US airlines backing Qatar Airways

A number of aviation businesses from the United States of America have come out in support of the Doha based Qatar Airways and urged the US authorities not to restrict the Qatari's operations into the country.

New York's hometown airline and the biggest operator out of Boston, JetBlue, along with Atlas Air cargo and FedEx have sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao in which they urge against any restrictions being placed on Qatar Airways or Air Italy for fear of a retaliation against them and lead to the collapse of open-skies agreements.

Qatar Airways hits back over false Air Italy investment claims

The Doha based Qatar Airways has hit back at recent US media speculation and political assertions that it is acting improperly over its investment in Air Italy.

Qatar Airways owns 49% of Air Italy's parent company AQA, the same amount that US mega-carrier Delta hold in Virgin and Aeromexico. It is also the same level of investment fellow gulf carrier Emirates held in Alitalia.

The national carrier of Qatar wanted to set the record straight after the recent false accusations relating to its shareholding in Air Italy. Qatar Airways’ investment in Air Italy, and operations to the United States, are fully compliant with the U.S.-Qatar Open Skies Agreement, the January 2018 U.S.-Qatar Understandings, and a side letter that accompanied the discussions.

Explore Riga

Riga an artistic jewel of a city!

Riga, the capital of Latvia, is one of the largest cities in all the Baltic states and is a key economic centre for the region. It is also home to the largest collection of  Art Nouveau buildings in the world, indeed the old town of Riga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the historic architecture. Whilst the architecture may hark back to times long ago and there are a vast array of museums and cultural ports of call to visit the city maintains a young and vibrant heart. This is perhaps because of the number of young people attending university in the city as well as tourists coming for the nightlife.  Riga's main attractions include Riga Cathedral and St. Peter's Church and don't miss either the 14th-century Riga Castle, which now houses the official residence of the President of Latvia.  

Eating out in Riga is a relatively cheap activity with numerous restaurants or varied cuisine type and price tag.  Alus Seta, in the Old Town, is a great choice for your basic, but hearty veg and meat dishes, with either big portions or buffet style and low prices. Probably best to go elsewhere for seafood but everything else here is great value, oh, and it serves great beer too!

If you fancy pancakes, then Šefpavārs Vilhelms, Šķūņu 6, is the place to go for the best and probably cheapest stuffed pancakes in town, this is a delightful place and recommended for good grub at cheap prices.

Stargorod, Republikas square 1, next door to President Castle is a hot little place to head to for the local food at good prices. It is a big place, lots of TV screens, can be noisy, lively and jolly busy during various sporting events. The beer is top quality too and well worth a visit, just for that!

There is a charm to the city that makes it a great destination for a city break, English is widely spoken, as is Russian, some German and of course Latvian.  Getting around is easy thanks to the trolleybuses, trams and minibuses that abound the city and the cost is very reasonable.

Places to stay

One of the best mid-priced hotels in the city is the Mercure, which is both stylish and cool as well as contemporary and comfortable. This is a 4 star Superior hotel in the heart on Riga's historic centre next to the Central Railway station, occupying a magnificent 1901 Art Nouveau building designed by the world-famous architect K. Peksens. Easy walking distance to Old Town and cultural landmark attractions: Freedom Monument, National Opera, Dome Square. It has a nice fine dining restaurant and bar, also worth a visit is the luxurious spa.

Pullman Riga Old Town Hotel is in the heart of Riga's historic centre occupying a magnificent building from 1789 merged together with a completely modern structure. It lies exactly in the Old Town and neighbors Dome Square, Parliament, National Theatre, F reedom Monument, National Opera. Refined restaurant and bar, Vinoteca by Pullman, Tea Deli, luxurious SPA with 19 m swimming pool, comprehensive conference facilities with 8 rooms, parking area support the 155 room five star hotel facility.

More hotels in Riga can be found here, including the popular Dome Hotel & Spa, Garden Palace and Astor Riga. 

The Ibis Riga Centre is a vibrant hotel that has recently been refurbished into one of the outstanding midscale hotels in the centre of Riga, 90 meters from Central Station. A hotel used to be here ever since it was built in 1895 by Karl Johan Felsko. The inspiring design of our rooms, the modern Book Lounge and the charming round the clock light meal restaurant represent the new concept of the ibis brand. Riga old town, Freedom monument are within a 500 m radius.

More hotels in Riga can be found here, including the popular Dome Hotel & Spa, Garden Palace and Astor Riga.

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Marcus Hotels & Resorts assumes management of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Schaumburg, Illinois

Marcus Hotels & Resorts confirmed it has assumed management of the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg in Schaumburg, Illinois with effect of 1st April.

Targeting travellers seeking a seamless, intuitive experience, from efficient personalised, high-touch business meetings to memorable family vacations, the newly renovated Hyatt Regency Schaumburg is conveniently located approximately 15 miles from Chicago O’Hare International Airport and 30 miles from downtown Chicago, and is situated among some of Chicagoland’s most popular attractions and energetic business hubs. Directly across the street from Woodfield Mall, one of the largest shopping centres in the United States, Hyatt Regency Schaumburg is also close to other popular leisure destinations such as the Schaumburg Convention Centre, Legoland Discovery Centre, The Ned Brown Preserve, and hundreds of shops and exciting restaurants. For savvy business travellers, the hotel neighbours many regional and national corporate headquarters and offers easy access to one of the world’s busiest airports.

British Airways engineer re-imagines famous musical theme from Lakme for the airlines 100th year

To mark its centenary British Airways has released a new composition based on the famous piece of music, Flower Duet, which featured in Delibes’ opera Lakmé.

Flower Duet theme from Delibes’ opera Lakmé reimagined to reflect British Airways’ history, in the airline’s centenary yearMusic composed by British Airways’ quality engineer Lyndon Ooi whose day job involves checking that British Airways’ aircraft are fit to fly from a technical perspective

The original version of the music will also be recognisable as it has featured in a number of adverts from across the airline’s history, and is also played in the cabin during boarding.

The new version has been composed by Lyndon Ooi – a quality engineer at British Airways – whose day job involves checking that British Airways’ aircraft are fit to fly from a technical perspective.

The reworked composition is made up of 10 variations representing 10 significant milestones in British Airways’ history. It rises, falls, speeds up and slows down to moments including the formation of Imperial Airways, the introduction of the new jet age, Concorde’s farewell and the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5.

Qatar Airways wins multiple awards in recognition of its outstanding onboard catering, amenity kits and charitable initiatives

Qatar Airways is celebrating a successful month of April with a host of award wins across a variety of categories, highlighting its outstanding onboard hospitality, passenger experience and commitment to charitable initiatives.

Qatar Airways took home numerous awards from three prestigious ceremonies held in Hamburg during April, including-

‘Trendsetter of the Year’, ‘Best Charitable Initiatives’, ‘Best Onboard Catering Innovation’ and ‘Best Onboard Snacks’  

The airline won two separate accolades at the 2019 Onboard Hospitality Awards that took place in Hamburg, Germany on 1 April. In recognition of the importance of sustainability, innovation and corporate social responsibility and responding to trends, Qatar Airways and FORMIA won a special award for ‘Best Charitable Initiatives’ in recognition of the airline’s breast cancer awareness amenity kit, which was cited as a worthy initiative, helping to raise awareness of an important cause in a simple but effective manner.

New Easter menu from Emirates

Emirates is introducing seasonal treats to celebrate Easter on board and in select airport lounges worldwide. The Easter menu is available to customers in all cabin classes from 19 to 23 April when travelling from Dubai to destinations in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Ghana and the Philippines.

Emirates will also observe Orthodox Easter with special menus for customers travelling on flights from Dubai to Russia and Greece on 28 April.

On board, customers can look forward to Easter buns handmade using Emirates’ signature recipe with spiced dough and orange peel, sultanas and currants; and children will be delighted with desserts featuring the Easter bunny. Those flying in premium classes will be able to choose from Easter-inspired desserts. First Class customers can also look forward to an Easter edition of the Lakrids “Egg” Dulce de Leche Liquorice Balls in their personal goodie baskets. This seasonal offering is in addition to the regionally-inspired cuisine served on all Emirates flights.

Finnair to fly to Guangzhou, China year-round as of winter 2019

The national airline of Finnair confirmed today that it will extend its seasonal Guangzhou route to year-round operations and will operate between Helsinki and Guangzhou with two weekly frequencies during winter season 2019/2020. Finnair launched its Guangzhou route as a summer route in 2016, and as of this spring, will serve the route with its new Airbus A350 aircraft, adding both passenger and cargo capacity to the route.  

“The extension of the operating season of our Guangzhou route is a logical next step in our Asian strategy”, says Christian Lesjak, SVP, Network and resource management, Finnair. “Travel between Finnair’s Chinese destinations and Europe is increasing, and we are happy now to be able to offer year-round operations to our passengers and cargo customers.”  

New interline agreement between Emirates and Africa World Airlines

Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, and Africa World Airlines (AWA), the Ghanaian airline headquartered in Accra, have announced a one-way interline agreement whereby Emirates customers can connect onto selected routes of Africa World Airlines’ network, opening up new African destinations for Emirates customers from May 2019.

“The agreement between Emirates and Africa World Airlines underpins our commitment to provide greater connectivity across West Africa. This partnership will allow us to further extend West Africa via the selected domestic and regional routes of Africa World Airlines,” said Orhan Abbas, Emirates Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Africa.

London Heathrow's passenger numbers rise in March - 29th month in a row of record growth

London Heathrow         Photo London Heathrow

London Heathrow’s passenger numbers continued to climb in March despite the Brexit uncertainty the airport has revealed with its latest performance figures released this week.  During March over 6.5 million passengers travelled through the UK’s busiest international hub airport, the 29th consecutive month of record growth for the airport. Notable spikes in the previous month were St Patricks and Mother’s Day.

Africa performed especially well over the past month the airport said, increasing by 6.2% compared to the same time last year. Domestic connections also saw a slight uplift (+0.2%) with British Airways launching its 2nd service to Inverness and Flybe growing their loads by more than a fifth (23%) with an inaugural flight to Cornwall on March 31st.

More than 149,000 metric tonnes of cargo travelled through the UK’s biggest port by value, further demonstrating the importance of Heathrow. Both Latin America and Africa saw remarkable double-digit growth with the former up 23% on 2018 due to additional services to Brazil and increased volumes to Mexico. Freight to and from Africa grew by 11%, thanks to Virgin’s growth on routes to the continent.

UK's RAF aircrew start flying phase of Poseidon MRA Mk1 (P-8A) training

 Poseidon MRA Mk1 (P-8A) 

Trainimg

The UK's Royal Air Force has confirmed that some of its aircrew have started the flying phase of training to fly the Poseidon MRA Mk1 (P-8A), the UK’s new maritime patrol aircraft.

Pilots, Weapons System Officers and Weapons Systems Operators have entered the simulator and flying phase of their six-month course. Meanwhile, engineering personnel are similarly progressing through their course at Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida.

JOE&JOE opens in Paris

After first launching in Hossegor in 2017, JO&JOE opened its doors on April 6, 2019 just a stone’s throw from the Cité Internationale Universitaire, in the south of Paris.

Only 2 minutes from the RER B line, 20 minutes from the Arc de Triomphe and 20 minutes from Orly Airport, JO&JOE PARIS-GENTILLY is a new living space, open to all, locals and travelers alike, where youth hostels meet hotels.

Here you can enjoy a drink, cook, share experiences, have a good time, chill out… and you can even sleep there!
 

This is the new place to be!

Regarding the design, JO&JOE has developed its interiors with global architecture and game-changing design studio PENSON.
At the Open House of Paris Gentilly, street art is everywhere thanks to the work of 9local and international artists who have covered the walls with their creations.

Bombardier deliver the first CRJ900s to Uganda Airlines

 

Tuesday, April 16th was a special day for Bombardier Commercial Aircraft and Uganda National Airlines Company as the Canadian manufacturer handed over two bright shiny new CRJ900 aircraft to the fledgeling airline. 

This was the first two aircraft of four CRJ900 that were ordered during the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK during the summer of 2018. The new airline has selected Bombardier's CRJ900 regional jets fitted with the ATMOSPHÈRE cabin for its upcoming debut, making it the first operator in Africa with this enhanced cabin experience.

The aircraft will be deployed on routes to Goma, Mogadishu, Kigali, Harare, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Lusaka, Khartoum and Kinshasa. There are also plans to open routes to Johannesburg and Accra.  

The CRJ900 delivery ceremony held on Tuesday at Bombardier’s Mirabel, Québec facility, was attended by executives of both Uganda Airlines and Bombardier Commercial Aircraft as well as several shop floor employees who build the CRJ900 aircraft. “We are thrilled to commence our operations with the world’s leading regional jet, and we look forward to providing the most modern passenger experience in regional aviation to the people of Uganda and across Africa,” said Ephraim Bagenda, CEO, Uganda National Airlines.”

Watch a video of the delivery ceremony here.

“We congratulate Uganda Airlines for taking delivery of their very first CRJ900 jetliner fitted with the ATMOSPHÈRE cabin in a dual-class configuration with 76 seats, including 12 first class seats. The CRJ Series is recognised for its superior economics and efficiency and I am confident that it will be the stepping stone for the development of Uganda’s regional air travel”, said Fred Cromer, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.

The delivery flight will be a long one, with multiple stops along the way. It is scheduled to depart on the 19th from Montreal and then go to Goose Bay for refuelling and then on to Iceland before stopping at Maastricht and Aswan before it flies onto Entebbe where it is scheduled to arrive on 23rd April at around 1500.

The airline also has two Airbus A330's on order from the European planemaker with which it plans to open up long-haul routes. 

(Images Bombardier / Uganda national Airlines)

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Asiana Airlines gets new Airbus A350-900 as a third of the company goes up for sale

The first of two A350-900 for Asiana Airlines                                              Photo Aviation Capital Group 

The Aviation Capital Group, one of the leading global aircraft leasing firms announced that it had delivered today the first of two new A350-900 aircraft on long-term lease to Asiana Airlines. The second aircraft is scheduled for delivery during the month of October this year.

The aircraft was transferred to Asiana Airlines at a special ceremony at the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse, France, before embarking on its delivery flight to South Korea. 

"ACG is extremely excited to deliver our first A350XWB aircraft into the Asiana Airlines operation and is delighted to continue a long-standing and important relationship with Asiana Airline,” said Khanh T. Tran, president and CEO of ACG.

“We are delighted to introduce the 8th A350 into our fleet with ACG’s support. This aircraft will further enhance our long-haul network operation. We believe this aircraft, equipped with the newest cabin interior, will bring an exceptional passenger experience to our customers,” said Danny Kim, General Manager of Asiana Airlines, Inc.

Part of Asiana is up for sale!

American to open new line maintenance base at Houston's George Bush

American Airlines today announced it will open a new Line Maintenance station at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) just in time for the summer peak season. The airline’s 29th Line Maintenance station will provide additional support for the increased maintenance needed to ready American’s aircraft for the busy summer travel season while also improving operational reliability and increasing the number of available aircraft to accommodate customers each morning.

airBaltic carries +12% passengers in first quarter of 2019

Latvian airline airBaltic during the first three months of 2019 has transported 818 129 passengers or 12% more than last year to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “We are satisfied to see a double-digit growth while modernizing our fleet with the most advanced aircraft in the market. In addition, we have been able to improve our service, offering more convenient connections for affordable prices. airBaltic’s product has proven to be a success story as passengers are increasingly choosing to travel with us.”

During the first quarter of 2019, airBaltic has operated 12 740 flights or 10% more than last year. The 15-minute flight punctuality indicator for airBaltic during the first three months of 2019 reached a level of 89.9%. This means that more than 89 out of every 100 airBaltic flights departed at the planned time or with a delay of no more than 15 minutes.

Harvey Milk takes to the skies as Norwegian’s latest tail fin hero

Tail fin hero Harvey Milk                                                                                  Photo Norwegian 

One of the most popular and well respected, if not profitable low-cost airlines Norwegian has put its latest tail fin her in to service. Adorning the fin of a Boeing 787 aircraft is the eighth American to be immortalised on a Norwegian plane, civil rights leader, Harvey Milk. 

Ever since the carriers first aircraft took to the skies, back in 2002, Norwegian has always honoured iconic figures on the tails of its aircraft, celebrating personalities who symbolise the spirit of Norwegian by pushing boundaries, challenging the norm and inspiring others.

Harvey Milk, among the best-known civil rights leaders in modern history, fearlessly pursued the freedom for every human being to live life with authenticity and courage. As one of the world’s first openly gay officials, Milk’s ground-breaking election in 1977 to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, offered hope for all marginalised people across the globe. Today, Harvey’s legacy lives on through award-winning films and documentaries, plays and operas, books, and scholarly contributions. His name graces schools, community centres, parks, and streets around the world, proving that his pursuit of acceptance and equality is remembered, honoured, and continues to this day.

United Airlines wants to start nonstop service to Cape Town from New York

A United 787-9                   Photo United Airlines

One of the leading airlines of the United States of America, United Airlines has confirmed it has put in an application with the Department of Transportation to start a new service between New York/Newark Liberty International Airport and Cape Town International Airport. 

The global carrier wants to start a nonstop service between the two cities three times a week beginning in  December 2019.

"We are always looking at ways to expand our industry-leading international route network to offer our customers more convenient options. We're thrilled to announce the addition of Africa to our global route offering," said Patrick Quayle, United's vice president of International Network. "This new flight will provide customers with the only nonstop service between the United States and Cape Town."

United's nonstop service between New York/Newark and Cape Town will decrease the current travel time from New York to Cape Town by more than four hours and provide customers from more than 80 U.S. cities with easy one-stop access to Cape Town. If approved, United's service between New York/Newark and Cape Town will be operated with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft featuring 48 seats in United Polaris business class, 88 seats in United Economy Plus and 116 seats in United Economy.

UK’s RAF to deploy its most advanced jets overseas for the first time

Photo MoD

Britain’s new cutting-edge F-35B aircraft will depart their home station of RAF Marham in Norfolk later this year for Cyprus in their first overseas deployment.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: "These formidable fighters are a national statement of our intent to protect ourselves and our allies from intensifying threats across the world. This deployment marks an important milestone in this game-changing aircraft’s journey to becoming fully operational."

Owned and operated by the RAF, the Lightning Force is jointly manned by both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. This deployment will allow personnel from both services to gain vital experience in maintaining and flying the aircraft in an unfamiliar environment.

Air Arabia welcomes the first A321neo LR to its fleet!

Air Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier received its first Airbus A321neo Long Range on Monday, April 15th.  The aircraft flew nonstop from Airbus’s facility in Hamburg to Sharjah International Airport.

Air Arabia is the first Middle Eastern airline to operate the A321neo LR and this delivery is the first of six aircraft that will join Air Arabia’s fleet that comprises of 53 A320 Family aircraft serving more than 155 routes across the globe from four hubs in the UAE, (Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah), Morocco and Egypt. The addition of the A321neo LR will enable Air Arabia to expand to new medium-haul markets in addition to strengthening the existing routes with increased seat capacity.