You will find yourself taking flight, or maybe becoming airbourne, by this highflying wrap. Or maybe you’ll just be cringing at our awful puns.

Emirates expands its network in Italy, signs codeshare agreement with Trenitalia

More convenience and connectivity for passengers travelling to and from Italy•One single ticket combining rail and flight2 August2018–Emirates and Trenitalia, Italy’s national railway company, today announced a new codeshare agreement which will enable Emirates customers from across its worldwide network to discover new destinations across Italy.

With just one easy-to-book ticket, travellers will be able to fly on Emirates and reach some of Italy’s most picturesque cities and towns using high speed, modern and comfortable trains that leave from Emirates’ four Italian gateways -Bologna, Milan, Rome and Venice.

Customers can now start booking their codeshare trips via Emirates’ website and travel onwards to these destination and benefit from the convenience of holding a single ticket. First Class and Business Class passengers will automatically be booked in First Class on board Trenitalia’s trains.

South America is closer than you think with LATAM’s new sale

LATAM Airlines (‘LATAM’), South America’s leading airline, has launched a new sale, with massive savings of up to 44 percent. From today until 16 August 2018, Aussies can book return economy airfares from Melbourne to Santiago, Chile, the gateway to South America, for as little as AUD$999 or from Sydney (via Auckland) for just AUD$1,019 (including taxes).

LATAM is also offering Aussies travelling between 1 September 2018 to 30 June 2019 discounted flights to a range of destinations across the region, including Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Uruguay.

Aussies can discover Buenos Aires, Argentina for as little as $1,049 from Melbourne or $1,069 from Sydney or head to Uruguay’s vibrant and eclectic capital city Montevideo from $1,039 departing from Sydney or $1,099 from Melbourne. Alternatively, they can head to Brazil’s illustrious Rio de Janeiro for as little as $1,229 from Melbourne or $1,249 from Sydney or head south to experience the samba-fuelled nightlife of São Paulo for $1,289 from Sydney or $1,309 from Melbourne.

Foodies will enjoy tasting their way through Peru, South America’s gastronomic mecca, savouring some of the region’s best-kept culinary secrets from $1,269 departing from Sydney or $1,319 from Melbourne. Whilst culture vultures can explore the cobbled colonial streets of Bogota, Colombia and discover the city’s love of street art for just $1,469 from Sydney or $1,479 from Melbourne.

Emirates adds frequencies to the Netherlands

Emirates has announced that due to strong market demand, it will introduce five additional flights per week from Dubai to Amsterdam. These additional flights will complement its existing double daily services, offer an earlier departure option from Amsterdam that is convenient for visitors to Dubai, and provide enhanced connectivity to destinations on Emirates’ global network.

Four additional weekly services will be started effective 1 December 2018 and the fifth will be added from 1 January 2019, increasing frequency to the Dutch capital city to 19 weekly flights.

Outbound, flight EK145 will depart early morning from Dubai on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and arrives at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in time for breakfast, allowing customers to make the most of their day in the city*. The flight schedule is conveniently timed for passengers connecting from Emirates global route network to Amsterdam and will be popular for business travellers to the Netherlands from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Sydney and Bangalore as well as for Dutch leisure travellers returning to Amsterdam from Bangkok, Bali, Mauritius, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

The return service, EK146, will depart from Amsterdam on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday late morning time, and arrives in the evening in Dubai*. This service adds more convenience to those visiting Dubai, and offers enhanced connectivity to Phuket and Johannesburg.

Operating profit of $193 million dampened by steep rise in fuel price

The SIA Group reported an operating profit of $193 million in the April-June 2018 quarter, a $212 million reduction from prior year’s restated operating profit of $405 million, which included non-recurring revenue items of $175 million. Excluding these non-recurring items, the decrease would have been $37 million. Although passenger and cargo flown revenue rose by $178 million, the operating performance was adversely affected by increased net fuel costs (+$154 million), which was driven by a 39.3 per cent increase in the average jet fuel price.

Group revenue amounted to $3,844 million, a $20 million reduction. Passenger and cargo flown revenue increased by $178 million, outweighing the absence of the non-recurring items in the same period last year. The growth in passenger flown revenue (+$148 million) was driven by an 8.3 per cent increase in traffic, outpacing the decline in passenger yield. Cargo flown revenue was up $30 million, as cargo yield rose 9.9 per cent, albeit on lower loads carried. Revenue contribution by engineering services fell $19 million on lower airframe and line maintenance activities.

Group expenditure increased $192 million to $3,651 million, predominantly led by an increase in net fuel cost (+$154 million). Fuel cost before hedging for the Group rose by $312 million, mainly due to a US$26 per barrel increase in average jet fuel price. Half of this increase was alleviated by hedging gains versus losses last year (+$158 million). Ex-fuel costs were slightly higher (+$38 million), partly due to expansion by SilkAir and Scoot.

Launch of new ‘Changi Stopovers in Singapore’ program

Changi Airport Group (CAG) today announced the launch of its ‘Changi Stopovers’ program, aimed at enticing­­ passengers travelling through Changi Airport to stop over in Singapore and explore the Lion City. The program provides attractive options for travellers to enjoy a Singapore stopover holiday when they visit Southeast Asia or while on route to a long-haul destination.

‘Changi Stopovers’ will be promoted jointly by CAG and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to overseas travellers in a AUD$3.2 million marketing partnership spanning two years. Under the program, passengers who book a stopover package on the Changi Stopovers website will ­enjoy complimentary one-way airport-hotel transfer (by coach) and a mobile SIM card worth AUD$10. Packages are available from AUD$63 per person. A full list of current participating hotels can be found in the Annex.

Transfer passengers currently make up about 30 per cent of Changi Airport’s total traffic, with passenger movements from Australia and India registering as top contributors to transfer traffic at Changi. Last year, more than 1.4 million passengers from Australia travelled through Changi Airport, onwards to countries including India, the United Kingdom and Thailand.

Emirates Skywards expands loyalty programme to include both Emirates airline and flydubai

Emirates Skywards has replaced flydubai’s frequent flyer programme, OPEN, officially becoming the loyalty programme of Emirates airline and flydubai. The alignment of the loyalty programme now allows Emirates Skywards members to also earn Skywards Miles and Tier Miles when travelling on both airlines. Former OPEN members can enrol into Emirates Skywards to continue earning Miles on flydubai.

The alignment of the loyalty programme for both airlines builds on Emirates and flydubai’s close partnership which includes code-sharing on an extended global route network and several initiatives including commercial, network planning, and airport operations.

From August 2, Emirates Skywards members will earn Skywards Miles and Tier Miles on all flydubai flights. Members can also spend Skywards Miles or a combination of cash and Miles to book flydubai flights, as well as to pay for optional extras such as pre-ordered meals and extra legroom seats