As this week gets up, up and away from us, Travel Weekly staff are grasping at the only signal we have for what day it is: this handy Tuesday Aviation Wrap!

Qantas takes off from the Sunshine State to the Golden Gate

Qantas has launched their first flight from Brisbane to San Francisco, operating a new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on a brand-new route. The flight will operate three days a week on a Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

In April, Qantas will also start flying from Brisbane to Chicago as it adds another unique route to its network using the Dreamliner. Both flights will be cross-promoted by Qantas partner American Airlines in the US, which is the world’s largest airline.

The airline will continue to promote Queensland destinations in the US market throughout the year to encourage American visitors to Australia, highlighting many iconic Aussie destinations like the Great Barrier Reef, which were not impacted by the heavily reported bushfires.

Singapore Airlines adding fifth daily flight to Perth

Qantas has launched their first flight from Brisbane to San Francisco, operating a new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on a brand-new route. The flight will operate three days a week on a Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

In April, Qantas will also start flying from Brisbane to Chicago as it adds another unique route to its network using the Dreamliner. Both flights will be cross-promoted by Qantas partner American Airlines in the US, which is the world’s largest airline.

The airline will continue to promote Queensland destinations in the US market throughout the year to encourage American visitors to Australia, highlighting many iconic Aussie destinations like the Great Barrier Reef, which were not impacted by the heavily reported bushfires.

Singapore Airlines adding fifth daily flight to Perth

Air France, KLM, Delta and Virgin Atlantic have launched their expanded joint venture offering a greater choice of routes and loyalty options when travelling between Europe, the UK and North America.

This will create convenient nonstop or one-stop connections to every corner of North America, Europe and the U.K.

The partnership allows customers to book flights through their mobile apps, websites or travel agents. Soon customers will be able to check-in and select their seat through any of the partner airline mobile apps or websites.

The passengers will enjoy premium service, top-tier cabin products and complimentary food, drink and seatback in-flight entertainment in all cabins on all trans-Atlantic flights.

Australians invited to celebrate Valentine’s Day with Emirates

Australian passengers travelling with Emirates will be treated to a memorable travel experience for Valentine’s Day. The airline will serve 40 unique Valentine’s Day-themed desserts and treats on board and across its network of lounges spread over six continents.

To celebrate the season of love, Emirates’ chefs have created Valentine’s Day desserts for most of its 41 lounges worldwide from 13 to 15 February. In Australia, lounge guests in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth will be served heart-shaped mud cakes.

Onboard meals will be seasoned with a touch of romance to complement the regionally inspired cuisine. On Valentine’s Day itself, Emirates will serve a special selection of desserts on longer flights across its network.

Inmarsat’s GX Aviation powers one million free inflight passenger broadband sessions for Air New Zealand

Inmarsat announces that its award-winning GX Aviation solution has powered more than one million free inflight broadband sessions for Air New Zealand passengers.

The impressive milestone was achieved approximately one year after Air New Zealand switched to a free-of-charge model for its inflight broadband service. GX Aviation is currently available on almost 25 aircraft within the Air New Zealand fleet, operating on Trans-Tasman, Pacific Island, US and London routes.

Also, last December was Air New Zealand’s biggest month ever for free inflight Wi-Fi sessions, with more than 122,000 customers connecting. This beats the airline’s previous record of 103,000 sessions in July 2019.

LATAM Airlines’ ‘Big Deal’ sale

LATAM Airlines has announced the launch of its ‘Big Deal’ sale, giving Aussies the chance to explore South America for less with direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Santiago, Chile with onward connections.

The sale includes onward connections to Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay and Colombia, with the same lead-in fares in each country, regardless of the destination airport.

To take advantage of LATAM’s ‘Big Deal’ Sale, flights must be booked before 28 February 2020 for travel between 1 May and 31 August 2020.

European airport goes cashless

Munich Airport has become the first European airport to implement a mobile and cashless payment process.

The application was developed in a partnership with Wirecard, SES-imagotag and wirecube, with eurotrade doing the groundwork for the launch at Munich Airport.

The application allows customers to use their smartphones to pay for articles right at the store shelf by scanning an electronic price tag.

It is not necessary to download the app. The product is captured via near-field communication (NFC) or a camera scan of the QR code.

Within seconds, the phone opens a wirecube mobile web app where the customer can complete the purchase with ease, either by scanning a credit card with the phone camera or entering the card details by hand.

Emirates and Roar Africa team up with Great Plains Conversation for carbon-negative private jet safari

Available for just 10 guests, this $125,000 journey to four destinations marks the first time Emirates has partnered with a travel specialist.

This epic 12-day trip pairs the luxury of private travel – aboard an Emirates A319 Executive Private Jet equipped with private suites and a shower, no less – with access to noted experts, one-of-a-kind adventures, including stays at our extraordinary safari properties of Mpala Jena Camp in Zimbabwe, Duba Plains Camp in Botswana and Mara Plains Camp in Kenya amongst others.

Etihad to host largest cabin crew recruitment drive in Australia

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is set to host its largest-ever recruitment drive down under from March, seeking passionate, hardworking and friendly individuals with outstanding hospitality experience to join its world-leading cabin crew.

The search takes place across 30 cities worldwide, the recruitment drive will see the airline expand its 4,800-strong cabin crew to support operational growth including the arrival of a next-generation fleet later this year.

The successful candidates will undergo a comprehensive training program in Abu Dhabi, which includes all aspects of cabin safety and service delivery.

Hahn Air foundation inaugurates school in Myanmar

On 6 February, Nico Gormsen general manager of Hahn Air, inaugurated the Hahn Air School in Myanmar on behalf of the Hahn Air Foundation.

The festive ceremony was attended by almost 500 citizens of the village of Tha Pyay Tan, including the 228 children aged between six and ten who will learn and study in the five new classrooms.

It took about four months to complete the construction of the school building. The cost of approximately €30,000 were covered by the Hahn Air Foundation, a non-profit charity organisation founded by the Hahn Air owners, Hans Nolte and Nico Gormsen, in 2012.

To show their commitment to the project, the citizens of the village contributed €6,000, a sum that will be put towards for future expenditures, such as repairs and maintenance work.

The school premises include not only the spacious classrooms but also restroom facilities and housing for the teachers. The Hahn Air School in Tha Pyay Tan is the second school opened by the foundation in Myanmar.