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Air India

Air India, India’s leading airline and a Star Alliance member, has announced the launch of 12 weekly ights to London Gatwick Airport and ve additional services to London Heathrow Airport. Air India shall operate three times a week from the cities of Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Goa, and Kochi, to Gatwick. It is the only scheduled airline to o er direct services to the UK's second-largest airport. To Heathrow, Air India will add ve additional weekly operations. Frequencies in Delhi will increase from 14 to 17 times a week, and in Mumbai from 12 to 14 times per week. Gatwick also provides passengers with direct access to the UK’s motorway network, which will further facilitate convenient travel by car or coach to London and south-east England. With round-the-clock direct rail access from the South Terminal, passengers can reach Central London in less than half an hour. is is part of the airline’s ongoing endeavour to leave its imprint on the international aviation map, in order to signi cantly increase its market share on international routes. rough Vihaan.ai, Air India attempts to implement its transformation plan to revive its reputation as a world-class airline. airindia.com

Air Vistara

Vistara has seen massive growth in passenger tra c and has been lauded for state-of-the-art cabin cleanliness and high safety standards. In order to continue maintaining such high standards and meet the surge in demands, Vistara’s newest aircra , an A320neo registered VT-TQO was delivered to them on December 31, 2022, and put in service on January 6, 2023. Furthermore, as of January 1, 2023, members are required to collect Tier Points and y the required number of Vistaraoperated ights over 12 months in order to upgrade or retain the tier. In January, the airline celebrated its eight-year anniversary by announcing a domestic and international sale across all three of its cabins, o ering customers the opportunity to plan their upcoming travels right at the beginning of the year. Bookings under the sale are for travel between 23 January 2023 and 30 September 2023. Deepak Rajawat, Chief Commercial O cer, Vistara, said, “ e year 2022 has been a year of celebratory milestones for Vistara –from becoming India’s second-largest airline by domestic market share to crossing the one million monthly domestic passenger mark for the rst time in history and entering the list of World’s Top 20 Airlines by Skytrax, to name a few.” airvistara.com

All Nippon Airways

A er a lull due to Covid-19, leisure demand is at the helm of the recovery in domestic passenger volumes, while a signi cant relaxation of border restrictions in last year’s quarter has boosted international tra c. International business travel to and from Japan has also signi cantly risen. Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) said it will operate 95 per cent of pre-pandemic domestic capacity in the March 2023 quarter and more than half of its 2019 international capacity levels during the same three-month period. ANA increased its ights at Tokyo Narita (NRT) in its scal rst half, in order to accommodate the demand for transit ights between North America and Asia. Flights were increased at Tokyo Haneda (HND) as well, due to rising demand in Japan. However, services to mainland China are limited due to continuing border restrictions. ANA predicts that scal fourth-quarter domestic passenger numbers are expected to be 95 per cent of 2019 levels. Meanwhile, international passenger numbers are forecast to improve to 55 per cent in the 2023 March quarter. Based on the surge in demand, ANA signi cantly increased its earnings forecast for the year ending March 31, 2023. e carrier now expects to reach a net pro t of ¥40 billion ($269 million) for the year, compared with its earlier forecast of ¥21 billion ($162 million). ana.co.jp

Air France

Air France, the ag carrier of France, has increased ticket prices in order to pay for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). e decision to increase the ticket prices is a calculated one as the airline will be increasing the amount of SAF on its ights and has included this in the price of all tickets. e airline says that the amount will vary between €1 and €8 in the economy and between €1.50 and €24 in business class, depending on the distance of the ight. e move will help accelerate the adoption of SAF. Vincent

Etchebehere, VP Sustainability

and New Mobilities at the airline said that since the beginning of 2022, “French regulations have required us to incorporate an average of one per cent sustainable aviation fuel on ights departing from France. In 2025, this will rise to two per cent, then to ve per cent in 2030, for all ights departing from Europe”. e airline further revealed that in 2022, it used 16,075 tonnes of SAF in 2022 and reduced its CO2 emissions by over 40,000 tonnes as a result of doing so. airfrance.com

British Airways

All 12 British Airways’ A380s are ying once again, as of December 30, 2022. Like many other airlines, British Airways anticipates stronger demand than ever this year. e airline has seen a dramatic rise in demand for leisure and business travel; however, it predicts that further growth in demand will primarily occur in the leisure travel market. British Airways axed around 10,000 short-haul ights to and from London’s Heathrow Airport between October 2022, which will continue on till March 2023. e airline has also announced the launch of a new route that is scheduled for the summer of 2023, wherein it will connect London Heathrow Airport (LHR) with Italy’s Florence Airport (FLR). is route will be the airline’s 11th direct connection between LHR and Italy.

e new route connecting LHR with FLR will be inaugurated on April 26th, and is going to be received well by leisure travellers. e airline will o er a daily service between the two airports aboard an Airbus A320neo. e ights will be serviced out of LHR terminal 5. e Director of Networks and Alliances at British Airways, Neil Cherno , shared how the airline anticipates that the route will be well received and greatly bene t the US and European travellers. Cherno stated “Not only is this good news for UK travellers, but also for those connecting in London to and from US destinations.

e ights’ timings have been optimised for connectivity to popular routes, including New York, Boston and Chicago.” britishairways.com

Brussels Airlines

Brussels Airlines, which belongs to the Lu hansa Group, receives its rst Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) delivery via the Central Europe Pipeline System (CEPS). As the aviation industry moves towards adopting and implementing more sustainable practices, the airline has purchased 2,000 barrels of 1,000 litres each from Finnish-based company Neste, with a blend of 38 per cent SAF. is allowed the carrier to operate its rst SAF ight from Brussels to Malaga on January 1. Brussels airport is currently the only Belgian airport fully connected to the CEPS pipeline network, which is the largest of the NATO pipeline systems and extends through Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and e Netherlands. brusselsairlines.com

Cathay Pacific

A er the removal of China’s Covid-19 quarantine rules for inbound travellers, Cathay Paci c is gearing itself to more than double its ights into China. e plan entails operating 61 return ights per week between Hong Kong and 13 cities in mainland China from January 14, 2023. Before the 14th, the airline was o ering 27 weekly ights to the mainland, and 50 weekly ights from China to Hong Kong. e airline is also resuming ights to Guangzhou with ve return ights per week. Furthermore, Cathay strives to operate over 100 return ights per week by March 2023. As a group, it intends to operate around 70 per cent of pre-pandemic passenger ight capacity by the end of the year, with an aim to return to prepandemic levels by the end of 2024. cathaypaci c.com

Delta Airlines

In an attempt to expand its network, Delta Airlines has outlined plans to launch a new route to Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires, complementing its long-standing ights from Atlanta. e airline has sought an exemption from the US Transportation Department to authorise scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between the US and Argentina. Additionally, Delta Airlines wants to launch a new route between New York John F Kennedy and Buenos Aires Ezeiza but is rst seeking broad US-Argentina authority, consistent with the Air Transport Agreement between the two countries. “Broad authority will give Delta the exibility to potentially add additional new ights as market conditions warrant, which would provide consumers new competitive travel options” the application stated. delta.com

Emirates

Established in October 1985, Emirates Airlines is the national carrier of the emirate of Dubai. It is in the process of reintroducing large wide-body aircra such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8, due to the speculation that international air travel will return to pre-Covid levels by mid-2023. According to Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial O cer of Emirates, a surge in travel bookings and growing demand for premium ying is visible. Given this sudden spike, an aircra like A380 can mobilise a lot of people at a time and give exibility and freedom to airport infrastructure. It is believed that Emirates is enthusiastic about the adoption of digital technologies, which can have the positive impact of accelerating business, as well as improving passenger safety and in ight experience. ey are also exploring the metaverse in HR methods and cabin crew training. Emirates intends to bring back all of its Airbus A380 double-deckers by December 2023, replenishing its eet a er years of reduced capacity during the coronavirus pandemic. is will help Emirates recover the remaining 20 per cent of capacity that the airline has been holding back. e airline is already ying more than 70 A380s; the interiors of about half the eet are also getting a makeover including the addition of new premium economy seating. emirates.com

Etihad Airways

Named the most punctual airline in the Middle East, Etihad plans to bring out four A380s by the summer of 2023 on ights between Abu Dhabi and London Heathrow, freeing up capacity for increased frequencies on existing routes and the launch of new destinations. e A380s’ return will be supported by the addition of ve of the smaller A320s. “It is wonderful to announce the return of this splendid aircra . e A380’s reintroduction provides a further boost to Etihad’s capacity into the key UK market, with a knock-on e ect for the wider GCC and Indian subcontinent that will bring more visitors to the city of Abu Dhabi,” said Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman, Etihad Aviation Group. Etihad is currently preparing the aircra to y again, and part of this preparation includes the recruitment and training of A380 teams, including pilots, cabin crew and technical ground sta . “We know this will be welcomed by our guests who love Etihad’s incredible A380 and its award-winning cabins. We have decided the time is right to return some of our A380s to the eet to satisfy the demand which has made them nancially viable once more. We look forward to welcoming our guests again on board this remarkable aircra ,” shared Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive O cer, Etihad Airways. etihad.com

Lufthansa

Lu hansa has reversed a pandemic-era decision to retire the super jumbo aircra in the light of increased travel demand, and the delayed arrival of new jets from Airbus and Boeing. Lu hansa is starting in the summer of 2023 with new European destinations from Frankfurt and Munich. In total, the airline o ers more than 205 destinations worldwide, almost as many as before the pandemic. e number of connections from Frankfurt and Munich reaches 5,200 weekly frequencies, up to 87 per cent of the pre-crisis level. e airline is therefore assuring its participation in the growth potential of the Greater London area. Lu hansa is also including Skopje for the rst time from April 23, 2023 and will connect the capital of northern Macedonia up to twice a day. Flights LH1540 and LH1542 are scheduled to be ideal for both business travellers and tourists. In a bid to contribute to a sustainable future, Lu hansa enables travellers to make their ight CO2 neutral, by o setting the negative impact of the ight via high-quality climate projects and also utilising sustainable aviation fuel. e airlines of the Lu hansa Group have integrated the options into the booking process.

lu hansagroup.com

Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines, Japan's ag carrier and the largest airline as of 2022, has become the world’s rst airline to o er all its passengers irrespective of their travel class, to opt out of meal service. e initiative has been introduced as a part of JAL’s latest ‘Ethical Choice Meal Skip’ option which aims to reduce food waste. According to the trade body IATA, airline food waste amounts to almost six million tons annually. It’s reported that for every passenger who selects the meal skip option, JAL will donate the savings to school meal programmes in developing countries. A point to be noted is that utilising the meal skip option will not result in a reduction of the ticket price. jal.co.jp strengthen its Belgrade operations by tying up with Air Serbia through an extensive codeshare agreement. e Qatari carrier said, “Belgrade is an important route for Qatar Airways, and the partnership with Air Serbia will de nitely expand and improve our presence in the market in the near future and hopefully lead to more capacity.” Qatar Airways will place its codes onto Air Serbia’s services from Belgrade to Niš, Podgorica, Tivat, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Ljubljana, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Hanover, Nuremberg, Salzburg, Bologna, Venice and St Petersburg. Likewise, Air Serbia will also be placing its codes on its counterpart’s services between Belgrade and Doha, as well as numerous points beyond the Qatari capital. Since the occurrence of Covid, Qatar Airways has bene ted from Etihad Airways’ departure from Belgrade. Qatar Airways also launched a sale on ights from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide to celebrate the new year. e special fares are for travel from January 16 to November 30, 2023. qatarairways.com

Singapore Airlines

ai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form a new strategic partnership. is will result in the airlines progressively code sharing more extensively on each other’s services and exploring wide-ranging commercial collaboration that provides their customers with more options and value, as well as greater bene ts and an enhanced travel experience. In the initial phase, THAI and SIA will codeshare each other’s ight services between Singapore and Bangkok. THAI will also codeshare on SIA’s ight services to Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa; Houston, Los Angeles, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport, San Francisco, and Seattle in the United States of America; as well as Vancouver in Canada, by the rst quarter of 2023, subject to regulatory approval. Additional codeshare arrangements to points in both airlines’ networks will be explored to support increased air connectivity to ailand and Singapore, as well as points in Europe, India, and South West Paci c routes. singaporeair.com

Turkish Airlines

To honour the UEFA Champions League, Turkish Airlines has designed a special aircra for the heavily followed sports event. Becoming the rst airline to sponsor UEFA Champions League which will have its 2023 nal in İstanbul, Turkish Airlines designed one of its Airbus A330s to commemorate the occasion. With its TC-JNM tail number, the UEFA Champions League-themed aircra ew for the rst time with its new makeover for the TK1821 İstanbul Airport to Paris ight during the rst day of the year. Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee Prof. Dr Ahmet Bolat stated “We will host the 2023 nale of the UEFA Champions League in İstanbul as one of its o cial sponsors. We are pleased to be a part of this important event which will also take place during the 100th year of our Republic. As this is one of the most signi cant sponsorships of Turkish sports history, our aircra with the UEFA Champions League theme is a testament to our commitment to sports.” turkishairlines.com

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic has opened up recruitment for First O cers across both Airbus and Boeing eets for the rst time since 2020. e demand for First O cers comes as Virgin Atlantic increases capacity across its network. Virgin Atlantic has one of the youngest, cleanest, and most technologically advanced twin-engine wide-body eets of any airline. is includes the A3501000 aircra , Boeing 787 Dreamliners and also Virgin Atlantic’s newest aircra , the A330-900 NEO, which took to the skies in October 2022 with a redesigned Upper-Class cabin. e airline also took delivery of three A330-900 NEO aircra in 2022 with the remaining 13 deliveries following between 2023 and 2026. Following the impact of the pandemic, Virgin Atlantic was the rst airline to create a holding pool to welcome back pilots and cabin crew when increased ying allowed. All the hold pool pilots who passed interviews have re-joined or have con rmed start dates and Virgin Atlantic is now ready to restart external recruitment. e airline anticipates it will need 100 additional pilots by summer 2023 with a further 60 by summer 2024 and a further 40 by summer 2025. virginatlantic.com BTI

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