There’s all sorts of news happening in the world of flying today. And yes, we’re including the fact that our skirt flew up over our head on the way to work this morning.

Air Astana marks 16 years in the Russian market

Air Astana, the award-winning Kazakh flag carrier, has marked 16 years of successful operation in the Russian market. The airline inaugurated services to Russia in 2002, with the first flights from Astana and Almaty to Moscow. Between 2009 and 2012, additional services were launched from Astana to Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Omsk and St. Petersburg, as well as from Almaty to Kazan and St. Petersburg. Earlier this month, two new services commenced from Astana to Tyumen and Kazan, which brought the total number Russian cities being served from Kazakhstan to seven.

Peter Foster, President and CEO of Air Astana, said Russia continues to be one of Air Astana’s most important markets and together with China and India, service frequencies with continue to grow in the future. Air Astana currently operates daily flights from Moscow, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, with many of our passengers taking advantage of onward connections from the Astana and Almaty hubs to destinations in Asia, Caucasus, Central Asia and the Gulf.

Since 2012, Air Astana has transported almost 4.5 million passengers and 24,000 tons of cargo on services to Russia, with revenue passenger-kilometers exceeding 13 million. During the first half of 2018, the passenger load factor on Russian services was almost 70 per cent.

Emirates SkyCargo opens up a new trade lane to South America

Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, will be adding Santiago, Chile to its network of cargo destinations from 5th July 2018. Santiago will be Emirates SkyCargo’s sixth destination in South America following Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Viracopos, Buenos Aires and Ciudad del Este. The air cargo carrier will be offering customers up to 15 tonnes of cargo capacity on its Boeing 777-200LR aircraft.

With the launch of its services to Santiago, Emirates SkyCargo will be able to facilitate Chilean exports of salmon and other perishables to destinations on its global network. Chile is the world’s second largest producer of farmed salmon and exports of salmon from the country were valued at over US$ 4.6 billion in the year 2017.

The new service will also offer one of the fastest flight connections for cargo from Chile to destinations in East Asia including Shanghai, Middle East and Russia through Dubai. Together with the rapid flight time, Emirates SkyCargo also offers a suite of specialised transportation solutions for perishable cargo –Emirates Fresh –to help ensure the freshness of Chilean salmon and fruits during transit.

Star Alliance opens new lounge at Rome Fiumicino Airport

Star Alliance customers travelling from Rome can look forward to a new premium lounge experience at Fiumicino Airport. The new Star Alliance Lounge will welcome eligible First and Business Class passengers and Star Alliance Gold Card holders as of June 29th onwards. Located on the upper level of Boarding Zone D in Terminal 3, the lounge provides easy access to the departure gates for Alliance member carrier flights to European destinations in the Schengen Zone.

All Star Alliance branded lounges are designed to provide a unique local experience. In Rome, Italian designer furniture gives an elegant, modern and fashionable look, along with functional spaces to work, relax or socialise in. This goes hand in hand with an exciting Italian inspired culinary experience, ranging from a staffed bar and barista coffee station, to made to order signature dishes.

Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the lounge, with a mix of standard and USB power outlets ensuring that customers can recharge their electronic devices. A private space for making phone calls is also available. The lounge can accommodate around 130 guests and will open daily from 05:15 to 21:15.

LATAM Airlines says Hola to Far North Queensland

LATAM Airlines (‘LATAM’), South America’s leading airline carrier to, from and within the region, has just rounded out its Far North Queensland roadshow – a three-city tour starting in Cairns, followed by Townsville and Mackay.

LATAM, along with a group of wholesale partners, met with over 150 local travel agents, showcasing new products and experiences available across South America. Agents came away from each show with a better understanding of how to sell the destination and LATAM’s South America Airpass.

The South American Airpass is available to customers who book an international LATAM ticket from Australia to Santiago, Chile and provides a range of benefits, including discounted airfares throughout South America, extra luggage allowance and more reward points.

One lucky agent in each city walked away with a once-in-a-lifetime trip to South America, thanks to LATAM Airlines and Nomade Unique Experiences.

Fiji Airways celebrates one year of flying from Adelaide

Last night, the movers and shakers of South Australia’s travel industry joined Fiji Airways in celebrating the airline’s first year in Adelaide. They also heard that South Australians will be the first in the region to see the airline’s brand new Boeing 737 MAX later this year.

Commencing in June 2017, this month marks the one-year anniversary of Fiji’s National Airline offering year-round, direct flights between Adelaide and the tropical paradise. The launch of the service was the airline’s fourth direct service from Australia and the first new route in the market in 10 years.

Fiji Airways will start taking delivery of its brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8s from November, with commercial operations from December. The airline’s entire narrow-body fleet of Boeing 737 NG aircraft will be replaced with the modern B737 MAX 8s.

Taking less than six hours, Fiji Airways offers a twice weekly service between Adelaide and Nadi, Fiji, with connecting flights available to its array of idyllic islands, as well as on to North America, including Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Emirates encourages customers to arrive early to airport during busy summer season

Emirates expects high passenger traffic on its flights this upcoming weekend, starting from Friday 29 June as travellers journey out for their summer holidays and long breaks. Over 220,000 travellers will be passing through Emirates Terminal 3 during the upcoming two weekends.

The busiest weekend day for the airline is expected to be tomorrow, Friday 29 June as well as the following weekend starting 6 July. Emirates reminds customers to arrive at the airport at least three hours before flight departure, and customers are encouraged to plan extra time to avoid potential delays.

Passengers can physically check in at the airport as early as six hours before departing on their flight. They are requested to check in no later than 90 minutes prior to departure, regardless of class of travel. Customers who check in less than 60 minutes prior to their scheduled flight departure will not be accepted for travel.

Qatar Airways Launches ‘Goal For Difference’ Activation in Celebration of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

Qatar Airways is delighted to announce that it has launched the global on-ground activation ‘Goal For Difference’ innine countries around the world, to further celebrate the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and support Education Above All Foundation’s Educate A Child (EAC) Programme, which now has partnership commitments in place to provide access to quality primary education for more than 10 million of the most marginalised and hardest to reach children in 50 countries around the world.

‘Goal For Difference’ is an on-ground activation being carried out in several key destinations globally, including: Australia, India, Iran, Turkey, Morocco, Malaysia, Kuwait, Oman, and the USA. Hosted at popular locations in each destination, including the Oberoi Mall in Mumbai, Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne and Marina Mall in Kuwait, participants will engage in a virtual penalty shootout game, with players who score at least two out of three goals entered into an online draw for a chance to win round-trip Economy Class tickets to any Qatar Airways destination.

The ‘Goal For Difference’ activation took place between 21 and 25 June in Iran, Turkey, Malaysia and the USA, and will take place between 28 June and 1 July 2018 in the remaining destinations.

Air New Zealand serves up the impossible

Air New Zealand is giving customers a taste of the future with a new inflight collaboration with Silicon Valley food tech start-up Impossible Foods.

The airline is the first in the world to serve the award-winning, plant-based Impossible Burger which is now available as part of its Business Premier menu on flights from Los Angeles to Auckland.

Impossible Burger’s magic ingredient is an iron-containing molecule called heme which comes from the roots of soy plants. The heme in the Impossible Burger is the same as the heme found in animal meat. The result is a plant-based burger patty that cooks, smells and tastes like beef but contains no animal products whatsoever.

Air New Zealand’s Inflight Customer Experience Manager Niki Chave says the airline has been watching Impossible Foods for some time and has been impressed with the work it’s doing. Air New Zealand will serve the Impossible Burger on flights NZ1 and NZ5 from Los Angeles to Auckland through until late October.