment before they fly for greater savings.

Air Astana to offer passengers in-flight broadband speed connectivity

Passengers flying on Air Astana are now able to experience high-speed broadband In-Flight connectivity, with the airline’s first Boeing 767 featuring the service. The award-winning Kazakh air carrier has installed the Rockwell Collins cabin system, which utilises Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) Aviation capabilities to provide In-Flight connectivity.

The new service enables Air Astana passengers to surf the Internet, use various instant messenger applications, social networks, listen to audio and check e-mails via personal computers, tablets and smartphones. Broadband speed connectivity will be available to Business and Economy class passengers on all three of Air Astana’s Boeing 767s.

Depending on their individual needs, Air Astana passengers will be able to choose from three connectivity packages: The Light option will cover 15 Mb, the Business option will cover 50 Mb, and the Super option will cover 100 Mb. All services are estimated to operate at an average speed of two to five Mbps.

Sabre commentary of Asian airports adopting technology – attributed to Anupam Bokil, Vice President, Technology, Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific 

China Eastern delivers daily Shanghai – Brisbane flights