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 2 pm.

Emirates welcomes over 18,000 visitors at the 25th edition of ATM

Emirates’ stand was buzzing at this year’s ATM, with over 18,000 visitors making their way to the stand to experience the airline’s signature products and services. Visitors were also able to experience the new Boeing 777-300ER First Class Private Suite for the first time at ATM.

In addition, the Emirates stand showcased the airline’s recently launched products and service enhancements including latest Boeing 777 Business Class seat, the A380 OnBoard lounge, along with other iconic products such as the First Class Shower Spa and its generously-pitched Economy Class seats.

UAE royal dignitaries and VIP guests visited the Emirates stand including His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah; His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Ajman Municipality and Planning Department; Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai; and Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Ghanaian Minister of Aviation.

Click here to watch Emirates’ highlights at this year’s edition of ATM. Over 125 meetings took place with industry trade partners and suppliers. Emirates also signed four agreements and memorandums of understanding with strategic partners to develop and enhance tourism traffic to destinations in its route network as well as its home of Dubai.

Qatar Airways receives special award for its contribution to the success of the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) Programme

Qatar Airways was again recognised for its outstanding safety performance record at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Safety and Flight Operations Conference 2018, held in Montreal last week. The airline was the first to complete the IOSA in 2003, doing so voluntarily and achieving 100 per cent compliance, before the safety programme became mandatory for all IATA member airlines.

In a fitting tribute to the 15 year anniversary of the IOSA programme, IATA used the conference as the ideal opportunity to emphasise the programme’s importance by presenting the Special Recognition Award to Qatar Airways, the inaugural IOSA programme airline.

The IOSA programme was introduced to enable airlines to review their safety processes using a worldwide standard that has become the single internationally-accepted safety and security audit process for airlines. Under IOSA, accredited auditors assess an airline’s operational management and control systems, including the areas of corporate organisation and management, flight operations, operational control, flight dispatch, aircraft engineering and maintenance, cabin operations, aircraft ground handling, cargo operations and operational security.

Singapore Airlines partners with Plug and Play to promote innovation via start ups

Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced today a partnership with Plug and Play, a start-up innovation platform based in Silicon Valley, to further promote creativity and innovation within the airline industry using digital solutions.

Plug and Play’s Travel & Hospitality programme launched in 2016 and has accelerated 95 startups. Plug and Play supports these companies by providing them connections to interested corporations, mentorship, and access to funding.

Together with Plug and Play, SIA will identify and work with startups that have created new ideas and technologies to develop solutions for business challenges in the aviation and travel sectors. This partnership will complement SIA’s digital innovation programme, under which the Airline is advancing its digital capabilities and leveraging on emerging technologies to redefine the travel experience for customers.

Air Tahiti Nui Unveils new logo and Brand Identity

In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Air Tahiti Nui, the leading carrier to French Polynesia, has revealed its new logo and visual brand identity.

Long synonymous with Air Tahiti Nui and The Islands of Tahiti, the ubiquitous Tiare flower takes a central position in the revamped logo, which has a sophisticated and modern new look. Carefully crafted by globally acclaimed Tahitian artist, Alex Lee, the updated Tiare flower embodies the pure, natural beauty and spirit of The Islands of Tahiti. The forward-facing flower conveys a subtle but powerful message about Air Tahiti Nui’s preparedness for the future and captures the very essence of taking flight and moving forward.

The sensorial, free spirit of the Tiare flower logo is grounded by the refined strength within its new logotype. The thick and thin strokes provide a confident and established feel, and the letterforms are purposefully curved and rounded to mimic the shapes and joins of the Tiare petals, harmoniously tying together all of the elements, much like the majestic Islands of Tahiti themselves.

The new logo and branding were designed by Future Brand, a brand agency specialising in brand creation and transformation. Future Brand’s past work includes the design of the new American Airlines brand as well as The Islands of Tahiti brand for the tourism board of French Polynesia.

Surfboards fly free with AirAsia

AirAsia, Australia’s Official Airline of Surfing, has announced changes to its baggage policy as part of its partnership with Surfing Australia and state surfing bodies.

From today, surfers from across Australia will be able to travel with their surfboard to and from surfing hot spots such as Indonesia, Thailand, the Maldives, Japan and the Philippines, at no additional cost.

The new policy comes into effect today, and is valid until further notice for all passengers who depart to and from Australia on point to point and fly-thru bookings made at airasia.com.

Hainan Airlines renews agreement with Sabre, supporting massive growth initiatives

Sabre Corporation, the leading technology provider to the global travel industry, today announced a renewed content distribution agreement with Hainan Airlines, reiterating Sabre’s added value as the airline fast-forwards growth and scales global operations.

Hainan Airlines has been a long-term strategic partner with Sabre, first adopting its innovative airline solutions over a decade ago with access to a broad, state-of-the-art suite of planning and scheduling technology to support its operations.

Hainan Airlines, a leading Chinese carrier, is a making a point to aggressively increase operations with 13 new international routes added to its scheduled flights. These domestic and international routes connect to Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, Japan and the United States. With even more new routes scheduled to be announced this year, Hainan Airlines is investing heavily in its growing, 207-aircraft fleet, receiving 37 aircrafts in 2017 alone and expecting more by the end of the year.

Qatar Airways to debut award-winning Qsuite on Shanghai route from 15 May

Qatar Airways is pleased to announce that its award-winning Business Class seat, Qsuite, will make its China debut on flights to Shanghai from 15 May 2018. Long known for pioneering industry firsts, Qsuite continues to redefine premium travel with its patented quad seating configuration, and is pleased to shortly be able provide Shanghai-bound travellers the opportunity to experience this new standard of luxury.

Patented by Qatar Airways, Qsuite features the industry’s first-ever double bed available in Business Class and private cabins for up to four people with privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private room, a first of its kind in the industry. Adjustable panels and movable TV monitors on the centre four seats allow colleagues, friends or families travelling together to transform their space into a private suite, allowing them to work, dine and socialise together. These new features provide the ultimate customisable travel experience that enables passengers to create an environment that suits their own unique needs.

Qsuite has set a new standard in luxury travel, and is already fast collecting awards since its launch at ITB Berlin last year. Earlier this month, Qatar Airways won a Crystal Cabin Award for ‘Best Cabin Concept’ in recognition of Qsuite’s innovative design. The award, announced at the Aircraft Interiors Exposition that took place in Hamburg, Germany, was decided by a jury of 28 international experts to distinguish pioneering on-board innovation by airlines.

Strong growth for Finnair in Australia

Finnair has reported strong sales growth in the Australian market for January to March 2018. Finnair Corporate Sales Manager and Acting General Manager Australia, Sanna Ruuskanen said ticketed revenue was up 43 per cent compared to Q1 last year, much of which can be attributed to a further increase in business class sales.

Meanwhile Finnair posted its 14th consecutive quarter of growth with a profit of nearly four million Euros from January through March.

Traffic continued to grow in Finnair’s main markets in the first quarter of 2018. Measured in available seat kilometres, scheduled market capacity between Helsinki and Finnair’s European destinations increased by 8.3 per cent (2.8), while direct market capacity between Finnair’s Asian and European destinations grew by 8.6 per cent (2.2) year-on-year.

Finnair plans on increasing its capacity by more than 15 per cent in 2018, with most of this growth coming in the first half of the year. Passenger volume is expected to grow broadly in line with capacity while revenue growth is expected to be slightly lower.

Emirates introduces Home Check-in in Dubai

Emirates has introduced Home Check-in, a new service which allows customers to check in for their flights from anywhere in Dubai. The service is available for customers across all classes travelling on Emirates flights.

The new service enables Emirates passengers to complete the security check and check-in from the comfort of their home, hotel or office and have their luggage transported to the airport prior to their flight. An Emirates check-in agent will arrive at the preferred location to weigh and tag the bags as well as check-in the customers and issue boarding passes. Customers can then make their own way to the airport and head directly to immigration, bypassing the check-in desks at the airport.

The service is available for AED 350 per trip for up to 7 pieces of luggage. AED 35 will be charged for each additional piece of luggage. Customers can book the service on emirates.com up to 12 hours before flight departure time. This latest initiative is part of the Emirates’ ongoing commitment to provide world class products and services for a more convenient travel experience.

Emirates has been running trials for its Home Check-in service since October to ensure that the customer experience and security checks are faultless. The service seals each bag and stores them in a separate hold in the van. Emirates Home Check-in will be operated with a new fleet of vans. The new Home Check-in offering complements other luggage handling services already available for Emirates flights in Dubai. For a seamless travel experience, customers can pay for a concierge service to handle their luggage at the airport, enjoy preferred rates for pre-paid excess baggage, and bag wraps to protect their luggage.