Middle East Airlines

Egyptair Airbus A320 flight from Paris to Cairo goes missing #MS804

Approximate last known position of missing Egyptair flight MS804 Paris to Cairo. Map courtesy FlightRadar24.com

Egyptair flight MS804 from Paris Charles De Gaulle airport to Cairo has gone missing over the eastern Mediterranean sea. At 05:00 Egypt local time (03:00Z UTC, 08:30 IST) the airline reported that the aircraft lost radar contact around 02:45 local time (00:45Z) whilst cruising at 37,000ft (FL370) about 210 nautical miles north-north-west of Cairo. It was still in Greek airspace …

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Etihad Airways launches innovative iPhone app

National carrier, Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi has launched a new, innovative app for the iPhone. The app is aimed at making every aspect of the passengers’ journey simple and easy. Guests using the app get a 10% discount while members of the Etihad Guest loyalty program聽will receive 250 bonus miles for every booking made through the mobile app before …

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Turkish Airlines to receive 26 new Boeing aircraft

Turkey’s flagship carrier Turkish Airlines announced that it will be receiving 26 new aircraft from American airframer Boeing this year. The order, predicted by Boeing’s Middle Eastern facility for the year is the largest placed by the airline. It is also the largest order placed for Turkey. The order of 26 involves six聽777-300ERs and 20 Next-Generation 737-800s. The new aircraft …

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A photo tour of Etihad’s new Boeing 787-9 first, business and economy class

Etihad is the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates and a 24% stake-holder in Jet Airways. At the recent India Aviation show, BangaloreAviation was invited to tour Etihad’s newest aircraft type, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The 787-9 is a stretched variant and commenced joining Etihad’s fleet from December 31, 2014, just 15 days after the airline’s flagship the Airbus …

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Qatar Airways adds second daily New York JFK flight

National carrier and oneworld alliance member Qatar Airways has added a second flight (QR703/704) between its hub in Doha and New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport. The new flight operates daily and offers morning arrivals at the destination in both directions. Unlike the existing evening service which targets the Indian sub-continent, the new service appears to cater to O&D …

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Qatar Airways enhances in-flight entertainment content

Qatar Airways In flight entertainment system. Image courtesy the airline.

National carrier and oneworld alliance member Qatar Airways has upped the game in the in-flight entertainment (IFE) arena. The Doha based carrier is now offering up to 3,000 inflight entertainment options on board its flights compared to 2,000 earlier. From March the airline offers a selection of up to 550 movies, 1,400 episodes of TV shows, 1,000 audio selections, and …

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Emirates announces longest non-stop flight between Dubai and Auckland

Emirates Boeing 777-200LR. Airline image.

Is this an effect of low oil prices? but there seems to be a spate of announcements focussed on ultra-long haul (ULH) flights. Dubai based Emirates airline has announced a new non-stop flight between Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and Auckland, New Zealand starting March 1. This announcement follows recent announcements by Singapore Airlines on its ULH Singapore Newark …

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Airbus delays A320neo delivery to 2016. IndiGo, GoAir fleet plans disrupted.

First Airbus A320neo with Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1127G-JM Geared Turbo-Fan (GTF) engine. Photo courtesy Airbus.

Airbus along with engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney and launch customer Deutsche Lufthansa has decided to delay the first delivery of the A320neo into 2016. While a date is not specified, sometime in January is the widely accepted time frame. The company said the delay was due to “some more documentation items that need to be address by Pratt& Whitney …

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A320neo launch customer Lufthansa, not Qatar. IndiGo now third.

First Airbus A320neo with Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1127G-JM Geared Turbo-Fan (GTF) engine. Photo courtesy Airbus.

Air Transport World is reporting that Airbus will deliver the first A320neo (new engine option) to German flag carrier Lufthansa and not Qatar Airways as originally planned. India’s IndiGo which was expected to be the second operator to receive deliveries will now be moved to third slot. The last minute change has been necessitated due to the ongoing problems which …

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Qatar Airways commences Nagpur Doha flights

Qatar Airways A320 Sharklet A7-AHX First Flight to arrive at Hamad Intl Airport at QR7450. NDIA.

National carrier Qatar Airways, today commences daily non-stop flights between Nagpur and Doha. QR 588 departs Doha at 19:55 arrives Nagpur at 02:15 the next morning QR 589 departs Nagpur at 03:45 arrives Doha at 05:55 the same day The flight is estimated to be a little over four hours in duration. The schedule like most of the airline’s flights …

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Etihad to begin A380 service to India

Middle eastern carrier, Etihad Airways will begin to operate it’s Airbus A380 to Mumbai from May 2016. The new route is designed to connect to the carrier’s A380 New York service and will allow connecting passengers a through journey on the super-jumbo. Mumbai is the fifth destination that Etihad has announced for their A380 service, but should be the fourth …

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Emirates bashes US airlines with new Jennifer Aniston ad

Jennifer Aniston stars in an Emirates' TV commercial

In the ongoing war between the three major US airlines Delta, United and American, and the three major Gulf carriers, Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar, Dubai based Emirates airline has hit back with a new video commercial featuring Hollywood megastar Jennifer Aniston. Aniston is in a nightmare on an unknown US carrier asking for a shower and a lounge, something available …

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flydubai and Mindtree enter into strategic partnership

flydubai Boeing 737-800 A6-FEO. Photo copyright Vedant Agarwal.

Emirates’ narrow-body sister airline flydubai has selected India’s technology service company Mindtree [NSE: MINDTREE] as a strategic technology partner to help the airline shape the digital experience it is envisaging for its passengers. Mindtree will focus on transforming flydubai’s information technology to support passenger sales and service systems, including services such as electronic ticketing and real-time baggage tracking. The agreement …

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Emirates airline offers low cost interior connectivity with America’s Pass

Emirates_A380-800 A6-EDF arrives at London. Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal.

Dubai based behemoth Emirates airline has solved a key weakness faced by its passengers to the Americas, interior travel. The airline flies to 10 gateway cities in the Americas and many of its passengers would like to visit cities beyond these 10. By introducing its America’s Pass the airline’s passengers can now connect to over 90 cities in the USA, …

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Qatar Airways in talks with IndiGo, denies interest in SpiceJet

Qatar Airways Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner A7-BCF.

National carrier Qatar Airways has issued a statement denying any interest in picking up a stake in Gurgaon based SpiceJet. The middle-eastern carrier says This release is to confirm that Qatar Airways is not in talks to pursue a commercial stake in SpiceJet. There is no interest from the airline to engage in a partnership with the Gurgaon-based airline. Qatar …

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Saudi Arabian is launch customer for Airbus A330-300 Regional

Rendering of A330-300 Regional in Saudi Arabian Airlines livery. Airbus image.

National carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines will be the launch customer (first airline in the world to operate), of the new Airbus A330-300 Regional wide-body. The airline has placed a firm order for 20 aircraft at the Paris air show. Patterned on similar lines like the 787-10 i.e. packing more passengers in to a same size aircraft and trading payload for …

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Qatar Airways to operate high density Airbus A340-600

Qatar Airways Airbus A340-600.

Middle Eastern carrier Qatar Airways is planning to introduce a two-class high density Airbus A340-600 on the Doha-Kuala Lumpur route. The aircraft will have 372 seats with 24 seats in business and 348 seats in economy. The airline currently operates the aircraft with eight seats in first, 42 in business and 260 in economy for a total of 310 seats. …

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Emirates to operate world’s biggest A380 with 615 seats

Emirates_A380-800 A6-EDF arrives at London.

Dubai based Emirates airline has revealed its plans for the world’s largest configured scheduled passenger airplane with a whopping 615 seats. The airline is configuring some of its A380s in to a two class configuration, eliminating the first class, and reducing its business class to 58 seats and increasing its economy class to a whopping 557 seats. This 615 seat …

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Qatar Airways upgrades Doha Bangalore to Boeing 777. Economy class boon.

Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER A7-BAE in special FC Barcelona livery arrives at El Prat airport Barcelona Spain.

Middle Eastern carrier Qatar Airways will be up-gauging its Doha Bangalore service from the current Boeing 787-8 to a Boeing 777-300ER from August 1, 2015. The up-gauge will see a increase in number of seats from 254 to 335. Qatar is the second airline after Emirates to bring the 777-300ER on a regularly scheduled service. READ ONLINE: Walk through of …

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Turkish Airlines A330 lands off the runway at Kathmandu

A Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 has crash-landed at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport today morning at approximately 7.45am local time. The aircraft operating flight TK726 landed in between the taxiway and the runway while attempting to land in low visibility conditions. All the passengers onboard the aircraft are reported to be ok with a few passengers requiring minor medical attention. Pictures …

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