Finnair Opens New Lounge And Spa In Helsinki-Vantaa

Finnair has opened the new Via Lounge and the new generation Via Spa at its hub in Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Targeted at long-haul travellers from Asia, Europe and North America flying through Helsinki, the new facilities are part of the airline’s efforts to make its offering more competitive. Located between gates 36 and 37, the lounge and spa will offer wellness and comfort amenities and services to the airline’s Business Class passengers, as well as Finnair Plus and Oneworld top tier members.

 

Via Lounge

The stylish 1,000-square meter lounge can accomodate 250 guests and features a variety of seating areas for working or relaxing before a flight. Complimentary wireless internet is available throughout the airport and European plug sockets can be found in some armchairs in addition to 3 iMac computers, while Samsung LCD televisions deliver up to date news and other programs to guests.

 

An extensive food and beverage area offers a buffet selection paired with vintage champagnes, wines and special cognacs from the wine bar. Guests not using the spa facilities can utilize the 6 private shower suites to freshen up before boarding their flight.

 

Via Spa

Located behind the lounge, the 600-square meter Via Spa is complimentary for Finnair Plus Platinum cardholders and accessible for 45 Euros for all other passengers. The spa will offer amenities such 4 saunas (spruce, stone, steam, traditional Finnish), mineral water pool, rasul for mud treatments and loungers facing the runway. Using organic ingredients and naturopathic therapies, each treatment and facility is designed to alleviate the side effects of flying and combat jetlag.

 

For more information, visit www.finnair.com.

Star Alliance Welcomes Brussels Airlines

The Star Alliance network has welcomed its newest member at an official ceremony held at Brussels’ historic Grand Place. Zaventum-headquartered Brussels Airlines, the largest airline based in Belgium, becomes the 26th member of the grouping.

 

From its hub at Brussels Airport, the airline flies 200 daily flights to 69 destinations across Europe and Africa, offering greater connectivity for Star Alliance passengers and boosting the network’s reach to 1,077 destinations in 175 countries with more than 19,700 daily flights. An Africa specialist, Brussels Airlines also introduces 4 destinations (Bujumbura, Conakry, Kigali and Monrovia) on the continent which were previously unserved by Star Alliance.

 

With the addition of Brussels Airlines, Star Alliance passengers can now incorporate the airline’s flights into the Round the World fare, Europe Airpass and/or the Africa Airpass. Passengers will also be able to earn and redeem miles on the airline’s flights, with Brussels Airlines’ Miles & More HON Circle and Senator cardholders being awarded Star Alliance Gold status while Frequent Traveller cardholders awarded Star Alliance Silver status.

 

Brussels Airlines offers Business and Economy Class service on all of its flights. The airline operates a fleet of 51 jet aircraft, including the Airbus A319 and A330-300, Avro 80, Avro 100, Boeing 737-300 and 737-400.

 

For more information, visit www.brusselsairlines.com and www.staralliance.com.

Qatar Airways Arrives Down Under

Doha-based Qatar Airways has completed its first ever flight to Australia. The inaugural flight, QR 030, landed in Melbourne Tullamarine International Airport at 2159 hrs on Sunday, 6 December 2009, after a 13 hours 40 minutes flight from Doha.

 

Operated by the airline’s 2-class Boeing 777-200LR aircraft configured with 42 Business Class and 217 Economy Class seats, passengers of the high-profile delegation onboard the flight included Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al Baker, Australian Ambassador to the UAE and Qatar His Excellency Doug Trappett, members of the international media and senior company executives. The airline was officially welcomed to Australia by the Victorian Government Minister of Tourism and Major Events, The Honourable Tim Holding, this morning at the State Government Offices where a joint press conference was held.

 

Flight QR 030 currently operates on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, departing Doha at 0045 hrs and arriving in Melbourne at 2225 hrs. The return flight, QR 031, takes off from Tullamarine International Airport at 2355 hrs, landing back in Doha International Airport at 0625 hrs the next morning. Beginning 1 January 2010, Qatar Airways will increase frequencies from the current 3 times weekly to daily service, when it takes delivery of a fourth Boeing 777-200LR jet.

 

The arrival of yesterday’s inaugural flight completes the trio of Gulf carriers serving Melbourne from their respective hubs. Dubai’s Emirates flies triple daily into the city while its counterpart Etihad Airways operates a daily service from Abu Dhabi. After Melbourne, Qatar Airways will also inaugurate a Doha-Sydney flight in 2010 as part of its ongoing expansion into Australia. The airline is targeting the lucrative ‘Kangaroo Route’ between Australia and Europe with the new non-stop services, which will boost Qatar Airways’ hub operations at Doha International Airport.

 

Qatar Airways now operates a fleet of 72 Airbus and Boeing aircraft to more than 85 destinations worldwide. For more information, visit www.qatarairways.com.

Hainan Airlines To Link Beijing And Brussels Daily

Hainan Airlines, the largest private airline in China, has announced it will increase frequencies on the Beijing-Brussels route to daily service. The airline currently offers 3 weekly and 4 weekly flights during the winter and summer seasons respectively.

 

Beginning 27 April 2010, flight HU 491 departs Beijing Capital Airport daily at 0120 hrs, arriving in Brussels Airport at 0530 hrs in the morning. On the return leg, flight HU 492 takes off from Brussels at 1350 hrs and lands back in Beijing at 0510 hrs the next day. The airline has timed the flights to allow for convenient onward connections to and from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei and other destinations across China and Northeast Asia.

 

All flights will be operated using a 2-class Airbus A330-200 aircraft configured with 36 Business Class and 186 Economy Class seats. Offering a generous 74-inch seat pitch, the fixed-shell Business Class seats convert into a full-flat bed, with the audio-video on-demand inflight entertainment delivered by a 10.6-inch personal screen. In Economy Class, passengers enjoy ergonomic slimline seats with a 8.9-inch personal monitor fitted to the seatback.

 

Haikou-based Hainan Airlines has been operating on the route since 2006. Brussels is 1 of 18 international destinations served by the airline in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, including Astana, Bangkok, Berlin, Budapest, Dubai, Luanda, Moscow, Seattle, Seoul and St. Petersburg.

 

For more information, visit www.hnair.com.

Emirates To Begin Flights To Amsterdam

Dubai’s Emirates has announced it will commence passenger services to Amsterdam on 1 May 2010, making it the first Gulf carrier to fly to the Dutch city. The new route is Emirates’ 23rd into Europe and the airline joins KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which currently offer 12 flights a week between Amsterdam and Dubai.

 

Flight EK 145 will depart Dubai at 0825 hrs and arrive in Amsterdam at 1330 hrs. The return flight, EK 146, takes off from Schipol Airport at 1530 hrs, landing back in Dubai International Airport at 2359 hrs. Emirates will operate the flights using a combination of 3-class Boeing 777-200LR and 777-300ER aircraft, becoming the only airline offering a First Class product on the route.

 

Emirates is leveraging on its successful hub operations in Dubai for the route, timing the flights to allow for convenient onward connections to and from Africa, Asia, Australia and the Indian subcontinent. The new service will complement recent developments by the airline in Europe, where it has opened new lounge facilities in Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Manchester, as well as increased frequencies to Rome. The airline will also be deploying its Airbus A380 aircraft on the Dubai-Paris (Charles de Gaulle) flights in December 2009.

 

For more information, visit www.emirates.com.

AirAsia Expands Network With Launch Of New Routes

Malaysian low cost carrier AirAsia is set to expand its route network with the introduction of new routes from its Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu hubs. The airline has launched flights between the Malaysian capital and the Indian cities of Kochi, Kolkata and Trivandrum, while Kota Kinabalu will be connected to Taipei early next year.

 

Kuala Lumpur-Kochi

Operating daily, flight AK 203 departs Kuala Lumpur at 1450 hrs, arriving in Kochi at 1630 hrs. The aircraft returns as flight AK 204 at 1700 hrs, landing back at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 2350 hrs.

 

Kuala Lumpur-Kolkata

Flight AK 323 departs Kuala Lumpur at 1430 hrs, arriving in Kolkata at 1550 hrs. The return flight, AK 324, takes off from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at 1635 hrs, landing at Kuala Lumpur at 2255 hrs.

 

Kuala Lumpur-Trivandrum

On Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, flight AK 295 departs Kuala Lumpur at 0620 hrs, arriving in Trivandrum at 0750 hrs. The return flight, AK 296, takes off from Trivandrum at 0830 hrs, landing back at 1500 hrs into Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

 

On Tuesdays and Sundays, the outbound flight departs 1 hour earlier at 0520 hrs, landing in Trivandrum at 0650 hrs. The inbound flight will take off from the Indian city at 0740 hrs for a 1410 hrs arrival back in Malaysia.

 

Kota Kinabalu-Taipei

Beginning 15 January 2010, AirAsia will serve Taipei from Kota Kinabalu in the East Malaysian state of Sabah. Flight AK 6318 departs daily at 0600 hrs, arriving in Taipei at 0920 hrs. The return flight, AK 6319, takes off from Taoyuan International Airport at 0950 hrs, landing back in Kota Kinabalu International Airport at 1310 hrs.

 

All flights will be operated by AirAsia’s Airbus A320 aircraft configured with 180 Economy Class seats. With the new services, AirAsia now serves 4 cities in India while connecting Taipei to Bangkok, Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur.

 

For more information, visit www.airasia.com.

Batavia Air To Commence Operations To Singapore

Indonesian airline Batavia Air will commence flights to Singapore from Jakarta and Semarang from Wednesday, 25 November 2009. The airline will operate daily on both routes using an Airbus A319 configured with 144 Economy Class seats on a Jakarta-Singapore-Semarang-Singapore-Jakarta routing.

 

Jakarta-Singapore

Flight 7P 861 departs Jakarta at 0700 hrs, arriving in Singapore at 0935 hrs. The return flight, 7P 862, takes off from Changi International Airport at 1650 hrs and lands back at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 1720 hrs.

 

Together with other international carriers, 12 airlines now fly between Singapore and Jakarta with over 450 scheduled flights each week.

 

Semarang-Singapore

From Semarang, flight 7P 863 departs at 1240 hrs, arriving in Singapore at 1540 hrs. The inbound flight, 7P 864, takes off at 1035 hrs from Changi International Airport, landing in Achmad Yani International Airport at 1140 hrs.

 

Batavia Air is the only operator to fly between Singapore and Semarang.

 

The latest Indonesian airline to operate passenger services in Singapore,  joining Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia AirAsia, Lion Air and Sriwijaya Air, Batavia Air operates a fleet of 38 aircraft on routes within Indonesia and selected international services to Guangzhou and Kuching. The airline plans to introduce flights to the Saudi city of Jeddah with Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

 

For more information, visit www.batavia-air.co.id.

Arik Air Expands International Routes

Nigerian airline Arik Air has announced 2 new international routes to the UK and USA. Beginning 26 November 2009, the airline will begin non-stop flights from Abuja to London (Heathrow), with services between Lagos and New York commencing from 29 November 2009.

 

Abuja-London

Arik Air will fly a 2-class Boeing 737-800 aircraft configured with 20 Premier Class and126 Economy Class seats on the route. Flights will operate 5 times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

 

Flight W3 105 departs Abuja at 1030 hrs, arriving into London at 1605 hrs. The return flight, W3 106, takes off from London (Heathrow) Terminal 4 at 2150 hrs, landing back at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 0520 hrs the next morning.

 

The flights connect a second Nigerian city to the UK, following the existing Lagos-London flights launched in December 2008. 

 

Lagos-New York

Arik Air will also launch transatlantic flights from Lagos to New York. The airline is the first Nigerian airline to connect the country with the USA in over a decade.

 

The airline has scheduled the flights to allow for convenient connections at both ends of the route. Flight W3 107 departs Lagos at 2320 hrs and arrives in New York at 0550 hrs the next morning. The return flight, W3 108, takes off from John F. Kennedy International Airport at 2200 hrs, landing back in Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 1440 hrs.

 

Arik Air will fly 3 times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays using a 2-class Airbus A340-500 configured with 36 Premier Class seats that convert into full-flat beds and 201 Economy Class seats. Premier Class passengers will also enjoy the use of a private bar and lounge area onboard the aircraft, with all passengers offered personal screens and audio-video on-demand inflight entertainment.

 

From its hubs at Abuja and Lagos, Arik Air currently flies to 21 airports across Nigeria and internationally to Accra, Banjul, Cotonou, Dakar, Freetown, Johannesburg, Niamey and London with a fleet of 30 aircraft. For more information, visit www.arikair.com.

Air France A380 Completes Inaugural Service To New York

Paris-based Air France has completed its first revenue flight with the Airbus A380. Flight AF 380 arrived at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport at 1318 hrs, after crossing the Atlantic from Paris (Charles de Gaulle), where it departed at 1119 hrs. The flight marked the A380’s first transatlantic flight by a European airline and the aircraft was met by a customary water cannon salute on arrival in New York.

 

Onboard the double-decker aircraft are 538 passengers, invited guests and 24 crew, who were treated to complimentary champagne and a 3-member jazz band. 380 passengers who participated in a charity auction in October 2008 also raised 300,000 euros to benefit humanitarian projects supported by the Air France Foundation. Having generated a larger amount than expected, Air France will donate the proceeds from the auction to 2 more charities in Brazil and Madagascar, in addition to 3 previously announced organizations in France, India and South Africa.

 

The Air France A380 features 538 seats in a 3-class configuration with innovations including improved seating, mood lighting and an onboard meeting area showcasing artwork from various museum collections. The airline has announced Johannesburg as the second destination for its A380 following New York, which will be operated daily. Air France joins Dubai’s Emirates, Sydney-based Qantas and Singapore Airlines as the fourth operator of the type.

 

For more information, visit www.airfrance.com.

Flydubai Launches Flights To Baku, Azerbaijan

Low cost carrier Flydubai has launched flights from Dubai to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The inaugural flight, FZ 705, departed Dubai International Airport at 1940 hrs and is enroute to Heydar Aliyev International Airport, where it is scheduled to arrive at 2230 hrs.

 

The airline will operate the route daily. Flight FZ 705 departs Dubai at 1935 hrs, arriving in Baku at 2230 hrs. The return flight, FZ 706, takes off from Baku at 2330 hrs, landing back at Dubai International Airport at 0220 hrs the next morning. All flights will be operated by Flydubai’s Boeing 737-800 aircraft configured with 189 seats.

 

Baku is the airline’s ninth destination in its route network. The service marks Flydubai’s expansion into Central Asia and will provide competition to Azerbaijan Airlines, which operates a daily Boeing 757 flight between Baku and Dubai.

 

For more information, visit www.flydubai.com.