This wrap is for all our aviation lovers out there! Although we suppose we can’t stop non-aviation lovers from reading it.

Malaysia Airlines announces additional frequencies to Australia and aircraft upgauge to Perth 

Malaysia Airlines is pleased to announce three additional weekly services from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne, Australia from 1 July to 30 September 2019 utilising the airline’s Airbus A330-300s.

The additional Melbourne services are available for sale via www.malaysiaairlines.com and other distribution channels from 22 February 2019.

Along with the increased services from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne, Malaysia Airlines will now provide 60 weekly services from six destinations across Australia and New Zealand to Malaysia including:

• 2 daily services from Sydney;
• 17 weekly services from Melbourne;
• Daily services from Auckland;
• 11 weekly services from Perth;
• 5 weekly services from Adelaide;
• 4 weekly services from Brisbane; and
• Weekly services to Kota Kinabalu from Perth.

Malaysia Airlines is also replacing the B737-800s currently operating the daily services between Perth and Kuala Lumpur (MH126/MH127) with the larger A330-200 planes, effective 1 April 2019. The A330-200s are configured with 19 fully flat business class seats, while the planes’ economy class features 227 slim-line seats, each with 30 inches of pitch, as well as 44 extra legroom economy slim-line seats (rows 14-19), offering 36 inches of pitch.

All seats on the A330-200 include individual back-of-seat smart screens featuring Audio Visual on Demand, including a wide selection of entertainment.

Air Vanuatu selects Airbus A220 for major fleet expansion 

Air Vanuatu, the national airline of Vanuatu, has signed a firm order with Airbus for four Airbus A220 aircraft. This news was announced by Air Vanuatu and Airbus during the signing ceremony this morning at the Avalon Airshow.

Air Vanuatu’s first ever order with Airbus makes it the launch operator of the A220 in the Pacific region. The order includes two A220-100 series aircraft with 108 seats and two A220-300 series aircraft with 133 seats.

The A220’s superior passenger experience includes wider seats, more legroom and bigger windows. Its advanced technology brings much greater fuel efficiency and lower noise levels, demonstrating Air Vanuatu’s commitment to the environment. These aircraft can be economically operated on domestic services, regional routes and into the new long-haul markets that are key to Air Vanuatu’s growth plan.

A ir Vanuatu is expecting the first Airbus A220 delivery in June 2020. The airline has purchase rights for four additional aircraft, which give it the potential to increase its order to eight aircraft in total.

Qatar Airways global click frenzy sale

Qatar Airways is taking part in the popular 2019 Click Frenzy Travel Frenzy event by making the world more accessible with a global sale on flights departing from Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra to over 160 destinations worldwide.

The 24-hour sale will go live on www.qatarairways.com/au between 26 and 27 February and include 10 per cent off Qatar Airways Economy and Business Class Saver and Value fares. There will also be 7 per cent off Qatar Airways Economy and Business Class Promo fares.

The special offer is available for travel between 26 February 2019 and 31 January 2020 and are valid on travel to the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, and The Americas – destinations Qatar Airways flies to.

British Airways unveils new heritage livery 

British Airways has today revealed the second design in its series of heritage liveries to mark the airline’s centenary – an Airbus 319 will be painted in the colours of the airline’s short-haul predecessor, British European Airways (BEA).

The announcement comes after huge crowds turned out to see the first heritage livery – a 747 in British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) colours – touch down at Heathrow on Monday, with more arriving at the airport the following day to see it depart on its first flight to New York.

T he A319, reg G-EUPJ, will enter the IAC paint bay at Shannon Airport this weekend where it will be repainted with the BEA livery which flew predominantly on domestic and European routes between 1959 and 1968. However, there will be a significant difference with the replica; the aircraft will have a grey upper wing, rather than the traditional red, to meet current wing paint reflectivity requirements.

Air Astana boosts frequencies on services to Uzbekistan 

Air Astana will be increasing the frequency of services from both Almaty and Astana to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan with effect from 1st April 2019. The number of frequencies on the service between Almaty and Tashkent will be increased from seven to ten per week, including three new evening flights on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Service frequencies between Astana and Tashkent will be increased from four to six per week, including two new flights on Mondays and Thursdays.

Tickets on Astana-Tashkent-Astana services made before 28th February are being offered at a special promotional rate of only US$168 return throughout April. Bookings can be made at airastana.com, Air Astana ticket offices or by calling Call Center at +7 (7172) 584477.

Flights to Tashkent are operated by Airbus A320 and Embraer 190 aircraft with a flight time of 1 hour 35 minutes from Almaty and 2 hours from Astana. Air Astana launched flights to Tashkent from Almaty in December 2010 and from Astana in May 2012. Since the launch of flights to Tashkent, Air Astana has carried over half a million passengers and 700 tons of cargo.

Air Vanuatu to introduce standalone service between Brisbane and Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu

Air Vanuatu, Vanuatu’s national carrier, has announced it is set to launch a dedicated, non-stop service between Brisbane and Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. Commencing 18 June 2019, the new service will replace the existing triangular service between Brisbane, Espiritu Santo and Port Vila.

The launch of the new service will bring the total number of Air Vanuatu flights departing Brisbane to Vanuatu each week to five, including Air Vanuatu’s four non-stop flights per week between Brisbane and Vanuatu’s capital, Port Vila.

When operations commence, the direct service from Brisbane to Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu will operate every Tuesday, departing Brisbane at 11.10 (local time) arriving in Espiritu Santo at 15.10 (local time). The return service will depart Espiritu Santo at 16.10 (local time) arriving in Brisbane at 18.20 (local time).

Air Vanuatu also offers seven non-stop flights per week from Sydney to Port Vila, Vanuatu and recently launched a new, non-stop service between Melbourne and Port Vila, Vanuatu, which will commence on 18 June 2019.

Silkair to launch flights between Singapore and Busan

SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, will launch non-stop flights between Singapore and Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city, this year. Commencing from 1 May 2019, SilkAir will operate four weekly flights to Busan.

The launch of Busan flights will mark a milestone for SilkAir as it adds its first South Korean city to its network and demonstrates its commitment to bringing customers new and exciting destinations in the Asia-Pacific region. Currently, no other airline operates scheduled flights between Singapore and Busan.

The new service will be operated with Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which feature both Business and Economy Class cabins. Customers can look forward to a full-service experience, including in-flight meals, wireless in-flight entertainment on SilkAir Studio, complimentary baggage allowance as well as through check-in if they are connecting to or from another SilkAir or Singapore Airlines point via Singapore.