Not only can you get cheap movie tickets on Tuesdays, you can also find out everything happening in the airline space. Talk about double whammy.

Qatar Airways To Launch Service to Exotic Malaysian Holiday Destination Penang

Qatar Airways is pleased to announce the launch of direct flights to Penang, the award-winning airline’s second Malaysian destination, on 6 February 2018, as part of its ambitious global expansion plans.

In addition to its beautiful sandy beaches and stunning natural scenery, Penang is considered to be the gourmet capital of Malaysia. From street food to fine dining, visitors will be spoilt for choice with the variety of dishes available, with influences ranging from Malay to Chinese; Indian to European.

Qatar Airways will fly three times a week to Penang with its state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which features 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class, with spacious cabins and specially-designed interiors.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner also offers lower altitude-equivalent pressure, improved air quality and optimal humidity, enabling passengers to arrive at their destination feeling refreshed.

Passengers will be also able to enjoy the airline’s superior in-flight entertainment system, offering a multitude of entertainment options.

The award-winning airline first launched service to Malaysia in December 2001, and currently operates a triple-daily service to Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital.

Louvre Abu Dhabi signs landmark partnership with Etihad Airways

Louvre Abu Dhabi today signed the first exclusive platinum partnership with Etihad Airways. The symbolic ceremony took place under the museum’s spectacular dome and its ‘Rain of Light’ effect.

Louvre Abu Dhabi will officially open on 11 November as an iconic landmark on the city’s geographical, cultural and tourist landscape. The architectural masterpiece is one of only a few truly universal museums in the world, awe-inspiring in both its scale and design.

As a Platinum partner, Etihad will work closely with Louvre Abu Dhabi on areas of brand partnership, marketing, social media, public and media relations, events and exhibitions, cultural exchanges, cargo support, inflight programming, and travel trade support.

Etihad Airways’ destination management company, Hala, will collaborate with the museum on bespoke tour packages in Abu Dhabi.

SITA CEO rallies airlines and airports in community fight against cyber threats

The air transport industry has cybersecurity as a top priority with 95 per cent of airlines and 96 per cent of airports investing resources into major cybersecurity programs or pilots over the next three years.

Yet research released today from global IT provider SITA shows there is still room for improvement with only one third of boards at airlines, and a fifth at airports, having fully integrated cybersecurity into their business plans.

SITA has conducted in depth research into the level of cybersecurity maturity at airlines and airports in the fight against this global threat.

The results show that there are very high levels of security awareness among staff at airlines (82 per cent) and airports (85 per cent). This year, beyond cybersecurity protection, the industry is focusing on threat detection and response management.

Already CIOs at 69 per cent of airlines and 47 per cent of airports are implementing security events and correlation monitoring, while security incident response management is being put in place at 77 per cent of airlines and 60 per cent airports.

First Qantas Dreamliner arrives home and opens a new era of travel

The first Qantas Dreamliner has touched down in Sydney, marking the start of an exciting new era for the national carrier and for how Australians travel.

With its extended flying range and spacious cabin layout, Qantas will use the 236-seat Boeing to not only open up direct routes like Perth to London but take passenger comfort to the next level.

The 787-9 features Qantas’ next-generation seating across Economy, Premium Economy and Business Class. The aircraft also features the Boeing-designed turbulence dampening technology, improved air quality to reduce jetlag and 65 per cent larger windows that give an increased sense of space.

This morning, around 1,000 of the airline’s employees welcomed the aircraft, which has been given the name Great Southern Land, into a hangar at Sydney Airport after it touched down from the United States.

As part of the celebrations, Australian band ICEHOUSE performed their anthemic 1982 song Great Southern Land, the inspiration for which came to singer and songwriter, Iva Davies, as his Qantas flight crossed the country’s red centre.

Finnair extends its code-share partnership with British Airways in Europe, cooperation includes new non-stop flights to Lapland

Finnair and British Airways are extending their current partnership with several new code-shares flights within Europe.

Finnair General Manager – Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, Geoff Stone said British Airways will place its codes on several of Finnair’s European destinations including the new non-stop flights from London Gatwick to Kittilä and Ivalo, which will begin operating for the European Winter season on 12 and 14 December 2017 respectively.

Finnair will place its codes on British Airways flights between London Heathrow and Tallinn, Copenhagen and Gothenburg.

The new code-shares aim to increase the connectivity for both carriers through their respective Helsinki and London airport hubs.

Emirates to receive 100th A380 aircraft in November

Emirates, the world’s largest A380 operator, is set to receive its milestone 100th A380 aircraft on 3rd November.

Over 80 million passengers have flown on the superjumbo in the nine years since it first joined Emirates’ modern fleet. Today, Emirates flies the A380 to over 45 destinations spanning Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Everywhere it operates, the Emirates A380 attracts consumer demand for its industry-leading inflight experience in all cabin classes, and is welcomed by local economies as a contributor to tourism and visitor growth.

On the ground, Emirates had also worked closely with stakeholders to launch and operate an A380-dedicated airport concourse with 20 gates offering direct boarding from the airport lounge, and one of the world’s most advanced engineering centres which include six heavy maintenance hangars, paint shops, and the capability to completely overhaul an A380.

Adelaide gives Hong Kong a warm welcome over breakfast

The Hong Kong Tourism Board partnered with Cathay Pacific Airways and Preferred Hotels and Resorts to host 100 Adelaide based retail consultants for breakfast on Wednesday 18 October, 2017.

Guests were updated on new developments planned for the bustling city and beyond for 2018, including the Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park expansions, the new high speed rail to China and Macau Bridge.

Congratulations to Kymberley Fletcher from Flight Centre Elizabeth, Marcelo Buccella from Travel Extra and Rachel Cooper from Flight Centre Firle who all won prizes. Attendees still have chance to win a trip for two to Hong Kong courtesy of Hong Kong Tourism Board, Cathay Pacific Airways and Preferred Hotels and Resorts by completing and returning a questionnaire by Friday 27 October 2017. The winner will be announced on Monday 30 October 2017.

New Inflight Menu Tailored For New Summer Season Travel 

Tigerair Australia today launches its new summer Tiger Bites inflight menu, featuring the continuation of popular year round favourites and numerous new additions tailored to summertime travel.

New light meal options include the ‘tex mex wrap,’ ‘ritzy roast beef sanga’ and the ‘posh ham and cheese toasty’ to complement Tigerair year round favourites like the ‘veggie pastry pack,’ ‘jumbo all day Turkish,’ ‘fancy chicken sanga’ or the pie and sausage roll ‘savoury pastry pack.’

New snacks introduced for sweet lovers include for the first time, donuts and chocolate coated marshmallow jam wagon wheels.

AirAsia Moving to Terminal 4 at Singapore Changi Airport

AirAsia will relocate operations at Singapore Changi Airport from Terminal 1 to Terminal 4 effective 7 November 2017.

All AirAsia flights scheduled for that day will arrive at and depart from Terminal 4. Departing and arriving flight schedules will not be affected by the move.

Guests departing from Terminal 4 are advised to arrive three hours before departure to ensure sufficient time to move through the new terminal, while those arriving in Terminal 4 are advised to inform their loved ones of the change.

Guests can reach the terminal via taxi, private hire cars, bus and personal transportation. Those using MRT services will need to head to Terminal 2 arrival hall and take the free shuttle bus service that will ferry guests to Terminal 4. The shuttle bus will be available every 10 minutes for 24 hours a day, every day of the week.

Emirates brings its luxury inflight experience to the Birdcage

Emirates’ highly anticipated Birdcage Marquee at this year’s Melbourne Cup Carnival is set to take guests to new flights of enjoyment, as the airline brings to life its signature First Class and Business Class luxury experience as its latest Marquee theme.

Emirates will invite guests to journey through the clouds in an on-board cabin inspired marquee, and provide them the opportunity to experience the unsurpassed comfort and style of Emirates’ First Class and Business Class.  Inspired by a host of luxurious on-board features and key traits of Emirates’ A380 aircraft including the Shower Spa and on-board Lounge, as well as its gourmet cuisine and entertainment – the marquee will spare no attention to detail.

Year on year, Emirates looks forward to welcoming its Skywards frequent flyer members and VIP guests to the Emirates Marquee. All guests will be treated to Emirates award-winning first class hospitality that is offered 35,000ft in the sky across its extensive global network of over 150 destinations in more than 80 countries and territories worldwide – to The Birdcage.

Best of USA Experience Day for Travel Agents

In partnership with Brand USA, Qantas has hosted a Travel Agent Experience Day on the Best of USA, providing an interactive and unique learning experience for travel consultants at its Centre of Service Excellence and aircraft hangar in Sydney. 

With over 160 travel agents in attendance, the Best of USA Experience Day was designed to further enhance selling skills for Qantas in partnership with destinations across the United States.   

All sessions were educational and interactive, with the first half of the day focused on learning about Qantas’ innovative approach and focus for the future – including a session on board an A380 in the hangar. Agents then moved to Qantas’ Centre of Service Excellence where they received training in how to sell unique offerings of Brand USA’s destination partners: LAX Discover Los Angeles, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, NYC & Co, Hawaii Tourism Oceania, Visit Dallas Fort Worth, San Francisco Travel and San Francisco International Airport.

Emirates launches Australian-inspired menu

Emirates is pleased to have launched a new menu on its Australian routes inspired by the breadth of Australia’s multicultural flavours and cuisine, highlighting Emirates’ ongoing commitment to investing in a superior passenger experience and its vast global route network.

To develop the new menu, Emirates worked with Alpha Catering in Australia to invite chefs from each of the five Australian cities that Emirates flies to, to submit regionally influenced recipes.

After receiving over 300 submissions, the team then spent the following 14 months reviewing and testing the ideas until they were able to create a high quality menu that could be easily served onboard.

The menu leverages several partnerships with notable local suppliers from the food industry, including South Australian Angus Beef, Brasserie Bread and Yarra Valley Cheese among others.