We asked our boss if we could sample the business class on every one of these airlines, but he laughed and walked away. We’re taking it as a maybe.

Qatar Airways to launch direct flights to Da Nang, Vietnam from 19 December 2018

Qatar Airways is pleased to announce the launch of direct flights to Da Nang, Vietnam, starting 19 December 2018. The beautiful coastal city will be the third Vietnamese destination on the award-winning airline’s rapidly expanding global network.

The four-times weekly flights will be served with a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, featuring 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class.

Qatar Airways began direct services to Ho Chi Minh City in 2007 and launched its Hanoi service in 2010. Currently, the airline provides twice-daily direct flights to Vietnam’s capital city and 10 times weekly flights to Ho Chi Minh City.

In October 2017, Qatar Airways announced its interline partnership with Vietnam-based Vietjet Air, allowing Qatar Airways’ passengers to travel to and from points in Vietnam not served directly by Qatar Airways using a single reservation across both airlines’ networks.

Adelaide to become launch destination for Singapore Airlines’ new A350-900 medium-haul aircraft

Singapore Airlines has unveiled Adelaide as the launch destination for its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft fitted with all new medium-haul cabin products.

Launching on 18 December from Adelaide, subject to regulatory approval, flight SQ278/279 will be operated daily by the two-class, 303 seat A350-900, providing South Australian customers first access to an unparalleled level of comfort and technology.

The new A350-900 medium-haul aircraft is equipped with the Airline’s recently launched new medium-haul Business Class and Economy Class cabin products and features 40 seats in Business Class and 263 seats in Economy Class.

Deployment of the A350-900 will deliver an almost seven per cent increase in overall capacity to the city creating more opportunities for South Australians to explore the world, and for the world to explore South Australia.

Malaysia Airlines is now on WhatsApp, the first airline in Malaysia to introduce this service

Malaysia Airlines (MH) today launched their official presence on WhatsApp, enabling customers to receive their flight booking confirmation and flight status directly through the popular messaging app.

Malaysia Airlines is the first airline in Malaysia and the fifth in the world to integrate with the WhatsApp Business solution. This follows the launch of three other digital solutions, MHguardian, MHfeedback and MHchat back in April 2018 and in line with the company’s digitalisation strategy.

Malaysia Airlines will continue to look at products and services that enhance the customer experience by allowing guests to receive important updates such as gate, check-in, boarding or schedule notifications via the messaging app. This new platform is offered in addition to the airline’s traditional methods of communication of email and SMS.

Hawaiian Airlines continues to give you 64+ free reasons to shop in Honolulu

Hawaiian Airlines, renowned for its generous 64kg free checked baggage allowance, has once again partnered with Honolulu’s legendary Ala Moana Center to bring great shopping bargains to guests flying Hawaiian Airlines.

Hawai‘i’s flagship carrier and the world’s largest open-air shopping centre have stepped up their existing Premier Passport Exclusive Offers program for guests travelling to Honolulu from Australia and New Zealand, introducing a six-month in-flight promotion.

Effective immediately, guests’ meal trays will feature a “Welcome Gifts” card filled with special offers from Ala Moana Center, including a free ‘Aloha Hawaii’ exclusive wristlet from jewellery store, ALEX AND ANI, plus 25 per cent off their exclusive ‘Hawaiian Islands’ set of three wristlets; as well as a complimentary tote bag from Bloomingdale’s and an all-day 15 per cent off savings certificate.

First photos of Air Tahiti Nui’s Tahitian Dreamliner

Released by Boeing, the images show the striking livery being added to Air Tahiti Nui’s first B787-9 aircraft. With a design and colours inspired by the beauty and richness of the Polynesian islands, the livery features Air Tahiti Nui’s trademark Tiare flower, a tattoo pattern representing a story of Tahiti and its people, and the blue hues that the islands are synonymous with.

Australians and New Zealanders are set to be among the first to be carried to their dream destination on the wings of the Tahitian Dreamliner with the new aircraft commencing service on the Auckland to Papeete route on November 8, 2018.

To coincide with Air Tahiti Nui’s 20th anniversary this year, the flag carrier for French Polynesia is phasing out its current Airbus A340-300 fleet and replacing it with four 787-9 Dreamliners including two purchased and two leased through the Air Lease Corporation.

When the airline has received all four Dreamliners by September 2019, their registration codes will join together to say ‘the warrior (TOA) going forward (MUA) in the great (NUI) canoe (VAA)’.

Qatar Airways inspires travellers to ignite their sense of adventure with a trip to one of its gateways to the globe

Qatar Airways is inspiring passengers to ignite their sense of adventure or take time out to reconnect with family and friends by planning their next escape to one of the many beautiful, unique destinations the airline now has to offer. Whether you are already planning to take a trip, or are still trying to adjust to reality after returning from some time away, Qatar Airways want to take you on your latest adventure to one of its incredible gateways to the big, wide world.

Passengers are invited to plan their next trip with Qatar Airways and take advantage of great fares, such as Paris return from $1,095, Rome return from $1,135, and Barcelona return from $1,145. Additional offers including special rates on hotels, car rentals and Al Maha meet and greet services are available for bookings made on qatarairways.com. Privilege Club members will earn up to triple Qmiles when they book online at qatarairways.com and register for the offer at qmiles.com.

As one of the world’s fastest-growing airlines, Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft flying to business and leisure destinations across six continents. Now in its 20th year, the multi-award-winning airline recently announced it was to launch a host of 16 exciting new destinations as part of its global route network in 2018-2019, including Gothenburg, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia; Valletta, Malta; Langkawi, Malaysia; Da Nang, Vietnam, and the Gulf region’s first direct service to Luxembourg.

Bvlgari to open at Sydney Airport in Australian airport first

In an Australian airport first, Sydney Airport has announced that luxury Italian jeweller Bvlgari will join the airport’s suite of global designer brands at the T1 International terminal.

Founded in Rome in 1884, Bvlgari is one of the world’s most prestigious luxury brands drawing on 2,700 years of Roman history to influence the creative process. Immediately recognisable, each Bvlgari piece is designed to evoke a sense of the city, showcasing exquisite craftsmanship to deliver a truly unique creation.

Set within the luxury precinct, the new store will showcase the brand’s most iconic jewellery collections such as Serpenti and B.Zero1 amongst other beautiful jewels and accessories, as well as leather handbags, small leather items, scarves, eyewear and watches.

Bvlgari will join Sydney Airport’s stunning line-up of luxury brands including Tiffany & Co., Hermès, Gucci, Rolex, Burberry, Max Mara, Michael Kors, TUMI, Emporio Armani, Coach and Hugo BOSS.

Hotelbeds Group and Singapore Airlines announce holiday packaging partnership

Hotelbeds Group and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have come together to form a holiday packaging partnership, offering bundled flights and hotel accommodation solutions to SIA’s customers.

This new collaboration enables SIA to take a step further by utilising Hotelbeds Group’s proprietary dynamic packaging platform to enable customers to curate their own holiday packages, with a real-time selection of flights from SIA’s extensive network plus more than 170,000 hotels. More than 24,000 transfer routes and 18,000 activities such as theme parks and museums from Hotelbeds will be made available progressively.

Singapore Airlines’ customers will be able to book these customisable packages online in an easy and convenient manner. Customers will also be able to earn KrisFlyer miles on the total package value purchased. These packages will be progressively made available on SIA’s website across Singapore and other parts of Asia Pacific, as well as Europe, India and North America. Packages will first be introduced in Australia.

Hotelbeds Group will also provide a dedicated team – primarily based in Singapore – responsible not only for promoting the wide range of hotels available for the ‘Singapore Airlines Holidays’ product but also for customer service, pricing and product optimisation.